Back up the River Soar

The Trent & Mersey canal starts, or in our case, finished, at Shardlow - the distinction decided by a bridge labelled number 1, which we passed under shortly after leaving the mooring.  After travelling through Shardlow flood lock and then the main lock (Derwent Mouth), we entered the River Trent and headed down to the River Soar. It`s a sudden change from canal to a wide, open river, one overlooked by massive bridges and bordered by weirs. M always gets up a bit of an umph along the Trent, as it`s so wide there`s little or no waves left by the time her wash reaches either bank.  Before the Soar, there`s Sawley with its large boat yard and moored cruisers, some of which are very Thames like - big and expensive with sea going capability - and two locks. The first, a flood lock, was open and the second, a pair of automated wide locks was, thankfully, not too busy.  A wide beam went into one of them as we approached and a narrow beam with which we had shared Derwent Mouth Lock was opening up the other.  The locks are hydraulically operated by the push of a button, so there are no heavy gates to `Suehandle` or paddles to wind. The problem, which we found a few years ago when we first used them without a lock keeper being there (which is more often than not), is knowing which button to push.  This time we were lucky, the chap and his wife on the other boat got us in and then, very kindly, let us out while they closed the gates and picked up crew;  not always an easy task on these high river locks. 

R. Trent

Approaching Sawley - R. Trent

The junction of the Trent and Soar at Trentlock is also the location of the start of the Erewash Canal, Thrumpton Weir and the Cranfleet Cut.  The cut is a short section of canal that takes boats using the Trent around the weir and off to Lincoln and beyond.  The Erewash goes through Long Eaton and up to Eastwood, on the Northern edges of Nottingham.  The River Soar takes us South to Loughborough and M`s home at Pillings Lock Marina.  But the river carries on from there, passing through Leicester and becoming the Grand Union Canal, which then continues all the way to the Thames. The River Soar is part of the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the navigation that links London to the North.

The weather was bright and clear as we headed up the Soar, and with all flood locks open, we had a pretty quick trip up to Loughborough.  We accompanied the other narrowbeam from Sawley (retired physics teacher and his wife, a retired midwife) through the locks at Ratcliffe, Kegworth and up to Zouch (pronounced Zoch).  There was a cruiser on the high, very small and awkward (especially in any wind) conctrete lock mooring at Ratcliffe.  I squeezed M in front of it and asked the owner if he was waiting for the lock.  "No", he said, "I`m cooking my breakfast".  I said, "Don`t you realize these moorings are for boats using the lock, you idiot" (pronounced "Oh. OK").

Waterside - R. Soar

Waterside - R. Soar

Waterside - R.Soar

The usual procedure in double width (wide) locks is for the crew - almost always the female - to work the locks and the helmsman to stay on board.  This is the way it was as we came up the Soar.  You always end up chatting to the person next to you - in this case, Sue up on the lock gates with the midwife and me on the boat with the physics teacher.  They seemed extremely nice people, as most do, and we fell into conversation about bow thrusters.  Neither boat had one and we agreed that the electric ones were of limited use - low power and short bursts only - but would be handy when reversing in a tight spot.  Going backwards is a nightmare at times, and always in confined spaces when the winds up a bit.  The bow of the boat has more windage (and becomes a bit of a sail) because it`s the highest part, and it has less draft (depth in the water) to resist disturbance by the wind. The physics teacher (I don`t know his name) suggested a mud weight.  I`d never considered one before but it has merits.  A mud weight is simply a weight on a length of rope that you attach to the bow when reversing.  The weight drags along the bottom of the canal keeping the line taught and pulling the bow straight - we might try it one day.



Kegworth Deep - R. Soar



Perfect day - R. Soar

Bit frothy in Kegworth Deep - R.Soar

We are now at Millers Bridge, about 500 yards from the marina where M lives.  Weather permitting, washing and polishing will begin.



M is now home at the top of the Liecester Arm - Grand Union Canal (R. Soar)



Big Locks

Since our last post we have moved off the Trent & Mersey narrow beam section and on to the wide bit.  The canal itself doesn`t look much broader, it`s the locks that are bigger - big enough for two narrow beam boats to enter together, or one wide beam to go it alone. (Narrow beam boats like M are 6`10" wide, while wide beams, with all the accompanying luxury and extra living space, can be up to 12`). We haven`t seen many on the move but they are out there, moored up in marinas or alongside on the rivers, plotting. They`re just waiting for the chance to come towards us on the narrowest section for miles, at a bridge, close to a bend, by overhanging trees ... .

