LONG TUNNELS AND SHORT CANALS.

 

 The Holy Inadequate

Barlaston and another pub of course. We only spent one night in Stone, and after a quick shop at Morrisons, we set off and did the 5 locks to Barlaston. They didn’t seem to take us long, and after the last lock I was surprised to see it was only 12.45pm. It felt a lot later.

The pub is called the Plume of Feathers and is owned by the one and only Neil Morrissey, of Men Behaving Badly, and for those of you old enough to remember Boon. We have been in before but never spotted him, he does like to come and help out from time to time in the kitchen, or so I am told. We decided to eat in the pub, as there were things on the menu that we both fancied, I tried a Greek dish called Bifteki, garlic and herb ground lamb patties, stuffed with Feta cheese, char grilled, tzatziki and salad, whilst the Captain plumped for the MFC, or Morrissey fried chicken burger. Well our meals came and looked delicious, however there was something missing from mine, the tzatziki, which for those of you who don’t know is a yogurt and cucumber dip. I pointed this out and was bought a pot of something that definitely wasn’t tzatziki, it was black for a start. I caught someone’s attention and it was replaced by the right thing. After checking the menu I decided I had been given a tapenade. Oh well, they got it right in the end. The meal was lovely thought, and I would recommend giving the Plume a try is you’re passing by. https://plumeoffeathersbarlaston.co.uk/

Sunday, and the weather was beautiful. We set off in good spirits to tackle the 5 locks which would take us into Stoke on Trent. It was a good day, and we were in a convoy of 4 boats with nothing coming the other way. The boat in front of us was a single hander, so I gave him all the help I could, and the boat behind us had 3 people on board, so they helped me out were they could. It made for a very pleasant time, and there was plenty of chatting going on.

Old Bottle Kilns in Stoke

It didn’t seem long before we were moored up and off we went to the pub once again (3 days on the trot), naughty I know, but we couldn’t miss The Holy Inadequate, another one of our favourite pubs. They have their own brewery, and the Captain was very happy with their Milk Stout, followed by a 7% abv Ruby Mild called Hairy Sue’s.

https://www.facebook.com/inadequatebrewery67/?locale=en_GB

Next day and we headed off early to make it to the Harecastle tunnel, at 2600m long it’s one on the longest tunnels on the network. It also gets very low and narrow in places. It is one way working which is controlled by tunnel keepers at each end. As long as you turn up before 12 you don’t have to book, and we managed to get there about 10am just as a group of boats were starting their passage through, so we, after a safety briefing, tagged in behind them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harecastle_Tunnel

Entrance to the Harecastle Tunnel

It was a very crash bang wallop journey in places. We managed to catch the corner of the top box on a low part of the roof, and it was pushed about a foot back from its usual position. The Captain was worried that it had also damaged the solar panel that sits on top of the top box. But there was nothing we could do. Once out of the tunnel, sighing a breathe of relief, we stopped after the first lock and whilst I nipped to Lidl, very handy right next to the canal, the Captain checked the good ship Avalon Two for any major damage, but we got away with just a few scraps and bangs and the solar panel and top box were fine. He also did his good deed for the day, helping a boater with a problem with his gear selector cable, he could only get it in reverse, the Captain identified the problem, and by the time I got back from Lidl it was fixed and the boater was overflowing with gratitude.

The locks on this stretch are single side by side locks, and we were following another boat down them, eventually we caught up with the other boat and used the 2^nd lock rather than waiting for the one they were in. I helped out were I could and had a chat with the Captain and crew, they seemed some how familiar, and after the last lock when I was back on the boat, I mentioned to the Captain that they reminded me of a vlogger he watched, whose vlog was called ‘Boating on a Budget’ or the tight Yorkshire man. When we moored up in front of them it turned out I was right, and that’s just who they were Pete Bell and Dawn

https://www.facebook.com/wingingitboatingonabudget/

The Captain went off for a chat while I prepared lunch.

It was a lovely place to moor and we were soon joined by other boats.

Next day and 10 locks for me to do. There were quite a few other boats moving in both directions, some crew were helpful some were not. I got shouted at for opening the paddles to fast, fair enough its not my boat but a ¼ of a turn at a time is too slow. There is slow and then there is slow.

