Category: 2013

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.

In which the crew of the Mintball spend some time under ground and the rest of the day slowly heading back down hill… again!! Surviving Stoke on Trent they make way towards Stone and the old Joule’s Brewery and one of the oldest canal hire fleets on the waterways.

Having spent most of the previous day heading down hill the crew of Mintball spend most of the day going back up hill again, and going up is a lot more effort than going down, even with more crew.

In which the crew of Mintball detail some of their pre-cast off activities such as getting essential supplies on board and finding some BEER, and then covers the first full day of cruising on their 9 day trip, which involved them spending most of the day heading down hill with the intention of culling a few beers at The Badger in the evening.

A quick summary of the planned trip of NB Mintball at the end of September 2013. We’ll be out and about enjoying ourselves and possibly collecting information for Canalplan