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Saturday Never has the transition between “work” and “play” been so easy and seamless: just walk down the pier and there Rumpus is, all ready for the off! Well, not quite: there was the small matter of refixing the stove collar, now the centre rope isn’t going to dislodge it again. The solution was (as it always is in Rumpus’s case) the quick and easy one. Instead of a new collar at sixty-some-odd quid, it was six new, longer, fatter screws at 72p for the lot! The excuse was also made to brew up and let one of my work colleagues and his partner take a look, before eventually departing at about 5-15.Normal advice to Canaltime guests is to aim for Shardlow on their first afternoon - it’s only an hour and one lock away, and there are three pubs. I was a little more ambitious. Needless to say, I was “spotted” by some Canaltime guests: “Have you come out to check up on us?” I was glad to receive some help at Shardlow Lock, but didn’t get any elsewhere as most people had stopped cruising. Aston Lock is BW’s first self-opening lock - I arrived to find both bottom gates open and having shut both top gates on my departure, one of them opened again, all on its own! By the time I’d left Aston the sun had set, but there was still enough dusk light for me to get through Weston Lock before tying up at around 8-15. One task this evening was to “mend” the 12 volt phone charger, which had left the “bit at the end” in my wife’s car. A fuse from Rumpus’s more than adequate stock and a short length of copper wire made the thing function. Sunday I awoke at around 6-00 but finally got up when planes taking off from East Midlands Airport started to come over at around seven. After a leisurely shower and breakfast, I got under way at around 9-15. I arrived at Swarkestone at around 11, and “did” water and rubbish. I also took a dip in the canal (quite deliberately) as I’d dropped the Dunton Double windlass into the cut. As this is actually Susan’s, I thought I’d better recover it, so having located it with a boat hook, it was strip down to the boxer shorts and in I went! I found it and was able to use it again at Stenson, which was reached around one: time for lunch! Near Willington, I passed “Copperkins II”, complete with Elaine Scott in her usual traditional bonnet - I said I’d pass on good wishes to Iain and Ann, two of the other part owners. Branston Lock was reached at around 5-00: there was a motocross (used to be motor bike scramble) event taking place on the hill to the north - lots of dust, noise and caravans. On past Barton Turns, I noticed an awful lot of immaculate Minis (the PROPER ones, NOT the BMW version) trundling along the A38 towards Derby. Perhaps there’d been a rally somewhere??
The new railings on the Dove aqueduct sit uncomfortably with the old pillbox..........
Shobnall Fields - the site for next year's "National"
Last year's towpath works have grown over well, though there are rather too many big bits of brick on top of the towpath for my liking. the cyclists have worn the grass away on one side - perhaps the surface isn't kind to their tyres? At Wychnor Lock I met up with NB Bliss - a brand-spanking-new Sawley Gem narrowboat. The highly delighted owners said they were “just putting a few hours on the engine, ready for the first service” - as if they needed the excuse!I eventually moored up above Bagnall Lock at Alrewas, there to meet some Canaltime Guests that I’d trained earlier in the week. I invited them on board and a happy half-hour or so was spent drinking tea and chatting about all sorts of things - mostly not to do with boats and boating! Monday Once again I was awake at around 6-00, but didn’t get up until seven. I then spent some time communing with the oil stove, which was having a dose of the sulks. I eventually got away at around 8-55, making Fradley Junction by 10-00. The rubbish went, but the water point tap is very feak and weeble and it took longer than normal to take water. The shop provided an ice cream and a tin of peas and I was able to answer the query I’d had when visiting the Thames a couple of weeks ago. The “funny blue squiggle” on the boats down there is the all-new Hoseason’s logo - they’ve ditched the well-known “bluebird” logo they’ve had for years! I’ve no doubt they were told how “dynamic”, “thrusting” and “happy” the new logo is and I’m sure that they paid somebody an awful lot to come up with it, but I much preferred the old one - maybe I’m an old fuddy - duddy. By 3-20, I’d reached Bridge 66 at Rugeley, so headed up to the very handy Safeway for shopping: meths (for starting the stove), beer (for me), wine (for Susan) and kitchen towel. Having spoken to Mr Lockgate Stoves I had a go at cleaning out the oil regulator. Unlike many modern appliances, which have large labels on them saying “no user repairable parts inside”, Lockgate stoves are TOTALLY user repairable! Having removed the regulator, I discovered I’d grown my very own colony of Diesel Bug in it! I cleaned it all out and reassembled it, but it still wasn’t doing the biz. No time to do any more: perhaps tomorrow. On into the evening. I saw Shugborough Hall for the first time and really couldn’t understand how I’d missed it before, until I realised that the park was very cunningly laid out and it was only possible to catch two glimpses of it through the trees: they didn’t want to see us! I dumped the rubbish at Great Haywood before locking up through Hoo Mill in the dusk and putting the headlight to its first serious use (after hanging on the bracket to make it point somewhere remotely useful, instead of up in the sky). Of course, the headlight attracted the insects, which in turn attracted a bat - so small and agile. I can now understand the allure of night boating - the glassy water and the serene progress were magical, but I was knackered so moored up at just after 8-00 between Bridge 78 and Weston Lock (having missed the spot and done 2 U-turns to get back to it). Tuesday I was away by 8-30 again, having watched 3 skeins of geese honking their way across the sky. Outside Weston, I was delighted to see a concerted effort which had been made by a row of what looked like old people’s bungalows - there was a massive bank of marigolds along the canal for nearly 100 yards - a really spectacular sight. There was also a gaggle of garden sheds in one corner - I suspect an awful lot of gardening and nattering goes on there. Once I’d got to Weston and my intended mooring for last night, I was very glad I’d moored where I did - I think it might have been a little noisy.
