Repatriation: Day 3

Today is another that replicates a day of our trip in 2013.  Then it rained all the way down the Shroppie but then the sun came out when we’d turned onto the Staffs and Worcs; today it was cloudy all day, with several showers.  We set off at 8am, with the first landmark being Cowley Tunnel, the only one on the Shroppie, only 81 yards long, and blasted out of the rock.

A couple of hours later we got to Wheaton Aston, and pulled onto the diesel point at Turner’s Garage.  Surprisingly, it’s the first time we’ve filled up here, even though they are known as one of the cheapest places on the whole network.  It’s self service, so I filled it to the brim.  Meanwhile, Adrian walked into the village for eye drops and onions (no connection between the two), and found not only a village store but a pharmacy, which we don’t remember being there.  Once I was finished at Turner’s I moved onto the water point, where we filled the tank and started a wash load.  A motor and butty was there when I arrived, but they soon moved off up the lock.  Once the water was full I walked up to the lock, where a hire boat was coming down, and Adrian brought the boat.

There was work under way to various boats at Stretton Wharf, then we crossed the A5 on the Stretton Aqueduct.

At Brewood, Countrywide Cruisers had quite a lot of boats in and being moved around.  We carried on, meeting boats at bridges and narrows. By the time we got to Autherley Stop Lock, we had caught up with the motor and butty, which turned out to be a candy shop.  They needed to get both boats through, and one was coming the other way, so Adrian went to help while I held alongside a couple of Napton hire boats.

Eventually it was our turn; the shallowest locks had taken longer than any other so far!  We turned left onto the Staffs and Worcs, a stretch we haven’t done since 2013.

At the narrows known as Pendeford Rockin’, where the canal goes through rock, I was about to enter the first narrow section when I spotted a boat coming, so pulled back into a passing place.  The steerer told me there was no-one behind him, but by the time I was in position to go again, I saw another one coming.

‘There’s no-one behind us’, they said.  ‘That’s what the previous guy said’, I replied.  Anyway, we got through without meeting anyone else.

While the Shroppie has long straight sections, the Staffs and Worcs has twists and turns, with bridges on blind bends.  We carried on past Calf Heath Marina, and through the chemical works where no mooring is allowed.  At Gailey Lock, a boat was coming up, so we could go straight in.

There was additional help from a chap from a boat waiting below the lock to come up.  In fact, there were five boats waiting.  We moored below the lock at 5.30, having now come under the A5, and with so many waiting boats we ended up within sight of the next one.

21 miles, 3 locks.  (47 miles, 30 locks)

Big Trip - Day 24

It's been a day of two halves weatherwise, almost exactly mirrored by the two canals we've travelled on.  Admittedly it was brighter than expected when we set off from Gnosall at just after 8, almost straight into Cowley Tunnel, which is hewn through the rock.

Unfortunately, a hire boat had set off just in front of us, and prceeded at what we'll call a leisurely pace.  It slowed to a speed barely above stop at each bridge hole; it was half an hour before we persuaded them to let us pass.

It started raining a little later than forecast, and also became rather blustery.  It seemed particularly bad as we worked through the lock at Wheaton Aston.  I was quite grateful for the Shroppie's cuttings, which offered protection from the wind and rain.  The cuttings along this stretch aren't as dramatically deep as the ones further north, but I really like them:  they're enchantingly wooded, and often the home of kingfishers (just one seen today). 

Sarah's Chertsey was moored at Stretton Wharf, and I spotted the butty, Bakewell on the hard standing, with work apparently happening on the cabin.  I looked for Montgomery, but couldn't see it.

Immediately afterwards we crossed the A5 on the Stretton Aqueduct.  The camera (which not surprisingly had rain drops on the lens by then) tells me it was 10.43am.

The rain absolutely hammered down as we went through Brewood, where moored boats, a hire base, and visitor moorings, mean very slow progress.  At the frequent narrow sections which follow, we seemed to be very fortunate, meeting boats after them, rather than in them.

We stopped at the water point just before Autherley Junction, and started a wash load.  By now the rain had stopped, but the towpath was very muddy.  We continued through the stop lock, which raises the canal just a few inches to the level of the Staffs and Worcs Canal.  We turned left towards Great Haywood, and almost immediately entered the narrows of the 'Pendeford Rockin'.  Again, we didn't have to make use of the occasional passing places.

As we emerged from the Rockin, the sun came out, and after a brief excusion into the West Mindlands, we were back in the Staffordshire countryside.

The differences between the Shroppie and the Staffs and Worcs soon became clear.  The Shroppie requires very little steering, as it has long straight sections through cuttings and across embankments; the Staffs and Worcs winds all over the place, and has numerous blind bridges on sharp bends.

Our aim for the night was Gailey, and as the moorings above the lock are a bit gloomy we went down the lock.  Alongside is the Roundhouse, which used to be the toll clerk's office.

Immediately below the lock the A5 crosses the road on a bridge.  The camera tells me it was 4.13pm.  By road, this is exactly three miles from Stretton Aqueduct; by canal, you travel a big V-shape of 14 miles.

Shortly after mooring up, the Narrowboat Trust pair, Nuneaton and Brighton came past.  We walked back to the shop in the Roundhouse, where we added to our collection of canal plaques, having added quite a few new canals on this trip.  We had a ice cream while we watched the slightly chaotic crew bring the pair up the lock.

21 miles, 3 locks.  (296 miles, 167 locks)