The past week - Part 1

We left Market Drayton on a snowy morning after attempting a water fill at a frozen tap!  I was not exceptionally happy with the decision as it was snowing, bloody freezing and there was a flight of 5 locks to be done.

We also encountered an obstacle across most of the canal, leaving just enough room for passing but what you cannot see is the rocks just below the waterline on the canal edge.  I very nearly wet myself when we hit them.  Andrew happily put on the steam and forced us over them. Most unpleasant from inside, it sounded like the bottom was being ripped out.

 

Note fallen tree behind us

Arriving at the locks, the choice for me was rather difficult. It was blowing a fair wind so steering between locks for me would be very difficult, never mind a tad cold, standing on the back of the boat manoeuvering in and out the locks and across the pounds. Or, keep warm by locking but having to traipse around in the snow and in some cases ice on the lock gates. I opted for locking but again, as luck would have it a boat had just gone up the flight ahead of us, so each lock needed to be reset before we could use it.  I was not a happy bunny! I ended up just taking my time. Once through the locks I was back inside warming up. 

These just do not show that the temp felt like about -6

The wind was bitter, so Andrew moored up at Goldstone Wharf. He had seen an interesting bird in the field, so with camera in had we walked back to have a better look.

A Lapwing and some Redwings

 Snow covered fields

Snow drift on the opposite bank to where we moored

After all that very fresh air, we warmed up in the boat for the remainder of the day.