ANCHOR AWAY or maybe not at the moment

Well the intention was to go down to Stourport and then on to the River Severn down to Gloucester but as you all know from the news coverage anywhere near rivers is a no go. I know i need water to keep my home afloat but just like those poor people whose homes have flooded i only want it on the outside. When is this all going to stop. So having gone so far we decided the best thing was to turn around and head back to Gt. Haywood and south on the Trent &Mersey.
The anchor i bought for the R. Severn trip is now stowed away perhaps not to be used untill next year, still i shall need one sometime so it`s not wasted money.

Down through Rugeley passing this old building dating back some 150yrs and i believe was a mill. Wonder what will become of it after its current use as a car repair yard, housing maybe?
I saw a site recently that was being demolished and the contractor said the canalside small warehouse was going to become flats and the rest of the site houses so maybe a preservation order here and there is no bad thing.

Don`t think anyone will be to bothered if this lot below escapes preservation, it`s Rugeley power

station. So south we head as we are also prevented from going to Burton on Trent because of the River Trents intrusion at Alrewas has caused flooding. Shame really because i wanted to go down through Leicester where one of my boys is farming.

Anyway no real plans at the moment just see how it goes and that`s what this retirement life is all about , no plans, no rush, no worries.

BUMPING INTO FRIENDS

On down the Staffs&Worc` to Weeping Cross where at Radford Bank on bridge 98 a carvery can be yours for £3.50 upto about 6pm on through Acton Trussell arriving at Penkridge that was home for a week while Andy went south on the train to see family. Nice little place Penkridge with plenty of shops and a twice weekly large market. On a Wednesday as well as the market there is an auction of furniture and farm bits and well all sorts. Outside the auction room live chickens, ducks, geese and eggs of all sorts not just chickens are auctioned also fruits.

On the way back from market canalside is the Boat pub with a wonderful cooking range which apart from the surrounding brickwork is original.
Moving on after that all important task of filling the water tank and emptying the loo the M6 having passed over the canal some 3 miles back now runs alongside the canal for 1/2 mile before

the canal swings west and we arrive at Gailey. The tower here lockside looks as though it was part of some long demolished castle but was in fact built by the canal company so the toll collecter had a good view in both directions of approaching boats. The toll on coal was high as this was the main cargoe and therefor gave the canal co bigger profits.

The tower is now a gift shop and the lady runnig it lives upstairs.
At this point the A5 passes over the canal and was first used by the Celts. Then the Romans improved it for their use before Thomas Telford used it as a turnpike and charged a toll. Cargoes came in and out by road to be transhipped to canal boats.

You see above the lockgates next to the road bridge with just enough room to cross for locking but not enough for the normal straight lockbeams, i say normal but these L shaped beams are quite common on gates near bridges all over the system.

Had a nice surprise when 2 good friends in the form of Sue and Vic on their boat `No Problem` (link up on the right) stopped by on their way to getting their new cratch and wimp cover fitted. Haven`t seen each other since Braunston last year.

Now Sue/Vic were my first boating friends and in fact i met them before i even had a boat when after a few e mails asking god knows how many questions they invited me aboard at Bedford back in 2005. Thanks guys, and as a lot of boaters out there know you are real nice peepes.

So a few beers on No Problem and a gossip was a great evening.Till our paths cross again be safe.

STAFFS` & WORCESTERSHIRE CANAL

Turning right at Gt. Haywood brings us onto the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. The canal opened in 1772 and was designed by James Brindley. His aim was to link the ports of Hull,Liverpool & Bristol using the rivers Mersey, Trent & Severn.
His vision came about with the completion of the Trent&Mersey canal but by then he had died.
After less than a mile from the jct. the canal arrives at a very large expace of water called Tixall Wide and in this case you get what it says on the tin WIDE. It came about when the canal was built past Tixall Hall and the owners wanted their land to run down to a lake and not a canal.

The Hall was demolished in 1927 and all that remains is the Tixall Gatehouse built 1580 and still standing. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for 2 weeks in 1596 but nowadays it is owned by the Landmark Trust who buy up old buildings like the gatehouse and use them as holiday lets. The Gatehouse has 2 en-suite bedrooms and 2 tower bedrooms and can sleep 6.

Well sitting here the heavens have opened again and i can`t help thinking that a year ago it was really hot all July. Well the intention was to go down to Gloucester via the R. Severn but so much rain has fallen the river keeps flooding and passage has been stopped until levels drop.

The river was open again for a brief spell but with more rain falling in Wales it was soon shut again so perhaps it might be a good idea to change direction as we don`t want to risk getting stuck waiting for the water to go down. Still always another year and plenty more to do this year so maybe give it a miss for now.

