Trent and Mersey Canal – Page 2 – Narrowboat Firecrest

You light up my life, just one of the reasons I love waking up on a narrowboat.

What a difference a few hours make when the light changes. This is actually just over a week ago when we all thought summer had arrived. We had moored at a favourite spot of ours at Burston. It was peaceful and calming, (apart from the Canada guessed

I’m usually up at the crack of dawn to make the most of the sunrise, (and a cuppa). Only the view had disappeared

I’d like to pretend I watched the mist clear over the next hour, but I didnt, I snuggled back under the warm duvet. However the next day the world had turned pink.

And I remained mesmerised as the colours changed over the next hour

The day was going to be another good one.

Im not the only one who enjoys early mornings

Of course I couldn’t ignore the sunset, although that was looking the other way.

Burston is a pretty little hamlet, a half hour circular stroll takes you over the bridge and up to the village pond where the swans stand guard

And more daffodils

Now the good thing about the clocks springing forward is I get another week or two of seeing the sunrise at a reasonable hour, but I’m off the boat this weekend returning the car to our daughter so no 7am photos today. Unfortunately it also means I missed meeting Adrian and Adam on their new boat Kingley Vale yesterday.

Has Spring really Sprung?

How can the weather go from being rubbish to perfect in a blink of an eye? I can’t answer that one, but it wont stop the big grin on our faces to be cruising in the sunshine.

Although we’ve still had a few misty frosty mornings.

We made it up to Fradley Junction at the beginning of the week

and turned left onto the Trent and Mersey Canal. Time to flex those lock muscles that have been atrophying for the past 4 months.

Not sure if we’ll make it all the way to Preston Brook, but we are heading towards Northwich so maybe we’ll sneak in a trip to lovely Lymm whilst we are up there .

We can’t go too far each day because Eric has to saddle up to fetch the car. Then find somewhere safe to leave it, where it doesn’t cause any inconvenience to the locals.

Stocked up with groceries at Rugeley in time for a day two relaxing at Great Haywood, taking in a wander around the estate at Shrugborough Hall. The daffs are at their finest.

Although wa are watching our steps around the imfamous two bodied swan gracing the River Trent

From Summer lockdown to Winter closures, Where are we now….

What a year. We normally cruise between 600 to 700 miles a year. I don’t think we’ll make 200 this year. After scraping the bottom over the summer, and CRT advising us to find a safe place and stay put, we joined the queue to get through Glascote locks so we wouldn’t be trapped without facilities, we settled down at Fazeley Junction for August and Septemer. We ended up there until the Grand Union, Oxford and Coventry canals reopened on October 10th.

With Glascote locks only being open between 10am and 2pm long queues formed each day. We were number 10 to go through and I suspect there were another 10 boats behind us

Yet we still didn’t know where to go, because the grand reopening notice was accompanied with a caveat……it might only be for 2 weeks to allow boaters to return to their marinas before the planned winter closures begin. And despite some heavy rain in parts of the country, the resevoirs feeding the Coventry and the Grand Union were still chronically short of water.

This chart is taken from CRT’s website, showing the water levels in the resevoirs supplying the canals. As you can see there’s still a significant shortfall

Usually during the late summer we start to talk about where we will be for Christmas. The winter maintenance plans have been published and we have time to cruise leisurely towards a region which will provided us with what we need -that’s enough distance to both cruise and moor whilst maintaining the 14 day mooring rule, and with easy access to services if we were to get frozen in. We’d tentatively talked about Milton Keynes for this winter. However, we’re cautious cruisers; we’ve opted for an easy lifestyle that doesn’t revolve around deadlines and restrictions, or for that matter cruising for long days in the rain just to reach a destination. The path towards Bedfordshire was not going to be plain sailing. The number of emergency closures and planned restrictions this year has sucked the joy out of cruising. It’s been hard work and frustrating.

