Fun in the sun.

Fortunately the buzzard chicks did not get up too early this morning as it was all quiet when we set off.

 We were moored just round the corner from Rawn Hill. It isn't one of the highest peaks in the country, or even the county, but it is an impressive feature as you round it on the canal.

We didn't go very far as we stopped at Atherstone to get the paper and a few bits and bobs. As we were coming alongside we managed to pick up some boaters rubbish, that is a plastic watering can with a line attached in the propeller.  I cleared the culprit while Helen went off to do the shopping. We were soon under way again and at the top lock where there was no queue.

Helen took the helm and the lock keepers helped us down to lock 5 so we were flying along.

Helen just coming into Lock 5 in the sunshine. What a beautiful day for doing the locks. As we got to lock 6 I thought that a boat had left the bottom gates open, but when I got there it was a very shiny boat with a chug chug engine, all the buckets and mops you would want and the obligatory massive can of Brasso, (I think it was a 'new' boat rather than a heritage boat) was coming into the lock. It turns out that he was towing a butty and so was doing most of it by bow hauling. It seems he had been causing a bit of a hold up. It wouldn't be my idea of fun really, but each to their own.

At Lock 8 I was approached by a lady and her husband. I was wearing a blue shirt so I learned afterwards that she thought I was a volunteer. She asked me if I knew the history of the flight of locks. I did my best to give some information, but it turns out that her Great Great Uncle had been the lock keeper on Lock 8 and she was looking for the  lock keepers house. I told her that there would not be a house at each lock and he would probably have lived at the top or bottom. She then told me that he had drowned in Lock 8!!! It seems that he was drunk and was walking along by the lock and fell in! There were no ladders in the lock so couldn't get out. He must have been very drunk as I would have climbed up the gate.

It took us longer to do these 11 locks than it did the 21 on the Hatton Flight. The Sunday drivers were out today who did everything at a very 'cautious' speed, but we got there in the end. There were places on the cut where the trees made tunnels to travel through, which did give a little shade.

I had never noticed it before (I think) but the obelisk to the east of Polesworth is to commemorate the Chapel of St. Leonard's at Hoo that was demolished in 1538. It seems that the site was uncovered when the railway nearby was built in 1847  and it may well have been commissioned by a local landowner between 1850's and 60's. The monument may have been moved to it's present site at a later date.

A little further on is the pillar of Rememberance was erected by the work people and owners of Polley Hall Colliery for the men from the mine who fell in WW1. It was unveiled in 1921 and has 32 names on.

The head gear of the mine winding gear lies next to the visitor centre. There is a country park on the site now. The collier was the first to generate its own power, from excess steam, and the first to have it's own pithead baths. The mine closed in 1951.

There were no queues at the Glascote Locks, which seems to be unusual so we were son on out way towards Fazeley. As we passed over the Trent Aqueduct there still seemed to be plenty of water in it. I wonder what it will look like at Shugborough?

As we were at the bottom lock of the Atherstone flight the boat coming up stated that the one that just left had lost a fender. I just said that I hope it isn't us that finds it. Helen and I talked and we decided to do a survey along the way. We would check every moving boat and every moored boat on the tow path side to see if it had fenders down on the outside. I said I expected about half to have fenders down at all times.  If a moored boat had fenders down on the outside we thought thought that it would indicate that they would leave them down all the time. Between Polesworth and Whittington we passed 97 boats. 52  boats had their fenders up and 43 down with two that obviously would be down except that they had been ripped off and just the rope was left. It shows I was almost right. We are going to refine the check tomorrow, only looking at moving boats and differentiating between hire, private and cruisers to see if it correlates. 

As we approached Hopwas I was taken with this line of pylons marching across the countryside. After stopping close to where the Coventry and Birmingham and Fazeley Canal met we moored up and went to the pub!