Steaming to Coventry

We've been seeing a lot of steam narrowboats recently. They're probably all on their way to a rally at Coventry next weekend. This is Tixall ...

... and here is Pilot. This boat wasn't in steam, which was hardly surprising as I believe this is a diesel-engined replica.

After turning left onto the Trent and Mersey Canal at Fradley Junction we went up the three locks and didn't stop until Rugeley. On the way we saw canalside rhododendrons.

It was on this stretch that I saw a kingfisher, only the second of the spring/summer. We're looking forward to seeing many more on the Shroppie when we travel that canal later. We had our best ever sightings of kingfishers there last year.

We were tied up by 1600; good timing as the rain came soon afterwards as we were walking to investigate Rugeley's Charter Fair. It stopped long enough for me to do a not-very-successful barbecue. That £10 Tesco bucket BBQ just doesn't work properly.