Set off at 9 30 am to a dull morning, much cooler than of late. A couple of boats had come by from the direction we were heading but nothing from behind. This was a lock free morning and it wasn’t long before we were passing the chemical works, just passed it look to be a refuse treatment centre with a partly turfed roof.
The junction at Hatherton Marina is the entrance to the abandon Hatherton Canal, but there are plans to restore this this. The first two locks are still in place and I think are used as a dry dock.
Just beyond the junction what looks like a culvert has a very ornate wall.
About a mile before the Fox and Anchor we passed this section of hard edging that has some metal insets for some reason, I don’t know if anyone knows what they are for.
We stopped at the Fox and Anchor pub to crew change the younger grandson for the older one ready for the next couple of days. After the handover in the pub with there mum we were off again on the long lock free summit.
The M54 is undergoing major works and here they are widening both sides of the bridge, A few years ago they would have closed the canal to do this.
It was then that son No.1 took the controls and was quite a bit 
better than last time he tried, maybe it is due to standing higher using the same stool that I made for his younger brother.
It wasn’t long before we reached the narrows just before Autherley Junction, where he handed control back to me.
Luckily we didn’t meet anything in the narrows and traffic only picked up when we reached Compton Lock. Here I had to contact CaRT once more as the top paddle was part way up and couldn’t be lowered, although there was water coming it, it was still possible to operate the lock and push the bottom gates open.
Limekiln Chandlery use to be just below the lock and was a good source of cheap diesel but not only have they left but the building has been demolished as well.
We decided to moor for the night just above Wightwick Lock and as the weather had improved during the afternoon we had another BBQ. It was at this point I discovered 10 gallons of water in what is commonly know as the gas locker, in our case its just a storage area. This meant that the spare sack of charcoal is soaked as well as spare ropes, so now everything is piled on the roof while it dries out.
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