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!

Tuesday 25^th September. The start of the day turned out to be much better than forecast. There was a decent sunrise and no rain at all.

We set to and emptied the rubbish, topped up the water and set sail. Well, you don’t actually set sail on a narrowboat but I’m sure you know what I am getting at.

We had a last look at Norbury junction and then set off as fast as we could to get as far as we could before the rain set in for the day.

Within a few miles the weather changed and it started to drizzle which wasn’t too bad for a while.

As we travelled along, swallows would fly alongside the boat in great swathes. I’ve never seen so many at one time. We passed through Gnosall

and Wheaton Aston with the drizzle gradually changing into serious rain.

I was all for pushing on regardless but when my shoes started taking on water I realised that enough was enough.

So, we moored up for lunch at Stretton Aqueduct, which crosses over Watling Street, had some homemade soup, crisps, nectarines and a cup of coffee (Brigid had lemon and honey to nurse a dodgy froat). After that, when the rain had eased a little, it was a case of wellies on and we charged on (at 4 m.p.h.) into Brewood (pronounced Brood) and tied up for the night. Just after we moored we saw a kingfisher darting back and forth right outside the window. Sorry but we couldn’t get a picture of it. Even when sitting still, it was so well camouflaged that you had to know exactly where to look to see it. Brigid still reckons she was looking at a leaf instead of the kingfisher. Ah well, crumpets for tea and cauliflower cheese for supper. Comfort food in plenty today!

Monday 24^th September. Cats & Dogs don’t even come near to it! We decided that today we would stay put, batten down the hatches, stoke up the fire and stay put. Having said that, with all this free water about I decided to get up on the roof and scrub away all the dirt that had accumulated over the weeks. Found out that my 20 year old waterproof trousers aren’t! At lunch time we did venture out to Norbury Wharf Tea Shop for sandwiches and tea and a potter round the chandlery. I thought that they might have a replacement part for the grill on the cooker, so in the afternoon I took the cooker apart but unfortunately the parts they have are for other models. Not to worry, we’ve got the toaster and fried or oven cooked chops are quite as good as grilled ones. Mooched around the outside of the boat smearing Vaseline into all the seams and joints that showed the tiniest signs of leaking. The only real problem areas are the sewn seams on the cover at the front (which always let in water after a time) and a window at the back where I think the seal may have gone. Happily, now not a drip in sight – except me with my soggy trousers. Sausages in cider tonight.

Sorry, no photos today – rain doesn't come out too well in pictures!

Sunday 23^rd September. Today we decided to push on and try to get to Norbury Junction before the threatened rain from the remnants of hurricane ‘Thingy’ arrived sometime in the afternoon. We only had five locks today but they were fairly busy with a queue of six boats, luckily all behind us.

Even so, the locks were slow filling and it all took time. As we came to the top lock, even though there was no other boat coming our way, the gates swung open for us and we were able to sail straight in. Two gentlemen were standing there working the lock. I asked if they were volunteers for the newly formed Canal & Rivers Trust but they said: ‘No, if you volunteer you get put on a rota. We just like to turn up where we want to help out. It’s our way of keeping fit!’ What a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning. On this part of the Shroppie there are some wonderful high arch bridges.

But, because of the steepness of the sides, there are also slippages which have to be managed. The canal was closed recently because of one such landslide.

Looking to our right we could see in the murky distance The Wrekin

and then we passed the old Cadbury wharf where barges would transport chocolate to Bournville. The factory is still working but now produces dried milk.

Later we passed Shebdon wharf complete with canal side crane.

And yet another of the high bridges but this one with a telegraph pole right in the middle. No one seems to know what the pole was used for –ideas on a postcard please!

Well, we got to Norbury just as the rain set in and we nabbed the last mooring where we can stay for 5 days if we need to. Let’s hope the weather lets up a bit before that although the forecast is still a bit woolly! Roast Beef tonight – who cares if it’s raining?