Big Trip - Day 27

A couple of related events happened yesterday evening.  First, a number of Drayton hire boats came down junction lock travelling together, and apparently had little idea what they were doing.  One shot out of the lock and managed to scrape along the side of Briar Rose.  The girls on board seemed to think this was quite amusing.  Much later the boat moved in a strange way, and at first we thought little of it; then it happened again.  It turned out that the same boats had left the paddled open right down at Common Lock, and the boats on the permanent moorings there were sitting on the bottom.  Some of the owners ran water down from the junction, and as they did so we rose by at least six inches before the water levels sorted themselves out.

This morning we were awake early, so at about 7.30 crossed over to the water point where we filled the tank while having breakfast.  At about 8 we got bored of waiting for the top to be reached, and a boat was coming up Keeper's Lock, so we set off.  Reports from boats coming up said Alrewas had been choc-a-bloc last night, so many had set off early to try to get ahead of the crowds.

This meant that we swapped with boats in the opposite direction at most of the locks to and through Alrewas.  We also saw the Drayton hire boats heading back, zig-zag fashion, towards Fradley.

Below the first lock of the day I saw a chap I vaguely recognised.  It was Nev off Percy, so we were able to have a quick chat.

Alrewas is pretty from the canal, but it was also very busy and doesn't have much room if you meet another boat.  Fortunately, the place where this happened had a kind of passing place, where someone had already left.  Below Alrewas Lock, the River Trent crosses the canal.  The weir is better marked these days than it was when my parents and uncle and aunt boated this section in the 1960s.  It seems they nearly went over it!

By Wychnor church is a strange bridge which requires you to get right over to one side.

Bridge 36 is another which requires a bit of concentration.  From a distance, it looks impossibly small, and when you get closer there's evidence that some people have indeed had trouble getting through it.

At Branston Water Park we came across a trinity of bloggers.  First, Muleless, the latest boat by MGM, and we were able to have a quick chat with Della and Gary (who seemed to be expecting us!).  The other side of the bridge were Petroc and Epiphany, but there was no sign of anyone at home.

Much of Burton on Trent seemed fairly familiar, as we went to the IWA national at Shobnal Fields a few years ago.  Naturally we photographed the best known of the bridges.

Much of this section is accompanied by the A38, which is rather noisy and spoils the enjoyment somewhat.  All the locks along this stretch are shallow as well as narrow, with falls of as little as 3ft.  Dallow Lane is the last narrow lock in this direction, although there's a long lock-free section before the first wide one.  On the outskirts of Willington, I spotted a house where the loft appears to have been turned into an observatory.

Stenson Lock is the first wide one, and it's also deep, at over 12ft.  We shared with a boat which appeared to have no reverse (or at least, its owners seemed unwilling to use it).  I was slightly concerned that their bow button had got caught on the gate, but before I could say anything it slipped free and the boat dropped about 9 inches.  There were plenty of gongoozlers from the neighbouring tea rooms, many asking questions about where we'd been and where we were going.

After Stenson is a rather pleasant section of canal, going through farmland.  It was enhanced by the fact that it was a lovely sunny, warm afternoon.  Not only have coats not been needed today, but fleeces have been discarded, and the shorts have been brought out of retirement.

We moored up for the night just short of Swarkestone Lock.  We walked along to have a look at the lock, and found a Hire a Canal Boat coming up.  They were taking things carefully and, we thought, doing quite well, until it became apparent that their rope had been taken twice round a bollard and had got jammed as the boat rose.  It meant the boat was being forced to lean over at an increasingly alarming angle.

The crew didn't seem to have noticed, so we alerted them as to what was happening, and when it became apparent that they didn't know what to do to rectify the situation we directed the closing of top paddles and opening of bottom ones, until the boat was upright and the rope could be freed.  Amazingly, quite a crowd appeared to watch what was going on.