Between locks I managed to spot my first Woodpecker of the year, but we are still to see a kingfisher.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker

It rained the next day and we didn’t get up until lunch time. I took the opportunity to bake and cooked a Weetabix cake from a slimming world recipe. It will do for the Captains elevenses.

https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/weetabix-cake

With an improvement in the weather we headed off for Wheelock, and another 10 locks for me to do. Again the locks were a mixture of single and side by side locks, which made for an interesting day with plenty of other boats moving in both directions.

There is a pub at Wheelock The Cheshire Cheese, I didn’t remember it having a great selection of beers, but we had to give it a try, and were very pleasantly surprised with 5 cask ales including Penny’s Porter from Derby Brewing Company. So one very happy Captain.

Next morning before setting off we met up with Pete and Dawn again, and had a very long and enjoyable chat with them before heading off to do the 4 locks to Middlewich, and another pub, the Kings Lock, which is right on the lock. Again not a pub we know but again we weren’t disappointed with the selection of beers, the Captain enjoyed a couple of pints of Northern Lights porter from Brightside brewery.

At Middlewich we turned left and onto the Shropshire Union canal, but first we had to negotiate the Wardle canal which at only 154ft or 47m, is the shortest canal on the system and its one lock.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardle_Canal

A quiet night in the MONW followed, and we started our cruise on the Shroppy in earnest next day.

Barlaston to Middlewich 25miles, 38locks and 3 canals.

CHANGEABLE WEATHER.

After the lovely weather of the previous week it was forecast to be cool with rain, and it didn’t disappoint.

Sunday, and after a night still on the Coventry canal, we turned left at Fradley junction and joined the Trent and Mersey. Ahead of us were 3 locks, and 2 very helpful and friendly lockee’s. They helped us through the first 2, and then I got my exercise for the day by walking to the 3^rd, about 1 mile away. When I got there a boat was just going up, and 1 was waiting to come down. Of course I had to help and have a chat. It was lovely to be back helping and chatting to other boaters. The boat coming down was a single hander, so I told him to stay on his boat and I locked him down and on his way. He was really thankful, and I enjoyed helping.

We spent the night in the MONW, and next morning headed for Rugeley. There is a Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi close to the canal, and I desperately need to shop.

I jumped ship yet again for my morning walk, during which I passed the Armitage Shanks factory, and saw loads of toilets all ready to find their forever homes. I waited for the boat at the Armitage tunnel. A rather strange tunnel, as it roof was removed in 1971 due to subsidence caused by the local coal mines. It is only 130yds long, but one way working, so I took the walkie talkie along so I could inform the Captain if there was a boat already in this strange tunnel. The side of the tunnel were obviously hewn out of the rock, and not brickwork like a lot of tunnels, it reminded me of being in a cave. After the tunnel I jumped back on board for the rest of the trip into Rugeley.

 We moored up, and after lunch we set off for Tesco (it was the nearest), and got most of everything I needed. We didn’t venture into the town on this occasion, but we know there is at least one decent real ale pub, The Vine. It has its own brewery and it was were I tried a very nice cucumber infused gin a few years ago. But we decided to have a quiet night.

https://www.facebook.com/thevineinnbrewery/?locale=en_GB

Tuesday, and we could hear the rain bouncing off the boat, so we were in no hurry to get up. When the rain eventually stopped we did rise and set off. I walked to Aldi (couldn’t get a few things from Tesco), and that was my exercise for the day. The rain held off and we did our one and only lock for the day, before mooring up at Little Heywood for the night. We didn’t try the 2 pubs in the village, I am being very good aren’t I.

Next day and I got some real exercise, I managed to walk 2miles (ish) and do 3 locks. The locks on this stretch are single locks, and I like them because most of them have a little bridge over the bottom gates, this saves a lot of toing and froing to open and close the bottom double gates, and the top paddles are on towpath sides, bonus. Well that’s all but Haywood lock, this one doesn’t have a bridge, and the off side path is very narrow, so you really have to watch your feet.

We dropped our rubbish off at Great Haywood Junction, and I was pleased to see the bin compound was very tidy.

At the next lock we caught up with an old work boat called Dane, it belongs to Middleport Pottery Museum in Stoke. It had been away to have its wooden bottom corked and blacked, and volunteers were taking it back to the museum. Now I know a bit about Middleport, as Denby pottery who I used to work for, owned them when I worked there, and I met the union reps from there on many occasions.

Another name for Middleport is Burleigh (named after the 2 founders, Burgess and Leigh since 1889) and the pots they make is known as Burleigh Ware. It is a working pottery as well as a museum, and the pots are very popular with Japanese and Korean collectors, its a bit chintzy for my taste, but the way they apply the pattern is fascinating. You can moor outside and its well worth a visit.

