From Stoke to Stone
Whilst we were living it up in Alnwick, Firecrest was enjoying a peaceful weekend in Stoke’s Festival Park Marina.
It’s not somewhere we’d choose to moor permanently, the power hook up trip is only 6 amp and the H&S fairies shouldn’t be allowed to look at the state of the pontoons. But for a few nights, it’s ideal. It gave us peace of mind, the staff are friendly and helpful, it’s got facilities, and a big Morrisons close by. And the Iris were in bloom so it was pretty as well.
I’d collected the replacement solar panels from home, so our plan was to cruise towards Stone, looking out for a suitable mooring for some serious DIY. Cause those panels were too big to be stored in the boat for long. We’d also treated ourselves to a new boat pole that was still being oiled ready for its life under the elements.
We’ve cruised through Stoke a few times, and love the heritage buildings along the canal
Some have been preserved and are still in use, Whist sadly, some are ready to fall down if they don’t recieve any care and attention.
But mooring in central Stoke isn’t the most appealing so we cruised on to Barlaston for a rural view.
And some ducky company
We thought we’d be able to do the panels here, but the spring pollen, blossom and seeds were swirling through the air fast and furious, which meant that by the time we’d got to washing one end of the roof, the first end was already covered in bits that would pollute the glue. So pretty though it was, we moved down through the equally pretty Meaford lock flight.
And onto the Whitebridge Lane moorings at Stone,
With a Heron for company and trees that wanted to keep hold of their spring leaves.
