Second Breakfast at the Laughing Duck.

Monday 30th September 2019 at Fradley Junction.
The dawn sky was beautiful. Mist lingering over the water, partly shrouding a lady walking her dog on the towpath.

To make the most of the fine weather, we had an early beakfast and set off before 8:00am. Two things impressed us about Alrewas; one being how quiet and pretty it is, the other being the large number of excellent visitors' moorings for such a small place. Lincoln, which had very few visitors' moorings,  could learn something from that!

A typically attractive narrow bridge, after which M set off to walk the towpath to Fradley.

The towpath walking was a joy in the autumn sun; the hedgerows abounding with rose hips, trails of red briony, sloes and holly berries in profusion, already turning red..

A 100 yard stretch of ivy in the hedgerow was alive with thousands of honey bees flitting between the seed heads. M could hear their buzzing from fifty yards away.

This way to the "Laughing Duck" café at Fradley Junction - and second breakfast!

A welcome sight. The café is normally packed at weekends on sunny days; today, being out of season, it was quiet.

Second breakfast, always such a treat.

Meanwhile, Guy contented himself with a banana on board and "taking the rays".

We are not in a hurry to get back to our winter mooring, so we decided to stay here overnight. There are plemty of moorings opposite the café (very convenient!).

A pleasant walk up to the junction with the Coventry Canal and the next locks.

One of the reasons that Fradley is such a delight is that the road to it doesn't go anywhere; there is no through traffic. Originally, HS2 was scheduled to go very close to the Junction and the construction access road was designed to go through Fradley! The effect would have been worse than driving the M25 straight through the middle of Reigate High Street. Thankfully, a small amount of common sense has prevailed and the line will now pass half a mile to the west and the construction access road will no longer go straight through Fradley. However, beautiful secluded Woodend Lock, one mile away, will now be between the main line and a spur - so quiet and secluded no more! We can't help feeling that a bit more common sense would find a better (and much more economically rewarding) home for all those billions and billions of pounds.
Today: 2 miles, 4 locks and 1.9 hours.
Trip: 422 miles, 165 locks and 210.1 hours.

Remembering a Duckling Rescue Three Years Ago.

Sunday 29th September 2019 at Alrewas.
This morning sky looked ominous and the forecast said that there would be heavy rain in the afternoon, so we started early while it was still dry.

M was still rejoicing at the return to narrow locks with lighter gates and easier paddles (so far at least).

This very narrow turnover bridge left no doubt that wide beam boats were no longer welcome!

This is Barton Turn lock, where three years ago, a family of ducklings became trapped in the bywash as we were passing by and had to be rescued while Mother Duck protested loudly until all the ducklings were reunited with her.

At that time, the outlet was blocked, so the landlady of the pub opposite came over and used a fishing net to extract them. She said it happens regularly! Unfortunately, because the ones that remained trapped kept quacking, the ducklings kept trying to jump back in with their siblings, so had to be headed off and nudged gently towards their mum. Chaos reigned but eventually order was restored!

On our way, we were joined on MM by a beautiful "Comma" butterfly that stayed long enough for M to photograph it. It seems that they are one species that is making a come back, with their numbers growing over the years. Nice to hear a positive ecology story for a change.

As we entered the lock at Wychnor, M was delighted to see an Eddie Stobart truck crossing the bridge as we went under it.

The last stretch before Alrewas is back on the River Trent for the last time. Today it was on "Yellow Boards" - Proceed with Caution. The river was running quite quickly against us so that we could only make slow progress against the current.

We moored up in Alrewas and walked into the town for a "few bits" just as the rain started to come down.
Today: 5 miles, 4 locks and 2.5 hours.
Trip: 420 miles, 161 locks and 208.2 hours.

Back to Narrow Locks after Three Months.

Saturday 28th September 2019 in Branston, Burton-on-Trent.
The early morning sky was beautiful.

We decided to have breakfast at "The Dragon" before we set off, partly because M wanted to have their haddock and spinach on a brioche bun with poached eggs again. She said that No.26 at Aston should do something similar and took a photograph to show them.

R had his usual light breakfast, which was also very good. "The Dragon" will definitely get a good review on Trip Advisor!

As we set off, we were quite surprised to see four guys working hard in a canoe - perhaps they were training for a dragon race. They were certainly taking it vey seriously!

On the outskirts of Burton-on-Trent, we arrived at "Dallow Lock". It's unusual in that it's situated right under a big bridge. All the locks from the River Trent to here are wide locks but, from now on, all the locks are narrow. The last narrow lock that we did was at Foxton on 29th June - so three months ago!
M said that she was really happy to be back doing narrow locks again. They feel so comfortingly familiar!

On the walls under the bridge next to the lock was a very attractive mural celebrating the history of Burton. It was covered with perspex to protect it and to stop vandals from covering it with spray paint.  Monks in the 13th century discovered that the well water in Burton had a high gypsum content and made excellent beer. The industry grew and grew until, in the last century, there were 31 breweries in the town producing 3 million barrels of ale annually. Now, only Marstons and Bass still survive.

The next lock is Branston lock, named after the nearby town where the pickle was invented. The lock is out in the country and the light effect was magical.

Just after the lock, we moored up for the night just as the rain started.

Today: 7 miles, 2 locks and 2.8 hours (plus 3.5 hours for power).
Trip: 415 miles, 157 locks and 205.7 hours

What! Home Again Already?

Thursday 26th and Friday 27th September 2019 in Willington.
There was heavy rain overnight and the early morning sky looked very unsettled. It seems that Autumn is definitely with us now.

