Having decided against embarking on the LLangollen, we have a new plan.... the Four counties Ring. This will take us into unseen (for us) territory and, as the Rivers are too fast to go back down the Severn to Worcester, we will take a route through Birmingham, and back down Tardebigge, which doesn't seem quite so daunting now we are so much more experienced.
We took the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union canal towards the Trent and Mersey. This was uneventful and very pretty.
The Trent and Mersey seemed much busier and had a completely different feel, particularly as much of it followed a busy road and the noise was deafening. Pretty ugly surroundings remnant of salt making works centuries ago. We battled on to get away from the noise.
It got prettier at last, and we experienced our first double locks, which are no big deal really. It just means that when you head for one, it's probably out of action and you should have headed for the other one! The canal is lovely and wide and made for easy, smooth cruising. You start getting friendly with other boaters that are travelling the same way.
The weather is all over the place, and getting very cold. If rain is forecast, we sit it out and I play the piano and do my knitting while Andy researches the latest Rocket Science updates. One evening we were so cold, our fingers frozen and it was spitting with rain while we wrestled with the pram cover, But that lovely feeling when it's all up and cozy is worth every mile.
It only took a few days to get to the Harecastle tunnel. This is a little bit famous owing to its length, width and height, all of which are the opposite to what you may prefer. Being 2926 yards long, and only one boat width, you have to book to go through if you are going to turn up any time after 12 midday. So we arrived at about 11am along with only one other boat, removed our chimney and herb garden, and listened carefully to our safely drill.
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You had to put on all your inside lights to help illuminate the tunnel. Your horn had to be working (and ours is a bit dodgy). they suggested hard hats and life jackets (🤣) and you had to have headlight and navigation lights on at all times.
Apparently it is the iron deposits seeping from the Old, closed, disused tunnel that is responsible for the red colour of the water.
While you are going through the tunnel they close the doors and put a ventilation pump on, so there is absoluteley no light when you are in the middle
We took it in turns to do the driving as it takes 40 minutes, and neither of us had a mishap, so that was an excellent result. It felt pretty good to get to the other end. There are so many hurdles and hazards with this lifestyle!
Now we can relax and head for the wonderful Stoke on Trent!
Fortunately, there is a fair bit of restoration going on, which is always so good to see. .. Pretty tastefully done too.
But there is still plenty of scope. Our days were getting tiring for lack of peaceful places that felt safe to stop over!
Fatigue started to set in.
This led to getting slack about some important pre-cruise checks.
You guessed it. Crunch under a low bridge. Me driving. Both at fault.
And then, whenever you want to fill up with water, the tap is always on the side where we store the folding bike, which spends a lot of time folded and very much in the way.
But then something beautiful happens and all is well with the world.
Bridges remain low, but much more beautiful. Still nowhere to stop except for one lovely pub, and it was only lunchtime, but there are times when you need a bit of a lift.
We had a gourmet lunch and warmed ourselves through at the Saracens Head at Weston-on-Trent, which turned out to be fabulous. Such a lucky find among the abandoned boats that used to be such an important part in the various industries that needed them once.
We did get to stop overnight in a cosy spot near a marina at Great Haywood. Next morning we were about to pass this boatyard but saw that they sold gas. We had an empty gas bottle, so we pulled over and moored up. It was a handy and easy pull in, near a tap so we could fill up, albeit on the wrong side again.
So why is there a pile of wet clothes and boots dumped at the stern deck? !!!!!!!! Well guess who slipped into the canal on the coldest day of the year.? 5 degrees outside! Andy was in such a rush to open the gas locker at the bow, he hadn't quite secured the bow line. I was still tying the stern and had no idea that he was so ahead of me until I heard a cry of "Karen, can you pull me in?". There he was, like a gangplank between the boat and the quay. Impossible situation i'm afraid, and worse still I didn't have the heart to take a photo. PLOP!
the Marina man was kind enough to change the gas bottle for me, which is a heavy old job, while Andy got in the hot shower. I had to wring out the clothes and boots, and believe me it was cold. These clothes were still sopping wet three days later.
It had to happen, and I hope it doesn't happen again or to me!! It is hard not to laugh when I think of my Yogi husband, horizontal above the cold, mucky water, He has recovered now, and i don't think he'll try that trick again for a while.
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