Saturday 27th June We collected Simon from Stone and then drove to Whittington to find Jannock. Once we were shipshape we set off towards Fradley passing nb Nackered Navvy moored outside the Plough Inn at Huddlesford near the junction with the L&H canal. We then preceded to meet an on-coming boat at every blind bridge or narrow section of canal all the way to Fradley. Through the swing bridge we turned left onto the T&M and had a nice run up through middle and top lock meeting Southbound boats at both. At Armitage tunnel we waited behind a Black Prince hireboat while two craft came through and then followed it through and all the way to Rugeley where they moored up near the town bridge. At the Taft we found Terry and Chris aboard Grace, moored up alongside 'Maid of Oak' , where they were changing her 'covert' status by applying vinyl signwriting for BW number and Owners name. We stopped alongside for a quick chat before moving onto Colwich (just below the lock) for a quiet overnight mooring. I fitted new gearbox hoses and a relay into the starter motor circuit whilst Simon and Brenda went for an evening stroll around Colwich.
Sunday 28th June After breakfast we joined a small queue for Colwich lock and then made our way to Great Heywood where we stopped for a waterfill whilst Brenda fetched some milk from the farm shop. It was only on her return, when she commented about their stock selection, that I told her how quite a few fellow bloggers recommend their pies. On past the marina to join a queue for Hoo Mill lock. We then managed to arrive at each lock as a the boat in front of us was leaving with a Southbound boat descending so we had a good run up past Weston and Sandon. There were a lot of Southbound boats from Sheffield and so we reckon it was an organised cruise by a club or society. They all seemed a jolly bunch from the banter we had as we passed them, so I bet their evening stops are fun. We stopped before Stone and returned to Whittington to collect the car and head home. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
