Tixall Wide - Meeting old friends

Spring is here! We really enjoyed today's cruise travelling up the Trent valley. The birds are nesting - the picture shows a Swan on her nest bt the side of the canal. Previously we had just seen a moorhen on a nest in a branch just above the water. Blossom is begining to show on the quickthorn. The weather is getting warmer although the wind is still gusty.

We left Rugeley at 11:00 after Denise returned from the shops. We stopped for lunch at the attractive wooded moorings at Wolseley Bridge. In the early afternoon we passed through the first lock at Colwich.

Waiting at Colwich Lock

The picture shows Densie waiting for a working boat to leave the lock. Although real commercial traffic on the canals ended in the 1960's there are a number of boats that still ply a trade supplying diesel and coal for narrowboats.

After passing through the canal junction at Great Haywood we have stopped for the night at Tixall Wide. This is a glorious spot where the canal has widened to form a large reed-lined large lake. Among the attractions are a number of great crested grebes diving for fish in the water.

Here we have met up with our boating friends Dot and Derek on Gypsy Rover. They are a couple from New Zealand who have been travelling the canal system,12 months a year for the past 4 years. We originally met them on our trip down the Grand union to London three years ago, and have met up periodically since then as out paths have crossed.