Christmas Shopping.

On Saturday we arrived back at the boat after two week visiting first Pamela and then Stephen. Before that we had been up to Yorkshire visiting Richard and my mother.
Yesterday we got itchy feet and with the sun shinning decided to take the boat down to Burton-upon-Trent to do some Christmas shopping. It was nice to be moving again. Leaving around 10-o clock it took us two hours to reach Burton, mooring at Shobnall next to Marston's brewery. At one time there were 31 breweries in the town, producing 3 million barrels a year. Not bad considering it all started with the monks at Burton Abbey,apparently the water here abouts is good for brewing. We were in town most of the afternoon, it was very busy, not my idea of fun but it's done now.
Staying over night we set off back this morning. The sun had not come out today and we had a few showers, plus it was alot colder. Still, we are a hardy couple and enjoyed the trip back, surprisingly we saw a few more boats out and about. while out we took the chance to stock up on wood for the stove,there are plenty of fallen branches along the canal. The down side is I have to cut them into logs with a bush saw. Perhaps I should invest in a chain saw. We are now back moored in the marina for the rest of the week before going to Pamela's for Christmas, So, from Marlene and me a very Merry Christmas to all our followers and we will be back in the new year.

Winter Mooring.

Slipping our moorings on Saturday morning at 8am we dropped down the Fradley Locks a descent of 35ft 8ins.Next stop Alrewas. The weather forecast for Sunday was heavy rain and high winds ,so the decision was made to go into the marina at Barton a day earlier than planned.The last thing we needed was to enter a strange boat yard in high winds. After a brief stop in Alrewas for shopping we continued on to the marina, arriving mid afternoon. At the office we booked in and received our berth number(pier 5-291),we found it without any problem and moored in our winter home.Later we took a walk round checking out the shops and facilities ending in the pub for a pint.Then it was back to the boat for the evening.When night descended the water front and shops were lit,it looked lovely.
It has been a great summer touring the Northern canals,now we have to catch up on some visiting and prepare for Christmas. In the new year we are going to Cyprus for three weeks.Weather and stoppages permitting we shall start our tour of the southern canals in April.All that's left is to thank you for reading our blog and hope you will join us again next year.

Fradley Junction.

Thursday morning we left Great Haywood heading for Fradley Junction. First though we stopped off in Rugeley to do some shopping.The town is small but has most of what a traveler might need,including a market on Thursdays,although it was a very small market. Lunch was late after wandering round town and the supermarket was busy.Leaving Rugeley past the power station and on to Armitage. Before arriving at Armitage we past through a narrow section of canal that used to be Armitage Tunnel,now the top has been taken off the tunnel. It was getting late and due to the dark nights we moored up just before bridge 59 at Handsacre.
This morning after cutting up some logs we continued on our way to Fradley Junction. We moored just before the top lock at Fradley,in the open so Marlene could dry some washing. In the afternoon we walked down to the junction then along the Coventry Canal to the first bridge, where we took the road back to Fradley. As we past the Swan inn Marlene went into the shop next door and bought us an ice cream.
Tomorrow is the day we head in to our winter mooring at Barton Marina.

Third Time Lucky.

On Tuesday we waited at the mooring in Great Haywood for the arrival of our son Richard,his wife Gill and the four grandchildren. They arrived about 4-o-clock,and the kids started to put up two tents for them to sleep in. It was nearly dark by the time they had finished. We played Scrabble while we waited for 11pm so we could phone the flight line to see if the balloon flight was on. I phoned and was told the morning was off but to phone at 11am today to see if it was good for the afternoon.
This morning we all went for a walk round Shrugborough Hall until it was time to phone,we left the tents up to dry out. Arriving back we had a note from British Waterways telling us to take the tents down,we did.Then it was time to phone, it was good news, the flight was on for 2pm at Amerton Farm near Weston. We finally lifted off at 3-20pm. It was a lovely experience, flying at a height of 2,600ft over the Staffordshire countryside, below we saw a lorry overturned and a very large traffic jam. After 55mins we landed in a field near Sudbury 22kilometers from our launch site. the landing was good and the basket stayed upright, showing the skill of our pilot Max.Back at the boat we had some tea then Richard and Gill and the kids left for home. The end of a perfect day.

Darker Evenings.

Yesterday we headed back up the Staffs and Worcester as far as Tixell Wide where we moored for the night. It's a lovely peaceful mooring away from roads and trains. Now the clocks have gone back we are using more power,as a consequence the solar panels are struggling to keep our batteries topped up,so we have to run the engine even when we don't move for a day.We are also collecting wood so we can have a fire in the evenings.
Today we only travelled as far as Great Haywood,where we had to queue to top up our water. As we turned out of the junction onto the Trent and Mersey there were three boats at the water point and another one waiting, so we held the boat midstream while two boats left then moored for water.
Our intention was to go back to Western ready for our balloon flight,however, Great Haywood is only 15mins away from the launch site so we moored there.

A Trip into Stafford.

This morning we left Great Haywood and turned down the Staffs and Worcester Canal. It was a morning of showers but only short ones. We past through Tixall Wide, a broad stretch of water. Next we went up Tixall Lock,then round the large sweeping curve round Walton-on-the-Hill until we reached bridge ninety eight(Radford Bridge). Mooring just before the bridge,we then walked the mile and a half into Stafford.
After visiting the bank and doing a bit of shopping we decided to have lunch at the local Weatherspoons pub. It is an interesting pub,as it used to be a cinema. This grade two listed building has been very tastefully restored inside while still remaining like a cinema. After walking back we took the boat down the canal to a winding hole then turned ready to make the trip back to Great Haywood tomorrow.It's been a nice day and Stafford is a very nice town.

A Day at Shrugborough Hall.

On Monday we moved from the 48hr moorings onto the five day moorings,these were below Star lock rather than above. Staying there till Wednesday we had a quiet time reading and driving our selves mad with a jigsaw.We traveled down to Weston on Wednesday staying near the Saracens Head,where on our way up country we had had a meal when my sister Jennifer and husband Malcolm came to see us.
Moving down to Great Haywood Junction yesterday we moored just past the junction,our intention,to visit Shrugborough Hall.On the way down we past a Gipsy caravan near some moorings. So today we walked to the hall,where we spent the whole day looking round the house and Park Farm,a great day out.While there we met one of the guides, a lady who was a boater from Rugeley.We spent some time talking about the canals. I as was looking for a branch of Alliance and Leicester so she suggested a trip into Stafford.The tower in the pictures is the Tower of the Winds,completed in 1765 this replica water clock was once used as a dairy(downstairs) and as a gambling den (upstairs). It stands in the grounds of Shrugborough Hall.