Saturday 5th July
Several of the boaters round here seem to know each other,
and there appears to be a live aboard boating community.
It was hot enough to warrant putting in fly screens. There are several things that come through
windows, not all of which are welcome:
Air - Light
- Noise -
Smells - Insects
- Rain - Hugo
We took a bus into Stafford. They are very frequent, with
several to choose from. We visited some
shops – shoes for Hazel, learning curve for James at Phones4u, maps and bus
info from the tourist office. We
visited the “Collegiate Church of St Mary”, where there was an impressive
display of embroidered kneelers
Collegiate Church of
St Mary, Stafford
The Church kneelers
on display
We had a very economical lunch: £1.50 chicken kebab and
chips, followed by a visit to Wetherspoons for a drink. This was a converted cinema where they were
showing the Wimbledon
ladies final.
We did some sightseeing, going first to St Chad’s, an interesting Norman church, followed by the museum, housed in an ancient timber framed house on four floors. Called the ancient High House, it is the largest timber-framed town house in England, built in 1595.
Ancient High House, Stafford
Jehovah’s Witnesses spreading the word in Stafford
Then
a visit to Sainsbury’s and Wilkinson’s before catching the bus back.
Nibbles and wine in the evening.
No boating
Sunday 6th July
Stafford
Back by bus into Stafford (aren’t these bus passes useful?).
Then breakfast at the Butler’s Bell
- eggs benedict was
excellent. This was another
Wetherspoons pub. Two in Stafford!
A quick return to Sainsbury’s and Wilko to check out picture
frames for our canal map – no use.
Then to morning worship at Trinity Church, a Methodist / URC
establishment. The theme was discipleship. The reading was the calling of
Samuel. Well-known hymns led by a
talented lady on piano.
Trinity Church,
Stafford
Back by bus to the boat, before setting off. After a few yards, James remembered that he
had planned to inspect the propeller, so we tied up again after the bridge, and
removed the mangled remains of some item of clothing.
We only went one mile to just past Stafford Boat Club, where
we found a lovely mooring with a meadow on one side, and a field on the
other.
Moored south of
Stafford
We had a little doze, and were woken up suddenly as we were
hit by a passing boat that couldn't keep a straight line. No other boats coming
or going. Mumbled apologies. We noticed
some empty beer cans on the boat.
Then we watched the Wimbledon men’s final. A nail biter of a
match between Federer and Djokovic. In
the middle of it we were hit by another passing boat! Again some apologies. The helmsman must have been about 14.
After the tennis, we took a walk to the lock and back to
savour the evening air and see who was about.
A beautiful sunny evening.
Evening sun
As we went to bed there was a bird singing in the dark. From
the song description in our bird book it could have been a sedge warbler.
0 locks, 1 mile, 0hr35
Monday 7th July
Stafford to Gailey
A sunny start to the day, with several boats coming down,
leaving Deptford Lock in our favour with a small lock queue above it.
Acton Trussell seems to be a modern village, affected by the
noisy M6 just across the fields. The
church was isolated in farmland. Perhaps the village moved due to plague?
Under the M6
The canal went under the M6 (and so did we!), bringing us
into Penkridge. Hazel went shopping, while James used some hot water for a
shower (not enough earlier).
We met the guy on Matthew Flinders, who used to moor
on the Wey in Pyrford Marina.
After Penkridge Lock we used the facilities, and while the
water tank was filling, James nipped to the convenience store for eggs and
black olives.
The canal returned to the M6 for a while, and we moored at
the first available quieter place, above Bogg’s Lock 34. Cloudy
The M6 thunders past
Longford Lock
What’s the spiky
thing for?
There was a strange looking piece of lock furniture at
Longford Lock – a thin vertical iron bar with a rounded top. Does anyone know
what it might have been used for?
9 locks, 7 miles, 4hr35
Tuesday 8th July
Gailey to Hatherton
There was heavy dew early and morning mist, followed by
bright sunshine.
