Well, I opened the curtains late last night and looked out: I am sure I could see sheep running on a hillside and daffodils under the hedge but I may have been mistaken. We resumed our northerly leg of the diversion this morning intending to get through Congleton and possibly up the only flight of locks on the Macclesfield Canal.
Bridge 75 in Congleton, however, had a better idea. Why don't we just sit underneath the railway for the foreseeable future? After about 30 minutes of ineffective effort we managed to reverse out of the bridge and away from whatever the obstruction was. She who must be obeyed encouraged an oncoming boat to go through the bridge and when it lurched to one side she was able to locate the obstruction. Armed with this new knowledge our second attempt at negotiating the bridge was now successful and we escaped the clutches of Congleton..
Apart from the stop lock at Scholar Green there is just one flight of twelve locks between Red Bull on the Trent & Mersey and Marple at the other end. Bosley Locks are the best-behaved locks I have ever encountered. When ascending a narrow lock the incoming water initially washes you back but then suddenly the undertow drags you forward. On some canals, particularly the Staffs & Worcs this can be quite vicious but Bosley Locks do not exhibit any desire to drag the boat into the top gates. When we arrived today a boat must have preceded us as every lock was full and required emptying before we could proceed.
Our reward for all this work is at the top lock: the service block here is smart, well equipped and clean.
I feel a celebratory shower is called for.
Journey today = 8 miles and 12 locks
Remaining diversion - 39 locks
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