Calveley visitor moorings

The sky was blue and the sun was bright on this cool, windless day. Perfect winter cruising weather! Vicky set off with the dogs along the muddy towpath to set Wharton's Lock; the first of six on today's itinerary. She opened the paddles and popped Leo into the backpack with his hot water bottle. Leo gets bored very easily and his boredom tends to lead to mischief. Mischief and locks are not a good combination!

Will steered while Vicky either rode inside or walked between the locks, depending on how far apart they were. We tackled Beeston Iron Lock (so called because of it's reinforced iron walls, Beeston Stone Lock, Tilstone Lock and finally the Bunbury Staircase Lock. The gates were heavy and the paddles stiff to wind and we were both pretty knackered by the end. Even Leo had refused to get out of his bag and walk the last time he was put on the floor! The small chandlery at Bunbury had sold us ice creams the last time we'd passed. Alas, Vicky's hopes for another to reward all her hard work were dashed when they didn't have any vegan ones 😪

There were a line of boats moored just beyond Bunbury and we pulled in hoping to do the same. Vicky hopped on board with the dogs and Mr Whiskers hopped straight off, keen to make the most of the good weather after two days of captivity. Unfortunately, the underwater shelf protruding from the bank was too wide even for our tyre fenders, scraping and banging against Rainboat's hull whenever either of us moved around inside. We ate a late lunch and Vicky scoffed our last mince pie. Will found what looked like suitable moorings on Canal Plan AC and lured a reluctant Mr Whiskers back on board before casting off and cruising another 10 minutes up the cut. There were several other boats at Calveley, no shelf to contend with and Mr Whiskers was just as happy with his surroundings as he had been at Bunbury 🙂

The next day was a duvet and movie day for Vicky and the dogs. Will walked 20 minutes to the Tollemache Arms in hope of a pub lunch but it turned out to be more of a formal restaurant than a pub so he took advantage of his Pensioner's bus pass and caught a bus to the the a canalside Texaco fuel station where he bought a hot pie and some fruit. There has been a dearth of supermarkets so it was a relief to get some fresh food. He followed the pie up with a pot of tea and slice of cake from the nearby Calveley Mill Shop and Café. Next door was a cheese shop we were used to passing on the canal but had never been in, so Will siezed the opportunity and bought a huge chunk of mature cheddar. He then walked back along the towpath with a slice of cake stowed away in his bag for Vicky.Read more