New Water

Friday 4^th September 2020

Before we set off today we went for a walk with the dogs, and just ahead of us we found a track or lane running over a bridge and down to the right, to the River Trent. It is quite small here, maybe a dozen yards wide, and you could easily wade across, probably never even going waist deep. We have been with the river since Stoke (Stoke-on-Trent, the cluse is in the name) and in fact we first crossed it on an aqueduct just below the last of the five Stoke locks, but we did not notice it at all then. The canal basically follows the course of the Trent from now until it ends at Shardlow – at that point the river is navigable all the way down to the Humber and the sea, and that was the point of the canal, to provide a link between the west coast at Liverpool and the east coast at the Humber estuary. Brindley’s great cross also included links down to the other major estuaries of England – the Severn and the Thames. Following the river was the best way to route the canal, especially in the early days when the technologies of locks, cuttings and embankments, all of which allow you to straighten and shorten the route, were still primitive and expensive. The river flows in a huge curve, down from Stoke then east around the bottom end of the central ridge of England, and back north-east – and the canal follows it.

The young Trent at Burston

Soon after starting we came to the first lock of the day, at Sandon – we were stuck behind a man on his own, who was rather slow. A few miles further on we descended Weston and Hoo Mill Locks, and almost immediately we reached Great Heywood Junction, where the Staffs and Worcs canal heads off south west, ultimately to reach the Severn. But we stayed on the Trent and Mersey, so we were now on waters we had never travelled before.

Great Heywood Junction

We came to another lock straight away, but we were still stuck behind slow boats, and we were at the final lock of the day, at Colwich. Soon after that the canal took a sharp right and left dog leg, going over the Trent so the river was now running to our north. This was on the approach to Rugeley, and when we got to the centre of town we moored up, so that I could do a bit of shopping. When I climbed up the canal bank I discovered we were right by a large Tesco, closer than many of the cars in the car park.

After leaving Rugeley we came to the site of the old Armitage tunnel, which is no longer covered, but which is still a long stretch wide enough for only one boat. There was no signage on the canal so we just proceeded, though we were aware from the canal map that this was a narrow passage. When we got to the other end, round a slight bend, we found a couple of boats waiting. From what we could see there were signs at that end telling boats travelling north to send someone ahead to ensure the coast is clear.

After that we passed the small town of Armitage, and the large Armitage Shanks toilet factory, which stretches along the side of the canal – a large old brick building, still active though rather run down. The village of Tuppenhurst is on the outskirts of Armitage, and after passing through we found a mooring on a long curving stretch. There was a bit of a shelf, but apart from that it was a good spot. The bank was quite soft so I put two pins in for each rope, and we settled down for the night.

TODAY: 8:30 HOURS. 16.0 MILES. 5 LOCKS.

Voyage: 34:40 HOURS. 66.1 MILES. 38 LOCKS.

 

Trains, Boats and Cook-Chill food

Today we saw an Elizabethan gatehouse, passed over the River Trent to join the Trent and Mersey Canal at Great Haywood, and saw Intercity express trains passing yards from our boat. But the thing that really, really got Loulie excited was when we stopped for water on the outskirts of Stone. She looked through the hedge and realised that we had moored right next to a Marks & Spencer’s Food Hall. She shot in like a rat up a drainpipe, and returned a good while later with a shopping bag laden with goodies, and calories.

If the story of yesterday was the M6 motorway, today it was the West Coast Main line, which accompanied us all the way, on occasion with only the width of a fence between the canal and the ballast of the track. With trains passing at over 100mph this was pretty dramatic.

The West Coast Main Line

We made an early start, hoping to catch up with our target for the day. The canal took us north through the suburbs of Stafford, and then turned sharp right, heading east towards the valley of the Trent. This canal, and the Trent & Mersey, were built by Thomas Brindley, and he used river valleys to make building easier. So we followed the course of the River Sow to where it joins the Trent at Great Haywood. Before we got there we had a couple of isolated locks, and also the Tixall Wide, where the canal spreads out like a lake. From there you can see the gatehouse of Tixall Hall. This looks like a substantial castle, the Hall itself (where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned) must have been very impressive, but it has long been demolished.

Crossing the Sow

Tixall Gatehouse

A canoeist on the Staffs & Worcs

Tixall Wide

Crossing the Trent

Approaching the junction

Fingerposts at Great Haywood

We reached the junction at Great Haywood without incident, and turned north. The mileposts on the Trent and Mersey show the distances to the two ends, Shardlow to the south and east, and Preston Brook in the north, our destination. So now we can see the miles ticking down, starting at 54 miles on the first post after the junction.

The midpoint of the Trent & Mersey Canal

Domino Cows

From Great Haywood the canal climbs steadily to Stoke and Harecastle Tunnel – after which it drops down into Cheshire. So we now had a dozen more locks to do before we would reach our moorings for the night. At first they were well spread out, and Loulie was able to take the dogs for a good walk between two of them. However things heated up when we reached the town of Stone, which was once the administrative centre of this canal, and now seems to live on its past, with all sorts of historic buildings and interpretive sign boards. For us the more important element (after the water point and M&S) was the flight of four locks in the town centre, followed by four more at Meaford just north. The town ones were slow, mainly because a boat hire company were showing one of their customers, and his children, how to work a lock. But we met lots of interesting people, including a Turkish couple, their daughter and granddaughter, and an old lady who told me firmly that Meaford is pronounced “Mefford” (like method).

An ornate bridge outside Salt

A handy map on the last lock before Stone - but no mention of M&S

Between the Stone locks and Meaford Loulie took the dogs again, while I went on ahead. However they disgraced themselves – Minnie dived into a filthy muddy patch, Ruby decided she didn’t want to walk and ran all the way back to where she had last seen the boat, and Posie stuck her tongue into a pot of black paint a boater was using to touch up his gunwales. Loulie had used up her sense of humour by the time she caught up with the boat – and she still had four locks to do.

Mischief Managed

Once we had cleared the Meaford flight we were looking for a berth, as it was well after six. We found a nice spot quite soon – good moorings and safe for the dogs. The only issue is that the railway is about thirty yards away, but this is the same line which runs past the front of our house fifty miles to the north, so the noise does not bother us, and it means we have no neighbours to annoy the dogs.

A fine meal courtesy of M&S, and we can retire, tired but happy, as we have caught up all the backlog on our timetable. We have done 53 locks, out of 101, so we have passed half way on that count too. If all goes well tomorrow we could be through Harecastle tunnel and on our way down towards home.

Today: 9.5 hours. 18.3 miles. 14 locks.

Voyage: 39.5 hours. 71.3 miles. 53 locks.