Autherley Junction - and back to base.

As expected, "Starcross" was safe and well when we returned to Penkridge after a week back at work to complete the journey home to Norbury Junction. Firstly though we had an extreme example of the complications caused by bringing the car! After unloading in the Boat Inn's car park we moved the car to a nearby residential road where it would not be in anyone's way for a few hours. We then took Starcross up through the locks between Penkridge and Gailey after which Hilary cycled back to Penkridge and moved the car to Brewood, our intended overnight stop, before cycling back to meet me at Brinsford! However, it all went to plan and we both arrived within 15 minutes or so of the agreed time

The Staffs & Worcs Canal is very different to our "home" Shropshire Union. Its much older for a start, being completed 60 years earlier. The locks come singly, rather than in flights and the bridges are smaller and narrower, particularly those at the foot of the locks which are only just large enough for a boat.

The bridge at Otherton lock (above) being a good example.

Gailey top lock, which marks the start of the summit level of the Staffs & Worcs is home to one of the well-known features of the waterways - the circular tower lock cottage, now operating as a shop.

There are moorings here, either side of the lock but the as the bridge in the foreground carries the A5 trunk road its not exactly peaceful roundabouts. Passing Calf Heath Marina I kept a sharp look out for Wandrin' Bark, "Captain Ahab's" narrowboat but I couldn't spot it and learnt later from his blog that it would have been away on its own adventures at the time.

Its funny how on a long journey, by road, rail or canal, the act of reaching a familiar landmark can make you feel at home - even though you may still have many miles to go. Autherley Junction, the southern end of the Shroppie, has that effect on me and as we turned off the Staffs & Worcester under the familiar and graceful bridge that carries the towpath over the junction I knew our trip was coming to an end.

Bridge 1 on the Shropshire Union - compare this with Otherton Lock bridge (above)!

Immediately under the bridge is the Shroppie's first lock - a diminutive stop lock inserted on the insistence of the Staffs & Worcs company to minimise the loss of water to the upstart Birmingham & Liverpool Junction, as it then was. The B&LJ (and today's "Shropshire Union Main Line") is unusual in that it doesn't have a summit level: the lock at Autherely being the first in a series of 66 that take the canal down to sea level at Ellesmere Port.

We were making such good progress that we decided not to stop at Brewood after all, but carry on to Wheaton Aston where we were lucky to find the last Starcross-sized space on the visitor moorings opposite Turner's Garage

As we'd had a long day and our holiday was nearly over we celebrated with a meal out at the Hartley Arms (above) although, to be honest, I've had better pub food.

Penkridge

Starcross on an earlier visit to Penkridge

Until such time as I can give up work and devote more of my time to Starcross and the cut I can only undertake longer trips in stages, travelling for a week, or even a weekend, at a time and leaving the boat to return to work in-between. This means looking for a "safe" place to leave Starcross for a week or more. Marinas are one option - and I have used them - but I resent paying well over the odds to occupy a berth that the owners are almost certainly already charging an absent boater for. So I'm always on the lookout for safe towpath moorings. Safety isn't the only consideration of course - there's also access. Even if I do choose to use the car to get to the boat there's still the problem of getting back to pick it up, so public transport access is important. It also helps if the chosen spot has easy access to shops to enable me to stock up on needed items rather than carrying them all the way from home.

So, when I was looking for somewhere to leave Starcross in between Stone, on the Trent & Mersey and Norbury Junction, on the Shropshire Union, Penkridge was the obvious choice. The town has a station, served by frequent trains from Birmingham and Crewe, equally frequent buses to Stafford, Wolverhampton and Cannock, a large Co-Op supermarket (in the main street - not "out of town") as well as an excellent bakers shop. On the canal, there's a sanitary station at the town lock and, below the lock, some excellent, unrestricted, moorings that are overlooked on both sides (for security) and even have a couple of (legally) permanently moored craft to create a "presence".

Last but not least, the town has some excellent pubs, even though the inn sign on "The Boat" is a little optimistic as to the size of vessel one can expect to encounter on the Staffs & Worcs. Canal!

So I was quite happy to leave Starcross here for a week knowing she'd be waiting safely for me on my return, which she was.

Blue and Yellow

I thought that his version of British Waterways' corporate identity was now only found on "historic" boats and was surprised to see it on this one apparently involved in the repair/restoration of one of the double locks on the Red Bull flight. So surprised, in fact, that I neglected to make a note of its name.