Lyra's Travels

Sunday 10th June
An early start this morning because we were intending to get to Stone, about 20 lock/miles.
As we dropped down through the 5 Stoke Locks the sky was already clearing, giving a hint of a better day than we've had for a while.
Once past Stoke bottom lock there are signs of industry, and in one spot there is a housing development where a pair of bottle ovens has been left standing as a reminder of the history of the area.
Soon we are back out into leafy suburbs and then countryside again. The canal is once more flanked by those two standard features, the railway on one side and the River Trent has now joined us on the other and will be a constant companion from now on, until we finally leave it at Keadby.
At Trentham Lock we meet several boats coming the other way, which makes the lock easy. Talking to the people waiting there it seems that the canal is extremely busy from here to Stone. We met queues of boats coming up at all the locks right into Stone. We appeared to be the only ones heading south until we actually got into Stone. Here we were surprised to find the locks manned by BW volunteers. They tell me that it's a new idea for the new Waterways Trust. A great idea it is too.
All the mooring in Stone was taken so we had to continue out of town for a good 1/2 mile before we could tie up. 
Cath has now settled in to watching the French Open Tennis Final, I may go for a walk.