Stone - A Canal Town.

Tuesday 10th September, 2013 in Stone.
We sailed the short distance into Stone, four miles but seven locks; one of which was having work done on the towpath.

Stone prides itself on being a "Canal Town" and the birthplace of the Trent and Mersey Canal. Josiah Wedgwood might disagree with this, as it was he who canvassed in Parliament for the canal and he who cut the first turf up in Stoke-on-Trent.

One of the locks on the outskirts of Stone had a classic "horse tunnel" next to the lock so that both the boat and the horse could go under the road bridge.

There were certainly a lot of boats moored up right through Stone, including this beautiful pair of traditional boats with the legend "Unspoilt by Progress II" written on the side of the butty.

We did, however, find a very nice mooring right in the middle of town. Stone has a Costa coffee shop to keep R happy and also a Morrisons which meant that M could go and get a "Few Bits" so that R won't starve while she goes home for a few days tomorrow.
Opposite was a boat by the name of "Callipygian". We wondered if it might be Greek (Kalli = good) but had no idea about the rest, so we looked it up and discovered that it is ancient Greek and it means literally "Good Buttocks"! Later R saw the owner and asked him whose bum was so good, and the owner said that it depended on who was asking. If his wife was around it was certainly the boat's!
Today: 4 miles, 7 locks and 6.1 hours.
Trip: 384 miles, 304 locks and 320.3 hours.