Day 5

Wilmcote Locks

After a quick walk with Alfie and the first morning coffee, we set off at 7.20am.  It’s starting to take longer to get light enough to move, being overcast doesn't help.  It’s a very mild morning, and going through the 7 Wilmcote locks certainly keeps us warm.  It was definitely the right decision to turn around and head back upstream last week as it took us about and hour and a half to get to bridge 62 this morning which we wouldn't have managed before nightfall.

The levels in the locks are high and over lapping and the wind is making it very tricky to line her up to go through each lock.  Our job becomes easier when the boys finally wake and decide to join us.  Against the wind and the push from the spillway, I have managed quite well, sadly however, the current coming out of one of the locks pushes us right up against the port side bank and inevitably claims the life of a fender!

It was not long before we entered the outskirts of Stratford upon Avon, which was very pretty. The locks have changed from solid wood levers to metal and  there was a very heavy lock No.55 which needed a kind passer by to help!

At 12 noon, we arrive in historic Stratford.  It's great, we have the best parking space in the centre!  You know you are in Stratford when you see lots of tourists taking photos of just about anything, and street entertainers trying to pull in the crowds on every corner.

The Avon Navigation Trust have their information centre at the basin where we are able to purchase a licence to traverse the River Avon and gained some useful information on the river.  We also managed to buy a replacement fender but I needed to get some rope.  There were lots of jewellers, cafes, souvenir shops and the likes, but could I find anywhere that sold rope? Well I did eventually, after walking around the whole of the town centre. We headed off to buy lunch at the bagette barge and then strolled back to "Angel" to continue our journey.  

As we entered Bancroft basin, we were surprised to find an audience gathering to watch us go through the lock onto the River.  We have locked many tricky locks, some with spillways with the wind blowing us off course, but yet I still managed to perfectly line up "Angel" into the lock, however, if there was ever a place to mess us, it would be now, when there are many witnesses and cameras from every angle, ready to broadcast our misfortune around the world.  Well I am sorry to disappoint, but we entered the lock with mundane precision. I was half expecting a round on applause when we finished! 

View from lock towards Stratford

All change, from canal boating to the river, we now have canoes to avoid and small boats weaving through the large open waters like ducks. Straightaway you can feel the slight pull of the river current. The wind and weirs are determined to make manouvering tricky but the Vetus engine has enough power!

Both a heron and a 'fisherman'

It’s stunning, even on this dull day, the Autumn leaves brighten the landscape with their red, gold and brown splashes of colour, herons pop out from the waters edge and fishermen blend into the crevices between reed beds.

So many people we spoke to said to us that the river Avon was a beautiful place to cruise down and they were so right.  It's a shame that the weather is so overcast (we were supposed to be having bright sunshine and 23 degrees), but even so, this is a river with much character and interest.

On the canal system, the locks are generally numbered, with occasional place names, but all the locks on the Avon appear to be named after people.  Also, the locks here are of all metal construction and can be quite turbulent, so fore and aft ropes need to be used (at least that's what it says).  Having now met along the way, 'pleasure' boats (as opposed to narrowboats), I have to say that my observation is that they do tend to drive faster than us narrowboats and they do seem to be in more of a hurry to use the locks.   Compared to narrowboats on the canals, it's like going from a village to a town, with a little more hustle and bustle.   

The canal 'village' has been varied, always friendly, and people just seem to have the time of day to talk and wait for things to happen, and maybe that's the difference because life on a narrowboat is at a slower pace, people have the time.  Narrowboats are used to being up close and personal in locks, with little more than an inch or two either side, and the helmsmen (and women), are at the same level to chat, even if it is at the mercy of the engine noise!   

The cows seem quite friendly, actually coming into the river to drink, they don't seem to be at all bothered by the boats! 

And so with morning light coming later, sunset is getting earlier and we have to make a decision where to moor.  Bearing in mind, on the river there is no tow path, so you need stop at designated moorings.  We make our ‘planned’ mooring just as the last few minutes of light are with us, it’s 6.40pm phew!

At Robert Aickman Lock we moor for the night on rings around the mooring posts.  These allow the ropes to move up or down with the water level.  The stove is lit, dinner’s in the oven and time to fit the new navigation light, as I have no more tunnels on route to knock it off!

Mooring at Robert Aickman lock

Todays Map