It was another misty morning. With not a great many miles to do today we didn't leave until quarter to nine. A dog walker who passed as we set off for the two Cape Locks said they were at the bottom to come up, so we could leave the gates open. In Warwick, a CRT crew were constructing a coffer dam around a weir. Each metal support was floated across the canal by a guy using a big blue floating box, and it was then pushed into the canal bed by two guys jumping up and down on it.
We stopped at the Tesco moorings in Warwick and went to do a decent sized shop that should see us home. We then did another short hop to Bridge 40 in Leamington Spa, where there's a new water point. The whole area has changed beyond all recognition, with new student accommodation alongside the canal, and a small landscaped area with the water point in it. I'd already set the washing machine going when we found the tap was the wrong size, and wouldn't take the standard connector.
We set off again through the outskirts of Leamington and then Radford Semele. At the bottom lock, a lady had brought some American friends to see a lock; they were delighted to see our demonstration of how a lock worked. We went up two more then stopped on the water point at Fosse Wharf, where the tap is the correct size, and had lunch while the tank filled. A couple of boats passed so we followed them up the next lock; one then stopped for lunch while the other waited for us at Wood Lock. This whole section is very pretty.
We got on with our locking partners very well. The last locks we did together were the four at Bascote. The top two are a staircase.
The other boat was planning to continue on to Napton, but we stopped in a pleasant spot at Long Itchington, on the embankment over the aqueduct. The sun has been out for most of the afternoon, and it's even been fairly warm.
9 miles, 12 locks. (375 miles, 261 locks)
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