12^th May

Woken up at 5.15 am by the Canal Cruising hire boat behind us putting on it central heating and then its engine; don’t know what the neighbouring house owners thought about it spoiling their Saturday lie in. 

We decided that as it was a lovely morning that we would get up and make an early.

As we left our moorings in bright sunshine we passed this little craft with the apt name.

* Along Shortly

It must have been our day for newly born creatures because as we headed towards Sandon Lock we passed this lovely young foal with the rest of the herd keeping a watch on him.

* New Foal

Later as we passed Aston Marina we spotted our first signets just waking up, they were only one day old from what a towpath walker told us. Further on as we passed some more just below some houses on the outskirts of Western.

* New Signets

We made good progress to Great Haywood even though all the locks were against us, and moored up, for lunch and to get a paper, just below the bottom lock overlooking the River Trent and out further to Cannock Chase.

 * River Trent

* Cannock Chase

Moving off after lunch we had good views of Shugborough Hall.

* Shugborough Hall

As we came out of Colwich lock we met Nb Elysium Days from Brinklow Marina on their way to meet up with their friends on Nb 4Evermore, who we had met earlier, and stopped to have a quick chat before they had to enter the lock.

We had hoped to moor just after bridge 69, where we had stopped on H3O, but they have now put a pig farm there and the smell was somewhat overpowering so we carried on trying to find somewhere  deep enough to moor. We eventually found a spot just short of the winding hole next to bridge 68 north of Rugeley with lovely views over Cannock Chase and a field of newly born calves next to us.

* Overnight mooring spot

* New Born Calf

When you look at Autumn Myst now you would think that we are real water Gypsies with our washing drying in the cratch. Perhaps we are becoming real narrowboaters!

* Water Gypsies