Northern Exposure: Day 5

We had excellent food in the Samuel Barlow pub last night, and then a couple of hours of chat with Helen and Andy, who drove over from their home.  It was great to catch up with them.  This morning we were awake early again, and set off before 8am.  After an hour or so of studying the back gardens of Amington, we got to the two Glascote Locks.  The top one needed filling, but the second one required only a top up.  We went straight through Fazeley Junction, staying on the Coventry Canal — although the next section was actually built by the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, which explains why the bridges have names rather than numbers.  The canal up to and beyond Hopwas is rather pretty.

Once again today the wind built as the day went on, and it was very gusty at times.  We passed through Huddleston Junction and then past Streethay Wharf.  On the approach to Fradley there are some new houses which I’m sure weren’t here last time we came this way, built in a 1930s style.

There’s what appears to be a huge housing development going up on the other side of the canal too, on what used to be an aerodrome.  At the junction, Adrian got off to swing the little bridge out of the way, then we turned left onto the Trent and Mersey, watched by a few people at the Swan.

Both the two Fradley locks were in our favour.  We’re more used to wide locks, so the bridge over the entrance to Shadehouse Lock appears impossibly small.

We went up Woodend Lock too, and continued for a couple of miles, mooring up on a stretch of piling just after Kings Bromley Marina.  It was only 2.30 but had become very windy and cold.  We’ve started catching up on the new series of Last Tango in Halifax.

17 miles, 5 locks.  (85 miles, 40 locks)