Muddy paws once more at The Shady

We saw 4 Kingfishers while cruising! We haven't seen any for months and all of a sudden there were four. They are such beautiful birds, it always lifts our spirits to see them.

A few days back we'd needed to top our diesel up with our emergency supply as it had dropped below the level at which the heating system draws it out. Today's mission was therefore to reach Tattenhall Marina to replenish our tank.

We'd already cycled to Chester and back so set off in the afternoon. Thankfully there were no locks to slow our progress and we reached the marina in a few hours. It was a tight turning and we couldn't initially see where the fuel point was amongst the rows of boats. The wind was gusting and it was tricky 90° turn in between finger pontoons. Will did really well and we'd just sighed in relief when we realised the boat was front in and the diesel point was at the back 😭 Another bit of expert maneuvering and Will had spun Rainboat around and backed her in. The folk running the marina were really nice and loved Tiger and Leo. We'd also spotted our friends Tom and Sharyn on Whiskey Beo so went over for a catch up. We'd met them and their two dogs Cari and Rocky at Llangollen Basin over christmas. They were on their way to Chester so we were able to give them advice about where to moor.

Once we'd filled with diesel we'd have happily moored anywhere but there didn't seem to be a break in the mud on the towpath. We ended up carrying on to The Shady where we'd stayed before. There was still mud but at least we could go to the pub and there were lanes nearby that we could walk Tiger on.

There has been a massive increase in the number of boats on the move; most of them in share schemes where each part owner gets alloted a certain number of weeks each year. We've found ourselves once again having to explain that we're not on a coming from or going to anywhere in particular. We're at a point on a very long journey. We know it isn't for everyone but we do feel fortunate to be doing what we're doing 🥰Read more