That’s decision day… where are we going to leave the boat while we head south for some appointments at home, and then a trip to Sidmouth Folk Week. A short trip down from Hack Green soon brought us to Nantwich, a town we’d visited before and rather liked. It’s pretty busy canal-wise, being on several popular routes, and is near a couple of junctions that enable a choice of directions. We’re not good at decisions.

Finding a spot to moor near the well known aqueduct, we said “hello” to the resident heron…

… before wandering into town for some shopping.

En-route, there are these rather fine cottages,

and a shop that must have seen the chief cook coming. (Her approach to skin health is to buy loads of strange and expensive concoctions and spend hours in the bathroom muttering strange incantations).

And in the middle of town, some nice buildings with plentiful supplies of coffee and jumpers. Can’t be all bad.

Not terribly far from Nantwich are several large marinas that (a) would happily accommodate Song & Dance for a few weeks (and a suitable fee), and (b) were within easy reach of Crewe station, which would make the logistics of repatriating the Captain somewhat easier. Eventually we opted to take up board and lodgings for the boat in Swanley Bridge Marina: a modest day’s cruise up the Shropshire Union, then back south again down the Llangollen Canal. Quite a way by water, and several locks, but only a couple of miles from Nantwich as the heron flies.

There was only one snag… there was still a week to go before we needed to tuck Song & Dance up, and the marina was only a day away. Where should we go in the interim, with so many choices? Another perishing decision to make…