Etruria - Caldon Canal

 Third lock up on the Stoke flight.  I always look out for this one when I'm passing on the train.

Dislike these locks, the first two are dark, damp and slippery (not helped by being joined by a bloke with a can of beer and shouting on his telephone).  The locks are all very deep, and then the last three have heavy paddle gear (you always know when you are near a CRT yard.)

The top lock paddles made a really big vortex when both top paddles were opened.

We stopped off at the boatyard hoping to book in for the night for some electricity to do the washing (and for a safe Saturday night in Stoke).  We had to wait 1 1/2 hours then then they said there was no electricity available, so we bought some coal and winded the boat and came back to the Caldon, taking on water and then mooring up on the visitor moorings there. 

We have only been hit once by a Black Prince boat (so far), as there has only been one going past, that's 100%.  They come out of the marina with a member of staff to show them the ropes and he then get's straight off.  No help through their first lock or anything.

Tomorrow I have the 2 stair lock first thing.  Great!

Tie a yellow ribbon.....  I Cuttlebugged a piece of white card and stuck the piece of stick to one side.  I made 2 small holes near the top and threaded the yellow ribbon through and tied it in a knot.  Then the panel was stuck down onto a yellow card blank.

The sentiment was done on the computer and matted onto more yellow card.