Gamble

We wanted to visit Atherstone for some provisions – they have an Aldi and a good Co-op within walking distance of the towpath. But at that point the canal rises through a flight of 11 locks, with mooring space limited. The maps indicated that there was a stretch of 48 hour moorings near to the best access point for the town. But designated moorings are designated for a reason (they're convenient and popular) so you can never tell whether they will also be full up. There were some earlier sites, but they would have entailed walking much further in temperatures pushing towards the 90s.

So we took a gamble on the 48 hour having space. If we lost, we'd have to go up the remaining 5 locks and find somewhere beyond – but that would be out of range of the town centre. Fortunately (!) we won.

Throughout the afternoon other boats pulled in. I'd been feeling a bit guilty about leaving a potentially unusable space between Erin Mae and the boat behind. But then someone came in with a boat about 30 foot long, which fitted just fine!

It's a noisy spot (car traffic on the A5 and trains), so I don't think we'll be using our 48 hour allowance. But we're in better shape than what my best beloved snapped as we came through.