Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 15:50:55 +0100 From: Ann Harvey Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Subject: Amos on the Shroppie Part 3 [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] Thursday 12 July I got up feeling groggy with lack of sleep and set off at 10.10 am without breakfast, as the weather forecast was that the morning would see the best of the day. As we went through Gnosall Tunnel we passed Bob on The Henry Cleaver which I didn^Òt notice at first as it had had a new paint job and was now green not red. Bob was togged up in raincoat and rainproof hat so must have had some bad weather on his way. Further on we managed to get round an old boat which seemed to be under refurbishment which had become detached from the bank and was swinging across the canal. We were unable to get into the side to get off and remoor it due to the shallow shelf all along these embankments, so all we could do was push it with a pole back to the side. A cruiser following us was able to get in, and tied it up. At High Onn Wharf there was still no sigh of the nb Endeavour which had been for sale there. Pat and Tom had seen it and thought it would be just the thing for us, but it seems not. This morning^Òs cruise was accomplished in windy sunshine. We filled up with diesel at 21.9 per litre at Turner^Òs, which came to £20.80. We then shared the lock with the boat that had remoored the loose boat earlier. It was crewed by a young couple on his father^Òs boat and they were going back to Heywood. He begins a new job there as a boat engineer on Monday, having just finished working as a sound engineer for a band. We were still travelling in lovely warm sunshine, with the occasional cloudy moment. We were getting hungry but didn^Òt want to waste the nice weather by going inside the cabin to cook. We^Òll have a huge meal when we get to Brewood. There are a great many herons on this canal. I photographed a few, but missed more. We reached Brewood at 1.30 pm and Ken wanted boiled egg sandwiches. I could eat egg bacon sausage tomatoes and beans with a side order of chips and bread and butter, but egg sarnies it will be. Well I managed to tempt him and he even volunteered to cook a full English breakfast, and it was delicious. The sun was hot and we were enjoying the best weather of the week. We decided that we^Òd have to move, as we were scraping the bottom every time a boat went by. Rather than move down into the shade we^Òd take advantage of the fine weather and escape the flies and move on down to Compton, in case the weather was bad tomorrow. We therefore set off again at 2.45 pm and after a pause to check the mooring space below we went down the lock at Compton and moored up at 5.30 pm. It was a fine sunny and very pleasant day^Òs boating. We were, however, tired by then and decided to buy a cooked chicken from the freezer shop for tea. Diesel at Limekiln is 26.9 per litre according to his sign and the pumpout is £8. We went to the Swan for our evening drink and even if it is Compton and the staff were all young looking, they were alert, polite and professional and appeared genuinely pleased to serve. Pub was quite full of locals ^Ö always a good sign. Friday 13th July Ken, as usual on the last day, woke early and got up at 6.00 am and we set off at 7.00 am. It is chilly and overcast and the forecast is for very heavy showers later. We will have to get back to Ashwood quickly or stop and wait for them to pass if they occur. It began to drizzle as we approached Whitwick Mill lock and continued this light intermittent rain all the way to Bratch, where we arrived at 10.30 am and stopped for breakfast below the lock. We set off again at 11.30 am towards Giggety Wharf and a pumpout. The sun came out for a while and by Botterham we had to peel off our waterproofs. By Marsh lock the sun was out in earnest and we moored below Swindon at 1.00 pm in hot sunshine. Whilst we were in the Bush enjoying a cob and a pint the heavens opened and there was a the promised heavy downpour. By the time we were ready to leave the pub the sun was out again. I set up the lounger and parasol on the front deck, and slept in the sunshine for an hour while Ken read his paper and did the puzzle. We arrived back in the marina about 5.00 pm. It has been a really easy, calm and pleasant trip. We feel refreshed and able to tackle real life again. ---