It was a little after 10 when we set off, a nice lull in the traffic so we were hoping for a nice run up the locks, in the end it took 2 hours to do 4 locks. As we approached Star Lock there was a boat on the waterpoint who had just finished watering up but were still packing away and Star was in our favour, a good start. Then we got to Yard Lock where a boat was waiting for the lock and so it went on. It’s nice to see they have cleared up around the Lady at the lock.
Above the lock Canal Cruising had a lot of their fleet still in the yard, we have met a couple out, but that’s all.
Up at Newcastle Road lock as well as the boat going up we had to wait for another to come down, the same at Limekiln Lock. By the time we got to the Meaford flight there were three ahead. We had to wait for one to come down, they had those long rope fenders on the bow cheeks that are getting popular now which snagged the iron work going in. Once they were in, it took some time it was open a half paddle at a time, going down. This did mean the queue ahead had moved on a bit. At Meaford top lock the bridge has been damaged yet again, I think I have only ever seen it prim and proper once in all the times I have been through, it must cost CRT a fortune, This time its a capping stones gone.
Now we were away for a nice gentle cruise up to Trentham, several of the boats ahead had stopped at Barlaston or Wedgwood and one pulled out just after we passed, he caught us up at Trentham Lock and told us he was mooring at the tunnel tonight, about another 4½ hours. We carried on for about a mile and a quarter past the winding hole to moor for the night, This use to be opposite the meadow, but now its opposite a new housing estate.
Since we have been here the wind has freshened a lot but its still dry..
Today’s Journey
6 miles, 9 locks in 4½ hours
1 comment:
I thought that the statue is of Christina, the victim in a once-infamous murder case. She was a passenger on a mixed cargo/passenger boat when she was found dead on the towpath. Two men were eventually hanged for her death. However I came across a recent tv programme that re-examines old cases. The descendant of one of the two men has long believed that he was not guilty. Two KCs and a former judge, re-considered the evidence and concluded that it was, by modern standards, a clear case of an unsafe verdict. The crucial evidence came from a very dubious witness who h=gained a free pardon in return. Back then, murder trials might take less than an hour and no jury was involved in this case. Justice was swift (today it rarely is anything other than glacial) but very rough.
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