Northern Exposure: Day 6

The wind yesterday evening and last night was horrendous — very strong and very loud.  Not only was it whistling past the boat, we could also hear bits of twigs dropping on the roof.  None of it seemed to be in the forecast, either.

This morning all was calm — relatively, anyway.  As today’s forecast had winds of 40mph from lunchtime, we thought we’d better get under way sooner rather then later, so pulled away from our mooring at just after 7.30.  There’s pleasant countryside, then the village of Handsacre where more new houses are being built, and then Armitage, home of Armitage Shanks.  The canal passes right by the factory, and there were toilets and basins being loaded onto lorries.

A little further on is the former Armitage tunnel, which is only one boat width wide and no longer a tunnel after the roof was taken off because of subsidence.  The first section is almost a tunnel again, as a road has been built over the top.

As we approached Rugeley the sky up ahead looked very black.  Then we had a very unpleasant shower which was made up mostly of ice.  It chucked it down for a few minutes, and those of us who were outside in it found it quite painful, as the strong wind threw ice crystals in our faces.  Fortunately it didn’t last long, and the sun was soon out again.  We moored up in Rugeley and did a big shop at the canalside Tesco.  Due to the Coronavirus, there were empty shelves where loo rolls and pasta should have been.  Having set off again, we crossed the River Trent on an aqueduct; the river has clearly been a lot higher than it is today, but it still has a very fast flow on it.

We made another brief stop on the moorings opposite the pig farm when another hail shower blew through.  There was just enough time for tea and a hot cross bun before the sun came out again and we could carry on.

Colwich Lock is one of the prettiest anywhere to my mind, but I’m not sure the lock cottage always looked quite so neat.

Between Colwich and Haywood Locks, there are good views of Shugborough Hall.

There were only a couple of boats moored along this section, which in the season is nose to tail.  We decided to go up Haywood Lock and take a chance on there being space above.  There was — loads of it — and we chose a space just a boat back from the junction, where the Staffs and Worcs Canal goes off.

It was almost 1pm, so we went across to the farm shop cafe and had a very nice lunch.  We had a look round the farm shop, which is very upmarket, but still had organic pasta and recycled paper toilet rolls.  This afternoon, we decided to stay put.  The wind really has got up and we are being buffeted about quite a bit.  However, there has also been some good sunshine on the solar panel, and we’ve both been doing bits of work.

10 miles, 2 locks.  (95 miles, 42 locks)