Days 15, 16, 17 - Overwater Marina, Audlem

Audlem was congested even in late June, with queues of two or three boats waiting to go through locks and, in places, lines of moored boats on either side of the canal.  The brisk breeze gave opportunities to practise steering and a few anxious moments waiting for boats coming the other way while the wind threatened to blow us onto the moored boats.  A small cruiser narrowly escaped.

The wind blew up even more as we approached the sharp and narrow left turn into Overwater Marina.  Thank goodness for steel hulls - only a small graze this time.  The staff there took us under their wings and not only filled up with diesel but steered us onto a mooring with hookup, where we planned to stay a couple of nights to catch up with clothes washing and just have a breather.  Overwater turned out to be exceptionally well run and beautifully sited and the staff without exception were helpful, friendly and happy to share their knowledge.  It was full of flag irises in bloom, swallows and house martins and careful design of pontoons so it doesn't appear crowded.  There's also a nice cafe and an RNLI staffed launch, Audlem Lass, which takes passengers into Audlem on weekends and bank holidays for a small donation.

Blue Adeline at Overwater Marina

Denis left on Sunday morning to go back to work on Monday and Jan spent a couple of days doing chores.  The neighbouring couple had a large red and green parrot, which they'd inherited from a niece who'd emigrated, perhaps to escape the parrot.  He was grumpy because he wasn't allowed out of the cage, as he had a liking for gnawing the woodwork.  He also was a one person bird, the man explained, and that person at present was his wife who had the task of encouraging the parrot into its carrying basket.  If things didn't go well, she would wrap the reluctant animal in a blanket and hope for the best.  Meanwhile, her husband retreated to the back deck.