After a night above Fradley junction (still on the narrow part of the Trent & Mersey, and where it  meets the Coventry Canal) we dropped down and moored above Keepers Lock, in `the junction` itself.  Fradley was busy (probably more than usual because of restrictions on the Leicester section of the Grand Union, the other route to the North) so we had a pleasant evening watching boats go by and walking V a short way up the Coventry.

Fradley Junction - from the Coventry Canal

The next day saw us through Alrewas and its short river section, and then onto Burton-on-Trent.  We passed the Burton breweries, Shobnall Basin`s chandlery and the watering point at Horninglow without hesitating - despite the pull of beer tasting tours, more shiny bits for the boat and the usual, "have we enough water"? conversation.  We had a night at Branston Water Park - always a favourite spot because of its views - and then stopped, after passing through Willington, at the Ukrainian near Western. 

Shardlow Lock

By then we were using wide beam locks.  The first on the way down is Stenson, which has a problem at the moment with its bottom gates: apparently, there`s a build up of gravel that`s preventing them from opening fully.  The two boats going down ahead of us got wedged together trying to leave and remained stuck long enough to receive advice from every direction imaginable - other boaters waiting to come up, boaters (us) waiting to go down, the adjacent pub, cyclists, dog walkers, dogs - and cause an eight boat queue on the other side.  But like all advice, the source is as important as the information - and if in doubt, do your own thing.  Eventually, one of them, an American on a hire boat (an inexperienced boater) was switched on enough to get them both extricated from the lock.  Things then resumed to normal, but a bit slower, as two boats couldn`t enter or leave the bottom gates together.




A boat nudges into Stenson Lock with a view to pulling out a boat that`s wedged in



M drops in Stenson.  Advice: do your own thing

Do your own thing.  A boat at Willington with a foredeck hydraulic motorcycle ramp 

There`s been little rain since we`ve been out these past two months and the water levels on both canals and rivers are noticeably low. Canals are artificial waterways and unless water flows into them from rivers, it has to be pumped. To help prevent water loss, we`ve been very careful to make sure that all the lock gates are closed properly when we leave them.  Despite being heavy, it`s surprising how many bottom gates will open of their own accord when there`s no water pressure in the lock to keep them shut. 



Deep locks on the Trent & Mersey - there`s always water passing through the gates 



M`s been putting a few hours in now in order to get back to Pillings Lock Marina before November and it`s shorter days and (an assumed) change to winter weather. From the Ukrainian we dropped into Shadlow and stayed the night on the town moorings opposite the old wharf.  Although there`s still a boat yard, most of the buildings have been converted to waterside apartments.  It`s a nice place, with it`s pubs and old buildings, and the canal lined with drooping willow trees.



The wharf at Shardlow



M on the Shardlow town mooring

Now that we are getting close to home and the prospect of normality returns - living in a house and in one place for a while - Sue`s wondering how long she`ll be able to cope with her long(er than normal) hair.  I think she`ll persevere.

Water Gypsy

Communication

Yesterday morning was damp and cold, there was no 3G signal and we got rammed by a hire boat.  The dampness and cold are purely down to the time of year, so all we could do was wrap up warm and have the coal burner going all day - it makes it really toasty down below for when you stop.  The 3G signal on Sue`s iPhone has been, on the whole, good the entire trip with only a few days seeing us without wi-fi for the laptops.  Yesterday was one of them days, so we just read instead of blogging. (Sue`s phone is on the One plan from the company 3. She gets unlimited data plus generous phone and text allowances). The hire boat came flying through a blind bridge and couldn`t stop.  Thankfully, M`s approach from the other side had been at tick-over, so we were able to come to a halt, reducing the crunch factor. They were far too fast, as I told the chap holding the tiller - he was, as you`d expect, of the opposite opinion.  At that speed the least he could have done was given a blast on the horn - giving us a chance to dive for cover. 

We stopped at Great Haywood last night, close to Shugborough, and continued down towards Fradley today.  We are now moored above Woodend Lock, so an hour or so will see us in Fradley tomorrow.  The weather has been clear but cold; it`s been a woolly hats and gloves day.  We stopped at Rugeley to shop at Morrisons (wine), visit the local pet shop (gravy bones) and have lunch (turkey `bacon` sarnies).  Sue went into the Nationwide to inform them of our change of address, having been told over the phone that phoning was not an option.  She was told, personally, to phone, as a personal call was not an option.  I sat outside with Vera. 

