Barton-under-Needwood

Car collection day. The forecast was for a much warmer day with the occasional shower. It was certainly very much warmer, even muggy, but there were dark clouds all around from the outset. The rain, however, never amounted to much and kept away until the afternoon.

We had a short cruise first, through Alrewas and across the River Trent to Barton-under-Needwood from where Mike would set off to collect the car whilst Christine stayed behind to clean and pack ready for the return trip home. (It is this way around, in case anyone suggests sexism at work, is because Mike has a Railcard that save 30% on fares which he bought for a trip to London for the diocese!)

Why do some people have to choose such cringe-worthy names?

As Mike was taking a photo of Alrewas Lock, a couple of ladies out exercising their dogs enquired whether I wanted them out of the way. One suggested she could pose - so Mike gave her the opportunity! Fortunately the river level had returned to the green zone - a couple of weeks ago the canal was closed because the river level was too high. Even so, there was plenty of water flowing over the weirs.

River Trent Weir

Bridge 45, just below the River Trent weir, needs some care - it looks even narrower from the other side (this photo was taken just after we had passed underneath)

Bridge 45

Late morning and we reached Bridge 39 where we moored. The map promised a short walk into the village where there is a twice hourly bus service into Burton-on-Trent. Mike spent a long time last night booking advance tickets for a train from Burton to Milton Keynes via Birmingham New Street. It was some relief that the automatic ticket machine at Burton Station accepted both the card and the booking reference numbers before printing out the tickets!

Moored for the day

It was a short walk from the mooring into Barton-under-Needwood village and the bus arrived on time, happy to accept Mike's bus pass yet again! (Good system this, hope no-one is daft enough to abolish it, at least in our lifetimes)

It was almost as much of a walk from the shopping centre in Burton where the bus terminates out to the station which is on the edge of the town, The canal is event further out, right on the edge. The strong odour of brewing still pervades the town, even if the main company making beer is now owned by Coors.

The train journeys were uneventful - it was amusing to see Buckby locks and the M1 which run parallel with the railway line just south of Watford Gap.

On schedule the train deposited Mike at Milton Keynes and another bus ride took him to the Hospital, the stop closest to the marina where the car had been left.

The road journey back was equally straightforward with almost no delays - sat nav was comforting, especially when switching motorways and avoiding the Toll road. Along the way, the same Buckby flight could be seen but with the railway line behind it this time. Strange to think that we have done all three forms of transport within a few days!

The bank where we had moored was very soft and each passing boat loosened the mooring pins (actually, a spare with no loop which we had put in to help keep the stern rope in place disappeared and Christine had had to re-moor several times during the day) So, we moved a few hundred metres further on, slightly away from the busy and very noisy A38, where Christine had discovered that there was piling - much stronger for mooring!

Tomorrow we only have to pull in to the marina and arrange our mooring for the next few weeks whilst we drive back home and pay attention to other duties, staring with Diocesan Synod on Saturday!

3.1 miles - 3 locks