We've plateaued

Another start at half seven, another 13 locks, but we've reached the height of our ambition – well, the height of the Birmingham plateau at any rate. Consultation with helpful folk on the Canals and Braidbar Owners lists had led us to choose Hockley Heath as the best place to stop today, and this proved astute.

After a rather slow passage up the thick of the flight, no one's fault, just a mixture of a single hander just ahead of us and a couple of boats coming down, we reached our destination at half ten. There's a choice of moorings here; quite a length of rings before the bridge, but down in a cutting and near a busy road, or a shorter length on bollards through the other side. There were a couple of spaces on these latter, so we've taken one of them.

Hockley Heath proves to be a good shopping stop, with a proper Post Office, a One-Stop general store and a good butchers who also sells veg and some baked stuff.

The state of the locks varied quite a bit; some have had a recent make over, and were a pleasure to work. Others were less so, being stiff paddled and heavy gated. On one, we experienced a complete novelty; as the lock filled, one of the ground paddles at the tail of the lock suddenly raised itself half way up, and had to be swiftly wound down again. I can't imagine what arcane hydrology caused the paddle to elevate itself like that – it was a perfectly standard type ground paddle, unusual though it is to have them at the tail of the lock.

The afternoon has passed quietly, with odd jobs being done (the weed hatch had vibrated a bit loose, and had to be fixed down hard again, for example) and the sun has been warm enough at times to sit out in the well deck and read.

Tomorrow, we will make another earlyish start. Wedges, the baker and greengrocer by Bridge 20, opens at eight, so by leaving here at half seven again, we should just arrive as they do so. Then there will be around four and a half hours boating to get into the centre of Brum, where we will explore mooring in the Oozells Street loop for a change, I think, or failing that, on the visitor mooring by Symphony Court.