Sunday was a much better
day weather-wise than Saturday so we went for a cruise after lunch. The sun was out and it felt quite warm.
 |
Blue skies appearing over
our mooring at Hatton on Sunday morning
|
There had been a lot of
boat traffic during the morning but it seemed to have stopped by the time we
set off so we had the locks and cut to ourselves – just as we like it 😊
Karen did the locks as usual so I had an easy time of it. It’s also a good chance for her to walk so
she stays off the boat and Buddy gets a walk too.
 |
Heading for the first lock
of the day
|
 |
Penultimate lock of the 21
on the Hatton flight - Buddy still can't be bothered to help
|
Once we had been through
the final locks of the Hatton flight, we passed the Saltisford arm. This arm used to run all the way into wharves
in Warwick but only the first couple of hundred yards are still open. It is a pleasant place to visit and the
people that run the canal centre and boat yard are very friendly. You may have read that I locked us out back
in January and the guys in the boatyard lent us some big bolt croppers so I
could break the padlock. I remember feeling
as if we had criminal intent when we were walking along the towpath with the
bolt croppers.
After the Saltisford arm
we arrived at the two locks at Cape. The
first is right next to the Cape of Good Hope pub; a popular spot for locals,
tourists and boaters.
 |
| Top lock at Cape beside the pub |
The skies had started
darkening again but as we had decided to moor for the night below the bottom
lock we had plenty of time before the rain came again.
 |
Darkening skies
|
As it was, we moored up, walked
back to get the car and parked it in a layby nearer the boat before it started
raining. As we walked back past the pub
we decided to go in for a drink – it was Sunday after all and what else is
there to do on a Sunday? The clouds took
a long time to roll in so we sat outside and managed to get a couple of pints
in before getting home just as the sun disappeared.
 |
Our mooring below Cape
bottom lock
|
We are now on a long pound
that runs through Warwick and Leamington Spa before the next lock at Radford
Semele. From there the canal starts
going uphill again and we will continue going uphill even after we join the
Oxford canal at Napton on our way to Cropredy.
I’ll probably do a few miles and locks each day this week as we head
through our favourite spots around here like Radford, Bascote and Long
Itchington.
No comments:
Post a Comment