Summer Cruise Day 19 Stone to Barlaston

Our plan for today was to reach Westport Lake so it would only be a short run to Harecastle Tunnel  but first we needed water.  At 9:30am we moved the mere 100 yards to the water point just before Stone bottom lock to find a boat filling and one waiting.  Nothing for it but to wait as we were really low.

With nowhere to moor we asked if we could breast up alongside the boat that was filling.  The owner quite happy to let us do so and announced it will be a while yet so let the other boat fill while I nip to the local Morrisons.  Off he went, the other boat filled up taking an hour and, as we started to fill AmyJo the owner came back so we put his hose back on.  

Another hour later the other owner gave up and moved off.  We then managed to start filling up.  Meanwhile a queue of boats was forming behind us,  some wanting water and some waiting for the lock.  All this time boats were locking down and wanting water.  It was getting pretty chaotic when, at 11:30am, we eventually got into the first lock.

At last, entering the Bottom lock

 Isn't it always the way?  All the time we were filling with water boats were coming down the lock with plenty of crews to work it.  When we entered the lock not a soul was arround.  No more boats coming down and none in sight.  Chris worked the lock alone.

Not a single boat comming down

We worked the next three locks with a single hander ahead so Chris helped him as well as turning the lock for us.  It was warm work as by now the day was getting hotter.  We passed the Canal Cruising company wharf where we hired our first hire boat, Olivia Ginger.  Thats her stern in the photo below.  Ironic that our first hire boat and our first owned boat are together in the same photo 

Olivia Ginger is the light green boat just at AmyJo's bow.

 Stone is home to the Joules Stone ales brewery and by the looks of it some new building works it going on at the brewery.  Not sure what this will be but its shape will be pretty mpressive when complete.

Building works at Crown wharf

Joules brewery

We left Stone town center behind and passed a relatively new houseing estate and clean open moorings.  One house had a railway sign that looks like it came from a local station.

Lovely Stetch of moorings on the right and newish housing and private moorings on the left.

 After passing through some countryside we started climbing the five Meaford Locks, turning each one after the singlehander. By now boats behind us were catching up so there was more help to hand. 

Waiting at the Meaford bottom lock

Back to our usual routine, Chris sets the next lock while I leave the one below singlehanding

 After the five locks we moved into the countryside with the railway once again never far away.  Every now and again houses apeared but this one caught our eye.  Last time we passed there was only one boat and work was ongoing with renovations.  Now these look complete and the place looks stunning.

We love cruising in these sort of wooded sections

Another place with its own wharf, not jealous much :-)

 By 3pm and with the heat getting to us we called it a day at Barlaston and found a prime spot right outside the Plume of feathers pub in the sunshine for the solar panels to do their stuff.   

Those of you that don't know the Plume of Feathers is owned by Neil Morrissey of men behaving badly fame.  We had a meal here and can highly recommend it.  Its not often I cannot eat all in front of me but here it beat me!

The man himself, Neil Morrissey fixing a pint, and very nice it was too, Morrissey Blonde.

As we did not get far today we had an early night and set the alarm so we would be up with a sparrows tommorrow as we wanted to get through Stoke on Trent before the day would be out.

Total distance:3.48 miles Elapsed time:5h37m0s Locks:8 Bridges:18 

Average speed:0.62 mph (2.04 lock/mph) 

Summer Cruise Day 18 Tixall Wide to Stone

Hazy sunshine greeted us this morning and not a breath of wind when we left.  A half an hour run took us to Great Haywood Junction.  Here as one approaches are two narrows with a passing place in the middle.  As we got near we could see a succession of private boats passing through the narrows and a young couple in a hire boat sat for ages in the passing place waiting patiently to move on. no one of the boats let them through.  I brought AmyJo to a stop before the narrows and waved the young couple on. They thanked us as they passed and I added" you have waited long enough so I thought I'd let you through"   This bought a big smile to their faces.

Approaching the junction and the young couple now on their way behind the moored boats.

