Saturday 28th May 2005
Bascote Bridge - Lapworth Wharf (17 miles, 39 locks)
We left at 6:30am and passed down Bascote Locks unaccompanied, before meeting NB Jason at Welsh Road Lock. The woman on board was very experienced at single-handed lock working, but was pleased to have extra help and company down the remaining locks to Radford Semele. We stopped at Tesco’s just before Bridge 46 in Warwick to get supplies, and decided to have breakfast in the café. Rosemary asked for an omelette, which we saw being taken, ready made, from a sealed plastic bag and was presumably then microwaved. It arrived as a flavour free blob with a strange texture. What sort of world are we creating where simple food goes through complex manufacturing processes for the sake of convenience?
The weather was reasonably sunny, but with a strengthening wind as the day went on, making it rather exciting to manoeuvre the boat at times, but still no urge to have bow-thrusters.
We passed through Cape Locks before meeting up with another Ownerships boat, Castlecroft, who were heading for Stratford. We shared the Hatton Flight together.
Half-way up, Jen was walking ahead to prepare the next lock when she met the woman on Jason who was desperate to escape from sharing with a boatload of “experienced” people who kept barking instructions at her. She asked if she could team up with us again, but as we were already with Castlecroft it didn’t seem fair.
We stopped for water at the top of the Hatton flight and Jen and I had lunch. Robert and Rosemary had already eaten “on the hoof” so as not to disrupt their lock-wheeling rhythm. It had taken three hours, so no records broken this time.
At Kingswod Junction, we turned onto the Stratford Canal, heading north through the first six locks and mooring for the night at Lapworth Wharf. We ate out at the Navigation Inn near Bridge 65 on the GU. The Boot Inn is nearer, but is very up-market. I believe it is owned by the same company as the Crab Mill at Preston Baggot on the southern section of the Stratford Canal. We visited that a few years ago, desperate for food, but realised there would be a problem when we saw the cars in the car park, all brand new, top-of-the-range Audis, Mercedes and BMWs. The food was fancy, the portions microscopic and the prices out of our league.