Post 17 - Stone to Stoke

Leaving Stone on a pleasantly warm morning we left rising gently through Meaford's four locks. We hadn't worked any locks for a few days as we had been moored. When we had it just highlights the difference between living on land and living on water. Having found a mooring I realised it would be a while till we could get water and diesel again, so I decided to do this whilst in Stone. The water point and the chandlery were two locks behind us. So we sailed up the canal to a winding hole and turned around.

To return to our mooring it would mean then going down Stone's four locks turning at the bottom lock, getting water and diesel and back through the same four locks. This little plaque was situated between the first and second lock, which I photographed whilst waiting to go through. It has a very dreadful story of the death of Christina Collins who was murdered on the canal.

Altogether a two mile round trip. We got back to our mooring just under four hours later and ready for lunch. Don't get me wrong it was enjoyable and the day was lovely but it shows that nothing is fast on the cut. I keep thinking how hard the canal folk of old must have worked to make a living on their narrowboats! It couldn't have been an easy life.

We moored overnight at Etruria just after the entrance to the Caldon canal passing by a very cheerful family having a party at the end of their garden by the waterside. There is a pub near the mooring called the Holy Inadequate. What a lovely name for a hostelry I thought so we decided to have a walk to it. Needless to say my sense of direction was awry and I set us off in the wrong direction. Nice pub though and a good range of ales.

The next morning we travelled through the potteries area on a windy day and a forbidding sky heralding rain to come. It is a really winding and at times difficult piece of canal to sail. Blind bends and channels in part narrowed by vegetation or other moored boats didn't make it my favourite stretch. At one bridge that I couldn't see oncoming boats I gave the horn two long loud blasts. just as I went through another boat was nearly upon me. Fortunately we both stopped and passed safely. The chap said he hadn't heard the horn. You really do have to keep your wits about you and be ready for the unexpected especially on difficult stretches of the canal.

I met a volunteer on part of the canal and he said the route was so meandering because various companies paid a share in the creation of the canal  and thus each expected it to pass their works and take their goods for distribution.