Dudley Port

Here I am Rune

Distance 3.5 miles

Total 777 Locks 28 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1161.5 miles

Today’s cruising was a lot longer than I’d intended, the original ‘cunning’ plan was to travel through the 8 Ryders Green locks and then moor for the night down the Ridgeacre Branch which goes off at the top lock. For this reason we didn’t get away to a particularly early start (about midday after we’d done the shopping). Unfortunately when we got to the top lock and checked out the Ridgeacre Branch it looked far too shallow to be able to reasonably moor. A quick recalculation took us on to just above Keir’s Bridge on the BCN Old Main Line, an extra 2.5 miles and 3 more locks. That wouldn’t have been too bad, although at this time of year you are always fighting against the clock since sundown is now before 4pm, but when we got to Brades Hill Locks the pound between lock 3 and the staircase locks was completely empty. When I then checked the staircase locks they were both completely empty (you could actually see the lock floor!). Refilling the pound then took us an extra 30 minutes on top of the time for passing through the locks so we were beginning to lose daylight when we got here. As things turn out this isn’t a bad mooring and, since it seems to be a 14 day mooring, we may be here for a spell.