We adapted and fine tuned our plans yesterday following our late afternoon drinks in the Vine Pub and Brewery at Rugeley (an Oasis of real ale in an otherwise barren desert) . The debate was whether to continue on the Trent & Mersey to Burton or head back to Great Haywood and hang a left onto the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal towards Stafford. After some research into the best available pubs, we dropped across a Titanic Cafe/Pub, called the Bod, near Baswich, which we would pass just around lunch time if we went on the Staffs & Worcs canal. So that was it, decision made, we were Stafford bound with our planned overnight stop, just beyond Stafford at Penkridge, where there appears to be enough pubs to keep us going tonight.
Now Captain Neil, quite rightly, is a bit of a stickler for Canal etiquette, we have to moor in the right places, we have to keep to the speed limit, a heady 3-4 mph and we have to be respectful of other canal users, so if we pass a moored boat we slow down so that the wash created as we pass does not disturb or damage the boats. So yesterday afternoon we were surprised at being tailgated by another boat and then as we looked for our mooring spot in Rugeley, the captain of the boat shouted to ask if he could pass - well to be fair it was more of a tell than an ask. Now in narrow boating terms this is as close as you can get to road-rage, it's just not the done thing. a bit like golf, the players in front offer to let you pass, you don't just push in front of them and tee up. Before waiting for an answer he was upon us and with the limited space between the moored boats, Rowington and the passing boat it almost resulted in a coming together. It was like a slow motion F1 incident on the first corner at Silverstone, but we kept the racing line until we successfully moored and the boat could pass. Marmite - you know who you are, slow down and save lives, a 2 hour journey takes 2 hours!
Nothing happens fast on a narrow boat, you are travelling at walking pace and at the end of the day you feel as though you've travelled miles, but you could probably do the same journey in 30 mins in the car. But that's the whole point, slow down, chill out and go with the flow. In fact your world contracts to such a point that as you approach a lock, you start to get quite excited, it's mental and physical
stimulation. Now locks are fantastic pieces of engineering and they enable canal boats to travel up and down hills, how amazing is that. Did you know that locks were invented by Leonardo da Vinci, (that's the one of Mona Lisa fame not Titanic the movie). We've had a few locks today and we've managed to support a few other canal users with their lock duties, more out of a desire to keep things moving rather than any chivalrous act.
Well it's meatballs in goulash sauce tonight, for some bizarre reason Captain Neil has swept the chimney so if the boat wasn't hot before I reckon it's going to be fierce tonight, well on the bright side we could at least get a suntan from the radiated heat of the fire.
That's all for tonight, the forecast isn't great for tomorrow morning, but we'll push our way through. Stafford beckons, oatcakes and all.
If you have enjoyed reading this blog why not read the full narrowboat adventure here
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