Thu 24th
May Hopwas
Our anniversary! We have now been married for 43 years. To celebrate we had duck eggs for breakfast,
which Mary had brought us yesterday. We exchanged cards, and had flowers on the
table, bought in Fazeley yesterday.
The
morning was spent rehearsing a few songs for this evening. James realised that
he had lost his guitar tuner. We must
have left it at the pub in Brinklow. He downloaded a guitar tuning app on his
phone as a temporary answer.
Then we
had a leisurely late lunch at the Red Lion.
It seemed friendlier than the Tame Otter.
Red Lion, Hopwas
Unspooked ducklings
We had
a nap in the afternoon, and set the cat flap for one way in, so that Hugo would
not go out again once he returned. We didn’t want any clash with the killer cat
on the next boat.
We
walked to the Social Club where the folk club was to be held. On the way we met
Ian and Mo on a boat called Weyflower.
They saw our instruments and asked where we were going. They play melodeon and concertina, so they
joined us at the folk club.
We had
a friendly reception. This is the fifth time we have played there. We sang
London Rain and Antiques. So far we haven’t repeated any songs here. They have a PA system, which means we can
sing quieter songs, and everyone is there to listen, which is good. Ian and Mo played some Morris tunes, which
went down well.
Performing at Hopwas
The photo above was borrowed from the Chequemates Folk Club Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=cheque-mates%20folk%20%27n%27%20roots%20music%20club
Ian and Mo
James
went back to the boat in the interval to find, thankfully, that we had one cat
on board and not two, and he locked the flap to prevent any further movements
in or out. Whether the two cats met each
other we don’t know.
The
club ended at 1145, and we returned to the boat, just 30 minutes before heavy
rain started. We had put up the hood in
anticipation.
No
boating today
Fri 25th
May Hopwas to Fradley Junction
The
heavy rain continued most of the night and part of the morning. When it finally
stopped soon after midday, we made our preparations to leave, putting down the
hood, and undoing the mooring lines.
Rain – not often seen recently
At that
moment a boat called Tonal came round
the corner and passed us. We had eight
miles to go get to Fradley, and we didn’t want to be held up by a slow boat in
front. Thankfully they had a reasonable
speed, and they pulled over to moor soon after Hopwas Woods.
Following Tonal
The quarry in Hopwas Woods
We
often wonder whether anything sinister goes on in Hopwas Woods. There is a
small quarry there which appears to be well frequented by people, and there are
two large flat stones which could be used as some kind of altar. Perhaps we
have too much imagination.
We
passed the badger setts at Hademore which appear to be active, and then we saw
a team of farm workers putting away the large hoops which form the frame of the
polytunnels.
Badger setts
Putting away the polytunnels
After a
cruise past some delightful gardens at Whittington, we passed Whittington
Wharf, where we sang at an event on a mission a few years back.
Gardens in Whittington
Whittington Wharf
We came
past Huddlesford Junction, where the Lichfield and Canal used to leave. The
first part is now used for moorings for the Lichfield Cruising Club, but
hopefully one day will be restored as a through connection to the Wyrley and
Essington Canal at Ogley Junction.
Huddlesford Junction
The Plough at Huddlesford
Pink Hawthorn
We had
some very fine rain for the last 45 minutes as we almost completed our transit
of the Coventry Canal. We moored just before the junction with the Trent and Mersey
at Fradley.
The last proper bridge on the Coventry Canal
A moist evening at Fradley Junction
The Swan pub at dusk
0
Locks, 8 miles
Sat 26th
May Fradley Junction to Rugeley
We were
woken at 4.30am by an amazing dawn chorus. Later we were woken again by three
ducks on the roof. This is getting to be
a habit! We have noticed more mallard
families than usual, some with as many as twelve ducklings, and most with
around eight.
We took
rubbish and full cassettes down past one lock to the facilities on the Trent
and Mersey. We were delighted to find a
recycling bin – the first one since Aylesbury.
We didn’t use the water point near the boat, as we know it has very poor
pressure. We departed through the small
swing bridge, and turned left into the Trent and Mersey.
