From snow to sun
- workingways2022
- Mar 13, 2025
- 5 min read
It's probably a bit late to wish you a Happy New Year but I hope all is good and 2025 is treating you well so far. Winter is normally one of our favourite times of year aboard Jasmine, but this year we're not so enamoured with it. We've had every type of weather you can imagine, including five 'named' storms, and it seems to have gone on for a very long time, but luckily we are now seeing signs of spring.
On the 2nd January we slipped our ropes - well to
be more
accurate, we wrestled them off the cleats, having poured hot water over them first, as they were frozen solid! - and left Congleton, aiming for the water point. It was a beautiful morning, although treacherous on the icy roads. Whilst filling with water (unsurprisingly, the tap needed the hot water treatment as well) we heard the sound of skidding - a motorcyclist had come off his bike...
Luckily plenty of people were around to help him. The scenery was absolutely stunning with the sun glinting off frosty fields. We ascended the 12 locks of the Bosley flight and then stopped for lunch at the top, next to a friendly boater with a lovely Husky. It was a nice spot so we decided to stay there for the night. We had no idea we'd end up there for over 2 weeks!
By the next morning the canal had frozen over. We
put out food for
the birds and enjoyed the amazing sunset. Then it snowed - which made it even more beautiful. We would go out every morning, top up the birdfeed and sweep/push/ scrape the snow off the solar panels (the joys of boating!). The canal didn't thaw for 15 days. We took to sealing up our duck hatch to reduce draughts
and hunkered down. Luckily it was a great spot with
some nice walks, a nearby place to park the car so we could get to Macclesfieldfor supplies, and some
friendly boaters - especially our neighbour Steve who kindly lent us his water cannisters and trolley so we could top up our tank (when the tap thawed out!). We had an array of birds on our birdfeeder, including a flock of long-tailed tits who would intermittently fly in, have a feast and then disappear.
On our walks down the Bosley lock flight to explore the old railway line and marvel at the Dane Aqueduct, we would pass people from the Canal and River Trust repairing the locks, which looked like chilly work. But we'd also heard some frightening news. The large embankment on the Bridgewater Canal near Dunham Massey had suffered an enormous breach. The particularly scary part was that we had moored there in October on our way to Liverpool - a sobering thought. It could take years to repair, so that particular journey will not be possible for quite some time.
We'd made the decision to do Dry January so we couldn't even have a medicinal sherry to
keep our spirits up, although we did discover a ginger drink which went very nicely with tonic. Whilst we were there Rob also installed a lithium battery so we are now officially 'hybrid'. It took a bit of time to work out the charging/discharging regime but it's made a massive difference and we no longer need to run our engine for an hour every evening to top up our leisure batteries and we can make more use of our electric travel kettle, microwave and hairdryer.
On the 18th January the ice had finally gone (or so we thought), so we waved goodbye to
our mooring buddies and set off. It wasn't long before we hit the first patch of ice but we managed to gently nose our way through it. We replenished our water in Macclesfield and stopped at the wharf for diesel and coal and then stayed on the pontoon moorings nearby for a couple of days. We walked downhill to explore the town and discovered the amazing Early Bird Bakes just up from the moorings, with cinnamon whirls to die for. Known as 'Silk Town' as it was once the world's biggest producer of silk, with 71 silk mills recorded as operating in the town in 1832, it is also nicknamed 'Treacle Town' after an historical incident of a horse-drawn wagon overturning and spilling its load of treacle on to the road, which was then scooped up by the poor.
The it was a slow, shallow chug to Bollington, a lovely place where we ended up staying far longer than intended, mooring near the Wharf initially before moving to the embankment. We went to the Discovery Centre at Clarence Mill, a former cotton
mill, enjoyed walking the MiddlewoodWay along the line of an old railway track, with another impressive viaduct, and explored the little town. On one fine day in the midst of all the rain, we finally walked up onto Kerridge Ridge, with its amazing views, and made our way to White Nancy, a Grade II listed landmark said to have been built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo.
We also had a day out. For some unknown reason we rarely use the car for anything other than essential trips, although we're determined to explore the Peak District when the weather improves. However we wanted to see A Complete Unknown, the new film about Bob Dylan, and the nearest cinema was in Wilmslow. It's only 11 miles from Manchester and, with its upmarket shops and Aston Martin showroom, we
decided it could be home to some professionalfootballers. However the renovated Rex Cinema is lovely and made a great end to enjoyable trip.
The weather didn't feel like spring, but the sight of our first snowdrops suggested it was on its way. And then we discovered our friends Lynne and Nigel were moored a little way ahead. We met them for a coffee on the weekend and a
beer at The Boars Head pub when we both moved on to Higher Poynton. As we were all heading in the same direction it's been lovely getting to know them better. Meanwhile, Rob
has been busy fitting new locks to both back and front doors and doing other much-needed boaty jobs.
We have continued to 'hop' the car along with us, the canal towpath and Middlewood way railway line trail making for some lovely walks.
Then we finally reached Marple and the junction with the Peak Forest canal. Remember we had to retrace our steps from Manchester due to the lock closures here? Well, this is where we would have arrived at - with a lot less miles under our belts! It's been a lovely journey though, so no complaints.
Join us next time when we'll finally get to explore the Peak Forest canal!
Until then, enjoy the spring, and if you would like to support these blogs, don't forget that you can buy me a coffee on my Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/travelswithjasmine
Thanks so much :-)
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