This is a screen shot of the closed sections of the canals taken at the end of August. We are slap bang in the middle

Not knowing if or when or where we would be able to cruise helped us make the decision to put Firecrest into a marina from December. So for the next few weeks we are mooching around south Staffordshire bidding our time until all those cruising uncertainties no longer concern us. Ironically, this week CRT published another notice saying they wouldn’t be reinstating the closures on the Coventry and Grand Union, so we could potentially, with more room to roam, have remained on the cut over winter. But with the decision made – and the deposit paid, we are now enjoying one month of gentle meandering.

All that said, it wasn’t an awful summer. We made the best of what we had. And really, choosing to moor at Fazeley Junction for the duration of Lockdown 25 was a good move. Eric went out at 9am every day to measure the water levels.

We would expect the water to be lapping the water mark on the black boarding

And in true Eric style, he produced a graph showing the daily changes in water levels from the day we moored up on 21st August till restrictions being lifted on 10th October. We left on the 11th. With the Coventry canal closures actually starting on the 26th and the Fradley closures between 2nd September to17th September.

This is our records of the speed with which the water dropped and rose once the fradley locks were closed. And although levels are cruisable they are still on the low side.

It was scary and unnerving. Our biggest fear was that with the boat resting on the bottom, it would tilt over making it horrible to live on board. And for us in particular, there wouldnt be sufficient water in the skin tanks to cool the generator, meaning we couldn’t keep the batteries topped up. We were able to avoid this by pushing the boat away from the shallow edge, but being on a boat that doesnt bob and rock just doesnt feel right. Others werent quite so lucky and several boats were having to use their planks to get on and off their boats or had just abandoned them altogether.

Eric was trying to shift debris on the bottom to gain us a precious inch. He didn’t succeed

Unwelcome as it was, as far as Fazeley goes it’s an almost perfect mooring to be stuck at. We were in full sun so the solar panels were able to do their best, and Kat and Teddy on the fuel boat made it down to top up the tank one last time before they also got stuck.

We are eternally grateful to the fortitude of fuel boat crews, yes we might provide their livelihood, but they provide our boats lifeblood in diesel

We overlooked Peel Wharf and enjoyed getting to know some of the local residents as well as the stranded boaters. We were within walking distance of a choice of shops, buses and train services. It was close enough to the water point to barrel roll a few days worth of cups of tea

We even photo bombed a drone shot of a house that was being put on the market.

Who wouldn’t want to buy a house with a boat like ours moored outside

And of course guess what happened the day the drought restrictions actually started. Biblical rain that even Noah would have run from.

Once CRT had made the very overdue decision to also close the locks at Fradley junction the water levels started to rise almost as dramatically as they had fallen. But all the boaters were in agreement, we did not want navigation reopening until CRT could guarantee the levels wouldn’t fall again, leaving us stranded in a place without facilities. In fact we were so sceptical that the resevoirs would fill up, we started planning our Christmas party incase the restrictions weren’t lifted this year. Despite there being plenty to keep us amused around Fazeley and Tamworth, by October the canal water levels were more or less cruisable, mooring up might have been difficult in some places and going through bridgeholes is always a risky business because they naturally silt up and are shallower than the main cruising channel. And as soon as CRT lifted the restrictions on the Coventry canal we knew we would have to start complying with the 14 day maximum mooring rule again. Our itchy feet got the better of us- or rather, as one of my less delicate family members said, it was our itchy bottom that made us move. We made it all the way to Hopwas for our first night away.

