North from Penkridge

Teddesley Bridge near Penkridge - built for a driveway to Teddesley House, demolished in 1954.

 After the heavy rains of yesterday it was a dry day today so we left Penkridge at 9:30, stopping off to fill up with water, and then down the locks travelling north. An unexpected number of boats on the move resulted in most locks being set in our favour and in many cases we didnt need to close the gates on leaving as there were boats waiting to come up.

We moored at Baswich at lunchtime near where a local group has started excavating an old waterway into Stafford with a view to restoration.  So we had a quick look around the site and then returned to the warmth of the boat.  Research on Google came up with the information that the canal was built in the 1810's and by the 1920's had become derelict and was filled in.  Until the excavations there was virtually nothing to show that the canal had once existed.

Statistics - 6.16m, 5 locks in 3hours 15 mins