Burleigh Tea Set

https://www.burleigh.co.uk/pages/visit-middleport-pottery

We moored up just past Weston upon Trent, and had a visit from a very cheeky swan, who kept sticking his head in through the side hatch looking for something to eat. A ryvita cracker and some lettuce wasn’t enough to fill him, but I had nothing else, so he was out of luck.

The weather took a turn for the worst next day, we needed to be in Stone for a pump out at the weekend, well Friday as the Captain found out when he phoned the boatyard. So we set off with plans to moor at the bottom of Stone locks near M&S, however the rain came early and changed our plans, and we moored up after the second lock about 1mile from the start of Stone. Why oh why does it always start to rain when I am doing a lock!!!!!

Anyway, to pass the time the Captain went off to change the engine oil and all the filters, and I made kimchi with red cabbage. I have been trying a number of new recipes which work with my diet, and most have been successful, my favourite (at the moment) is a Moroccan chickpea and tomato soup, using Ras El Hanut spices. I sometimes add lamb to it to make more of a stew.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/moroccan-tomato-chickpea-soup-couscous

The weather was better next day, and I got loads of exercise walking to the 3 locks at Stone. After the 2^nd lock we pulled into the boatyard for our pump out. This is always fun and games due to the way boats at the boatyard can be moored at times, and today was no exception. The Captain had to walk down a very narrow gunnel to pull our boat in, only to be told it wasn’t in quite in the right place and he had to pull it back again. Never mind, these things are sent to try us, well him.

We moored up above the 3^rd lock for the night, we have moored here before and its a lovely quiet mooring, handy for the town centre and pubs of course.

We walked into the town mid afternoon, and after a mooch round the shops we headed to the pub, first the Swan, a proper real ale pub with a great choice of beers. The Captain chose Raven Stout from White Rose Brewery and was very happy with it. We only had the one in there before heading to the Crown Wharf, this is a lovely big pub right on the side of the canal, and belongs to Joules Brewery. The Captain was happy with Slumbering Monk, and we managed to get a table sat outside in the sun. We talked about eating there, but neither of us fancied anything on the menu, there was nothing wrong with what was on offer, but we just couldn’t decide. When I went in for our 2^nd pint they had just put some slices of giant sausage roll on the bar, so I took a couple back, it was very nice, so the Captain fetched a couple more, so I suppose in away we did eat out.

We always enjoy visiting Stone, and there are more pubs worth a visit that we didn’t try on this occasion.

Next stop Barlaston and then Stoke.

Fradley to Stone 22½ miles, 12 locks and 1 canal.

GENTLE DAYS.

Pegasus our tiller pin

The weather has definitely improved over the last couple of days and this makes cruising so much nicer. Blue skies with wispy clouds, birds singing and the gentle chugging of the engine make days like these special.

When I last blogged we were moored in Polesworth for the night, we didn’t venture out to the pub, which is strange for us I know, but I really don’t want to undo all the great work I have done over the winter in losing 2stone 10lbs in weight, and beer is my biggest enemy. Also Polesworth hasn’t got the greatest pubs, well it didn’t have last time we visited.

We were going to stop in Fazeley and go to the chippy, then Captain suggested instead we could stop at Tamworth, walk in, take a look round the town, have a couple of pints and maybe pick up some chips on the way back. There is also a Coop close to the canal (just before Glascote Locks at bridge 73 Anchor Bridge) and we needed milk and a few bits. This sounded a great idea to me and that's what we did.

As we left the boat a group of late teen boys were gathered round the steps to the road. I felt uneasy but decided to chat with them to see if my feelings were unfounded, and they were. They were friendly and polite and interested in the life we lead. Sometimes you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

https://www.visittamworth.co.uk/tamworth-town-centre-old-town

Tamworth is an old town with a castle and a beautiful church dedicated to St Editha. There is a lot of regeneration work going on, and it will be interesting to see how it improves the town centre.

There are also a few good real ale pubs to try, firstly The Tamworth Tap, which belongs to Tamworth brewery. A couple of choices for the Captain in here and he plumped for the Breakfast Stout by Arbor, and I tried the Tanworth lager, both very quaffable. The tap is a very quirky place but the seating is a little uncomfortable.

http://www.tamworthbrewing.co.uk/

The Tamworth Tap

Then on to the Kings Ditch, a proper tiny micropub, were to Captain was very happy with Naughty & Nice a chocolate stout from Vocation. No draft lager in here so I tried Satellite by Green Duck an American Pale Ale. Both good.

https://www.kingsditch.co.uk/

We headed back on the bus and gave the chippy a miss. I will have to get my kebab fix another time.

