Take Five: Wilmcote

A bright sunny morning (it was a changeable day but generally pleasantly warm and frequently sunny) - here is what the church we saw floodlit last night looks like in the day time!

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford

The plan was to move up to the water point near the chain ferry, fill up the tank, then find a spot to moor close to the bridges whilst we went shopping. Well, we did the first part but estimates of space availability proved rather optimistic and we ended up turning around and going back almost to where we started! At least it was entertaining for the onlookers!

Pedestrian Chain Ferry

After a suggestion from another boater we opted to take the pedestrian chain ferry across to the town centre. It was not far to the main shops but we really only wanted a paper shop and Sainsbury for a top up of our stores. Christine also visited M&S to replace a broken cafetiere.

Gongoozlers at Barge Lock

Back at the boat and, armed with a mug of coffee we set of to make our encounter with the gongoozlers at the Barge Lock which controls the entrance into the basin. There were indeed plenty of people to watch and several youngsters happy to give Christine a hand to work the gates.

We then began the long ascent towards Wootton Wawen where we hoped to be tonight. The locks on this canal have single bottom gates but also many of the gates are out of balance and open (or close) when not looking! This often entails a quick sprint from one end of the lock to the other to open a paddle whilst the gate is still sufficiently closed. We did not always make it first time!

Christine found a ladybird which much intrigued Jess!

Just above lock 52 we spotted a boatyard with diesel and, although we were not desperate, we took the chance to fill up again. This was also the elsan point and we stayed on the mooring long enough also to have our lunch (which we had started to prepare anyway). At least there was no alternative demand for the space!

Soon after we set off again, Jess settled down for an afternoon snooze and stayed that way all through the next flight of eleven locks.

The bridges here are almost as narrow as a lock entrance, which makes for interesting steering - especially when you meet another boat coming through on a blind bend!

The Wilmcote Locks are hard work and there were at least four boats on the way through one after another. Still, that meant that we did help each other a bit, especially useful with these gates that do not like staying put!

By the time we reached the top, Jess woke again and was by now thirsty and then hungry and made considerable inroads into the scones that mike and Christine were having for tea!

The next long pound includes the Edstone Aqueduct. This is quite spectacular to navigate but probably even more impressive from the ground below. It passes over both a road and the railway line into Stratford. It is made from a narrow iron channel, much the same as the Pontcysllte Viaduct near Llangollen. The sun was shiuning so we could watch our shadow cast on the field underneath.