Objectives achieved

I had a bit of a restless night last night and Sheila, who had slept well, woke just after six. So we made an early start and were on our way by 7.15. First stop was the water point at Peel's Wharf, where the tank was filled to the brim and the rubbish disposed of. Sheila made a start on cleaning bird poo off the solar panel and the rest of the roof whilst I bustled about looking busy.

Next was the trip down the Birmingham and Fazeley to Fazeley Mill. That involves two bits of manoeuvring, firstly round the awkward junction and then the reverse into the marina so that the pump out is on the right side. We got there before they were open, but Jackie turned up a bit before nine and we were soon offloading the contents of the toilet tank.

We also bought 13kg of propane and 55 litres of diesel. Now in boater's heaven (two full tanks and one empty one) we pulled out again. The turn out is a lot easier than the entry, but the turn at the junction is no better going back onto the Coventry. By the time we left there were another two boats waiting for service, so it really does pay to get up in the mornings :))

There followed an uneventful run to Polesworth. A boat was just descending Glascote bottom, so both locks were with us. As we left the top lock another boat arrived. The lady lock wheeler announced that Atherstone Lock 10 was to be stopped for two days from tomorrow, causing a bit of consternation on our part. However, a quick check of the CRT site confirmed my understanding; it's to close for two hours, not two days...

For a sad reason, we're not under any time pressure anyway. John and Nev have had another family emergency (they are not having a good year), so have had to cancel our rendezvous at Norton. We've decided to stay here at Polesworth for two nights, which will allow the Atherstone stoppage to sort itself and us to get some more boat cleaning done.