Stratford
It had rained heavily overnight and was continuing this morning. So it would be the blue deck shoes (that stain my feet blue) and the Gortex coat with hood. I got the bike ready for the Wilmcote flight. On a lock flight single handed, without the luxury of crew going forward, it makes life much easier to be able to go straight from one lock to the next. So I use the bike. Once in the lock (going down) I extract the bike from the front well deck, and prepare locks according to lock +2: wind one top paddle. Lock +1 open the gate. Lock –1 : close bottom gate, then replace bike, drop the lock and shoot straight from one to the next. Then start all over again. If the locks are really close then I leave the bike out, but this means one walk. Doing this I found the first two bottom gates closed themselves which made getting the boat out of the lock difficult as the gate wouldn't stay open long enough for me to get on the boat and drive it out. So I had to use the rope to get the boat moving, then rush to open the gate before the boat hit it, then wait until the boat had jammed the gate open. Nearing the bottom of the flight I waited for an upcoming which helped. The rain had stopped. The bottom pound was very low. Apparently a piece of galvanised iron had jammed a paddle open overnight. One of the boats below was aground and the skipper asked if I could help with a pull from the waterside so as to speak. Thus I met Peter of nb Tardebigge, Sheila and Norma who followed me down into Stratford and very helpfully closing gates as I went. At the first bridge hole the boat was scraping the bottom and almost stopped, so I leapt off and helped the boat through. Tardebigge following got totally stuck on the bottom. Finding the nearby next lock empty I debated whether or not to fill it. I decided in favour of doing so hoping that it might help draw them through. They did appear shortly after.
Turning into Bancroft Basin is such a contrast. From the solitude of the canal one suddenly encounters hundreds of tourists, the colourful basin itself, street performers rousing the crowds and the beautiful gardens with the River Avon backdrop and the Shakespeare Theatre all make for a special scene. Us boaters also provide a bit of the action. We found good moorings on the pontoons. Off now to buy my 14 day Avon Licence (£44) and maybe an ice cream.
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