170 feet down, 7¼ miles along…

Well, it was always going to be a long day, but leaving at 08:30 and tying up again at 17:45 is an epic by our standards!

The Hatton locks themselves were a doddle, 2 hours 50 minutes from top to bottom even though every one was set against us.

Into Hatton Top Lock at half eight this morning.

A bit of a shock to the system for Mags. She only normally sees ONE eight-thirty in a day….the one after Coronation Street!

The towpath swaps sides at the BW maintenance yard.

As the slope levels out the locks become further apart.

Below Lock 37, nearly half way down.

We had a bit of a hold up just above the final lock of the flight. The locks have been closed for maintenance, and a workboat with attached push-tug had been tied up just above the lock. But not very well….

Obstruction

The reason for it being adrift was apparent when I went to secure it again. You can see from the picture above that the tug is tied to a post on the long fence….

But the workboat had been tied to a rail, and the nails holding it to the posts had pulled out.

Whoops.

I tied it up again, this time to one of the posts, and we could get past into the lock.

Dropping down the last lock.

George and Carol had arranged for a loo tank pump-out in the Saltisford Arm, so they went straight on, while we swung to the left following the main line.

R’n’R entering the Saltisford Arm.

We’ve just lit the stove…..

We pulled in just above the two Cape Locks to wait for them, and had soup and hot rolls ready when they arrived.

After all the earlier practice we were soon down these last locks after lunch, and pulled up below to fill the water tanks.

Between the two Cape Locks

While we were filling a couple of boats arrived to go up. The first was spanking new, with crew instruction going on. The second was a hire boat out of Kate Boats, just ¾ mile away.

It took a bit of organising to get them both in the lock. I hope they didn’t intend to go up Hatton today; at the rate they were going it’d take them till tomorrow!

Fannying about in Cape Bottom Lock

We’re still on the stretch of the GU that was improved in the 1930’s.

Dredging information cast in to the “new” copings.

Dredge to 4’6”, eh. Not much chance of that!

Unusual motor conversion on the steel butty “Dusk” at Delta Marine Services.

We made a quick shop-stop at the handy Tesco near Bridge 46, then shortly afterwards crossed the River Avon on an aqueduct.

Over the River Avon Aqueduct

This is if course the same Avon that runs through Stratford before joining the River Severn at Tewkesbury. There have been plans mooted to make the 12 miles of river from Stratford to Warwick navigable (again), but the project is unlikely to come to fruition. Local landowners and other riparian interests, apart from the cost of such a plan, are likely to stop it dead.

Signs of Spring..

A host….

And May blossom

Time to “cast a clout”, maybe?

Alpaca farm in Myton near Leamington Spa.

Cute, eh.

What does an alpaca wear in wet weather?

An Alpaca-mac! Groan!

We moored up after leaving the built-up area, near Redford Semele. Had a bit of trouble finding water that was deep enough, then I picked up something large and polyster-y on the prop which made steering difficult, but we got there in the end. Glad to put my feet up. Day off tomorrow.

Heth left a comment on yesterday’s post regarding the ceiling painting. They did the same (only different) on Takey Tezey some time ago. Seems like they had more fun than me, though….

Locks 23, miles 7¼