Trent and Mersey Canal

Continuing North.

After leaving Handley Park it was a steady cruise back along the Caldon canal, a right hand turn on to the Trent and Mersey again and straight away we were looking for a ‘filling station’. Down to half a tank of red diesel, I don’t like to get lower that this, incase it drags up any muck at the bottom of the tank.

We were passing the Black Prince hire company depot so thought we could re-fuel here. . .after struggling to get on to the mooring we were told ...sorry... we can’t refill you because...we have two boats going out this morning. . ..WHAT.??..

It takes a maximum of 10 minutes to fill the tank. They couldn’t be bothered more like it.

So, onwards towards the Harecastle Tunnel. Luckily enough we passed another boat yard who were more than happy to have our custom. £120.00 later we have a full fuel tank and a 5ltr can of engine oil served by a lovely lady.

The lake we had moored beside was called Westport Lake, sadly it had been on the national news the previous week. Three lads went into the water to cool off, tragically only two came out. A body was found two days later. So sad to see the tribute of flowers by the visitors centre, a life lost so young.

As we came into our chosen mooring spot we noticed a narrow boat called ‘Barge Inn’. .it was a floating mobile pub !!

As we checked exactly where we were on our new app on the phone (big brother is watching you) Jenny had down loaded it before we left Yelvertoft.

If you open it, press a marker on the page, it shows you exactly where you are using sat nav. If you zoom in it shows all the surrounding area. Shops and other services we need. As we surveyed the surrounding area it was decided to go ‘hunter gathering’ Hunting out the bargains and gathering the food needed.. We were only about ten minutes walk from Aldi. Our favourite store, so off Jenny went, complete with our trolley, she set out in brilliant sun shine, dressed in shorts and T-shirt to said supermarket. As she came out there was a cloud burst !!She arrived back at the boat absolutely soaked to the skin..

Did I laugh you might ask, …….Err actually ... Yes !! …..It was funny. However a hot shower and dry clothes she was soon back to normal.

We had planned to go and check out the floating pub but as it was a wet evening we stayed in and left it till the next day. A slow stroll down the tow path. We were greeted by a happy chappy with his head sticking out of the serving hatch just about level with our feet. Checked out the beer on offer, a local brewery call Titanic.. I thought that will go down well !!….Just don’t ask for ice.. It was sensible pricing, Jenny with a glass of white wine, me with a pint of local brew. Jake and Carly being fed treats out of the window after asking permission. We had a couple of hours in some lovely company. Some locals, just walking their dogs, other boaters moored near by...good conversation, who could ask for a better evening. Geoff and Wayne the owners do mobile shows and events. A new venture, I hope it works out for them they have the right attitude for hospitality. Yes I admit it ...we went back the next day..sadly spent all our spending money for the week in two days. Doh !!

Barge-Inn

Monday morning we set off towards the Harecastle Tunnel.

Last year when we returned from the top of the Shroppie canal we chickened out of passing through the Harecastle tunnel. We didn’t trust the engine then, but we do now.

Mooring up at the entrance, the CRT official came over and did a run down of the ‘do’s and don't s’. When you enter the tunnel, its one way so its only wide enough for one boat.

They leave two minutes between boats, keep to the middle, don’t go too slowly, don’t try to stand on the gunnel's or the roof. Mind you that would be impossible due to the height of the tunnel roof. In some places its only about 6 inches. I had to duck my head to stop me hitting the structure.

Passing though was uneventful (thankfully) however if we had of broken down, a long blast on our hooter would have alerted the authorities, we were timed in and out taking 40 to 45 minutes to complete the passage. It is 2962 yards long and pitch black (one and a half miles). The original tunnel(s) were complete at 1827 taking 3 years to dig out. There were two tunnels built, but the other tunnel collapsed due to underground mining works and subsidence. It was closed in 1973 or 1977 (conflicting information).

The Boggart !!….The tunnel is haunted !!!. . Now that's a surprise. Again there is conflicting information regarding this. According to legend, a headless woman has been seen as you enter the tunnel. Trouble is, it could be mixed up with another incident.

A lady by the name of Christiana Collins hired a couple of bargemen (and a boy) to take her to London. Slower, but more comfortable than horse and carriage also cheaper. .10/6d one-way.

