Round-up of 2024 - Part 2, and stats

August to December

We spent most of the year well north of our usual haunts, basing ourselves first at Swanley Bridge and then moving on to Aston marina after our July cruise.  Our August trip took us through Stoke-on-Trent once more and along the Caldon, which we visited on our first trip aboard Chuffed.  Although our last visit was way back in 2012, we remembered the staircase at Etruria. 

It’s a long way down!  Bottom lock of the Bedford St staircase.

We moored on Hanley Park in the early afternoon for a stroll round the grounds.  It looked very appealing, with wide-open spaces for dogs and children to play in.

All well cared for

Looks nice enough, doesn't it?

Should we stay?  We were uneasy as we knew the area used to have a bit of a reputation, so Dave looked up the crime stats for the park … we moved smartly on to get right out of the built-up area before nightfall.  The next day we met a boater full of horror stories about it.  The August weather was more like autumn – bright warm sunshine for some of the time, but often a cold strong wind made cruising uncomfortable, and then there was the rain – sometimes heavy, sometimes drizzly, but rather a lot of it.

The Victorian waterworks at the bottom of Stockton Brook locks

We often had to keep a good lookout for moorings without overhanging trees - storm Lilian blew through just after we had come up Stockton Brook locks.  At Hazelhurst junction we turned right onto the Leek branch and went up to the terminus on a sunny but still very windy day.  We winded just beyond the tunnel, and reversed further along to moor.  This is one of the Silver Propeller challenges - we have been to a few locations, but aren’t bothered about completing them all.

Leek tunnel – narrow but high

At last the weather was dry enough to take the cratch cover off and clean it, which we haven’t ever done and it was in quite a state.  There was a wide mown towpath, well sheltered by trees and hedges from the strong winds, so it shouldn’t try to take flight.

With all the damp weather over the last few years the algae had well and truly taken hold.

It turned out not to be the best place for the job – the cover really should be laid over a picnic table for ease of scrubbing and for the green water to be able to flow away, and the sun kept drying the dirty water on the fabric before I could rinse it off.  When I refitted the cover, there was dry grass all over the flat surfaces and clumps of wet grass in the zips!  And the cover still needed scrubbing in places, so no point in trying to re-proof just yet.  Fingers crossed the seams wouldn't leak too much before it could be done.

We retraced our steps to the junction and made the sharp turn to go down the Hazelhurst locks towards Froghall.  This part of the Caldon is full of interest.

Cheddleton Flint Mill was open, but the water wheel was under repair

Consall station platform, which overhangs the navigation on the river Churnet

Cherry eye bridge, named for the red eyes of the old ironstone miners who rubbed them with ore-stained hands.

The limekilns at Froghall

As it was a Bank holiday weekend the railway was running steam train excursions.  The evening one on the day we were at Froghall was a murder mystery evening, it looked fun!

‘Major Bixby’ about to join the fun

The big sooty mark on the bridge shows clearly as the crew build up a head of steam

Off in a cloud of steam and smoke

We made our way back down the Caldon and stopped once more at Hazelhurst junction, reversing back up the Leek branch for a quiet mooring.  We spent the afternoon scrubbing more green bits off the cratch, treating rust spots and doing various other jobs before going for a meal at the Hollybush.

All quiet at Hazelhurst Junction

Not much further along the canal we met up with Pip and Mick aboard Oleanna where they were moored at Endon.  Along with a lovely cup of tea I was presented with a cosy pair of socks knitted by Pip for her Sockathon.

Lovely to meet you both!  A shame we didn't get to meet Tilly - she disappeared until we’d safely cleared off again with Jess.

Back we went to the junction at Etruria, and after spending a night at Westport Lake and turning at Harecastle tunnel 

we headed southwards and made our way out of Stoke-on-Trent for the last time this year.

Bonjour emerging from Stoke top lock.  I tied a red ribbon round my windlass to make it more difficult to lose in the grass at locks! 

Finally when we moored up at Barlaston the wind had dropped enough for the reproofing of the cratch cover to happen at last.  I had almost finished when Jess decided to play with another dog on the towpath and they ran right across the cover where it was laid out on the grass.

Paw-prints are just visible on the right, by the studs which hold the cover for the transparent ‘window’.  More on the other side!

It was pretty much the last opportunity to get that done, and also to remove the hopper windows to clean them and the channels before winter – there was a marked lack of quiet dry spells coinciding with suitable towpath moorings for the rest of the year.   

Swallows gathering near Stone

Our last trip took us back ‘home’ to Droitwich Spa marina for our winter mooring.  We had to delay the start of that trip as the weather had been so wet there were floods on the M5.  We hadn’t been cruising long when we passed Harnser for the second time this year at Weston lock.  

  

Salt Bridge, taken from the decorative side

We had really hoped to spend the first night on Tixall Wide, but it was a sunny September Saturday, and too many other boaters had had the same idea, so we winded and moored on the canal closer to Haywood Junction.  We needed to turn round anyway, as we wanted to go south via the Coventry and Birmingham & Fazeley canals rather than the ‘obvious’ route to Birmingham via the Staffs and Worcester and the Wolverhampton 21.  Dave took advantage of the dry weather to tidy up the area between the gunwales and the rubbing strake, while I cleaned the stove flue, getting into rather a mess, but the fire drew beautifully that evening.

