So the day has finally come when we can set off again around the cut. Of course, not everything is open with a lot of marina’s not open to the public and none of the pubs are up and running yet, but the navigation is now fully open. What a relief! And what a day too! Absolutely scorching. In fact, not to seem like a moaning pratt, but it was too hot! Wendy and I have not done locks in ages and we’ve got some of that odd issue from Lockdown which causes belly’s to swell and clothes to become tight. Anyway, as first days go, this one was a real test of stamina. 5 miles and 9 locks later we finally slunk in to Barleston and stopped for the day. Its lovely here, but we both just grabbed a beer and collapsed into the dinette to recover.
Our first lock since lockdown – see what I did there ? 
Pugwash the intrepid! 
Crewmate earning her place 
Crewmate just lazing around!
As first days go, this was quite short at just about 5 miles and 9 locks, but in this heat it was quite enough. We set off from the Marina after a quick pump out and headed up the canal towards Stoke-On-Trent. After passing through Stone (which is lovely and well worth a visit) we carried on through some more locks until we arrived hot, bothered and completely knackered at Barlestone. The mooring here is lovely and green but the tow path is a bit like the M1 on a busy day! We are looking forward to getting on the Shropshire Union, which is a bit in the middle of nowhere.
Tomorrow we are going to tackle Stoke On Trent which we have been told is a bit of a dump and not pleasant – so we shall see. We have heard this all before so we will judge it as we find it!
Click on the links below to see our onward journey.
Artful Dodger 