Friday, 5th October. Well, here we are again, back home in Bradwell-on-Sea and getting stuck into opening the post, reminding ourselves of birthdays, retirements and anniversaries with cards that have been waiting on the mat for us. Looking through letters and e-mails, pottering in the garden and repairing our wood burner so that we can get it up and running before winter really sets in.

Before leaving the boat, on Wednesday I delved around on the internet and found a company that can collect the fridge on Thursday, palletise it and take it back to West Sussex for repair. Whew! Now we wait to see what the problem is and if it can be sorted out. When it is sorted out I can then spend another day on the boat putting it back into place and testing it out.

Wednesday evening we had a lovely meal with Harvey & Helen at The Griffin, a favourite of theirs (and now ours). Thursday morning saw us packing up the boat, last minute bits of painting and cleaning, loading the fridge on to the lorry and then setting off on the 3 hour drive home.

Thank you all for following this 'retirement' blog. We hope that you have shared some of our enjoyment of what has been the longest time away from home for us both. The blog will continue but probably not on a daily basis. Cheers me dears!

Tuesday 2^nd October. Well, here we are on the last full day of our travels for the time being. A lovely start to the day with bright sunshine.

If you look closely just above the trees you will see one of the aircraft preparing to land at the airport.

Because it’s the last day, eggs, bacon and fried bread for breakfast. Got to keep our strength up!

Once again, the forecast not that good so we set off to make our way back to Pillings Lock. There are quite a few boats moored on the canal at Kegworth near The Otter pub. Some are modest craft like our own whilst others are more like homes in the water with conservatories and leaded windows.

The Otter itself was having repairs undertaken to an extractor unit on the top of one of the chimneys.

You can see that the safest way to undertake this work was by using a ‘cherry-picker’. I wonder how much all that cost!

We fairly charged along today as there were few other craft out and about. Also there weren’t many boats moored up, so no need to keep slowing down as you go past.

Passed through Normanton on Soar, a lovely stretch of the river but very few places to stop and explore.

On through Loughborough and safely back to the marina.

It’s been a wonderful time out for us and our daily diary means that we can relive the voyage when we get back home.

Monday 1^st October. Well, it’s been a very good day today. I know that I say that the weather forecast is always wrong but I do listen to them, really! Anyway, the forecast was for a bright sunny morning with the possibility of showers in the afternoon. And, for once, they were right.

The day started off bright and sunny, so a quick breakfast and off we went. We had a short delay right away when we came through a bridge to find a boat sideways on across the canal. We stopped and pulled it back into the side and replaced a mooring pin that had come adrift. This sort of thing can happen if a boat travels too fast past a moored craft. The waves created shake the pin loose and someone else is left to sort out the problem. I know I showed you a frog road sign earlier on but have you seen a sign like this?

The road runs very close to the canal, hence the warning. Emergency rescue today, Brigid’s gloves blew off the roof into the water. So, a quick touch of reverse, avoid all those other boats that appeared from nowhere, out with the boat hook and – recovery complete. After that, on to Shardlow where we stopped for lunch of homemade soup, cold chicken and tomato.

The chicken was left over from a roast we had for supper yesterday. After lunch, off again and here you can see where the canal meets the river Derwent and the river Trent.

The current was a touch stronger than usual but not too much. And here we are rushing forward under the M1.

This sign was most appropriate today with the current as it was.

If you were to go straight on it would be right over the weir which was quite lively. I like Sawley locks since it’s all mechanised and all you have to do is put in your key, press a few buttons and, hey presto, the lock empties itself, the gates open and close and your back doesn’t even twitch – lovely!

In this picture, the green traffic light confirms that the river is open and it is safe to proceed.

Near the end of the day the skies cleared and there was a lovely sunset.

Here we are leaving Kegworth Deep Lock and we will moor for the night just round the corner at one of our favourite spots.

The only downside is that we will be right under the flight path of East Midlands Airport. Never mind, we spent about 8 hours travelling today and covered over 17 ½ miles, so we should sleep well, whatever the airport tries to throw our way.

