Sad news.

 We had a phone call last night from our Chairman of the ECP&DA, Norman.  Howard Smith who had been chairman of the association for 22 years, died on 16th November after a relatively short illness. He was also our representative for the AWCC and I know he will also be sadly missed in that organisation.  It was Howard that first introduced himself to us when we moved to Sandiacre way back in 2004, and we may never have got involved with ECP&DA if it hadn't been for him. RIP Howard.

His AWCC Award.

November 17th

Took ourselves off to town this morning, we wanted a sympathy card to send to Howard's family and of course we had another quick stop at Asda. They were doing a good deal on Jam Shed, a really, really lovely South Eastern Australian red wine. Normally £7, we couldn't resist the £5.50 price. 4 bottles made their way into the basket. That's me sorted, but Ian was disappointed he couldn't get his New Zealand Aupouri Chardonnay. Even looking right at the back of the shelf, didn't reveal a stray bottle.

Just arrived back when coal and diesel boat Mountbatten came past. We managed to get Richard to stop and reverse back. 4 bags of Anthracite small nuts were purchased, it was really just to top up because we still had 6 bags on board. I like to know that we have sufficient coal in case we get a cold spell.

 That tip from Alf, he mentioned lifting the top paddle when the bottom gate was open to redirect the flow towards the lock instead of the by wash, well we tried it and although I did get into the lock unscathed, (with a lot of tiller correcting) I'm not sure if it was the lifting of a top paddle on the top gate or the fact no water had been let down from the lock above that was the reason. Ian gave it a go though, but the jury is still out on that one. Thank you, Alf, for your suggestion, it was much appreciated as anything that makes locking easier is a bonus for us.

Ian lifting the paddle. Note bottom gates are open.

Still a good flow down the by wash

We followed Mountbatten up the flight and Richard lifted a paddle for us on his way up. What impressed me is the way he did this. On opening the top gate, he then walked back to the boat, half lifted the bottom gate paddle, got back on board and steered Mountbatten out. Once free of the gate stopped Mountbatten, closed the top gate which made this a much easier task for him to do, and hardly any water was lost. None of this toing and froing when doing the same for a following boat, it's so much easier and one I think I may well adopt.  

Woodseaves cutting can be a bit daunting, nearly a mile long the sides are very steep, almost straight up in places. A good length of it narrows to about half its normal width which makes meeting an oncoming boat a tad difficult. A recent land slip closed the towpath and those deep sides show all the hallmarks that another slip could happen at any time. In fact the sign before entering the cutting warns of the danger.

 

Through those iconic tall bridges and sods law said a boat would be met. Such a narrow section and with the high banks and overhanging foliage made it difficult to see. Thankfully the boat in question was in a slightly wider part so we didn't have to breathe in quite so much.

 

Stopped on the visitor mooring by bridge 57 and right at the start of the 48 hour. Only one boat moored and that was far enough away for our engine noise not to disturb if we had to run it again later.  Those batteries are a real worry!

And some photos of the journey,

Fields of gold but what was growing?

Thanks to Barbara I now know this is Elephant grass. Look it up as to why it's grown

And wildlife,

Goldcrest the UK's smallest bird.