Those of you that know the Shroppie at Bunbury will well know the problems when Anglo Welsh boats are on the wharf below the staircase.  Great Haywood junction is no different.  In fact today Anglo Welsh had conveniently parked their longest boat nearest to the Bridge 'ole making getting through tight.

Anglo welsh part blocking the cut as usual

Making the turn at the junction

 Shortly after the junction is Great Haywood marina, part of the Lakeland Leisure group with Tattenhall marina.  Linear moorings (moorings along the canal) line both sides here so progress is slow with careful passing required.  The marina itself looks quite full and one boat we recognised, "Lizzy Dripping"  used to moor at Tattenhall.

Start of the linear moorings

The Marina itself looking neat and tidy.

 From here on the canal passes into the countryside.  Apart from the villages of Little Haywood and Weston-on-Trent close to the canal there is not much to talk about.  Fields of sheep and cows line the route and the canal is kept company by the railway close by and the A51.  In places the railway runs right alongside the canal.   Only three locks, Hoo Mill, Weston Lock and Sandon Lock break up the monotony.  At each one we met up with the other boats following us.  At one point four boats queued behind us and two in front.

At Sandon Lock a boat went in ahead of us.  It seemed ages, with no sign of the lock being let down when eventually Chris asked me to come and help remove some reeds from the lock and to bring a boathook.

Waiting at Snadon Lock

 When I got up to the lock I could see why.  A massive clump of reeds sat in the lock.  It took 3 of us plus two passing gentlemen to haul the clump clear.  It took a while and all our strength to get it to the bank and away from the lock.

The clump of reeds that split into two as we pulled it out

Grateful thanks to these two gents who happened to be nearby and lent a hand.

After that its a well earned drink to cool off

By now the cloud had cleared and the day was becoming quite warm so much so the shorts were brought out of retirement.  After Sandon lock we continued into the countryside with the railway and road never far away.

Lovely countryside for miles

 At bridge 88 we were surprised to see a bull and cow cross the bridge as we passed under.  When we got to the other side we discovered why.  They were crossing the bridge to reach their watering hole by the canal.

Passing udder this cow (Sorry couldn't resist)

G&T my dear?

 Passing Aston Marina we came to our last lock of the day, Aston lock,  no differant to any other lock along here except Aston Lock marks the mid point of the Trent and Mersey Canal.  A mile stone proudly proclaims Sharlow 46 miles behind us and Preston Brook 46 miles ahead of us.

Half way point on the Trent and Mersey canal

 Eventually signs we were approaching Stone began to apprear with some pretty nice properties lineing the banks  Neatly trimmed canal sides accompany the new builds with executive cars parked as if on show in the drives.

Approaching the outskirts of stone

This pretty little display is clearly a memorial to a lost young loved one.  A new bench dedicated to their memory.

 Aproaching the town centre we passed lines of moored boats on the visitor moorings above Stone Locks.  Boat after boat we passed and we begsn to loose hope of finding a mooring and having to moor in town near the noisy pubs when just before the winding hole we found a spot in the shade.  It means we won't get much power from the solar panels but at least we are out of the heat of the sun.

Summer Cruise Day 17 Acton Bridge to Tixall Wide

A boat tearing past us at 7am woke us up so we rose early and was underway by 9am after the usual dog walking duties, Smudge sensing it was early did not get excited when I said the magic word instead lay down on me for a cuddle.  He got 5 minutes then we were out the door.

The canal is quite open here and the morning sun was warming up the chilly air by the time we were on the move.  For me this is the best time of the day, when AmyJo glides past the other moored boats, its still sunny, and not many people about.  Its so peaceful.

Leaving last nights mooring

A little way down the cut we passed these two boats.  They look like they have been there a while as their stuff was cluttered all over the tow path including unwashed pots and pans from last nights meal, and a fridge, working, placed outside the bow.  I had to pick my way through it all when I walked Smudge last night.  I'm not being judgemental and each to their own but how can people live in such conditions, do they have any pride left?  I don't want to offend so please no comments decrying what I post, its merely and obsavation.

