12th to 18th May – Slowly retracing our steps along the Caldon
Well, I think I mentioned spots of rain overnight in last week’s blog? Thunderstorms were promised for the day – with potential for localised flooding. Hmm. We’ll see. However – just after lunch – we heard the first rumblings of thunder and very soon it was absolutely pelting down. Cue much shutting of hatches and so forth. It probably lasted 10-15 minutes. Certainly not long enough to fill all those dwindling reservoirs, sadly.
We weren’t planning on going anywhere today but would have one of our early morning starts on Tuesday to get back to – well – somewhere! Mooring is not always so easy to find on this canal. We had somewhere in mind but weren’t sure if it would be vacant.
We went to bed early in preparation for our early start and I was just nodding off to sleep, if not already asleep, when Paul suddenly asked me a question. That was it – wide awake! I really just could not get back to sleep. For hours – and hours. Did you know the dawn chorus starts at just after 4am? I read until I felt my eyes droop and then kept willing myself to drop off and was finally feeling properly drowsy at around 3 am, when Paul got up to go to the loo. I think the last time I looked at my watch it was 04:38 – and then the alarm went of at 06:00!
We winded the boat and set off through the narrow section, back towards Hazlehurst Junction. It was a lovely morning, a tad chilly, but with the promise of warmth later. We had one lock to do – Flintmill – and this time, I videoed us passing through the gauge. It’s a bit shaky but I was trying to steer, look where I was going and video all at the same time! But you can clearly see that we would not comfortably have fit. And roofs don’t come much flatter than ours!
When I’m in a lock, I like to look out for stonemasons’ marks. I saw this one today. The chap who made that mark has probably been sleeping the sleep of the righteous for maybe 250 years. The marks are interesting – some are to identify whose work it was (for payment or blame purposes!) and some are assembly marks – which tell the builder where to place the stones. A little bit of history in everything we see, eh?
The spot that we had in mind, by some small miracle, had enough space for us. Full sun all day – and just as we arrived, the washing machine finished its cycle. Washing out before 08:30! Having breakfasted as we cruised, we settled down to start the day. I wasn’t feeling the freshest but I could probably grab a quick beepy later.
By 09:00, it was properly warm – a truly lovely morning and we had a delightful spot – right outside the Black Lion. Maybe a drink later?
I had a funeral to remotely attend that morning – a dear friend’s mother. I was very sad not to be there to support her in saying goodbye. One of the few downsides of this life – no car. But it was a lovely and touching farewell and I was with her in spirit all the way. Night night Sue.
We have an idyllic spot – sandwiched between the railway line and the Churnet. It’s so very lovely, we think we’ll stay the full 48 hours. I did some washing to take advantage of the good weather and I’m working on a project with a previous blog of ours – “The Sumpners Again” – which I wrote from 2012 to when we took delivery of Old Nick in December 2020. I’m converting it into printed format, bit by bit, so that we have our memories safe and sound. It’s time consuming. I’m also dealing with Electrika admin, so I have plenty to do while Paul works.
We decided we’d eat at the pub that evening. To get there, you have to cross the canal and also the railway line, which runs along the foot of the pub’s garden. I noticed that the house adjoining it was up for sale. It comes with an acre of land and has no road access. You have to park your car the other side of the river and cross river and canal to get to it. The price? A cool half a million.
An idyllic location though – apart from the practicalities. I had watched the pub deliveries being made – it’s a pretty arduous process crossing the river, along a track then crossing the canal and then the railway line. I doubt it’s popular with the delivery guys!
We took the crib board with us and had a couple of games while we waited for our food to arrive. The menu is not extensive – other than sarnies and jacket spuds, it’s burgers all the way. But they are quality burgers, freshly cooked and very tasty. And no washing up again!
Needless to say, it’s very quiet here and, while I was catching up on my sleep on Wednesday morning, Paul took the boys for a walk before work. He crossed over the river and found some steps to the left of the old Lime Kilns, which led up to the top of the valley. 200 steps, mark you, but he was rewarded with some lovely views over the Staffordshire Moorlands. And a good workout too!
