Great Haywood is the junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.  It is the 'Grand Cross' of man made waterways linking the four great English estuaries: Humber, Thames, Severn and Mersey. As significant to transport in the 18th century as any motorway interchange today.

Photos today have got a little random as we are now on our well cruised way home. At first sight it looked like this boat was across the canal and there was work going on. It turned out to be a optical illusion.

Bit of canal side artwork going on here.

Like this boat name.

We met plenty of boats coming down today making it a easy locking day but time consuming.

Who needs ornamental swans in their garden when the real thing is close to hand.

Bridge 82 at Sandon built of brick and stone for the benefit of

Sandons 18th century gentry.

The West Coast line is still with us and having a touch of maintenance.

A busy Aston Lock....

marking the half way point between Shardlow and Preston Brook.

Moored outside Stone

The soft ground warranting two pin mooring!!!!

9 miles  4 locks  4 hrs 40mins

Armitage to Great Haywood

Whats all this queueing about????

We are at Spode Cottage.  Passing beneath the A513, the canal narrows and negotiates a rocky cutting.  One-way working is the order of the day and there are three boats coming through.

Formerly the site of Armitage(or Plum Pudding) Tunnel,a dramatic unlined bore through the rock face.  Subsidence, induced by coal mining, necessitated opening out of the tunnel, and concrete lining of the banks.

This chappie is still watching over some long term moored boats.

Rugeley ahead

and a Tesco stop.

Pleasant surrounding continue from Rugeley,this is the delightful Colwich Lock.

A glimpse of Shugborogh Hall as we approach Great Haywood.

Always a very busy place.

There is just one mooring space left for us.

7 miles  2 locks  3hrs 20 mins.

To Fradley Junction and Beyond

Saturday dawned and cruising began at 7.30 am. Trev is now on a mission.....

the weather forecast is giving rain, there is a bank holiday due when Poppy is coming to visit us in Stoke where there could be hold ups because of a bank holiday festival.  So its lets get ahead of schedule and aim to be at Eturia by Thursday afternoon. Friday we will get some gas at a very a reasonable price from opposite Festival Park and then moor at Westport Lake for the Bank Holiday weekend. At least there is someone else doing some early morning cruising.

Passing through Hopwas...

and this delightful wooden cruiser- so well looked after.

Not generally thought of as a beautiful canal, the Coventry nevertheless does become very picturesque between Fazeley and Fradley Junction.

Bridges now seem to have name plates rather then numbers...

the reason being that with the Coventry Canal builders  unable  to complete the section between Fazeley and Fradley because of lack of money the Birmingham Fazeley builders and Trent and Mersey builders finished the job joining at Whittingham.  The IWA placed this stone in commemoration of the bicentenary joining.

A signpost at Huddlesford points towards Ogley, in anticipation of the restoration of the Wyrely & Essington Canal, however its a long time coming and in the meantime Lichfield Cruising Club use the first half mile.

What a nice club house they have.

Into the peaceful countryside now and a tree lined corridor.

We stop for water before Fradley Junction.

We are taking a left here ultimately to Preston Book.

Canal junctions don't come much more charming than Fradley. Remote from any other settlement the canal authorities created a self-contained community to house their employees at a point where the Coventry Canal met with the Trent and Mersey.

On the well trodden path to home now.

Always a busy spot both for boats...

and gongoozelers!!!

Love the setting of Wood End Lock

Trev's first sighting of his beloved Cannock Chase.

The canal runs alongside the sanitary ware works of the famous Armitage Shanks

and by the looks of it business is doing well.

We moor just beyond this bridge, very tired, having cruised 17 miles and done 3 locks in just over seven hours!!!!

Atherstone to Dunstall Farm

"All is safely gathered in"

We left Atherstone at silly o'clock this morning( 7.45a.m.) in order to beat this afternoons promised rain.  

Early mornings are now starting to have a autumnal feel and we are seeing more and more trees starting to turn.

Can not resist a foal photo!

We are being constantly shadowed by Mr Virgin and the West Coast Main Line.

A small hillock bears a monument recalling the existence of a chapel demolished in 1538 during Henry VIII's suppression of the monasteries.

Passing Alvecote Marina.

Arriving at Glascote Locks we have 3 boats waiting ....

and another 3 behind!!!!

Our turn now

Glascote is a pair taking the canal down 13ft 8ins

Lovely lockside cottage...

with the boats providing Rosie & Jim with a good days entertainment!!!

Like the water pump as well.

Trev has exited the top lock and is waiting....and waiting....and waiting for the second one to fill.....almost thought there was a open paddle....nope....just VERY slow filling.

At last we are on our way and there are now 3 boats waiting to go up...today's hotspot???

A aqueduct takes us over the River Tame

and passed a derelict "Pill Box" used to guard the canal against a expected German invasion in the second world war.

Fazeley Junction is where the Birmingham & Fazely Canal heads off for Birmingham while we continue on to Fradley.

Quite plausibly this big old textile mill could have escaped from Oldham or Rochdale.

Peels Wharf - an attractive urban scene.

The rain has started so we call it a day at Dunstall Farm

10 miles and 2 locks.