STONE ONWARDS

The Star pub at Stone bottom lock was fully licenced in 1819 and the building predates the

canal by 200 yrs so that puts it back to the late 1500`s. It had at one time stabling for 12 boat horses and in the past has been a butchers shop and a slaughter house.

Inside the floor of each bar is on a slightly different level so if you have one to many blame the floor. Out back in the garden are some large excuse me a mo Now look Swannie my old mate i know i`ve just fed you half a loaf but i`m in the middle of my blog. Right the garden has 2 giant umbrella thingy`s with infra red heaters so us smokers can sit out.......and thats all i am saying on that subject.
These are the 3 dry docks that is now the base of the Canal Cruising Co. said to be the oldest canal boat hire company on the system. Talking of old, Stone was the home of Eva Morris who died Nov. 2000 6 days short of her 115th birthday and for a year prior to her death was the oldest recognized person in the world.

So leaving Stone we cruise down the Trent&Mersey stopping overnight at Weston upon Trent and as we prepare to turn right at Gt Haywood Jct another new marina of 200 berths has been built.

WANT YOUR PET TO GET MARRIED?

Just when i thought i had escaped the crazy world of the land and survived the R. Churnet in flood i discover at Endon on the Caldon canal near to bridge 28 the Fine Feathers Rare Breeds Farm. Now this place is an old farmhouse with a very large amount of land run by a very nice lady name of Sarie and with her hubby and children not only do they run an animal rescue centre they also encourage some rare breeds to....well breed.

Now the crazy bit, and that`s my opinion and yours are welcome in the comments section, is

they also do pet weddings. So if Rover fancies the bitch next door or the Buck and Doe you`ve told the kids have to be kept apart in case they....fight then this is for you. Get the pets married off then the kids and you can buy a narrowboat and be as happy and content as me.

http://www.petweddingsandpartners.co.uk/

Smashing place to stop off if you are boating in the area it`s free although it would be nice if you put some cash in the collection pot. You can see Llamas, Goats, Pigs, Ostrich, Emu, Racoons and

as in the pic Parrots flying as free as a bird....sorry. Also in one barn amongst many just hatched birds of all types 6 Rotwieler pups were in with a Vietnamese Pot Belly Pig.
Racoons and even a very large Owl all go to make this a pleasent stop off and also there`s a farm shop and being boaters themselves with a boat for hire you will be made welcome.



OK so what have we been upto in the last few hot sunny weeks, that reminds me i wonder if Tesco will take back all that sun tan cream?

After a great w`end at the Middlewich festival we came down the Trent&Mersey and below we


are waiting to go through the Harecastle Tunnell which is the left portal the right hand one is the original that suffered subsidence. Eight or so boats go through at a time in each direction and as it gets low in there i had to move my bike to the rear of the boat.

After the tunnell we went on the Caldon then back onto the T&M down to Stone where we spent 5 days, well we all need a holiday don`t we. Molly was re-united with Andy/Bev & the G`children much to her delight. I met Jo who is living on Misty Lady while her new boat Hadar is built ( link on the right) and i think thats as close as you need to get to our exact location.

Perhaps when we get some decent weather i might get a better sunset pic.
Night all.

MOLLY & THE PROBLEM

Here`s Molly, no it`s not a woman as some friends had thought. Molly has come to stay on board for a week while my son Andy and Bev plus the grandchildren are away on a weeks
holiday. At first she was not keen on eating but as the days went by she realised the family were not coming back straight away so she settled down and now demolishes her food as soon as i put it down for her.
This is what gave me the problem on board and caused me to call out a Vetus engineer. It`s the bit that stops the water coming in where the prop shaft exits the boat from the engine/g`box to

the propeller. The rubber seals inside that shiny gold bit decided they would let the water drip in, now as you can imagine water inside a boat is not a good idea. The engineer said it was unusual for the seals to go so soon and after checking the engine alignment was ok his only thought was it had not been properly installed from day one. Anyway all ok now and my engine bay is bone dry.

The gadget to the right of the shaft is the bilge pump and will auto pump out any water as it is fitted with a float switch.

MIDDLEWICH FESTIVAL

Being delayed by Johns alternator problem meant we were in Middlewich for the annual festival which was quite nice and attracted a lot of boats. All over the town at variouse venues some being halls and others marquees music of all types was being played. Many of the pubs had continuse entertainment from the friday to sunday night.

