I have had either none or poor phone signals for the last two days. Often we moor in a cutting or other secluded spot. So the last couple of days posts are below in retrospect.
Saturday
Today we broke the sound barrier, figuratively speaking of course. We are now ahead of the plan. We use Nick Atty's web based canal planner when organising trips, and this will calculate time and divide the route up into day sized chunks. What it cannot do, of course is deal with issues like lock keepers lunch breaks, closures due to flood conditions, tides and bridge keepers working hours, so it is essential to have some time in hand for these eventualities. That is why starting a bit later than plan and getting involved in a stoppage was critical. Now we are ahead of plan and can relax a bit.
Today we left Braunston at the normal sort of time of 6:50 and having traversed the old Oxford section of the Grand Union, turned right at Napton Junction for Warwick. At the three Calcutt Locks we met up with Roger and Jean on Adajio, established boaters trying life afloat for the first time. Together we had an easy, slick and pleasant descent of the 10 Stockton Locks, but with no timetable to drive them we left Adajio at Itchington where Roger & Jean stopped for a leisurely lunch. A lot of opposite direction traffic made our passage to Leamington Spa easy. We took on more provisions there. Leamington Spa is a convenient stop with nearby station, supermarket and seemingly plenty of curry houses, but it has a miserable down market air about it, from the canal at least. The moorings are good, and we have spent a night there without problems in the past, it could just do with a bit of a make over to make it more enticing.
Moving on again we now ran into the hire boat changeover time and at Cape Locks met up with what appeared to be a party boat, and what turned out to be a hire boat hosting a party for 21st birthday and end of simester university exams.... Great fun, but a little chaotic - and there opposite the Cape of Good Hope pub, next to the water point was our mooring! On return from the pub a hotel boat pair has moored up behind us and attached their water hose, presumably for the night.
Tomorrow, Hatton!
Sunday
We left our moorings at the Cape at 6:20 and started up Hatton on our own at 6:40. We only passed a pair of breasted up working boats two thirds of the way up and a further three boats at the last three locks, arriving at the top at 9:55. We carried on to Lapworth Junction where we joined a stream of boats going in the Stratford direction as well as passing up-coming boats at virtually every lock at the Lapworth flight. Although there had been initial sunny spells up the Hatton Flight, the weather was now chilly to say the least with a cold north breeze and thick cloud cover which stayed with us for most of the way hereafter. The narrow locks on the Stratford Canal are slow in comparison to the GU and rather utilitarian in construction. The Edstone Viaduct was much higher than I guessed from photographs I have seen and almost as scary as Pontcysyllte. We planned to stop near the top of the Wilmscote Flight and indeed found a good mooring just before the bridge. A nice welcome at the Mary of Arden pub in the village. Chilli and rice for supper.
Monday 13th June
We thought we would get up early and try and get a clear run at the Wilmcote flight down into Stratford. This worked beautifully of course and it was only on the last four locks which lead down to Bancroft Basin that we came across opposite direction traffic. The top two lock pounds were very low and the last two were also down about a foot. Nuggler was scraping the bottom even in the centre channel. This section needs some serious dredging. There are some moorings in the short section of the canal leading to the bridge under the road bordering the basin itself. We stopped there and I went to the Tourist Office to get a river licence and Pat went shopping. Once on the move again, we negotiated the low bridge and found Mel & Ivor Batchelor's pair moored up with diesel for sale (40p). 87.5 litres later (the first fill since we set out) we were ready to provide entertainment for the masses of gongoozlers on the bridge overlooking the big lock leading onto the river. This we did without too much embarrassment and pulled out onto the River Avon. I am impressed with the work of the Upper Avon Trust. The locks are big and largely made of steel with well engineered geared balanced paddle gear and what I love best, instructions to leave the gates open on exit. There are interpretation boards at each lock with a little local history of the restoration and the grass is tended and neat. There seems to be plenty of free moorings provided with steel rings running on tall steel posts to reduce risks from sudden flooding. What a pity we only have a few days to get to Sharpness. It would be worth spending more time here. So rather perhaps than making for Tewkesbury tomorrow, we will dally a while and make the rush of the past few days worthwhile. Tonight we stopped on a whim in Bidford, a little village with an ancient bridge over the Avon.