As I was working away at my desk, at lunchtime a boat came by and said “Naughty naughty! That’s a 48 hour mooring.” I quickly put him straight. We simply cannot abide folk who overstay, it’s so selfish, and we are scrupulous about it. I remembered them going past yesterday and explained that we had arrived at 08:15 yesterday morning, so had been here for approximately 29 hours – nowhere near 48. He clearly didn’t believe me and, as he pulled in to the water point nearby. I could clearly hear him bad-mouthing us to a crowd of hikers. Paul was so incensed (and this is very unusual!), he went to show the man the picture which he had taken when we had arrived yesterday. “Oh I was only joking, I was only joking”! Yeah – right. Check your facts mate.
Before we leave the Caldon – a quick word about lime kilns. Limestone was one of the raw materials that contributed to the industrial development of this area. It was used in iron making as a flux in furnaces and could also be converted to lime by burning. ‘Quicklime’ was used to make mortar and plaster for the building trade, in agriculture it was used as a fertiliser and as ‘slaked’ lime for making whitewash.
Lime kilns work by burning limestone or chalk at high temperatures. The process is called “calcination”. Kilns are typically operated on a semi-continuous basis, with limestone and fuel added at the top and quicklime removed from the bottom.
As it was a nice evening, we decide to have a barbecue – Chinese Pork Steaks, Garlic Chicken thigh kebabs, griddled English asparagus and Jersey Royals. Delish And there was enough for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow – we love cold barby. And probably a bit for some hungry hounds, too! We found a handy stone on which to place the barbecue, so as to avoid scorching the grass and it worked pretty well. Mind you – we both needed showers before bed as we both stunk of smoke!
It was another early night because we planned another 6 am start. And brr! It was really chilly when we awoke. And there was a beautiful mist on the water as we slipped silently away from our very lovely mooring. I was sad to leave – it’s a lovely, peaceful location. Up there with Tixall!
We cruised along in the chilly morning (coat on!) feeling like the only people in the world. We passed swiftly through 2 locks before we arrived – with some trepidation – at Cheddleton. It was the same story – the pound between the two locks was very low and I could not actually get out of the bottom lock until Sumps had flushed some water down. It’s such a waste of water and I have already reported it to CRT
It must be a bit of a headache for hire boaters – first timers – wondering what the heck to do when faced with a situation like that. We agonise over it – particularly as some parts of the system are already in drought measures – as wasting water is abhorrent to us. But there’s nothing else to be done. It’s in CRT’s hands now, anyway.
We moored very near the spot in Cheddleton where we had moored on Saturday night, in good time for Sumps to start work. While he was beavering away, muttering and cussing, I gave the stern a good sweep and wash down and also cleared the roof of leaves/debris. Much smarter!
Which reminds me – I await the advent of a new gadget. Friends will know what a sucker I am for a good gadge!. It’s currently languishing at my brother, Bruces, waiting for him to bring it up with him at the end of the month. He’s bringing our nephew Lenny for a few days break, I’m slightly worried whether Lenny will still fit on the bed as he’s grown so much! I can’t wait to show you all! Watch this space. It will either be a triumph or a damp squib!
On Friday morning, we had a leisurely start and cruised the short distance down to the Hollybush Inn, where we are meeting friends Paul & Anthony for dinner this evening. It was a lovely morning, with the sun peeping through the trees and much birdsong. Rather typically, they quietened down as I filmed this clip! But I think you can still get the idea. I think I should put it on a loop and play it when the world gets a bit too trying. So relaxing.
We moored at the pub, saw Paul & Anthony briefly, before they dashed off to Liverpool to do some filming. Are they mad?!! We did some much needed cleaning – the fluff plant has reared its ugly head and is depositing fluff everyflippingwhere! While we were both doing some Electrika work, I got a CRT notification. Something we have been dreading but not unexpected.
“As a result of the prolonged dry weather, we have taken the difficult decision to close the Caldon Canal between Hazelhurst Lock and Froghall to general boat traffic from 9:00 AM on Monday 26th May 2025.
