Hawkesbury Junction

Bright and even sunny this morning.  Anxious to try and crack the Atherstone Flight before it gets too busy we left Polesworth at 7:10 am.   We needn't have bothered.  At the first bit of straight we saw the tail of a boat disappearing round the corner ahead.  As we approached the bottom lock another boat was loosening mooring ropes.  Pat has never taken the boat into a lock before, but with her painful wrist we thought this the best option.  I would lock wheel and do the locky bits for her while she stayed on the boat.   She was very nervous, mostly I think out of fear of making a fool of herself.  Her fears were unjustified.  Every entrance to the locks was a greaser (aeronautical term for a very smooth landing).  Our revised team made very good progress only hampered by one idiot who seeing boats coming, expedited a departure off moorings above the second lock up, jumped the queue and cut up a boat coming down through a bridge hole in the process.  There were of course the inevitable opposite direction boats as well. Using the bike was a great help as it was possible to set the next lock, then nip back to see Pat out and shut the gates from the lock below, lift a paddle for those behind and still be at the next lock before her.  So we reached the top at around 11:20 where we took the local waters and Pat nipped off to the nearby stores.  Resuming our journey we caught up with a boat in front exactly at Hawkesbury Junction at around 16:20, then had to follow through the stop lock.  For a change there were moorings on the bend.   No sooner were we inside the boat when the rains set in.