Bit of a setback today. Pete has been having troubles with sinuses. He walked to the local Health Centre in Barlastone, only to be told he can get emergency treatment at Stone. So A quick Taxi trip to Stone and back, ensured he received a weeks supply of antibiotics. Hopefully that should cure the problem.
Back to our trip.
The weather has been very good, with only a few showers, which were very light.
We travelled from Barlastone through Stoke on Trent, a total of 8.19 miles including 6 very deep locks.
We are now moored 1 mile from Harecastle tunnel. Britains second longest tunnel at 2926 yards long.
A couple we met from Glastonbury(moored in front of us) recommended our current mooring which is by Westpoint Lakes.
(pictured below)

Yesterday we travelled from Weston Upon Trent to Stone.
Stone is a very picteresque town approx 12 miles from Stoke on Trent. It is a typical canal town, with bars and restaurants along the waterfront. It has four locks which are very deep, and because of the time they take to empty and refill, queues soon appear.
We had one of the best meals of our journey last night at the Dolce Vita Italian restaurant on the waterfront by the first lock (see below)
Today we passed through the four locks, with 4 other boats waiting behind.
Because of the weather we decided to stop at a village called Barlaston today. Travelling 4 hours 10 minutes covering 4 miles and 8 locks.
We are still enjoying the Trent and Mersey canal. The scenery is outstanding and everything is very clean.
Tomorrow (weather permitting, and the forecast looks bleak) we hope to travel through Stoke on Trent to a village the other side called Longport.

Yesterday we travelled from Fradeley Junction to Rugeley in Staffs. Stayed overnight and did our shopping in the local Morrisons
Today we travelled on the Trent and Mersey up to Weston upon Trent, which is about 3 miles up from Great Haywood
The Trent and Mersey is a very picturesque canal, passing Cannock Chase and Shugborough Hall.
There appears to be a lot more activity on the waterways today.
A couple of incidents to mention. At Rugeley because the water was shallow we had to moor about 3 foot from the bank and put down our gang-plank. Wallace was on the bank when a Scotty dog decided to have a go at him. Wallace jumped back not realising we were away from the bank, and susequently landed in the canal. luckily it was shallow enough for him to climb out, but I am afraid his battery powered light up collar was not waterproof.
Today moored up near a bridge, a boat coming through the bridge towards us, failed to spot a 58 foot piece of metal (namely our boat) and hit us. Luckily for him we were both inside at the time, otherwise some verbal exchanges would have occured. Luckily no damage was done to the boat. (Well it is a contact sport)

Below is a picture of us crossing the River Trent via an aqueduct near Rugeley

Travelled from Fazeley junction to Fradley junction today, so we have now completed the Coventy Canal section of our journey. Tomorrow we head north on the Trent and Mersey canal
The scenery is improving, although the many boats moored on this section reduced our speed considerably.
The journey took us 4 hours to complete 10.82 miles with no locks.
As you can see Fradley junction is very picturesque. And, the Swan Inn is worthy of a photograph. The pub is small but very friendly, with a good menu and good food.

Yesterday we stayed at Curdworth
Today we set off at 9.30am. Travelled 6.12 miles including 11 locks taking a total of 5 hours.
We have now finished the Birmingham and Fazeley canal.
We joined the Coventry canal at Fazeley Junction, where we are currently moored.
Tomorrow we will travel to Fradeley Junction, and join the Trent and Mersey canal.
At Fradeley Junction  (evidently) is the most pictured pub in the UK. The Swan Inn or the Mucky Duck as some people call it. We will find out why tomorrow and let you know
We are both really enjoying ourselves, and the boat is performing well.

We returned to the boat on Sunday afternoon and travelled a whopping 1 mile to Catherine De Barnes.
Staying overnight, we made an early start, as we wanted to clear Birmingham in one day.
We set off at 7.45am. Travelled through Birmingham on the Grand Union Canal, joining the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Salford Junction, and stopped at Curdworh. A total of 16.58 miles including 14 locks and stopping for water. Total time taken 9 hours 49 minutes.
We knew it would be our busiest day of our trip. But what we hadn't expected was the state of the canals through Birmingham. They were disgusting. We had to stop three times to free up our propellor which had become tangled with various debris. We had to clear empty bottles and pieces of wood before we could open lock gates fully
On a good note, the trip in and out of Birmingham was very scienic as shown below

Yesterday we had an easy day. In fact we didn't move. We walked into Knowle, which is a very pleasant village, bought fresh bread from the local baker, which proved to be the best bread we have ever eaten, returned to the boat and had a pub lunch at the Herons Nest
Today we had to travel to Copt Heath Wharf, where we will be leaving the boat for 2 nights as we have a wedding to go to in Stroud.
Wendy walked ahead to the Knowle 5 locks to open the 1st lock ready for the boat to enter. On arriving at the lock it was sealed with yellow tape and padlocks had been fitted.
Wendy returned to the boat and we went to the British Waterways web site www.waterscape.com to find what the problem was.
The Canal was closed from the Knowle locks to the Camp Hill locks in Solihull due to a fire at a furniture factory next to the canal, and the Environment Agency had closed the canal due to contamination. So we had to sit and wait.
At 3.00pm we were told the stretch of canal would be re-opening soon.
We set off just after 3.00, and arrived at the wharf just after 6.00pm.

We will continue the blog on Sunday. Thank you to everybody who has been watching our trip so far.