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Near Gnosall, one of the many Tunnels/Bridges on the canal.

Brewood to Norbury Junction.

You have to have one bad day every holiday and this was it!

Brewood - Bridge - Tunnel
Select a picture to see it full size.

Things started OK, we got off to a nice start, and we were soon passing under the bridge that carried the old roman road (Watling Street) now the A5 (how many canals does the A5 go over?) Around about Gnosall Heath we caught up to some one going slow, at times we were catching them up at tick over speed! and we seemed to be behind them for quite a while, when just before Norbury Junction the engine the engine stuttered and coughed (big cloud of black smoke) and died. We let the boat drift to the side of the canal and tied up and put the kettle. When the engine had cooled down, we had a quick check, oil and water etc. but could not see any thing, tried the engine, it started reluctantly, but with a cloud of smoke. So we turned it off and called out RCR, just to be on the safe side.

A nice young lad soon turned up, (healthy, he walked the 1,500 meters from Norbury Junction in no time!) He seemed to know his stuff, amongst the things he checked for was diesel bug etc. Only thing he could think was that there may have been a some air trapped in the water system, ( and perhaps going slow, didn't give a enough push to move it out of the way. - my thought.)

He took a lift with us, to Norbury Junction, and used it to check how the engine was, he was slightly concerned that you could still smell a slight acrid pong from the engine, with a bluey black smoke being produced. We let him off at the British Waterways point. We used the opportunity to fill up with water, and then drifted across to the Boatyard to fill up with fuel. (Decided not to have a pump-out, a foolish thought!)

Gnosall heath pub - Norbury Junction - The arm - Select a picture to see it full size.

Decided to stay in Norbury for the night, we find a spot, just beyond the junction, (This holiday is about finding a spot, it feels a bit like musical chairs, no-body can move un-till some one creates a empty space by moving out, so some else can take there spot, so freeing up a space for some one else!!!

Sue and Richard use the opportunity to have a shower.  The weather out side is non to good, windy with rain squalls. So tea is had followed by reading, puzzles etc. bedytime drinks and so to bed.