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| Off we go under another bridge |
We are chugging on today but before we go we are going to
have breakfast at the Radford Bank pub.
We went up there about 9am and it was a buffet breakfast and very good
it was too.
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| Stafford Riverway Link Sign |
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| Crossing the River Sow |
Suitably full, we walked back to the boat and got ready to
leave. We set off along the canal and
although it wasn’t very sunny it was warm and dry. We chugged under a few bridges then came to
Stafford Riverlink sign. The course of
the Staffordshire & Worcester canal does not take it through Stafford, so
from the opening of the canal in 1772
goods had to be transferred to carts from a wharf at Radford Bank and then
taken into town. A proposal to make the
River Sow navigable into Stafford was put forward and in 1816 the river was
connected to the canal at Baswich via a lock.
The waterway ran for close on a mile and the transportation of coal and
other goods continued along the route to the Green Bridge terminus until the
1920s when it fell into disuse. There
are plans to restore the waterway hence the sign, but when if ever it will be
done is anyone’s guess.
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| In Tixall Lock |
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| Sign at Tixall Lock |
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| Passing Tixall Wide |
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| Approaching Great Haywood Junction |
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| Tixall Gatehouse |
We went on along the canal, it is a really nice stretch with
lots of trees and green fields, over the River Sow by an aqueduct and then we were at Tixall lock, this is a
shallow lock, there was a bit of a queue here but it didn’t take long to get
through and off we went and then we were going through Tixall Wide.
So as not to spoil his view from the now
vanished Tixall Hall, Thomas Clifford only allowed the canal to cross his land
if it could be made to look like a lake and not a route for industrialised transport.
This was agreed with the canal company and
explains why there is a large expanse of water at this point on the canal.
Just north of the canal sits the fully
restored and impressive Tixall Gatehouse, which is all that remains of the
Tixall Estate.
Mary Queen of Scots was
imprisoned here for 2 weeks in 1585.
Now
owned by the Landmark Trust, it is available for holiday rental.
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| Packhorse Bridge |
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| Turning onto the Trent & Mersey |
On we went and soon we were approaching Great Haywood
Junction, we turned right here onto the Trent & Mersey canal and moored up.
We went for a walk down the canal and walked over the
Packhorse Bridge (which is an ancient monument) and into Shugborough estate
where Shugborough Hall is situated. We have been in the grounds before so we
walked for a bit then walked back up the towpath to the junction where there is
a canalside café and farm shop.
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| Shugborough Hall |
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| Canalside Cafe |
We had a coffee in the café sat by the canal then went into
the farm shop. They had pick your own
strawberries so of course we had to do that, we did try a few while we were
picking just to make sure they were up to standard! We then had a browse around the shop and got
a few supplies.
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| Canalside Farm Shop |
We walked back to the boat and chilled out. In the evening, there was a thrush in the
tree outside our boat singing away, it was really lovely to hear.
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| Picking Strawberries |
We are now staying here for a couple of days as it is such a
nice area.
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| Thrush singing outside our boat |
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| Moored at Great Haywood |
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