10 miles in 3 days. We're really on a roll!

Another fine day yesterday, but we didn’t move. I had a hard training run first thing (only 10 days to the Great Yorkshire Run), and didn’t feel like doing much else. In the afternoon we defrosted and cleaned out the dog and gave the fridge a good brushing.

We were getting ready to move out this morning when Carol went past. She’d spent a few days at Great Haywood. We followed on 20 minutes later, but stopped at bridge 66 in Rugeley for shopping. The cupboards are getting pretty bare. I think I’ll organise a Tesco delivery for when we pass through Fradley.

We got a fair bit of stuff at Morrison’s, and I got longer arms carrying it back. Then we set off again, with no clear idea of a stopping place for tonight.


Just ½ mile down the canal we came across Carol, moored next to bridge 63. She’d called RCR out again, this time for a fault on the charging circuit. Since the new starter was fitted, the voltmeter has been showing more than 15 volts, higher than it should be and in danger of cooking the batteries. So she wanted them to check it out. The chap had arrived, fitted a new alternator which didn’t work, and had gone off again to get another.



There wasn’t anything we could do to help, and we couldn’t get Seyella into the bank anyway, so we carried on, out of Rugeley and towards Armitage. Filled up with water near Hawkesyard Priory, and then had to wait for a queue of boats coming through the narrow bit where Armitage Tunnel used to be. All day there has been a lot of traffic in both directions. Understandable, really. This is one of the most popular canals, and it is a busy time of year, even though the weather isn’t anything to write home about.

We called it a day around 16:00, pulling in just before Kings Bromley Marina. Not a bad spot, trees both sides keeping the breeze off but making it prematurely dark. TV is surprisingly good, too.

Carol cruised past about 30 minutes later, with a (working) new alternator fitted. It’s turned out to be an expensive fuel filter change, after all! She still intends to get to Alrewas tonight. I reckon she’ll have a late one, to get to the village she’s got about 4 miles but 9 locks. And with the amount of boats about, there’s likely to be queues. I’ll speak to her later and see how’s she’s done. I got on with swapping the 2 shackles that hang the tipcat and back button fenders for larger, stronger ones. There’s quite a bit of weight there, and 6mm ones hardly seemed up to the job.

It’s been fine again but cool, with a SW breeze and no sun. The next couple of days are forecast to be a bit warmer. Let’s hope.

Locks 0, miles 7.