The Sumpners Afloat

Leaving Brinklow and heading North – 18th – 27th April

Our guests – dubbed “The Stubb Family Robertson” in our WhatsApp group, none other than Anne and Gray, had arrived after a fairly arduous and trafficky journey. They had driven to Atherstone and left their car there, ready to pick up when they leave us, on Easter Sunday. In case you’ve never come across it, Your Parking Space is a great site, where people rent out out their drives or other spaces for a reasonable sum. They had found a spot within spitting distance of Atherstone top lock. Perfect! Other such sites include Parkopedia, Just Park and Park Me, to name but a few. Very handy – especially when meeting friends who might be staying for a few nights.

They got a taxi back to Brinklow and, as they arrived, Paul returned from our favourite chippy – Fishsmiths in Newbold on Avon with our pre-ordered fish and chip supper. Yum! We spent the remainder of the evening catching up on all the goss from home and playing games.

Good Friday looked changeable and we set off at around 10:30, suitably attired, heading towards Hawkesbury Junction, and the Coventry canal. It was our first time through Easenhall Cutting since the landslide. You can clearly see the work that was done, but it still looks a tad unstable in other sections. Fingers crossed it’ll hold until we get back to Brinklow in July!

It was showery, sunny and chilly. One of those days where you spend it either wanting an extra layer or taking one off. I made soup for lunch (Pea and Ham) which we ate “on the hoof”. We passed through the stop lock at this famous and often pictured junction. and turned right onto the the Cov. The stop lock has a rise/fall of just 7″ – making it (I believe) the lock with the least elevation of all the locks on the entire network. It’s still takes the same amount of effort though!

We finally pulled over around fiveish. Much as we love it at The Marina of Dreams, it was so very good to be out, knowing that we wouldn’t be back for a while. We were all pretty tired – which we put down to the fresh air – and after dinner and a few games, we retired, wondering what the next day would bring. As it happened, we knew it would definitely be bringing rain!

It was largely OK though, with again a few periods of rain. Indeed we stopped for lunch during one rather heavy shower. At one point we met a potential customer for Ortomarine, who trotted alongside, asking lots of questions. No problem! Of course we’d choose them again if we were buying another boat. In a heartbeat.

We also saw the Hargreaves Trust Boat, a community boat also built by Ortomarine and Minerva! We Ortomariners are always pleased to see other Ortomariners and we greeted each other happily.

We ended our day at one of our favourite spots, near Mancetter and couldn’t believe our luck. It’s a popular spot and there are often four or five other boats there. We had it all to ourselves! We were the first there and we fully expected that other boats would rock up, but no. Splendid isolation – just as we like it.

Easter Sunday dawned with blue skies and sunshine. It was still chilly in the shade but it is, after all, only April. Famous for its showers. And heaven knows, we do need some rain! But we had a lovely cruise down to Atherstone top lock, in sunshine, marred only by some chap who was obviously in a proper hurry to get to his Easter Eggs, behind us!

As an electric boat, we choose to travel slower than diesel boats to conserve power. We suspect that some (definitely not all!) of the speedy conventionally-engined boats might also travel slower, if they could see with their naked eye, just as we can, how much power (money) they are actually consuming. Canal boaters have a reputation for being careful with their money.

As we do travel slower, we are always happy to move over and let a faster boat pass – as soon as it is safe to do so – in our opinion. This was not good enough for Mr Grand Prix, who proceeded to tailgate us. Our normally even-tempered and placid skipper let him know, in no uncertain terms, that he should back off and ended with “It’s not a flipping race-track! He did drop back, but we had to go down the entire 11 locks with them following on behind.

Anne and Gray nipped off with their baggage at the top lock, depositing it in their very-nearby car and then re-joining us, on foot, for the next lock or two, before finally leaving for their journey home. We carried on down the remainder of the locks (there are 11 in the Atherstone flight) before pulling over for a late luncheon.

The next day was looking decidedly dodgy weather-wise, so we pressed on for a while, because we had a planned meet-up in Hopwas. We finally pulled over about 4 pm, tired but happy. And ate a modicum of chocolate to celebrate! I was even a little kissed by the sun. Which is to say a touch burnt!

