Summer Cruise - day 9 Bollington to Marple

We had a bad night last night.  It remained hot and sultry but made worse by Chris waking at 2am in absolute agony and could not get comfortable.  Seems she had a bad bout of heartburn that at one point had me convinced she was having a heart attack.  I almost called for a doctor but, having taken some gaviscon tablets, the pain eased after an hour and she was fine.

Naturally after last night we rose later and eventually got underway at 10am.  The temperature outside was already 26 degrees and it was clear the forecast 29 degrees was a conservative estimate.  Temperatures actually climbed to 35 in the sun.  We pressed on as we found cruising generated a much needed cool breeze. 

Whenever we leave somewhere up here we are always watched by the locals :-)

First we had to retrace our steps and wind again which we managed at Bollington Wharf . All the canal maps show this as a winding 'ole but in fact its now solid with mooring jetties.  As luck would have it the centre two moorings were empty so nudging Amyjo's bow into them we managed to swing her round with inches to spare.

Cruising back passed clarence Mill

 By now the heat was positively mediterranean with an azure blue cloudless sky.  I wore a shirt today as a t-shirt would have been too warm.

The hat was definitely needed today and just look at that sky.

We noticed there are a lot more yoghurt pot cruisers around there parts.

Even Chris had a go at the helm following 4 other boats ahead of us.  Her little step stool coming in most handy.

 At Lord Vernon's wharf, home of Braidbar boats we cheekily blocked their entrance whilst we waited for the water tap behind us to be vacated by another boat.  We then roped AmyJo back and had our fill of water.

Laying across Braidbar's bridge o'l entrance

 As we left "Thats a beautiful boat" was heard by watching Braidbar staff on the bridge.  I'm sure I saw Chris puff up with pride at that and she certainly had a beaming smile on her face.

Moorings opposite Lord Vernon's wharf and plenty of Braidbar boats about including the two on the left.

Home of Braidbar boats and a busy wharf by the looks of it.

The journey continued through much tree lined sections giving welcome shelter to boaters whilst they cruise and giving a lovely serene air of calm as you go.

Elaborate workshop at one of the long term moorings

Tree lined shelter along this stretch

We stopped for lunch at High Lane and thought to stop for the night on the visitor moorings but lorries thundering over a loose drain cover on the busy A6 made it a bit too noisy for our liking so we decided to carry on further to Marple.

One becomes aware you are approaching Marple as the number of canalside gardens increase.  Some are quite elaborate with some considerable amount of money having been spent.

This terrace is made from new railway sleepers and would have cost a pretty penny.

Home of the North Cheshire Cruising Club.

Large mill converted to various businesses including scale model car racing circuits

We found a suitable mooring just before the junction at Marple and have settled here for the night.

Total distance:9.73 miles Elapsed time:5h29m44s Locks:0 Bridges:34 

Average speed:1.49 mph (1.49 lock/mph)