The weather forecast for today offered a bland, grey-all-day outlook. It was wrong: both better and worse! All morning we had the occasional brighter period with small patches of blue sky popping through the cloud most of the time. Although there was a breeze, it was by no means chilly.
Mid after noon - things changed. From then onwards we had several very sharp showers, none lasted too long but plenty enough to get out hats and coats. Just very occasionally, it was a heavy downpour - the sort of rain that comes in large drops!
We set off in good time - a couple of boats had already passed us but they were some time ahead. We did encounter a steady stream of boats coming the other way and it was very much later that we first came to a lock with no-one already there. At least there were no queues so a nice balance of traffic.
Although the main season for wild flowers is now over, there are still the occasional colourful patches - ignoring the inevitable march of Himalayan balsam on the other bank.
When we arrived at Penkridge Lock, Christine popped to the nearby shop for a newspaper - the only one left - whilst Mike continued to take the boat down the lock.
The Staffs and Worcs is not only a generally attractive canal but is well-maintained. The towpath is cut to the edges in most places so that stopping to moor does not involve a great hunt.
Teddesley Park Bridge takes its name from the large nearby estate. No doubt this was why it had to be built just a bit more ornate than the standard bridge and Nicholson's states that it was once known as Fancy Bridge. However, the decorative sections have almost all been filled in apart from two incongruous looking small pillars on one side!
We stopped for lunch just before the outskirts of Stafford. After a good hour's break we sett off once more. At the northern edge we stopped to explore the remnants of the former Stafford Arm which we referenced in our blog last month when we came this way. There is a society which has been formed with the aim of restoring this short link into the centre of Stafford.
We found that there is not a lot to see but a couple of informative notices showed us where the lock cottage once stood as well as the entrance to the aqueduct. The arm linked across the River Penk on this aqueduct before, just a few metres later, dropping down through a lock to the River Sow. (These two rivers link up just below this junction.
Quite recently a new footbridge has been built across the flood plain and seems quite popular with cyclists and walkers. Altogether we had perhaps half an hour working out just where the navigation went.
By now the showers arrived! Mike spotted a kingfisher but as he was steering his attempts at catching it on camera proved wholly unsuccessful!
At Tixall Lock we were on the lookout for a feature mentioned in the guide books which we have always missed before now: a so-called castellated portal to the railway tunnel just across the other side of the valley from the canal. We did spot it but the rain did not help with a good photo!
At Great Haywood we turned northwards onto the Trent and Mersey Canal and immediately pulled in to fill the water tank and dispose of rubbish. No sani station however, This will now have to wait until Stone.
The towpath on this canal is left very overgrown so finding mooring spots becomes much harder. Nothing much before the first look so we ascended Hoo Mill before find a just-about mooring only a few metres beyond the lock landing. At least we were able to find a sat tv signal!
13.6 Miles - 11 Locks
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