Swanley Sunday 6 July 2019

Day : Saturday
Date : 6 July 2019
Start : 1120 hrs
Finish : 1800 hrs https://what3words.com/expressed.risks.folk

What a strange 24 hours, we went to bed and it was so hot we had the side doors and the slide open, then this morning we woke when the rain started so shut everywhere up, it rained all morning then after lunch was cool and now at 6 o'clock its warm and sunny again.

Last night we ate at The Shady Oak, the new management are boaters and very friendly, service is good as is the decor and the food is good pub grub but they finish serving food at 2030hrs. They even have 48 hr moorings in front of the pub.

We didn't set off until almost lunch time hoping the rain would have stopped but it continued until lunch time. We had a good run with the locks meeting a total of 8 boats so didn't turn any.

We were warned water levels were low above Tilstock Lock but it wasn't too bad. The concrete piling has collapsed above the lock for quite some distance and the river is not far away so lets hope its repaired before it becomes serious.

I heard bit of a strange sound in the sky and looking back just spotted this gyrocopter crossing in the distance.

We stopped for lunch just below Calveley Service and while we were there we washed one side of the boat. a quick stop at the services to dump stuff and then we headed for Hurleston Junction to have a couple of days on the Llangollen Canal. I knew Hurleston Locks were on restricted opening hours, but I didn't know what they were so I was very pleased to find them still open when we arrived. We were the last boat up and a boat we crossed with coming down was the last one to leave the Llangollen tonight. it was dead on 5 pm when we both left the last lock. We carried on up the Llangollen for an hour stopping to top up with water on the way and in that time we met 4 boats who were too late for the locks.

Today's Journey

8¾ Miles 10 Locks in 5 hours