WE'RE ON THE MOVE

Liveaboard Emma welcomes a new dawn

- Emma

We have finally left the Shropshire Union Canal, the Shroppie, after spending six months on it. I can’t believe we first turned onto the Shroppie at Barbridge Junction just before Christmas. We had great plans for winter cruising, while the canals were quiet and I was really hoping for lots of snow.

We were going to cruise all the way into Chester and make lots of history videos for my homeschooling. Obviously,I was also planning a trip to Primark and McDonalds. We were going to explore the Shroppie while it was quiet and enjoy the beautiful villages and towns along the way. My mum was hoping to visit some of the famous boating pubs, such as The Shady Oak, The Cheshire Cat and The Shroppie Fly.

Sadly things did not go to plan. Our winter cruising did not happen, as we had to stay in the Nantwich area due to some health issues. We also got very little snow but lots of storms and bad weather including Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis. Then the lockdown hit and everything but essential movement stopped. We had got as far as the outskirts of Chester but never got to cruise into the city. All we did was occasionally visit a supermarket and then quickly return to our boat. All the pubs we had planned to visit were closed. In other respects, my day to day life wasn’t so different for me as for other young people. I was already homeschooled and have a good network of friends I can stay in touch with online. But cruising on the canals stopped.