Two days in one

As I said yesterday, the plan was to go to the mooring at bridge 69 today and on through Rugeley tomorrow, stopping at Tesco as we did so. Accordingly, we set off at half seven for a trip expected to last something under two hours. However, the forecast for tomorrow is for another day of unremitting rain, suggesting that we might end up sitting it out by the pig farm. Instead, we decided to do two days' boating (by our standards) in one day and carry on to Handsacre today.

This proved to be a good move. Although the wind has continued to blow coldly from the North, it was a very pleasant day for boating, so making the most of it made sense. We got to the shopping mooring in Rugeley just before half ten and were fortunate to find a space just before the bridge, the closest approach to the supermarket. We expect to be back in Mercia about midweek next week, so our shopping today was concentrated on getting enough stuff to last until then, when we shall be able to restock courtesy of Ocado.

This was wholly succesful and, after seeing Sheila on her way through the traffic jam of the moorings, I spent some time in the galley stowing the supplies. After that, it was a case of doing lookout, first through the tricky bridge by the Ash Tree, then through Armitage "tunnel" and finally round the twists and turns the canal takes between there and Handsacre. When we got here, there were no other boats tied at all, but a few have turned up since.

We had a slightly belated lunch and have spent the afternoon loafing in the saloon mostly. It's the kind of day which looks much better from inside the boat than if you try to sit out. As I say, we'll probably stay put tomorrow, then work down to Alrewas on Monday. The rain isn't due to start until ten, so an early get away should see us miss the worst of it. It might well be wet again on Tuesday, but it's no hardship to spend an extra day in Alrewas.