From Drought to Deluge
- workingways2022
- Nov 30, 2025
- 7 min read
When I left you at the end of August, we were in Bollington in the middle of a dry spell with alarmingly low water levels and needed to decide whether to stay put or to move to one of the designated areas that the CRT would try and keep 'in water'. In the end we decided to move south to Bosley. It was in the middle of nowhere but, hey, hopefully we might stay afloat!
We were a bit hesitant about the journey - would there be enough water to get there or would we get stuck? In the end we managed it without mishap. The water was quite shallow in places but the water was also very clear and undisturbed areas were covered with Sagittaria Sagittifolia - a pretty floating plant with dart-shaped leaves and white flowers We passed 'Husky' Steve (now with a new husky) who was our neighbour back in January when
we were frozen in. He's a man of many anecdotes, one involving a fiesty pike which you can read here. Ironically, we ended up mooring at the site of the breach earlier in the year - one of the reasons we're still on this canal! As the hedge had been removed for the work this spot now had wonderful views all round and we enjoyed some fabulous sunsets (see 'porthole pic'). In the end we were there for five and a half weeks, but as a spot to be stuck at, I don't think it could be beaten.
Our boater friend Rae also joined us in this spot. We marked the water level on the metal armco and it became a source of great interest during our stay to see if the levels had gone down or up! Over the next few weeks we got to know our neighbours well - a mixture of continuous cruisers like us and some permanent moorers near the top of the locks. Going for a walk often became a longer than intended outing as a lot of them were exceedingly chatty!
To save water we took to showering in the services block. It was a bit of a walk away but luckily the weather was lovely. Rae also kindly lent us her Aquaroll so we could use it to collect water to top our tank every so often. In return we helped carry back her new solar panels and Rob helped get them fitted. Over dinner together one evening we were treated to the wonderful sight of a barn owl flying around and sitting on a post opposite. During this time Rob also fitted a breather to our water tank, which did involve him contorting himself under the bow of the boat, but now no more standing out in the rain when we fill up - hurrah! He also braved doing our engine service for the first time. Bravo Rob!
Whilst there we had a trip with Rae and Irish Vinnie to the Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival - a lovely afternoon of free music around the town, the highlight being The Boat Band playing in the gorgeous physic garden. During Heritage Week in September Rae and I returned there for a nose at the historic Bath House and, despite heavy rain, had a good look at the fascinating plants.
Rob and I also had a trip to the Wirral. He had a ticket to see the first Everton match at their new ground so I ended up dropping him at Birkenhead station and then heading up to New Brighton for a lovely afternoon's mooch before we met up with boater chums Lynne and Nigel in the evening and then saw Rob's family and friends the following day.
Nearer to home, we went to Macclesfield's Treacle Market again and I discovered a hidden Unitarian Chapel with a wealth of history. We ventured out to Chinley to a Sing and Supper event - the curry was delicious but we were conspicuous by our lack of children! We also enjoyed more musical evenings at Ken's session in High Lane and at Bollington's Folk Club.
Without anything else to do around there, the signs on a on a local field announcing a 'vintage
auction' in mid-September piqued our interest. It turned out to be the North Rode Rally that takes place there twice a year so we decided to take a look. The field was full of old army vehicles, classic cars and motorbikes and ancient tractors and campervans. We browsed the stalls ('vintage auction' was a bit of an overstatement!), saw the motorbike display and I bought an old iron. Later on we roped Rae into braving the evening's 'entertainment' - a marquee of mostly men of a certain age in Hawaiian shirts and hula skirts... We drank our cans, listened to the band and then escaped before they could make us buy more raffle tickets, but if the noise was anything to go by, the partying went on into the wee hours. What an experience!
We got to know the local walks well. A favourite was heading down the locks, but they were looking a sorry sight, with the majority of pounds completely empty of water. Still, we had it easy. For the boats at the bottom, they had to pull trolleys of water containers up the towpath to the top of the twelve locks every few days to refill their water tanks... Eventually stop planks were put in
and the levels stabilised a little. A walk to Bosley Reservoir demonstrated how worryingly low the levels were however. We also discovered damson trees in the remains of the garden at Orchard Lock and made some more jam (to go with our collection!).
We finally decided we needed to properly replenish our water tank so we had a mini cruise to the services, filled up, winded and then returned to our spot. The sloes were out so we nabbed some of them to make some sloe gin and the sunny autumn weather was perfect for cleaning the boat and tidying up the roof garden. Our friends, Von and Nigel, paid us a visit on their way back to Devon from Scotland, finding a lodge to stay at only a short walk from our mooring and we enjoyed a meal out together at the 480-year-old Sutton Hall, once the family home of Lord Lucan! The same day I also got to cheer on some of the 140-plus hardy runners doing the Cheshire Ring Ultra 100 around the popular canal route as they passed the boat.
We also got a chance to explore the market town of Congleton a little more with its interesting mix of buildings.
At the end of September the stop planks finally got removed and we moved the boat to Gurnett. As much as we loved our sunny spot, this was handier for the car - and for an early morning drive to Manchester Airport. After having it nearby for so long, we'd finally got around to making the most of it and had booked a week in Greece, at a small place called Kardamyli on the Mani peninsular of the Peloponnese. Despite some biblical storms we had a wonderful time soaking up the atmosphere.
Back on the canal, on a cool and misty day, we
walked up the steep climb to Teggs Nose. Sadly there was no view but we enjoyed seeing the various fungi and nibbling on a few whortleberries and also seeing the historic millstone grit quarry machinery.
Moving on to Bollington we got to know Lizzie on her old working boat, Gainsborough, perused a few of the local coffee shops, courtesy of Vinnie, and saw impressive local guitarist, Kirk McElhinney perform at the folk club. On a trip to
Go Outdoors in Macc I thought I'd set the alarm off - but it turned out it wasn't me, it was the cyclist and Olympic gold medallist Dame Sarah Storey, who said this happens to her a lot! (she also has a gold post box in the town!).
Then we had a flurry of musical events. Firstly, to the London Palladium with Rob's younger son to see the incredible Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (and an excuse to spend time with the gorgeous grandson!), and then down to Birmingham to see the equally impressive Suzanne Vega at the Symphony Hall. When we'd booked the
tickets we had thought we'd be moored up in Birmingham but the pesky weather conditions put pay to that idea. Going from a peaceful Bollington to a noisy Birmingham, full of Christmas-market-goers and Halloween parties (and rockets being let loose in the main shopping streets!), it was a bit of a shock to the system to say the least, but we enjoyed a tasty breakfast at our hotel the following morning, wandered along the Birmingham and Fazeley canal and visited the fascinating museum and the library with its amazing roof gardens.
One morning as I was lighting the fire I noticed a vaguely familiar boat coming past. It was only Robbie Cummings on Naughty Lass! To those who have never watched Canal Boat Diaries, he is something of an icon on the waterways. I poked my head out and said we were big fans (*cringe*). Then, as he'd pulled in, it seemed rude not to go over and say hello, which I did and he was very charming considering this slightly mad woman had accosted him on the towpath. No selfie sadly - I decided that was a step too far!
As I write, the rain is pelting down. It seems as if we're now getting all that wet stuff that we needed earlier in the year in one fell swoop, and there's tales of flooding and a plethora of trees down, blocking roads and waterways. So, in three months we've gone from drought to deluge, and we've even been frozen in twice! What will Christmas bring - snow??!!
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