Now there’s a surprise…

Although it shouldn’t have been. For the last few nights we had sub-zero temperatures. Last night was –4.5°…
Crispy!

Meg and I had a walk down to Alrewas Lock to have a look at the river levels.

Down to just on the Green Zone now

We met Maffi and Milly at the lock, and the dogs had a fine time chasing each other about. Until a few days ago they’d only met briefly, now they look like old friends. Such is the way with boat dogs; they meet so many people and dogs that they’re generally socially well balanced.
Unlike some of the boaters…

Milly and Meg

More waggy tails further up the towpath
That’s Maffi, in amongst it all.

Tomorrow it’s forecast to rain, so we’d decided to head off downhill to Barton this morning. At 11:00 I untied and had a bit of a job getting away from the back. It’s surprising how unyielding 3mm of ice can be.

As I passed NB Milly M Maffi popped out and took my windlass to drop us down Bagnall Lock. Cheers Maffi!

Bagnall Lock, Maffi is on the right

We collected Meg at the next bridge, and said goodbye to Maffi. He’s turning around here after having a look at the village, then heading up on to the Macclesfield Canal. Enjoy the trip!

Alrewas Lock was full, with a ground paddle half–raised, so I quickly dropped down onto the river.
The two grumpy-looking fishermen below the lock surprised me by shutting the gates. Just goes to show…

On the river looking back at Alrewas Lock

There was a bit of flow on the river, after all there’s still a lot of water sitting in the fields along the Trent valley, but not enough to be difficult.

Wychnor Church and the river moorings opposite

At Wychnor Lock we return to the canal, running alongside the busy A38 all the way to Barton.

Wychnor Lock

We pulled up just short of the entrance to Barton Marina, and Meg and I took a walk down to Barton Lock. Repair work was due to start here last Monday, and although there had been no amendment to the stoppage, could the flood waters have postponed the work for a week?

No chance!

Ah well, it’s definitely Plan B, then. Into Barton Marina for a couple of weeks until the locks reopen, then on our way to Mercia at Willington.

Mags is still doing well, behaving herself as far as boat handling is concerned (she’s not doing any!) and progressing with the dexterity in her left hand. She does get tired easily, but that’s a common result of a stroke, and may be an issue long after everything else returns to normal. We’ll have to see.
 
Locks 3, miles 3