Tag Archives: Trent and Mersey Canal

Thursday 10 April – Ice and my First Lock

Easter 2025, , ,

Distance travelled: 20 miles (by boat from Upper Burston Bridge No 86 to Gailey Visitor Moorings above Lock)

A map showing a route with a marked path in blue, connecting two points. The surrounding area features various place names and geographic details, indicating a rural landscape.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 15. Total so far: 61

When I woke up and looked out the window, the roof of the boat was covered in ICE. In April! I touched it and it melted straight away but still. Ice. In the morning. On a boat!

A misty morning scene with a calm canal reflecting the early sunlight. A solitary tree stands on the riverbank, casting a shadow on the water. A narrowboat is visible on the right side, with a bright orange life ring on its roof. The atmosphere is tranquil, with soft colours of dawn.

But once the sun came out it got properly warm and the whole day turned out to be lovely.

Today we didn’t really have any big stops, just kept going along the canal. We changed canals again, this time we joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal – and that’s a long name to type every time. It’s part of something called the Four Counties Ring.

I was getting better at helping with the locks. I was really becoming a good Lock Labourer. Some of the locks are really deep and the gates are heavy but I liked doing them. Hard work and great exercise.

At one point we went through some locks right next to the the M6 motorway. It was loud and full of lorries and not very pretty. Once upon a time there was a lock keeper’s cottage here but it’s long since been demolished. 200 years ago it was probably really beautiful here but today you’d get a motorway for a neighbour!

A clear blue sky above a scene that used to be the site of the lock keeper's cottage but is now cleared scrub land and a brick wall in the foreground. The canal boat is visible in the lock in the foreground while in the background the passing traffic of the M6 motorway is visible.
Would you have wanted to live this close to a motorway? I don’t think so!

When we got to the Gailey Roundhouse, I got to do a lock paddle all by myself. Dad stood nearby just in case but I did the whole thing. I loved it and was very proud!

A brick tower with a rounded top (the Gailey Roundhouse) stands beside a canal. In the foreground, a lock mechanism is visible, and two children in orange life jackets are preparing to close one side of the lock gates. The lock gate is designed at a right angle because it is so close to the road bridge. The scene is bright under clear blue skies.

Wednesday 9 April – Staffordshire Pottery and Oatcakes

Easter 2025, , , ,

Distance travelled: 15 miles (by boat from Westport Lake Visitor Moorings to Upper Burston Bridge No 86)

Map showing a selected route with labeled roads, towns, and landmarks in a rural area. A highlighted path in blue indicates the direction of travel. Key locations are marked with icons, including points of interest and navigation directions.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 15. Total so far: 46

Today we learnt that Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are called ‘The Potteries’, because loads of the pottery people used to use came from here. We even went past one of most famous potteries of all – Wedgwood.

We didn’t stop there to learn about all things ceramic but instead we went to the Gladstone Pottery Museum, which is where they film the Great Pottery Throwdown, my sister’s favourite show ever. She didn’t know we were going so it was a surprise. She screamed a bit when she realised where we were.

Inside the museum there were huge old bottle kilns and loads of clay things. We couldn’t actually make anything, but that didn’t stop us pretending.

Four children participate in a pottery class, each working at a pottery wheel. They are concentrated and engaged, wearing colorful clothing in a bright, spacious studio. A sign reading "No Entry" is visible nearby, indicating the area might be restricted. Shelves filled with pottery supplies and finished pieces are in the background.
Four children are engaged in a hands-on activity at a worktable in a bright, spacious room. They are interacting with materials, with equipment and tools visible around them. A "No Entry" sign is prominently displayed in the foreground, indicating restricted access. The setting resembles a workshop or educational space designed for creative projects.
Four children are engaged in a hands-on activity inside a workshop. They are standing at a long workbench, each focused on a task, while one child raises their hand enthusiastically. The room is bright and filled with various tools and materials, with a "No Entry" sign visible in the foreground.

Afterwards we got something called Staffordshire oatcakes for lunch. I had mine with peanut butter and jam. It looked like a pancake but was way better than a pancake. Very yum.

A riverbank scene featuring a calm, muddy waterway lined with lush greenery and trees. A large bird, possibly a heron, stands on a branch extending over the water. The sky is clear with bright sunlight illuminating the landscape.

Later on, we had to stop to fill up the water tank, and while the grown-ups were sorting that we found a playground nearby. There was also a funfair but the adults said no and we were all like “awwwwww come on” but it didn’t work. Still, we had a good runabout.

