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Pictures --
Narrowboat Lock
Trusty lock crew -- Gillian, Michael, and Mike
Bags of cement in place to harden and improve the canal edge
Gillian in the kitchen (galley) -- not a lot of working space, but great food
Mile marker; I used it to gauge the lenth of my walk in the rain
After another full English breakfast (tomorrow cereal, I think) we headed off at 9:20. The weather was sunny and pleasant, and we quickly encountered locks. These are all single beam (narrow), and most are shallower than yesterday’s; the least rise (we’re still going up) was 3 feet.
Late morning we stopped at Burton Turn Marina, a large marina with a lot of boats moored, primarily traditional narrowboats. Recently built was a new complex with shops, a restaurant, pub, small grocery. I was able to buy some postcards of the canals but couldn’t mail those I’d written three days ago; no postbox. Proceeded on our way and went through the charming village of Alrewas looking at the beautiful gardens backing up to the canal and then stopped for lunch – leek and potato soup.
Moved through several more locks and stood with Mike at the tiller as we passed under a bridge with an unbelievably narrow opening. One can understand building locks only wide enough to accommodate the boats, but why a bridge opening should have the same dimensions is a question. Guess it keeps the captains in practice/on their toes. Mike pointed out the edge of the canal which looked to me like stone. It’s not. When repairs are needed, bags of concrete are piled together and left. The water seeps in, the concrete hardens, and eventually the bags dissolve. I thought the results looked good.
Shortly after I returned to the cabin, the rain began –first gentle, then coming down quite hard. That makes lock operation a little less fun. I supervised entirely from inside the cabin. We pulled into our night mooring at Fradley Junction a bit before 5 p.m. This is the junction of the Trent & Mersey Canal and the Coventry Canal. We’ll be continuing on the Trent & Mersey tomorrow.
I decided that, despite the rain, I had to get some exercise. Because Mike had pointed out the mile markers which appear, yes, every mile along the canals, I knew that if I went from marker to marker and returned, I’d have done a 2-mile walk, which I did. Wore my rain gear so stayed dry except for my feet; shoes were a bit damp by the time I returned. Decided to reward myself for the walk so stopped at The Swan, for a half pint of cider. It is a 200-year-old listed building so, really, I was just indulging my interest in historical structures. Had a lovely time chatting with a local before returning the short distance to the Katie and dinner.
Transferred pictures, wrote this, and am ready to head for bed. It is, after all, past 10 p.m.
Late morning we stopped at Burton Turn Marina, a large marina with a lot of boats moored, primarily traditional narrowboats. Recently built was a new complex with shops, a restaurant, pub, small grocery. I was able to buy some postcards of the canals but couldn’t mail those I’d written three days ago; no postbox. Proceeded on our way and went through the charming village of Alrewas looking at the beautiful gardens backing up to the canal and then stopped for lunch – leek and potato soup.
Moved through several more locks and stood with Mike at the tiller as we passed under a bridge with an unbelievably narrow opening. One can understand building locks only wide enough to accommodate the boats, but why a bridge opening should have the same dimensions is a question. Guess it keeps the captains in practice/on their toes. Mike pointed out the edge of the canal which looked to me like stone. It’s not. When repairs are needed, bags of concrete are piled together and left. The water seeps in, the concrete hardens, and eventually the bags dissolve. I thought the results looked good.
Shortly after I returned to the cabin, the rain began –first gentle, then coming down quite hard. That makes lock operation a little less fun. I supervised entirely from inside the cabin. We pulled into our night mooring at Fradley Junction a bit before 5 p.m. This is the junction of the Trent & Mersey Canal and the Coventry Canal. We’ll be continuing on the Trent & Mersey tomorrow.
I decided that, despite the rain, I had to get some exercise. Because Mike had pointed out the mile markers which appear, yes, every mile along the canals, I knew that if I went from marker to marker and returned, I’d have done a 2-mile walk, which I did. Wore my rain gear so stayed dry except for my feet; shoes were a bit damp by the time I returned. Decided to reward myself for the walk so stopped at The Swan, for a half pint of cider. It is a 200-year-old listed building so, really, I was just indulging my interest in historical structures. Had a lovely time chatting with a local before returning the short distance to the Katie and dinner.
Transferred pictures, wrote this, and am ready to head for bed. It is, after all, past 10 p.m.
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