Queuing Day.

 Another gray, dull and damp morning, and another boat went past before 07:00. Mind you, perhaps we should have done as a little before we wanted to leave a procession of boats passed us going our way.

It is well wooded on the way to Colwich Lock. The railway is very close and you can hear it, but not often see it. It is a pleasant stretch but too dark to moor up for us. Just before the lock is another rail route that takes the rails to Stafford from the West Coast Mainline and is used by a lot of clunky freight trains.

As we arrived at said rail bridge we could see a line of boats ahead. Nothing unusual about that but there seemed to be a couple of boats that didn't seem to have done many locks before! Nothing was coming up though.

We stopped for a bit of shopping in Rugeley and Helen had a trawl through the charity shops etc. We had a bowl of soup too and then were on our way once again. The sun was really trying to come out to say hello too, so the afternoon was looking up.

The Trent aqueduct just before Rugeley revealed a little more water in the river than when we passed going the other way a few days ago.

Just over the aqueduct is Brindley Bank and the 'bloody steps' where Christina Collins body was discovered and taken up in 1839. One day I will have to write a blog about that murder on the canals, although it is quite well now.

The Ash Tree has linear moorings at Brereton just south of Rugeley. So named as the club original started when the land lady of the Ash Tree pub let them moor next to the pub in 1970. Then in 1973 they extended the length by buying a strip of bank from the National Coal Board. The raised funds with rallies and bonfire nights and can be distinguished by being twinned with a boat club in France, the Club Nautique de Segre, which is a town about 150' from St. Malo!

The Ash Tree is right next to the canal and on the sharp bend under the bridge just before the Spode water point and moorings. I bet those sitting in the garden get some good views of bangings and crashings as it is a sharp blind bend.

Once we were through the bridge we had decided to stop for water. There were already two there but we weren't that long before it was our turn and we filled up so that we can dither about for a few days. I think that a few more bollards could be put in here as there is only the option for one boat to moor up, the rest have to hang on to a rope.

This is the view a get in the night when Helen gets up for something. Didn't scare the pigeon though

Spode House and Hawkeshead Priory must be worth a look around if possible. This part is now a wedding venue and the Priory has now become a nursing home and there is a golf course in the grounds.

Armitage 'Tunnel' is very narrow and you are encouraged to get off to check that nobody is coming. It is essential to do so coming in the other direction as you can't see into the tunnel before it gets narrow. Going in this direction you can see the full length before there is nowhere to wait.

Bridge 60 is another blind bend and quite narrow as the canal bends round a sandstone cliff that supports the church above. Nothing coming to day. The sun is well and truly out now and the light through the leaves is very photogenic.

I have often wondered how they replaced the broken glass in the windows of the Armitage Shanks Factory as there is no where really to even put a ladder up without it being in the canal. Today I looked more closely and it seems that it is glazed from the inside! and that there were holes like this that had a small piece of glass glued over it!! I am surprised the locla youths haven't had more fun here. Even the CCTV is not rained out on the towpath, so not seen as much of a problem, thankfully.

There were no moorings for us at Handsacre so we plodded on and found a free bit of armco between Bridges 56 and 57. Unfortunately it is on the wrong side for the paint work that I started previously, but I may spend the day getting the port side sanded and painted as it will be quicker as it is not nearly as bad.