After this outing we decided to moor in the middle of nowhere for a few nights, before hitting Fradley Junction and the Swan, or Dirty Duck as it is affectionately known.

We filled with water at Fazeley and on our cruise to our first mooring we came across something quite unusual, a bat hunting in the middle of the day. It was swooping down to the water, obviously gathering the midges that inhabit the canal for a feast. We very often see bats performing their acrobatics round the boat as darkness falls, but have never seen one in the day. A first for both of us.

After a bit of a lie in, as the Captain wasn’t feeling great with a sore throat and the sniffles, we decided to do just 4 miles to Huddlesford, and then the final 4 miles to Fradley the next day.

I jumped ship as we set off, as I have decided that I need more exercise, and walked about a mile before jumping back on board at a convenient bridge hole. I’ve started doing this each day now when we set off.

The best sighting was a Buzzard with its rounded tale, and then lo and behold a Red Kite with its distinctive forked tale. Red Kites are an amazing conservation story, driven to near extinction in the UK with only a handful of breeding pairs to be found in Wales by the 20^th century. They have been slowly reintroduced using birds from Spain and Sweden. By 2016 it was estimated by the RSPB that there were around 4,400 breeding pairs now in the UK. A real success story.

Red kite

We found a lovely mooring spot and settled down for the night. I don’t know how, but we managed to miss the Northern Lights display which everyone else seemed to see that night.

The Captain was a little better next morning, and we set off in good time for Fradley Junction.

It was wash day, so as soon as I was aboard I disappeared below to sort it out. I was nearly done when the Captain shouted to say we had reached Fradley and I was needed to help moor up. We found a spot between 2 boats just before the little bridge at the end of the Coventry. It was slightly to short, but there was room for the other boats to move up a bit to let us in. I was just about to ask one of them to move when the boater in front announced he was just going, so no need to disturb the boat behind. We were soon in and enjoying our lunch.

The Swan, Fradley Junction

We decided to go out for tea and a pint at the Swan. Its been a while since we have eaten here and I was really looking forward to it. We sat outside in the sunshine and perused the menu. I was quite taken with the crab salad. Things went downhill however. When we went inside to find a table and place our order, most, if not all tables had reserved signs on them, although the times they were reserved for were a couple of hours away. I tried to ask one of the staff were we could sit and got a rude short answer, just to choose anywhere. The Captain wasn’t happy with her attitude, but I just put it down to her being busy. My salad came, and I can’t complain at the amount of crab, but the salad was a joke and really just lettuce, no tomato, cucumber or onion. I wasn’t happy and mentioned it to the same member of staff, her reply was short and very rude, basically its what you get, no form of apology, and then whilst I was still trying to talk to her she walked away. A loud ‘excuse me’ from me stopped her dead, but it didn’t improve her attitude, or my salad. I really spoiled the meal for me. I did complain to the manager before we left. But my meal was still ruined.

I mentioned it to a couple of people next day, and apparently a lot of others have had a similar experience. The beer and food were good, but they really need to address this member of staffs attitude.

In our first week cruising we have done 36 miles and 13 locks on 2 canals, for although the Coventry canal runs from, yes Coventry to Fradley Junction, part of it is also called the Birmingham and Fazeley canal. This is the explanation given on Wikipedia

‘The 5.5 mile stretch which extends northward beyond Fazeley Junction to Whittington, was built by the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company, with the remainder of the route to Fradley Junction being built by the Trent and Mersey canal. Both sections used the route authorised by the Coventry Canal’s Act of Parliament, but although the Coventry Canal subsequently bought back the northern section from the Trent and Mersey canal, the southern section remained in the ownership of the Birmingham and Fazeley canal. However it is often regarded as being part of the Coventry canal.’

CELEBRATIONS AND PREPARATIONS.

 

Happy Birthday Captain

Welcome to a new year, yes I know its May, but there isn’t much to write about when we are the Wharf. Life is pretty quiet and we don’t go out and do much during the winter months.

So lets start with the first part of the title, the celebrations.

