One of my favourite spots

I’m still not sure how far I will be cruising next week but I will definitely be stopping at Great Haywood. This is where the Trent and Mersey meets the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal. It is the most beautiful spot and so although I haven’t started my holiday yet, I thought I would share some of my photos of the area with you…
This is the much photographed bridge at the canal junction. Fortunately it is pedestrian only so it won’t be shaken apart by traffic it was never built for, unlike some of our other canal bridges.





This is the River Trent and the rather grand foot bridge leads to the Shugborough Estate which is open to the public. This is a great swimming hole with crystal clear water and is where I taught Bonny to swim!





This is the aforementioned Shugborough Hall. They have staff dressed up in Victorian garb and it is good for a visit. They also hold concerts and other events in the grounds. It is a well  watered area as the Rivers Trent and Soar run through the estate and the two canals run around the boundaries.



This is the gatehouse to the long disappeared Tixall Hall. It is taken from Tixall Wide, which is a beautiful spot where the Staffs and Worcester canal widens out into a lake and where kingfishers are regularly seen. Apparently, when the canal was built, the landowners would only consent to the canal being built across their land if it looked beautiful – hence the widening!


Mooring in Tixall Wide is lovely but there is no shade, so when it is very hot (not this year!!) I moor around the corner on the Trent and Mersey with a view across to the Hall and welcome shade from a wooded area on the other side, with a pretty path running through it.

So this will be us next week! I just hope this picture of my boat in the sunshine is prophetic, but even if it tips down every day, we will still have fun.