For those of you who don't have access to the British Waterways super excellent Canals Map - here is a 'mapshot' of the next leg of the ER II's journey.
They will be traveling from Chester southish then turning North to the Anderton Lift which was noted on this map as being 'out of commission - check with BW'. (map note was from 1991)
Not so. It was restored in 2001 by the British Waterways.
(You can read all about this marvellous piece of Victorian Engineering here)
Not so. It was restored in 2001 by the British Waterways.
(You can read all about this marvellous piece of Victorian Engineering here)
I hope to be posting more 'mapshots' as they motor along. (click on the map to enlarge it for easier viewing)
As I type this, I got an email:
Hi Guys
Thanks for the e-card and phone message.
Busy weekend and ERII performed beautifully in the 32C heat.
We are off to walk the Roman Wall this morning, then down the canal to
some quiet bank side for a well deserved rest.
When Helen and David return from their Chester Roman Wall tour, I hope David will post some pix to share
In the meantime: Looking at the map, you might be puzzled by the M and L in the little boxes:
M = MILES and L = LOCKS.
(no the L does not mean litres of consumable beverages, though I am sure that is probably used as a good excuse by the captain and crew..lol)
M = MILES and L = LOCKS.
(no the L does not mean litres of consumable beverages, though I am sure that is probably used as a good excuse by the captain and crew..lol)
This means if you are a smart Narrowboater, you choose a canal route with the fewest locks possible!
Some have over 50, so if you go up and down that route, you are doing over a hundred locks!
Here 's a quick calculation for this leg from Chester to the Anderton Lift:
Adding up the M's in those boxes gives us 38.25 miles.
Now then..if we can assume they are able to do a 'generous' 2 MPH (that's right TWO miles an hour - top speed on the canals is FIVE and as far as I know, the ER II has not been able to achieve that due to busy and crowded canals)
but I digress: they should be able to arrive at the Anderton Lift in 20 hours -
which translates to daylight running of about 7-8 hours for 2 days and a bit.
You can see that Canal Boating is on a 'whole 'nother' Time Schedule for sure!
(considering that by car you could do the same distance in a couple of hours or less)
Another way of looking at it: 1 car hour = approximately 1 day Canal Cruising
Speaking of Locks:
They are mostly the 'get out of the boat and use your windlass to wind the lock mechanism' type of lock as well - none of this fancy schmancy swipe card automagical lock mechanism that we saw used in Ireland.
The photo below shows Helen 'winding the Lock' to release the gates.
If you are lucky, and the Lock-Keeper is home, then you can leave it to them to do that bit for you.
So cruise along with us on the next leg of the Ongoing Adventure of the Elizabeth Rose II; selling cheeses on the Canals!
Blessings of a superlative summer!
Shanti
Some have over 50, so if you go up and down that route, you are doing over a hundred locks!
Here 's a quick calculation for this leg from Chester to the Anderton Lift:
Adding up the M's in those boxes gives us 38.25 miles.
Now then..if we can assume they are able to do a 'generous' 2 MPH (that's right TWO miles an hour - top speed on the canals is FIVE and as far as I know, the ER II has not been able to achieve that due to busy and crowded canals)
but I digress: they should be able to arrive at the Anderton Lift in 20 hours -
which translates to daylight running of about 7-8 hours for 2 days and a bit.
You can see that Canal Boating is on a 'whole 'nother' Time Schedule for sure!
(considering that by car you could do the same distance in a couple of hours or less)
Another way of looking at it: 1 car hour = approximately 1 day Canal Cruising
Speaking of Locks:
They are mostly the 'get out of the boat and use your windlass to wind the lock mechanism' type of lock as well - none of this fancy schmancy swipe card automagical lock mechanism that we saw used in Ireland.
The photo below shows Helen 'winding the Lock' to release the gates.
If you are lucky, and the Lock-Keeper is home, then you can leave it to them to do that bit for you.
So cruise along with us on the next leg of the Ongoing Adventure of the Elizabeth Rose II; selling cheeses on the Canals!
Blessings of a superlative summer!
Shanti
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