Clear blue sky at Rugeley`s market square

Vera had a bit of a barney with an Alsatian in the market square; well, barney`s a bit strong, it was more of a roll over and beg for mercy.  She`s too old for that sort thing and, although active, she likes quiet routine above all else - except food, of course.  V wakes us at 0710 every morning for me to take her out; she does whatever she has to do and is back on the boat munching breakfast before I get back carrying a bag containing whatever it is she`s done; at 1630 she gets very affectionate; at 1631 Sue feeds her; by 1900 she`s sparko.

V`s spot in M`s cabin - the coal burner`s not far away

This afternoon we continued down the Trent & Mersey through Armitage, the site of Hawkesyard Priory, and finally stopped just short of Fradley.  Most notable along this section has been the property.  Yesterday it was the adjacent open countryside but today it`s been the canal side houses.  The area is far more built up than further north and some of the houses have been great.  As I said to one lucky owner as we passed - boat at the bottom of your garden and a workshop next to it, and a nice part of the country, fantastic.  He smiled and gave us a thumbs up.

Open country - Trent & Mersey, Staffs

Lovely country - Trent & Mersey, Staffs

Hilly country - Trent & Mersey, Staffs

 
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For sale



Canal at the very bottom of garden

  

Colwich lock cottage

Working Boats of Stone

In some ways it`s nice to be back on a wider bit of canal, despite the fact that it`s not quite as pleasant as the Caldon.  But today we`ve been through nine locks and covered a few canal miles, so M`s engine has been able to work a bit.  The run has been good for her domestic batteries as well and they were sitting above 13V for most of the afternoon - they havn`t been  that high since we plugged in at Norbury.

There`s some nice canal side properties along this section - Barlaston to Stone - and they`re not necessarily big or expensive looking.  Many are just small semis with an added balcony or  conservatory from which the owner can enjoy the canal.  There is one place, though, an old boat yard, now a private residance, that has everything - private dock and all.

The old Barlaston Boatyard

Coming down through Stone we caught the aftermath of a meeting held this weekend, so there were a few boats around. Prince, a Thames/Grand Union working boat has been leapfrogging us for a few days - we first saw her on the Caldon - and her sister, Victoria was moored amongst the group at Stone.  These boats date back to the 1930`s and were originally designed to carry large loads but apparently they were never fully used and not many were built.  As far as the Caldon was concerned, Prince was a bit too deep in the draft and apparently ended up touching the bottom quite a lot.

Victoria - a big old working boat



Brand new - Emma Louise Too
















Stone Boatbuilders looked busy and there were a couple of nice boats outside, including Emma Louise Too, a narrow beam barge.

We stopped and shopped in Stone, a pleasant town with a busy pedestrianized shopping area, and Sue went into the Co-op for supplies while I waited outside with V.  I`d collected 58p by the time Sue came out, which usually represents about 25 minutes.  I bought some gloves - the weather is getting colder by the day - and some waterproof tape to repair our domestic water hose, which now washes the side of the boat  instead of filling her water tank every time we try to use it.

 

We are here



Tomorrow we head down to Great Haywood where we will come off the Four Counties Ring.  Thursday will be a rest day - possibly.  Today`s been a good day - sun, boats and a nice town along the way.

Graffiti, Stoke and Graffiti

We stayed at Engine Lock on the Caldon last night (Sun) and early this morning headed down into Stoke to rejoin the Trent & Mersey.  It`s the last leg of our journey and should see us back at Pillings Lock in a couple of weeks. 

Going back into a large city was a bit of a wake up call after the lovely countryside of the Caldon and the bygone era of its historic railway.  Stoke, from what you see of it from the canal, is all litter, graffiti and the feeling of `get through quicklyness` -  it rained as soon as we saw the first discarded supermarket trolley.





Railway engine -  Consall Forge, Caldon Canal

  



Railway engine - Stoke, Trent & Mersey Canal



At Etruria Junction (where the Caldon meets the Trent & Mersey) we stopped and pumped-out using the BW self service kit.  The token needed to work it costs £10 and for this you get 10 (smelly) MINUTES  PLUS MULTIPLE PAUSES - far better than the three minutes for £15 offered at most of the marinas we`ve visited.  Considering that all new marinas seem to have self service `services` anyway, you`re not getting anything extra for your money.  In future we`ll try and use BW whenever we can. 