It's now a lovely warm evening, we have a glass of wine, and there's a chicken roasting in the oven.  What could be better?

20 miles, 11 locks.  (341 miles, 195 locks)

Big Trip - Day 26

Tixall Wide really is a lovely mooring, and we can also highly recommend the chicken and mushroom pie from the farm shop.

This morning it was dull and grey but perfectly still and we slipped away from our mooring just after 8am.  I got off just before Great Haywood junction to check whether anything was coming, and Adrian made the turn back onto the Trent & Mersey.  The section from here to Fradley Junction is one of the few bits that we're repeating; we did it in the opposite direction on Day 6.

I walked down to the lock, where a boat was just going down.  We saw it again at Colwich lock.  The lock cottage has lots of old canal and railways signs decorating the walls.

We stopped at Rugeley and Adrian went shopping while I got a wash load going, and rang my mother on her 80th birthday.  Setting off again, we negotiated the narrows at Armitage without incident.

The stretch beyond Handsacre got increasingly surreal.  First we passed a boat with a cockatiel sitting on the semi-trad stern.  A bit further on, two people sitting near a moored boat got up rather suspiciously, then got out a phone as asked me to smile!  It was only when I saw the name of the boat that I realised it was John and Louise from Blue Moon.  It was good to meet them, if only briefly as we drifted past.  Next I could see that we were being followed by an unusual boat.  When we joined the queue of two boats already at Woodend Lock, the little plastic craft passed us, hoping there was a short boat up ahead that he could fit in the lock with.  There wasn't so the chap joined the end of the queue, and turned out to be wearing a kilt.  He apparently built the boat himself, and has been travelling the network for twelve years.  He sleeps on board - and has a Gold licence!

From the lock landing at Woodend, you get a single, far-away view of the spires of Lichfield Cathedral.

It took quite a while to get down the lock, and a similar process was repeated at Shadehouse lock, the top of those at Fradley.  At least there started to be a few boats coming up.  Eventually we were down Middle Lock and heading for the junction.  This time we'd be going straight on, continuing on the T&M.   The lock was in our favour, and apart from having to wait for two boats to turn out of the Coventry Canal, I could go past The Swan and straight in.

We're now on waters we haven't done for a while -- 2006 in a hire boat was the last time we did this section, when we did an extended version of the Leicester Ring.  This being Fradley on a Saturday, we weren't hopeful of getting a mooring, but in fact there was plenty of room below Junction lock.

Having moored, we walked over to the cafe the other side of the canal for tea and cake, and we're joined by a very brave little bird, which I think may be a chaffinch.

We walked back via the next lock down, then around Fradley Pool.  I hadn't realised until today that it was built by the Trent and Mersey canal company when the Coventy Canal junction was established.  Water flows down a channel from above Middle Lock into the pool, then re-enters the canal further down.  It meant they were sure they weren't losing water to the Coventry.

It's been a fantastically sunny afternoon, and Fradley is swarming with people.  The moorings here are next to the road to the pub, so not the quietest (especially with all the motorbikes and trikes going by), but you can't blame people for wanting to visit here; there's something a bit special about the place.

13 miles, 6 locks.  (321 miles, 184 locks).

Big Trip - Day 25

The moorings below Gailey Lock are surprisingly quiet, given the proximity of the A5, the M6, and the railway line.  We set off just before 8.30 this morning, but not before the boat of retired Guides which had been moored behind us.  It meant we had to turn the first lock, and indeed every lock, during the day.  The field next to the first lock housed an inquisitive cow.

We travelled through Penkridge, and while the boat dropped down the lock I went to the little shop alongside for some milk.  This end of the Staffs and Worcs isn't nearly as pretty as the other end (through Kinver and down to Stourport), but the countryside is pleasant enough.

The prettiest lock of the day was undoubtedly Tixall Lock, with both a cottage and a bridge.

