Roughly in Rugeley.

Last nights meal was a special two steaks for £14 night and very enjoyable. I woke up to a foggy day but it soon cleared when the sun got up and it was another cracking day when we got away about 09:30.

Very shortly after we left the visitor moorings we saw these little fellers. I can't remember when we saw our first ducklings last year but these are the first we have seen. Yesterday we saw our first heron and swallow too! Later on when we got to Rugeley there was another brood of ducklings too.

A little way further we passed Weston Wharf. There is always an interesting collection of boats here at the old wharf where coal was brought in for the salt brine works and then to take away the finished salt too.

This gentleman was strutting his stuff in the sun. They are magnificent really. If this was in the tropics they would make documentaries about them.

After passing down Sandon Lock we found nobody at the services at Great Haywood so we stopped to top up the water and get rid of the little bit of rubbish we have made. Helen took the opportunity to pop over the road to the farm shop to get something for lunch etc. Pricey, but I hope that they taste good too.

As we passed down through the lock Helen had the first person ask if she was from Hull. Not because of the name of the boat but her accent! I think this is the carriage road bridge to Shugborough Hall so a little bit special.

Shugborough Hall dates from 1693 but was altered a lot in the 1760's when the Anson family, with Admiral Anson RN a member of the clan. It looks lovely in the sun. There were no boats on the moorings overlooking the Trent and the Hall either.

Colwich Lock also looked nice in the sun too. Mind you just about everywhere looks good with the sun out.

Just after Wolseley Bridge is Bishton Hall. Last time we passed this way it was the St. Bede's Prep school, where you could bring your own pony! Last year it closed and the contents were sold off prior to it being refurbished as a 'venue'. Bishton Hall seems to have been mentioned in the Domesday Book. This building dates from the 1750's with the east wing added in the 19th Century.

From Great Haywood the Trent and the canal remain close and a little after this photo the canal crosses on an aqueduct as you approach Rugeley.

Once moored up we went for a walk round the town and to do a little shopping. Rugeley used to have two coal mines Brereton and Lean Hall. When at school I visited Lean Hall, that only closed in 1991, for an underground trip. If I hadn't liked the life at sea I could have been a miner I reckon. This on is of a Deputy with his staff. There is also a rescue miner and a miner from the 1930's and 1940's. They are 9ft tall, made of concrete and each weighs 2 tonnes. They are by Andy De Comyn and cost £55,000 when they were erected in 2015.

Being close to the supermarkets we got a few heavier things, and after a pint repaired to the boat. Master Chef final tonight so luckily I got a picture otherwise my life wouldn't be worth living!