Sunday 30^th September. Fradley Junction to Willington – 14 mi 636 yd. The day started off overcast so we decided to put in a few miles today and make sure that we cleared the river section at Alrewas. That part of the journey proved not to be a problem. Yes, the river was running high and there was quite a current pulling at us past the weir but Polgara took it in her stride. (We do love our boat!) The bigger problem, well, not really a problem, more an annoyance, was that four hire boats were being recovered and other boaters were trying to make up for lost time. Consequently, at one lock we had a queue of about six boats trying to get through the lock. Then you get the genuine holiday maker in the middle who doesn’t really know how to work the locks yet and everything grinds to a halt. All the boaters were very good, helping out with the gates and paddles, trying to get things flowing smoothly. We reckon that the delays only added ½ an hour to our overall travelling time, so, can’t complain. One good point was that we got so fed up with sticking behind the same boats lock after lock that we stopped at The Bridge Inn (last mentioned on 4^th September when we sailed right past) for pizza and cannelloni – marvellous! Only one picture today and that was of the bridge before Alrewas.

We think that it was commissioned for the Queen’s Jubilee – it certainly looks a lot of fun! Also, forecast wrong again, no rain all day.

PS Looking back at the close of last night’s blog and the traffic – what traffic? We both went straight to sleep and were oblivious to any extraneous sounds that may have been going on around us.

Saturday 29^th September. Bright lights in the sky again – it’s sunny! We decided that we could go for a walk today along to Alrewas by road, about 2 ½ miles, buy some bread and vegetables, have lunch, look at the river, take photos of all the boats waiting for the river to open and then come back along the towpath. The only problem with our plan was that when we got to Alrewas there were hardly any boats around. Where had they all gone? You guessed it, the water level had gone down enough for the locks to be opened and everyone had charged through in an attempt to get back to their home bases. This prompted a change in our own plans since we now didn’t need to hang around for another 2 or 3 days and Sunday lunch didn’t need to be taken in the pub. So, we nipped round to the butcher’s shop and bought a chicken and then walked back to Fradley. We were lucky, really, since some of the boats had been stuck at Alrewas for 4 days. At least our incarceration has been short lived. We did see a couple of hire boats abandoned (securely) on the canalside where holidays had come to an end. We understand that one boat had been hired by an American family who had to get back to the States. In the afternoon we took the opportunity of filling up with water, emptying out the rubbish, replacing an empty gas canister and moving the boat.

After all that business, sat down for a cup of tea and dozed off for half an hour or so. It’s been a lovely sunny day today and the evening glow looking back up the canal was very Turneresque. (i.e. had the colours of paintings by Joseph Mallord William Turner.)

I don’t think my photo does it justice. Early night tonight for an early start tomorrow. Mind you, we’ve moved the boat across to a more suitable mooring which is alongside the road that goes to the pub. It is Saturday night – need I say more? Let you know tomorrow if the traffic kept us awake!

Friday 28^th September. Today we set off from Great Haywood with the intention of pushing on through to Alrewas, where we stopped on our outward journey. Passing through Rugeley, the back gardens of some of the houses tumble down almost into the canal.

They are all different, some having much care and attention paid to them.

We passed Hawkesyard Priory which backs on to Spode House. Nowadays it is a posh wedding venue.

A little later on there is Spode Cottage – nothing to do with the Spode family but a restaurant and pub!

And now, we’re stuck! Not in the mud but at Fradley Junction. When we got to the top lock at Fradley, one of the volunteer lock keepers told us to grab a mooring wherever we could since the river section beyond Alrewas was in flood, the lock gates were padlocked closed and boats were rafting up because of lack of mooring space on the towpath. What could we do? Well, we moored up alongside the rubbish disposal point – not the most salubrious of places but at least we were secure – shut up shop and went to the pub for supper. The Swan, an old boaters’ pub, is very cosy and served up a lovely lamb casserole – just what we needed. What to do next? We could be here for 2 or 3 days until the water level goes down enough to navigate the river section in safety. Ah well, have looked at the menu and The Swan have a carvery for  Sunday lunch, which is just as well as we haven’t been to a butchers lately for fresh supplies. And so to bed, let’s see what the morning brings.

Thursday 27^th September. Slightly worried when we woke up this morning, there was a strange bright light in the sky – most unusual!

Wall to wall sunshine, what a lovely surprise. The canal was beautifully calm and the reflections almost flawless.

