rain sleet and black snow

first lock of the day

Heading towards Stoke

We woke to  rain but it soon gave way to clear skies and sunshine. Thankfully it was warmer than yesterday. We shared the locking out of Stone though the Captain still felt off colour. Lottie had a good morning running free in the sunshine.

At Barlaston the Captain decided to carry straight on for Stone as he wanted to make the most of the mornings good weather.

locking beneath the railway bridges

At Trentham lock there were eight volunteers working busily, but they put the paddles up for us. Some were clearing rubbish others scraping the old paint off the lock ready to paint it.

I had to ask a couple of volunteers to move so I could open the gate, but one helper opened the far side for me. The volunteers carried on scraping as the boat rose in the lock showering the Captain with black flakes of dried paint which fluttered down on him like snowflakes.

two locks to go

As we approached The Brittania Stadium the sky darkened and the wind increased but we had passed the last mooring before the flight. We had to go on rain or shine!

After lunch we cruised under the maze of deep road and rail bridges. We had the first spots of rain but we negotiated the deep Stoke locks without getting soaked. Unfortunately the Captain’s shoulder was playing up so I did all the winding and pushing at Trentham lock and four of the Stoke locks.

At the top the weather was fair so we carried on towards Westport Lake as we like the mooring there. Of course as soon as we passed the last mooring spot the rain increased and the wind drove it into our faces.

Soon sleet was lashing down, not the normal spring weather, but it relented and we moored at Westport Lake in the dry. After more showers Lottie took me for a walk round the lake. It was bereft of people but full of ducks, geese and swans nesting. Lottie kept me on the lead due to the nesting birds.

Afterwards she had dinner then settled down on the sofa for her after dinner nap. As always it was a peaceful evening at Westport lake.