Bartimaeus

There was the sound of heavy rain on the roof before we went to bed last night.  It was a relief to remember that we don’t need to check for flooding.  Instead we can be pleased that there will be plenty of water in the pounds in the morning.  The rain had stopped by the morning, leaving a damp, grey, but surprisingly warm morning.  We started off by going back to the pumpout station across the canal.  It was only after we’d run out the hose that we realised that there didn’t seem to be any power available, so it wasn’t going to work.  We believe we have enough capacity to reach the next facility.

We set off hoping to avoid the wettest parts of the day.  Before the next lock, the canal lives up to its name.  Clare hopped off to prepare the lock ahead while I had a chat with a couple walking alongside who used to have a boat on the Llangollen Canal.

The railway viaduct is an imposing sight.  The considerable effort required to build it was nevertheless dwarfed by that required to construct the tunnel a few miles further up.

The character of the locks has changed on this section.  They now have the more common arrangement of a ground paddle on each side at the head end, and twin tail gates with a paddle in each.  One slightly annoying feature is that there is no way to cross the canal at the head end.  I settled on a pattern of bringing the bow in to the jaws of the lock to provide Clare with a bridge.

The first of the locks had very stiff paddles.  Clare recruited a gongoozler to wind one of them – I’m sure she’d have managed without him eventually.  We continue to get a lot of positive comments from people on the towpath saying how pleased they are to see boats again.

A couple of locks further on, I walked ahead to set the lock, and then dashed back to see if I could buy some bread for lunch.  By the time I returned, Clare had opened the gate for herself and was returning to Bartimaeus.  This lock had been modified to accommodate a road-widening since it was built.  The tail gate arm was now too short to give enough leverage to open the gate, so a windlass operated gear had been installed.  Once I’d worked out which way to turn it, it was very easy to use.

There was no wind and the air was very humid so it was warm work operating locks.  Bartimaeus had somehow gained a carpet of autumn leaves all down one gunwale.  They were also collecting in the propellor, requiring frequent clearing with bursts of reverse.

The next lock gave a clear indication that there was plenty of water in the canal.  There was water cascading over the lock gate when I arrived to fill it.  By the time it was full, the cascade was over the gates at the other end.  This lock had instructions to leave it empty, presumably that water goes somewhere unwanted if the lock is left full.

By the time we’d done a couple more locks the battery voltage had come up to the maximum safe charging level (58.7v) even though it was still showing just under 90% full.  The two methods of measuring the state of charge get out of step, but synchronise when they agree the battery is full.  Just as we reached the next lock, the rain started to come on, so we tied up on the lock bollards and went inside for some lunch.  Better weather is forecast for the days ahead, so we decided that would do us for the day.

In the early afternoon we felt the boat moving as someone was filling the lock.  We stepped out to help them since we were blocking their lock landing and had a pleasant chat.  They were not going through the tunnel because they didn’t want to damage their paintwork – and their boat was beautifully painted too.

In a gap in the afternoon rain we walked down the canal and returned via a railway path.  The autumn leaves were prominent.  A robin demanded our attention with its loud song.