Heading Downhill - 10th August 2019

Saturday 10th August 2019
Laches B No 73 to south of B59 - Compton Lock
6.5 miles, 1 lock

With just one lock to do today and that would be right at the end of our journey, it did not matter much if a boat took off ahead of us.  Tomorrow might be a different story.

So just a few things seen en route

Pretend

Real

I didn't find a real one of these!  It is rather elegant, but having seen similar in garden centres I know the owners have very deep pockets.

Planning ahead?  How big will it be by 5th November?

What on earth is that in the conservatory - it looks like a mummy or maybe Miss Haversham?

Saturday morning and there was hardly any traffic on the M54

There is a stretch along this part of the canal called Autherley Narrows - well named!

It is quite comforting to have someone else leading the way

At Autherley Junction itself (the junction of the Staffs & Worcs and Shropshire Union Canals) the boat ahead of us pulled over as they wanted to turn right onto the Shroppie.

We wanted to go straight on, but ahead of us was a large trip boat turning left into the Shroppie

They start the turn - I just hope they weren't all giving advice!

Some guidance with a rope

and they make it round with a wave of thanks from the helmsman to us for waiting, with the comment that 'he has his L plates on'.  It was a big boat with a stiff wind blowing, so he did a pretty good job, especially if he is inexperienced.

 If we had not managed to get our engine serviced at Great Haywood we were going to stop here.  I am glad we didn't have to - I am sure they are excellent engineers, but it is not the best area to have to moor up overnight in readiness.

No guesses what this building is!

Under some very tall railway bridges

and  round the corner are the canoeists, sensibly keeping well out of the way as we passed.  They did have a supervising adult on the towpath.  As I got the camera out one of them shouted 'Oh great we would love to be famous'!!

At Aldersley Junction (heading south) if you turn left you have the delight of tackling the 21 Wolverhampton locks up to Birmingham.  We have done it a couple of times, but not for us this year.  We were going straight on.  A boat heading north turned right to head up the locks, but they have a large, young, fit crew, so they will have got up there in no time at all - well a lot quicker than we do!

A little further along and we discovered where the trip boat had started from

Anyone need a cash register (?) - one careful owner!

We arrived at Compton and whilst Chris hovered above the lock I went down to check for moorings.  This lock was the first built by James Brindley on the Staffs & Worcs Canal in the late 1760's.  It was our first downhill lock for quite some time.  

There is room for three narrow boats below the lock, but not when there is a silly sized gap in between the two already there!  We went under the next bridge and pulled in away from the road.  

We are just on the bend, but not round it!

This is far from an ideal mooring, but there is a local Sainsburys and the Sunday paper is a very important one.  We were not expecting to pass any more shops on our Sunday route.  It was not unduly noisy.  In comparison to last Saturday in Stone it was deathly quiet, so quite acceptable.