Tag: Marina

Emerging from Hibernation

At the end of November we, packed up and waved goodbye to Firecrest.  Headed home to the security of firm foundations that bricks and mortar provide. We relished spending time visiting friends and family, pavements that weren’t muddy, cupboards that didnt need checking for mildew, and a dishwasher, yet every time the sun shone, (which admittedly hasn’t been very often) a sense of restlessness and the muttered refrain, “its a good day to cruise” could be heard. Being home is indeed a mixed blessing, I value the space and security more than Eric. I have more friends that I like to meet up with for girly giggles, cake and coffee. Eric enjoys being able to pick up his DIY tools from their convenient shelf in the garage without having to unpack storage boxes to find the right one on the boat. But we miss the peaceful simplicity of life afloat. Admittedly Eric is still running his own design business, so during the winter months he has plenty to keep him occupied, whereas I miss the opportunities to be outside exploring, and simply soaking up the ambience of the canals. We have just under 2 weeks left of marina life. Eric is now back on board making Firecrest shipshape and I am taking final advantage of being able to use our car to travel further afield visiting family. 3 months, a whole quarter of a year, doesn’t half fly past quickly these days. I’m not going to promise how often I’ll post our progress but hopefully this year won’t be as fraught with closures as 2025. We are looking forward to moving again in just a few weeks.

Keeping occupied in the club house
But you can’t ignore a loose screw
Just some of the people and places we have enjoyed over winter

From Stoke to Stone

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.

Festival Park Marina

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.

not an ideal storage place for the panels…. or for my temperament

We’ve cruised through Stoke a few times, and love the heritage buildings along the canal

I’d love to know more about what goes on at a Bone and Flint mill

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.

The conical kilns of the potteries might not be unique but they are a special part of our heritage and should be valued.

But mooring in central Stoke isn’t the most appealing so we cruised on to Barlaston for a rural view.

The Wedgwood Mooring at Barlaston

And some ducky company

No, you can never have too many photos of ducklings

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.

The Meaford flight, above Stone

And onto the Whitebridge Lane moorings at Stone,

Looks like Eric can wash the roof here to his hearts content

With a Heron for company and trees that wanted to keep hold of their spring leaves.