Sunday 21st January - Great Haywood
A day of snow, sleet and rain!
Spent a quiet day on the boat, Toby wasn't interested in going for any walks, and the towpath was one continuous puddle!
Monday 22nd January - Great Haywood to St Thomas' Bridge 101
Today the weather improved and we decided to move the boat a little way along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. We put water on at the boatyard and then turned the boat off the Trent and Mersey Canal and headed for Stafford.
We moored up at St Thomas' Bridge where there is a footpath along the River Sow all the way into Stafford.
Unfortunately the River had flooded and the footpath was under water!
However, we crossed the river on a new bridge and walked along a road into Stafford and had an enjoyable look around the town.
Tuesday 23rd January - St Thomas' Bridge 101 to Deptmore Lock
Moving on again today, this time to Deptmore Lock where there is a good mooring with excellent WiFi and TV signals.
The flooding made me feel as though we were beside the sea, it was so extensive!
An ingenious way to keep the back doors closed whilst cruising - keeping the cold air and rain out, the warm air in. A gift from a canal trader.
Once we moored up, we spent an hour cleaning the stern and living area, to get rid of the mud that had silently accumulated over the past two weeks!
Spent a quiet evening on the boat, but another disturbed night with Storm Georgina blowing a gale through the early hours of the morning!
Wednesday 24th January - Deptmore Lock
The morning was very wet and dismal, but later in the afternoon the rain stopped and the sun came out.
We took a walk along the canal to Acton Trussell, through the village and back along the canal. The village is very attractive with some lovely established houses.
With the M6 literally a stones throw away, the noise is amazing, but I guess if you have lived with it for many years you tend not to notice it. Not for me though!
Is it too early for ducks to begin pairing up for the mating season? These certainly seem to be choosing their ideal spot!
For some reason it was a huge step up onto the stern of the boat, an enormous relief that I made it without stepping back into the canal!
Thursday 25th January - Deptmore Lock to Penkridge
A short cruise to Penkridge calling in at Bourne Boatbuilders for water, diesel and a visit to Midland Chandlery.
Toby keeping a beady eye out so we don't go the wrong way!
We moored up between Penkridge and Filance Lock ready to go through Filance Lock once it opens after the winter works.
Friday 26th January - Penkridge
Friday 26th January - Penkridge
We walked up past Filance Lock, the work had been finished but they were waiting on the contractors to come and remove their equipment and reopen the lock. Probably sometime on Saturday, they thought. No worries for us as we are staying until Sunday as we are invited to a naming ceremony on Saturday.
Our walk took us along a disused railway line and then along the canal, beautiful weather - blue skies always make me feel so much better!
On the way back through Penkridge we found Penkridge Gaol, built in the early 19th century, the Old Gaol was the village lock-up and stands on Bellbrook. The building was carefully restored by Penkridge Civic Society in the late 1990s and opened as Penkridge Heritage Centre on 31 July 2000.
Saturday 27th January - Penkridge
This is the end of Week 13, Filance Lock is reopened and we shall continue on our way next week. A mixed bag as far as weather is concerned, snow, rain and sunshine, and a huge amount of mud. However, the days are getting longer and there are tentative signs of spring, so all is good!
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
Week 9 - Pink Week 10 - Dark Pink Week 11 - Dark Brown Week 12 - Light Purple Week 13 - Indigo
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