And then we meandered along to wind just beyond Rugeley

Brindley bank winding hole, north Rugeley

Right now we’re now mooching around this area throughout November making the most of some gorgeous autumnal weather, and trying not to groan when it rains, because believe me, as continual cruisers we need the rain and we need it to rain heavily every night from now until spring if we stand any chance of filling up those resevoirs. Im going on record now to say we suspect there will be similar water level restrictions imposed next summer. In the mean time let’s enjoy autumn

The Past is our Key to the Future, National Memorial Arboretum

Alrewas has a real community atmosphere. And had it not been for enduring the second heatwave we would have taken advantage of joining in a few more communal activities. We’d enjoyed the Open Gardens on Saturday and Sunday. We quite fancied trying our hands at bowling on Monday but gave that a miss, especially as our friends on NB Peru cruised past and were able to stop for a glass of something cold. But the local walking group that meets on Tuesday mornings promised to be finished in time for a pub lunch so off we set to meet the group. I’d emailed the leader in advance so they were expecting us. What the website
didn’t tell us is that the group is subdivided – the striders and the strollers, thankfully the striders had sensibly set off early to beat the heat so we weren’t faced with the embarrassment of wimping out of doing the full 6 miles. The group had decided to show us, the newbies their pride and joy, the National Memorial Arboretum, roughly a 3 mile round trip and with the advantage of lots of shady trees. We walked and talked and shared stories. And as promised finished off with lunch at the Crown. which I’m happy to say, was a very good lunch.

I decided to go back to the Arboretum the day after for some personal contemplation. It’s a large site that is constantly evolving with new memorials being added all the time.

I did wonder what the stick man was commemorating, but he was there to add appeal for the youngsters, as he tries to find his family hiding in amonst the trees. I’m sure the kiddies love it but I thought there was enough awe and wonder in many of the military memorials to keep everyone interested

Not all the memorials are regimental. Many acknowledge civilian and political efforts to create peace,

But many are so poignant that they stop you in your tracks when you think about the tragedy of war. And what it makes leaders do to their own people.

I stood a while at this garden Memorial, not because it was the most impactful, but because Eric’s family, served in the GPO during WWII

And this Memorial made me smile, as I never imagined I’d be crossing the Suez canal

Were those Egyptian pyramids across the water, oh no, it was more gravel extraction that is happening all around this area. And once this pit is exhausted I believe the lake will become part of the NMA site.

There were many many more sculptures, plaques and gardens on site, recognising selfless acts of service or suffering not aligned with the armed forces. I’d say this is a place everyone should visit at least once, it packs a punch where youre least expecting it, and it made a lasting impression on us. Back in 2018 I wrote 3 blog posts about the NMA which has a bit more information.
but for today I shall leave you with this image.

National Memorial Arboretum part 1

What a Show

With Firecrest safe and secure in Shobnall marina for a few days, we hired a car and drove up to the Lakes. Its always a treat to stay at Mums, even if shes no longer with us. This is where I used to play as a child, no wonder I love living on the water now.

I was booked in to go to The Cumbrian Wool Gathering, and for a yarnie like me who loves knitting and spinning and crochet and felting infact anything textile, two whole days of woolly magic is my idea of heaven. Whilst a yarn festival might be my idea of heaven, Eric dutifully handed over the credit card and left me to it so I could take advantage of some very talented people showcasing small businesses from studios in Cumbria and some a bit further afield.

All things considered I was quite restrained in what came home with me

When we got back to Firecrest we cruised back towards Alrewas. We were admiring the open countryside around Branston lock, when a walker told us to make the most of it. This green space is due to have 100’s of houses built on it.,

Going upstream on the River section was a bit of a struggle, it might have looked a lovely day, but the wind was fierce and the flow was fast, it felt like we were trudging through treacle.

Luck was on our side to get the last available 14 day mooring and we settled down to enjoy village life.

We were in for another treat as it was Alrewas Open Gardens weekend.

There were 32 gardens for us to visit and they ranged from postage stamps and wild flowers right through to some Chelsea showstoppers

Impossible to pick our favourite garden, but some of my favourite flowers

And of course no village show would be complete without a bit of yarn bombing

Love it or Hate it, a few days in Burton

Burton upon Trent is the home of Marmite and was, at its heyday, the home of beer brewing in England. Sadly for us because Eric loves a pint of Hobgoblin as much as I love the dark sticky stuff, Burton’s manufacturing industries have shrunk to almost none existence in the town, leaving it with a rather run down neglected feel. That said the mooring is excellent, with a newly laid and well used towpath.

Breweries dominate the sky

A common sight around Burton, the old and the new side by side

And there’s never an advertising opportunity missed

Marstons is the oldest brewery still in Burton

Brewing was the predominant industry in Burton, the high mineral content of the local water created a good flavour and when it was discovered that hops were a natural preservative, Burton became a leading brewer of India Pale Ale, so named because it was exported for the British troops in serving in India. Of course the canals also contributed to this commercial success because the beer could be transported easily to the sea ports. Even the canal took advantage of the local industry when the extremely hard wearing Staffordshire Blue bricks were used to line the locks and build bridges.

The Burton Boat Company owned warehouses on the river, known as Bond End. They tried to persuade James Brindley to amend the planned route of the Grand Trunk Canal to include these warehouses but for whatever reason- probably money, it didnt happen. So the short Bond End canal terminated at what is now Shobnall marina. Companies were forced to unload their goods at the Shobnall Bar and reload them onto the Grand Trunk boats. After much political wrangling and shenanigans, the railways took over as the preferred transport system and the Bond End canal fell into neglect but the mid 1800’s. Eventually it was only the basin that was left and in 1973 Jannel Cruisers took ownership and created Shobnall marina as we know it today. We filled our diesel tank for 81p/l and booked ourselves in for 3 nights mooring so we could leave Firecrest safely whilst we went off visiting family. There is a detailed history page on their website, it’s worth a read, even if you only look at the photos of how it was to how it is now.

Bit of a tight squeeze getting in, but the fuel price is worth it

Whilst I was looking at Burtons history I discovered that the name Marmite is taken from a French term. A marmite is a large earthenware covered cooking pot, just like the one you see on the Marmite label. Of course I should say other savoury spreads are available …. but they’re nowhere near as delicious. Do you think I could become an “influencer”?

Five and a Quarter Miles

Another week of gentle cruising- although I should say one day’s cruise and a week of watching the world go by. Before the heatwave hit us the weather was a bit iffy. We’d moored up in Alrewas under a rainbow.

Looking towards Bagnall Lock at Alrewas, the river navigation board is on green, good to go

Not only do rainbows require rain, so do rivers, and if CRT get lucky, they get a lot of rain, but at Alrewas that means the short quarter mile section where the river Trent and the canal merge, it’s prone to fast flow and unsafe navigation. We didn’t want to hang around and wait for that to happen, so we donned our life jackets

And set off through Alrewas Lock past the “Quarter Mile Bridge” which the Trent flows under

Leaving Alrewas Lock to cross the River Trent

and across the canal where the water suddenly becomes clear enough to see the bottom- or you could if there wasn’t a garden of green down there

Makes a change from the usual muddy water

and out the other side around the floating barrier that prevents narrowboats getting swept the wrong way over the weir.

At this point I want to recall an incident we witnessed the day before at Alrewas Lock, as a reminder of the need to take Lock safety seriously. A boat had entered the lock to come up the canal. The crew had wound up to let the water in, and were walking across the top lock gate ready to open it. but there was a big splash, they had fallen off the lock gate into the canal. Not because they were being careless but because the boat had shot forward and hit the lock gate with such force that it shuddered and knocked the lady off. We rushed to help but there were enough people around that we weren’t needed and the lady was hauled out with only her pride injured. If the lock had still been filling she could have been sucked under never to be seen again. What we then found out was that the driver of the boat had left the helm and climbed off the boat because their dog was misbehaving on the bank, so there was no one actually controlling the boat, and the lady who had been knocked in was actually from the previous boat who had stopped to help. We all know accidents happen, but could this have been prevented if there had been someone at the helm? who knows. This time everyone lived to tell the tale and learn some lessons, – control your dogs, don’t bash into the lock gates and hold on tight when you cross a lock gate.
Anyway, back to our own story. Although the Trent isn’t a mile wide at this point, we think the bridge gets it’s name because it runs parallel to the canal spanning the flood plain for a Quarter Mile, between the Lock and just beyond the weir.