The parade through the town was small but a lot of effort had been made on costumes. A fun fair was on hand for the youngsters and many stalls of all types filled the local playing field

Down by the canal a large grassed area housed a large cicus tent that gave anyone a chance to juggle and try their hand at variouse cicus stunts. Also in this area was the horse boat society giving a talk and demonstrating harnessing and the control of the horse using only voice commands, very impressive and most enjoyable.

Anyway in the last week or so we popped up the Caldon canal and being in the Churnet Valley the reception for TV, phone and internet was poor and at times non existant.

Coming back we had to use a section of canal that a river also used and because of the heavy rain of late.......so much for flaming June..........the river name of which escapes me at moment was in flood and we only just got under the bridge you can see Nb VALERIE moored by at the top of the blog and then i had to remove stuff from the roof. So having cleared the bridge by no more than a half inch, yes half inch it was that close the next 2 miles was hard goimg against the flow and was i glad to see Tina/Andy at the lock where the river flowed into the canal waiting for me with the gates open as the lock moorings were under water!
Anyway i am sitting in a library doing this blog because with so many pictures to show it is so much faster on a landline with Broadband speeds. Where we are moored at the moment is a good internet signal so i must get a picture of Molly and tell you about a bit of trouble with the boat on the next blog.

So i will leave you to look at the pictures.
This is `HOLLY` a hire boat of Middlewich narrowboats. Now Holly is famouse all over the canal system as earlier in the year she was stolen by a chap who hired her leaving his van in the boatyard car park and paying by credit card and i am told having hired from the yard before.
He was traced on the South Oxford canal having painted the boat and altering the inside.
The canalworld Forum i belong to played its part in tracing Holly so she is now known all over the system.

Tina holding an Owl that the handler told us was capable of taking a Fox.

Ahoy shipmates. Lot of boaters have Parrotts on board.
Kings Lock pub was our local during the festival. The top picture was also taken at the pub.

MIDDLEWICH

Taking this picture i am standing on the Trent & Mersey, well not in the canal but on the bankside and from the bridge to the lock in the distance flows the shortest canal around. The Wardle Canal flows for about a hundred or so yards.
Now what happened is that in 1826 the Ellesmere & Chester canal co. now known as the Shropshire Union wanted to build a branch into Middlewich from their canal at Barbridge. The Act that gave them permission forbade them going closer than 100 yds to the Trent & Mersey canal.
In 1829 the T&M Co. built the arm and the lock so they could control this jct. and charge for access to their water. Can you see the chimneys, they are on the Wardle Lock cottages and one





of them is home to Maureen who has been on boats all her life. Nowadays she spends her time helping boats through the lock opening and shutting the gates which at the age of ......( did you think i would reveal that) is quite something. At the age of 16 she was working a boat as a No. 1

(owner) moving all sorts of cargoe around the system. I had many a chat with Maureen both in the pub and outside the cottage and boy had she some tales to tell, her childhood was a facinating tale in itself but that`s not for me to tell here.
I saw this wooden narrowboat in a shop window and as you can see in the first pic it was meant to hold CD`s and as my CD`s are on a shelf above the TV i stood looking at it wondering if


it would be any good to put my dinette place mats on. Now as you know place mats are larger than CD`s and would keep falling off the boat so i cut the boat in half and as you can see i now have a home for the mats and coasters.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEO

ONE YEAR OLD TODAY

JOBS ON BOARD

While we have been hanging around getting Johns alternator sorted - ok now by the way - i managed to get a button fender made up by a boater i met several times over the last couple of months by the name of Mal Edwards MBE, yes MBE we have some mighty fine people on the cut, his honour came through charity work.
While downloading the pics to my laptop i noticed some other things i have done over the last few months i thought you might like to see.

Anyway as you see in the pic it`s fitted below the main bow fender and the reason i wanted it
was when going up in a lock the boat tends to go forward as the lock fills and hits the cill and this can after a few knocks cause damage. The pic above shows a boat in a lock and the bow fender up against the gate but if you look at the waterline the lower bow is up against the cill so you can see in the top pic my extra fender would be on the cill not my bow.
Of course if you have crew to do the locks you could remain at the tiller and use the engine to keep the boat back from the cill but as i am all alone Aaarh i cant be up top and aboard.


I `ve put this light on the wall above the dinette to give a good light when doing my blog ( it`s on now) or just spreading the newspaper out. It uses less power than the four overhead lights and also the light is directed where i want it. The wire is concealed in the hardwood strip that i channelled out on the back.

This door panel is in the back of the dinette on the kitchen side and is held in place with magnetic catches. When removed it gives access to space below the dinette seat and holds my toolbox. It`s much quicker to access than removing the seat cushion and seat panel.
These 3 angled shelves at the end of the sink unit fill a dead space as you walk past the dinette and turn left into the kitchen area.
Well folks as i sit here at midnight in Cheshire the rain is coming down heavy with plenty of lightning and having done a few locks today on an empty stomach we all went to the pub this evening - yes Bev i know what`s new - and had a roast lamb carvery.

