We awoke to another cold, frosty but clear & sunny morning.

The frosts of the previous two nights had loosened the autumn leaves and they were falling from the trees like a snow storm! The bright sun on the trees brought out the autumn colours beautifully.
We stopped at Limekiln Chandlers in Compton to top up with diesel. As the new tax rates were due to start on the 1st of November we thought that this would be our last chance to fill up at the old rate. Another boat ‘Ossie’ that we had met the previous day was there for the same reason. The guy at Limekiln was not looking forward to the new system at all! He was sure that it was a recipe for chaos.

The plan for the week was to get to Tixall wide. We hadn’t been there for a few years and, though we had passed through several times, we hadn’t ever spent the night there. We had identified several walks in the area and thought that we might go to Shugborough Hall.

The cold weather, and Heddi not feeling very well means that we abandoned the plan. It was clear in the afternoon that even if we did get to Tixall it would only be to turn round and head back. So we stopped at about 2:30 at Laches bridge no. 73.

I spent a significant part of the afternoon simply watching the sheep in a field across the canal !