We finished the day moored near a place called Burston. There were some super posh houses around. It was really quiet though, and peaceful.

A tranquil scene featuring a winding path alongside a calm canal, bordered by lush greenery. In the background, a quaint white house and a stone bridge can be seen, with a church spire visible above the trees. The sky is clear and blue, suggesting a sunny day.

Tuesday 8 April – Heartbreak and Harecastle

Easter 2025, , , , , , , ,

Distance travelled: 10 miles (by boat from Railway Bridge No 151A to Westport Lake Visitor Moorings)

Route map showing a travel path between two locations, with labeled towns and roads. A blue line indicates the main route through a rural area, emphasizing waypoints along the journey.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 24. Total so far: 31

We got up super early. The canal was full of birds singing. Not like at home in Croydon. This really was proper countryside.

Today was a lock day. Loads of them. So many that this bit of canal gets called “Heartbreak Hill”. We did 24 locks before lunchtime! TWENTY FOUR! Plus the two we’d done the night before. I really wanted to join in and I began to learn how to use a windlass to open a paddle and let the water in and out.

We had to get to Harecastle Tunnel for our booked slot but then my Dad was like “Oh no, I actually didn’t book it”. Oops. So we had to try and rush a bit to get there (not an easy thing to do in a canal boat) and hope they’d let us through. And they did! Thank you Canal and River Trust, you saved my Dad’s bacon.

The tunnel is MASSIVE. It’s 1.6 miles long. That’s as long as walking from my house to school to my house, to school, to my house and back to school again! It took 45 minutes to get through and was pitch black inside (apart from our headlight). I was on edge the whole time because it was a bit spooky but also exciting.

There used to be two tunnels here – one built by a guy called James Brindley, and the other by Thomas Telford which was completed almost exactly 200 years ago. Only Telford’s is in use today. In the old days, people had to lie on the boat and leg it through by pushing on the tunnel walls with their feet. For THREE HOURS. I would definitely not like that.

Four children wearing bright orange life jackets pose for a photo on a canal boat, smiling and making peace signs. The entrance to Harecastle Tunnel is visible in the background, surrounded by trees and sunlight.

After we came out the other side, we moored up at Westport Lake. This place was originally created as a ‘pleasure gardens’ during Queen Victoria’s reign but over time it got neglected and became a wasteland. There was a playground which was really fun and we got treated to ice creams!

Then my Dad and Dave went to watch Stoke City v Luton (it was a 1-1 draw). The rest of us watched Series 8, Episode 7 of the Great Pottery Throwdown where the contestants made bird baths in honour of the Six Towns.

My favourite was Steve’s – and the judges agreed (sorry for the spoiler).

Monday 7 April – Starting the Canal Trip

Easter 2025, , , , , , , ,

Distance travelled: 223 miles (Crediton to Middlewich (216 miles by car) and then Middlewich Wharf to Railway Bridge 151A (7 miles by boat)).

Map showing a route in England, connecting the locations of Middlewich and Cheddar, with a dashed line indicating the path. The map includes geographical features and bodies of water.
A map showing a route highlighted in blue, connecting various locations with labels. The map includes surrounding roads, towns, and geographical features, providing context for navigation.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Daily Locks: 7. Total so far: 7

We left Nana’s and drove up to Cheshire. It took ages.

We met up with our friends the Burtons. They’re a family of 4 like us – a Mum (Shannon), a Dad (Dave) and two daughters (Anwen and Zoe) who are a similar age as me and my sister. We met them at Morrisons to a massive shop before we got on the boat. While my Dad did the shopping we ate lunch at a place called Streat.

Then we went to get our canal boat from Floating Holidays. It was called Rakiraki. The people from the boat place showed us how everything worked and fitted our life jackets. I just really wanted to get on board.

Inside the boat looked so cool – it had beds and sofas and a kitchen and even two bathrooms, though more on that later…

I had a go at “driving” the boat. Well, I held the tiller while my Dad drove. And then I mostly stayed inside and played.

A man and a boy are smiling while taking a selfie on a boat in a calm waterway. The background features greenery and a clear blue sky. The boy is wearing a striped shirt, and the man is in a t-shirt with a graphic design.

I was excited to take the Christmas present my parents got me – Cards Against Humanity (Family Edition). I played a lot of it with my sister Eleanor and Anwen and Zoe while the grown ups got us set up on the boat and moving forward. That game is so funny and a bit rude. It made us all laugh loads.

After we moored near a place called Wheelock we had sausages, mash and baked beans for our tea. Yummy. I was tired but really excited because we were on a boat! A real boat!