Between Atherstone and Hartshill

We have had a busy few days between dodging the rain and drizzle. Since leaving Acton Trussell last Friday we have done 20 locks and travelled 41 miles and for us that's going fast. The totals so far for the trip are 163 locks and 308 miles. We are now on the Coventry Canal moored just before bridge 34 which is near Hartshill. Our views are over the Trent Valley and tonight the sky cleared and we managed prawns and lamb on the BBQ. Last Saturday as we were approaching Fradley Junction voices called out and we met John and Barbara from nb Barnaby two +, we moored up for the day and had a very pleasant catch up with them.

 

 

The impressive bridge and club house of the Stafford Boat Club

 

 

It really is nice when homes of all types face the canal as you get a chance to see what people can do to their gardens

Another impressive garden

As you approach Tixall Wide and Great Hayward on the Staffs & Worcs Canal you see some very impressive buildings. This is the old gatehouse of  Tixall Hall now demolished

This is Tixall Wide which for us "ditch crawlers" is a bit like the ocean. Its thought that it may have been created for the owners of Tixall Hall so that it looked like a lake not a canal.

Another interesting building but not sure what- some form of gatehouse and a very large barn type building

We turned south at Great Hayward junction onto the Trent & Mersey Canal and moored up below Haywood Lock and this is the view from the side hatch towards Shugborough Hall

In the grounds of the Hall are several follies like this.

And another folly



As we approached Fradley Junction we went through Ravenshaw Woods which is a profusion of  rhododendrons this time of year

Home sweet Gnome!

The tunnel tug Sharpness

As we came up the Atherstone Locks this morning there is this lovely field where the solid yellow of the rape field has been broken up by red poppies



There are some lovely views as the Trent & Mersey Canal made its way towards Fradley along the Trent Valley even if its only the distant view of Rugeley Power Station

This was the approach to Great Hayward Junction on the Staffs & Worcs where you have to weave through the Anglo Welsh hire boats before we can turn right onto the Trent & Mersey to head south

Moored just past Acton Trussell Staffs & Worcs Canal

We have managed to avoid most of the heavy showers over the last two days. Todays forecast was heavy rain and strong winds but it was only cloudy at 8am. So we set off through Penkridge and stopped for a few bits at Midland Chandlers by bridge 90 and as no rain, continued. The sky started to darken so we decided to stop just past Acton Trussell and before bridge 94 at 12.05. The rain came at 13.00 and we are now having heavy showers at regular intervals- result!

 

 

 

 

A Heron on its "Perch"

BB coming out of Stop Lock at Autherley Junction under the bridge and onto the Staffs & Worcester Canal

Looking back to the bridge we have just come under,straight down is  Stourport.

 

We are now on a Brindley canal which was built earlier than the Shroppie and it has a completely different feel about it. We are going through the Pendleford Rockin (old boaters term) narrows which has been cut through an area of solid sandstone and has passing places

 

Another fine lock building, this time its an old toll clerks office, the "round house" at Gailey Lock which is now a canal craft shop

Another boat name of interest

Another old junction this time with the Hatherton Branch ( goes off to the left) abandoned in the early 1950's when coal traffic finished.

Just after we had stopped we had this sudden heavy rain shower.

Through Norbury Junction and Brewood

 

I wrote this a few days ago but have only been able to post it today Thursday 13 June as I now have an excellent signal at Acton Trussell which may have something to do with the M6  junction 13 nearby.

 

The weather has changed with a day of  cloud and showers with more forecast to come. The Shropshire Union Canal was one of the last to be built 1830-1835 and Telford used very impressive building techniques ie bold embankments and deep cuttings. The amount of material the navvies moved using only hand tools and horse and carts is just mind blowing.

 

We walked into Brewood (pronounced Brood) the other day and had lunch and very good coffee in The Mess Bistro in the Market Place which was excellent. 

 

We have now nearly completed our journey down the Shroppie which has been a delight despite the shelf which has made mooring a bit of a problem. We are moored just past bridge 8(Tuesday11th)  and tomorrow weather permitting should see us turn left at Autherley Junction and head north up the Staffs & Worcester Canal towards Great Haywood.

