Give me bread

salt bridge

in Star lock

It was a bright but chilly start to the day. We passed dozens of young swans swimming, feeding walking in the fields and resting on the canal bank. Most of them still had some brown cygnet fluff clinging to their snowy feathers. The canal must be a healthy environment for there to be so many.

 It clouded over ominously as we moored at Stone but it was a pleasant walk to the shops. Lottie and I lurked outside while the Captain got provisions. By the time he got out it was raining heavily –and he wasn’t wearing his coat. We sheltered from the worst of the rain under a bridge then sprinted back to the boat when it seemed set for the day

view from the top of Stone's second lock 

old warehouses

We had a very long lunch break to miss the torrential rain and finally set off mid afternoon when the rain stopped and the sky brightened.

leaving Stone

By the time the boat was rising in Star lock it was raining again. The Captain decided to carry on instead of squeeze into the only available mooring in the short pound. The rain got heavier. While waiting for the boat ahead of us to rise and another to come down the third lock the Captain filled Fine Chance with water. 
As we reached the fourth lock it stopped raining. the Captain wondered whether to carry on up the next four locks but moored up

Swans 

A pair of swans came knocking at the window for food. Instead of bread, which they get far too much of, I threw them some dried mealworms. I normally give them wild bird seed but that sinks. The male swan looked at me and hissed as if saying where’s the bread? But his lady started feeding on the floating treats. As I threw more he cottoned on and joined in feeding though I think he would have preferred bread.

It was the right decision to stay put as within thirty minutes of mooring the sky darkened and the rain hammered down again. 

frost sun and rain

our mooring overnight

turning onto the aqueduct

There was frost over night but the fire was still going in the morning. 

When he prepared to leave our mooring the Captain had trouble with the gear control lever- it had seized up and he could barely move it. Instead of moving off  he stripped down the controller and found the old grease had gone hard and sticky. He removed the gunk and re-greased with stern grease and reassembled the unit after a false start and much grunting. This is not going to help his shoulder!

getting brighter

Once we got moving it was sunny, and we crossed the aqueduct and cruised past fields filled with happy lambs. We were the only boat at Colwich lock which was strange as normally there is a long queue..

 The clouds didn’t build up until we reached Great Hayward.  The sky darkened as the boat rose in the lock. We moored up just after the lock and dived inside as  the rain hammered down. Within thirty minutes it was bright and dry.

canalside cottages at Colwich

After lunch we cruised on enjoying the sunshine. We had a long wait at Hoo Mill lock waiting for a boat to come down. The crew only had one paddle half open but seemed happy to inch down. 

Great Hayward lock ready to enter

We passed several swans nesting spaced at even intervals along the canal and passed several flotillas of ducklings. 
One duckling got separated from the rest as our boat passed. It swam frantically in the same direction we were going but couldn’t cross the bow to rejoin his family. They meanwhile had stopped swimming and were waiting behind us. The duckling stopped trying to outrun us and turned around. 
On seeing mother duck and the other nine ducklings he swam back quacking loudly. Was he saying mum I nearly got run over by a monster?

Spots of rain teased us at Weston lock but we moored up still dry.

ducklings scattering

Weston lock -  last of the day - and still dry

Spring hail

a good start

sunshine after the hail stones

The weather forecast was rotten with chances of heavy rain and hail but we headed to the boat. We unpacked at the Marina in sunshine (as inky cloud blew away) with an excited dog. I unloaded our supplies while the Captain, who was nursing a sore shoulder and other aches, walked Lottie, to avoid her attacking the trolley.

will the hail return?

After pumping out (it is lovely to have a sweet smelling toilet) we set out late afternoon even though dark clouds smudged the horizon expecting to cruise for up to an hour before they struck. 

Immediately on reaching the canal I walked the loopy Lurcher who jumped and wove round the puddles. While I slithered through thick mud along she herded several ducks back into the water but did not follow them in. Within minutes the wind strengthened and I was attacked by horizontal sleet and snow. This was supposed to be a spring cruise! Lottie hated the hail but there was no way of bringing the boat close to the bank so we walked to the next bridge.

Armitage Tunnel

By the time we got  back on board the storm had blown over and the sun returned to melt the hailstones that had heaped up on the back deck. Although our control lever was very stiff we meandered towards to Rugeley with Lottie leaning far over the water to see what lay ahead. Spring flowers where abundant and the fields were verdant.

As Lottie and I walked ahead to check the roofless Armitage tunnel was empty the winds rose again. Fortunately by the time we were clear of the tunnel the storm had gone as swiftly as it arrived. The Captain moored in a quiet spot on the far side of Rugeley, not far from the bloody steps where a gruesome murder of a young woman called Christine took place back in the days of horse drawn barges.

peace after the tunnel

The night was peaceful apart from Lottie demanding her quilt was put back over her, even though the fire burnt slowly.

