0 locks, 408 in total. I still didn't see the meteor shower - I've lost count of the number of years I've tried. The smallholding opposite last night's mooring had more animals than I thought – pigs, sheep, 2 cows, chickens and 2 llamas/alpacas. The owners live on a couple of narrowboats moored alongside – ideal set-up. I went to the Wolseley Centre this morning, a conservation project run by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. They have crammed the maximum number of habitats into this place and it was very pleasant to walk around. We waited for a boat to pass us before casting off – big mistake as I don't think they went above tickover speed for over an hour. Apart from anything else, it makes steering that much more difficult but never mind. When we stopped ... read more

2 locks, 406 in total. We decided to go only a few miles along the Staffs & Worcs before turning around and mooring at Tixall Wide again tonight. For some reason everyone was on the move very early today – first boat passed us at 6 am – and by the time we reached the lock there were 5 boats already waiting. Then we were joined by a couple of day boats full of ladies celebrating a 40th birthday – they had no idea what they were doing but they were doing it very noisily – yes, I'm dissing the 'sisterhood' here! The chap from their boatyard who had to see them through the lock wasn't too happy either. A little road walk from one of the bridges took us to Milford Common, part of Cannock ... read more

2 locks, 401 in total. Visitors for a couple of hours this morning, hot-foot from their Orkney holiday as they returned to Dover – it was lovely to see Sarah, George and Sarah (and Mitch) and I enjoyed our little catch-up. Otherwise it was a very quiet day. We left Stone after taking on water and were almost immediately in wide open countryside for the rest of the day. The stiff following breeze made life a little less predictable but was not a problem. There are still plenty of boats on the move; it is peak time now of course and we're on the Four Counties Ring, a popular circuit for hirers. We met up with a boat we'd met previously at Stoke - they were returning to their marina, on our route this afternoon. We're ... read more

7 locks, 399 in total. I had a hot water bottle last night – it was very cold for August but the sun today has made up for it. Two groups of locks today – 4 at Meaford and we did only 3 of the ones at Stone. There was a lot of traffic both ways which meant waiting for our turn at the start but then whizzing through the locks on a one-out/one-in system which halved the work. Luckily we arrived at Stone by lunchtime as there are only about 8 visitor moorings and this is a popular place for stocking up on everything. There are also 2 boatyards, one of which has a chandlery with stock that caters for most contingencies. We hadn't been moored long when a boater travelling faster than he should ... read more

3 locks, 386 in total. We headed back in the rain to Etruria, junction of the Caldon and Trent & Mersey, stopping once to visit the Emma Bridgewater pottery, which either didn't have the full range or else had stopped making some items, although there were mugs galore. The canal was very winding and the wind gusting from many directions - not ideal conditions. We were both concentrating so hard at one point, watching the narrow bridge on a sharp bend when suddenly we saw the staircase lock ahead of us - we'd already passed the lock moorings by that time so John had to hold the boat by the lock gates whilst the lock slowly filled - oops. I wanted to visit the Etruria Industrial Museum on its large, well landscaped site but it seems ... read more