This action is necessary to help manage depleting water supplies and protect the remainder of the Caldon Canal. It will also help us continue supporting navigation on the Trent & Mersey Canal for as long as possible while dry conditions persist.
We understand this may be disappointing and are committed to supporting those affected. If you require essential passage on or off the lower section of the Caldon Canal, please contact our customer service team on 0303 040 4040 or at enquiries.westmidlands@canalrivertrust.org.uk. A member of our local operations team will get in touch to discuss your needs – though we ask that you only request passage if it is essential.
We are monitoring the situation closely and will reopen the canal as soon as conditions allow.
Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to manage the network responsibly during this exceptionally dry period.”
Luckily for us, we plan to be off the Caldon before then, but I sense that more restrictions/closures may ensue on other canals in the next few weeks.
We met friends Paul And Anthony (from the Narrowboat Life Unlocked channel) and their adorable pup Sebastian for dinner at the pub and were later joined by another couple of boaters, Will and Claude from NB Joie de Vivre. We had a lovely evening – both conversation and wine flowing freely and lots of laughter. We toddled off to bed at closing time and drifted off to sleep to the sound of an owl hooting.
Anthony and Paul were coming for breakfast the next morning. Guess who burnt the pan au chocolat! Too busy yakking! But other than me doing a King Alfred, it was another nice get together, and we’ll be seeing them again next weekend at Crick Boat Show. We have both fallen in love with Sebastian. He’s an adorable pup.
Having said our farewells for now, we set off, up the three Hazelhurst Locks and along to Endon services, where we did all the usual domestic stuff. There was someone on one of the water points, when we arrived (there are two) cleaning their boat . Not good form in our opinion. They were still there when we left. I guess they’d have moved if another boat had come along – I’d like to think so.
And then a chap drove up and was filling his 5 gallon drums with water and one started overflowing. I pointed it out to him and he said, dismissively “Oh that’ll be alright” and carried on chatting. While gallons of fresh water were being wasted! We were incensed!
It had been chilly when we got up that morning, but by lunchtime it was a proper scorcher. We hummed and hawed about whether to polish off the 5 locks at Stockton Brook or leave them until the next day. Prudence won out – the more locks we do, the less likely we are to get stuck on this canal.
We attacked them with a vengeance and had them done in 50 minutes – not startling timewise, but with one of the locks down to just one paddle, we didn’t feel it was too bad? And as soon as we’d finished. we looked for a nice spot to stop.
I had spotted several potential moorings on the outward journey and we settled for one of these. A lovely quiet spot with nice views. That would do nicely. Eurovision tonight!
As it’s not too far to Etruria now, roughly 6 miles and 4 locks, and we don’t really need to be there until Friday, we decided we’d stay where we were on Sunday. It’s a such a lovely, quiet spot and feels very “us”. Plus – the closer to Stoke we get, the less likely we are to want to moor overnight! We had plenty of odd jobs to do, so we wouldn’t be bored!
There was an interesting little path leading from the towpath and Paul followed it to a very nice, wooded walk along the old railway line. The spaces between sleepers have been filled in and the walk is between the rails, which have been left down. The trees form a tunnel over head and you might even stay dry on a wet day. The little path starts at W3W address ///chose.turkey.ending
We had a fruitful day with Paul doing such things as the annual replacement of the impeller – if you have a Vetus generator, Paul has done a handy video with a step by step guide on how to do this. Even if you you have a different brand, regular replacement of the impeller is an important aspect of generator/diesel engine maintenance and should be done at the intervals specified by the manufacturer. Our is an annual event.
He also did the 6 monthly injection of silicon on our Vetus water-sealed stern gland and his final task was to fit the mounting for our new(ish) vacuum cleaner, resulting in a much tidier cupboard. Busy boy and deserving of a nice cuppa! Which he got!
Next week, we will be slowly continuing our journey back to Etruria and putting Old Nick into a Marina for a few days, while we take a quick break. And worrying about water levels and closures………….
| Period | Miles | Locks |
| 12th – 18th May | 10 | 13 |
| Cumulative 2025 | 146 | 79 |