Burton and WIlington

Joining the Trent below Alrewas Lock.

The weather forecast was much better today so we planned for a full days cruising with the aim of gaining an extra day.  We set off from Alrewas just after 9am with overcast skies and a cool wind.  First stop was Alrewas lock which takes one down to the River Trent.  The river forms part of the canal for a couple of miles  until Wychnor Lock which descends again to the canal.  In flood conditions the river can be impassable so we were a bit concerned that the river flow would have been affected by the recent thunderstorms.  Fortunately, as the photo shows, the river level was safely at green.

For the next few miles the canal was fairly busy with up to 4 boats going in the opposite direction to us queueing to enter the locks.  However we only had to wait for a maximum of two boats, so were not seriously delayed.

Dallow Lock, Burton upon Trent.

Eventually we entered Burton Upon Trent where the weather improved becoming sunny and warm.  Perhaps surprisingly the canal here is quite pleasant as it passes the large leisure area of Shobnall Fields and the tree-lined back gardens of the adjacent houses.  We descended Darrow Lock, the final one on today's journey.

Trent & Mersey Canal between Burton and Willington.

Clumps of flag irises line the canal.

After travelling through the outskirts of Burton the canal took us out out into attractive countryside.  We reached our intended destination of Willington at 15:10 and were lucky in immediately finding a mooring.  The village includes a now-closed river side pwer station and suffers from a significant amount of road traffic but the canalside is very different and well worth a visit.

Todays journey: 12.26 miles, 6 locks, 6 hours cruising.