Sunday 26th November - Great Haywood to Fradley Junction
We made an early
start this morning as we were hoping to get to Fradley Junction before the
daylight faded.
Colwich Lock
has a lovely cottage which has been done up over the years we have been passing
through this lock.
I am
fascinated by the different bird life you can see along the canal. This bird of prey – I think it maybe a
sparrowhawk was flying along the side of the canal and perching on telegraph
wires until we approached and took off ahead of the boat again.
Bromley
Wharf was where our share boat nbMinuet
used to be moored. We began our boat
ownership with nbMinuet and spent
many trips cruising from here.
We arrived at Fradley Junction and made our way down through the locks, past the junction and on to moor opposite the Visitor Centre and Fradley Nature Reserve. Toby and I went for a walk around the reserve whilst Dave set up the boat, usually these moorings are full, but we were the only ones tonight.
Monday 27th
November – Fradley Junction to Branston
Another early
start this morning to get to Branston again before the light faded. As we left our mooring, the next lock had a
team from Canal and River Trust assessing the lock which was very leaky. They will probably do a temporary fix on it
as the gates are going to be replaced next year.
In Alrewas a
team of volunteers were working to improve the lock landing at this lock,
always pleased to see work being carried out for improvements.
As you leave
Alrewas, the River Trent merges with the canal and you travel for about a ¼
mile on the river section. The
information boards said the river section was open but to proceed with caution,
so on a yellow board. We certainly felt
the boat pick up speed as we headed towards the weir bollards and turned away
from the river back on to the canal.
The canal
bridges here are tall and narrow with no towpath going through them. They are quite daunting as they never look
wide enough for the boat to fit through!
We moored up at
Branston Water Park for the night and went for a walk around the lake with
Toby.
Tuesday 28th
November – Branston to Mercia Marina
We then
cruised through Burton-on-Trent, home to the Marston’s Brewery. They began brewing beer in Burton in 1834 and
moved down the road to the Albion Brewery in 1898 and have been there ever
since.
At
last! A decent photograph of a
kingfisher, the fellow flew along the canal ahead of us and we actually saw it
dive into the water to catch fish. The
colours are vibrant, iridescent blue feathers on the back and orange-red
underparts, very striking in flight as they skim across the surface of the
water.
Then as we
were heading out of Burton we found a stunning black swan with a red beak,
quite beautiful!
We continued on
through Willington and on towards Mercia Marina where we are going to leave the
boat for a couple of nights. We moored up at the Visitor Moorings and collected
a hire car from Practical for two days so we could drive across to Wisbech to visit
our eldest daughter, Lizzie. She broke
her wrist 6 weeks ago and she was due to have the cast off and wanted support
from Mum and Dad. All went well and as
an added bonus we also saw our granddaughter, Bea, as well!
Wednesday 29th November – Wisbech
Spent the morning
doing some shopping and the afternoon at the hospital with Lizzie.
Thursday 30th
November – Mercia Marina to Stenson Lock
Made an early
start and drove the 2 hour journey back to Mercia Marina, paid our overnight
mooring fees, filled up with diesel and then set off back along the canal to
Stenson Lock.
The looming
towers of the disused Willington Power Station are quite majestic in a strange
kind of way!
We moored up above
Stenson Lock as it was bitterly cold and windy, we shall tackle the lock tomorrow
morning! It is the first of the wide
locks on the Trent and Mersey Canal and is also one of the deepest!
Friday 1st
December – Stenson Lock
Today we planned
to move on to Shardlow down the wide locks and Dave was preparing the boat when
a boat passed us heading in our direction.
Excellent, we can share the wide lock… but no, there was a boat
following on which had stopped at the Marina and would be along in about 20
minutes and they were sharing with them.
This meant another hour before we could use the lock, so we abandoned
our plans and decided to stay where we were and decorate the boat for
Christmas!
Christmas lights inside, on the roof and a diddy Christmas tree on the dinette! Feeling very Christmassy!
Saturday 2nd December – Stenson to Shardlow
There is a section of the canal where the road runs parallel and very close.
Love the warning sign for motorists!
Damage to Barrow Bridge, looks a fairly recent repair with a very new crack in it!
We stopped at Swarkstone Lock to empty rubbish and put on water and found this restored crane outside the toll house cottage. Just above the lock is the junction with the Derby Canal which is now closed, but would have been a busy area when the canals were used for transporting goods.
Swarkestone Hall Pavillion dates back to the 1500’s and has been restored as a holiday cottage for 2 people.
A field of cows with access to the canal for water – just so long as they don’t get stuck in the water!
We arrived in
Shardlow and moored up just past the Heritage Centre. We need to turn round here as Derwent Mouth
Lock is closed for winter works at the moment.
We have now
completed the whole of the Trent and Mersey Canal from Preston Brook to
Shardlow in nbElla, another canal we
can mark off! Next week we will return the way we have come and head back towards Great Haywood.
Map Key Week 1 - Brown Week 2 - Purple Week 3 - Dark Blue Week 4 - Light Blue
Week 5 - Green Week 6 - Olive Green Week 7 - Yellow Week 8 - Orange
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