However the boat men liked the alcohol too much, at a stay over one night, at Rugeley, she complained to a company representative regarding the men's behaviour but it was ignored. Sadly she was raped and murdered and her body was dumped at Hopwas, (near where we stayed the other week end).

The boat men were tried and hung for their crimes. The cabin boy went to jail.

Some wag has painted a skelton trying to get out of a hole in the wall as you enter the tunnel going North to South. That was the only thing I saw on our passage.

Entrance to Harecastle Tunnel

Friday the thirteenth passed with no incidents but I’m not superstitious (touch wood).

As we arrived at a local beauty spot my energy levels had dropped to emergency tank level so we moored up for the weekend. 3 to 4 hours a day moving seems to be about right. Jake and Carly can manage that amount of time in between squats and leg lifts without any problems. They must come first to us. They are loving our lifestyle, different back garden everyday, lots of new smells and other four legged friends.

A five day week it plenty, I like to have the weekends off, there's no rush, as long as we are back by October that's all that matters. Only need to make sure we have a TV signal so I can watch the F1 Grand Prix.

We continued on our travels through Red Bull where we did the bits we need to do a couple of times a week. Bog empty.. rubbish dump.. and water filling.

Red Bull service area

The next stop will be the village of Wheelock. When we dropped down the last lock in to the village a person was running towards us waving their arms about. This usually means ‘leave the lock gates open’ ‘we are coming through’ but the there wasn’t a boat, that we could see.

As we got closer, it turned out to be our friends Gail and Chris, on the way back from their excursion further up North. Had a pint with them in The Cheshire Cheese pub, but as they were with other friends we didn’t gate crash, although we did sit opposite them in the Italian restaurant that evening. I made the waiting staff laugh when I asked if they would move them ...because they were hassling us ..did explain later they were our friends.

Enough for now...to come next time...meeting up with old friends from Norfolk .. Frank and Susan..the ride on the Anderton lift...our trip on the Weaver... Jakes run in with a dog behaviourist ..and my birthday party.

The Caldon Canal Shropshire

Caldon Canal

After turning off the Trent and Mersey canal we eventually managed to get on to the water point and refreshed our water supply. Mr and Mrs Obnoxious had moved off so we decided to cancel the trip and turn around in case we ran into them again but..

the workers from the Canal and River trust had moored two of their work boats in the arm used for turning.. so we had no choice but to carry on up.

The canal was originally built as a link from the Wedgwood factory at Etrutria to Uttoxeter designed and built by James Brindley in 1779 consisting of 21 lock and going to Froxhall as the first stop but eventually to Uttoxeter. After rising up the first lock (a staircase lock) we soon were moving out through the suburbs of Stoke on Trent. 

Staircase Lock

The main industry here is or rather was, pottery making and two of the old kilns are still standing. The factories have been pulled down and new flats and homes have been built.

It looks quite a good area to live in, new properties and recreational areas. What the planners had done was leave the old kilns in place around the new. It looks really pleasing to the eye. 

Kilns

Through a couple of lift bridges and on to Handley Park for the night. Lots of youngster were there, family's with toddlers. The tow path was on the starboard side so we had people walking by the open ‘swan hatch’ one little lad stuck his head in and shouted ‘HELLO’ it was funny his dad looked a bit apologetic but we didn’t mind. Its all part of our lifestyle. All the sports equipment was being used. . . tennis courts . . .5 a side football, netball . . .also cricket nets. Not to mention the joggers. With all the youngsters we were a bit worried about trouble after dark but, as the light faded it went dead quite until the dawn chorus woke us up. 

Moored at Henley Park

Moving on the next morning we were realising the canal waters were quite low, if we were to close to the edge, the boat leaned a bit as she rode the silt edge. One holiday boat came towards us and was a bit worried, moved over more than they needed too and ...promptly ran aground.

We love the holiday season, watching all the new canal boat hirers making all the mistakes we made in the beginning...laughing with them , NOT at them, cuz we all had to learn.

We help if we can, also if they want help but some think they know what to do because they have seen the video supplied by the hire company or they have had a 20 minute training session. We leave this sort too it.

We have been doing the locks and cruising for over 4 years now and not a day goes by without learning some thing new.

Approaching a very narrow and shallow part of the canal it was a bit awkward to say the least. It was under a bridge as well!! . . .When suddenly, the bow of a 70ft hotel narrow boat towing another 70ft butty boat (for non boaty people a butty boat is one without an engine towed by the front boat but steered by a separate skipper) but wait for it . . . .

some clown was trying to over take !!!

Sadly the hotel boat ended up aground with a member of the crew push it off the sand bar with the barge pole. . they let two boats past before refloating and continuing on their way. We had a chat to passengers on the boat who looked as if they were enjoying themselves.

We continued non stop to the end of the canal noting the places of interest on the way up because we would be turning around and retracing our steps in our case waves.

The canal has been disused for years and part the goes to Uttoxeter is now a railway line. There is a tunnel at the end which we wouldn't get thorough so we turned early and headed back

In the working years we were told up to 100 boats per day would ply their trade carrying flint and vast quantities of limestone. We noticed a flint mill on the way up and stopped on the way back as it had a 48 hour mooring outside. It was free entrance and donations if you wanted too. A very knowledgeable guy came over and welcomed us and told us about the mill. It is still in working order although one of the two water wheels was being restored at the time we were there. They were part of a gang of a few locals who maintained the old mill also a millers cottage on the site. We were allowed to go inside, 2 up 2 down with a small scullery on the back. Opposite was a bigger house by the canal which an old lady of 98 lived. She was born in the old millers cottage and has live all her life in the area. The water wheels are turned by the river running beside the canal, every so often the river floods and the marks on the cottage were about 3 foot up the walls. However the river has never flooded the other big house. 

Flint Mill

Flint Mill

The sound of an old steam train whistle was heard over the weekend. Love that smell of smoke and steam. We tend to moor up over Saturdays and Sundays, we aren’t in any rush. We had a 20 minute walk back along the tow path to the local hostelry. The Boat. . we were not impressed. It looked lovely from the outside but when approaching the bar its normal in bars to be greeted with, hello, how can I help you? ...not a look and a yes !

The landlord looked as if he wasn’t a happy man and the barmaid didn’t smile.

Beer was served in plastic glasses outside. No food ..over a weekend (?).

but if there was, a beefburger would have set you back . . £8.50 that's a bit steep in my books.

One customer had left a comment on the pubs web site commenting on the prices being quite high the landlord had come back at him regarding the amount of rent he had to pay £1000.00 a week...with his attitude he won’t be there long, he needs to welcome people if he’s going to make a profit.

One of my fears is one day we may come across a calamity of some sort. We have seen a body of a sheep float past this week and on the Monday as we returned back to the Trent and Mersey canal we had to stop a bit earlier. If we have a busy day or a few locks we run out of energy we call it a day.

On the Monday we had planned to return to the Handley Park again as we had enjoyed it. However stopping early was divine perhaps.

At 7.30 in the morning the body of a man was recovered from the canal where we would have moored. Not sure what happened but there were no suspicious circumstances.

So sad. Ok enough for now...in the next episode The Trent and Mersey...Harecastle tunnel and the Floating bar ...The Barge inn. Cancelling the peak district (for now).

Take care …

Lastly a short video of  the Caldon Canal

Continuing our travels

Continuing our Travels north.

Well blog time again the cruise season is going so fast. After our friends Gail and Chris left us we continued at our pace. They are early start and early finish. We start ...when we feel like it and finish when we feel like it. They are meeting up with friends further on so needed to be at a place at a certain time.

Leaving Atherstone we continued on our way. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, it is beautiful. It’s been decked in shorts for comfort. The only problem is keeping the furry kids cool.

Jake and Carly have had a rough time. Carly must, when travelling, sit at my feet,

Jake is happy moving between below decks to sticking his head out of his little port hole on the gate. Call it the port hole because its on the left hand side.

Jenny bought some doggie cooling blankets, they are really good. Like chamois leather, you soak them in water and cover the dog, as they dry out it cools the dog . . . Brilliant

But they were off their food and were very sick, unable to keep their food down.

Jake with his cool blanket.

Chilling on the deck

Coming to a few locks we dropped down in the last lock and when the gates opened,

I couldn’t get out. There was an old fuel boat trying to overtake a boat moored on the side, not realising there was a queue and they were waiting to get into the lock. .

Three into one don’t go. It was quite funny as we all sorted ourselves out. One (the fuel boat) reversed, so I couldn’t..we all saw the funny side of it and started laughing. Don’t ya love it when it all goes wrong. Canal people in the main are so laid back.

Up through Tamworth and had a few days off at Hopwas. Jenny was feeling energetic and decided to repaint the starboard side of the boat. Monday morning and off again, refreshed, well I was, Jenny had done a great job with the painting, I’m now on tenter hooks in case I scrape it ...

Our planned route was up the Coventry canal to Fradley junction. There is a lovely pub there affectionately known as the Mucky Duck, alias The White Swan goes back many hundreds of years we had a few beers and a lovely meal there.

The Mucky Duck....

Next morning leaving at our usual time about 10.30ish the sun was out, the engine was performing wonderfully the birds were singing and everything was perfect. Thinking how blessed we were...then suddenly the 10.30 express Virgin train to somewhere or other went past at about 120mph !! ….Talk about jump !! I nearly jumped overboard. I just didn’t hear it coming . Putting it politely I nearly had a bowel movement !!... Lots of railway lines run parallel with the canals, but if you don’t keep an eye out for them, it has its consequences. 

Next stop Rugeley for a major shop, we were running low on provisions. I.e. wine and beer.. . In the morning, as we were preparing to cast off, an almighty bang was heard, as we sailed past the pub at the end of the tow path there was a plume of thick black smoke rising from behind the Tesco’s store we had shopped at. We thought at first it was the petrol station had gone up in flames. It turned out later it was an explosion at a wood yard nearby. Destroyed a car, lorry and a caravan. Nobody hurt which is the main thing.

Weston on Trent and Stone were passed, we had plan a night stop over at Stone but by the time we arrived there all the moorings had been taken, so we ended up out in the country again. Our next stop, is Barleston. The pub there is called The Plume of Feathers. It is owned by the actor Neil Morrisey. So we though we would give it a try.

On entry it is a light and airy pub. Very clean and the staff welcoming. I had a laugh with Calum the bar man and pulled his leg like I do. He was genuinely interested in our floating travels, coming over to ask questions from behind the bar. We checked the menu and Jenny ordered Mussels and Frites with crusty bread and I order a rump steak with a blue cheese sauce. The mussels10 out of 10 ….Mine…. I sent it back... the steak wasn’t edible. So tough. The manager was very apologetic and suggested I didn’t have another one as it would be from the same batch. So I had a chicken dish covered in a spicy sauce. That was good. I felt quite sorry for the staff, because it was a good place otherwise. Let down by a bad butcher.

Before leaving Barleston and heading north again, ‘the bosun’ as I call her, had been plotting us a course when we realised that the Wedgwood factory was near here so we found a twenty minute walk took us to the factory and museum. I think Jenny enjoyed it more than me, it was like a big china shop, but without the canals, their business would not have prospered. Moving china and potteries by horse and wagon caused a lot of damaged and broken stock, but on the canal a barge can carry 40 tonnes and it not subject to shocks as a wagon wheel is. One cart carried half a ton and was slow. Barge was faster and gentle. 

Wedgewood punch bowl set only.....£10000.00!!!

Wedgewood Dragon made from plates and cups.

The majority of people we meet have been great but...sadly we ran into some people who were not the nicest. They wanted to go faster than us and tried to intimidate us following so close. and when behind at a lock were taking the ‘wee wee’ out of us and laughing at us. Not directly, but you knew where it was directed.

We pulled over and let them pass. Also the hot weather was playing havoc with the engine. She was running hot and losing oil pressure on tick over and a green light was flashing .. I did panic for a bit but after a half hour rest all was back to normal and we continued.

We had planned to go straight into the Harecastle tunnel, but being a bit low on drinking water we needed to top up ..empty the toilet and dump the rubbish. So we turned a virtual 180 degrees onto the Caldon Canal. Only to find Mr and Mrs Obnoxious and co, (they were in two boats) to be moored on the services.!!!

So another change of plan was made. Services... then turn around and back on to the Trent and Mersey canal and though the tunnel...WRONG !!!

the idiots from CRT had moored two of their working boats in the place for turning, we had no choice but to do the Caldon canal as we were to long.

But enough for now..The Caldon canal is a great experience so follow this blog ..coming to a computer or smart phone near you soon..XXX

TTFN 

and a short video....