After the river section, we passed through Wychnor lock. The canal is quite busy at the moment and there was a crew waiting to come up in the next boat. They were already in position and offered to work the lock for us, hence a rare opportunity for me to post a photo of Firecrest leaving a lock

It’s about 5 miles down to Branston from Alrewas, and it feels like half of it is running parallel to the A38, its tedious and noisy, but we make it to one of the pretty locks, Tattenhall Lock

And find ourselves a pleasant mooring at the Branston water park

Just in time for another rainbow, whilst we were here, Adam and Adrian cruised past on Briar Rose, just enough time for a quick hello- must make it longer next time

And yes, Branston is the home of…..

Although it’s no longer made here.

And with it being a water park, no shortage of youngsters enjoying themselves

meandering slowly

We’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by all our to-ing and froing and exciting adventures over the past two or three months. Our next fixed commitment is to visit the dentist in Kendal in the second half of June. With Firecrest still being super shiny, we aren’t ready to leave our beloved boat unoccupied on the cut so we’ve booked a few nights into Shobnal Marina, at Burton. As its only 21 miles away and we’ve almost 21 days to get there, we are in meandering mode.

Through Colwich lock with its beautiful cottage, I wonder what it would be like to live in a cottage lock side,

Over the Brindly Bank Aqueduct

Which crosses over the River Trent, which is now quite a significant River and in need of some wide flood plains

.
And around the corner at Brindly Bank Corner. This particular spot is also infamously known as the Bloody Steps, (obscured by trees on the right.) after the dead body of Christina Collins was hauled up them. In 1839, Christina was a young woman travelling as a passenger to London. At Stone she made a complaint at the canal company offices that the crew were harassing her, but she continued her journey. By the next day she had been raped, murdered and thrown overboard. Two of the crew were found guilty and executed, a third was deported. The legend was used by Colin Dexter for one of the Inspector Morse stories.

I always look forward to this next little stretch because the owners of narrowboat Dancing Sheep, have a family of mannequins inhabiting their garden. Each time we see them, they are up to something different. This time they were campaigning to Fund British Waterways, a national campaign to highlight the urgent need for funding to keep this precious resource maintained, safe and accessible. https://waterways.org.uk/waterways/sites/fund-britains-waterways-overview
There is a link to the petition on the website

We had a night in Rugeley as there is a very convenient Tesco, canal side, we also took a bus ride into Lichfield for a bit of a wander, it’s a lovely city and I’m sure we’ll do it again. After Rugeley comes Armitage, which, thanks to the Staffordshire clay pits, was known for making clay pipes. In the 1850’s the small pottery had moved on to making sanitary ware. In 1867, the congregational minister Rev Edward Johns bought the business which went on to become Armitage Shanks. Athough the company is now based in Dubai, toilets are still made here. Sadly like many factories backing onto the canal, it’s not a particularly pretty site.

But the canal is lovely here, under its canopy of big trees

Unless of course you are wanting some sunshine on your new solar panels

Through the Armitage tunnel…. which is missing its top half. This is where I get off and walk ahead with my red and green stop go boards

There’s some lovely old woods around here, sadly some were sacrificed for the building of HS2, which has been abandoned. Much as I hated the destruction of the landscape for its route, and to some extent I questioned its necessity. I was not for abandoning it. Too much had been spent and we’ll never get back those ancient trees or hide the scar its left.

the rhododendron avenue survives though

And onto Fradley junction with its flight of 5 locks and helpful volunteers

Shugborough Hall

We woke to a perfect cruising day. I was determined that as we passed Great Haywood Junction, where the the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal meets the Trent and Mersey Canal, we would moor up so I could visit Shugborough Hall.

6 or so miles travelling south, under one of my favourite bridges, Salt Bridge, (named as it leads to the village of Salt- where you’ve guessed it, they mined Salt).

