Avoiding Wolverhampton, and in reality really avoiding anywhere including Stafford, Kathy and Steve meander all over the countryside, almost gatecrash a wedding and end up in the middle of nowhere for a rather fine traditional Sunday Roast.
In which Kathy and Steve make their way through some rather crazy 19th Century engineering, involve themselves in a perfectly legal tax evasion process and then make their merry way through more cuttings, saying hello to “Lord Lucan” on the way.
The original plan was to go all the way to Boston and throw some tea in the harbour (well the C&RT visitor moorings anyway). But due to things like the tides on the Trent it was going to make things pretty awkward and tight timing wise so we basically went as far as Lincoln instead. […]
New Anodes and a hull re-blacking. Looks pretty good At the same time they’ve fitted a new weed hatch and replaced the propshaft and stern tube plus fixed the rudder which was a bit wobbly.
In which the crew of Mintball get through the cutting without causing any landslides and have an easy run down the locks despite being assaulted by acorns, and then meet a most intriguing character below the locks.
In which the crew of Mintball enjoy some more good weather and some beer from a brewery they’d never even heard of. Trying to book a table for a last night meal proved more complicated than you’d imagine but it all worked out well in the end.
In which the crew of Mintball come up with a new theory relating to weather when boating on the canals as they make their way through the countryside on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and enjoy some extremely quirky but excellent food at a rather odd Chinese-Thai restaurant.
Having done nearly 2.8Km underground in the morning the crew of Mintball spend the rest of the day determined only to drink beer in pubs with odd names. So they visited The Samson and Lion, The Bull and Bladder, The Maverick and The Starving Rascal.
In which the crew of Mintbtall gird their loins and prepare the ascent into Birmingham having changed their minds about the route into the city they were taking.
Having escaped from Stoke on Trent the crew of Mintball continue down the Trent Valley towards the huge steaming edifice that is Rugeley Power Station. They see a lot of toilets and basins and a Plum Pudding as well as a lot of boats.