Gailey

Here I am Rune

Distance 5  miles

Total 4263 Locks  272 Tunnels

Running total mileage 6,503.9 miles

 

Forecast for yesterday wasn’t too good so we wisely took a day out to let the spells of heavy rain pass over. Today the forecast was better, and so it proved as we moved up her towards Gailey. We’ll need to hang around here now until Sunday when we get our heating serviced.

It’s OK here but not a lot around. We do seem to have found a ‘entertainment’ corner to moor near however, as we approached, a boat coming the other way ran into the canal bank which was initially why I stopped. When I decided I couldn’t be bothered starting off again since we are virtually at Gailey, two more boat have come around the same corner and had the same issue with running into the canal bank. Nothing to do with our mooring since we are well back from the corner, in fact there is another boat moored in front of us.

 

Cross Green

Here I am Rune

Distance 4.9  miles

Total 4263 Locks  272 Tunnels

Running total mileage 6,498.9 miles

 

Luck certainly seemed to be running with us today. The forecast was for sunshine and showers and yet we managed to get down the Wolverhampton 21 flight without getting wet once. There were quite a few boats on the move today, mainly hire boats, and with them coming up the flight, it assisted us in going down, so it only took about 3 hours and 30 minutes to get to the bottom. We stopped for lunch at the bottom at about 3pm, which was fortunately when a shower of rain passed over so we missed that one. After lunch we pressed on towards Coven but, seeing impending showers we stopped slightly short which as luck would have it was when the next shower of rain passed over.

Not sure how far we’ll go tomorrow, all depends upon how we feel and what the weather is like, but so far it’s been an excellent cruise.

 

Wolverhampton

Here I am  Rune

Distance 11.9  miles

Total 4242 Locks  273 Tunnels

Running total mileage 6,494 miles

 

Well, after being moored up for 253 days we are at last back on the move, and how great did that feel! We couldn’t have asked for better weather conditions for getting out of Hawne Basin, sunny intervals and very little wind although progress seemed generally slow today. I think it is a combination of shallow water and quite a bit of weed wrapping itself around the prop.

After seeing the level of weed, and having already been warned about the amount of weed on the Bradley Arm by another moorer at Hawne, I decided to forgo a trip up there for another day (will have to do it at some time since it is on the Silver Propeller list).

There haven’t been many boats about, we passed one when coming out of Netherton Tunnel one was moored just beyond the tunnel for lunch (and where we took our lunch), We passed another one in Factory Locks, a day boat a bit further along and a tug and 3 butty’s just the Wolverhampton side of Coseley Tunnel.

Tomorrow we head off down the Wolverhampton flight of 21 so that should be a good workout after such a long period away.