Stratford-on-Avon

 Today's Canal - Stratford

We awoke to a rather grey day and by the time we set off and arived sortly afterwards at the first lock the dampness in the air had turned to a fine rain. This was the strat of the 11 lock Wilmcote flight and as we neared we could see three volunteer lock keepres emerging from sheltering under a tree. Whoopee, we thought, and agreed that we would definitely accept any help if offered.

It took a while to enter the first lock as the keepers were running water down to re-fill the next pound which had run out of water overnight. It was 10:14 as we entered the lock.

After that we saw very little of the vollies, one stayed to look after the top lock and the other two retired to their hut mid flight!

Although the water level above the flight had seemed a trifle low, we soon found that the overflow weirs were running well, although the display varied considerably from one lock to another.

At this lock a spider had worked hard overnight and left an incredibly delicate and intricate web on the guard rail of the top gate. (Hope you can see it properly)

By the time we reached Lock 50 (he bottom of the flight) the rain had stopped and there was a touch of brightness in the sky. Everywhere was very wet and potentially slippery so we had to be especially careful around the locks.

We emerged from the flight at 11:39, just  75 minutes after entering at the top. With only two of us working the first half of the flight and almost all of the locks needing to be filled, we thought that under 7 minutes a lock was pretty good!

A little after the flight there is a water point and rubbish disposal just before Bishopton Lane Bridge. We knew that we would stop a little later for elsan but that there is no rubbish so we left the water until then. 

Alongside the facility is a very large, rather grand looking, house that seems to have many parts! It is largely Victorian. It has recently been adapted to an up market five bedroom B&B. Their website says about its origins, "Recorded as a prominent English house by the eminent architectural author Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the building was designed as a hotel to support, within its grounds, a newly created spa fed by seven springs" It earned its named Victoria Spa Hotel on the basis that the new queen stayed here on the grand opening night of the spa, shortly before her coronation. It was later home to a cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather (1887 - 1959) who is credited with creating the name Old Bill for the police!

Bishopton Lock is all on its own - by now sunshine had arrived and there was plenty of blue sky.

On the outskirts of Stratford we stopped for water and elsan at the wharf previously used by Valley Cruisers as their hire base (they tried various places before eventually becoming extinct) A notice from their owner posted presumably as he left, alleges that they closed because they could no longer have vehicle access or parking. Comments from a local moorer suggest that the story is a tad more complicated than that.

By the time we had filled with water and moved down to the next lock, alongside a Premier Inn, the sky was really blue and we were much warmer.

Three more locks, close together, brought us down to the level of Bancroft Basin, just above the lock down to the river. Alas. by the time we emerged from under the bridge below the final lock the clouds had suddenly returned - a little later whilst we had lunch, there was even a further wet spell.

We hoped to find room to moor on the pontoons in the basin for the next couple of nights. We had heard from a boater going up the Wilmcote locks that there had been a problem with the water level in the basin overnight but fortunately by the time we arrived CaRT staff had managed to fill it back up again.

Any worry that we might might not find room to moor vanished as we discovered that there was only one other boat (and that had arrived during the morning)! The chap on that boat kindly came out to warn us that the first pontoon is for boats under 50ft - to allow for the trip boat to turn around. So, we reversed further on plumped for a mooring right in the middle of the spaces! Although the basin is in the middle of the town and, in high season, crowded with visitors, today it is very quiet, only interrupted by the occasional scream siren of an emergency vehicle.

By the time we tied up we were well overdue our lunch, which we took at a leisurely pace as we are not going any further (by boat) today. Mid afternoon, Andrew went to retrieve his car which he had parked locally on his way up to Sherbourne Wharf. He arranged a pickup spot near the boat so that he could ferry Christine to Morrisons for a good stock up (we are uncertain of other opportunities if we go down the Avon). All of the larger supermarkets are out of the town centre which only has convenience sized shops. Late afternoon he set off back home to prepare for a 50 mile walk he is leading for a small group of devoted long distance walkers this coming weekend. As he was leaving he thought that it was perhaps a good idea just to check that his plumbing repair was still watertight - we had not thought top check before!

3.7 Miles - 17 Locks