Morning mist
We ascended the final two locks to Gailey. A hire boat was
following us up the locks and he was asking directions to the Black Country
Museum, followed by Chester! He has two
weeks.
We disposed of some rubbish at Gailey, as we seemed to have
emptied lots of things since Penkridge yesterday. The round tower here is one of the features of this canal.
Gailey Round House
At Calf Heath Wood, some years ago they built a chemical
factory on the towpath side, with pipes going across the canal to other
buildings in what had been a perfectly good wood. Now the newer buildings seem to have been mostly demolished, but
the pipe bridges remain.
Chemical factory at
Calf Heath Wood
We passed Calf Heath Marina, but couldn’t see any BCF boats,
even though there are some listed in the BCF directory.
Then came the junction with the Hatherton branch, which used
to lead eventually to the Curly Wyrley at Pelsall (Fishley Lane Bridge). There
are plans to restore this through route.
Hatherton Junction
Just after this there is an old moat by the canal, with just
a square island in the middle. Presumably thus once had a fortified house.
We moored for the day just before Moat House Bridge (Br 74).
We did a lot of washing -
clothes, the boat roof, the plates and cutlery
Hugo caught a small bank vole.
Then came some heavy rain, which we had anticipated. It
rinsed off the boat roof nicely.
2 locks, 4 miles, 1 mouse
Wednesday 9th July
Hatherton to Autherley (Shropshire Union Canal)
Rain in the night meant that the hood was all wet. Two herons were sitting in the middle of the
field opposite, wondering why they weren’t catching any fish.
Just round the corner, sandwiched between the M54 and the
sewage works, we came upon a fishing competition just after bridge 70. It is a
strange experience, boating through long carp rods. The fishermen leave it till the very last minute before getting
their rods out of the way. Some lift
them up; some move them to one side, either towards us or away from us. Others
withdraw them, taking them apart as they go. This usually means it is time to
replace the bait.
Fishing competition
Under the M54 bridgeworks were taking place with scaffolding
and protruding planks narrowing the canal.
Perhaps this was practice for what came next – a “Very Narrow Cutting”
according to the Nicholson Guide. It
was cut out of rock, with a passing place at one point. Thankfully we met no
other boats.
Rock cutting passing
place
Thankfully our boat
is narrow too
In fact we had met no other boats all morning, but just
after the cutting there were two boats coming towards us. Then a short gap and
two more, then another single one, then number six was a Viking hire boat
called Torvern. There was a BCF logo in
the window, and it turned out to be Malcolm and Anne Jones from Bristol, with
sister Christine and daughter Ruth.
Both boats found reverse gear with lots of revs, and we tied up to the
big concrete pillars under Blaydon Road Bridge, and had tea and cake on the
hire boat.
BCF boat hirers
After a sociable hour of catching up, we moved to Autherley
Junction. A boat was just emerging, and turning to port to head in our
direction, so we held back and waited for them. By the time we were turning in
(bow thrusters are useful) there was another boat waiting, coming from
Wolverhampton direction.
Autherley Junction
Autherley Stop lock drops down into the Shropshire Union
with a fall of about two inches. The
guide says it was there to stop the Shroppie stealing water from the Staffs and
Worcs, but if that were so, wouldn’t the lock have been the other way round,
going up into the Shroppie? Perhaps it
was there to ensure that boats stopped and paid their dues.
We paused at the shop to buy a fender – no joy. We did
collect July’s copy of Towpath Talk and Tillergraph.
We discovered that there is no elsan point here, despite one
being shown in Nicholson.
We moored just before bridge 2, by poking our mooring pins
into holes in the concrete piling, and then we went to visit Morrisons.
Moored on the
Shroppie
We are hoping the see Malcolm and Stephanie Grey-Smart when
we get to Market Drayton, but we have had no replies from them either through
Facebook or email.
We also phoned Chris, the lady who is running the folk club
in Brewood tomorrow night, just to check things out. It sounds fine.
1 lock, 5 miles, 2hr15
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