November Cruise - Day Four

I love winter boating, and this morning was one of the best. We woke to a sharp frost, and the most amazing red sky. Had I been a shepherd, I'd have been worried (although there had also been a red sky last night). The ropes were frozen solid, which made getting under way a bit of a challenge, but the canal was free from ice, presumably because there's such a flow on the Shroppie.

We set off at 8.30, and were soon up the first three locks at Audlem and on the water point at the Shroppie Fly. While I dealt with the water and rubbish, Adrian went shopping, visiting the deli, the Co-op, and Boots. We set off again at 10.15, and took just under two hours to do the remaining 12 locks. We passed a boat coming down, and almost caught up with a boat ahead of us going up. The locks with a top gate paddle fill in no time, while the ones without takes ages. We stopped at the beautiful moorings above the top lock for lunch, then set off again at 1pm. The five Adderley locks took just forty minutes. Four of them were in our favour, while one was inexplicably completely full. It was much colder after lunch, with a bit of a breeze from the south.
We moored at Market Drayton, just beyond Bridge 62, where there are rings but they're just slightly too close together. We had tea and mince pies from Audlem, warmed through on the top of the stove. The forecast is for rain overnight, with another fine day tomorrow. That will do fine.

9 miles, 20 locks. (44, 49)