Like to say hello to Elsie who came upto me at a lock to say she reads the blog. Happens now and again and it`s always nice to meet a reader.

Oh just remembered we have all decided to head done to Gloucester now and not York as original plan, but that`s what this life is about freedom and the right to change your mind.

Also Molly is coming to stay for a week!..............You`ll have to wait for the blog......sorry

UNEXPECTED DELAY TO THE VOYAGE

I have made a few changes to the blog layout, one change is the pic i have added to the heading. The pic was taken on the Caldon canal last year and shows NB `VALERIE` moored outside the Black Lion pub at a point that the Churnet Valley Railway crosses the canal in front of the pub. I had seen a pic of this scene in a waterways mag and decided to capture the same scene with my boat.
Having all met up at the top of the boat lift after our different lift bookings we set off south on the Trent& Mersey. The delay we now have is the failure of the alternator on Johns boat `TUI`.
At the moment it has been sent away for repair. Poor John is not having much luck of late having only a few weeks ago replaced his leaking calorifier(hot water tank) at a cost of £250.
Between Anderton and Middlewich is Marston that has for hundreds of years been an area of many salt mines the workings covering a large area underground. Subcidence caused the forming of Flashes as at Billenge Green & Croxton. In some of the flashes old work boats have

been sunk and left. The original edge of the canal in some places is just below the surface and in the pic taken as i cruised by the canal edge is about halfway between me and the sunken boat.
Bridges and roads in the area have been raised several times over the years because of the subsidence.
In 1958 the canal was re-routed for a half mile and some months later the area of the old route collapsed leaving a large crater full of water.

Pictured an old sign recently. The word Board follows British Waterways on modern signage


only British Waterways is used. Also in the bottom right can be seen the name LEEDS before the number nowadays we use an std number. Wondering when did these number changes start?

FROM RAIN TO SUN

After coming off the Llangollen we spent the May Bank holidayw`end at Nantwich and what a wet couple of days that turned out. Sitting on board relaxing i felt sorry for the holiday boaters going by in the rain trying to make the most of their short time afloat.
After a few days moored up we all decided to head upto Anderton and go down the boat lift onto the R. Weaver as Andy/Tina had not been on the lift before. The lift takes 2 boats at a time from the Trent& Mersey canal down to the Weaver. Arriving at the booking office we found that there were 3 slots vacant enabling us all to go down the same day. At 13.45 i went down with Andy/Tina and John followed on the 17.30 decent.

Andy/Tina exiting the lift

There are 9 up & down passages each day except on Wednesday when the first 3 each way do not run due to maintenance. Coming back we had to take 3 seperate lift times spread over 2 days so a coin was tossed for choice of time slots. John ended up having to stay overnight at the bottom of the lift and in the pic below that i took from the top he can be seen moving off to find a mooring.

The lift passage can be pre-booked for a fee of £5 but no charge is made if you arrive and take a chance on a vacant slot. I prefer to take a chance because i don`t want to be tied to a time schedule, not my idea of freedom.

At the top of the lift the seat above has been provided and below you can see the top is a Mosaic story of the salt being mined and transported up the lift.

Also in the same area a living Willow seating area has also been created.

So the weather has been good and as you can see in the following pics ideal for the mums to launch their new arrivals.

LOOKING BACK

This collection of chinaware contains if i remember the landlady correctly 172 Teapots displayed


in all bars and the restaurant of the Willeymoor lock Tavern on the L`gollen. I have seen many collections of all sorts in the many HIC! pubs along the canal but thought this one the best so far.
The close up shows the artists easel with the tubes of paint his hat and coat hung on the side and a pot of brushes at the top Every teapot was a different subject and all could produce a cuppa eveven this Jukebox.

This canal wear shop is on a butty (unpowered boat) and is towed behind a narrowboat that

the husband/wife lived aboard. All the paint decoration on the many items on sale was done on board. Sales were good at this spot on the Llangollen as it was a popular stopping place for holiday makers and the people in cars just out for a canal walk.

The sun was shining and the pitch was canalside so why not put your feet up and have a grandstand view from the front deck of NB `VALERIE` And while i watched this little Robin

flew on and off the boat hopping around my feet picking up insects from between the non slip deck matting and at one time he perched on my foot and also had the cheek to fly into the boat
and knick the breadcrumbs off the breadboard in the kitchen half way up the boat.

Goodnight everyone.