Dull day, bright company.

Today has been overcast and gloomy, the morning mist barely lifting at all. In fact a typical autumn day.

 We pushed across to the water point at the end of the Hawkesyard permanent moorings to fill with water and await our Tesco delivery. Today we had Tescowoman rather than Tescoman, arriving just about smack in the middle of the delivery window.


With everything stowed we were just getting ready to move out when a boat arrived for water. It was Mike and Jo on NB Sarah-Kate.


We’d not met before, although they are regular blog readers and friends of friends. So we had a good chat while their tank was filling, then we followed them into Rugeley where we had a post-shopping tea and cake break around lunchtime. We could have chatted all afternoon, but they wanted to get to Great Haywood this afternoon so set off at around 2.

Morrisons in Rugeley has long been the boater’s provision shop, but they’ve now got competition on the other side of the canal. A brand spanking new 24 hour Tesco has opened, just a couple of weeks ago.
I didn’t need it today of course…

You can see how murky the day has been, the power station’s chimney and cooling towers disappear into the low cloud.

We pushed on out of the town, intending to moor near Bridge 86, but I decided to pull in on the relatively new offside moorings near the Trent aqueduct.

Moored near the Trent
There are well-spaced mooring rings here for maybe 5 boats, although Maffi wasn’t very impressed with their location and the way they’re installed…
Actually the bypass isn’t very noisy from here, and there’s a Co-op less than 10 minutes away.

Tomorrow we’ll head in to Great Haywood, picking up diesel (and free range eggs) on the way at Bridge 86.

Why the stop in Rugeley for shopping when we'd just had a grocery delivery? Well, it wasn't for nourishment of the body, more the mind. I've been reading a series of books by Simon Scarrow, about the Napoleonic Wars and the two main protagonists, Napoleon himself and the Duke of Wellington. Although based on actual events the books are fiction, but very enjoyable reading. I've read the first three, and am looking for the final one, leading up to and including Waterloo. Alas, WH Smiths didn't have it, so I'll have to wait a little longer.

Locks 0, miles 2¾