April 2013

1^st More work on the bathroom and some alterations to the plumbing in the airing cupboard.

2^nd Both of us to York where Roger helped David with clearing some space in the garage in order to store much of the campervan equipment in there until the next campervan project is underway.

3^rd Roger drove the Focus back despite the dodgy brakes, and Enzo fitted new pads in the afternoon.

4^th Finished the bathroom!

5^th Mammoth launderette wash followed by moving the boat to the Navigation Pub at Lapworth where we treated ourselves to a well earned meal.

6^th Moved up 6 locks to moor at the Boot Inn

7^th Jean to Lapworth Church. Roger going down with a cold. More fiddling with the plumbing to try to get hot water from the wood burner. Had a walk in the afternoon. Lovely mild and sunny day.

9^th Well, we’re finally off on our ‘cruise proper’. We’ve officially declared that winter is over! Roger drove to Leamington to park the car and returned on the train. Set off at 2.00pm and did 13 locks and a lift bridge. Moored near Hockley Heath.

10^th Decided to give the (as yet unused) folding bike a bit of a treat and oil some of its bits and pieces! Benny caught a mouse which finally escaped by jumping in to the canal! It swam across and back again, and was eventually rescued by Jean with the fishing net. Moved another few miles in the afternoon and moored at Lady Lane wharf.

11^th     Set off at 8.30 to get through the guillotine lock at Norton Junction before any of the local hooligans were awake. The lock has recently been refurbished at huge cost but has already  been ‘graffiti’d’.

Guillotine Lock

 
We reached Gas St basin in Birmingham at midday and had a short break before finally setting off into ‘new’ territory for us. We went round the ‘Soho Loop’ before following the Main line rather than meandering along Brindley’s Old Main line. We reached the Black Country Museum by tea time and were able to moor there.

Mooring outside Black Country Museum

12th Woke to intermittent rain but, undeterred, we visited the museum. We've been twice before but there are always plenty of fascinating things to look at and their fish and chips cooked in beef dripping are delicious. 

13^th After a slow start we headed off along the Wolverhampton Level. It was slightly less grim than we had expected but the canal and surrounding banks were littered with rubbish and a couple of youngsters threw a handful of stones at us. We moored right in Wolverhampton town centre on a Saturday night!

Wolverhampton

That’s planning for you! Tied up on the non-towpath side in case of trouble from revellers leaving the nearby nightclub and pubs. Had a fairly restless night due to sirens, shouting, revving engines and worry!

14^th We had set the alarm for 7.00am to have an early start down the 21 locks. About to enter the top lock at 8.00 but came to an abrupt halt as the pound below the lock was completely devoid of water! In spite of it being a Sunday the CRT men responded quickly to our emergency call and arrived by 9.00am.

But don't expect water....

At this point we discovered that the whole flight had been emptied by vandals overnight and we were to be stuck there till 2.30pm! Very, very frustrating after our sleepless night and early start. After various difficulties on the flight we finally made it through to the peace and tranquillity of the Shropshire Union canal.

Well worn rubbing strip on a Shroppie bridge

15^th After a 10 hour sleep we awoke to a lovely peaceful view of fields and geese. 
We moved on just 3 miles to Brewood (pronounced ‘Brood’). Walked in to see the very pleasant rural town. Jean dropped phone in a bucket of water!

Brewood

A fine drying day

16^th Had a walk along the towpath to Avenue Bridge, a splendid balustraded structure which carried an avenue over the canal to Chillington Hall.

Avenue Bridge

17^th Stocked up on groceries before moving on across a short aqueduct over the A5 to Wheaton Aston.

A5 aqueduct

 Stocked up with diesel at an old fashioned garage / workshop at the canal side. Then sailed on to Gnosall.

18^th Survived a very windy night without anything too major falling on the boat and Benny didn’t wake us till 9.30.Carried on to Norbury Junction, where we bought a few bits at the Chandlery and had a look around. Passed under 'High Bridge', which has a built-in telegraph pole, and stopped to walk to Loynton Moss - a floating bog!

High Bridge

Norbury Junction

Loynton Moss

19^th Windy and cold but at least sunny. Carried on through Woodseaves Cutting – a mile through solid rock!

Woodseaves Cutting 

Went down through Tyrley locks which caused us a few headaches! Heavy, difficult gates and strong currents from the cunningly positioned side weirs! Still we battled through and arrived at Market Drayton.

Tudor Hotel, Market Drayton

20^th Walked into town to find some splendid old buildings but sadly so many shops and pubs closed down.

21^st Unsuccessful in finding a pub for Sunday lunch in town as so many have closed, so went back to the Talbot at canalside.

22^nd Early start today and en route by 9am. Reached Audlem locks and went down through 11 of them. Still very chilly.

You've guessed it - Audlem Mill

23^rd Walked around Audlem. Magnificent 15^th Century church in the centre. First time since early October we didn’t light the fire in the evening! Has Spring finally arrived?

Shroppie Fly pub,Audlem Wharf

Audlem church and buttery

24^th Up and away at 9.30 down the remaining 4 Audlem locks and then . an hour’s cruise to Hack Green’s 2 locks. At the top is a sign for the ‘Secret Bunker’ museum.

Information board at Hack Green Locks

Shop in former canal linesman's hut
Audlem bottom lock

25^th A cloudy and chilly day although there are some signs of spring. We walked half a mile to view the luxurious cattery where Benny will spend five nights. We then had a brief look around Nantwich

Nantwich viaduct

26^th Cattery lady came to collect Benny at 9.30 and we then walked to the railway station to catch our train back to Leamington, via Crewe and Birmingham.

Betty's tearooms at Harrogate

Drove to York, and after spending time with David, Lizzie+ James, and Robert over the next couple of days we moved on for a very enjoyable short hotel break in Harrogate, a beautiful old spa town. It was nice to make the most of unlimited baths, showers etc!

Horse sculpture, Nantwich basin.

30^th We returned to Nantwich and picked up a rather reluctant Benny. He seemed to have grown accustomed to his heated sleeping accommodation and was unenthusiastic at seeing us again!