Farewell to Stone

Sunday 1^st September; above Stone locks to past Brassworks bridge

Two boats went by before 7.30, steerers wrapped up against the cool and windy morning.  Then it was quiet, at least till 9.30 as we were preparing to get going….   but by the time we eventually arrived at the top lock a boat was on its way up, so we could go straight in.  There are notices taped to the bottom balance beam at Lime Kiln lock - weather-damaged but still, just, legible..

Oh dear

As I walked off to the next lock I could see how much the beam has sagged.  This made it quite awkward to push without applying weight from above.

How long before it starts to catch on the stonework?

A boat was coming up Newcastle Road lock too, so that was quick, but then we caught up with one at Yard lock. 

The smiling netting at the old Joules Brewery building

The footbridge at the bottom gates is taped off, so everything took longer.  The damage is not obvious, and I wonder how many people have dipped under the tape and used it?  The couple on the boat in front certainly did not.  They were both off the boat, which was a strange-looking small narrowboat with a smelly outboard, and steering was accomplished with a length of scaffold-pole at a steep angle.  I went to help with the bottom gates, and then it was our turn to descend.  A boat had caught us up by now and their crew dealt with the offside bottom gate, saving me the long walk round.  Unable to moor between the locks as we'd hoped - the available space was too short for us - we carried on.  In the grassy area beyond the towpath is a Peace Pole.  There are over a quarter of a million of these around the world, but I’d never heard of them before.  This one was provided by the Quakers.

Yes, if only ....

Thankfully the smelly boat ahead of us was already leaving the lock, and the Black Prince which had been ahead of us down the Meaford flight yesterday was coming in on its way back to Etruria.  The delightful young man crewing looked after the offside bottom gate, with its dog-leg balance beam (so constructed to accommodate the road bridge).  It is not too heavy to open easily, but very hard work to close again!  We pulled in on the 48-hour mooring, shortly before the rubbish bins.  With road repairs going on beyond the houses on the offside, it was noisy for us but must have been awful for the residents.  With a good internet signal we weren't goiong to move just yet - there was a football match that needed watching.  I prepared to start removing the windows and cleaning the algae from the frames.  But it started to rain lightly so I only did the portholes, which don't take long, and the galley full-hopper window, with the sink and counter-top below it.  While Spurs got beaten by Newcastle Jess and I went off for a walk and discovered a large expanse of playing field, ‘riverside walks’ (though the Trent was invisible behind the pestilential Himalayan balsam) and rough grass too.  We moved on after the footy, to the spot past Brassworks bridge where we have moored before.  Dave spent some time sorting out a tricky problem with the broadband and I managed to get another couple of windows properly cleaned before the forecast heavy rain arrived – it caught out several soggy dog walkers, but our cratch cover did not leak.

1½ miles, 4 locks