Phew, that was a bit exciting!

Some folk enjoy the hurly burly of navigating rivers on the edge of flooding, but we don't, so we were in two minds whether to set off today; the EA river levels website for Kings Bromley showed the Trent rising again with the effect of all yesterday's rain. We decided to go as far as Barton Turn and check the status board there. On the way, we crossed with a boat which had come down from Alrewas this morning, who told us that the river was still open, though running fast.

On we went, and found at Wychnor that the level was just in the top of the green, so, greatly encouraged, we ploughed on. Sanity Again's engine ticks over at 800 rpm, and at that she usually does between 1.8 and 2.2 mph through still water. There was enough flow down the backwater which forms Wychnor moorings that I was having to run at 1100 to do better than 2 mph.

Turning the corner onto the main river and opening up showed that there was indeed a lot of fresh. At 1600, the engine speed at which we would do around 7 mph, we were just managing to make 2.5 mph over the ground. The turn across the stream to head for the lock was interesting, and things were complicated by the mill stream, which flows across the mouth of the lock.

/sweat

Fortunately, two boaters who had come down for a look at the state of the river opened the bottom gates for us, so that we didn't have to risk getting nailed onto the lock landing opposite the mill stream.

I managed a reasonably clean entry, and with great relief we rose in the lock onto the calm waters of the canal again.

We've been able to moor just beyond the lock landing, and have spent a bit of time today repaying that gate opening kindness by obliging for others in the same situation. The river is still rising, and was closed and the lock gates padlocked in the early afternoon.

The last boat we saw up had her engine cut out just as she entered the lock. "Oh" said her steerer, "it's been doing that lately…"

 /no

We've had a peaceful afternoon since, punctuated by occasional unhappy boaters discovering that the river is closed, and more entertainingly by an African Grey parrot in a cage on the roof of a boat over on the long term moorings, which has been nattering and whistling away to itself.

Tomorrow, we stay here, buying meat and collecting a prescription in the village, and then walking up to Fradley to join John and Nev on Waimaru for lunch.