Atherstone flight.

I was going to do this last night but I fell asleep in my chair, it must have been the fatigue engendered by working down the locks.

At the top of the locks Rothens old coal yard stands disused and derelict, even the lamp post seems to have given up.

Sadly the lock keeper has gone from his cottage, no more fresh eggs, weather forecasts or lockside dioramas. I suspect we will soon see a decline in the standard of upkeep here.

We watered at the top and then tackled our first lock since November. As I sank into its chthonic depths my nose was assailed by that damp, dank smell that seems to be peculiar to narrow locks, strange how certain smells stir the memory.

We were quickly into the swing of it and soon passed out of the urban environs.

At lock seven I had to go down the weed hatch, just the usual polythene but, oh my, that water was a tad chilly, all forms of flexible plastic are now in my top ten hates.

Just above lock ten we passed Moore2Life and not long after mooring at the bottom of the flight No Problem with Sue and Vic, visiting family and assorted canines arrived. Just time for a quick greeting and they were off to moor above lock ten. It's always good to see Sue and Vic, the doyens of waterways blogging.

Six nations this weekend, good TV reception and pleasant moorings here, no moving until Monday.