If you moor between Autherley Junction and Aldersley Junction take care stepping onto the towpath as the electric bikes wiz along there. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was the bark of a fox.
This morning we were away early for us, just after 8-30 as I didn’t want to be the second boat up the flight and it worked well. All the locks were with us until lock 15 where the top gate was open, after I left 15 Diana walked to 14 to find a boat about to come down in 13, so they had probably set well ahead. We had bit of a wait as the chap was bow hauling the boat down the locks, saying his gearbox was stolen while moored at Tipton, once he left lock 14 we went in, by now there was another boat coming down in 13 and a third boat behind that. From there on we didn’t meet any more boats in the flight but we did have a boat coming up behind us. All the rest of the locks were with us except the top lock which has this useful notice on the beam.
It took us exactly 3 hours to clear the flight. Had we been the second boat up it would have been longer, turning every lock before we could entre.
Something I didn’t expect was to see two Kingfishers in the flight as well as some good sized fish.
Whenever we come up this flight I often wonder what is behind this big metal fence that is causing it to bulge out at the bottom near the lock ladder. One day will the bottom give way and spew what ever is there into the lock?
After leaving the lock we just nosed into the basin to dump rubbish before continuing towards Tipton, leaving Coseley Tunnel we caught up with 4 canoes made up into 2 catamarans for stability, each contained 2 adults and 4 kids with disabilities, they all seemed to be having a good time with the odd splash here and there. At Factory Junction we turned right along the Old Main line, passed the old stables to moor for the night on John the Lock Moorings in front of the health centre.
Todays Journey
8 miles, 21 locks in 5¼ hours
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