A 2 day bumper edition!

Wednesday

 It's harvest time here

We left the shallow mooring near Acton Trussell and headed North. Another lovely sunny morning with beautiful english countryside stretching in all directions.

 Distant views towards Cannock Chase

We skirted Baswich, with views of Stafford only a couple of miles away. We could see Cannock Chase in the distance, and as the day wore on we would almost circumnavigate it.

 Racing a goods train

You are never far from a railway on the canals, and today was no exception with the main London to Carlisle line very close to us quite often.

 The upper River Trent from an aqueduct

We were re-aquainted with the River Trent, crossing it on an aqueduct in beautiful countyside.

 Happy cows

 Tixall Hall

 Tixall Wide

As we neared the end of the Staffs and Worcester Canal, we came to Tixall Wide. So named because this piece of canal is more like a lake which is about half a mile long. Tixall Hall above, has fabulous views across lawns down to this 'lake'.

 Great Haywood Junction

Just before the junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal, there are two aqueducts and a bridge. The aqueducts are just wide enough for a narrowboat, and require careful navigation to avoid scrapes. We passed through the first in textbook style, but then I had a bit of an abberation. I completely forgot we were about to enter the second aqueduct which is only a few yards after the first. An almighty thump followed, and Banjo lurched violently sending waves down the canal rocking other boats. We had struck the low concrete edge of the second aqueduct - embarassing but no major damage!

 Back on the Trent and Mersey

This little dog on the left in the picture above loves boats and tried several times to jump aboard. Now we were on the Trent and Mersey, the volume of boats increased dramaticaly with everyone heading for the annual IWA Festival in Burton on Trent. Around 500 boats are expected and virtually everyone we spoke to was heading that way, apart from those fleeing in the other direction!

 A cute Alpaca!

 Another incredibly narrow rock cutting

 We meet Ken and Iris again

As we approaced Fradely, we noticed narrowboat Alice Mary moored in a secluded wooded area. This is Iris and Ken's boat, who we left in Silsden some weeks ago. We stopped and enjoyed a catch up and a cup of tea - really good to see them again.

 Happy campers

We pressed on, endeavouring to get as close to Burton on Trent as we could, to maximise the chance of getting a mooring in a nearby marina. We met this family with their kayaq earlier in the day, they passed us when we were with Ken and Iris. They were setting up camp for the night, with a tent for the two boys, a bivouac for Mum, and (according to her), under the boat for Dad!

Thursday

 A Misty morning

We set an alarm for 06:00, to ensure we got underway before the traffic built up too much. Even so, a few boats passed us before we got underway at 07:00.

 We're off and it's only 07:00

 Early sunshine and into the first lock

We reached Fradeley Junction and already joined a small queue - it looked like being a slow trip today.

 The much photographed Fradley Junction

 The entrance to the Coventry Canal

The junction is between the Trent & Mersey Canal and the Coventry Canal. We headed on up the T&M towards Burton on Trent, but we will turn around and return here on Sunday to join the Coventry and head south.

 A wee bridge hole into the lock

 It may be early but we are still in a queue for the locks

 Briefly, we are onto the River Trent

It was interesting to be back on the Trent - the last time we saw it, we were turning into Keadby Lock, fighting the tiday current. Here, it was a different matter with the river being relatively small and slow flowing.

A diving lesson

We made it to the marina and secured a visitor mooring with electricity and water - a real treat to have limitless supplies of power and hot water! The marina is an enourmous concern with pub, restaurants, and a number of shops. We decided to walk into the nearby village of Barton-Under-Needlewood to get a paper and milk, and on the way passed several lakes. On this one, we spotted this mum and baby duck. As we watched, the mother dived and dissappeared, and almost immediately, the baby did the same. This was repeated several times, and looked very much like a lesson!

 The centre of Barton-Under-Needlewood

Tonight's mooring in Barton Turn Marina

Tomorrow, we are going to walk the couple of miles to the IWA festival - didn't plan to go to this, but we are so close, we decided that it would be a shame to miss it. We are also expecting a visit from Hoodman on Saturday, to complete the fitting of Banjo's hood - we wait with baited breath......