Saturday 25th August 2018



We had our breakfast again of what has become a favourite. Bacon and cheese on crumpets. Then went for a walk and took photos of Fradley Junction.





 



Fradley is the junction between the Trent & Mersey and Coventry Canals and would have been a very busy place in the days of the working boats.

Our canals as we know them today were never built as a national network. Rather, each canal was built individually for a specific, local need. As such, each canal guarded their water supplies jealously. At Fradley, the Trent and Mersey canal would lose water to the Coventry Canal so they built a clever little culvert that leads from the top lock, forms a small reservoir, before returning to the canal at the bottom lock, so by-passing the Coventry Canal and only losing one lock of water to them as each boat passed through, rather than a continuous supply.

We visited the service point before crossing over the canal and buying more wrap around fenders from a trader boat. These fenders were £45 a pair as compared to £48 each at Stone Chandlery, scandalous.

At Alrewas, we were hoping to stop for a visit but there was an Arts Festival on and all the moorings were full. Shame. Just beyond Alrewas the River Trent runs into the canal and the two water courses are combined before the river runs out of the canal again a few hundred yards downstream and then passes over a weir. On this short section the speed of the boat increased significantly.    



      


                 The River Trent enters the canal……..                                          and then leaves before passing over a weir





The whole area between this river section and the next lock about a mile further on, is particularly pretty and the water is crystal clear. The canal passes through large water meadows with many small weirs leading to the nearby river.

At Wychnor Lock the very busy A38 joins the canal for the next two miles, being separated by just a few yards. It is noisy. Half way along this stretch, from nowhere, the heavens opened. Although the downpour lasted only ten minutes or so, and we stopped for shelter under an overhanging tree, we were soaked.

We passed the massive Barton Turns Marina. A huge shopping and housing complex has grown up around this marina. Then came Barton Turn with its Canal House before we finally left the road behind us and got some peace. The bridges on this section of canal are very narrow with just room for the width of the boat, like entering a lock.













        Canal House at Barton Turn






At Tatenhill Lock there is a very attractive cottage, now a B&B. Just beyond this, with the lakes of Branston Water Park on both sides of us, we moored.

It was a nice evening. The kids went fishing again. Score: Manny 1; Eva 5. Two of Eva’s fish were the biggest Roach and Perch we have ever caught.




      




For our dinner we had homemade Cornish Pasties, as only a Cornish witch can make.  


 

    






 Day Total: 11 lock; 7 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 4.4

Overall Total: 174 locks; 340 miles; 15 tunnels; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 193.7

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