A long step was needed.

A decent start to the day at first but that was all about to change.

Mizzle in the air as we set off which quickly turned to rain and with that fierce wind, a most unpleasant time to start our cruise. My trusty brolly went up which made Ian depart rapidly from the back deck and go below. He is not a fan of umbrellas!

The bad weather continued and just before Adderley locks, we decided to stop. Neither of us relished the idea of locking in the driving rain and with visitor moorings in our sight, we went to pull in. Once again FS struggled to get bankside but not because of excess mud. This time it was a concrete ledge about a good foot and a half away from the towpath. How can they call this a visitor mooring when its impossible to get to the bank. T'was a long step needed from us both to get off and tie to the rings.

A hotel boat came up the lock not long after we had moored. What a shame we had made the decision to stop as all the locks would have been with us.  

Adderley top lock

An hour later the rain eased enough for us to get going again. No boats had come past in either direction so we were confident the locks would still be with us. But leakage through the bottom gate had reduced the water level by several feet which did surprise me somewhat considering how much water was pouring through the top gates. In fact, three of the five locks in this flight had severe leakage from both top and bottom gates.

Lock 1

Lock 3

 Onwards toward Audlem locks again confident that this flight would also be in our favour. Approaching the top lock Ian lifted the paddles and gestured that this lock was empty. New gates had replaced the old in 2017 so this time leakage was not the reason. Blast...must mean a boat is going down in front. With 15 locks in this flight did we really want to do all of them today? The answer was no. Visitor moorings below the first two locks held great appeal and with nowhere else to stop until lock 11 a unanimous decision made that this was the place to stop.

First lock of the Audlem flight

And by the lock two fridges one with drinks and one with ice cream. Also cakes and scones with an honesty box for your money. We bought ice cream and shortbreads all for £6

 And seen on route,