To Crick: Day 7

We had a lovely evening with Helen and Andy last night.  Their journey north to Penkridge took a bit longer than estimated, so when we knew they were close we walked up and set Otherton Lock for them.

They moored right behind us, and we had a good catch up over dinner and drinks.  This morning, Adrian had a conference call at 9, so by the time we’d said our goodbyes it was 10am before we were moving.  A boat had just come down Otherton Lock.  Rodbaston Lock is right beside the M6, and it’s no wonder the lock keeper who used to live there couldn’t stand the noise, with his cottage later being demolished.

At Bogg’s Lock a boat appeared just as we’d left so we could leave the gate open, and at Brick Kiln Lock another boat was coming down.  There were four volunteer lock keepers at Gailey Lock, three of them being trained.  The Roundhouse still looks lovely, and the shop is still open, and provided ice creams.

We stopped on the water point, after a bit of juggling with the boats waiting for the lock, and also got some washing going and got rid of the rubbish and recycling.  Then there’s the long lock-free section, which first passes through the chemical works, with signs about not stopping or mooring.

There are some ridiculous corners on the next section, particularly around Hatherton Junction.  But there are also some very pretty bits.

As we passed under the M54 bridge, we finally escaped the clutches of Staffordshire, passing into the West Midlands.  Apart from our weekend in Cheshire, we’ve been in Staffordshire since 5 April!  The motorway bridge has some decent graffiti artwork underneath it.

Shortly afterwards there’s a new development of massive warehouses, with a coffer dam in the canal and signs asking boats to coast past.

Then comes the Pendeford Rockin’, where the stone was so difficult to cut through that a channel was only a boat wide, although there are passing places.  In fact we met a boat at the first one, quite conveniently.  The next narrow is much longer.

By now we were in the housing estates of Wolverhampton, with a few shopping trolleys in the water, and electric bikes and scooters buzzing up and down the paths.  As we approached Autherley Junction, where the Shropshire Union Canal goes off north, a very long boat came out.  We waited for them to turn north, then went across the junction and moored up.

10 miles, 5 locks.  (39 miles, 30 locks)