Dry and then wet - again. 26th -27th August 2020

 Wednesday 26th August 2020

Roseford Bridge to Gailey Visitor Moorings below the lock

2.75 miles, 9 locks

We woke to glorious sunshine!  What a relief after yesterday.  I knew I would need the camera as we passed Acton Trussel - so many things were spotted on our way through, but the heavy rain had meant the camera was tucked up inside the boat.  I have found information on a 'scarecrow' competition in 2019, but nothing for 2020, but there are several around here to feast the eyes as you pass through.

Plus some delightful gardens to gladden the eye

On past The Moat House which I have been told does excellent food - not for us this trip as we do not feel comfortable eating in pubs just yet

Just as Monty and I decided to walk for a while we stumbled upon some fishermen - at first I thought the line would end soon....

I asked one man if it was a match.  'Yes' came the reply 'there are 25 of us'! With a dog that is fearful of fishing rods, so has to be on the lead, we got back on at the next bridge.  Eventually we reached the end of the match.

I would be interested to know what 'covid' precautions all boaters taking?  I did start off wearing gloves, but decided that it would be easier to wash or sanitise my hands after every lock rather than popping the gloves into our UV sanitiser at the end of the day.  I aim to keep 2 metres or so from other people and either opt to open gates alone or stand back if others are already on the beam.  The windlass gets a good clean when we end the day.  Today we were following a boat who (I feel) was taking things to the extreme.  She had a spray bottle in her pocket and liberally sprayed each lock beam, handle and all the paddle gear before working the lock.  From the residue left on all the parts I had to touch I suspect she was spraying either raw or a very strong solution of bleach.  When she got back on the boat there was a large bucket of soapy water which the windlass was plunged into and a cloth removed, wrung out and she wiped every surface she might have touched on the back deck.  Now are we being cavalier and taking risks or are they being over cautious?  Please let me know your thoughts.  

Whilst in the lock at Penkridge I popped into the rubbish compound just as the bin men were leaving, so nice empty bins.  However, when I got in there I found they had just been dumped back in any old way and that the glass bin was blocked off!

I put my windlass down on the bin on the right, shuffled them all about and managed to deposit the one bottle I had to dispose of and I re-joined the boat.  Thankfully we had only gone a short way when I realised my windlass was still on the bin!  I trotted back to retrieve it before we went on our way.

We were not relying on Penkridge for water which was just as well.

We moored up a little before the lock at Gailey - this is Chris leaving the next morning,  

With 9 locks to do it was a good work out for me after my few restful days.  We had everything crossed that I would cope, which I did, but it did necessitate a retreat to bed after lunch!  Still I did it which was the main thing.  Just no energy to do the blog!

Thursday 27th August 2020

Gailey to Autherley Junction

8 miles, 1 lock

The first job today was to go up the lock at Gailey - from here until Stourport we will be going down again.

The second would be to take on water and get rid of rubbish etc.  We were told it was chaos above the lock yesterday, so we hoped as it was relatively early we would be okay.  There was one boat on the lock landing taking on water which we thought was a bit odd as both water points were empty.  We were soon to find out why.

Both water points were out of use

and the only tap (which is not official) is the one by the lock landing, so back we went and stretched out the hose.  There was a C&RT man there who told me it was a Severn Trent issue and they were on site fixing it as we spoke.

Not the easiest of fill ups!

We were lucky that no boats came either way in the 45 minutes or so it took to fill the tank with a very slow tap.  As we moved off we passed four boats coming towards us in quick succession, so we had timed it right.  

At Four Ashes there are two bridges - the new

and the old - a little the worse for wear, but not as ugly as the new one.

It was soon after we passed here that the rain started and went on and on and on.  We had no intentions of stopping at Autherley Junction as it is not the nicest of moorings, however when you are soaking wet and the rain is incessant the sight of a hole big enough for us with handy rings to tie to was just too much temptation, so we wimped out , pulled over and tied up.

Although I had only one lock to work today I think I was still feeling the effects of yesterdays work out, so once again I retreated to bed for a couple of hours in the afternoon.  This really is not like me at all, so whatever infection I had, it was a good one!