26th April 2013 - Barlaston to Stoke-on-Trent

Made the mistake last night of mooring too close to an electrickery transmission sub-station.  They hum. Annie woke early to the hum and couldnt get back to sleep.  A sharp elbow and I was fully awake too.  It was a case of "I can't stand this any longer, lets get out of here"! So we got dressed, upped pins and moved off.... at 6.30am ! Oh good. A rehearsal for tomorrow's 5.30am start!

The plan for today is to get through Stoke and for me to buy my ticket for tomorrow.  We have been told by other boaters that the centre of Stoke - er - is not the *safest* place to park up for the night.  We were advised to park next to Festival Park where there is a marina, and loads of other boats moor quite safely.

Coming into Stoke we stopped opposite Stoke's footy ground to cut some wood for the stove.  We moored up just a couple of hundred yards from the Station and I bought my tcket for tomorrow - £18 cheaper than the ticket available on the internet.  Note to self: When travelling, always get as close as possible to the chap thats going to drive the thing before parting with any dosh.

That done, we went up several more locks and moored as close as we could to the Toby Pub in Festival Park. Had lunch at the pub, then took the bikes off and went a short cycle to check the lay of the land, closest shops etc.  Annie's tyre went flat and we walked back....

We moored here next to the Toby Carvery, Festival Park.

Missed this last night whilst parking up.  Watta mistakea to makea

Bottle kiln - not many left

Parked up while I went to the station.  Chaps & Chappess in reflective kit  at left were IWA Volunteers on a litter pick

Two more bottle kilns hiding behind a modern building.  Can see why they are called bottle kilns!