Wightwick

Sunday: It was raining again this morning.  A couple of fishermen walked by the boat with their massive luggage trolleys in tow reminding us that it was Sunday and that we might meet more along the way.  Sure enough, round the first corner a fishing competition was being staged.  Large umbrellas rose from the bank at regular intervals like a crop of large mushrooms.  Perhaps it was first thing with a new day of opportunity ahead, but even in the rain they were a cheerful lot.  And I mean lot.  Pat nipped up to the local shop at Swindon and bought the inevitable milk and newspaper, whilst I carried on alone for 10 minutes.  The Staffs & Worcs locks are a bit of a problem for the unmanned boat I find.  Usually one puts the bow up to the top gate, because that's where it will always end up.  However with these locks, no matter how careful you are with the paddles, the boat first runs back and then takes a running charge towards the top gate.  We lost a glass dish yesterday with this performance, so now I remain on the boat at the back of the lock and only get off near the end to help with closing one paddle to save Pat crossing the gate again.  At the Botterham Staircase pair with its massive bywash in the top offside wall for when one forgets to drain the bottom lock first, I got into a discussion with a boater about whether or not it is more efficient for boats to go down in sequence or alternately and now agree that it makes no difference.  A boat takes a lockful of water with it on its journey however you look at it.   The three Bratch locks were almost clear, with one boat on the way down, so no delay there.  By now the sun was appearing and the sharp showers less frequent. We reached Whitwick at 13:50 and decided to call it a day, since good mooring opportunities do not present themselves for a while.