Traffic jam

Coming down the Cheshire locks can be pleasant,

providing you don't mind doing locks. 25 of them yesterday.

We had come down them as a bit of a convoy,

but it was nothing like the traffic snarled up on the M6 that we travelled underneath. On the way we met one or two young(er) people, who'd never seen a narrowboat coming through a lock before and enjoyed the new experience.

It was hot in the sun, but today was a contrast – on the chilly side with some rain later. The traffic, however, was worse. Everyone was going to St Ives the Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival, celebrating its 25th year. We got going quite early, but as we headed down the three-mile stretch to the first of today's locks, a moored boater said we were the 8th boat he'd seen going past in the previous 15 minutes, and we found ourselves in a long queue. We were concerned about finding a mooring, but got one about half a mile out of town on the Middlewich branch of the Shroppie. It's a nice spot, if a bit shallow.

The music programme for the festival looks great, and everything is free this year, so we're going to enjoy it. Now for the tests: 1) Will the solar panel keep the batteries charged until Monday? 2) Will we get by on one tank of water? I don't remember trying to stretch it over so many days. Showers will be 30 seconds max. Perhaps Middlewich still has some municipal baths!