Here’s an action picture of me stepping across one of the lock gates.

On most narrow locks there is a single gate at the top and double gates at the bottom. When operating the locks this way round, on arrival Brigid hops off, opens the paddles, fills the lock and opens the top gate. I take the boat in and we swop round. I open the bottom paddles, empty the lock, open the gates and Brigid takes the boat out. Now the reason we swop is because Brigid’s legs aren’t long enough to step across the gap. According to H&S you really should walk back up to the top of the lock, cross there and walk back down to the bottom again – this is the safest way to do it. Unfortunately it can mean that you’re running up and down a lot of the time. So, making our own H&S assessment, I step across the gates, as do many other boaters. Sometimes there is a convenient bridge that you can use and you will remember a picture of a split bridge on one of the earlier locks but bridges cost money and some canals just don’t have them. As we were passing one of the boatyards we saw this crane being prepared to lift a boat from the canal onto a trailer for onward transport.

I would have liked to have watched the whole procedure but we were travelling too fast for them. A little later we got a good view of the M6 motorway – the constant noise is always there in the background.

Second lock of the day and we are waiting for another boat to go through before we can use it ourselves. You will notice that the sun has gone and I am wearing my boaters’ mac!

All the ground alongside the canal is waterlogged. We are following along by the River Penk which is usually a small stream that often goes unnoticed. Today it is a different story.

Another pretty lock approach at Tixall lock.

After the lock comes Tixall Wide, a veritable sea in canal terms.

The Wide was dug out when the canal was being constructed because the owner of Tixall House did not want his view compromised by the canal – a lake view was acceptable to him. Alas, the house is no more but the gatehouse still stands and work is going on there.

We have now left the Staffs & Worcs Canal and turned right onto the Trent & Mersey again.

Have moored up at Great Haywood for the night and the reflections are beautiful once again.

This street in Great Haywood was built around the turn of the 18^th Century when the village was bought up and demolished by the owner of Shugborough Hall so that they could have more privacy in their park.

 

Wednesday 26^th September. Boy, did it rain last night! I must admit that I didn’t really hear it rain, I slept through but the side of the boat next to the towpath was covered in mud that had been bounced up by the rain on the footpath.

Our mooring ropes were also full of grit and needed a good wash in the canal. We went into Brewood for some supplies and found a lovely family butchers where we got some chops and pork pies and from the adjoining shop (run by the butcher’s wife) fresh vegetables and fruit. We were amazed, walking along the streets, by the number of people who called out: ‘Good morning’ to us. Some even from the other side of the road. Not something that happens too often in Essex but up here everyone is so friendly. When the butcher’s wife heard that we were just visiting the town she made sure that we had a copy of the Parish Guide so that we could find our way around. In the centre of town there was this wonderful building called Speedwell Castle.

It is believed to have been built by an apothecary with money won upon the Duke of Bolton’s horse “Speedwell.” We also found a small bakers where we got some bread and some filled rolls for lunch. Near the church is the Police Station and a little further on the Church.

After a pleasant morning looking around we returned to the boat and set off. Some of the bridges on this part of the canal are very decorative

and the cottages alongside the canal are beautiful.

This photo was taken at about ten to twelve and it shows the vastness of the countryside around and the clouds that are threatening to come our way.

But, no rain yet! A not so beautiful bit of the canal is the M54 where cars and vans thunder along day and night at about 20 times the speed we can manage.

As we approach Wolverhampton we are welcomed to the Wolverhampton Boat Club and the tempting smell of fish & chips wafts our way – but resolutely, we carry on.

At the junction of the Shropshire Union Canal and the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal there is a stop lock with a rise of about six inches.

After the lock and it’s a left turn towards Great Hayward.

As we poked our nose out into the canal a party of canoeists were negotiating their way across the entrance.

As you can see the canal is quite wide at this point, however, very soon it narrows down to a short stretch with about three passing places.

An appropriate place to have lunch!

There are several established marinas alomg this canal

and the locks have some wonderful buildings alongside them.

We have moored for the night near Penkridge and this is the view from the front of the boat.

We’ve travelled just over 15 miles today and most of the day it was fine weather. Part wasn’t but, hey ho, can’t win ‘em all!