Crew - Graham, Brenda and Simon.

Through the swing bridge we turned left onto the T&M and had a nice run up through middle and top lock meeting Southbound boats at both. At Armitage tunnel we waited behind a Black Prince hireboat while two craft came through and then followed it through and all the way to Rugeley where they moored up near the town bridge. At the Taft we found Terry and Chris aboard Grace, moored up alongside 'Maid of Oak' , where they were changing her 'covert' status by applying vinyl signwriting for BW number and Owners name. We stopped alongside for a quick chat before moving onto Colwich (just below the lock) for a quiet overnight mooring. I fitted new gearbox hoses and a relay into the starter motor circuit whilst Simon and Brenda went for an evening stroll around Colwich.

Crew - Graham, Brenda and Simon.

After breakfast we joined a small queue for Colwich lock and then made our way to Great Heywood where we stopped for a waterfill whilst Brenda fetched some milk from the farm shop. It was only on her return, when she commented about their stock selection, that I told her how quite a few fellow bloggers recommend their pies. On past the marina to join a queue for Hoo Mill lock. We then managed to arrive at each lock as a the boat in front of us was leaving with a Southbound boat descending so we had a good run up past Weston and Sandon. There were a lot of Southbound boats from Sheffield and so we reckon it was an organised cruise by a club or society. They all seemed a jolly bunch from the banter we had as we passed them, so I bet their evening stops are fun. We stopped before Stone and returned to Whittington to collect the car and head home.

Crew - Graham, Brenda and Simon.

Simon, having stayed on the boat overnight, took Jannock up to Stone and winded to return to the mooring in Aston. We arrived at 12:30 after a late start from home, loaded our things aboard and then set off down the Trent and Mersey retracing last Sunday's route to Gt. Haywood junction. I refilled the water tank whilst Brenda and Simon paid yet another visit to the farm shop opposite, this time in search of strawberries.

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Crew - Graham, Brenda & Simon

At Heywood lock we were 6th in the queue to go through and so were dreading Colwich next. We were 8th in line, the longest queue I have ever been in, there. Simon put the waiting time to good use and picked blackberries from the towpath hedge as we shuffled towards our goal.
We stopped at Bridge 58 (Handsacre) and moored for the night and he knocked up an excellent batch of blackberry muffins. We planned to have them for desert, however our plan was foiled by getting three portions of haddock and chips from Michael’s Fish Bar – just over the bridge from the towpath. The portions were so big that we didn’t have plates large enough. Some of the chips had to be eaten before mushy peas or beans could be added to the meal. The batter was tasty and crisp and the fish was fresh and delicious, chips were cooked until brown and not the anaemic beige that we are used to. If you are ‘Hungry of Handsacre’ then we recommend you go and see Michael and his lovely missus.

Crew - Graham, Brenda & Simon.

The day started out promising but traditional bank holiday weather prevailed after all, cold wind, then drizzle into wet drizzle and then real rain for the last hour of cruising. When we arrived at the first lock (Wood End) we were eighth in line to descend and at Fradley top lock we were ninth. That soon put paid to a couple of hours spent chatting to some interesting folk, boaters since the 1940s. Mid morning we snacked on Simon's blackberry muffins and we shared with the boat in front of us in the queue cos we were brought up proper. Our reward was a big bag of plums from the same boaters garden. They made a lovely crumble. Simon decided his new found baking skills so satisfying that Jannock was yet again found in a tree on the offside while we gathered more berries. They are to be holiday gifts to his friends and neighbours in Salford, again in muffin form. We turned onto the Coventry canal at Fradley.

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