Easter Monday was as damp as Easter Sunday had been sunny, although not initially. The weather was predicted to be worse mid to late-morning, so we set the alarm for and arose at 06:45. One of the joys of electric boating is being able to do very early mornings without disturbing anyone. We left our neighbouring boats all still slumbering sweetly. The first couple of hours weren’t too bad, and I was able to stay up on deck with Paul. But – as predicted – the rain became heavier and constant so I retired indoors and plied the gallant helmsman with hot drinks and cheering words. Lucky man eh?

We reached our destination – The Tame Otter at Hopwas – by about 1 pm and gratefully moored up, then the only boat there – although we were later joined by others.

We awaited the arrival of Rob and Caroline (Ortomarine), who were calling in on us after another appointment over at North Kilworth. Rob had a little job to do (something techy for Paul) and Caroline and I had a lovely catch-up. After the work was done, we repaired to the pub for dinner before bidding our friends farewell. They had a journey home to Worcester to undertake and we had some telly to watch! And that was Easter weekend done and dusted. Thirty four miles and 14 locks under our belt too. We are really on our way!

As Paul was back with his nose to the grindstone on Tuesday, I moved the boat down to a spot where we’d probably spend Wednesday too, as the weather once again looked dodgy. I set off through Hopwas Woods in lovely warm sunshine. It was an absolute delight – birdsong and bluebells! Just beautiful. The picture below does not do it any justice at all. I genuinely felt glad to be alive and very privileged to be doing what I love.

I cruised until we were as far away from the railway line as we could be, on this particular stretch, near a village called Whittington. and we settled down for the next day or so.

As you cruise around the network, you see many gardens backing on to the canal, some are beautifully cared for, some are ignored and then you get – the mad ones! I’m starting a collection of Mad Canalside Gardens. Here’s a couple to start off with. If you have any in your collection, please send them to me!

The weather on Wednesday was nowhere near as bad as foretold, but we decided to stay there anyway. It had rained overnight and the nearby tree had deposited bits of itself over every surface. It looked like we’d been there all winter! A real mess. We are hoping for stiff winds to blow it all off, once it is dry!

While we were working, Minerva passed us and pulled over to say hi, which was nice. And then the sun came out so we changed our minds. We decided to make for somewhere a little more rural, so off I set, passing a spot where someone – clearly a boater – had taken everything EXCEPT the kitchen sink. Annoying and lazy. Clearly not a proper boater.

I found a spot that I liked and we moored – in solitude. I set about cleaning of all the tree deposit. I think it was a beech tree. Each little bit left a brown mark where it had been, so our beautiful clean boat now looks as if has contracted the marine equivalent of measles – maybe seasles? Another job for another day.

About an hour after we had moored, another boat came and moored about half a boat’s length from us. Why? There is so much bank to choose from!

As we were running low on provisions, we decided to go for a night in a Marina – our first choice was King’s Bromley Marina, where we’d make use of our Aquavista Mooring benefit – Explore 100, where we can moor at anyone of Aquavista’s many Marinas for free – for up 100 nights per year! Sadly, they were unable to accommodate us. This is rare, but really can’t be helped sometimes, so we looked elsewhere.

We called King’s Orchard Marina and they could fit us in, so on Thursday morning I moved us the short distance along the canal to the Marina. I passed the HQ of the Lichfield Cruising Club at Huddlesford Junction, where the Lichfield Branch of the Wyrley and Essington canal used to branch off towards Lichfield and was used to transport coal. It was abandoned in 1955 and much of it has been filled in. There are moves to restore it as it provides an excellent route onto the BCN. We have been both ends of it and would dearly like to see it navigable again, but there are many challenges. For more info, see here.

We got ourselves settled at the Marina and I went off to pay. I also needed some loo blue. A lesson learnt. Don’t buy cheapo, unbranded loo blue. It just doesn’t keep the smell down. The loo never smells with named brands, but I really can’t live with this stuff. Nuff said, I think!

I booked an Uber to take Paul to the local pharmacy in Lichfield. He had dropped a pair of binoculars on his toe – the one that had been operated on late last year, if you recall? It was initially painful from the impact but had steadily swelled up over the last few days and now looked most peculiar. I won’t put a photo up as it is pretty gory! The trip just confirmed that we were doing the right thing and to continue with bathing in salty water. Which we shall!

