What an experience

I really did not want to get out of bed this morning.  My calf muscles had seized up completely probably because in an effort to save my bum I did a bit of stand up cycling.  I know and I didn't fall in the canal either!

Forced myself to emerge and face the windy day.  I needed to tackle the Bosley locks and felt it would be better done on a Bank Holiday as more likely to be willing helpers around.  How right I was.

First swing bridge was open but just as I was nearly there I spotted another boat coming the other way so hard astern thinking perhaps they had opened it.  Big mistake not sure what happened but lost propulsion got half way through and had to pull it rest of way and go down the weed hatch.  Not much there but still things were not 100%.

Bit further on for no reason at all I grounded.  Let boat behind me past.  No amount of pushing and shoving seemed to have any effect, passing walker pushed off the front still no good.  Fizzical Attraction gave me a bit of a tow until we thought we were past the worst of it they went on their merry way boat behind also carried on and there I was still stuck.  Finally got myself off and tried to catch them up at the electric swing bridge but they had already gone through.  My heart sank and then magically it opened in front of me and a man on the bridge waved me on and shut it again after I had gone through.  He belonged to a boat behind me.  Lovely.

Got to Bosley locks with two boats up my tail - prepared the lock and then my boat just would not leave the side due to the wind and no one came to assist they all just stayed chin wagging around the water point. Then salvation in the form of a lad on a hireboat that had tried to ram me the day before for no apparant reason (driver panicked everytime he met another boat!!) came running up and helped me through.  He said he had to do the driving through bridge holes due to the excessive panicking by Dad.  Their boat was way back by the bridge somewhere.  I gradually worked my way down the locks never having to close a set of gates behind me and usually that lad or someone turned the lock in front of me so that I could go straight through the pounds which was good as it was so windy that the first few were extremely bumpy landings.

Second half of locks I was assisted by a lady from Serendipity (moored at the top of the locks) who was walking her two dogs and generally helping people up and down as necessary.  The second half was also much easier as by now I was meeting boats coming up.  Tried to offer her a cup of tea at the bottom but she spotted an elderly couple going up so off she went to assist them.  I was her 7th boat!  I hope that when she had gone up solo in her boat earlier that she had had half as much help as I had coming down.  Good Karma going her way.

Moored up in a lovely cat frolicking type of place.

So get out and frolic.

It was too windy to sit out in the lovely sunshine but I managed to get my chair into the engine room so was able to sit out of the wind and see the world go by (I had to keep bobbing up and down to see anything but hey ho)