To Crick: Day 4

The mooring between Burston and Sandon was a great one — probably at least half a mile from any meaningful road, and the trains in a dip.  Plus we were all on our own, which was nice.  This morning was a bit misty to start.  After breakfast we washed the towpath side of the boat; we’d thought about doing it yesterday, but the sun had made the steel far too hot.  The dry weather and the sort of towpaths we’ve been moored against has made everything very dusty, and we got a load of grey dust off the boat.

We set off at about 9, and knew Sandon Lock was likely to be against us as a hire boat had already gone past.  Another arrived as we were going in, but then a boat also arrived below so we could leave the gates open.  After Sandon Lock we met a whole procession of boats going the other way.  On the approach to Weston, the church spire is very evident.

Weston has a bridge on a bend with moorings both sides, so I was creeping round very slowly when a Black Prince hire boat came flying round the corner, and had to do a hard reverse to avoid coming straight into the side of us.  Hopefully he’ll approach blind bends slightly more cautiously in future.

Weston Lock just needed topping up before we could go down.  In contrast to the large number of boats we’d met above the lock, below it we passed no-one — until we got to Hoo Mill Lock where a boat was coming up.  We went down, passed Great Haywood Marina, and made the right turn under the junction bridge onto the Staffs and Worcester.

Strangely, we’ve never done this end of the Staffs and Worcs in this direction in this boat.  We’ve done it the other way a couple of times, and we have on occasion just popped in to Tixall Wide for the night — including a memorable evening with Marilyn, David, and Jaq in 2017.  It’s always with slight trepidation that you approach the Wide, because it’s a popular spot and moorings tend to go quickly.  In fact there was plenty of space, so we picked a spot with a gap in the towpath hedge so we have a view both ways.  Once we’d tied up, we walked back to the junction, disturbing a heron from the towpath.

We had lunch at the canal side cafe (Staffordshire oatcakes, of course) and spent some money in the farm shop.  This afternoon, we’ve been enjoying the views and the quiet; Adrian has been preparing for a meeting this evening, and I’ve been batch cooking for the fridge and freezer.

7 miles, 3 locks.  (19 miles, 18 locks)