I gave the stern a good clean with my new mop. This is our third one since we had Old Nick. The head fell off #2 last week. It might seem excessive, but they are out on the roof in all weathers and I think the plastic gets brittle? But they are definitely the best mops I’ve ever had. Highly recommended.

We left the Marina on Friday morning, devoid of all waste and full in battery, water, fridge and hearts. We stopped off briefly at Streethay Wharf to buy more blue so that we won’t have to worry for the rest of this trip. Our journey took us up to the famous Fradley Junction, busy as usual and up through the the three locks. I had taken the precaution of making some sandwiches before we arrived at the locks as it would be during lunchtime that we’d be doing them. There was plenty of movement both up and down and we had soon polished them (and the sarnies!) off and continued our journey to one of our fave spots, out in the sticks, overlooking fields, on the outskirts of Handsacre, near Rugeley.

On our way through, we spotted the new location at King’s Bromley Wharf, for JF Boatbuilding, who had been so helpful a couple of years ago, letting us use their dry dock for a spot of impromptu welding. It looks a much bigger and better spot and we hope they have every success in their new location.

After a lovely peaceful night at our chosen spot, we set off on Saturday morning. We can hardly believe we’ve been out over a week already. We started what always feels like a long trudge through Handsacre, Armitage (home of the porcelain loo!) and Rugeley. I always heave a bit of a sigh of relief after we have crossed the Trent on Brindley’s aqueduct and then start to see the beautiful trees of Cannock Chase, which always make my heart zing. And you’re accompanied pretty much all the way by the river Trent – which was looking a tad lower than usual. That struck a slight chill in my heart. When will we run out of water for cruising? We really do need some rain – from Monday to Thursday, preferably!

We had a quick lunch before our first lock of the day (of two!) and it was a good job we did because there was a a queue of three boats ahead of us and a boat already locking up when we arrived at Colwich Lock. The wait was exacerbated by the broken ground paddle – which was also out of order last time we came through in 2022. The lock balance beam is still braced too. I guess there must be higher priorities?

We finally approached Great Haywood Junction, where the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal heads off towards Stafford and eventually to the River Severn at Stourport, at about 3:30 – later than planned. We really hoped we weren’t too late to get a spot at our beloved Tixall Wide.

We turned onto the Staffs Worcs with hope in our hearts. As we cruised the short distance, we clocked a spot that we’d use as a fallback if we were unlucky. But the heavens were smiling on us! There were a couple of options and we happily selected the one we liked best. Back in our happy place for the night.

At the rate we are travelling, we reckon we will definitely be on the Caldon next weekend – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves! There are 19 miles and 18 locks to get through first – but no biggy!

After a mainly quiet night – apart from the goose skirmishes that kept breaking out – we breakfasted royally on poached eggs (for a change) and set off, back towards Great Haywood Junction. Our aim was to do the three domestics – water in, sewage and refuse out. There were already a couple of boats there – one of which was Minerva again – but we achieved our three goals in reasonable time and were soon off in the warm sunshine .

It was truly a delight – perfect cruising weather. Birdsong, sunshine, a light zephyr and best of all – silence. We allowed a boat to overtake us, which meant they’d take the lock, but we didn’t care. We were not in a hurry on such a lovely day. Let them go hurrying on their way. We were taking the slow train.

We passed through Hoo MIll and then Weston locks and started to look for a nice spot. We found one but thought we could do better! Well it turns out that was not so easy and the spot we eventually chose, just before Sandon lock, was not perfect but would have to do. I had two loads of washing waiting to go out on the line! We can always move on if the train line really grates. So that’s our first week-and-a-bit out-and-about done and dusted. Oh – and the shorts are out. I know we’re probably tempting floods, pestilence and boils, but there’s no going back now! Not until October!

Looking ahead, we will gradually move the boat up to Aston Marina, where we will spend Thursday night. We have a berth, a grocery order and dinner at the on site No 26 Restaurant all booked in. The Spring Menu looks pretty enticing! And then on Friday we will set off to get to Stoke on Trent, where we’ll turn onto the Caldon Canal at Etruria Junction. A new adventure for Old Nick but not for us – although it’s been quite a while.

PS – Paul’s toe is much better now! In case you were worried………

Period	Miles	Locks
18th-27th April	59	21
Cumulative	101	27