We arrived at Tixall Wide looking for a place to moor.  We went past the first space, wondering if there was another a bit further along.  There wasn't so we used the width of the water and did a u-turn, then another to get into the first space we'd seen.

We were tied up by 2.30pm, so walked into Great Haywood.  First stop was the little tea rooms by the lock, where we had tea and flapjack.  Then we went to the shop in the village, and the Canalside Farm Shop, which has changed beyond all recognition since we were last here.  It now looks very professional.  As we walked back across the junction bridge, a former working boat, Lindsay, made the turn from the T&M into the Staffs and Worcs.  It had a sign on the side saying Etruria Boat Volunteers (although I thought the museum itself was now closed).

It's been really warm and sunny this afternoon.  We've shuffled the boat along a bit so another could fit in, and we've talked to people on the towpath whom we met two weeks ago or so when we were both heading north.  Across the wide is the Tixall Gatehouse, whose main house was demolished long ago, and which can now be rented for a holiday.

12 miles, 11 locks.  (308 miles, 178 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)

Big Trip - Day 23

After a few short days, we've put in a much longer journey today.  We had breakfast in Cheshire, travelled through Shropshire, and have ended in Staffordshire.

When we left our mooring at just before 8am, we could see both ends of a rainbow, but the middle was missing because the sky was blue.  As we climbed the final two locks of the Audlem flight, it was both sunny and raining.

At the Adderley flight of five locks, the first was almost empty, but the rest were full, as we were following someone up.  At the top lock, the cake stall was empty; apparently it was too early.

When we reached Market Drayton, Adrian walked into town to the shops, and found the market in full swing.  He said the whole town felt quite vibrant.  At the same time, I filled the water tank and ran a wash load.  Several boats passed us while we were on the water point, so when we reached the foot of the Tyrley flight we found a queue.  I think it's the first time we've had to queue for a lock since Braunston on Day 2 of the Big Trip.

Woodseaves Cutting follows the flight, and it's both deep and narrow.  I loitered in a slightly wider part while a boat came the other way.

As we crossed from Shropshire into Staffordshire, there were fantastic views of The Wrekin in the distance.

It's been nice being back on these very familiar waters.  We've reminisced about various trips we had on Debdale when she was based at Norbury, such as the New Year's Eve at Market Drayton with Adrian's mum, when the canal froze; or stopping at the Wharf Inn  at Shebdon Wharf on the first day of a trip up the Llangollen.  Grub Street Cutting usually marked the end of a holiday; today we could carry on.  But the obligatory photo of the double arched bridge with the telegraph pole had to be taken.

We stopped at Norbury Junction for a gas bottle, and also topped up with diesel while we were there.  We also chatted to Simon, who looked after the Debdale syndicate pretty well when OwnerShips collapsed.

It was perhaps the sunniest it had been all day, so we carried on to Gnosall, somewhere we haven't moored before.  We're in a shallow cutting, but's it's rather pleasant.

18 miles, 12 locks.  (275 miles, 164 locks)

Big Trip - Day 22

I've done a seperate post about organising the Manchester Ship Canal trip, for anyone who wants to give it a go.

It was grey and bleak as we set off this morning, after a very quiet night at Barbridge.  It's amazing how being just a little way back from the main road makes such a difference.  Before long we were passing Hurleston Junction, which is the start of the Llamgollen canal.  Then it was on through Nantwich, where the moorings on the embankment were quite busy.

At Bridge 91 I could see something strange happening just through the bridge: someone was getting bucketfuls of water from the canal, and throwing them apparently at the bridge.  As we went through the bridge, all became clear.  CRT staff had been clearing undergrowth from the offside, where there's a stop gate in the bridge hole.  In doing so, they'd disturbed a wasps' nest, and there were dozens of somewhat dozy wasps flying around.  Buckets of water weren't having much effect.

A little further along, there wer clouds of smoke coming from the back of a boat.  I thought there'd must be major engine problems, but it turned out the chap had a barbecue on his semi-trad stern deck.