Coming out of Stoke the wind picked up and a few rainy squalls set in.  I lost my hat in one of them and it was  fished out of the drink by Sue, expertly wielding the boat hook. We went by a boat yard called Dolphin that advertised a wide range of services that included fishing tackle and line dancing.  We didn`t stop.

We are now at Barlaston, moored below bridge 104,  just past the Wedgwood factory.  Tomorrow we`ll continue down to Stone.  The Trent & Mersey has been busy, something to do with half-term someone suggested today, although most of the boats we`ve seen have been crewed by couples - of a certain age, like us - with not a child in sight.

Bottle kiln and graffiti - Stoke, Trent & Mersey



Diversity - fishing tackle and line dancing

 

Directions to The Potteries, and graffiti - Stoke, Trent & Mersey

A week up the Caldon Canal

We've spent a lovely week up the Caldon & are now back at Engine Lock where we were last Sunday. It's all a bit remote up there, edging into the Peak District, so apart from a couple of brief moments out walking when we've been on the top of a hill, we haven't had a signal, either phone or 3G.


We spent a couple of nights at Cheddleton both on the way up & back. It has an interesting Flint Mill that was used to grind flint (funnily enough) for use in the production of Earthenware pottery. There is no local flint, it was all brought in first by pack horse & then canal to be ground using water power, then steam power for use in the local potteries.



Cheddleton Flint Mill, run by volunteers, was open for visitors on our way back.

 Cheddleton is also the end of the line for the local historic railway. We'd been following the disused lines since Engine Lock, the tracks have been left in place as they are trying to extend the distance over which the old diesel & steam trains are used. However, apparently the locals have objected to the reopening of the line beyond Cheddleton.

End of the line - Cheddleton Station

Autumn is definitely here & we regretted our initial mooring spot under a tree.

camouflage!

On to the end of the canal at Froghall. It was a bit disappointing. We'd forgotten the fact that although it's a very remote location, it's also the site of a huge copper wire factory. Or at least it used to be. The majority of the site has been flattened, apart from a huge chimney that was apparently saved from demolition at the last minute. According to our source (a local from Stoke) the first Transatlantic communications cables were produced here. Part of the works are still in operation, which was part of the problem as they made a real racket that went on all night. Still, the old basin beyond the low Froghall tunnel was still worth a visit. We're way to high to get through that, so had to walk around the outside.

Froghall basin

Heading back down the canal we again passed through a particularly significant bridge for us. It's called the Cherry Eye Bridge (number 53) & is a very unusual shape. During our previous trip on the hire boat, whilst passing under this bridge Jack, our notorious black lab, decided that he'd get back on the boat having been walking along the towpath with me & V. He put his front paws on the boat & as Simon slowly crawled through the bridge, he told jack to get the rest of himself on pronto. He told him several times, but as usual with jack, he did his own thing. The consequence was a loud splash, an upside down Labrador & 4 paws sticking out of the water! I dragged him out & he was fine, in fact he probably quite enjoyed himself!

The Cherry Eye Bridge, or Jack's Bridge as we call it.

We'd passed by Consall Forge on our way up without stopping. This is the site of another of the historic railway stations that literally borders the canal...... it's a bit of a tight squeeze, as in fact are large parts of the canal & most of the bridges!

the canal goes right beside the platform

Consall Forge station

On Friday we saw carriages being pulled by an old diesel engine called 'Captain Charles' (one of the first batch of Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon built Type 3s ordered in 1957) & moored up at Consall Forge overnight in the hope of seeing a steam train or 2 on Saturday. It worked as we saw the steam train go past a couple of times. It stopped at the station near to our mooring & as it pulled away it made an awesome noise. We'd better get our anoraks out......

Captain Charles crosses the Caldon at Consall Forge

The steam train leaving the station

A lot of the woodland around the area is owned by the RSPB & on Friday afternoon I'd taken my bins for a wander up into Chase Wood. It was quite a steep climb up & I saw few birds, although it was a lovely walk. Then I came out near the top of the path & was suddenly surrounded by birds, more Nuthatches than I could shake a stick at,  several Treecreepers & Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and loads of Coal Tits& Goldcrests. It was fab. The views back down the Churnet valley were pretty spectacular as well

View down the Churnet Valley

The weather on Saturday was glorious so we decided to take V for a walk up into Chase Wood. This was a bit of a different style of walk. The only birds we saw & heard were pheasants, which Vera had great fun chasing! We did keep reminding her that she's nearly 15, but she was acting like a 5 year old. She hadn't had as much fun in ages. I don't expect that the pheasants would agree.