The sun has got his hat on (but needs his windcheater)

The plan today was to get to Audlem ("the most southerly village in the north" says the guide) before lunch and stay for the rest of the day and night, to have some downtime in a place we've visited a few times and always liked.

So, setting off at 8.30, we were soon on our way down the first 11 of the 15 Audlem locks (total descent 93 ft). Progress was quite smooth as there were plenty of boats coming the other way, and we reached the first, totally empty, stretch of visitor moorings.  However, Miss Picky decided she didn't want to stay there and that the stretch below the next two locks would be nicer, so Brian battled on with gritted teeth through the gale-force winds until we found almost the last spot available (but it did have a much nicer outlook).

After a quick coffee, and the discovery that again there was no signal to our wi-fi dongle, we set off on foot to find some lunch and do some shopping. 

Lunch was easy - the sun was shining, so it had to be outside the Shroppie Fly

Standing on the wharf and converted from a former warehouse, with a bar shaped like the bow of a narrowboat, the Fly is the epitome of "boaty".  Strange, then, that the crane in front actually came from the long-gone Audlem railway station. (Immortalised in Flanders & Swann's The Slow Train).

Lunch was so good, and filling, that we abandoned plans for eating out in another of Audlem's hostelries tonight, and went in search of ingredients for on-board eating.  First shock was that the butchers had closed.  Then we couldn't find any fresh vegetables.  Unlike Richard & Sandra, we have only tomatoes to call our own, and they are sadly not up to the mark yet - only three of them, the largest less than an inch across and defiantly green.

So we picked up a few things from the Co-op and resigned ourselves to store-cupboard creativity.  Out third shock of the day was arriving back at the boat, which now had a strong list to port.  We had become victims of the "Shroppie shelf", the water level having dropped thanks to quite high use of the lock below.  Swift action was required, and we decided that this would take the form of an exit from Audlem.  Down the last two locks, and an hour later we were at the interestingly-named Coole Pilate moorings - out in the country, and thoughtfully provided with picnic tables and barbecues.  If only the weather was good enough to use them.

4 1/2 miles, 15 locks


Wildlife seen: 2 sparrowhawks performing an amazing aerobatic display; 1 squirrel which performed a flying leap over the lock outside the Shroppie Fly, hotly pursued by a Jack Russell

PS. Amazingly, in the middle of nowhere, we do have a signal, so I will add the photos to previous posts