Pottering along to Polesworth

I was just finishing off on my laptop at about 10 to 9 last night when I heard the putter of a diesel engine approaching. My first thought was that it must be a hire boat, behind schedule, to be moving at this time of night.
But I was wrong. It was Andrew Denny on NB Granny Buttons, heading towards Fradley. He does keep odd times!

We were away at 09:00 this morning. It was a grey start to the day, and just a bit damp around noon. But there were also bright spells as the sun showed it’s face.

We were overtaken by 2 boats in the first couple of miles. People with urgent business elsewhere, I guess.

Continuous Cruisers Moorers mooorings at the Plough Inn, Huddlesford.

The lock keepers house at the junction is now the headquarters of the Lichfield Cruising Club…
….who use the remaining stub of the Wryley and Essington Canal for moorings.

The derelict near Whittington seems to have sunk further into the mud since the winter.

A steady cruise took us through the farmland around the village, through Hopwas Wood and the village, and on to Peels Wharf.

Delightful Hopwas Wood. A pity it’s a firing range….

Waiting to get onto the wharf at Peels Wharf.
Having filled the water tank yesterday it was just a case of emptying a loo, then we were on the move again, around the corner and straight across the junction carrying the canal to Birmingham.

Fazeley Junction and Fazeley Mill
We went straight on, into Tamworth, narrowly avoiding a close encounter with a pair of workboats at Bridge 76.
Glascote Locks was the next landmark (watermark??).




Just 2 locks, next to Steve Hudson’s boatbuilding at Glascote Wharf. Meg found a ball near the locks...



In Glascote Locks
Glascote Basin.

Hudson’s have a well deserved reputation for quality boats, with fine lines and classy interiors.

The last couple of miles to Polesworth were uneventful, apart from sharing the bridge ’ole at the pipe bridge near Alvecote with a hire boat. We both got through, with an inch or 2 to spare..

We pulled over on the Polesworth village moorings. The one boat that was here when we arrived left almost immediately. Nothing I said, I hope.

Polesworth Moorings.
It was handy, him going. TV reception is very poor here, with a high bank to the right where you need to point the aerial. You need to be near the end of the moorings to be clear of the bushes on the left to use the satellite dish.

There’re another 5 boats here now. But we’ve got the best spot for TV.

So today we’ve had a long mainly dry day, to make up for a short wet one yesterday. It's been warmer today, as well. No longer T shirt weather, it's back to boots and jackets. But I'm still persevering with the shorts!

Locks 2, miles 12½