Spotted this "fisherman" outside the council depot at Weston.........
........... a massive bank of marigolds along the canal for nearly 100 yards - a really spectacular sight. This certainly wasn’t the case on the adjacent railway line, as the Colwich to Manchester via Stoke & Macclesfield line is closed for major engineering works over the summer. There were lots of road/rail lorries on the track, together with lots of orange hi-vis overalls and white hard hats. The line is SO closed that the colour light signals have all been switched off, and show no signal whatsoever - something I’ve never seen before. Apart from work on the track and overhead electrification equipment, there’s been lots of tree lopping which in some stretches means you’ll be able to see the trains from the canal much more easily. I exchanged greetings with a crew working on the overhead where the canal and line run side-by-side - the usual “hold ‘ard, Jim lad” - type talk as they were “talking pirate” (as you do when you see a boat).
....... lots of road/rail vehicles....................
.... “hold ‘ard, Jim lad!"
Painted ware for sale at Sandon Lock...........
............ but WHY the collection of red plastic watering cans?
Exactly half way............ The sun finally broke through as I worked through Sandon Lock - before this I’d been thinking the unthinkable and actually debated changing my shorts for trousers! On this stretch, I noticed evidence of bridge renumbering - what is now Bridge 85 had a stone in the crown of the arch with “90" on it. Does anybody know when the current numbers date from? Aston Lock was worked for me - a very pleasant surprise. I had a fortunate meeting with a Springer at Star Lock in Stone - HE’d just broken his ankle and SHE was having to do locks and toilet duties - something she’d never done before as she’d always steered and “toilets were HIS job”. As the boat was only 45' long, I was happy to share a couple of locks and initiate her into the mysteries of the sanitary station at Newcastle Road Lock, below which they were mooring to go off to hospital again. Having taken lunch on the move, I left the top of the Meaford flight at 1-45. I had a chuckle at a Labrador in Hem Heath - it decided to chase a group of ducks on the towpath, from 200 yards range, barking as he went. Of course, they were all back in the water long before he got there and skidded to a halt in confusion. “He does it all the time - never learns” said his owner. Having stayed green all the way past Britannia Stadium, Stoke finally made its presence felt at Bridge 109 by the incinerator, with brick, concrete and graffiti (some officially sanctioned) there in abundance. Suitable respects were paid to the site of the Kerr Stuart locomotive works, makers of narrow (and standard) gauge railway locos of quality. By this time, it was Rush Hour in Stoke and it was nice to see the traffic circulating around and above as we continued on our serene, untroubled way. I managed to see the “baby” river Trent as the canal passed over it - odd to think I’d cruised that same river only a couple of days before. Lock 37 on the Stoke flight would normally be in a noisy and busy environment as the railway bridge goes over the tail of it - rusted rail tops told a different story today. Lock 38 is named Twyford’s Lock - something to do with the maker of sanitary ware? I’ve stood in front of more than a few Twyford’s “Adamant” urinals in my time! The bottom paddles on the top lock have double reduction gearing on them which makes operation a very long-winded process, but I suspect that without it, they would be well-nigh impossible to work. I eventually arrived at Festival Park Marina at bang on 6 PM - EXACTLY as Mr Pearson’s Guide had predicted! Having opened the drawbridge (with help from a passer-by) and got moored up, further communion with the stove revealed that a decoke was called for - I’ll bring the vacuum cleaner back with me when we set off round the Cheshire Ring in a few days time!
A derelict pottery by the Stoke flight. |
