September Cruise - Day Twenty

A much longer day today, made slower by people who kept pulling out in front of us. We left Tixall Wide at 8.20, and it was a while before we saw another moving boat. Then they came streaming in the opposite direction, usually at bridge holes. We had boats in front of us at every lock, so everything seemed to take quite a while. At Park Gate Lock, we had a five minute shower of rain.

It was lunchtime by the time we reached Penkridge, so we filled with water and got rid of the rubbish, then moved over to the other side of the canal for lunch. Just as we were setting off again, a Countrywide Cruisers hire boat winded, so we were second in line for the lock again. It meant we had to turn every lock up to Gailey. By the time we got to Rodbaston Lock the sun had come out, the temperatures had gone up, and a couple of layers had to come off. But the colour of the sky behind suggested that not everywhere was enjoying the sunshine.

Rodbaston Lock is right next to the M6, and there's a sign saying that Stoke on Trent is 24 miles, and Manchester 64. It's taken us since Sunday to get from Stoke, and it's a week since we were in Manchester!

We had one of the latest finishes of this holiday, not stopping until gone 5.30. We're tied at Coven Heath.

17 miles, 12 locks. (245, 188)