Tixall Lock.

Today is the first day of our first week (of 2014) on our shared narrow boat. This entails travelling down to Great Haywood were she is berthed. The crew for this trip were clickychick, Katkatkat, FredaH, G (Katkatkat's partner) and myself.

We arrive mid afternoon load up with the basic foods and essentials (in bottles) as canals rarely pass through towns near good shopping areas. One loaded we set off moving from the Trent and Mersey Canal in about a quarter of a mile on to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

The first significant feature on the Staffs & Worcs is the Tixall Wide this is in effect a small lake, quite unusual for a canal. There are two stories about its existence. One being that Thomas Clifford gave permission for the canal to cross his land provided the view from Tixall Hall didn't look like a canal. The second is that the canal builders used a small lake which already existed, in fact Isaac Walton (is said to have) learned to fish there.

Soon after the wide we come to Tixall lock. This is the first rise in the canal but is only a rise of 4 foot 3 inches. The building to the right , now in private ownership, would be the lock keepers "cottage when the canal was built.

As we like mooring for the night out in the countryside and Tixal was about as far as we could sensibly get before dusk we moored just round the corner from the lock.