Aloha !!

 

The Canal and River trust with a sense of humour, Can’t say I’ve seen any cute fuzzy ducklings or green hopping frogs.

We had a late start from Gnosall and never pulled pins until 10.00 after saying goodbye to Rich and Sharon on Nb Oakapple. It was then through Cowley tunnel which isn’t very long at 81 yards but it is an unlined tunnel.

There was no way we could go through Wheaton Aston without filling up from Turners. This is the cheapest diesel we have ever had and ended up having 84 litres . We had passed coal/diesel boat Halsall a few days earlier and would have filled up from him,but unfortunatly he was away from the boat when we passed.

A most unusual colour scheme for a narrowboat as we pass this boat as we cruised through Brewood.

After a night South of Brewood we had a decision to make . Should we turn right at Autherley junction and head back down through Birmingham or turn left and head down to The Trent and Mersey canal and have a few days at our favourite village Alrewas. In the end it was an easy decision, we pulled pins at 07.45 and turned left at the junction and headed towards Alrewas. .

Its always a pleasure to go through the unusual lock at Gailey.The round brick building was a toll keeper's office,but is now a private residence. The bridge carries the busy A5 road (Watling Street) over the canal.

After dropping down the lock who should we meet but friends Amos and Charlene. We first met them nearly three years ago on The Ashby canal when we gave them a hand to moor up and have kept in touch through the Blog ever since. They come over every year from Hawaii to spend time cruising on our canals which they absolutly love. It was great to see you both and enjoy the rest of your cruise….Aloha

We then passed this lucky Bull just down from Boggs lock and he was in a field with about 50 lady Cows ,Just look at the size of his………Head !

 

We then stopped off at The Crown carvery at Radford Bank . How can you beat it for value ? . We had a full roast lunch with Pork,Turkey and Gammon for just £4.49 each … Just the ticket.

Its always a pleasure to be held up by a boat and it’s Butty working their a the lock. I take my hat off to these guys, its not as easy as they make it look.

It was then onto Penkridge where we picked up a mooring just before the winding hole and services. As usual Carolyn wanted to have a stroll around the town so in the end we decided to overnight here.

                                                                                                            Happy Days