South again on the Staffs and Worcs Canal

 Since our last blog we have turned left at Great Haywood off the Trent and Mersey onto the Staffs and Worcs Canal which is one of our favourites. We are often asked which is our favourite canal and our answer is usually 'the one we've just cruised' but the Staffs and Worcs certainly has a lot going for it.  So here is an update starting last Monday.

From our mooring on the edge of Rugeley we crossed the River Trent once again but on an aqueduct and carried on for a few miles to Great Haywood Junction. We passed a field with two narroboats. Not sure what the story is here but the green one at least was being lived in.

Here we are approaching Colwich Lock, the first of two that come before the junction. You can see Helen on the left walking up to operate the lock while Ian stays onboard to drive Leo into the empty lock.

After Haywood Lock we soon came to Great Haywood Junction shown here. Straight on the Trent and Mersey leads to Stoke on Trent, through the Harecastle Tunnel and down to Middlewich as a vital link heading north. Our way this time lay left under the bridge which is the start of the Staffs and Worcs Canal.

Soon after the left turn we crossed the River Trent for the last time.

Half a mile from the junction the canal crosses Tixall Wide, a lake which was dug at the request of the landowner to improve the appearance of the canal as it crossed his estate. It is an interesting place to moor and we've heard of boaters who, not having found a space to moor, have dropped an anchor in the middle!

Having left the Trent, the canal follows the valley of one of its tributaries the River Sow. here we are crossing the Sow on another aqueduct.

This is a turnover bridge where the towpath changes sides of the canal. The design is clever and enables a towing horse to cross the canal without having to be detached from the boat. If you imagine a horse coming towards you from the other side of the bridge on the right it follows a spiral path climbing onto the bridge and then comes down on the left still facing towards the camera.

On Monday evening we moored near a bend where a branch used to go down a lock and follow the River Sow into Stafford. There is work in progress to restore this link and here you can see the construction work.

This picture taken from the far side of the works shows scaffolding in what might one day be a lock which will take boats down onto the River Sow.

Having walked round the construction site we walked on towards Stafford. Here is the confluence of the Rivers Sow (left) and Penk (under the photographer's feet). There is a lot of water in both (and in all the fields) after the rain we've been having. From where we were moored the canal turns south to follow the valley of the Penk.

This is the sign at what will one day be a canal junction. We had come from Great Haywood and were heading for Wolverhampton. River Canal Rescue is like an AA service for boats and happens to have its headquarters on an industrial estate next to the canal here. Perhaps they paid for the sign?

On Tuesday we carried on south coming first to Deptmore Lock shown here. At 10 feet 4 inches this is a deep one and one of 12 along here that take boats up to the summit level.

At Shutt Hill, the next lock, there used to be a wharf and the odd looking white tipped post was used to pull boats round the corner and into the lock.

Coming out of Park Gate Lock a family of ducks sidled out of our way across the top of the bywash. For boaters to note - the branch of Midland Chandlers which used to be alongside Park Gate Lock at Penkridge has now closed.

This is a boat coming out of Penkridge Lock while we are waiting to go in. Notice the tunnel for horses on the right which goes under the road and gives access to the lock. On Tuesday, we moored above this lock at Penkridge and walked in the afternoon to the west of the canal over fields and back along the Staffordshire Way. Coming back through the village we popped into the excellent bakers and bought some treats to have with our tea. On Wednesday morning Ian joined a Zoom meeting of a council working group in Knaresborough (oh, the wonders of modern technology) while Helen went shopping. So we did not set off until midday.

Here we are in Otherton Lock where Leo is taking a foam bath! Probably it is agricultural fertilizers that make the water foam as it cascades into the lock.

At Boggs Lock and some of the others there were some splendid new shelters to store stop planks (called 'stanking planks' by some). The planks are put into slots in the sides of a narrows, such as at a lock, to block the canal and allow one side to be drained.

We moored on Wednesday below Gailey Lock which is the last one up to the summit level about 350 feet above sea level. Here is a view of the lock and the roundhouse to the left. This used to have a canal shop where we bought some little pictures now on the wall in Leo.

The A5 crosses the canal at Gailey and this photo taken across the busy road shows the delightful lock cottage.

Yesterday (Thursday) we came up Gailey Lock and past the chemical works at Calf Heath. The rather dirty sign shows this is a place to get away from as quickly as our 3 mph allows us and not to moor. This is where a huge rail interchange covering 700 acres is scheduled to be built immediately to the east of the canal.

At Hatherton the canal passes a junction with another canal - the Lichfield and Hatherton - which might one day link to the Birmingham Canal Network. For the moment the branch shown here goes up one lock to provide moorings and there is also a marina. The junction is a little confusing and we have seen boaters enquiring which is the right way. You have to bear right under a bridge to continue towards Wolverhampton.

Here's the bridge in question with a discreet message confirming we are going the right way.

 

Thursday night we spent at Coven Heath close to Wolverhampton and having got to that point we'll leave you guessing which way we've gone at Autherley and Aldersley Junctions both of which we have passed through today. To answer that question you will have to log onto our blog when we next update it in a few days time.