Sunday, March 30, 2008

Yesterday we decided to move back down the locks to Shireoaks. The forecast told us it would be fine through the morning, with rain moving in later.

Ready to go from near Thorpe Bridge
We arrived at the top treble staircase at 10:30, and had a steady run down, stopping for a bite and a brew just after halfway.

Into Top Treble Lock. Same shot as last time, but facing the other way.

Going down, there’s not much clearance under the bridge. We had to remove the chimney and still only just got through.
Between Locks 32 and 33 there are a pair of swans nesting.


As usual, the cob is fiercely protective of his mate. He decided that this invader into his territory was up to no good, so was determined to see it off.




As we moved on down the next lock, he honked in triumph. I bet he went back and said to the wife “You should have seen the size of him, but he was no match for me!”.







The rain arrived at about 13:00, and was pretty continuous for the rest of the afternoon. We cleared Boundary lock at 14:30, and were moored up back in Shireoaks Marina by 3.
It took a little longer with just the 2 of us, but we soon got into a routine.

Boundary Lock. This is numbered 41a, and was added during the restoration to accommodate mining subsidence. That’s why it’s only about 2 feet deep.
Today has been a beautiful day, warm and sunny. I took the opportunity to repair a couple of scrapes on the paintwork, swapped some ropes about and washed the bankside of the boat.
It’s a good job I picked up a paper this morning else I don’t know how long we’d have stayed on GMT! Does this mean summer’s here?

Locks 23, miles 4 (yesterday).

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