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| Our boat on one of the water points at Wheaton Aston |
It was
a sunny wake up call and promised to grow hot so I walked Lottie to the nearby
lock to prepare it as the Captain started the engine. I was perplexed by a
luxury narrow boat moored by a sign proclaiming work boats only. CART normally
supply tugs and barges not shiny affairs with wide screen TVs.
As
there was a boat about to descend the lock the
Captain filled with water at one of the five well spaced water points. It was
just as well as the boat was steered by first time hirers so it took them ages
to
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| restored working boats |
1: get the boat pointed the
right way so it could enter the lock.
2: work out how to empty it.
After a while I politely
suggested they would descend quicker if they opened the second paddle as the
lock was leaky and filling as fast as they were emptying it. By the time they
were clear the Captain had finished filling and moved into the lock as another
boat came through the bridge the water.
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| Stretton Aqueduct |
The hire boat stopped for water
at the far point and started filling. From our view point on the lock above I
was puzzled by the second boat which swerved sharply and squeezed into the gap
between the posh working boat and the hire boat filling. They would then have
to wait until the boat had finished with the water point which can take 20
minutes or more.
We made the most of the dry warm weather and the peaceful surroundings as we
cruised up the junction.
At the stop lock two boats nosed the top gate at the junction with the Staffs and Worcester Canal. The narrow boat soon descended but waited
just below the lock while a tatty cruiser was pushed in.
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| Giffords Cross Bridge... |
By the
time the guy leaving the lock handed his rope to the narrow boat I had worked
out that his engine didn’t work and that he was being towed.
While
they sorted themselves out I turned the lock round and the Captain took
our boat down.
The
two boats took ages to turn onto the main line as the cruiser wouldn’t turn. As
we left they had just negotiated the corner and a hire boat arrived to follow
us down the lock. We turned onto the Staffs and Worcester Canal and immediately
moored for lunch near the outskirts of Wolverhampton, knowing there was nowhere
to stop for a while.
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| with iron protectors scarred by ropes from horse towed boats |
The towed
boat had just inched out of sight when the hire boat swung out of the junction
and passed us.
“They’ll
go a lot slower following those two down that narrow cutting,” the Captain murmured.
After
a leisurely lunch we moved off. It was pleasant cruising on the Staffs and Worcester
Canal. The narrow section was completed easily as we didn’t meet anyone.
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| Avenue Bridge |
However
we saw lots of walkers following walking challenge signs. It was an out
and back route along the canal.
Just
as we reached the hair pin bend where the walkers turned back towards
Wolverhampton I heard a teenage girl complain to her friends, “ never again.”
Her
friend replied, “I thought it was a four mile walk not a twelve mile one, Dad
conned me.”
I gave
Lottie a long walk before we reached the chemical factory. We passed the hire
boat we have been locking with in a remote stretch.
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| Old crane at Wolverhampton Boat Club |
Speaking of thunder, we had only been moored
up a few minutes when it started to rain. The hire boat following us carried on
down the lock. Soon the rain grew heavier; thunder rumbled and lightening
flashed. Our hound slid off the sofa and trembled on the floor. As the storm
grew nearer she retreated to the bathroom where she only goes in a storm.
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| Gailey Top Lock |
A boat
came up the lock in the down pour and moored up as lightening flashed. I’m glad
to have got inside before that struck and surely the hound is too. It took her
ages to stop shaking.
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