South Staffordshire

On Monday, the sky seemed to have run out of rain,so we left our latest quiet, green mooring to continue southwards. During the trip we left waters that we had previously cruised, when we reached the junction with Shropshire Union canal. 

In the mile or so beforehand, we had a boat hard behind us (because they weren't slowing down for moored boats). So we let them pass, and immediately caught up to them as they had come to a halt under a bridge, blocking the navigation. We wondered if they had broken down or clogged their propeller but, no, a crew member was going ahead to suss out the junction ahead.

 As we arrived, they charged away again, and made the turn into the Shroppie, only to have to back out again, as another boat was already in the lock immediately beyond (despite his crew having told the helm that was the situation.  I know this because I heard her.. he didn't!) Here they are in midstream:
Not sorry to be away from that. Off the 4 Counties ring, traffic was immediately scarcer. The canal is skirting the edge of Wolverhampton and the Black Country yet is green and peaceful throughout. The only concessions to urban life were bridges and their graffiti:

At one point there was a narrow cutting so of course we met a boat coming the other way. Fortunately the other boat found a passing place and waited there. Breathe in!
Confirming that we are heading the right way:
We paused for the night in a quiet spot and feasted on Thai green curry, and set off again fairly early in the morning.. well, 9.30am.  The greenery continued, as long as a regular series of locks, with their cute little lock tail bridges
and quaint names.
A magnificent pair of old working boats at Giggety Wharf
And an example of the circular weirs that are a feature of this canal
before we moored up for a late lunch with a pub handy for dinnertime. A positively jungly  stop here, the solar panels won't collect much! We are away again tomorrow with a push to Kidderminster and a day moored up in prospect.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the move!

Image
Thursday 21st, and an ideal morning for a hike; mild, cloud cover but no rain expected, and a cool breeze. So I packed my lunch and headed off following a tour suggested by a hiking app on my phone. It mostly worked well, except where a so called path met an impenetrable hedge; there were a couple of detours required. But lovely countryside And loads of butterflies about. Here's the next generation: lots of striped caterpillars: In one village I came across a telephone box repurposed as a library. There was a bit more road walking than I really like, but when it's a quiet one, I should not moan too much.. certainly easier to walk on than stubble fields etc. Soon into more congenial territory: and then out the other side, what looked very much like a bit of Stourport basin, but on top of a hill in a cornfield. Turns out it was the stable block for a big Manor house. Now, it's a Franciscan mon...
Read more

Calor Gas crisis averted

There is currently a major supply issue ref Calor gas bottles in the UK. It's being going on for some time and there is some confusion over what has caused it. Some blame has been pointed at people buying patio heaters during the Covid-19 pandemic. Certainly Calor do not seem to be making much progress in sorting the problem.  Marinas and fuel boats seem to have been particularly badly hit with Calor either not delivering at all or only delivering a fraction of what was ordered. There have been many social media posts from canal liveaboards who are reliant on gas for cooking & heating and also from the fuel boats trying to supply them. So, when I was at the boat and tried in vain to light the oven to cook my half-baked baguette for lunch and then found that the spare was empty too, my heart sank. Quickly discovered that the marina had no gas available and could not even put us on a waiting list as they did not know when they might receive any... Luckily a recommendation from th...
Read more

Run for Home 11th to 14th June

During the trip to and from Froghall, Andrew became overwhelmed with the need to get home. He'd had it with trees and birds and being outside, and could not rest until we were back at our mooring in Nantwich.  So we were champing at the bit for the first passage of the day through Harecastle Tunnel. We did manage to get to the Italian restaurant, La Barchetta at Wheelock, after many occasions either not stopping there or the place not being open, and it was lovely.  Disappointed that both our pudding choices were unavailable,  Andrew in his unsettled state especially so. However, where we had diaried 5 days to cover the 35 miles and 31 locks back to Nantwich, we did it in 3 1/2, not even pausing at Middlewich (except at the King's Lock Chippy, obviously). And then we were home and I was not even sure at that point if he would ever go back to the boat again. However, it certainly was good to watch the election night on our big telly, Andrew in his comfy chair and me in the...
Read more