Living life off grid to the limit

We only had two locks today, the first was Detmore lock.  We arrived just as a boat was leaving below so we turned the lock.  We seem to be having all the locks against us this trip.  Whilst in the lock a small terrier type dog sat on the back of a chair in the conservatory barking at us.  There was no attempt by the owner to stop it or see why it was barking.  They must be used to it each time a boat passes.  Mind you its a pretty good guard dog in that respect.

Depmore Lock.  The cottage had a small dog that barked the hole time we passed through.  Good security I'd say

 At Baswich we found some moorings near bridge 100a and stopped for some shopping.  Just up the road is an Aldi so we managed to get food in for the week.  Once we stowed that we got underway again.

We passed a neatly gardened mobile home park with an interesting garden clearly set up as an adventure playground for the kids, complete with zip wire down to an elevated den.  Bet the kids have a whale of a time playing there.

Fanatsic playground for the youngsters

A bit further on we came to a fantastic house in large grounds.  Clearly the owner is an avid gardener.  I am pretty convinced I saw none other than Alan Titmarsh wielding a spade in the grounds but was too late to get a photo.

Not often you see a truck full of flowers driving around a garden. Alan is just behind the hedge behind the truck.

We had been following a couple on the boat in front for some time.  The canal has some sharp bends and as we rounded one we found them hard aground, presumably because of the two boats we passed going the other way.  It was clear he could not budge so I eased up to them and they waved me past.  I asked the guy if I gave AmyJo some throttle as we passed it might help to dislodge them and they agreed.  Sure enough as we powered past they came unstuck much to their relief.  Not sure if that was the correct thing to do in this case but as he did not want to be towed off he was happy to try it and it worked.

Rounding another very tight bend we were confronted with this aqueduct.  Good job we were going slowly as I only just managed to get round by adding a little reverse to swing round and line up.  This takes the canal over the River Sow.  I wonder how many boats misjudge the turn as its quite tricky

Aqueduct over the river Sow

View of the river below

Our final lock of the day was Tixall Lock.  This too was against us but the crew of the boat that was aground arrived in time to help Chris work the lock.

Tixall lock Cottage

Tixall Lock

 Tixall wide was only 5 minutes after the lock.  As we approached we could see it was busy, however, we found a fairly good spot but we had just passed it slowly.  Ahead boats were moored for some way.  I reversed back onto it and we settled AmyJo on her mooring lines for the night.  We later found out it was the best spot with the best view of the Gatehouse.

Our mooring for the night

The free spaces soon filled up as the afternoon went on.

After some lunch I set about sanding the primer I'd applied on the Starboard side doors.  Up to now we had been mooring on the port side so I have not been able to finish the painting.  After a touch of wet and dry to smooth the primer I was able to get a coat of undercoat on the treated areas.  After that I spent a couple of hours cleaning and polishing the cabin side.  I've got half way down and will finish off next time we moor up.

We are moored just opposite the start of the wide.

The gate house for Tixall hall, sadly all that is left of the house

Tixall Wide, also known as Tixall Broad or The Broad Water, is a body of water that forms part of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near Tixall in Staffordshire, to the south of the former Tixall Hall.

The lake was probably created during the construction of the canal in 1771. At that time, the hall was owned by Thomas Clifford, the fourth son of Hugh Clifford, 3rd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, and the grounds had been designed on the advice of the landscape architect Lancelot "Capability" Brown. It is said Clifford "gave permission for the canal to pass through his land on the condition that it was made ... wide enough to look like a lake from the house", and thus in order not to spoil the view.

The towpath is a very popular overnight mooring spot. Boaters moored here, or just passing through, have an excellent view of the magnificent Elizabethan gatehouse that is the only remaining part of Tixall Hall.

It has also been suggested that the canal was routed to utilise a lake that already existed.  We'll spend the night here so tomorrow we leave the Staff and Worcester canal at Great Haywood and turn left onto the Trent and Mersey canal.

Total distance:5.90 miles Elapsed time:4h27m54s Locks:2 Bridges:14 

Average speed:1.32 mph (1.77 lock/mph)

Summer Cruise Day 16 Gailey to Acton Bridge 93

This morning we needed to fill with water so moved the short way along to the water tap.  The boat in front was waiting to descend the lock.  By the time it was our turn we had filled the tank so moved along to be next.  

