Running Through Rugeley.

We woke to a heavy frost on the ground but it seems it wasn't that cold over night. There was more cloud than the last few days. When the sun came up it had some real warmth in it, and the wind, such as it was, has swung round to the south.

It was a nice mooring just round the bend from the Trent aqueduct, not directly overlooked and quite quiet. The willows looked nice in the sun as we left.

Helen loves looking at folks gardens and down here, as many other places, there are numerous lock down projects of sheds/cabins/bars etc and much landscaping etc. The main thing in this garden however was this lovely magnolia.

At Naomi's Landing there was this very relaxed lady taking the sun. I had expected to see maybe something pertaining to Ukraine or other hot subjects at the moment.

We stopped once more at the Rugeley moorings for Tesco to get milk and a paper etc. It is still quiet but there were two boats moored now. I really hope that one day this old warehouse will be properly and tastefully renovated. It is the Trent and Mersey Mill on the old OS Map.

After the town you come to the two railway viaducts. The bend from Rugeley direction can be interesting if you meet another boat. The old viaduct in the distance was constructed by the Cannock Mineral Railway. This company built the section from Cannock to Rugeley Trent Valley line. The South Staffs Railway built the line from Walsall to Cannock. The line opened in 1859 and was designed to open up the  Cannock Chase Coalfields. The viaduct was the hardest bit of the construction. The Mineral railway was taken over by the LNWR in 1869. The viaduct in the foreground was built to give access to the new Lea Hall Colliery that was the first to wholey opened under the auspices of the British Coal Board. It started to be dug in 1954 and the first coal produced in 1963. So the bridge would have been built in the mid 1950's. As the colliery was closed and the power station it provided for have all gone now. I'm not sure what will happen to the bridge!

It actually looks like you could buy it from the Government if you had a mind! However looking at the columns it may not take too much demolition as they are all cracking!!

Mossley Wharf has been colonised by a swan, but in its day it was a very busy point for loading coal brought by horse and cart from the local mines. There are cottages and an old pub too. This would have been in the 1820's when a horse drawn tramway brought the coal from Brereton Colliery. Later a little further along the canal a basin at the foot of an inclined plain from the colliery was dug. It was called the Talbot Basin, after the Earls Talbot who owned the mines.

After passing the sh Tree Boat Club and under the sharp bend under the bridge we stopped at the water point. We must be the only boat that still has an old fashioned hose. We have had the same hose since we bought the boat. It in fact just a normal garden hose, and not food quality. Most seem to have now a hose on a reel, and the fashion for the wrinkly hoses seems to have passed now. I find that if you coil the hose up the same each time it is dead easy to do, and you can drain it every time.

We were lucky once again not to meet anybody on the way through Armitage 'Tunnel', which looked quite nce in the sun.

Another sign of spring is the loud noise the rooks and crows are making as they rebuild their nest at the top of the tress.

Where ever there are moorings there are piles of ashes, especially at this time of year. I just don't understand why people do this. We have to remove the ashes from the fire and dispose of them, but if you just dump them in a big pile they just stay there for ages and kill everything beneath them. If the ashes are disposed of hot they can retain their heat for a very long time, and even cause fires in the hedges. It is best if you can clear your ashes and put them into a galvanised bucket to cool down. Once cold it would be much better if they could be sprinkled in a long line (take account of which way the wind is blowing) and scatter them over a distance. This way they soon settle into the vegetation and are not visible and do not kill everything below them.

We pottered on slowly and popped into our mooring at the marina in time for lunch. We are off back home for the day on Sunday, but will be back later in the evening and then we will be off again on Monday. You had better buy the Sunday paper as this blog will bot be there for you tomorrow.