Brewood for the weekend.........well maybe....maybe not

The tow path looked good as we left Norbury so Barney and I had our normal early morning walk for a couple of miles....well nearly two miles.....that is the goal but I don't always last that far!

 We climbed back on just before Gnosall Heath and shortly afterwards the day turned to worms! 

Our 240 volt system failed.......now that should not really be the end of the world......although by Geoff's reaction you would think it was........all the 12 volt system still works, fridge, loo, lights etc.   BUT......no TV, no kitchen electrical appliances and no computer (battery doesn't last long)  but the crunch is the phone.    As people who have an iphone know, the battery is less than useless so we were on borrowed time as mine was 3/4 full and Geoff's was flat(as normal).

A phone call to Countrywide Cruisers at Brewood (ahead of us) did not strike gold...no engineer today and too busy with hire boats Friday and Saturday.   Anglo Welsh at Norbury Junction could have a look tomorrow (Friday) but that meant finding a turning place and retracing our steps....

A phone call to River Canal Rescue confirmed that they did not cover us for this sort of thing and could not offer an contacts other than the ones we had tried.  

So it was grit our teeth for a longer day than planned after a phone call to Oxley Marine at Autherley Junction (past Brewood and our intended stopping place) ascertained that they had someone who could take a look.

Cowley tunnel, just after Gnosall Heath......even I can manage this one

An interesting Canopy

We reached them soon after 3pm and they really turned up trumps.   It was tea break when we arrived and they continued with that before making a start...........an initial look seemed to indicate a problem with the inverter which sounded like a very expensive job.  Further investigation showed it was a loose lead that had caused a problem and blown a main fuse.  They sourced a new fuse at Penkridge and someone set off by motorcycle to collect it and soon after 6pm we were all fixed...Phew...

We can thoroughly recommend the yard.   Brilliant service.    They don't do plastic....cash or cheque so out came the cheque book, something we don't use very much nowadays.   We filled up with diesel also at 86p domestic.   This is as cheap as we have had this year although today we passed the garage on the canal at Stretton wharf where it was advertised at 70.9p domestic.   Unfortunately the mooring already had two boats on it and we were concerned about getting to Oxley Marine before closing time.

The moorings opposite the yard did not look inviting although there were rings and we were told it was quite safe but we are on the outskirts of Wolverhampton!    So we decided to turn and go back through the stop lock at Autherley and then carry on back to Brewood for the weekend as originally planned.   We moored just after the lock in what was not our normal scenic surroundings but it seemed secure and by then we were exhausted....a long day combined with the mental strain of something wrong with the boat........

One of the lessons learnt from today is that I must acquire a 12 volt charger for my phone!!!!   In case they hadn't been able to fix it today I had plugged both our phones in their little office whilst the repair was going on.

Total distance:16.71 miles 

Elapsed time:7 hrs approx cruising

Locks 3

Bridges:56