Wild, Wet and Windy - 26th and 27th April 2019

Friday 26th April 2019
Wightwick to Cross Green 
6.25 miles, 3 locks

Our meal out last night (25th April) was okay.  Evelyn and I had a very good main course, Chris not quite so successful with his choice, but I am afraid all three desserts left something to be desired.  The panacotta would not have got anywhere near Masterchef - no sign of a wobble!  It was, I am sorry to say, solid and just like cold blancmange which I hate.  We had a great evening with Evelyn which was the main thing and I am sure Monty did not really know it was his birthday we were deserting him on!

To say there has been a change in the weather is somewhat of an understatement!  It was chilly and windy.

When we arrived at the second lock of the day (Wightwick Mill Lock) I discovered there is a nature reserve on the offside of the towpath

It might be worth exploring one day

 A view from Wightwick Mill Lock

Not far much further on are some rather lovely looking apartments

 Plus moorings!  When you go to the WEBSITE it states, "potential moorings"!

Towards the end of the trip is a section of narrow canal

  with few passing places, so Evelyn, Monty and I walked ahead to ensure a clear passage.

We were followed closely by this boat which shows just how narrow it was in places.

We were moored up by lunch time and hunkered down for a long afternoon in the warm round the fire.  Many games were played and thankfully we had TV reception.  We rarely watch the box in the afternoon, but sometimes there just is not much more to do, especially when you are only 10 and stuck in a tin tube in the rain.

Saturday 27th April 2019
Cross Green to Gailey
5 miles, 1 lock

We did this trip in August 2016 and strangely enough the title of that blog post was 'Wild, Wet and Windy'!  No change there then.  It was the full togs this morning which protected us a little bit from the biting wind and I am glad to say that we were moored before any serious rain appeared.

  

I noted this house in 2016 and I like it just as much now as I did then!

Two boats had passed us going south before we pulled pins around 9am today.  One boat was following us, but we saw nothing else moving.  We arrived at Gailey and pulled into the service area to empty and fill as required.  I went to check the moorings below the lock and thankfully there was one Tentatrice sized hole far enough away from the road (A5) to be relatively quiet.  Just as we were finishing and about to untie two boats appeared heading towards the lock.  Talk about bad timing!  Were they planning to stop in the hole we had earmarked?  Thankfully no, they were hoping to get to Great Hayward today - we are aiming to go through there on Tuesday!!

We helped the first one down and then another appeared coming up.

Evelyn pulling faces as we wait for the lock to refill having helped the second boat down.  Thankfully she noticed that Chris was battling with our middle rope trying to get our boat back to the tow path so he could board her to enter the lock - I had to down windlass and run as fast as my knee would allow to lend a hand.  Disaster averted, it was our turn to descend - our first downhill lock since we joined the Staffs & Worcs at Stourport.

We made it down and secured our spot - the wind is still roaring, but it is slightly more sheltered down here than it was at the top.  You cannot go through Gailey without taking a picture of the Roundhouse, even if it is not a very good one.  I took Evelyn to the shop and she came away with a book mark and a small model of a narrow boat to take to school on Monday for 'show and tell'.  She will certainly have a few tales to tell and probably fairly unique among her peers.

Her Dad arrived about 1pm on his way back home from Gatwick having flown in from a business trip to the Ukraine.  After a quick lunch they collected up her belongings and went on their way.

Chris and I settled down for a quiet cozy afternoon by the fire.  Chris and Monty have been for the necessary walk, so now it is time for a cuppa.

Evelyn is a fantastic crew member and she is welcome back any time.