A day of turning back on our tracks gave us second tries at a number of bridges and twisty stretches that had proved difficult to us on a first attempt, and I don't think that we hit anything that we didn't mean to hit during the whole day's travel, which on a busy stretch of narrow canal is quite the achievement. Evidence left behind from other travellers seemed to indicate that not everyone has quite mastered controlling the narrowboat by this point, but I have to admit that we were feeling pretty good about our efforts, even if the waters that we were traversing are definitely not the most challenging section by any measure, except possibly the likelyhood of being distracted by the scenery.
We only travelled about eight miles on the canal all day, as after passing back through the Quob and past Cole Mere we found a lovely mooring point overlooking Blake Mere, and decided to stop at the conveniently placed picnic table for lunch, and then decided to just stay there overnight, since the view was pretty much unparalleled along the way (even if my panorama shots were a little underwhelming!) and this section of the canal was surprisingly quiet.
We used the afternoon to wander back into Ellesmere and visit the Mere itself, as well as the town gardens (and of course the inevitable stop for a little bit more for the larder). The skies threatened to open up over us the whole time but never did, so once again we carted our rainjackets around to no avail. We also left ourselves plenty of time for a hand or nine of Mahjong before having to think about dinner and the day ahead.
Safe voyages.
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