Shardlow 23/8/14 to 24/8/14

We had a very poor meal at the new inn on Saturday night - well below the usual standard. The Crewe and harpur was better on Sunday if a little basic - the two for one offer appears to be a mere doubling of the normal prices to make the punters think they are getting a bargain! We had no problem getting a mooring in shardlow this weekend and the pubs were fairly quiet apart from the marina bar which had a rather lively disco.

Took the boat for an overnight stay in shardlow this weekend. The boat didn't overheat for a change although the temperature was much lower than of late - forecast to be one of the coldest august bank holidays on record. Most of the locks were ok if a bit leaky. One disturbing event was the fierce by wash from Aston lock which almost sank a 40ft boat - the boat was pretty high - lack of ballast? it was secured by its back rope only and it therefore turned side on to the lock and the tidal wave from the bottom gates almost turned it over - apparently all the crockery was smashed on board. It could have been a lot worse. The lock landing is so short at Aston you have to moor too close to the bottom gates. People should always tie up with the centre rope as well. The canal was very low at the fat end of the t & m with reports of several boats grounding around the shardlow area.