Wednesday 4 May 2016

Quick run to Branston

Alrewas to Branston is one of those runs that takes either two and a half hours or three. If you set out expecting three, you get two and a half and vice versa. So today we left at a quarter to eight, aiming to arrive between half ten and eleven, and got here at quarter past ten. We'd had all the locks with us bar the last, Tatenhill, and were followed by two guys from Keir, the contractors, moving a workboat to a new location.

They'd actually showed up above Bagnall just as Sheila was getting ready to set off but insisted that we go first. There was very little traffic moving and the weather has continued to pick up.

CRT were doing some work repairing the towpath edge between Tatenhill and the Water Park, but not in such a way as to obstruct navigation. They were using stakes and sandbags to make good the edge, then backfilling with dredge from the centre of the channel. It's a lot better than nothing but doesn't remove the big stones that have fallen out of the washwall that stop you from getting up to the side, something that's a particular problem in this length.

After we'd had coffee, I set off to walk to Morrisons, having forgotten to buy more tomatoes yesterday. It's a bit of a trek, so I was delighted to find that there is now a large Co-op in Branston village, about the same size as the new one in Willington. The Co-op is certainly investing a lot in new stores these days.

After lunch, we took a brisk walk round the lake. No unusual birds were seen, indeed there's less variety than at Mercia, but it's still a very pleasant stroll.

Tomorrow, on to Willington. It looks like we should be able to get some of the outdoor jobs done in the next few days if this weather holds up.

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