North again: Day 19

Another sunny start to the day, and the promised showers haven’t really materialised although it has been pretty windy.  We got a wash load of towels going before we set off.  When we were ready to go, once the rinse part of the cycle had started, I went to get the forward fender and found there was a hole in the towpath right next to it.  When I say I found it, what I mean is that my foot went down it, and I had one very muddy boot.  The canal is very pleasant along thing stretch, with the Trent alongside.  Just after Wolsey Bridge there was a long line of geese; a little further on there was an even longer one, I reckon about 40 of them, many of them the gosling crèche.

When we got to Colwich Lock a boat was just coming out so we could go straight in.  The cottage alongside has a very colourful flower garden.

At long last, the ground paddle has been fixed, so it no longer takes ages to fill.  A boat arrived to come down while we were rising, so we didn’t have to shut the gate either.  In an effort to take photos of different things this time, there’s a nice little row of cottages in Little Haywood.

At Haywood Lock there was a boat going up and one to come down before it was our turn.  And there was a queue at the top, with three more waiting to come down.  As we approached the junction, a boat appeared out of the reeds; it seems he’d just come out of the Staffs and Worcester, so was a bit further over than he might otherwise have been.  Once he was out of the way, we made our turn through the junction bridge.

We continued to Tixall Wide, looking for a mooring.  It was quite busy, but there were a few spaces we thought might be long enough, so I did a complete 360 in the wide to return to one of them.  The edge wasn’t the best — but then a man on the boat ahead, Ziggy, said they were just leaving if we wanted their space.  He also said he was a blog reader, which was nice.  We shuffled along and got tied up.  Since then, all the other spaces have filled up.  At lunchtime we walked back to the Canalside Cafe for oatcakes for lunch, and bought some sausages for dinner from the farm shop.  This afternoon, Adrian has had a call to attend, while I’ve been cleaning my muddy boots.

4 miles, 2 locks.  (123 miles, 78 locks)