It was again a very quiet mooring and the boats didn’t seem to be around that early this morning, they were strimming the edge of the lock moorings and where the mooring rings are as I was showering so I didn’t see them.
We set off a bit later at ten to eleven just as a boat was coming towards the other side of the bridge, so Diana raised the bridge for them almost catching a car, he stopped with his wheels on the hinge, I don’t know if the barrier would have cleared the back of his car, but the counter weight would creased his roof if Diana hadn’t stopped the operation. Flashing red lights mean nothing to some drivers, I am sure he only stopped because he saw the barrier falling in front of him on the far side, so getting him to back up delayed things a bit and then the other boat untied both ends and came through at snails pace, I think Diana said she had 10 cars waiting.
I noticed that the smart newish blocks of apartments now have flood barriers along all the ground floor windows, I think that would put me off having one.They stand about a foot above canal level so I am not sure how they flood other than rain building up on the brick paviours, surly better storm drains would be the answer. Does the water feature ever work?
I see nothing has been done with the old burnt out farm house, it must be ripe for replacing with a couple of semidetached properties and making a few bob.
We made a fifteen minute stop at bridge 20 for some goodies which I haven’t actually seen yet, but Diana’s bag looked quite full when she got back to the boat.
Someone has a task on their hands under the M42 motorway bridge, they make a good wet dock paint shed but the light is poor and you can only get to one side without cruising to the nearest winding hole.
We passed this cruiser and I am not sure if its two boats grafted together or what’s happening under the corrugated sheeting, the fibreglass hull doesn't quite seem to flow.
Our original plan was to moor above the top lock, but as we had met a couple of boats we decided to do the first four lock before mooring, on this bridge the change of profile has been highlighted with white paint and someone has taken the opportunity of drawing some plants on it.
After this its close locks all the way down nearly to Kingswood Junction.
Todays Journey
7¼ miles, 4 locks in 3½ hours
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