Hatton

Today's Canal - Grand Union

Today's blog may be a bit shorter as there is less to day - the target for the day was to arrive at the top of the Hatton flight before it was dark. The main flight is 21 locks but just before there is, to get you in the mood, the couple of Cape locks. Added to that it was very grey, gloomy and at times depressingly wet.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. With our target in mind an also that we wanted to call at Morrisons alongside the canal at Leamington, Mike made an early start, preparing to cast off just after 8.30. As can be seen, our overnight stop is a good place to moor and in the spring and summer usually very busy so the huge gaps were a bit of a surprise.

This winding hole shows a variety of the seasonal colours in the trees and shrubs around.

We were at the supermarket just after 9. One of our aims was to stock up on logs. We had bought a single net some days ago and found them better than other supermarket brands, well dried hardwood. We loaded up four nets into our trolley - which made it full! We then went to the customer service desk and asked permission from a very helpful young man to take the trolley out of the car park and across the road to the boat. He agreed, especially when Mike offered Christine as a hostage! With that done we could complete the food shopping, including some swordfish steaks for tonight. Probably with a sauce using the blackberries and crab apples that Christine spotted alongside the boat yesterday.

Re-stocked, we set off once more, through the rest of Leamington and then the outskirts of Warwick. At Kate Boats we spotted Mad Hatter, our locking companion from yesterday, all tucked up on an inside mooring.

These trees again emphasise the season but the colours will soon be gone as the wind today was bringing many of the leaves down. The canal is not yet clogged up, nor our propeller, but much more of this and before long . . .

Just after 11 we reached the two Cape Locks.

Above the second lock is a popular pub The Cape of Good Hope, and we guess that there is a boater fan of the Beatles not far away.

A short distance beyond, just after the turn into the Saltisford Arm and we were ready to start up the Hatton 21. By now the rain was much wetter and we were glad to pause for a quick lunch after the fourth lock. The lower locks are separated by longer pounds but the separation becomes ever closer the further up we go.

Fortunately, although it remained very gloomy the rain stayed away for the afternoon as we gradually worked our way up the flight.

This is the iconic view of Hatton, even if only 6 locks look like this.

We continued with our usual technique: Christine going ahead to set the lock and then Mike bringing in the boat, climbing the ladder to open the top paddle. These locks are much kinder on the boat as the design of the top paddles is such that the water inflow holds the boat firm against the lock side. That offsets the all too frequent over-stiff paddles.

Part way up the flight Christine met a couple of CaRT staff who were conducting a survey on the locks, measuring the force required to open the gates and the paddles. The present regional manager is keen to look at ways of making the canal system easier to use and the survey will inform plans for future work. The two staff were keen to spend time with Christine to explain what they were about.

From the top of that section, looking back down, the tower of the parish church is directly in line on the horizon.

The top lock was a welcome sight even before completing the penultimate one! The well used cafe just below the top lock was just closing up so we could not even be tempted by their scones! We pulled onto the service mooring above the top lock for the usual processes. We only went a little further before mooring as darkness was about to surround us. As a result we had to accept a mooring that did not have a tv signal.

7.7 Miles - 23 Locks