Macc slept through until after 6.30 this morning, which was good. When I took him out after he’d had his breakfast, there was a spectacular red sky — although as we know, this is a boater’s warning.
Macc wasn’t impressed by the sky, but he did enjoy having a walk back down the towpath which was virtually all off the lead. We set off about 8.45, with a good half-hour run through Acton Trussell before the first lock. At one point I spotted a plastic leg floating in the canal; as we passed the permanent moorings, I think I may have an idea where it came from.
The little church just outside Acton Trussell always looks a bit out of place, as the village is all modern housing and a big hotel.
Shutt Hill Lock has a very odd approach under a road bridge. You can’t actually see the lock from the lock landing, or the waiting boat from the lock. It was half full, so needed a quick set.
At Park Gate Lock there was a boat setting the lock to come down. It was taking a while as the footboard on the top gate is only hanging on by one bracket so can’t be walked on. The lady was complaining that it’s been like it since August and should be a quick fix. I said I didn’t think it would be a quick fix because the brackets are under the water; they’d surely have to put stop planks in and drain the area above the gate to be able to get to it. When the boat came in, they hit almost everything, so it’s not surprising things get broken. Once we were up the lock, we passed under the M6.
A boat had just come down Longford Lock, but another was also just about to come down. It was a single hander, so I worked the lock for him, which he appreciated. It’s another deep one.
Penkridge Lock was half full so needed setting before we could come up. We’d hoped to fill with water here, but there was a boat already on the services and another milling about waiting for them. We’ll use the tap at Gailey instead when we get there. This is the lock that was closed for ages earlier in the year because of a collapsed culvert. There were a few new-looking bricks in one corner of the area, but I later went to look at the road (which was also closed) to see if it was obvious where work had been done — but it wasn’t. CRT put news bottom gates on Filance Lock during the closure, so that’s much better. I walked ahead to set the lock, while Adrian battled the increasingly strong wind. We aimed to moor above the lock, and found the moorings completely empty. We’ve used one of the very infrequent rings for the bow, and a chain at the stern because the piling here is very loose and a hook would almost certainly move and probably get stuck.
After lunch and taking Macc for a walk, I went into town to the Country Store, where they have very well-priced oil. It’s just over £28 for a five litre bottle here, compared with £34 at the chandlery back at Park Gate Lock. The guy on the till told me they undercut Morris Oils themselves, as they buy and sell such a lot. I don’t need to do an oil change quite yet, but I’ll do one before we settle down for the winter, so the engine sits with clean oil in it. Once I was back, Adrian walked to the big Co-op for a few bits of fresh veg. It began to drizzle while he was out, and there’s meant to be more rain tonight, but hopefully clear by the morning. Over the past couple of days there have been CRT stoppage updates. Napton Locks on the South Oxford are going to be opening two days a week, but the closed section the other side of the summit still appears to be closed; and there are new restrictions on the Marsworth Summit of the GU, so it’s just as well we’re well away from there.
When Adrian came back from shopping, there was a work boat on the back of a lorry in the pub car park. Later a huge crane arrived to lift it into the water. There was quite a crowd of people, both at the pub and on the bridge, including a load of kids on their way home. There were chants (from the children) of ‘Drop it! Drop it!’ — and then when it went into the water gently without a splash, one of them declared the whole thing ‘boring!’
5 miles, 5 locks. (288 miles, 187 locks)