Wightwick

Woke to a lovely sunny morning but at 7AM the weather station indicated it was a little under 4° C. outside, tonight the stove is alight..
 Just as we were untying to boat ahead set off so we would have the locks against us. He did apologise when we met at the lock for pulling away in front , but it wasn't his fault, he was moored some distance from us and probably didn't see us getting ready.
I thought I would try one of my artistic photos at the lock tail bridge where over the years the lines have worn away the steel. I was also very impressed with this offside garden, they must spend a lot of time on it to keep it all neat like that.As we approached Botterham staircase lock the boat ahead was still waiting to enter as they had met a boat coming down. The derelict house at the bottom of the locks has been completely gutted and being fully refurbished.  
I have found a photograph of what it was like in 2017 when we passed, a few less dormers for a start.  

Some time a go a boat sank in the bottom chamber of Botterham lock and the last time we came down the water was like a power hose coming through the intermediate gates.

May 2021 leaking gates

It  looks as if CRT have fixed some rubber sheeting to the faces of the gate to reduce the water flow between them.
We stopped for a bit at Wombourne bridge for a visit to Sainsburys to top up supplies as its the most convenient place for the next few days. I love some of the names you come across on the canals, today we have had Giggetty Wharf and Bumblehole Bridge.Then it was on to the famous Bratch Locks, this is a set of 3 locks that at first appear to be a staircase but are in fact 3 separate locks with remote pounds between them with only a few feet between the top and bottom gates of each lock.
There was quite a bit of water coming out of the bywash below the flight which pushed my bow to the off side so I had to give it quite a bit of power to get back on line, this didn't impress the row of fishermen sitting on the offside bank, below the lock on the bend .By now there were several dark clouds about and I could see heavy rain falling to the North East of us, but thankfully we stayed dry today.
Lots of people on several Facebook groups have warned of the dangers of drinking water straight from the water tank and suggesting filters or bottled water, after seeing this chap that may be good advice.

We carried on meeting the second boat of the day right in a bridge hole, we both stopped and gave way finally mooring  just below Wightwick Lock for the night, not the quietest of moorings with a road running parallel to the canal on both sides and a road bridge across the canal just ahead of us, but as we plan to visit Wightwick hall tomorrow its the most convenient place to stop.

Today's Journey 6 miles, 11 locks in 5 hours