Lovely quiet moorings at Coole Pilate, and there were only 4 boats on the whole stretch. This morning, the sunrise made a very strange light first thing. We set off at 8.30; it was quite cool but dry to start although it drizzled a bit before long. We got the the bottom of the Audlem Locks and went straight in.
As we rose, we could see figures with windlasses approaching: yes, it was George and Carol, our friends and ex-boaters who live nearby and like to do a bit of locking from time to time. They had parked at Coxbank and walked down so were able to tell us that most of the locks were empty, and there was no-one else around. We made our way up the locks, past the Shroppie Fly.
Below Lock 10, CRT are rebuilding the embankment on the offside.
A bit further up, we swapped with a boat coming down. They had two lovely Border Terriers with them.
I always particularly like the section near the top, between the two bridges.
We got to the Coxbank moorings in excellent time (it wasn’t even 11am) and there was plenty of space too. As a plus, the weather had also cheered up. Carol and George had invited us to go back to their house for lunch, so we all jumped in the car and went the couple of miles. It was really nice to spend time with them again, and we had very tasty cheese on toast for lunch too! And we’re always grateful for their help with the locks. George dropped us back at the bridge in the early afternoon, and we took a stroll down to the village to complete our steps. Not long after we arrived back, the rain showers arrived.
3 miles, 13 locks. (9 miles, 15 locks)
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