Biddulph Aqueduct

Back to the glorious view, though we are sharing it tonight with three other boats.

We must have had a fairly heavy frost last night as the canal was frozen over when we woke up. But the sun soon began to melt it, but not before an Alvechurch hire-boat had broken up all the ice. Talking to them at the top of the locks David discovered that they had an electrical problem and had had no heating overnight - icicles on the inside!! We left them waiting for an engineer.

We left the mooring at 0945 and proceeded down the locks. Apart from having to walk all around the locks twice as there are no walkways on the top locks, and having to close the locks after David as there are not many places to close the locks from the boat, and all the locks were empty we were at the bottom by noon.

After we moored up here I walked to Congleton railway station and caught a bus into the town. I have still been unsuccesful in buying a Canals and Rivers magazine which should have published David's review of the narrowboat Golden Cross, a hotel boat with a difference run by John and Kathryn Hackett. They are both comitted Christians and run holidays for people who cannot afford to pay for a holiday.

I sent this card as a thankyou to friends who had us to stay for Christmas. I had persuaded them to watch the ballet - I don't think the men were too impressed.