To go....or not to go....

Last night plan was for an early start and down the Atherstone locks..  That idea was easily shelved when we awoke to the sound of pouring rain!
However after a few hours things began to perk up and we decided we were being wimps so by 0945 we were off.  near the top of the locks we spied this....thank you Maffi

Atherstone Top Lock

Maffi was 'ere

Very quiet for a Sunday, we waited for one boat to come up the top lock but there was no one ahead of us.  We even met up with a volunteer lock keeper who gave us a hand through a couple of the locks.

and I thought at least Spring was here

It may not have been raining but the wind was very strong and it was decidedly chilly, definitely a hat and gloves day.

Sadly another pub bites the dust, The King's head below lock 5

But there were glimpses of sun from time to time and the locks are in a very pretty setting for most of the way.

There was a nasty squally shower as we approached lock 10 so once we reached the bottom after lock 11, we decided to quit whilst we were ahead.  The wind had freshened somewhat and there was a cosy looking mooring space just waiting for us.  So the joint went into the oven, miraculously we had digital TV and the Grand Prix was just starting for Geoff so all was right with the world.

The wind continued to blow all afternoon so we had made the right decision.

Total distance:2.05 miles 

Elapsed time:2h40m0s 

Locks:11

Bridges:10 
Average speed:0.74 mph (4.86 lock/mph)