Narrowboat Just Heaven

The sun was shining and the sky was blue so we set off not long after 7 o’clock. Unfortunately that was the best weather of the day as it gradually got greyer and spotted with rain at times.

As we came up through Gailey lock Heddi called out “I’ve got no power!” I could hear the engine was still running - my first thought was that she’d picked up something round the prop in the lock. But it soon became clear that the throttle cable had gone - again! We push the boat over to the side and I lifted the engine cover to confirm it. Luckily we were right outside Viking Afloat’s hire base. I thought that it was most likely that they would have one. They had a 2.5m cable and a 3,25m but not a 3m. I opted for the 2.5. It didn’t take long to fit it and we were on our way again in about 30 minutes.

We stopped at Limekiln Chandlers in Compton to buy a spare cable and to replace the chimney that we lost earlier in the year.

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Another fairly short day. Lots of boats about and the weather was reasonably good, grey but fairly warm and not wet.

We stopped briefly in Tixall wide for a full English breakfast. We stopped for the night between the two locks at Penkridge. It was a bit busy there and with hindsight we would have been better above Filance Lock.

On our usual evening walk we went into the town in search of a late night convenience store that we have used previously. We couldn’t find it, but then found one only about 50yds from Penkridge lock!

Sorry, still no pics.

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A very short day today - only 7 miles & nine locks.

We did a few jobs around the boat. I treated the roof with a Jeyes Fluid solution to remove some of the algae that had developed during the winter. The problem was that I tried to rinse it off with the mop, the rough non-slip surface on the roof tended to shred the mop so I ended up with a slightly fluffy roof!

We stopped in Alrewas to visit the excellent butcher and pick up a few things from the Co-op. Then on to Fradley where we had a pumpout and topped up with diesel. A slowish chug up to Armitage where we moored up at about 5 o’clock.

We had our meal in the Plum Pudding, but it was a bit disappointing. There was only one other table occupied so the atmosphere was lacking, the menu wasn’t as interesting as on a previous visit and some items were ‘off’. I think it must have changed hands.

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Still no pics I’m afraid.

A busy day today, lots of hire boats about. We haven’t been on the Trent & Mersey for over six years. We used to have a share in the Ownerships boat “Symphony”. At one time it was based at Barton Turns marina. So we used to know this section well. It’s odd how much we remembered and how much we forgot.

When we reached Colwich lock there were two boats in front of us and four waiting to come up. One of the crew from an upcoming boat said that they had been waiting there for over an hour. At Wood End lock some told us that it was chaos at Fradley with boats having nowhere to wait for locks because of all the moored boats. But when we got there is was fairly busy, as is often the case, but not overly so.

We stopped for water outside the cafe and BW depot. There are some loose capping stones here near the original water point. BW have fenced the whole area off (for H&S reasons) and installed a temporary water point. It occurred to me that it would have been quicker & cheaper to have repaired the capping stones !

As we passed the Plum Pudding at Armitage I popped in to make a reservation as it’s our 37th wedding anniversary tomorrow.

Moored for the night just past Wychnor church on the river section. This was a favourite mooring of ours in the past.

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Only a short cruise today, just two locks and a few miles. We arrived at Tixall Wide in time for lunch, then went for a long walk up into Brocton Coppice and around the Shugborough estate.

We started off by walking back along the towpath to bridge 106 then across the river, the railway line and the busy A513. There are many paths criss-crossing Brocton Coppice  and Cannock Chase. We went up across the Coppice to meet the Staffordshire Way between Harts Hill & Mere pits. The Staffordshire Way then took us back  along the A513 for a while before cutting across the Shugborough estate to join the towpath of the Trent & Mersey canal. From there we made our way back via Great Haywood junction.

There are a great many canal related walks that can be done which include part of the Staffordshire Way. This long distance footpath starts at Kinver Edge and goes up to Mow Cop. On the way it crosses, or goes close to, canals in seven different places.

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A longish day today. When we awoke the sky was blue and the sun shining, so an early start was called for. On the move by 7:30. Unfortunately by nine o’clock the clouds had gathered and the rest of the day was grey and overcast. Still not many boats around and we didnt have to queue at locks at all, though we did occasionally have to wait for a boat coming towards us. We didn’t mind as it means we get the chance to natter to other boaters.

At Rodbaston lock there was a boat going down when we arrived, as they were going down a short, old tug style boat approached below the lock. As it went to slow down a huge cloud of black smoke belched out of it’s exhaust stack. The other boat left the lock and I waited for the tug to come in. There was another cloud of smoke and a young woman carrying a windlass walked up the path. She was covered in flecks of soot and had black hands. I got chatting to her and the boat’s steerer and it seems that they had bought the boat only a couple of hours earlier in Penkridge. The vendor started the engine, but it didnt smoke then, but since they are covered in soot everytime they open the throttle!  They have a barge on the Leeds & Liverpool, but fancied doing the narrow canals so bought the tug on a whim.

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No photos this trip I’m afraid. We forgot to bring the camera battery charger with us, went to take the first photo and the camera shut down saying no power.

We didnt leave the mooring until about twelve, then a quietish chug until four thirty when we moored up on the visitor’s mooring above Bratch locks. There was hardly any other boats on the move and every lock was in our favour. We had our evening meal about sixish then decided to go for a walk. Up the towpath to Awbridge lock, then along the road for about half a mile until we came to the bridge where the old railway line crosses. We went up onto the line and then back towards Womborne and back up the towpath. We only saw one other person, a dog walker. The weather was a bit damp perhaps that’s what kept everyone indoors.

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We spent the weekend chilling out, going for walks and doing a few jobs onboard.

On Saturday we arrived about lunchtime, then in the afternoon we went in search of the “Kinver Edge Farm Shop”. We had seen several signs for it and a check of their postcode with Google maps indicated that it was just up Church Hill, a short walk from Kinver Lock. It isn’t where Google says it is! It is actually much further along the lane, probably about half a mile further. When we got there we were very disappointed. We are used to farm shops well stocked with a range of local produce and other goods from small rural producers, but all they had was a few vegetables and a freezer with some sausages in. It is much more of a PYO place with a small cafe. The walk wasn’t wasted however as we saw parts of Kinver Edge and decided to come back for a proper visit the next day.

Sunday:
Set out for Kinver Edge again and did a lovely walk taking in the open heathland and the wooded section below the Edge. We will definately be back for more exploration of this wonderful natural asset.

These caves were once inhabited

Nanny`s Rock

We were talking to some other local moorers who said that they had witnessed boats hitting our boat as they were coming in to the lock. We also saw some near misses whilst we were on board, so I have decided to get some tyres to put down the side of the boat in the hope that this will encourage passing boats to keep further away from us.

After our evening meal we again did the walk down to Whittington Horse Bridge and back, this time in the opposite direction.

Monday: Another walk today. This time up the towpath to Stewponey lock and then back along the footpath through Primrose wood. Then back home in time to pick up the grandchildren from school.

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