Monday, 4 April 2022
Finally…today is the day we start our 3-week narrowboat holiday. It will take 2 trips to the narrowboat (20 minute round-trip walk). We left the AirBnB at 11:15 with the first load. On the way back we stopped at the Kings Lock Fish & Chips shop to get lunch. This shop is supposed to be one of the best chippy’s in the area. It did not disappoint. Check out the classic Fish & Chips light above the door. It reminds me of the Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips logo.
 A classic chippy  Yum! |  We got the goods  Remember Arthur Treachers'? |
We packed up the last of our stuff, left the AirBnB and made it to the Anderson Boats by 12:20 PM. The boat was ready, so we were able to load all of our stuff onboard. Terry gave us a safety brief and provided a boat orientation. We were ready to go, but the boat was facing the wrong direction. Because of the length of the boat (53 feet) and the width of the canal (less than 53 feet), you can’t just do a u-turn anywhere. Unfortunately, the closest place a u-turn is possible is about 1/4 mile behind us. Terry did the hard job of driving backwards to the winding point and turned us around. We were finally given the helm and were on our way 1:45 PM.
Just 5 minutes into our trip and we came to our first lock, Big Lock. Here is a photo of Tim entering the lock after I opened the door. Big lock is pretty cool. It is actually wide enough for two narrowboats to fit at the same time. It is also along side a pretty cool pub called, no surprise, Big Lock, which can be seen in the second photo just behind me.
 Entering Big Lock |  |
The weather today was chilly and drizzly. The temperature was in the low 50’s, but the wind and the precipitation made it feel colder. Regardless, it was a nice day on the canal.
 On a aquaduct |  |
 |  |
Around 5 PM it was getting colder and the rain seemed to be picking up, so we started looking for a place to stay for night. We finally settled on a public mooring in Anderton at 5:30 PM. We tied up, warmed up inside, and unpacked the rest of the bags. After dinner (spinach & ricotta tortellini with garlic bread) we watched TV as I wrote this blog. Unfortunately, the cell service isn’t strong enough here to upload the blog, so this will be posted after the fact.
Dinner
Maybe tomorrow the weather will be a bit better? We will see...
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