Day 1 Saturday

Saturday

After the preliminaries it was time to cast off. It was immediately apparent that our boat 'Martha' handled very well indeed,. One hand on the tiller and one on the throttle control was comfortable with no reach involved at all. Engine quiet and smooth all good signs

It was not too long before the rain that had been forecast commenced and it really did rain. So much so that we decided to keep going after all we had all the waterproof gear so it didn't really bother us. Our original plan to have a barbecue was put on hold. We just carried on and headed for Etruria. No photo's on this part of the journey due to the rain, Did it hammer down

Despite the weather we were in good spirits and tea and coffee were the order of the day as we chatted on the back of the boat. Somehow the conversation turned to real ale and at this point Malc revealed he'd forgotten his CAMRA membership card. What's wrong with that, he wouldn't need it would he?

Coming into the urban area of Stoke on Trent (often referred to as the Potteries) brought an abrupt end to the magnificent countryside between Stone and the city. However, it's worth noting Stoke on Trent is sympathetic toward the canal and it's nowhere near as bad as some folk would have you believe. The towpath is in first class condition and is probably a little too good, for cyclists hurtled past is if there were no tomorrow and if they were to run into you then there really might not be a tomorrow

The five locks leading to the summit level are in fine shape and soon we had climbed up to the junction of the Trent & Mersey and Caldon Canals. We took on water at the excellent facility outside the Etruria Industrial Museum and then moved around the corner to our mooring for the night. The rain by this time had abated

James Brindley (1716 - 1772)
The great man looking over his creation in Etruria
at the junction of his Trent & Mersey Canal with the Caldon Canal
This is an imposing statue to a man of genius and as we slid
past we couldn't help but pay tribute to his work
More about James Brindley

A general discussion took place after our meal as we pondered the day ahead deciding the best thing to do would be to see what time we awoke and then make our decision. And so to bed