I don’t know what it as about rain and locks, but it seems if rain is forecast, it always catches me as I am just about to do a lock, and I end up getting soaked.
The week started with nice weather as we cruised down the Trent and Mersey, we moored up in the middle of nowhere, as the moorings were full at Whittington and Hopwas. It was a lovely afternoon, so we sat on the back with the pram cover down and had a couple of beers. The number of boats that passed us was quite amazing.
Next day was the Captains birthday. We did a short cruise to Alrewas before I took him for a celebratory pint in the George and Dragon, and then cooked him a lovely steak dinner.
7 locks the next day, and we met up with NB Aquaholics and its crew, they were have problems with their electrics, and heading to Shardlow marina for someone to look at it. I hope they got it sorted.
As we cruised in to Burton on Trent the Captain jumped ship to go to the Marston Brewery beer shop, and he came back a very happy bunny with lots of nice dark ales. As recommended by Petra and Kevin of NB Autumn Myst last year.
https://www.facebook.com/MarstonsTourandStore/
Then just round the corner we bumped (not literally) into some very old friends Lisa and Fred off NB Chyandour, so we hovered in the centre of the canal and chatted for a while. They have a mooring in Shobnall marina but are planning to head south like us later in the year, so hopefully we will meet up again.
A plan had been hatched to moor in Burton on Trent for the weekend, and hopefully catch up with another friend Phil Hancox on the Sunday. But first we had to give the pubs a try, after all Burton is the brewing capital of the world.
Friday night and we took a short walk to the Weighbridge Inn, a lovely little micropub not far from the canal. They had Muirhouse Stout on for the Captain and Pravha for me.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057584283863&sk=about
Saturday and we caught the bus into Burton. After a little shopping we tried a few of the local hostelries starting with the Old Royal Oak, local CAMRA pub of the year 2022, very good choice of beer from Fownes Brewery.
Then on to The Dog, a Black Country Ales tap house, so another great selection of real ales on the bar.
https://www.blackcountryales.co.uk/pubs/the-dog-inn
And finally Beeropolis were the Captain decided to push the boat out and try 3 beers, a 3rd of each. I didn’t ask him how much the round was, but his face was a picture when he sat down, glad it wasn’t my round.
https://www.facebook.com/BeeropolisBurton
We were going to walk around the corner and try the Burton Bridge, which is a tap house for a brewery of the same name, but hunger got the better of us and we decided to have a meal at Baan Thai. The food was lovely, and the staff very friendly.
https://www.baanthaiburton.com/
Unfortunately the terrible bus service marred the rest of our visit. I have been having problems with my knee, and the options of waiting an hour for a bus, or a half hour walk back to the boat didn’t suit me. We made it to The Last Heretic, another very good micropub, but I was in no mood to enjoy its delights. The Captain had a half whilst we waited for a taxi.
Shame as we had had such a good day.
A message from Phil on Sunday had us out of bed quite early for us. He came and had a coffee and a long chat. He is planning to head out cruising later in May, and hopefully we will catch up then. The rest of the day was quiet and I rested my knee the best I could.
Next day, Fred and Lisa hooted as they passed us, but as usual we were still in bed, but not for long as it was time to move on. Our next port of call was Willington and we passed a boat called Avalon Mist, the second one with that name we had seen. As we moored up I could not believe my eyes, the boat next to us had 2 owls on board. The things we see.
A walk to the Dragon was on the agenda and this took us past Avalon Mist, we had a chat with its crew, unfortunately they had a very noisy generator running and stated they were intending to stay on a 2 day mooring for at least a couple of weeks. This is inconsiderate to other boaters as Willington is a popular spot to stop due to its shops, pubs and takeaways. Even worse, about 6am next morning they started running the generator, there is a rule on the cut no running of engines (unless your moving) or generators before 8am or after 8pm, we were 3 boats away and it woke us up. Oh well!!
Now here comes the bit about the rain, our next port of call was Shardlow and we had a number locks to do. The forecast said rain, but it seemed to be holding off, that was until I got to the second lock, off I jumped with my windlass in hand, and no coat on (it was quite warm), then little spots of rain began, and then it got a bit faster and faster, luckily the Captain had my waterproof coat on hand so I didn’t get to wet, back on the boat and it stopped raining so the coat came off. At the next lock exactly the same, only this time it didn’t stop and we had to take cover under a bridge. We had to have a fire in that night, not something we normally do at this time of the year, but it felt damp, and its a feeling we don’t like.
We passed NB Hang Loose and I waved madly as Stephanie is a friend on Facebook but unfortunately she wasn't at home. She also writes a blog about their travels by narrowboat.
https://www.facebook.com/shakahangloose/
Next day and we were back on the River Trent. I like being on rivers, they seem so big after being on the narrow canals. It was also very good for bird watching, and I managed to spot the first 2 kingfishers of the season, my first heron, great crested grebes, cormorants and a majestic buzzard soaring high in the sky.
We actually managed to get on the pontoons at Trent Lock, a first for us. As always we had to go and say ‘Hi’to Simon at the Steam Boat, the Captain was very happy as there was Blue Monkey Chocolate Amaretto Guerilla stout on.
https://www.steamboattrentlock.co.uk/
The next 2 days were spent doing the 16 locks, and 12miles of the Erewash canal to Langley Mill, but more about that next time.