At Hack Green lock, we were back to narrow locks again.  There had been a procession of boats in the other direction, and we we're able to go straight into the first lock.  There'd was also a boat coming down the second lock.

But when the boat emerged, the gates were closed and the locks was turned.  Both the crews involved blamed the other for not spotting us coming.

As we headed towards Audlem, the weather took a turn for the worse, with cold rain and squally winds.  We made a decision to go up two of the locks and try to stop for lunch - probably a first on this trip as we normally eat on the move.  There was a suitable spot available, so we moored up, ate, and then went for a walk around Audlem.  If anything, it's even nicer than it was a few years ago, when we regularly came through on our share boat, Debdale.  There's a nice butcher, where we bought some chicken stir fry for dinner, and a useful Co-op where we bought a few top up groceries.

Returning to the boat, we decided that as it had stopped raining we should head up the locks.  For a moment, the sun even came out.  We passed a procession of boats coming down, including Lizzie and Chis on Shimshams, Braidbar no 101, whom we saw at the owners' weekend earlier in the month.  It was good to catch up, even if only in passing.

The rain came back, but it's still a very pretty flight of locks.

We stopped at the Coxbank moorings, two locks from the top.  It's a lovely quiet spot that we stayed at a number of times on Debdale.

10 miles, 15 locks.  (257 miles, 152 locks)

Big Trip - Day 21

We woke to a sky with blue patches in some directions, and threatening black clouds in the other.  We set off at 8.40, with a fairly unambitious target in mind as we were expecting a family visit later.

At times the weather was sunny, but every now and then a sharp shower would pass over, often lasting just half a minute or so.  We had to turn the first lock, and while Adrian did so the wind really got up and it was also very cold.  This whole stretch has some fantastic views of Beeston Castle.

We knew the hotel pair, Duke and Duchess we ahead of us, but we relieved to see them getting fuel at Chas Hardern boats.  It meant we overtook them at Beeston Iron lock, which actually is made of iron, and has a notice warning of dire consequences if you try putting two boats in it.

Along the way we picked up a single handing boater, which made the locks easier in some ways.  With two boats in the lock, there's much less bashing about.  The locks have lovely little round buildings alongside.

At the Bunbury staircase pair, the bottom lock was already empty as two boats were coming down, and the top was being filled by a hire boat at the top.  It meant it was the perfect opportunity to practice the Bunbury Shuffle.  So we started with two boats in the bottom lock and one in the top.

When the water had levelled, our lock partner moved into the top lock.

Then Adrian moved Briar Rose over to the other side.

Then the hire boat moved into the bottom lock.

Finally, our lock partner moved over, and Adrian could go into the top lock.

The hire boaters had seemed bemused by the whole concept, but after I told them the manoeuvre had a name, and was a kind of badge of honour, I reckon they'll now be telling all their friends!

We stopped at the services at Calvely to fill the water tank, and started a wash load.  Then we carried on to Barbridge Junction, where a boat was coming out of the Middlewich Arm and turning south.  It hit the off side pretty hard before getting round.

We looked longingly up the Middlewich Arm.  We've intended to do it several times, but one thing or another has always prevented us.  Unfortunately it's not on the agenda this trip either, but will remain a reasons for returning to this area.

We moored up at about 1.30 immediately before Bridge 100 and I went to scout out car parking opportunities.  Adrian made banana bread, while i prepared dinner.  At about 4pm my sister arrived with her husband and their two girls.  We took the kids for a walk up to the junction, they enjoyed looking at ducks and swans, and we had cottage pie for dinner.  It's been great seeing them all again (and all together this time!) and Rachel and Emily are both real little characters (and seem to quite like the idea of boating)

The phone and internet signal here is variable to say the least, so we've been forced to come over to the Old Barbridge Inn for wifi

8 miles, 6 locks.  (247 miles, 137 locks)