Wet and steamy....

.....no not like that!!

Our mooring just before Woods lock (15) served its purpose of giving us an overnight stop and avoiding the really wet weather but the towpath was like a wetland and the Churnet Valley Railway was running along parallel in the distance so we were treated to the regular steam whistle sounding the passing of one or more steam engines, added to that a water treatment plant just beyond the tree line giving off a fragrance I’d rather not endure it could only really be an overnight stop, so it was that yesterday we decided to shower-hop further along and find a mooring more suitable to sit out the passing of another storm, Brian this time, and the wet weather that was forecast for the weekend.

Around 8:30 Rod walked up to the lock and set it for me to go, after I had gone through I set it for Rod and after he entered the lock I closed the bottom gates and raised the top paddles before leaving him to it while I went off towards the next lock.

Passing the railway station two steam engines could be seen in the distance warming up for the day’s entertainment.

I negotiated the rather awkward section (narrow and a blind bend with moored boats) before The Boat pub which worryingly had signs warning of an underwater obstruction but no real clue as to where whatever it was might be lurking beneath. The pub is higher up on the bank and just before a bridge hole so my attempt to get a picture was rather hopeless, but here it is anyway.

The Boat pub, well almost, a bit of the canal-side garden 

No anglers were abused as I passed by the location of the previous exchange and headed to lock 14, the first of the two Cheddleton locks.

 Having negotiated those we returned past the Flint Mill and our earlier mooring and continued uneventfully, passing a pair of retired boat painters boats (it said retired on the first one) looking quite resplendent despite the shaded location.

The mostly tree lined high ground to our left only gave occasional glimpses of the fine scenery and we had been dodging showers so my camera was in a tupperware box only coming out when I thought it was safe.

And soon we had arrived at our intended mooring, quite close to the pub we passed on the way down, I had blindly failed to notice the name, The Holly Bush, which was plastered on the side of the building, it is our intention to visit tonight for a Sunday Roast (possibly) and a couple of beers to make up for the disappointment of not being able to negotiate the River Churnet and reach the terminus of the Caldon canal, we deserve it!

We had mostly avoided rain but as is normal it came down fairly heavily as we moored up, and after mooring I noticed I had left the lid of my camera box, fortunately a wipe down with tissue and all seemed well with that, my phone however took a poor view of getting wet, it played up with the buttons all ceasing to function, however an overnight warm up above the stove has rectified that as well, I must be more careful!

It was very wet and windy this morning and although the rain has stopped now the wind is still strong and definitely not a day for moving.

Current mooring:

Totals this post: 3 miles : 3 locks