Sunday 22 November 2015

OK, its time for me to bore you all again as we are back on the boat. The plan, remember them? was to come to the boat last Sunday but unfortunately Diana had a root filling fail so had to have a tooth extracted which was done last Thursday so it delayed us until this weekend. We find travelling much easier at the weekend and today we did the journey in under 3½ hours. The car was well iced up when we set off a little after 8 am and there was quite a bit of slush in the road until we reached Norwich.

They are making good progress with the A14 M6 the Catthorpe interchange and for the first time we used the new connection to the M6 avoiding the old junction roundabout.

When we arrived at the boat the inside temperature was a not very welcoming 6°C. We didn’t lose anything off the roof in last weeks gales but the stove chimney had wandered over and was against the hand rail. Lunch was a sandwich taken on the front deck as it was warmer than inside the boat and by 12-30 we were on the move. Out of the marina and sharp left.

The afternoon was fine with some sun and hardly any wind making it quite pleasant travelling along the canal, it got even more pleasant after I light the back cabin stove and was steering with the back doors closed. We did meet a couple of boat but that’s all. Of course we made the compulsory stop in Rugeley for a “quick” Tesco visit before caring on our way. Leaving Rugeley and the power station was working hard helping to keep the National Grid going, well the wind generators and solar panels are not doing much, by now the sun was getting low in the sky and as we passed the fuel boat Dexta at Taft Bridge, who incidentally is now charging 60 lt for diesel, the sun disappeared behind the hills, a signal to look for a decent mooring for the night. The only reasonable bit between here and above Colwich lock is at Wolseley where there are some visitor moorings. As we arrived we could see several boats there but there was a reasonable length right at the very beginning with mooring rings which suits us fine, Its well away from the road bridge and we are not planning a visit to the pub so here we are. At the moment we are thinking of going to Stone, but that is only a plan and you know what happens to our plans!

As I type this the temperate in the lounge is a healthy 24.5°C at gunwale height, warmer by the ceiling and cooler by my feet. Outside it is down to 2°C with a clear sky so it will probably be frosty again tonight.

Today’s Journey

7¾ miles, no locks in 3¼ hours