Stoke on Trent (Westport Park)

 

Here I am Rune

Distance 8.4 miles 

Total 5259 Locks  431 Tunnels

Running total mileage 7,960.3miles

 

We’ve pottered along to Westport Park, as intended, clearing the Stoke flight of locks, so we are now on the summit pound of the canal. Once we’ve gone through Harecastle Tunnel we’ll start descending again, down what is know as ‘Heartbreak Hill’.

I’ve booked the passage through the tunnel for 9.00am Monday morning, originally with the notion of going down to the tunnel on foot tomorrow to see if there was an opportunity to go through in the ‘free spell’ between 10am and 2pm, but have now decided I can’t be bothered! Monday morning is quite soon enough. Since we’ll need to leave this mooring at about 8.30am at the latest to be at the tunnel on time, with an early start such as that, we may be able to plug on a bit. The tunnel itself is about 1.7 miles. Ideally I’d like to do another 3 miles the other side to get to Church Lawton, where we have moored before, that would be down about 6 locks. If we get further, all well and good, if not, no real problem.

Barlaston

Here I am Rune

Distance 3.7 miles 

Total 5253 Locks  431 Tunnels

Running total mileage 7,959.9miles

 

Weekend shopping duly purchased, along with a stock up on beer, and then we moved on through Stone up to Barlaston. I have to say that whether I’m getting old and forgetful, or we haven’t really gone around Stone much previously, I didn’t remember much about the place. They do have a handy hardware shop where I got some Gaffa tape to effect some temporary repairs to one of our Thetford Cassettes until such a time as I can get a replacement valve for it. I still haven’t figured out how but the air release valve on it broke last time I put it into the toilet unit. A replacement is about £9 but finding somewhere stocking them is going to be a challenge since I don’t think they are something that breaks with any regularity (unlike the main seal which does regularly fail).

Tomorrow the plan will be to pass through Stoke-on Trent and moor somewhere around Westport Park in preparation for a passage through Harecastle Tunnel.

Stone

 

Here I am Rune

Distance 10.3 miles 

Total 5245 Locks  431 Tunnels

Running total mileage 7,956.2miles

 

A straightforward days cruise up to Stone where we will be able to get our shopping for the weekend. Nothing of any great note except a random cow wandering along the towpath around the area of Weston. Seems the farmer was aware of it and was in attendance trying to coax her back to her field.

It has been a pretty lucky day for us, there was a heavy shower to the east of us, a heavy shower to the west of us but we managed to navigate a path between the two. Once shower did catch up with us, but we then stopped for lunch, and the sky darkened again as we entered Stone so we stopped short of the town to let it pass. Once it had done so we then moved onto an excellent mooring withing walking distance of the town.

Not sure how far we’ll get tomorrow, depends on when we complete the shopping