Stratford making a comeback

You know how I was saying that Bugsworth as the autumn destination was coming up on the rails? Well, the thing is that I’ve really been badly bitten by the BCN bug and while the ‘big trip’ is pencilled in for next June, I would dearly love to get a taster in this year too. So the Stratford option might be putting in a late spurt, especially if we do the main line/N Stratford on the outward leg and Kingswood/Camp Hill/Garrison/Farmer’s Bridge on the homeward leg. That means plenty of new territory plus, if we get time, we could exit via Stourbridge rather than retracing our steps down the 21. The only snag is it would probably require a ‘working week’ either side of the fortnight to complete the Nantwich-Brewood section, where we need to give the impression that we are actually still working while also shuffling the boat along. Not impossible but the best laid plans and all that.

I’ve found some excellent photo libraries from NB Slipstream here to get me in the mood. I wonder if the top end of the North Stratford has improved since our last passage seven years ago – a more unedifying sight I can barely remember. It was, quite frankly, a shit heap and you could quite clearly see that the cut for many was purely an extension of their own back garden shit heaps. It still stands out in my mind as the worst place I have ever been on the system for crud – and by quite some margin. One can but hope that they have since cleaned up their act but I’m not holding my breath. Oh and it will be great to renew acquaintance with those main line toll islands – which side shall we go? This side? The other side? Okay, this side and...oh bugger, Susie’s jumped ship and is sniffing up ghosts and White Lightning cans. Note to self: keep hold of dog when going through narrow bits.