Written April 26, 2023, on the Stafford and Worcestershire Canal near Stafford, England.

For the last two days we have enjoyed the favor of (mostly) dry weather. The sun occasionally peeks through the clouds, and when it does it brings immediate warmth to those navigating the canal. The clear weather has brought colder temperatures. Nighttime temps have dipped below freezing. Last week we were in an industrial and semi-urban area with occasional glimpses of farm and field. This week the vistas have reversed. Towns are now separated by expanses of green pastures populated with grazing livestock.

The views that we enjoy are often surreal. There are occasional glimpses of magnificent manor houses that predate the canal by decades, if not centuries.

Yesterday, we opted for a relatively short cruising day so that we could walk for 45 minutes each way into the old market town of Stafford. It was a jarring experience as the quiet of the canal was immediately replaced by the thunder of speeding vehicles on the busy raodway we trekked beside.

The hike was worth it.

Stafford is an ancient market town that is believed to date to the 8th century CE. It is clear that Stafford has seen better days, but seems to now be discovering its potential as a tourist destination.

In addition to an excellent pub lunch we took in two marvelous sites, the Ancient High House and The Collegiate Church of St. Mary.

The Ancient High House dates to 1595 and is the largest timber framed building in England.

Over the centuries it has seen a number of different uses. It underwent renovation in the 1980s, returning it (as much as possible) to its original configuration.Today it is a museum with a number of rooms recreating scenes that would have been familiar during various eras of the building’s history.

The Collegiate Church of Saint Mary dates to the 1100s.

A “collegiate church” is secondary in importance only to a Cathedral. The building was originally separated into two parts, the current nave was a parish church while the other end, separated by a wall, was reserved to the college.

At the time of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries (around 1540) the collegiate portion was abandoned to the elements. The parish church remained in service to the needs of the community. Fortunately, the “bones” of the Collegiate Church were sound enough for later restoration. There is no longer a physical divider between the two portions of the church.

We continue today on our slow journey along the 110 mile-long Four Counties Canal Ring. At times physically challenging, our speed across country is usually that of a brisk walk. We find that people are friendlier, and tourists are fewer (or entirely absent) than in the typical visitor meccas. On the canals one cannot help but “smell the roses“ and contemplate the good fortune of being in “real England“.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Written April 24, 2023, at Great Haywood, England.

Our Kansas City neighbors, Mary and Charlie Murphy, arrived yesterday afternoon to our open arms.

At the same time we were relieved to learn that Pat and Wendy had arrived safely home in Kansas City.

Both couples had been brutalized by 24 hours of travel, much in cramped airline seats. The Murphys were beat but took decidedly different approaches to resolving their fatigue. Charlie took a nap while Mary was determined to hike the countryside. Christine remained at the boat with Charlie and I joined Mary on what turned into a muddy 4+ mile slog through farm fields and along soaked canal paths. Luckily, rain held off until we were dining at the marina restaurant. During dinner the rain came in a deluge. Again, luck prevailed. The skies broke for our return to Fjord Empress.

For a few minutes we were treated to the spectacle of a remarkable rainbow in one direction and an equally remarkable sunset in the other.

We departed the marina early this morning, resuming our journey south on the Trent and Mersey Canal. There was no shortage of scenery.

What was lacking were locks. Unlike the last week, today featured only three locks, not the double digit numbers encountered during Pat and Wendy‘s tenure.

This still provided an opportunity for Charlie and Mary to develop “lock sense“, while the long uninterrupted passages gave Charlie a significant chance to learn navigation at the tiller, even “hazarding“ the challenges of entering and exiting a lock.

Our progress was such that we even had the luxury of stopping at a canal-side pub for lunch before soldiering on to Great Haywood for the evening.

We moored too early for dinner. A short walk down the canal brought us to the National Trust managed property of the historic Shugborough Estate.

This massive parklike expanse was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield prior to the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII around 1540. It passed through several hands until purchased in 1624 by William Anson. He and his subsequent heirs developed the estate into a huge farming operation that was state of the art for its time. The mansion and most of the buildings and grounds seen today were the work of the famed architect, Samual Wyatt at the start of the 19th century.

We walked only a small portion of the estate which covers thousands of acres. I regret we did not have time to take in the interior of the huge mansion. We did, however, see a number of the classic structures which were built to mimic those of Greek and Roman antiquity.

Tomorrow morning, continuing on the “Four Counties Ring” route we take a hard right turn off of the Trent & Mersey Canal onto the Staffs & Worcs Canal. Adapting the words of legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra to this journey, “When you come to a fork in the canal, take it”.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Written April 22, 2023, at the Aston Marina, Stone, England.

