The Taft to Meadow Lane Bridge

Saturday 1 June

After a very restful night I made an early start, saying farewell to The Taft at about 5.45am.

Farewell to The Taft

There was not much else moving this early and I got all the way to Wood End Lock before meeting another boat. The bottom gates (with cranked beams) proved just as tricky as ever, and the one that refuses to stay closed lived up to its reputation!

By the time I got round the corner to the Fradley locks the Volunteer Lock-keepers had arrived so my passage to the junction was made much easier. To add to their service, one of them went round the corner to open the swing-bridge on the Coventry Canal for me. Star service.

Time for a coffee before continuing.

After a while I found myself at the end of a queue following a slower boat and this continued all the way to Fazeley. I decided to moor up for lunch opposite the old Peels Wharf CRT offices, and this gave a chance for the boats in front to get on and up through Glascote locks.

This proved to have been a good choice as, by the time I got there, they had all moved through.

The rest of the journey was quite uneventful and I decided to moor up for the night just short of Meadow Lane Bridge at 4.45pm.

Locks 6   Miles 27.5                                        Total Locks 209   Total Miles 314.3