A week of Junctions

Friday 2nd October
We have not had to do such long days this week. It has been quite a relaxing week in some ways. The weather has been kind...no rain....and although the weatherman has been warning us about how much colder it is going to get, it doesn't seem to have reached us yet. Certainly we have had more clothes on when outside but there have been sunny intervals and even one occasion when I was forced to put my chair on the bank and sunbathe.....it was short lived!!!!
Tuesday was the run from Tixall Wide to Fradley Junction.

Peaceful rural scene as we went over the Aqueduct over River Trent
Not so peaceful a little while afterwards. BW hard at work

Just to add a little interest to our gentle ambling we reach the Armitage Narrows. Here the canal negotiates a Rocky narrow cutting which used to be a tunnel (The Armitage or Plum Pudding tunnel).. Single file traffic and Geoff had to go ahead to check that it was clear to proceed.

All was clear so I could meander through

We moored for the night above Shade Lock which is just before Fradley Junction...the first of this weeks junctions.

Fradley Junction was very busy and it is a great place for gongoozlers.....we had a stroll around and joined them.

Off early on Wednesday, turned onto the Coventry Canal and made for our next junction of the week...Fazeley Junction...which is where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal turns off. That is a route we have not traversed but no time now, it will have to wait for another year

Moored just before the junction. We tried the local pub for an early pre dinner drink......not one of the most salubrious pubs we have visited......

One of the Atherstone Locks

Off early on Thursday as this was our last day of locks....but not early enough....there were several boats ahead of us so it was slow going. However we were not in a rush so just enjoyed the run and the 11 Atherstone Locks. Moored at the top when we eventually reached it.

Found a space and then realised it said "No Mooring. BW Boats only"!!!! However there we BW personnel around who said it was OK. Later that night another boat snuck in front of us when it was pitch black...we have seen several boats moving at night and can't understand how they can see where they are going!

Leisurely start today Friday as we did not have far to go to our next junction at Hawkwsbury.

Here we turned onto the Oxford Canal for the final run home.

We stopped in the basin to use the sani station and then went through the small lock which will be our last for the year. Our timing was superb as we managed to get into the only space we could see and there were several boats came through after us.