Within minutes of moving up 4 boats turned up, however, there was only room for two boats behind us so two had to breast up.  This itself caused more of a problem as they breasted up alongside J.D. narrowboats wharf which also had boats breasted up, so now the cut was completely blocked off by boats.  

The poor crew of the hire boat that had just come up the lock had nowhere to go and the other boats did not seem to move to clear a path through for them.  As the photo shows mayhem ensued.  We left them to it and we descended the lock grateful not to be amongst them.

  

Descending Gailey lock and the mayhem of boats behind

The familiar Gailey Round house

 Today was to be another day of locks, 10 in all, though nicely spread out to give a rest in between.  One of the benefits of having worked so many locks this trip is my blood pressure seems to have improved imesurably.  Before it was regularly 150 over 100 or there abouts, but now for the last week its dropped to 125 over 80 though we're not really sure why, perhaps the lock wheeling has had the desired Cardio exercise needed.  We'll be keeping an eye on this over the next few days as I may have to adjust my blood pressure tablet dosage and will be taking advise from our doctor.

AmyJo on Brick Kiln lock

The canal is quite nice here with plenty of nice gardens backing onto the canal in little groups between hedgerow lined towpath.

At Penkridge we were going to stop for some shopping.  We were told it was market day today and so when we got there all the moorings were taken.  We decided to carry on until we found a lovely spot opposite the Moathose hotel on the outskirts of the town.  We had just finished tying the mooring ropes when AmyJo was invaded by ants from the towpath.  We quickly untied and moved on again.  Fortunately only a few ants managed to stow aboard but these were soon dispatched.

We were going to moor behind the boat but stopped alongside a large ants nest.

 We had the same problem finding a mooring at Acton Trussel a bit further on.  I guess we have been spoilt by the Stourbridge ring having hardly any boats on the circuit and could pick our choice of moorings.  Now we're back on the main 4 countries ring we should expect things to be busy with boats everywhere and many more on the move.  Its a bit like being on a motorway in rush hour again.  Its taking a bit of getting used to.

As we left Acton Trussel we passed a familiar boat.  nb AreNAre aka the HomeBrew Boat was here but not trading.  We hailed Barry and had a brief chat as we passed.

The Homebrew boar.  Barry was in the back cabin when we passed

At Park gate lock is the Midland Chandlers though we did not stop as we didn't need anything.  The boatyard and wharf looked busy and we could hear plenty of work going on.

Busy wharf.  Midland Chandlers is the green building behind the wharf building.

We passed this beautiful new canalside property with lovely garden.  But what set this property aside from other canalside properties is it has its own mooring wharf in its own arm off the canal.  So wish we could live there!

Lovely canalside property

Get a load of this private mooring!

There were plenty of fishermen out today as a competition was taking place.  I slowed to tickover and was thanked by many.  We were just coming to the last few fishermen when one hooked a large fish as we approached and was trying to land it.  We were getting every close and it looked like we might runover the line and the chap would loose the fish which was putting up a fair fight.  I put AmyJo into reverse trying not to rev too much and this slowed us just enough for him to land the fish.  He thanked us for being so conciderate and delighted in showing us the fish.  A good sized Perch.

Easing our way slowly through the fishing competition.

Chris took this because of the dark sky behind

 At one garden we spotted Bill and Ben the Flower pot men, so this is where they retired too!  During their TV career they took on many guises, puppets computer generated and amimated. My fav though was the original puppet series...... weeeeed. 

Bill, Ben and Little weed enjoying retirement

This this chap took a wrong turn

We eventually found a nice mooring spot between bridges 93 and 94 at 2pm.  Its out in the country and far enough away from the M6 as not to be too noisy.  With the sun softening behind hazy cloud I took the time to to a spot of polishing and finished of the port cabin side and rear doors.

 

Total distance:6.38 miles Elapsed time:6h7m34s Locks:10 Bridges:20 

Average speed:1.04 mph (2.67 lock/mph)