Thursday May 9th - Saturday May 11th

Definitely a day to forget.

It started off as simply not one of our best days cruising wise. The forecast was for high winds and heavy rain, and whilst we certainly got the former, at least the latter held off until we had tied up.

We were under way again at 7.20 but only for a few minutes as we soon pulled into the Wheelock Sanitary Station moorings to empty the loo, get rid of the rubbish and fill up with water – for the latter it would be the first time since we got to the Black Country Museum ten days ago.

Eventually under way for the second time we had an uneventful cruise through some pretty mediocre countryside. On leaving Wheelock your nostrils are assailed by a nasty niff – coming from the large canalside sewage works which we remember so well from having broken down there some years ago.

An exposed section with little or no trees to shelter from takes us round to Rookery Bridge and the crossing of the West Coast main railway line. It is pretty bleak and in almost gale force winds we were glad to be through.

Just beyond the bridges, a new housing development is rising from the ashes of a demolished factory. It is a strange place for a new estate hemmed in by the canal, railway and still extant factories.

The moorings of the Elton Moss/Carefree Cruising base are soon followed by a line of permanently moored boats before we come to the first of today’s locks, the top lock of the Booth Lane Three. Sounds like a jazz combo rather than a none too special flight of locks.

Here a boat had just exited the top lock (also known as Crows’ Nest Lock) as we approached which didn’t bode well for the rest of the day’s locks. However we were soon through and heading along the longish pound to the middle lock. Here the main Sandbach to Middlewich road comes alongside, separated from the canal all the way into Middlewich by just a few feet of grass. It does make the contrast between our slow pace and the speed of the cars when you are this close.

The section along the main road is completely open and in a strong wind as we had today it can be difficult to keep the boat in a straight line, particularly when trying to mawmble as the next lock is readied. Elaine hung back in the tail of the previous lock whilst I got the next one ready and that worked fine.

Middlewich is not an attractive town when put alongside places like Chester or Nantwich. It is, or was, a heavily industrialised town with many salt works. Only one of these is still going – the vast British Salt factory alongside the canal – but other industries have suffered in recent years. The Premier Foods plant that produced Bisto closed down some years ago and is still just a pile of demolition rubble, and the huge Hays Chemical Works are also largely demolished although a small part is still going under new ownership.

The King's Lock pub

As a result, the part of the town you see as you approach from the south is not the most edifying with demolished factories, closed pubs and a general run down feel to everything.

A single lock with the attractive name of Rump’s Lock takes us down to the town proper with King’s Lock and the pub and boatyard of the same name the gateway to one of the most nerve jangling junction anywhere on the system.



Junction bridge can be seen in centre distance from King's Lock

As you exit King’s Lock, the boatyard is on the off side, usually with a gaggle of boats tied up. Immediately opposite the Middlewich Branch heading off to the Shroppie and Chester enters under a bridge and the main canal bends round under another bridge. With Middlewich being on two of the most popular cruising rings, which diverge at this junction, and with two hire bases in the town, it is well known for its entertainment value.

 

 

Approaching junction from opposite direction, King's Lock in distance

 

 

 

However, things didn’t go well for us here. As Elaine (who had taken over lock work) helped the boat in front of us through, she misjudged the depth of a step and came down on her left knee too heavily. The knee promptly collapsed and she couldn’t put any weight on it at all.

Waiting for Wardle Lock

Thankfully the lady off the boat in front helped her up and, with my help, managed to get her back to the boat. Another boater off ‘Adagio’ – a share boat going back to Elton Moss – worked me through the lock which then left me with the task of getting round the sharp bend into the Middlewich Branch and up Wardle lock – for which there is no regular lock landing as the lock is too close to the bridge and junction.

I managed to get the boat into the side and tie up to a fence post whilst I went and prepared the lock. Once that was ready I returned to the boat and untied it and saw Elaine struggling to the back to steer the boat into the lock. Silly darling!

Anyway we managed to get up through the lock and then tied up a couple of hundred yards further on as we had intended to.

At first we had no idea what Elaine had done – possibly just twisted her knee. We got the leg propped up on a footstool whilst I prepared lunch. However, during the afternoon the knee had swollen quite alarmingly and she couldn’t move it or bend it at all without excruciating pain.

I called 999 and within 15 minutes an ambulance had arrived with 2 paramedics who took charge. Seeing as they would need to lift her out of the boat in a wheelchair and then have to carry the chair up a dozen or so steps and lift her over a metal barrier cum stile they had to call another ambulance to get two crews as 4 paramedics would be needed for safety reasons.

Eventually Elaine was manoeuvred into the chair and up and out of the boat but it took some strength on the part of the paramedics to get her over the stile as the room for movement was severely restricted. However it wasn’t too long before she was in the ambulance and being whisked away to the Leighton Hospital at Crewe.

Here she was admitted to the A&E Minor Injuries Unit where eventually her leg was examined by a doctor and she was sent for an x-ray. That revealed a fracture at the top of the tibia where it widens out to support the knee and a heavy plaster cast was put over the leg to keep it still until the consultant could look at things the next day.

The news that an operation might be needed (with a metal plate being inserted into the bone) upset Elaine, but she was very brave and was soon whisked upstairs to Ward 15 (the fracture unit) and placed in a bed.

I had a phone call the next morning telling me that she was in fact having the operation that day and there was no point in me coming for the first set of visiting hours (3pm-4pm) as she was likely to be in surgery.

When I went for the evening visit (7pm-8pm) she was still a bit woozy after the anaesthetic, but seemed relieved it was over. She was, however, very, very tired as she had had next to no sleep the night before due to the uncomfortable position her leg was in (suspended on a sling) and the noise – it was quite a busy night.

I had, meantime, picked up a hire car from Enterprise at Crewe and arranged a temporary mooring for the boat at Aqueduct Marina where we could stay until Elaine was OK to move around and perhaps steer the boat. We hadn’t thought too far in front as we honestly didn’t know how long it would be before Elaine was discharged or how immobile she was going to be and for how long. Other than the fact that when we restarted cruising, we would be heading straight back to High House.

When I went yesterday afternoon (Saturday) the difference was amazing. Elaine had had a good night’s sleep, and was looking alert and much more like her normal self. Her leg was now just raised on a pillow and was much more comfortable, and the knowledge that the operation was behind her was an enormous fillip.

I had got the boat from Middlewich to the marina, 6 miles and one lock – my first single handed lock! – and had got settled in there. I have to say that all the staff at the marina were extremely helpful.

Now it is just a question of sitting and waiting for Elaine to be discharged, and getting her moving again. We have no idea of timescales, but we have been assured that there will be a mooring at the marina for as long as we need (although we may need to move from time to time). Friends are bringing our car up on Monday, so I can take the hire car back and cut out that expense, and following an offer from Derek Harris – one of our oldest friends and my old cruising partner from the 1970’s – to crew for me, Elaine will probably go and stay with one of the girls whilst we get the boat back to High House.

So there is not likely to be another blog entry for some time and then it will be just the journey home. 2013 is going to be one of the shortest years for us cruising-wise but getting Elaine mobile again is the top priority.