As they say, all good things must come to an end. However, sometimes the end of one good thing is really the beginning of another. Such is the case for us this weekend.

We bid farewell to Pat and Wendy this morning. They have been marvelous cruising companions, enduring rain, cold, and the challenges of scores of locks.

They developed real expertise at the locks and Pat acquired skill at the tiller.

Tomorrow, we greet our Kansas City neighbors, Charlie and Mary, who will share this experience with us for the next six days.

All canal cruising is not just canal cruising.

Yesterday we took in a lengthy tour of the Wedgwood factory which was located a short walk from the canal.

Josiah Wedgwood founded his legendary pottery and porcelain facility in 1759. Since then the factory has been significantly modernized yet retains Josiah‘s secrets which are shared with only a few of the company’s employees.

Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed within the factory. I did capture one fun picture outside the entrance.

It was only the four of us on the tour which took over an hour and a half. We were each struck with the incredible skill of every worker. One gentleman is currently tasked with making four tea sets. Each set will take him a full month to complete. Each set will sell for over $12,500. Of course, he has other projects that he is concurrently working on.

Another gentleman we met is working on a large “Black Jasper“ vase that mirrors an ancient Roman original. It will sell for over $60,000.

As the result of this experience we have developed a real appreciation for the work and talent behind each Wedgwood piece. I predict that each of us will be keeping eyes open at future flea markets, garage sales, and charity shops.

I received a message from a dear friend this morning, asking if I would share pictures of the interior of Fjord Empress. That wish is my command:

Christine and I solo cruised today, managing five locks on our way to a very nice marina where we are spending the night waiting for the Murphys. We also accomplished some much needed work today which included sweeping out the boat, filling the freshwater tank, emptying the “black water“ tank, buying groceries, doing laundry, and enjoying the luxury of real shore-side showers at the marina.

The marina also features a top-notch gourmet restaurant and bar.

Now, if only the weather will smile upon us and the Murphys over the course of the days to come.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Navigating the Harecastle Tunnel.

Written April 20, 2023, at Stoke on Trent, England.

The experience of traveling England’s canals that date to the 1700’s is unique. But there are aspects that go beyond unique, and in yesterday’s case are otherworldly, or better yet “underworldly”.

Our 2019 travels on the canals included traveling hundreds of yards across valleys, our vessel elevated over 100 feet above the valley floor in a trough of water with no guard rails. Beyond unique.

There were also tunnels that we navigated, also hundreds of yards long. Again, beyond unique.

Before us today was the Harecastle Tunnel. Not just unique, not just beyond unique, but like traveling the legendary River Styx to Hades. Again, otherworldly and “underworldly”.

The Harecastle Tunnel is 1.6 miles long and for nearly 200 years the longest tunnel in the United Kingdom. It is actually two tunnels. The first, built in 1770 and its parallel twin built in 1824 served commerce on the canals with one dedicated to southbound traffic and the other dedicated to northbound traffic.

The canals are extremely tight with very low overhead. There is no walking path inside the tunnel. If one were to fall into the water it would be a very bad day for that person. The older of the two tunnels could not be economically maintained and has been closed since 1914.

The remaining tunnel now alternates traffic direction approximately every hour. It takes about 40 minutes to transit the length of the tunnel.

Time and limited Internet cell service do not allow me to go into detail about the history of these fascinating tunnels. I invite you to read about The Harecastle Tunnel on Wikipedia.

Below are images, some with captions.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Written April 18, 2023, on the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Two days on the canal, and we have hardly had time to do anything but navigate, operate locks that date to the 18th and 19th centuries, and flatten the canal learning curve for Pat and Wendy. Yesterday was a half day since we had our orientation after provisioning the boat. Nevertheless, we passed through 10 locks yesterday and 28 locks today. Mind you, we operate the locks and they are all operated by hand. Even though we have been traveling by canal boat, Wendy has totaled over 16,000 steps today Christine over 12,000, and I just at 10,000 because I have spent the most time at the tiller. I took a few pictures, and rather than provide a lengthy narrative (I really don’t have the time or energy right now!) I will merely post the pictures in some order that might make relative sense. Tomorrow we enter the remarkable Harecastle Tunnel, dug between 1824 and 1827, which is nearly 1.6 miles long, cramped, damp, and pitch dark. At least the majority of the locks for the next couple of days are now behind us.

Peace Everyone. Pete