Bartimaeus

Yesterday started very cold after a clear night.  We still don't have any way of starting the heating on a timer so the cabin was a bit chilly inside.   I switched the heating on manually and the radiators started to warm the cabin.  Then the Kensa heat pump started beeping an alarm.  It was complaining that the "ground return" was too cold.  This is the fluid being pushed in to the under floor skin tank to be "warmed" by the canal - it was at less than 1°C, warming to 5 or 6°C.

I remembered that the cooling water from the generator is plumbed to provide some heat to the ground circuit, so I started the generator.  Before long the circuit was much warmer and the Kensa was not complaining - problem solved for now.  The intermittent running of the heating throughout the rest of the day caused no further problems.

The warning is intended to catch issues with the source circuit.  I was initially worried that there was a major problem, but I now think things are working much as they should.  I measured the canal surface temperature at 12°C, probably the coldest we've been in this year.  We have time to think further about it before the canal gets even colder.

With the heating running, we set off through the staircase lock.  I walked ahead to get the locks ready while Clare drove.  A boat was coming through the locks as we approached which was pretty good timing.  As Bartimaeus approached I saw that Clare had left the front doors open - letting precious heat out and risking letting canal water in at the bottom of a deep lock.  I hopped on and closed them while she waited for the other boat to pass.

As I waited for the water to level I was puzzled by the strange shape of the guard rails.  They were obviously intended to stop people falling over the edge, but significant effort had gone in to shaping them so that they overhung the water slightly.  It was only when I opened the middle gates that I realised why they were like that - to allow space for the gate arms.

We went through another lock and in to Hanley Park. We'd moored here before in warmer weather and found the park full of life.  Even on a cold day in October there were folk enjoying themselves.  We moored in the same place as last time.  While we were mooring up a young girl shouted with excitement to her family about seeing a boat.  We all waved to each other.

This morning the boat was slightly chilly again and Clare wanted hot water for a shower, so we started up the generator.  Once the batteries reach maximum voltage the generator is producing more power than the batteries can safely absorb.  The boat's systems automatically turn on the immersion heater to make use of some of it.  I also ran the heat pump set to heat the radiators to 65°C.  That made the cabin toasty for the whole day using energy that would otherwise be wasted.

In the morning sunshine we checked out the volunteer run cafe in the park.  We had coffee and Staffordshire oatcakes sitting outside.  They weren't quite up to the quality we got at the Wedgwood factory, but were a fifth of the price.

We wanted to get some miles done in the bright weather.  Clare hopped off just before the canal-side discount supermarket (other discount supermarkets are available) and took the short-cut we found yesterday.  I didn't have to wait long at the other side of the car park before she reappeared with fresh bread and a few other essentials.  We don't think the supermarket was there last time we came this way.  The bottle kilns are not new, but the shiny mooring rings there are.

Another sight that was new was an array of solar panels.  They aren't very pretty, but they beat the graffiti covered hoarding that was here last time we passed.

Neither of us remembered the key operated lift bridge, but we are pretty sure it isn't a recent addition.

The afternoon continued to be much sunnier than forecast.  We carried on in to less urban stretches of canal.  We met three boats, all on awkward bends.  The shape of the canal makes meeting on a bend almost inevitable, but we still managed to meet on the tightest ones.  Each time the other boat reversed out of our way and we were able to continue serenely by.

By late afternoon we reached the place where we turned back last time.  For the first time this year, Bartimaeus was on new water.  The Caldon Canal has been closed for most of the summer because of water shortages.  It suits our timings well to spend some time exploring now.

We were just within sight of Engine Lock when we heard and then saw a kingfisher.  It sat in a tree as we glided past, very close, but surprisingly hard to make out despite the vivid colours they are famous for.  We moored up within sight of its tree.

We walked up to the nearby village of Norton-le-Moors in the last of the sunshine.  From the road we could look down over the valley.  The river changes its name a mile or two back. Here it is called the Head of Trent and has a quite different character to the mighty River Trent we have navigated in previous years.