9 August 2011 - Bedworth to Atherstone

Refilled grease container for stern tube - messy. No locks for the first half of the day.  Stopped for water at British Waterways Hartshill Yard which is itself a piece of history.  A range of old buildings including an empty but perfectly formed blacksmiths shop.  After lunch we came upon Atherstone locks - a flight of 11.  The boat in front complained they had been in the queue for 3 hours - but we just followed them right through with hardly any delay.  Annie was genuinely pleased to be back operating locks - you don't get to speak to people when there are no locks, locks on a canal are much more sociable.  I hadn't considered that!  They also allow Lady to hop off the boat every now and then. Moored up for the night in the pound below lock 9.