Hillmorton - Blisworth Marina

Hazel & Barry 23 miles, 1 flg 13 locks

Hawkesbury Junction - Hillmorton (Bridge 73)

Hazel & Barry 16 miles, 5 flg 4 locks

Snarestone - Hawkesbury Junction

Hazel & Barry 22 miles, 7 flg 1 lock

Stoke Golding - Snarestone

Hazel & Barry 14 miles, 4 flg 0 locks

Bedworth - Willow Park Marina, Stoke Golding

Hazel & Barry 12 miles, 5 flg 0 locks

Hartshill - Charity Dock, Bedworth

Hazel & Barry 5 miles, 7 flg 0 locks.

Weather has improved - still largely overcast but wind has dropped.

Saw Jenny in Nuneaton (see picture)!

Moored at Charity Dock - interesting people, dogs, chickens and bits and pieces of everything that floats, rolls, drives, cooks - you name it they've got it or a bit of it! Still only £12 for a week's mooring.

Hopwas - Anchor Bridge, Hartshill

Hazel & Barry 14 miles, 6 flg 13 locks.

Wind still bitter with showers.

Kept warm working our way up the 11 locks of the Atherstone flight.

Moored at Anchor Bridge, Hartshill looking forward to a pub dinner only to be told "sorry - we have a quiz on Sunday nights!" Walked back to Grange Road bridge and then up a 1:2 hill to to the Malt Shovel where they don't have a quiz but do serve food.

Fradley Junction - Dunstall Farm Bridge, Hopwas

Hazel & Barry 9 miles, 5flg and 2 locks.

Parked car at Swan for £3 a night and got going at 15:00. Positioned the boat to outside the Swan and got loaded (the boat not us!).

Bitter easterly wind and some rain.

Arrived at Dunstall Farm Bridge at 19:00

Stone - Shade House Lock (Fradley Junction)

Gary, Barry, Mike Jackson 21 miles, 7 flg and 7 locks

Awoke to frost in the fields, ice on the roof and a bright sunny morning.

Cruising by 8.15am once Barry had cleared plastic from the prop. Not many locks, so good distance today.

Dropped Gary at Rugeley with a rail timetable, map, gps and a mission to return to Chellshill to collect his car. With the help of a railway buff on an unmanned station he made it. And since there was no one to collect his fare, it was a bargain even without his over 60s pass!

Met up again and moored just above Fradley Junction on a British Waterways 14 day mooring. Lovely spot.

72.5 miles and 31 locks to go to Blisworth (out of a total of 182 miles and 95 locks).

Chellshill - Stone Bottom Lock

Gary, Barry, Mike Jackson 18 miles, 5 furlongs of narrow canals; 27 narrow locks

Reached Donatella and cruising by 1045 in good but chilly weather.

Lots of locks today but with little traffic, and most filled in our favour, we made good progress.

No delays at the Harecastle tunnel (2926 yards) and pressed on through the potteries to reach Stone Bottom lock by 8pm.

Mega steak and ale pie and a pint at the excellent Star canalside pub. But only Gary could clean his plate!

Middlewich Kings Lock to Chellshill

9 miles, ¾ flg and 17 locks

Beans and sausages on toast on board for breakfast.

Underway by 11am following engine service. Barry left for a meeting in Leeds.

Gary treated us to ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches and a pint of Rebellion for lunch.

Indian take away on board before returning south.

Marston to Middlewich Kings Lock - service and repairs

7 miles, 7¼ flg and 4 locks

Early full english breakfast at a friendly convenience shop in Marston. (Garry went for the full monty)

Stopped for a planned engine check-up in Middlewich only to find the engine compartment flooded. Repairs to the weed box required.

Lunch at the Kings Lock pub while we waited.

Enforced overnight stop in the boatyard.

Birthday dinner at Kindertons restaurant.

Preston Brook marina to Marston(Trent & Mersey Canal)

Barry, Garry, John Vare, Mike Jackson

9 miles, 1¼ flg and 1 lock

1pm start from Preston Brook.

Through the Preston Brook tunnel, past the the Anderton lift and moored by the Lion Salt Works at Marston.

Dinner at the Salt Barge Pub.

Oldfield Brow to Preston Brook Marina