Into the sump

Technically, just as a canal pound that has locks leading away downhill from both ends is a summit, a pound which has locks leading down into it at both ends is a sump, and that's where we are now. We've come down the locks from Bascote to Radford Bottom, and tomorrow, we'll start up the other side by working up the Cape Two.

Then we'll take a break by turning off into the Saltisford Arm, before working up the Hatton 21 when we set off again. I realised today that our system of taking it in turns to steer and to lock, day and day about, is going to let me down here. I mean, Sheila worked down the ten locks from Stockton Top yesterday, and I did another ten to get here today. Then tomorrow, Sheila will work the Cape Two, and after that, it will be the Hatton 21....

Hmmm.

It was a good morning's boating today; we set off at half seven, and found the Kate Boat I mentioned yesterday, Amy Clare, just going out of the bottom chamber of the staircase pair. They didn't get very far, because the short pound between the staircase and the third lock, which is an ordinary chamber, was very low indeed, and even a shallow drafted hire boat couldn't get along it.

To work Bascote, you have to have the top chamber full and the bottom empty, no matter which way you're going, so I refilled the top, let Sanity Again in, and ran the water into the bottom chamber. After Sheila had moved the boat through, I closed up behind her, and started the bottom chamber emptying into the dry pound below. This helped in itself, but I also started the top chamber refilling.

Once Sheila was moving  out of the bottom, and with the top full again, I opened an intermediate paddle without closing the bottom gates. The water from the top chamber thus added itself to the pound below, and we now had enough depth to move both boats into the next lock.

After taking care to close everything up again in the staircase, we now worked our way down the remaining locks in the course of the next couple of hours.

Amy Clare's crew were a very pleasant family, an older couple with a fair bit of hiring and sharing experience, and their daughter and her boyfriend (I assume) who were new to the canals.

We've stopped below Radford Bottom, and they went on, planning to get up at least Hatton today, as they are on their way round the Warwickshire Ring.

There's a novel farm shop advertised here. It's a bit strange; you have to ring the bell at an automatic gate to get access, but they are very helpful, and got in a litre of milk for us, as well as selling us some luscious looking tomatoes. It's another of these places where you can ring ahead (01926 427296) to order supplies; they do free range eggs (the name, Offchurch Poultry is a bit of a clue) and sausages and stuff as well as milk and veg.