WaL day 18 ... Winsford Top Flash

 Promise of a lovely day at 06:20 on Sunday (4th August)

At 8o'clock we were pulling away from yesterday's mooring ... you can see in the photo above that there's a boat coming towards me and he's signalling that he'll pass on our right ... I thought!  Two seconds later his bow was in that space between WaL and Mike and Helen's boat Little Bear ... he was coming in to moor in the space I'd not really moved off yet!  Quick thinking and I manoeuvred WaL past both boats without mishap!

 Cholmondeston ... first lock of the day 10 minutes later ...

where as I leave I can see marina moored boats to my right and a long line of canal-side moored boats on my left ... slow going here

 Passing more very pleasant moorings provided by the Shropshire Union Canal Society

 Church Minshull Lock next and we're third in the queue to go down with one already in the lock also going down ...  fortunately there were no boats waiting to come up so the lock turn-round was quick ...

 Here comes Little Bear with Helen and Mike ... they thought they'd wait so they wouldn't have to queue ... but that didn't work!

 George unties the middle rope and gives the bow a push and we're good to go.

 Skewed bridges and blind bends aplenty today

 Unusual property seen as we pass Eardswick Hall

 Meandering!

Sawpit-house and Stables is now one residential property which is still in the ownership of British Waterways (presumably now C&RT). Sawpit-house may have been built around the time of the canal (1777) but the stables are probably 19th century

Lovely buildings built in 1889 at Twelve Acres farm ...

 where the farmer has managed to get his fields harvested and these crows are feasting on the dropped corn.

 We moored up just before midday south of bridge 21overlooking Winsford Top Flash ...

 and out came the washing to dry!

 Wonderful views all round

 These dairy cattle are all wearing collars ... is this something to do with them entering the milking parlours? (do they even call them that still?)

 Sun beams

 Reflection through the lounge porthole onto the wall opposite at 20:10

and the sun going down behind the trees.