Everyone has been telling us this will be the last good day, weather-wise, and as we set off from C de B, we anxiously viewed the clouds building up overhead. The overall gloom was not helped by travelling though miles of overhanging trees, the debris from which, combined with quite shallow water, made for slow progress.
Eventually the trees ended, the sky brightened, and the sylvan debris gave way to plastic bottles, cans, carrier bags and at one point, a television (the cathode ray tube is so last season). Suburban housing gave way to industry and dereliction, punctuated by the occasional surprise - how do you fancy the Crystal Plaza Wedding Hall for your ceremony?
We reached the top of Camp Hill locks and took on water before the descent. My anticipated pleasure at doing narrow locks again evaporated fairly quickly when I found it impossible to open the top gate of Lock 1. Brian tied the boat up and came to help but it was a real struggle even with two of us. I was not now looking forward to locks 2 to 6, but fortunately (and amazingly, as we hadn't seen another boat for 3 hours) help arrived in the form of a hire boat behind us, this time with 4 strapping Yorkshiremen aboard. They were doing the Warwickshire Ring in a week so were keen not to be held up, and together we got through Camp Hill and the 5 Garrison locks fairly rapidly.
Not having had any lunch, we stopped just after 3.15 at the visitor moorings thoughtfully provided at the exotically named Star City (because every boater needs to visit a casino, multiplex cinema, bowling alley, "mini snow slope" and interactive Chamber of Horrors once in a while). But the moorings are good, safe (on the non-towpath side and separated from the complex by a security fence & gate - BW key operated) and, considering the proximity of the M6, reasonably quiet.
So here we are for the night. Will we be tempted ?
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