On a day out boating from Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey Canal near Stafford, you can reach the historic market town of Rugeley. The journey travels four miles, passes through two locks and takes around two hours.
Along the way, you’ll pass the National Trust’s Shugborough Estate and Cannock Chase Forest, a designated Area of Outstanding Beauty. Once at Rugeley, you can moor up to explore the town or turn at bridge 68 and head back to Wolseley to visit the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust’s Wolseley Centre or lunch at the canalside Wolseley Arms pub.
Alternatively, you can head north along the Trent & Mersey Canal, cruising through the Staffordshire countryside and the village of Weston-on-Trent. There’s a choice of pubs to visit, including the Saracens Head at Weston.
