Locks Alongside the M6 and Penkridge.

 Wednesday 17th August 2022 in Penkridge.

Finally, the weather broke last night and it rained hard all night and well into the morning. Because we were moored under trees, the rain brought down all sorts of detritus - twigs, leaves and black filth - frustrating, as Robin had spent ages yesterday washing MM down!

As soon as the rain stopped, we set off through the lock at Gailey.

The round tower at Gailey is so distinctive and the last one now remaining on the waterways.  An elderly lady and her daughter used to live in the top and run a shop on the ground floor. There were signs that someone was living there, but it looked like the shop was closed. We hope that the two ladies are okay, as they were so much fun to talk to.

M spotted this bird's nest on the outside of one of the bottom gates. It seemed a very risky place to nest!

Boggs Lock out in the country is pretty, but the M6 passes very close so it is noisy!

Rodbaston Lock is right next to the M6, as witnessed by the blue sign in the background. M used to like "Eddie" spotting from the lock, but that was before Covid which rather put paid to identifying Eddies from a distance (the company removed the "app" to discourage folk from gathering at popular spotting sites).

Just past Rodbaston Lock is a disused railway bridge that was once part of  Littleton Colliery. To the west it is now a footpath but to the east its path is truncated by the M6 immediately at the end of the bridge.

When we arrived in Penkridge, R was dispatched to get rid of the rubbish (left arrow) while M checked out the Convenience Shop (right arrow). In the end, we found a brand new Co-op food shop in town as well as an excellent baker - Jaspers - so we didn't ned to use the convenience shop.

Tomorrow, we have visitors so we will go through Penkridge Lock and three more, turn and then head back to here. This lock is unusual in that it has a "horse" tunnel under the road. In the days of  horse drawn boats, the boat people always referred to their horse as "The Hoss"!

We walked into the town to do some reconnaissance and passed this very attractive cottage whose porch was supporting a very healthy crop of grapes. Clearly, a good season for vines.

Our mooring is just above Penkridge Lock, so ideal to meet our visitors tomorrow.

Because of the closures across the canal system due to water shortages, we are now planning to return MM to her winter mooring in eight days - as there is a distinct possibility that the closures will be extended to Great Haywood by the end of the month. Unfortunately, the heavy rain last night will not be enough to solve the water shortage; it would need prolonged rain for days or weeks to make any dent in the shortages.

Today:3 miles, 6 locks and 2.4 hours.

Trip: 372 miles, 230 locks and 203.8 hours.