22nd June 2011 - Now Where Do We Go?

Answers on a postcard please? Since the change of plan to head for Stratford, I've not fully thought as to where we go from here! Ok, up the South Stratford canal to Kingswood junction is the obvious move, but that's a crossroads (or is it a crosscanals?) I suppose we head south as the other two routes end up in Birmingham which will involve 20 million locks!

Before we go anywhere, I've found out where all the boats are! They are in, or heading for Stratford!!

So, up towards Kingswood junction we go, off at Timmy time of 0730, through the lock into the canal basin with a few boaters just beginning to stir! And back onto the narrow canals, my first narrow lock for 10 days or so! I soon get the hang of bashing into them, they have some awkward weirs right at the mouth of the lock, no chance!! Weather today is very cloudy and we keep getting very short bursts of drizzle, but nothing to cause us to run for cover, the sun also keeps appearing so its on and off with the hat continuously!

We seemed to have timed our getaway from Stratford to perfection (experience or what?) quite a few boats coming down the many locks, with us at the front of the up queue! Plenty of help, just what we need. And plenty of people to chat to. And the odd hire boat performing unexplained manoeuvres for our entertainment.

Items worthy of mention, an Anglo Welsh hire boat tied up on a lock landing (I hate people who tie up on lock landings) strangely I let them off when I saw they were Chinese. Someone else had left an old working boat on a lock landing (see comment above) I wanted to untie it and leave it in the trees! So I did nothing but moan about it. A couple of locks from the end of the day, I get caught by one of the weirs, quite a big bang and damage to the cratch cover which required Penny and myself to restitch one of the zips, to be fair the old stitching was rotten, looks like its off for more repairs at the end of the trip. Eventually we give up, 25 locks is enough for the day and we tie up at Lowsonford, effect cratch repairs and purchase a replacement windlass from the passing chandlery boat, yes, we left one behind somewhere on the Avon, it's usually me dropping one (a windlass) over the side, but it was a bargain at £12, they are normally £20!

Some shots of the South Stratford Canal:

A typical Bridge:

The Edstone Aquaduct:

So, to rest and a Timmy special thai curry for dinner - yum!

Today:   11 miles -   25 locks -  8.5 hours
So Far: 211 miles - 169 locks - 105 hours