Day 14 of our April 2011 cruise, and we're nearly back at the marina. Just the drop down Hatton and Cape Locks to the sump pound at Leamington Spa, then up to Wigram's Turn. Not all in one day, though.
This timelapse film covers the descent of Hatton and into Warwick, where we tied up by the Cape of Good Hope pub for lunch.
You might have noticed at the end of yesterday's timelapse the boy from the next-door boat kicking a football up the bank - well, he's still at it in the morning when we leave!
Just above the top lock a posse of RCR engineers come to look at Shadow's engine. There was some sort of an RCR awayday at the Hatton Locks café, so I asked them about a minor oil leak from the rocker cover. My account from the time is here.
Unlike some people I quite like the broad locks with their distinctive paddle gear on this part of the GU. Yes, the paddles take a lot of winding and the gates are big and heavy, but the locks empty and fill quickly, and the gates are well-balanced. I would, of course, share locks where possible, and we did down Hatton, but it would have been easier and quicker on our own. The crew of the boat we shared with couldn't manage either the gear or the gates, so I did a huge amount of winding, pushing, pulling, running around and cycling! But I love it!
1 day ago
2 comments:
I made that 21 locks! Is that the most in a series?
H.S.
H.S., you're partly right. The Hatton Flight is 21 locks, sometimes called the Stairway to Heaven!
It isn't the longest flight, but it can be a daunting one for novice boaters. The Caen Hill flight on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Devizes comprises 29 wide locks. And there are 30 narrow locks in the Tardebigge Flight on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. These are immediately upstream of the Stoke Locks, making an effective flight of 36. Yes, we have done all these.
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