From Stone to Brewood
4 miles
Friday, 17th April
We shopped in Stone and then moved on. We'd planned to go as far as Tixall Wide today, but apathy set in and we found a lovely spot between bridges 85 & 84 and decided to call it a day. We have plenty of time and so can take as long as we like. It was a quiet spot and we shall remember it for the future.
1 lock
Saturday, 18th April
We set off for Tixall Wide today, and actually made it. The weather was good, but a bit windy, which always makes steering interesting. We passed through three locks and eventually arrived at Great Haywood, the junction at which the Staffs and Worcs Canal joins the Trent & Mersey Canal. Trev rode up to the village to get a newspaper while I filled the boat up with water (well, not the boat as such, rather the water tank) and got rid of the rubbish. It was tricky getting the boat off the side as the wind was blowing us against it, and eventually Trev backed the boat right into the bridge hole so that he could have a good run at it. Off we went, sharp right turn and onto the Staffs and Worcs.
We went along for about a mile and eventually got the last mooring spot, unfortunately behind a boat which ran its engine for half the afternoon, but it stopped at last. It was tricky getting the boat into the side, but we were wiser than the last time we were here when we nearly lost the boat in thwe wind, and quickly got the 'paper clips' in. (See the photo for a picture of the paper clips.)
This is another lovely spot, but in fact we decided we preferred last night's mooring, where we were all on our own. Tixall Wide is a popular place to moor and it's always busy, whereas last night's spot was peaceful and we were all on our own.
7 miles
3 locks
Sunday, 19th April 5 miles
We didn't have far to travel today, as we were meeting Trev's cousin Ann and her husband Graham for lunch at The Radford Arms in Baswich--pronounced Baz-itch. It was a beautiful sunny day and the cruise was perfect. We had a good lunch--Ann & Graham kindly treated us--and then we said goodbye and moved on, as the mooring here is a bit enclosed. We were intending to go to Acton Trussell to moor, but found a lovely spot just below Deptmore Lock and so moored up, out in the country again.
1 lock
Monday, 20th April
As we were shaping up ready to go, a woman came by in a small flat bottomed boat, the sort that is used as a ferry for river crossings. We thought no more of it until we got up to the lock and saw it was moored at the bottom of the lock. As we went up in the lock we saw the woman at the lock keeper's cottage right by the lock. We got talking to her and she told us that the boat was her only form of transport. There is no road to the cottage, where she has lived for forty years. But now she has sold the house and has just moved out, though she hasn't moved her cats yet, and so comes back to feed them.
We stopped at Midland Chandlers to buy some new fire bricks and to look at new lights for the boat. The ones which were fixed in the boat when we bought it have never been much good and we wanted to see if we could find anything better. Trev thought he had found a better one, so we bought one to try and then set off again. We carried on into Penkridge, where we moored up, as we're picking up a visitor today, Trev's friend Brenda. She is joining us for two days, as far as Brewood, where she lives. I fetched some shopping and when I got back, Brenda had arrived, so we set off. The weather was scorching today, really hot, and we moored up just above Boggs Lock. There were a couple of other boats nearby, but they didn't intrude and it was another tranquil spot. We're finding some cracking moorings on the T&M.
7 miles
9 locks
Tuesday, 21st April
We continued along the Staffs & Worcs, through beautiful peaceful countryside. Even the M54 couldn't spoil what was a lovely cruise. The weather today was a little cooler, which we didn't mind, as we were baking on the back of the boat yesterday. Trev has got his shorts on...............
We went straight on at Autherley Junction and Aldersley Junction, as we're going to do a detour to make the cruise a little longer for Brenda. If we had turned right at Autherley, it would have meant that Brenda would have been home this afternoon and she would have had hardly any cruise at all. So went on down The Staffs and Worcs as far as The Mermaid, where we shall eat tonight. On the way, we stopped at Limekiln Chandlery to make enquiries about the bitumen paint we shall need to buy for when we black our bottom in July. As we were there, in came 'Harnser'. The last time we saw it and its owners Peter and Kate was the first time we came out onto the tidal Thames at Limehouse. We shared Limehouse lock and travelled all the way up to Teddington with them. It was good to see them, albeit fleetingly, and we hope to meet at Brewood in a few days time.
We continued down to the winding hole just above Wightwick Lock, turned the boat round and moored up for the night. Apathy kicked in and Trev and Brenda had a snooze, whilst I got on with writing my website. In the evening we had an excellent meal at The Mermaid.
10 miles
4 locks
We set off back up the Staffs and Worcs Canal towards Autherley Junction, and stopped on the way at Limekiln Chandlery to buy the paint to use when we black our bottom in July. The good news was that we only needed three tins, not five as we had originally thought. The bad news was it was GBP25 per five litre can.
We set off again; the weather was lovely. At Autherley Junction we turned left onto the Shropshire Union, one of our favourite canals. We had noticed a few dead fish in the canal on the Staffs & Worcs, but here it seemed that every fish was dead. Big carp, roach and perch were floating on the surface, and there were hundreds of smaller fish all dead. I rang British Waterways, just in case they didn't know; it's easy to assume that someone else has told them when in fact they hadn't. But yes, they did know and said that it had been caused by pollution, but wouldn't go any further as there may well be legal action. We later read in the local paper that the disaster had been caused by ammonia being spilt in the water from the sewage works. It really was an awfully sad occurrence.
We carried on along to Brewood to moor. Brenda left us here and walked home, as she lives in Brewood. Trev went with her, and Brenda took him to Midland Chandlers at Penkridge to buy some more of the lights he had bought when we passed there on the boat. The one he bought to try gives off a much better light and we're going to buy a few more.
Unfortunately, Trev came back with only one light--the last one they had. We shall have to try to find some more elsewhere. In the evening Ann & Graham came to join us for a Chinese take away.
We stayed in Penkridge for two nights. On Thursday Brenda took me to Dunelm Mill--my favourite shop! When I got back to the boat, Trev had moved it. We don't like the mooring in the cutting at Brewood, it's dank and gloomy, the sun never reaches it and there is poor television, phone and internet reception. So he had moved us along the canal, about half a mile out of the village. In the evening we went for a meal at Brenda's house--she's a good cook!
8 miles
3 locks
Now we are going to take our time on the Shroppie--we aren't in a rush, and it's a lovely canal. So there won't be any more postings until May 18th at the earliest. So do come back then and see what we're up to.