Tuesday 19th March

We were up early to try and beat Canal Plan. Yesterday we'd gained on it by a couple of hours, but we wanted to try and get a day ahead of ourselves. So we set off with only a cup of tea in our bellies and up the first lock at Gailey by 8.45am. Then I set about making porridge to be eaten on the go meandering our way to Aldersley Junction. We  passed a huge crane erecting a chimney and moored boats with their vents painted as toad stools. The ducks were very lucky on this stretch as we had a full bag of bread for them. At the junction with the Shropshire Union there was a hire boat being reversed out of the stop lock, winding and reversing back in. We slowed and moored for an early lunch as breakfast had been some time ago and there was a lot of work ahead of us.

At 1pm we entered lock 21 of the Wolverhampton 21. It was empty! This should mean that they all would be empty unless two boats had passed each other part way up, but the walls of the lock seemed dry. So maybe luck was going to be on our side. As I closed the bottom gates a chap appeared from nowhere had a little chat with Mick and then came and chatted to me. Now out in the wilds of nowhere you are very relaxed about such things, but for some reason this was a bit different, urban canals! But he chatted away quite happily and then opened up the gate and offering to close it for me. He then followed up to the next lock closed a gate and continued to do so for a little while. The he said that was his lot and was off. Very nice of him to help we thought, I turned round to notice that he was opening the gates on the lock above. Nice chap. Obviously the locks were all empty and didn't have leaking top gates so he could do this for us. On we continued with every lock just sat waiting for Mick to drive into, bliss!

The locks wind up through industrial areas over a distance of nearly 2 miles, under roads, past parks etc. Not much wild life other than a few bobbing coconuts in locks. At the sixth lock Mick pointed out another dalek outpost, a more minor one that before. They must be solar powered monitoring stations for water levels we decided. About two thirds up by a park the gates of the next lock were firmly shut in front of us. Did this mean that every lock from now on was full? Or did the very nice man just live across the park and therefore had headed home. It was the later. So the normal routine returned. 

At one lock there was a rather self assured Mallard who stood and watch my every move, opening gates, closing gates, lifting paddles. He seemed to have a little something to say occasionally too. When Mick had taken the boat out of the lock and I closed the gate it was as if the duck said "About time!" as it jumped in for a swim. At the last lock (or Lock 1) there is a little row of cottages, very well preserved before a patch of grass and then the traffic that is Wolverhampton takes over. Flight completed at 3.55 PM.

 We had various options for mooring, or so we thought! At the top of the locks off side, but right next to a major road junction or continue further on towards  Dudley. Some of the moorings shown in Nicholsons don't exist or are so overgrown you'd have difficulty pulling in. So on we pootled along the Main Line, at Factory Junction we turned right onto the old Main Line and headed to Tipton. At the first moorings marked on the map there were old working boats tied up, so we decided that WD should have some company for the night, and we'd achieved our goal of being a day ahead of Canal plan so it was time to stop.

We'd kept warm doing the locks all afternoon but the last hour or so on the flat had chilled us to the bone. A cuppa and a slice of cake started to thaw us out, but Fish and Chips finished the job later on. Ever heard of battered chips? Well they do them here in Tipton!

16 miles 22 locks