Adderley to Market Drayton

Tuesday 24th November

We made an early start and straight into the five Adderley locks, these locks also leak quite badly so they were all empty which was great for us and we made good time to the top. 

Once the locks were done James went inside to prepare more pens for turning, we're on quite a tight schedule to get into Birmingham to join the RCTA (Roving Canal Traders Association) Christmas Floating Market and get the stock levels up so we have to make the most of the available day light hours. We stopped at Market Drayton and James set up his workshop and I wandered into town. 

This kingfisher actually stayed still whilst we drifted by, they normally fly off before I get the camera ready

Moored in Market Drayton

3.5 miles and 5 locks

TOTAL 691.5 miles and 549 locks

Audlem to Adderley

Monday 23rd November

We were up fairly early and I took Dudley out whilst James finished off setting up his workshop and was ready to start work by 8:30am. When I got back I was busy in the kitchen, lasagne for dinner along with banoffee pie (to use up the bananas) and millionaires shortbread to go with coffee later, between us we had a really productive morning.

LJ at Audlem

After an early lunch we set off at 12:15pm and tackled the remaining 12 locks up the Audlem flight. A boat must have set off from the next visitor moorings as the first lock was empty but the next few full and no one had past us this morning, these locks really leak so they would have been empty. We passed a hire boat coming down, a couple from New Zealand out for two weeks and really enjoying it, this meant the next few locks would be empty too. A couple out for a walk (with a windlass) set two of the full locks for us so that really helped us along and then the final two and we were at the top. We continued on and moored at the bottom of Adderley locks.

Looking quite wintery now

Moored at Adderley - no cows for Dudley to watch this time

2.5 miles and 12 locks

688 miles and 544 locks

Brewood to Audlem

We only stay one night at Brewood then continued our journey onto Norbury Junction where we stopped a couple of nights.

Moored at Norbury

It was a lovely sunny, but chilly, autumn day when we made the journey to Market Drayton (26th October), James was catching up with getting pens prepared so I actually did most of the steering. James set up his work bench at the front in the bow this time so he could get sawing up the pieces of historic wood ready for turning. We topped up with water at the top of Tyrley locks where i searched the length of hose to check for kinks or a leak only to realise that it was the slowest water tap ever and was just dribbling so needless to say the tank wasn't completely full when we left and headed down the five locks into Market Drayton.

Lovely colour

Great view on a lovely sunny day

Although quite chilly

Tyrley Locks looking beautiful

Moored in Market Drayton

The visitor moorings in Market Drayton have large trees shading the sun and as we intended staying a couple of days we wanted to be able to make use of the lovely sunny weather we were having so we continued on past the water point and bridge and stopped just before the off side pontoon moorings. The moorings here are a bit strange the signs say overnight mooring only, except on market day and pre-market day when daytime mooring is permitted. Well we arrived late afternoon on Monday so that was OK and as luck would have it market day was Wednesday and pre-market day Tuesday so we were fine there for our couple of days.

We then did the short journey to Adderley Locks where we bought a few bits from the Farm Shop stall at the top lock before dropping down and mooring up at the bottom.  We had a brief lunch stop here earlier in the year and thought it would be a great place to spend a day or so. Dudley loved sitting in the bow watching the cows, it kept him occupied for hours. The weather had really changed and we had downpours, any passing boats just seemed to go through on full power even though we were a couple of boat lengths from the lock landing, they were either full forward to full reverse with us being shoved around.

Bottom of Adderley, Dudley loves watching the cows

As the weather was horrid we stayed put and I had a sort out of the kitchen cupboards, whilst scrabbling around on the floor a boat past by, I caught a glimpse through the window and it was an Anglo Welsh hire boat, James and I both commented that it had been the first boat to pass us at a reasonable speed, a few minutes later there was a knock at the back door and I was surprised to see Irene Free Spirit there with Ian securing Merlin their hire boat they were moving for Anglo Welsh. As they were on a bit of a mission there wasn't time to stop for coffee, but lovely of them to call in and say hello.

When the weather was a bit better we continued on journey and made our way down the Audlem Locks, we dropped down 12 of them then moored up, I wanted to have a look in at the craft shop in the Mill and as we were right outside The Bridge Inn it would have been rude not to pop in for lunch. When we got back to LJ she was listing as the water level had dropped and she was caught a little on the shelf, we immediately pulled pins to continue down the three locks and moored in one of my favourite spots at the bottom of the flight.

Moored outside The Bridge Inn

29 miles and 26 locks

TOTAL 653 miles and 515 locks