SO ONCE more into Stone, and to something that always upsets me—boats still moored late morning, obviously been there overnight at the short stay offside visitor moorings, obviously there for boaters to have a short stay enabling them to nip into town and back. Selfish I reckon especially as loads of space towpath side.
Abrupt halt
Then into the second lock we came to an abrupt halt, being unable to move either forwards or backwards, with an inspection realising there was a small log jammed firmly twixt wall and boat, with any amount of shunting having absolutely no effect. So it was the opening of a top paddle with the resulting wave lifting and flushing the boat out, and the log removed.
Jan, better known as She Who Must, etc., etc thought it was the type of log seen on boat roofs, that had obviously rolled off.
We did quite well through the Stone locks with no less that eight boats coming down, resulting in empty locks for us all the way. Later, at a completely empty moorings by Wedgwood, we realised why; there must have been a mass exodus. Sorry, Jan says there were nine boats, and she is one who does not exaggerate. (Never get a job at Cart!)
Many boater tell they do not like passing through Stoke, but I have nothing against it. The locks both empty and fill quickly, and with just ground paddles there is the minimum of turbulence, so can be fully opened and the gates are not too difficult to move. And most of it is well dredged. What more can you want ask I?
To the Caldon
So to the Caldon for the third time, with an obvious new Black Prince hirer from the nearby yard looking somewhat askance at the first lock, he hanging back, it being a rather daunting double. Perhaps he was waiting —or hoping— for someone from the yard to come and tell him what to do.
It was quite a while since we last cruised the canal and it was a pleasure to notice the derelict commercial properties with youngsters messing about had all gone, with up-market housing in their place, all railed off of course.
Still empty
I well remember remarking the last time we cruised here, on the long length of visitor moorings—well over a mile of them—with stainless steel rings every ten yards, completely boat-less then, and still exactly the same now. This time with the addition of its walls well covered in graffiti, and what a mess it is too. Jan thought it the work of the students from the nearby college.
Other than the mess of graffiti, the waterway was quite pleasant, and had obviously been dredged in places, and two of the three lift bridges are now fully automated, which was a real blessing, only too well remembering putting one barrier down when a car came the other way blowing his horn for it to be lifted. Now of course the things come down and the vehicle drivers have to put up with it. Also, instead of the usual complicated instructions, it was just one button to close and another to open. Even I could managed that. (The picture however shows the control at the pedestrian bridge.)
Bluebell country
The Caldon is definitely bluebell country that was home to home for Thomas, who's house is situated in a bluebell wood, and there are some good displays all along the Caldon as it wends its way through the country.
Then there were the four locks as shown in Nicholson's guide, but numbered as 5, 6, 8 and 9. Yes, somehow it had lost one, as there were actually five. And I once told that though the information in the Nicholson's guides was often years out of date—over 30 in one case— and no longer applied, at least it had the details of the 'track' right. But alas, not even that.
To once again quote Jan, concerning those locks: 'A bit of grease wouldn't go amiss...' As the picture shows.
Empty permit holder moorings
The lack of moored boats continued on this waterway, as I well remembered slowly chugging past the permit holders moorings at Park Lane, but this was now a thing of the past—the mooring were completely empty. And this the second of such moorings in the same state. Linear moorings are certainly feeling the pinch, as the picture below shows.
And then a boater yelled at us: "Tell them to stop whingeing about it and enjoy it!" Referring of course to narrowboatworld and comments about the canals. Our Thomas I can assure him would be delighted to, should boaters send in a bit of praise. He could do it himself, it would get published.
Grounded
So to the beginning of the Leek Arm, and dare I say, this part of the Caldon really could do with a bit of dredging, even our shallow draughted boat getting firmly grounded when passing moored boats just after the junction with the main line.
Finally through the narrow tunnel, and surprised on the Sunday how many boats turned back from it, but of course we ventured forth, and as my regular readers know Thomas never takes the boat through tunnels tending to ricochet from wall to wall, with Jan touching neither. Don't you just hate these clever sods?
However the moorings at the other end were not to our liking so it was back to the lake, where we are staying for a couple of days.
Lots of walkers
And lots of walkers on the Sunday, but asking a few if this was their regular trek, all told it was, which of course brings me to the fact that though each person may use the towpath time and time again, he or she can only by counted as one visitor. They cannot be a separate visitor each time they walk the path... And I am not sorry if I am flogging the subject, but it shows just how stupid is Cart's claim of its hundreds of millions of visitors—it is of course impossible.