Progress, of a sort

Tuesday 12^th October; Penkridge

Meg enjoyed a small serving of rice and mashed potato for breakfast, but turned her nose up at the paté I'd bought specially – so no antibiotic this morning.  With a cat, you can do the stuffing-pills-down-the-protesting-throat thing, and we had the bites and scratches to prove it in years gone by, but we never managed it with our old dog.  Anyway, with Meg seeming a little better this morning we trundled off to turn round at the next winding hole.

The M6 was busy and it was in our ears for most of the journey.  Before Park Gate Lock we came to halt, where 8 or more boats were waiting to go down the lock.  We had been warned about a tree blocking the navigation; the canal was open by the time we arrived but there was a long wait while the queue cleared.  We pulled in behind the last boat, NB Skylark, whose single-handing owner was loading logs into his hold with a big grin on his face!  I put the kettle on.  Behind us was NB Soudley, an ex-Ownerships share boat which, like our old share boat NB Padworth, which we had for 8 years, was self-managed.  The sharers were some of the original owners, so we spent a happy 10 minutes comparing notes and remembering some of the Ownerships characters.

Skylark cruises off to the lock

Eventually it was our turn and we moved on through Shutt Hill lock towards Acton Trussell.  Meg was feeling well enough to sit up on the locker, her frequent perch when cruising.  She looks quite haggard – her grey eyebrows don’t help – but she was more alert than she looked.

The pretty church over the hill outside Acton Trussell appears completely isolated across the fields – its nearest neighbour semms to be the large hotel/wedding venue just round the bend.

We waited for the boat coming through Acton Bridge to pass us before we turned in the large winding hole, and returned for a lunch stop below Park Gate lock where the barley-sugar steel barrier separates the towpath from the road.  Then up the lock we went, moored opposite the Teddesley Boat Company/Bourne Boats and called in to see what they had for sale.  There was nothing suitable, but we were shown round a boat nearing completion and another, in for its first blacking, whose owners had given permission for people to see inside.  Very interesting indeed, and beautifully fitted out although some of the owners’ requirements seemed a little strange to our eyes.  A new chandlery has opened where Midland Chandlers used to be, and Dave popped in to get some WD40 to try and free up the sliding hatch which is very un-slidy.  As they have only recently opened they are still building up stock, so there were some gaps on the shelves, but we were pleased to support a new business, even if only for WD40!

I love the stones around the locks where you put your feet where generations have done it before you.  I’m not sure which lock this beautiful coping stone is at,but it’s probably Longford Lock.

Perfectly positioned for closing the bottom gate

We returned to Penkridge, where we chose a spot away from the bridge opposite the mobile home park, where it is quieter and more open.  Meg took her tablet concealed inside a sausage, but sausages aren’t very good for dogs, so I popped up to the shop at the bridge for sardines, which we’ll try next.  I also bought a bag of kindling for the fire as we were running low, so we won’t need to fire up the gas central heating.  Very cosy.

5 miles, 6 locks, some very stiff paddle gear.