Moored At Tixall Wide

 

Nothing much happening at Tixall Wide, where I've been moored for the last three days while Eric sorts out his prescriptions for the next couple of months. It was a bit of a fiasco when we went to collect our prescriptions a month ago as he didn't have any of his new tablets but he's just rung to say it's all sorted and he has the rest of our tablets. So he'll be back tomorrow.

While he's been away it's been so quiet .....I'll be talking to the dog! I have had chats with boaters I've met while out walking the dog though and lots of phone talks with Eric though. Ben and I have had some lovely walks in the woods alongside the river on the Shugborough Estate. Lots of places for him to sniff and leave his mark although once you pass the cattle grid he had to be on a lead as there are cattle roaming free.....but it's easy enough to stay away from them.

I've also sampled some rum and raisin icecream from the farm shop .....delicious and some lovely sausages which I had for my tea tonight.Before Eric went we bought a mixed basket of plants to put on the bow of the boat but it's so windy today I've had to put it in the cratch until it calms down here.The boat is rocking as I blog with waves on the Wide.

Cruising On A Sunday Afternoon

A good mooring spot.....opposite the pig farm

This morning it was such a lovely day we decided to leave Great Haywood to cruise just short of Rugeley to turn around, rather than reversing back to a very busy waterpoint on a busy junction. Basically a there and back cruise but we enjoyed moving. First of all we worked through Great Haywood Lock and I walked the dog to the next lock, Colwich Lock. Both of these locks have short arms so closing them is hard work on your own. Plenty of boats on the move so help was at hand.

A black lamb exploring

We passed plenty of wild life including a black lamb exploring, the pigs on a small holding, and a pair of swans with their cygnets. Even the cattle in the fields alongside the River Trent were lazing in the sun. There were also loads of dogs with their owners and cyclists enjoying the sunshine.

Cygnets on the bankside

NB Bendigedig in Colwich Lock

We didn't stay in Great Haywood after doing the filling and emptying but  went up on Tixall Wide for a few days.....it's such a lovely spot! Shepherd's Pie for tea to make our day complete.

Wildflowers In The Woods









A bluebell







For reasons best known by Blogger my photos can only be uploaded by sharing them singly from Picasso Web Albums! They won't upload from my computer either! I give up........three separate blogs for three photos! See update below photos.

Bluebells in the wood

Red Campion

Gorse

White Flower? Stitchwort

More white flowers.....Stitchwort

Update:

Today (Saturday) Picasa Web Albums  showed my photos so I added them to this blog. Thanks to those who told me it was Stitchwort.......not sure whether it's Greater or Lesser though......I just don't know!

Just A Little Cruise To Great Haywood

Today we woke early, the fields next to the boat were  all misty but the sun soon burnt it off. After breakfast we were on the move as we hoped to be able to get on the waterpoint without queueing. It's not the easiest waterpoint to get to as you need to reverse back if you plan to go towards Colwich.We managed it after a short wait to let a couple of boats cross the Trent Aqueduct. Everything filled and emptied we moved a short way to moor at Great Haywood.

We seemed to have loads of rubbish to get rid of and it was good that at this Services there's a recycling point. I needed to recycle a Dyson cleaner and the lady in the boatyard said leave it by the bins with a label to say it still worked and it wouldn't be there long. It was there when I took a bag of rubbish later, so I didn't need to feel guilty about leaving an electrical item at the refuse point. All it needed was a  new wand (not magic) as the handle was held together with black tape.and a new carpet/hard floor attachment as the plastic tubing had split.

I am really pleased with my Dyson Animal as it has a tangle free turbo brush attachment which really does pick up dog hair and we've plenty of that, and it still fits under the bed.

Ben and I had a lovely walk in the woody area on the offside of the canal , it's owned by the National Trust . I enjoyed all the wildflowers, there were bluebells, red campion, violets,  little white flowers whose name escapes me and  the bird song. Ben enjoyed sniffing and smelling and paddling in the shallow sides of the canal. It's been a lovely sunny day, so much better than rain.

At Tixall Wide

We're sitting tight enjoying the peace and quiet of Tixall Wide. The weather has been variable with blue skies and sunshine but  we've also had rain, hail stones and wind as well as more sunshine. Just half a dozen boats moored here and just four moored at Great Haywood at the beginning of the week but it's filling up at Great Haywood today.


Last night the rain hammered on the roof for most of the night but we had a lovely sunny afternoon. I caught the bus from Great Haywood into Stafford for a little retail therapy while Eric looked after Ben after I'd taken him for a walk of course. The bus service is hourly, so you need to plan which bus you're getting back as there's times when the next bus is more than a hour apart.


Tomorrow we need to top up with water so we need to move down to Great Haywood, empty the cassettes and get rid of the accumulated rubbish. I hope it manages  to stay dry for an hour!

Radford Bank To Tixall Wide

A posh lock cottage at Deptmore Lock

Approaching Deptmore Lock

On Saturday we decided on a short cruise as Eric accompanied my walk to Radford Bank after we'd worked through Deptmore Lock with it's posh lock cottage. Not a boat in sight and when we arrived at Radford Bank there were only two boats moored up there.

 

 

We tied up and decided on lunch at the Radford Bank Inn, which is a carvery with amazing prices £13.95 for two carvery meals and two drinks. I had roast gammon while Eric sampled the steak and kidney pie, with an assortment of help yourself to as much as you want vegetables.

 

 

Eric went back to the boat to watch the Grand Prix qualifiers and I escaped to Stafford for a little retail therapy. M&S didn't have anything I liked other than some nice  food but Eric had some new socks and undies. I caught the bus back to Radford Bank and we had a quiet night with a nice coal fire because it was cold.

 

 

This mooring we decided to move just an hour and a half away to Tixall Wide just in time to watch the Grand Prix of course. Ben and I had a good walk but he had to stay on his lead 'til we were away from the dog walkers, cyclists and runners nearer Stafford. At Tixall Wide the wind is blowing....nothing unusual and there are just a few boats moored up. Satellite signal found, fire lit so we're all settled for a quiet afternoon.

 

Gailey To Deptmore.....Out In The Country

Last night's mooring wasn't the quietest place with the A5 passing just a few hundred yards away, it's a very busy route. We just needed to stop as the wind got much worse. A few stoppages on the Shroppie with fallen trees show we left there just in time.

Our cruising today was accompanied by the M6 for most of the way, so rather noisy! I wonder if any of the motorway travellers are even aware there's a canal nearby. We worked through nine locks, mostly nearly full needing just topping up before we could open the gates. Ben and did a lot of walking between the spaced out locks. 

We topped up the water tank above Penkridge Lock which now has a posh stainless steel waterpoint. A quick pop to the popin shop near the canal for bread, milk and a newspaper.Plenty of room to moor above the lock too, but we decided to keep going.

The forecast showers managed to stay away while we cruised.It's been really quiet very few boats moving today. We'd just moored up on the pound above Deptmore Lock and the heavy rain came down, but we were OK now. Ben is fast asleep! Peace and quiet ......superb! Although you can see from my screenshot the M6 is still very close.

 

The blue arrow is our GPS position