Day 15 through Stoke and now on the Caldon

Day 15 - 11miles,10 locks and 2 swing bidges
Total to date 3 cappuccinos, 2 swing bridges, 133 miles and 44 locks

We were up and away by 07.30 with a heavy overnight frost and fog which burnt off fairly quickly but the sun decided to stay hidden. The run through Stoke and to the junction with the Caldon canal at Etruria wasn't too bad although there are a lot of derelict or cleared sites on which old potteries once stood.

We turned onto the Caldon at 11.45 and it took 3 hours to get to our mooring for tonight 6 miles from Etruria near bridge 22. A fellow boater told me about low bridges 8 to 10 but failed to tell me about bridge 18. The whole chimney decided to head butt the bridge but luckily fell back onto the roof - to fight another day!!!!.

Day 14 - Stone and Wedgwood

We are moored near the Wedgwood factory at Barlaston and had a very interesting visit around the works. The bronze above is of the man himself.

Day 14 - 8miles and 9 locks
Total to date 122 miles and 34 locks
Good cappuccinos to date now 3 (last one in Stone) which is a lovely canal friendly town.

We have had sun and some very heavy showers today- guess which the above is?

This is the front view of the late Lord Lichfields country residence which is very nice and has a lovely atmosphere inside.

So far we have seen two lots of new ducklings with 4 swans nest sitting.

Tomorrow is Stoke on Trent which is not boater friendly and therefore requires a dash through so we can get on the Caldon canal which is supposed to be very lovely but may not be internet friendly- speak to you soon or it may be next week!

Uttoxeter

I saw the above two swans in a field on the way up to GH, you don't realise how long their necks are as you never see them in this sort of position

Our friends picked us up yesterday for a day around Uttoxeter and on the way to their house for luch we stopped at the Amerton Light railway for a quick ride, Anne really enjoyed it.

A day on dry land

This is a view of Shugborough Hall from the T&M as we approached Great Hayward. We are going to visit it this morning as its a NT property shared with the local council so it should be free entry to the house we think.

Now at Great Hayward

Just arrived in the marina at Great Hayward,Anne is doing some washing and I am using the free wifi connection in the clubhouse.You do not appreciate how nice a broadband connection is until you don't have one.

I haven't completed the log entry for today so will update that later as I have just found out that although the office closes at 16.30 you can use the wifi connection in the shower area which has seats!

The weather today has been real April showers at one point I was going into a strong northerly wind with added sleet- not nice. The entry into the marina was also fun in strong wind with a crowd of people watching who had been looking at a new ownership boat built in Poland, my boat handling was good if I say so myself.

We can through Armitage which has a very narrow part through rocks that used to be a tunnel but due to the local mining collapsed- photo above,

We are planning to visit Shugborough Hall on Monday after we meet Jeff and Sylvia tomorrow.

RAF Lichfield

After the top hat had dived into the canal, around the next bend were four old aircraft hangers and you could see some old taxiways. I therefore thought I would try and find something on the internet. Although our 3G connection is good for basic stuff it is very slow and sometimes falls over when I try and do searches but I did find something.

Well its near Fradley and its RAF Lichfield which has already had a large Tesco warehouse built on it and there are also plans to build a total of 5000 eco friendly houses on it.

During the war the 51MU Air Transport Auxillary was based their that prepared and delivered aircraft to their Squardons. These included Beaufighters and Mossquitos for the Israel Airforce.

There are rumours that a headless rear gunner haunts the airfield who walked into the propeller of a Lancaster bomber whether it was an accident or suicide we'll never know.

Polesworth Abbey

Although Polesworth was an old coal mining town its history goes back a long time. This is the remains of the 15th century Abbey which leads to the imposing Norman church which can trace its hisyory back toAD827.