Today and the next two days were planned as less strenuous as we do not have far to go to Wootton Wawen where we expect to meet up with Alice and Jess, staying for a couple of days. Whether they come to us or we go to Windsor to collect them is still to be decided! At least the car is already at Hill Farm Marina where we will be leaving the boat at the weekend.
Today turned out to be even less of an effort than we expected. In the morning we walked the short distance into Knowle to go to the 9.15 family service at the parish church. We last came here in 2008 and apart from changing the time from 9.30 much was the same. We were made very welcome and there was a substantial congregation of all ages. However, as it was the Easter school holiday u number of families were away and the children stayed in the service throughout instead of going out for their usual activities. over coffee one gentleman was intrigued to discover that we shared a couple of acquaintances in Cornwall!
After leaving the church we sought out a supermarket for some brioche buns to make a pudding for tonight to follow our usual roast. There is a surprising number of small shops but this is quite a substantial village and a popular commuter place for people who work either in Solihull or parts of Birmingham.
Back at the boat we decided not to rush away and first had our lunch. So it was into the afternoon before we eventually set off on the short distance to the five Knowle Locks. These are the first wide beam locks of the Grand Union and can be a bit heavy to navigate. By now it was raining but as luck would have it as we set the top lock and brought the boat in, another boat with a family of four aboard, were ready to leave the service mooring and joined us. This meant that the work really was shared (this does not always happen when sharing!) with a volunteer on duty to help boats through. As a result we were soon out of the bottom lock.
This chap shows that it is possible to stay dry as well as keeping guard duty!
We continued to just before Kingswood Junction where the Grand Union links with the Stratford Canal. We made several attempts to come alongside but as with quite a bit of the Grand Union, it may look wide but the couple of metres beside the towpath are very shallow. We eventually found a spot where we could moor but initially a tree blocked the tv signal. Where we ought to be had a fisherman so we will have to wait until he packs up before we can move forward just a few metres. (We have checked that there it will be possible to receive a signal!)
Sorry about the dull pictures but they really do reflect the weather today!
4 Miles - 5 Locks
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