Every year, we see loads of wildlife, but the frequency one spots things seems to vary from year to year. One year – loads of Robins. This year – fewer Robins, but loads of Reed Buntings. Another year, hardly any Sparrows, this year loads.

But we still haven’t seen any Kingfishers this year, or Swifts, or House Martins: maybe the latter two are really late in arriving. It’s odd, because we’re already awash with Mallard chicks, and have already seen a few small Cygnets and Goslings, though not many so far.

Having left the delights of Rugeley, we pottered on for a while – this is quite a long section without locks – and eventually decided to moor up for the night at Wolseley Bridge. A pleasant spot with views towards Cannock Chase, even if the first time we moored here back in 2005, we had a hard frost overnight!

Just up the road about 500 yards are a decent Vintage Inns pub/restaurant, a highly regarded Indian, a Garden Centre with a cafe, and the HQ of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust complete with a small reserve.

We’d never investigated either the Indian or the Wildlife Reserve, and the cook was hors de combat, and decided that a restorative curry was in order.

The curry was excellent. But the restaurant had some licensing issues, so Kingfisher was off. So was Cobra. Or even a bottle of Rioja, which we find goes surprisingly well with a curry. One of those days, it would seem…