The junction was busy as always, but we managed to get one of the last spaces on the 2 day mooring. Eric had some work to do, so I left him to it and went for a walk. The estate is reached by crossing over the 16th century packhorse bridge, Essex Bridge. This where the Trent and the Sow meet and the Trent becomes the major river. This is another of my favourite bridges, although only 14 of the original 40 arches remain.

Essex Bridge, worth stepping off the towpath at Haywood lock to see, even if you don’t go onto the estate.

Although the estate is a National Trust property, the grounds are open to the public to enjoy, with monuments and follies hidden amongst huge trees.

The Chinese house and bridge over the River Sow

The cat monument celebrating Lord Anson’s Persian cat and his flock of Corsican goats built in 1750. And of course some beautiful flowers in the garden

The next day Eric and I set off to explore the house

The estate lands were owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until Henry VIII threw a spanner in the works, and seized their assets. In the 1600’s the Anson family bought the estate, knocked down the manor house and built themselves a stately home. The rest they say is history

Over the years, wealth was amassed through commerce and marriage, the house was extended. They travelled extensively

And many “treasures” and design styles were brought back to the house. We particularly liked this one, a Chinese garden seat, which was was filled with potpourri to help disguise odours emitting from the sitter. Personally we thought it was a forerunner to a USB charger socket

Battles were fort and won on behalf of the crown, and titles were awarded. The most prestigious was in 1831 when the family were given a hereditary peerage, and Thomas Anson became the 1st Earl of Lichfield. However even members of the aristocracy still need to wash their smalls, or employ a small army to do it for them.

Shugborough Hall was given to the National Trust in 1960 in lieu of inheritance taxes, but the 5th Earl was granted an apartment to continue living in. He was the photographer Patrick Lichfield, and many of the items on display were photos he’d taken. This wing is now open to the public which was fascinating seeing it filled with familiar, albeit now retro, crockery and appliances-the sort of thing that savvy shoppers can pick up at car boot sales, and some of us are still using- like our trusty Kenwood Chef. We weren’t permitted to take our own photos in this wing. After so much grandeur and a picnic in the grounds, we were quite happy to return to our little narrowboat to enjoy some natural landscaping along our canal.

Well Well Well

Back in the day, (1500 years ago give or take) the area we are cruising in now, was in the Kingdom of Mercia, the post Roman, Anglo Saxon region, not the rather trendy Marina south of Derby.

It’s a bit hard to pin down the specifics as literacy didn’t seem to take priority over Kingdom building. And to be honest, I still can’t make sense of who owned what or when. But if you look on Google maps there’s a purple historical landmark pin where we are moored. Well, well, well, as soon as the rain had stopped I needed to go and investigate. Right next to the canal is where you will find St Rufin’s Well.

Alas, it’s not all that remarkable at first sight,

And there was a nice circular route around the buttercup meadow, through the hamlet of Burston that would get me back to Firecrest.

Next to the village pond was an info board that told me a bit about St Rufin’s Well and the little chapel tucked away behind the cottages.

Rufin and his older brother Wulfad were the sons of the Pagan King Wulfhere. They had the “good fortune” to meet a prominent monk called Chad who converted them to Christianity. It is believed they were baptised here, in this well. However their father the king was furious and ordered them to be killed, an action he immediately regretted. He went on to meet with Chad and was also converted to Christianity. Chad went on to become the Bishop of Mercia, and both he, Rufin and Wulfad were all canonized for their martyrdom. This all happened in the 7th century and there are many legends and storys about what went on at this time. The power struggles between the Christians and the pagans led to many more slaughters. St Rufin’s Well was also known as the Druids well.
Whilst I was out researching a bit of history, Eric was communicating with his porthole spirit. Just like Aladin polishing his lamp, Eric was polishing his brass when his genie appeared.

This is obviously a spiritual place, there are many churches and memorials dedicated to Rufin, Wulfad and Chad, and there is a recognised pilgrimage walk between Lichfield and Chester cathedrals.