Today we Become Continuous Cruisers

1st July 2019

Today we officially move permanently on board our narrowboat Hang Loose and become continuous cruisers.  We have given up our mooring on the Erewash Canal and we are going on our adventures!

For the first couple of weeks we moored at one of our favourite places – Weston-on-Trent and then Shardlow.  We stayed local so that we could finish off clearing the house and getting everything we need on board.

Also, more importantly, I had a night out to go to with my random friends to celebrate our lovely Mary’s 70th birthday

and we were waiting to meet our friends to cruise up to Willington with them.

A brilliant time was had on both occasions 😊

Shardlow

We moored right outside The New Inn at Shardlow for a couple of nights.  It was great – they open for breakfast at 10 so one morning we had a full English there.  It was delicious- and only 6 quid!  If your going through Shardlow it’s a lovely village, some great walks and pubs – worth mooring up there if you can.

Let the journey begin

The first Canal we want to visit is the Caldon Canal.  We went in a walk to the Churnet Valley last year and loved it.  We sat at a pub called the Black Lion, looking over the canal where a boat was moored, dreaming about owning our own boat, and said that when our dream came true this would be the first canal we went to – so that’s where we’re heading.

We have been on a few cruises already Cruising Down the River Soar, Cruise to Tixall Wide, The Erewash Canal which were all fab.

After we left Willington our next mooring was Whychnor.  This was a lovely quiet mooring with just 3 other boats moored there.  We moved on the next day and cruised to Fradley Junction.  There was no room to moor there so although we were wanting to moor just after Shadehouse Lock (no room) – we carried on and moored just after Woodend Lock.  This was a lovely spot – very busy lock though.

On our way to Fradley Junction we stopped in the beautiful village of Alrewas.  It’s well worth a visit, there’s 3 good pubs, a fabulous butcher and a Co-Op if you need to stock up.  You really are spoilt for choice at the butchers – love it.

We spent the next day mooching around Fradley Junction, doing a bit of gongoozling, which was great fun.  We had a lovely lunch in the    laughing duck cafe and then a pint at The Swan – brilliant pub, as already talked about in Our First Proper Cruise from Weston-on-Trent to Fradley Junction on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Wolseley

Our next mooring is Wolseley, a little way before bridge 70.  We can’t hear the road where we are so it’s perfect for Tilly – she really doesn’t like traffic!

There is a very nice pub just down the road called Wolseley Arms – so we had a couple of pints of Wainwright’s – well we had to try it out didn’t we.

We have stayed here or a couple of days – partly because the weather isn’t great – but also because someone fell in the canal and lost their glasses and injured their knee!! Not me!  So we had to walk back to Rugeley to buy Paul some reading glasses as a temporary fix as he can’t manage without them.  And no – I didn’t get a video or picture of him in the canal as I didn’t even know he’d fell in!  I was busy putting my pyjamas on lol.

Oh, and a major highlight is that we have bumped into Jono – if you’re into you-tube boating vlogs then you will know who I mean! We have seen all his vlogs and it was lovely to meet him – great bloke. If you haven’t seen his vlogs then go watch them – Journey with Jono!

See ya later.