Willington to Alrewas

Today the sun beat down on our little band of travellers. It was a grand day. By lunch time Spot was overheating so we stopped at Branston Water Park for a sandwich and took Spot to the dogs' water splash to get good and wet. The canal by the Water Park was alive with misty clouds of midges, fortunately the non-biting kind. Today's destination was Alrewas.

Rather an uneventful journey with not much traffic on the cut - although, speaking of traffic on our way to the water park the road traffic was deafening due to the canal running alongside the A38 Rykneld Street.  Makes you realise the serenity of boating life!

Worth mentioning: those awful heavy, stiff locks from Shardlow through to Barton Turn lock (particularly the worst at Aston and Weston) have been vastly improved.  Jan spoke to a couple of CART engineers at Barton Turn.  It appears the 'people on high' have given instructions to improve the locks and given the engineers the choice of how they are done.  Instead of heavy grease, which attracts stones, etc they now use a lighter oil.  Made such a difference.

T&M Canal Alrewas River Section

We found a spot to moor on the section just above the river lock and went for a meal at The Crown. This pub had just been revamped last time we were here. The beer is very good, I had a pint of Davy Lamp which was light and full of flavour. The food was fantastic. If you know me you can tell by looking at me that I have eaten a few pies in my life.

Jans Seafood Platter

The chicken and leek pie I had at The Crown was one of the finest pies I have ever eaten. Jan had a sea food platter which was also top food and a huge portion!