STOPPED IN OUR TRACKS

When Adam Porter embarked on a seven-week trip, flood damage and late works were the least of his problems

- Adam Porter

In March, we set off for what was supposed to be a seven week cruise – aiming to take in some of the northern waterways which are out of reach in shorter trips. Plans were a bit fluid because some routes had been affected by flood damage, and others had winter works which hadn’t been finished on time. But we were aiming for Liverpool, and would also either visit Skipton or tackle the Standedge Tunnel.

When we set off, the Coronavirus was something which was badly affecting other countries, but had barely begun in the UK. How quickly everything changed.

Saturday 14 March

This was day eight of our trip, and while there had been some panic buying reported from supermarkets, with loo roll and pasta becoming like hen’s teeth, the world was still relatively normal. We climbed the five locks in the flight at Stoke-on-Trent, and moored outside Middleport Pottery, where the steam engine was running, sending clouds of steam up the outside of the building. We queued up for our tickets without anyone thinking about how far away they were from the person in front, we wandered around the pottery’s shops, and had lunch at the café. The only signs that anything was different were very visible cleaners around the site, and people being careful what they touched. We moored for the night at Westport lake.

Sunday 15 March