23rd April 2013 - Mancetter to Hopwas

Set off at 9.40am.  Our long cruise without locks was sharply curtailed by the Atherstone flight. We started to go down at 10.30 but did not reach the bottom lock ( the eleventh) until 2pm - but on the way down we did stop to top up the water tank. On the way down we passed an old working boat, Victoria, delivering an old Springer narrowboat to London.

Looking down the Atherstone flight

At the bottom we came across another working boat built 1906, and its butty being operated by a lovely young family with 2 children - living aboard and home taught.  They appeared to be in some difficulty when we first saw them in the distance as they were taking rather long to go through the lock.  Then we spotted that not only were they bow hauling a 72ft butty with no motor - they had to fish out a dead deer from the lock first!

Victoria

At Fazeley junction we turned right onto the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal for a short distance before mooring up for the night just south of the village of Hopwas.