Lurching through London

Lottie Lurcher is about to star in her book

Lurching through London

The voyage of a narrow hound on a narrowboat

Lottie Lurcher has only been with her new owners for a few days when they take her cruising on their narrowboat.

Training her owners is tricky. Sometimes they forget what Lottie has taught them but she adores them and tries different tactics to win them over. Unfortunately her strength and enthusiasm lead her into trouble.

Will her new owners take her back to the dog rescue or will she persuade them that she is the perfect hound for their narrowboat?

Bsck to reality

The Gatehouse

The day was dry but windy. We had a pleasant cruise round to Tixall, following a narrow boat that pulled out in front of us. Perhaps we were hidden by the tall reeds. We passed a trailer park and I noticed one had giant gnomes in their tiny garden all lined up so that they faced the trailer’s windows. I would get a fright if I opened my curtains to find a three foot high gnome staring at me.

boats moored on Tixall Wide

We had a short wait at Tixall lock and followed one boat down at Great Hayward with only ten minutes wait. Then we arrived at Colwich lock to find three boats ahead of us. It took over an hour to enter the lock. The problem was it fills slowly and only has one ground paddle. The long boats coming up couldn’t open the gate paddle until they were half way up or they could flood their boat, but it seemed to take forever. After half an hour Lottie barked as if to say “why are we waiting?”The Captain waited for his lunch stoically and chatted to the other boaters. It is in the lock queues that you hear all the canal news and meet interesting people so even a long wait can be fun.

the stables from Tixall Wide

We finally had lunch at the mooring round the corner, knowing there were no more locks to do.

The final cruise back to our marina was trouble free, the only delay being a short wait for boats to clear the tunnel. Now all we have to do is pack up and maybe tackle some more things on the boat maintenance list.

Viking confusion



tree stump art by the canal

We set off fairly early to make the most of the good weather and soon caught a Viking afloat hire boat doing the same. He was a  little bit slow but we were happy to follow him.
At the next bridge on a blind corner he told an oncoming boat that there was nothing behind him. They accelerated through the bridge believing it to be clear and nearly collided with us. We soon caught him up again and he waved us past, but the canal was too narrow with him in the centre of the channel. With the bends coming up we remained several boat lengths behind. The Captain declined which was just as well as a boat promptly appeared round the corner.

round weir typical of this canal

Having got past the boat the Viking Afloat hire boat charged for the bridge blowing his horn. A horn blared back throwing him into confusion. He reversed frantically, signalling us to go back. The Captain did even though there was plenty of space and ran aground. As he regained deeper water the Viking Afloat shot through the bridge hole.

approaching Gailey Lock

Having had the signal to wait we did. Nothing came through. Slowly we edged forward with me on the bow sighting through the bridge hole. The other boat was waiting by the bank with three more queuing behind him. Slowly The Captain eased our boat through and Lottie leapt off to go for a walk. I followed and ended up walking past the boats.
The boaters told me the Viking Afloat had forced his way through driving the boats to the side then yelled “there’s another one behind.” The poor boaters waited for us to zoom through the arch while we were waiting for them!

We finally moored at Lottie’s favourite spot above Gailey lock and watched the Viking afloat hire boat try to return to its base above the lock. It took them ages as the next boaters to come up the lock told us there were six cruisers and three narrow boats waiting to lock down. Of course one of those was the Viking afloat hire boat that was only trying to return to base three hours late.

hire boat base by the lock

After lunch we decided to join the lock queue and fill with water at the water point which lay between the lock pins and the moored boats. This is a good use of time while queuing as you can watch for the next boat round the corner and leave the water point before it arrives.

However by the time we reached the water point only one boat was queuing although the lock-side was bustling with volunteers.

boat ahead descending

The Captain was quick with his hose and by the time the boat ahead was in the lock the tank was full. I went to prepare the lock while the Captain coiled his hose. As the boat sank down the volunteers set to work on the top gate two people with white paint and two with black.

The boat ahead left the lock gates open even though no boats were waiting below.

“Aren’t you going to close up?” I asked the crew. They ignored me.

I struggled to close one heavy bottom gate and wondered how I would do the other as the only way across was blocked by busy painters. Thankfully one of the volunteers closed it for me saving me from walking across the half painted upper gate. He then asked me to pass him a windlass so that he could work the far paddle to save me crossing over.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon with enough cloud cover to give respite. After watching the long queue at lunch time it was surprising that we didn’t queue at the following locks. Better still we arrived at several just as a boat was leaving so were able to drive straight in.

We finally moored at Acton Trussell after completing six more locks.