Actually, we ended up 100m onto the River Lee at Fieldes Stort!
Before we set off, Mike walked up to the town centre for a paper. There is a reasonable collection of small shops and a Budgens supermarket. The town was obviously quite prosperous form some time back - not only is the church full of expensive 17C memorials but some of the older houses look rather splendid.
Mike was somewhat amused by the saying on a board outside a coffee shop: "The first step to getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are!" A good motto for many organisations as well.
A notice on a lamppost suggests that new development is not welcomed by at least some of the present population. Since the town has grown substantially over the generations, it always seems a bit unfair to argue that yours should be the last one to accept newcomers. "Sir Frederick Gibberds grand idea worked 70 years ago when he had vast areas to develop between some small hamlets. It doesn't work squeezing these outdated ideas into a couple of small fields in our idyllic Town of Sawbridgeworth . . . We will not suffer it!"
Today was generally rather damp - more drizzle than rain but not especially pleasant. nevertheless, it was not sufficient to put paid to boating, takes quite a storm to do that.
The estate development above Sheering Mill Lock not only has non-usable mooring bollards but the centre is a marina with pontoons that does not look as if it ever has any boats in it.
Sheering Mill Lock has mechanised bottom gates and sluices: Alice followed the instructions to empty the lock and let the boat out. Sadly, Mike forgot all about closing the sluices so he and Alice had to be sent back by Granny to shut them!
Despite the weather, Alice decided that she would take a bit of time off from reading and do some steering - even if they do look a bit windswept!
Harlow Mill Lock - Alice spotted some interesting metalwork in a signpost.
The bottom paddles on these locks have hydraulic mechanisms and Alice found that she was able to operate them, both up and down.
At Royden Lock there are ice creams for sale (along with gas, coal and kindling!) Alice opted for a Twizzler which soon disappeared whilst we kept ours for later!
By late afternoon we had completed the remaining 11 locks on the River Stort and as we approached the next lock at Fieldes Stort, the junction with the River Lee, we spotted a free space on the visitor moorings and quickly pulled in - so we are just a couple of locks short of our planned target but the weather forecast for tomorrow is at least drier and we do not have a challenging schedule.
Despite helping with many of the locks, Alice still managed some intensive reading and has already finished off two of the stock she brought along to last the whole week!
9.1 miles - 11 locks
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