M needed a routine Doctor's appointment and, as luck would have it, the only available time was this Friday morning - so, on Thursday morning it was back to the railway station after an excellent breakfast at "The Dragon". The overnight rain meant that all the seats on the platform were soaking, so R did his Sir Walter Raleigh impression and wiped the seat with his hankerchief so that M could sit down. What a hero!!!

While M spent her day on trains and buses, R spent his day working on designs for the model railway.
On Friday morning, Judith very kindly drove M to the doctor's (all was well) before she left Redhill station from Platform "0". There are only eight Platforms "0" in the UK including one at King's Cross - so Redhill is in exalted company!

Finally reunited at Willington (M had taken four trains and two buses to get back!), we stopped outside "The Dragon" to look at one of Trent & Mersey mileposts erected as a monument to a local canal enthusiast, before going into the restaurant for dinner.

The maitre d', Paul, greeted us like old friends. We don't often eat out in the evening but tonight was a very welcome exception. M declared the chips to be the best she'd had in a long time!
Today: MM took the days off.

A Long Day - Back to MM at Mercia.

Wednesday 25th September 2019 in Willington.
As we are now going to be on our way back to MM's winter mooring at Aston, we decided to drive the car up to Aston, leave it there to wait for us and then take the train back to MM at Mercia. Adrian had a 5:45am flight to Greece, so he stayed last night, R drove him to the airport at 4:00am and we then drove straight up to Aston, where we had breakfast in No.26 with Mel and Peter and two of their friends. They kindly dropped us off at Stone Railway Station and we arrived at Mercia just after lunch. The sky looked really threatening.

Having unloaded our luggage on MM, we repaired to Mercia's café for afternoon tea and to catch our breath. Luckily, the clouds cleared and it turned into a lovely afternoon.

After settling our mooring bill, we set off towards Willington through the bridge that spans the entrance to the marina.

And, at last, back on to the canal. Hooray!

We moored up in the village of Willington, which has a railway station very close to the canal.That's MM  on the right.

Next to our mooring is "The Dragon" restaurant and pub and, as we were flagging a bit, we treated ourselves to a very welcome Gin & Tonic each.

In the early evening, there was a sudden huge rain storm and the setting sun lit up the raindrops on the window...

...And made a beautiful rainbow, a scene worthy of a Constable painting.

Today: 1 mile, 0 locks and 0.4 hours.
Trip: 408 miles, 155 locks and 199.4 hours.

Into Mercia Marina for a Trip Home.

Thursday 12th September in Mercia Marina.
Last night, the almost full moon was playing hide'n'seek in the clouds.

The same view this morning, long after the moon had set. A lovely morning.

This Bridge 12 is very reminiscent of the final Bridge 89 before we turn into Aston Marina.

"The Stand" is a real curiosity. It is a 17th century pavilion surmounted by a picturesque pair of ogee domes. The Landmark Trust has restored the pavilion as accomodation for just two occupants, who must be tolerant enough to accept that the bedroom is in one tower while the bathroom is in the other and the way between is by the roof terrace! What fun on a frosty winter's night!

We only did two locks today but they were each about 12ft deep. The first one we did on our own.

For the second lock we had company, which made it much easier.

These two were the last wide locks on the Trent & Mersey Canal; from now on all the locks will be narrow, therefore so much easier and quicker to get through.
The narrow road was very close to the side of the canal as can be seen by the warning notice. There are occasional reports of cars falling in the canal but, happily, not today!

The rather inauspicious entrance to Mercia Marina, which is huge and very smart. Possibly the largest marina we have ever moored in. It probably rivals Burton Waters on the Fossdyke for size and the number of lodges or houses on the site.

The facilities are excellent, with several very upmarket shops and a number of places to eat including a café, an Indian restaurant, a pub and a fine dining restaurant.
We moored up MM in bay "Jay 08", nestled in amongst a row of other boats.

In the distance you can just make out the massive Toyota factory with its tall chimney and forest of vents.

We rewarded ourselves with a trip to the café before having a wander around. The buildings in the background are the shops and restaurants.

Tomorrow morning, we will catch a bus outside the marina, and then take the train home for a while. We should be back in 10 days or so -  so watch this space! Then we shall be on the last leg back to Aston.
Today: 6 miles, 2 locks and 3.3 hours.
Trip: 407 miles, 155 locks and 199.0 hours.

Another "Aston" and another "Weston-on-Trent".

Wednesday 11th September near Swarkestone.
A grey, drizzly start to the day brightened later to a lovely sunny afternoon.
M needed to post some cards, so we went in search of a local postbox. R had looked on an app that informed him that there were no post boxes locally. It lied! There was one just a hundred yards down the road. There was a nice view of MM under the willow trees from the bridge.

As we prepared to set off through Shardlow Lock, another of the boats moored outside the Clock Warehouse, nb "Merryweather", came and joined us. M was interested to know if the owners were Terry Pratchett fans but they said that the boat came with the name when they bought it.

Another "Aston" lock. Its really curious, there is an Aston lock and another "Weston-on-Trent" at this end of the canal, and another Aston and "Weston-on-Trent" next to Stone where we moor. We gather it causes some confusion!

All along the Tent & Mersey Canal are these cast iron mile posts that give the distance to Shardlow at this end of the canal and Preston Brook at the other end. The original ones were cast in Stone and the makers name and location are shown on the post.

We didn't need to travel far today and we moored up in a sunny spot so that M could hang out the washing. And so a quiet afternoon.

Today: 5 miles, 3 locks and 2.4 hours.
Trip: 401 miles 153 locks and 195.7 hours.