The weather forecast was for a much warmer day and from mid morning onwards it was really hot - almost time for sun screen! There was plenty of cloud around and by late afternoon this dominated the sky.
There were two locks and a short distance to the centre of Stone. We stopped at the sani station for disposals and then at the adjacent Stone Boat Building chandlery shop. Mike was looking for a small piece of rope to make strings for fenders. He was hoping for ready-made ones (we found some a while back but only one now remains) but had to settle for plain rope and a a recollection of how to eye splice on a You Tube video a few weeks ago!
The bridge before the boatyard has a separate horse tunnel to take the towpath under the bridge. We assume this means that the road bridge was enlarged whilst horses were still in use - after all, the canals were built because at the time there were few good roads.
At Lock 28 opposite the Canal Cruising wharf, Christine left Mike and walked the short distance into town for a paper and some bread. When she returned via the bridge at the next lock she had found what she was looking for including an excellent bakery.
Lock 28 is a little bit special as it is the first lock we ever did when we hired a boat from Canal Cruising - standards for boats are a bit different today!
At The Star pub alongside the next lock we were amused by two signs - hopefully no-one will fall in when the pub is closed!
Most of today, after leaving Stone, was plain sailing - that is few locks or movable bridges to interrupt the smooth flow along the canal. The sun gradually came out.
It was very warm sitting at the front of the boat eating lunch - we eventually set off once more with a steady stream of boats coming the other way.
Most of the bridges are much the same but this one at Salt is rather ornate. (Salt has a small church which we went to on the first morning of our honeymoon. How we found it is a bit of a mystery as the intervening hedgerow at the side of the towpath has now grown much more substantial and blocks all but the briefest of glimpses of the church. Furthermore, there we no inkling of anything like A Church Near You web site! Even the maps would have been one inch ones)
A little later we could see Weston Hall in the distance.
A picture to show that when there is some decent sunshine we can take much better photos - the church in the distance is in the village of Weston.
At one point we were passed by Briar Rose - only spotted who it was after they had almost gone by. Pity we did not meet at a lock as it would have been good to chat with a fellow blogger.
Turning into a wonderful late summer's afternoon, just right for plain cruising.
The little one had just been giving his mate a tough time!
We continued straight ahead at Great Haywood Junction where the Staffs and Worcester turns right. This next section we have not covered for some years - the rest of the Trent and Mersey has seen numerous visits but, somehow, we have always joined or left at Haywood and Fradley.
For some time now, especially on the Macclesfield and down from the Trent and Mersey summit at Etruria, we have had comparatively deep locks. So it was rather a surprise to come across a shallower one - the boat roof when the lock is empty hardly reaches down to the top of the lock.
Shortly after the lock we caught a glimpse of Shugborough Hall, with the River Trent in between. The river is now more like a river than the insignificant ditch that we crossed in Stoke!
Just before the next lock we spotted a good mooring - since the junction there were no gaps in the trees for the satellite TV signal so when we found one, with a nice piling edge, we pulled in.
11.1 miles - 9 locks
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