 

 

A sign as you enter the 80ft deep Woodseaves Cutting

In a very atmospheric cutting

I thought these were strange bushes but we think they are some sort of thistle

Going towards the first of the Tyrley Locks in another cutting

I think this could be the equivalent of a Thames River launch on the Canal

 

The unlined Cowley Tunnel near Gnosall only 81 yards (pronounced No-zull) cut through solid sandstone

A view of busy Norbury Junction although a junction no more as the branch down to Newport closed a long time ago.

With so many embankments on the Shroppie, Brindley had these stops locks at each end, if there was a breach they would automatically close

Another stop lock but a different style

Another of the fine bridges in a Shroppie cutting Avenue Bridge 10

A strange place to moor a boat at Stretton Wharf

There really are some strange boats on the canals!

This is more like a river cruiser in need of some tlc at Stretton Wharf

Audlem locks and now at Market Drayton

We are now at Market Drayton and moored just before bridge 63. The last few days have been boating at its best - glorious sunshine with Anne's cousin Helen and husband Mervyn helping us through 13 of the 15 Audlem locks. Its now day 37 (not counting the trip back home) and we have covered 126 locks and 227 miles.

 

Audlem is a great boating village with all the facilities you require plus a very good craft, boat and train bookshop in the mill next to The Shroppie Fly pub. Market Drayton on the other hand still has many closed shops and was very quiet today (Saturday afternoon) but the coffee in Jones's was excellent.

 

Although I said the weather has been good it was a bit chilly this morning when we left our mooring just above bridge 76 which required fleeces on and off as the sun came and went.

 

 

 

Anne looked up from reading and was very concerned that Reuban was trying to get into the cratch
 

The culprit was in fact a narrow beam Dutch barge- it is in fact only 7ft wide

Another one of those strange craft on the canals- this time its a coracle.

This was our lovely mooring above bridge76/lock 3 of the Audlem flight- no road or train only birds-heaven

The next flight of locks going towards Market Drayton from Audlem is the Adderley flight which is in a lovely setting in open countryside.

Looking down Audlem flight from bridge 77 - 5 locks visible of the 15 in total

I just love these iron plates that protect the bridge brickwork from the old  horse drawn working boats. The ropes have worn these grooves over many years - just think how many boats must have passed by to produce this result .

The Audlem crew of Anne, Mervyn and Helen

Another lovely cottage as you go up Audlem flight

The bye washes on theses flights produce some very strong cross flows as you enter the locks. They make for some very hard work to get the boat lined up so that you don't hit the side walls. I am sure Thomas Telford who built the canal had future boaters in mind and purposely built them to keep us on our toes.

 And to finish with a couple of boat names to ponder over!

Left Tattenhall Marina and now at Hack Green and its Nuclear Bunker

Despite it taking 7 hours to get home last week the wedding of Mark and Maria on the 31 May was a fabulous day made even better by the weather.

  

The lovely bride and the now more relaxed groom

Anne and the mother of the groom Janet

Our other event at home was to celebrate the 60th birthdays of Bill and Clare on the Sunday. No rain but the sunshine was diluted with a very chilly wind but a good time was had by all celebrating them  joining the 60 club!

A much better journey back to the boat and after returning the car to Enterprise in Wrexham we finally restarted our journey by leaving the marina on Wednesday lunchtime. The weather has definitely got warmer as no fires in the evenings which compares to May when we only managed two evenings when we didn't light the fire.

We are heading back down the Shropshire Union and this is our mooring on Wednesday (5 June) evening just before bridge 104 at Calveley

The old warehouse showing its heritage at Bunbury Staircase Locks which is now used by Anglo Welsh hire boats 

Locks are usually brick built but Beeston Stone Lock is built from substantial stone blocks

Couldn't resist this old signal box on the Crewe/Chester line which appears to be still working. Most of these are now gone replaced by some remote super power box

This is Hurleston Junction where the Llangollen Branch of the Shropshire Canal leaves the main part of the Shropshire Union Canal on the right. We are heading south through the bridge 

A lovely canal house over looking Barbridge Junction 

An old working horse sculpture by bridge92 at Nantwich

We moored on the embankment near the aqueduct which takes the canal over the Chester Road.

We are moored tonight just past bridge 85 at Hack Green famous for its Cold War Underground Nuclear Bunker

It is some place and worth a visit if in the area if only to realise what might have happened and also how much planning and money went into the cold war.

A We177B 400 kiloton nuclear bomb. Reading the stark descriptions of what may have happened we wouldn't have had a chance of survival