The very last bridge on the Coventry Canal
Into the Trent and Mersey
We had
two of the Fradley locks to negotiate, and thankfully there was a volunteer on
each one. There were boats going in each direction.
Fradley Locks
As we
neared the top of the second one, a boat pulled away from the moorings above
the lock. It was Solace, heading for
Tixall Wide, and then the Shroppie. We
may catch up somewhere.
Mallard and Shoveler
When we
arrived at Woodend Lock, there was no volunteer, and there was a queue of boats
coming down towards us. For one guy it was his first ever lock, so we gave him
“How do locks work?”. We were able to
have a quick chat with the people on Solace.
Into Woodend Lock
After
this there is a wooded section, and the rhododendrons were just coming out.
They are beautiful, but they are classified as an invasive plant, as they take
over large sections of woodland, where nothing else can grow. There also lovely clumps of Campion.
Rhododendrons
Campion
The two
villages of Handsacre and Armitage merge into one, and we passed the Armitage
Shanks factory, so called because it is in Armitage, and used to be run by the
Shanks family.
Armitage Shanks factory
Just
after this there is a cutting for the canal, and it was good to see a
kingfisher – the first one since Aylesbury.
We
noticed that what used to be the Spode Cottage restaurant has now closed down
and turned into a house. If you read the
Trip Advisor reviews you can see why.
The Plum Pudding Brasserie is across the road, canalside.
Armitage
Tunnel follows soon after. This is no
longer a tunnel, as the roof was removed in 1971. Then a wide road bridge was
constructed across the top, turning it into a tunnel again. It is very narrow,
with no passing places, so there is a place at the entrance where a crew member
is meant to step ashore to get a view through to the other end. This time there was a lady on a phone who
beckoned us through, saying her husband was waiting for us at the other end.
Armitage Tunnel
Sure
enough, another boat was waiting when we emerged a few minutes later. We passed Hawkesyard Hall, which used to be
the home of the Spode pottery family.
Hawkesyard Hall
We
stopped to use a water point just here, as there are bollards to make it easy,
and the pressure is good, so it doesn’t take long to fill the tank.
Water point
The yellow irises are out
We cruised
into Rugeley, and there was just one mooring space for us.
As we
set off for the shops, we spotted an Ichthus on a boat called Buggerlugs, so we
gave out a BCF leaflet. We had shopping
to do – Argos for a new guitar tuner, Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco for all the
usual bits. Morrisons here have at last
decided to stock their own cider.
Back at
the boat, James changed the strings on his guitar. It is amazing how Hugo
appears within seconds whenever this event takes place. He had been in the
hedge, but he has very sharp hearing and was back on board when the first
string was being slackened off.
Hugo with the guitar strings.
We put
up the hood in preparation for thunderstorms that were forecast.
3 locks, 7 miles, 1 tiddly swing bridge
Sun
27th May Rugeley
We had
heavy rain and thunder and lightning in the night at around 4am. Hazel slept through it. James went to see
where Hugo was and found him hiding in a cardboard box.
Rugeley in the storm
We went
to Victory Church, where we had a great welcome from Will and Barbara Graham,
the leaders, who recognised us from our two previous visits, both in 2015. The worship was current and sensitive, with
guitar, bass, keyboard and drums.
After
the notices, Will called James up to the front to share a little about Canal
Ministries, and they prayed for us.
Victory Church
Pastor Will
The
preacher was Mike Parkes, who spoke fluently without notes, talking about
living as salt and light.
After
further chat over coffee, we wandered down the high street to the Plaza,
previously a cinema, now a Wetherspoons, where we had a good value, well
presented lunch.
The Plaza
Back to
the boat to await further thunderstorms, which were needed as the air was humid
and heavy. An ice cream from Tesco somehow
seemed essential.
No
boating today.
Tomorrow:
calling in at The Taft in the morning to see our BCF friends Peter and Julie,
then probably mooring on Tixall Wide on the way to the Shroppie. We are aiming
for Brewood next Sunday.
