Heatwave

On Monday morning the canal became busy with boats on the move.  We joined them and made slow progress, sometimes stopping for boats coming the other way through the numerous bridges.  At Wheaton Aston we joined the queue for the lock and after descending we found a mooring under the dark canopy of branches overhanging the canal.  

Turners Garage at Wheaton Aston is well known for it's cheap red diesel and there is a jetty for boaters wanting to fill up.  The first customer arrived at 7.30am, opening time, and a steady stream of boats continued to pull over until 9.00 when we spotted a gap to take our turn.   

The southern part of the canal is mainly rural, passing through steep-sided cuts with woodlands and then along embankments which are also wooded.   In many places the canal has concrete edges with a shallow shelf which prevents boats pulling up to the bank for mooring.   To compensate there are plenty of visitor moorings at the villages along the way.   Our next stop is Gnosall which has some shops as well as 3 pubs.  

The canal is often flanked by woodlands and has numerous bridges. 

From Gnosall it's a short distance to Norbury Junction, a bustling area even though the canal branching off is just 150 yards long and terminates in a dry dock.   Opposite the junction a hire boat company operates from Norbury Wharf  and the little day narrowboats are very popular.  A trip boat takes out parties for short cruises and there are plenty of walkers and customers for the cafe and Junction Inn. The small provisions shop and chandlery are useful for boaters but an ASDA delivery to the Junction Inn car park was required to replenished our stocks.    

We decided to stay put during the hottest days and didn't envy the crew on the historical steam powered narrowboat, President, which stopped on the waterpoint.

President letting off steam

After the hottest day we experienced possibly the wettest.  In the early hours of the morning Bess and Brinny came crying at the bedroom door as distant thunder rolled across the sky.  The next morning only a determined group on a day boat braved the torrential rain.  I enjoyed having some time to start working on a phoenix design in applique.  I haven't had a lot of practice at this craft so there is some trial and error involved.

Having stopped at Norbury for 4 days we decided it would be a shame to miss the Sunday lunch carvery at the Junction Inn.  It was a good decision; the meal was excellent, one of the best carveries we've had.

Our journey from Bridge 8 to Norbury Junction