A day of two halves…

Unlike the last couple of days that took an hour or two to warm up after a chilly night, today was hot at 8 o’clock!

We left it till 10 to get going. expecting to meet boats coming up the five locks between Gailey and Penkridge, and we did, at two of them anyway.

The first one today, Brick Kiln Lock, and already we’re queueing!

Mags waiting for me to fill Rodbaston Lock.

We met a boat at Rodbaston Lock so I was able to leave the bottom gates open, then there’s the half-mile straight alongside the M6 to Otherton Lock.

Two-thirds of the way along the canal passes under Littleton Colliery Railway Bridge.
The colliery was over to the east, and the bridge carried a branch line servicing the site. It was the last deep mine on the Cannock Chase coalfield, the main shaft sinking to a depth of 1,622 feet and producing around 1,000,000 tons of coal a year. In it’s heyday it employed 1,900 miners, but in 1993 it went the way of the rest of the industry, closing with a loss of 800 jobs.

Otherton Lock marked the end of the straight, and the start of a fishing match. And what a match it was!
The long line of anglers stretched from below the lock, past Otherton Boat Haven, and to Cross Keys bridge, 83a. They’ve got to stop here, surely?
But no, the match continued, up to Filance Lock, then along the towpath opposite Tom’s Moorings. Apparently they’re still all along the towpath to Longford Lock!
I don’t have a problem which anglers, everyone to their own, but it’s a bit beyond the pale when they occupy a half-mile of posted, popular moorings.

There was a Seyella-sized space between the stern of one boat and one chap’s tackle, so, much to his dismay, I pulled in there. Then followed a slightly heated discussion regarding rights. I did point out to him that the sign he’d set up next to states “48 Hour Visitor Moorings”, with no mention of fishing, But he replied that the club had got permission from CRT to hold the competition, and these were the waters they’d got permits for.
Anyway, I retired inside for a brew, leaving him muttering about how much he pays to fish the canal and how I’d spoiled his day. I checked the relevant bit of CRT’s website – https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/fishing/places-to-fish/waterway-wanderers-scheme and it states

• No fishing between boats on permanent moorings or at visitor moorings where signed
• Where visitor moorings are not signed as to whether fishing is permitted, it's is assumed, during the boating season, that mooring boats have priority, at other times access is on a first come first served basis.

Well, these are signed visitor moorings, and we’re certainly in the boating season!
I called up CRT to get some clarity on the situation, and am waiting to hear from Carl, the Fisheries Manager.
Meanwhile they’ll all be packing up at 4 o’clock, we’ll be staying overnight and maybe tomorrow too before heading out of the village.

Mags hasn’t been too well this afternoon, I think she’s had too much sun. I’m heading up to the market here tomorrow to see if I can find her one of those floppy straw sun-hats.

Locks 5, miles 2½, irate anglers 1.