Middlewich, a Simple Day

Posted on by Pete Schloss

Written April 15, 2023, at Middlewich, England.

Our first of two full days in Middlewich opened with breakfast at our lodging, The Boar’s Head Inn.

This is a classic English pub that does excellent service as a traveler’s Inn. It is simple, clean, comfortable, and very reasonably priced. Our hostess, Liz, is a delight and to our surprise she has been following our travels through my website.

Liz behind the bar.
Patrons watching today’s British Grand National steeplechase horse race. Incredibly dramatic, this is the biggest horse race in the UK, with a purse of over $1.25 million. Of the 39 horses that started the event only 17 finished with their riders still in place after having leapt 40 barriers over the 4 mile course.

Most of our breakfasts over the last 3 1/2 weeks have by choice been a lighter fare. I decided to go all out this morning by ordering mine “full English“.

Clockwise: egg, English bacon, black pudding (a form of blood sausage), stewed tomato, sausage, and baked beans. Cooked mushrooms are often included. there is also toast and coffee.

After breakfast we walked down to the Andersen Boats yard where Christine posed in front of the vessel we will take charge of on Monday, the 62 foot long Fjord Empress.

We also spoke with owner, Pauline, arranging for an early orientation and departure.

Christine and I walked about a mile down the Trent & Mersey Canal which we will soon be traveling. It was a like walking down a 2019 “Memory Lane”. The canal and locks were active and we took the opportunity to lend a hand and refresh our recollections on lock operations.

The King’s Lock pub and the King’s Lock.
A narrow boat that has just “climbed“ one of the locks.
A fisherman camped at canalside, cooking his breakfast.

We also stopped by the well-maintained 12th century church, St. Michael and All Angels. The town itself dates at least as far back as Roman times when it was one of the largest salt producers for the Empire in Britain. In 2019 I wrote a detailed post about the church: St. Michael and All Angels Church.

Wendy & Pat arrive in Middlewich around noon tomorrow. We will be doing some grocery shopping to provision the boat and later enjoy the British tradition of eating an afternoon “Sunday Roast“.

Peace Everyone. Pete

8 thoughts on “Middlewich, a Simple Day”

What Do You Think?