THE BIG SUMMER CRUISE--July 21st--27th


Monday, July 21st
The weather is mixed today, rain, wind & sun,
and we started on our journey up The Trent & Mersey Canal.
This part is very pretty.
We travelled through Weston-upon-Trent
and moored out in the country for lunch at Salt Bridge,
near the hamlet of Salt.

We had intended to travel on after lunch, but the weather got worse, and we were lazy.
So, we watched tv, played games and read.
It's not easy to get good tv reception on the boat.
We have an aerial which we put up when we stop.
Having had several fights between the aerial and low bridges,
we deemed it wise to make 'putting the tv aerial down'
part of the routine when we set off each day.
But really I think we need a better aerial, or even a satellite dish,
if we're ever to get good reception.
This was a nice mooring spot, very peaceful.
But I think we were lucky, as there seemed to be some large scale works
going on on the railway, which is adjacent to the canal.
This means that there are no trains running.
Otherwise it would have been a different story.

Tuesday, 22nd July
We didn't travel very far today, just as far as Star Lock in Stone,
still through delightful countryside.



Just as we pulled in to moor, Trev felt a problem with the steering.
We had something stuck in the weedhatch.
I haven't introduced you yet to the niceties of our weedhatch!
It's underneath the stern of the boat and gives access to the propellor.
It's a large metal box and must only ever be opened
. when the engine is turned off.
This for two reasons:
If you put your hand in there when the prop was turning, you wouldn't bring it out again,
and also the water would be propelled in to the bottom of the boat and sink it.
So, we limped to the bank and moored up.
Trev undid the weed hatch
and found a large piece of a railway sleeper wedged solid in it.
It wouldn't shift, so in the end, Trev had to have a go at it it
with a mallet and mooring pin, and eventually out it came.
This was the second time today we'd had to stop and empty the weedhatch.
Earlier we'd disentangled an umbrella from it.
As we were engaged in this revolting activity,
a passing boater informed us he'd taken a brand new bike out of his weedhatch recently!
We walked into Stone and shopped.
It's a nice little town with a pedestrian free shopping area.
I took advantage of the free internet facility at the library for an hour.
It's an excellent service, and is available at most libraries.
We ate at The Star Inn in the evening, supposedly the oldest on the canal, being built in the fourteenth century.

Wednesday, 23rd, Thursday, 24th & Friday, 25th July
Before we left Stone, we filled up with water and had a toilet pump out.
(I've told you all about the pump out.....)
We carried on through the last two locks of the Stone Flight
and then we were out in open country again.
Then we had the four locks of the Meaford Flight.



COMING UP THE MEAFORD FLIGHT

Again, it was all pleasant cruising, though the canal was narrow and overgrown at times.
As we travel, we meet so many interesting and different people.
Today, we were followed through the locks
by a family with four children, aged 2, 4, 6 & 8. Phew!
They were on a very small boat--a 42'. It must have been pretty tight in there!
The owner, Vic, told me he was going to have the boat "stretched" in August.
When a boat is stretched, it's actually cut in half and has a new section welded in to it.
Vic's boat would then be 62', which sounds a lot better to me with all those children!
Vic told me that he'd just started a new job--as a curate in Tamworth.
Prior to that he was and IT Trainer for Credit Suisse.
Quite a change of lifestyle, but he seemed very happy.


BARLASTON

We moored up by the Wedgwood Factory, ready to go and visit it tomorrow.
We're still following the railway, and there are still no trains.
Someone, somewhere must be losing an awful lot of money.
We took more rubbish out of the weedhatch today--
wire and the plastic strips which are used on large parcels.

On Thursday, we visited the Wedgwood Factory.
It was a really good day--enhanced by the fact that I could get in on a reduced ticket,
now that I am of a certain age!
When we go somewhere which requires a ticket, Trev asks for one normal and one concession!
The reaction of the cashier varies.
Some pretend it's a perfectly usual request, others stop in their tracks and look at us--
no doubt trying to decide which one of us is normal!
There was so much to see at the Wedgwood factory, we didn't do it all.
The best part was going in to the actual factory and seeing the processes.
There were kilns which fired up to 2000 dgrees,
(I can't remember if that was C or F, either way, it was very hot, and we could see the intense flames.)
We saw the figurines being painted, and the decorations applied,
but the very best bit was when we saw the robots making the plates and cups etc.
It was absolutely fascinating, they were so elegant, a bit like people bowing to each other.
There was one which took the cups out of the moulds and gently put them on to a stand,
where another robot picked up the handle and stuck it on.
Well, I thought it was good any way!
On Friday, we had intended to move on, but it just didn't stop raining,
so we stayed put.

Saturday, 26th July
We travelled on through Stoke-on-Trent and turned right on to the Leek and Caldon Canal.
What can I say about Stoke?
Nothing complimentary, I fear, except that we didn't get mugged, thrown at or otherwise intimidated.
But it felt very threatening,
and the area along the canal had its fair share of graffiti,
litter and odd looking characters.
It's certainly not a place that immediately springs to mind as a holiday resort,
and we were glad to get out of it.



BOTTLE KILNS

There were a few locks to negotiate, and at the last one was a beer tent!
So Trev had to go in and sample it, of course.
I stayed with the boat and filled up with water,
the water tank that is, not me!
We have a 150 gallon water tank and refill it at least every other day.
It's amazing how much water we use.
Two showers and a machine load of washing, plus loads of coffee/tea
and washing up soon seems to use the water up.
There are water points in many places along the canal,
provided by British Waterways.
There is no charge to use the water points, as we pay an annual licence fee to BW,
the amount of which depends upon the length of the boat.
Our water is held in a stainless steel tank under the prow of the boat.

We had hoped that when we turned on to the Leek and Caldon Canal,
things would improve and it would be prettier and less threatening.
But it was pretty much the same as before.
The actual junction is nicely landscaped, with a statue of Richard Brindley,
one of the original canal engineers.



RICHARD BRIDLEY

But friends had told us that it was a lovely canal to do, so we persevered.
We went up through a staircase lock--have I told you about staircase locks?
I must check back and see if I have--and then on through a single lock.
(Yes, I've checked and yes, I told you all about staircase locks in
"The First Big Trip--Part Two. Of course you remember now.....)
We travelled about four miles, and then things did begin to improve.
Once we passed through Milton, we began to see lovely scenery,
and it just got better and better.
The Leek & Caldon divides in to two separate arms, each of which is a cul-de-sac.
They aren't very long;
the Leek canal is 12.25 miles from the Trent & Mersey to its terminus
and the Caldon is 17 miles long.
The first part is called The Leek & Caldon and then it splits in to the two separate sections.
We moored up at a village called Stockton Brook, and went for a meal at the village pub.

Sunday, 27th July
Today friends from Kenilworth joined us, so we just did do a trip up to a winding hole and back.

Now, you've had lots of pictures this week!
I hope you've enjoyed them,
especially my brother who told me that a picture speaks a thousand words of text!

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