As some of you know the Captain turned 70yrs old at the end of April. He wanted to do a ‘big’ holiday, somewhere different and exotic. We ran through a number of options before I came up with the idea of a Caribbean cruise (I know a busman’s holiday for us) but it hit the spot and it was booked and sorted with in a couple of days. I got the idea from an old school friend of mine, thank you Janet.

She went with Tui on the Marella Voyager, whist we booked our 2 weeks on the Marella Discovery. One week was called Tropical Shores and the other Cocktails and Coconuts. It was all inclusive and visited 10 islands over the 2 weeks.

A bigger boat

All I can say was that it was amazing, the organisation, the food, the staff, the islands, everything was wonderful, and we are definitely thinking about doing another one at some point.

Claudine and Francis our waiters

I won’t go into great detail as its not really what this blog is about, but I will say one of the highlights was swimming with a turtle in Barbados.

A green turtle

We returned to Blightly the week before his birthday, and spent it not doing a lot (due to the weather and a bit of jet lag) which had a knock on effect the following week.

We met all the family in Stoke on Trent for a birthday meal, as it was the most central point for everyone, and it was great to get together for such an important milestone.

Well the week after his birthday it was all hands on deck getting the boat ready for setting off for our summer cruise. The Captain in his ultimate wisdom, decided at the last minute he was going to upgrade our solar panels and top boxes, (something he had been talking about last summer and most of the winter) but hey ho it had to be done at the last moment. This left the rest of the organising, cleaning and sorting to me.

The worst job was the cleaning of our cratch and pram covers with Cillit Bang black mould remover. It took me 2 days, but if I say so myself they looked good when I had finished, even if they smelt strongly of bleach. I made various trips to Aldi and Lidl to ensure we have everything we need food wise. Planted out my little garden of herbs and flowers. I was overjoyed to see that my mint, which had been a single sprig last year, gifted to me by another boater, had taken over the pot it was planted in and was looking very healthy. My bay tree and chives are also flourishing.

We set off on Friday 3^rd May, our boaty friends Col and Mags were to come and meet us (by car) at Hawkesbury Junction for a farewell meal in the Greyhound. Unfortunately they both came down with a very bad cold a few days before and didn’t make it, but we enjoyed the meal and raised a glass to them.

https://www.thegreyhoundsuttonstop.co.uk/

Saturday we stayed at Hawkesbury as we had been invited to Kenfest, a beer, food and music festival in Kenilworth by my cousins Gary and Toni. Gary kindly picked us up, and we had a great afternoon with them before catching the bus back to boat and a quiet night.

https://kenfest.co.uk/tc-events/kenfest-2024/

So it was Sunday before we truly set off for what should be a 5months cruise. Our plans have changed (surprise surprise) quite significantly since last year. We had talked about going on the River Nene and doing, what are called the Low Levels and the Norfolk Broads. Now we have decided to go north, starting on the Trent and Mersey, before joining the Shropshire Union and going onto the Llangollen and then later into Liverpool. At this point we will have to decide our next move, we want to go across the Leeds Liverpool and on to the River Trent, ending up in Langley Mill for the beginning of September, as we are taking the boat out to have its bottom cleaned and blacked. A job that has to be done every 2/3yrs. However information has reached us that the last lock on the Leeds Liverpool, which drops you down on to the River Ayr from the canal at Granary Wharf in Leeds, will be closed from May until the end of July for ‘essential repairs’. We don’t want to go all the way across the Pennines, only to find we have to retrace our steps because we are unable to get through this lock. So a decision will be made before we join the LL at Wigan.

So where are we now, sat in the sunshine at Polesworth after doing the 11 Atherstone locks in a respectable couple of hours. We spent Sunday night in the middle of nowhere before mooring up in Atherstone for the night (Monday), and of course we had to have a pint in the Angel Ale House, one of our favourite pubs on the system and the Captain wore his new tee shirt

Very apt don't you think

Here we were joined by our fellow Swan Lane moorer Steve, from NB Precious Jet and Charley his pooch. He had set out for his cruise whilst we were on holiday, spending time on the Ashby canal before mooring up near the bottom of Atherstone locks a couple of days earlier. We should see him again at Fazeley, were we will part company, as he is heading south to Gloucester and we will be heading north to Stoke.

Its been great to be back travelling again, listening to the birds and the gentle chugging of the engine as we glide through the beautiful countryside. I have enjoyed watching the locks fill and empty, just taking in all the sights and sounds I have missed through the winter months.

Hope you will join us on our latest adventure as it unfolds over the next few months.