Westport Lake.

The morning of Tuesday the16th Aug saw us leave Stone heading for the Couldon Canal. Climbing the Meaford flight of locks (32ft 5ins) we reached Barlaston where we stopped to have a look round and visit the shop. We were surprised to see that the local train station was closed and in it's place a replacement bus service. Mooring just out of the village for the night we relaxed and watched the geese fly in and out of the fields opposite. Wednesday arrived warm and sunny so we stayed where we were and painted some more of the roof.
We left the peace and quiet on Thursday morning up the 11ft 11 ins Trentham lock heading for Stoke on Trent. This is not the most picturesque stretch of canal but we finally arrived at the bottom of the Stoke locks. On arrival we were behind two more boats, it appeared the elderly chap in the first boat was on his own and needed help through the locks, so he waited for another boat to come along. So for the five Stoke locks we helped him through between us. After two of the five we were caught up by another boat, the man on this boat was not amused and said he should not be on the canal if he couldn't do the locks on his own. As the old chap had lost his wife and still needed to live on his boat, a little tolerance is not a lot to ask surely, after all none of us are in a hurry, are we?
Right having got that off my chest let's carry on. At the top of the Stoke flight the Couldon Canal goes off to the right, however we decided to go past the junction and on to Westport lake a small oasis in the urban sproal that is Stoke. Going up to the Harecastle Tunnel on Friday we watered up the turned the boat (i must admit I made a mess of it the first atempt) and returned to the lake for a second night.
Today we are heading back to the Coulden Canal, we are told that phone signals are hard to come bye down the Coulded so it may be some time before my next posting.