The weather forecast was very autumnal, warm sunshine marred by cold winds, and wet weather passing through.  Some days it was cold enough to need lined trousers, hats and gloves.  We were a little time-pressured, so had to travel on days we might have preferred to stay tucked up inside, such as the drizzly dismal day we reached Fradley Junction and turned onto the Coventry.

Wood End lock on the way to Fradley junction.  The boat just mooring up on the lock landing had broken down.

We had a lunch stop at Shadehouse lock, where we had a brief chat with Lisa and David on What a Lark!  But we couldn’t stay longer and on we went in the rain.

Fradley junction swing bridge with its precise instructions.  The little crocheted ornament now adorns the saloon window nearest the stove.

More wet and windy weather followed as we made our way along the leafy Coventry to Fazeley junction, where the sun came out again as we started the climb up the Curdworth flight towards Birmingham.  We made the sharp turn at Salford Junction with Spagetti junction roaring all around.

Salford Junction or Spaghetti Junction?

We had a long day cruising from Star City up the Garrison lock flight and then Ashted locks before tackling the Farmer’s Bridge flight.

A lighter moment on the Garrison flight

HS2 Bridge construction on the Ashted flight

It was a hard day’s locking and we rewarded ourselves with a late lunch from the pizza boat and an Indian takeaway from Banerjee in the evening.

Yeah Jess, us too

With more wet weather forecast we timed our cruising carefully.  This is such a familiar route to us that we know all the good mooring spots, but we were on a fairly tight schedule now and couldn’t avoid cruising in the wet.  At least it was mostly dry for the descent of Tardebigge, and with the help of the volunteers we were down by lunchtime.

So much water on the flight that some locks filled themselves

Most of the showers passed at a distance this morning

But we couldn’t stop for the night below the flight – not only was all the decent mooring occupied, but it was also important that we didn’t get held up by the next day’s emergency stoppage (for paddle repair, I think) at Stoke Prior, so we spent a couple of hours getting down the next five locks and safely past the stoppage to moor at Stoke Works further along the canal.  The rain that had passed us by earlier returned with a vengeance and it was dismal work, but needs must! 

The weather this year seems to have been much more variable than in the past, with more stormy weather, gales and flooding.  Sometimes the weather was perfect for boating, but so often we found ourselves cruising into a strong cold northerly wind, even in high summer.  Any boat maintenance needing dry weather required a careful perusal of the weather forecast before it was started.

Essential repairs before winter – replacing cratch cover studs

As luck would have it, the weather was wonderful as we arrived at Droitwich Spa marina, not a breath of wind and brilliant sunshine.  Perfect cruising weather - if only we hadn’t had appointments coming up and home stuff that needed doing!

Until I started looking through the photos for the end of year report, I hadn’t realised how much evidence we had seen of the lack of timely maintenance that CRT has been able to carry out.  Here are some more examples.

Planet lock top gate, Caldon canal

Bottom gate of Bedford Road staircase locks, Caldon canal

Lime Kiln lock at Stone – there is a notice asking people not to sit on the beam as it is sagging so badly.

Colwich lock, one of the many with an iron frame supporting a lock beam.  A paddle out of action too.

Stats for 2024

We were keen this year to revisit places we hadn’t been to for a long time - the Shroppie as far as Chester, the Llangollen, the Middlewich Branch, the T&M and the Caldon.  No new waters for us this year.  Time pressures prevented longer trips to take in the Weaver, Macclesfield and Peak Forest, so those will have to wait.  The trip we enjoyed the most was probably along the Llangollen, closely followed by all the others!

Totals: 81 nights aboard; 401 miles 4½ furlongs travelled; 389 locks.

Waterways; Droitwich Junction; Worcester &Birmingham; BCN - main line, Wolverhampton level and Engine Arm; short section Staffs and Worcester; Shropshire Union, Llangollen, Middlewich Branch; Trent and Mersey; Caldon; Coventry; BCN - Birmingham and Fazeley with Digbeth branch; short section Grand Union. 

Marinas: Droitwich Spa, Swanley Bridge, Aston.

Narrow canals: 367 miles, 5½ furlongs; narrow locks 367.

Broad canals: 33 miles 7 furlongs; 22 broad locks

Rivers: none this year.

Tunnels: 25 (twice through those with a *) - Dunhampstead*, Tardebigge*, Shortwood*, Wast Hills*, Edgbaston*, Summit, Coseley, Wolverhampton, Cowley, Chirk*, Whitehouse*, Ellesmere*, Harecastle, Leek*, Curzon St, Ashted.  A shade under 8 miles underground, thankfully not all in one go!

Aqueducts (longer ones only); 12 – Engine Arm, Stewart, Tividale, Stretton, Nantwich, Pontcysyllte*, Chirk*, Hazelhurst*, Brindley Bank

Moveable bridges: 21, not counting those left open - Wrenbury*, 7 manual* on the Llangollen, Ivy House* and Norton Green* on the Caldon, both electric, Fradley Junction.

 HAPPY CRUISING IN 2025, AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE