A great day this was, the weather was mostly sunny, no rain until we moored up in the evening at Stone.
First thing I took him for a very pleasant walk along a paved but empty cycle path in a smart area just north of town centre where we moored last night. We had a fairly leisurely start as we were back on schedule.
After a few minutes we arrived at the top of the four lock flight and there was ‘Rob the Lock’ his arm is now better and he is as happy as ever. We were helped through the top lock by some volunteers, Rob was helping another boat ascending, but our descent was relatively easy and we passed gently through Stoke – a pretty ride – without incident.
Of course my long haired one cannot pass the site of where Mr Wedgwood has a huge pottery and so we stopped and had a fifteen minute walk to his place. It was lunch time and we all had some. The nice lady who served us gave me a bowl of water and three bone shaped biscuits. There was a bit of shopping to be done in the pottery shop whilst my bearded one had a beer called ‘Stone the crows’ odd I thought.
Back on board for a short while until I joined my long haired one for a walk along the tow path. My long kennel was keeping station with us. We met up with another human lady and she had a puppy called Ellie from the Welsh Border Collie tribe, we are sort of distantly related. Anyway we had such fun bounding, bouncing and rolling over each other. We settled down and as we walked for miles l was giving Ellie a few behavioral hints which earned us both a piece of delicious sausage that her long haired one gave us.
We were all tired after a busy day and my bearded one decided that we would go through the next flight of four locks at Stone but then call it a day.
My photos are one of me on my own and one of me, my long haired one, my long kennel and a swan. We are half way down. We have another flight of four to do in the morning.
We found a pleasant mooring just as it started to rain. We settled warm and dry in front of the fire and went to sleep.
Love Douglas x
Dear Douglas, what a grand day you have had. Another visit to Mr Wedgewood. We will be calling in there next time we pass, but it may not be on this trip. When we leave this area we may go through Manchester to stay in Castlefields, but I am a bit scared of going through those heavy locks underneath the town where it is dark and smelly. If we do not go this way we will instead go back to the Middlewich arm and move across to the Bridgewater Canal. We also had a nice sunny day, lets hope it is good tomorrow for your flight down the locks. Sleep well MJ
Hi Douglas –
You’ve certainly had some fun recently what with tunnels, long walks, the odd sausage and so on.
I’m not very happy because my Mummy and Daddy are going away tomorrow for a week and leaving me behind. Not very nice of them but they are going in a thing called a coach and they don’t think I would enjoy it – I think actually they are right. Still, Pat from next door isn’t bad as a substitute although I don’t get to lie on her bed at all.
Anyway, Daddy says he will still be able to read about what you are up to and he can tell me when they get back.
Love & scratches as usual –
Millie
P.S. Thought you might like this picture of your bearde one when the weather is better!
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Hi Douglas! We’ve been catching up with your adventures after a short leave of absence… My Lady Carer was struck down by a ghastly germ on Sunday which put her out of action until yesterday. She let me snuggle with her on the day bed for three days, which was good, but she was sneezing, sniffling, shivering, and sweating, and generally fidgeting when not asleep which was quite confusing. Big Boss took me for empty-out walks and gave me my breakfast-biscuits, doggy-dinner, and supper-yoghurt, but there was a distinct absence of Lady Carer treats. I have not had as much fun as you but I’m glad our weather has been warm and dry.
Apparently, today is my birthday and I am 5×7 years old. This means very little to me but you may understand – this does confer certain rights (eggy-tuna treat, for example) although there does seem to be a renewed effort to improve my Recall skills. It seems I am never too old to learn despite the saying you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Anyway, I did get a load of extra treats this morning just for walking towards Lady Carer when she wanted – I thought it would do her good as she hasn’t been out for a few days.
So my friend, keep dry and never give up hope of a biscuit, sweet dreams and may your nose be filled with the scents of a thousand adventures.
PS I found a useful Squirrel Identification chart you might like.
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