Going Back in time.

There are a fair few boats that seem to getting off early in the morning, to beat the heat I assume, but we just left as normal. We didn't get too far as when approaching the Baddiley Locks we passed a C&RT work boat and a couple of the lads walking to pick it up. They told us that a willow tree had dropped across the canal above the bottom lock so we should moor up below the other boat whilst they penned up to see if they could do anything about it.

I went up to have a look and it was obvious that some boat had been through alongside the towpath so it was passable. The work boat penned up and soon had some of the branches on the front and were saw through with a bow saw. They had already called the contractors but already there were five boats waiting to go up and three to come down. There were many hands to assist moving the cuttings etc and in less than an hour there was a clear way through for single boats.

Helen brings 'Holderness' up and just clicks out of gear as she passes through, but there was no problem. There was still a branch below but deep enough for us not to touch at all.

The next first of the day was the Wrenbury Frith Bridge. They aren't the same as all those we did last year on the Leeds and Liverpool and I don't think there are as many on this canal either. They are quite picturesque in the sun, and I wasn't having to wind them up either!

We were lucky that another boat was just leaving by Wrenbury Wharf and they went ahead to open the bridge. The bend before the bridge hole makes the approach not easy and I expect it catches quite a few boaters out.

We moored up in the countryside about a mile further on and in the distance we could see the Combermere Abbey Monument. Comberemere was built as an abbey in 1130 but didn't fare too well financially and was anyway shut down in the Dissolution. Sometime after this it was bought by Sir George Cotton who knocked down the church and rebuilt it as a home. It was remodeled over the years but around 1814 the 1st Viscount Combermere, Stanley Cotton more or less created the house that can be seen today. He died in 1865 after a great career as a soldier and diplomat. 25 years later the obelisk was raised in the grounds as a memorial to him as in the terms of his widows will.

When the heat started to leave as the sun sank a little we decided to walk into Marbury, about a mile or so away from the mooring. It is a little hamlet really with the habitual black and white house or two.

St. Michaels Church in the village must have one of the best views in the country as it looks over the Big Mere. A very nice spot to leave your relatives. There is a memorial in the church to one William Poole who was a Captain in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers at the Crimea. He was there for the Battles of Alma and Inkerman and right through the siege of Sebastopol. He was wounded at the head of his men during the final assault on the place and died of his wounds  about two weeks later. He had seen and done a lot in his 20 years.

The current church dates from about 1530 although there has been a place of worship here since at least 1299. There is a fine carved wooden pulpit that has the proud boast of being the second oldest in Cheshire! You can't really see it in this picture but subsidence has meant the tower is a couple of foot out of true!

There are many crude carvings on the exterior of the building with this cow or boar's head among them.

There is also this young lad pulling faces. It must have been a boring sermon.