Day 32 - Saltisford Arm, outskirts of Warwick

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2 locks, 160 in total.







After yesterday's extremely windy weather things have calmed a little today. Leamington Spa abruptly ended at the first bridge and we were almost in the country again, like a narrow green belt between Leamington and Warwick. There was building near the canal but not right up to it in many places. We stopped off at a huge Tesco for the next 2 days' shopping and then motored on towards the first of the 2 locks, going uphill again. A boat was waiting on the lock moorings already and the lock was emptying so we pottered along, hoping to go straight into the lock and avoid mooring. No such luck – the 2 boats in the lock really were on a go-slow and I can't imagine what they were doing to take so long. So we moored and as I passed the other waiting boat I asked, “Could they go much slower?” His reply - “we've been waiting 25 minutes for them!!” Once we finally gained entry the 2 locks were a breeze as there were 9 strapping men on the other boat – I was redundant. The men said they were going up Hatton Flight (21 locks) that afternoon – we were so tempted to join them but as ever we needed a pumpout so sadly let them forge ahead without us.







Had we joined them we should have missed the charming Saltisford Arm which we jturned onto at Budbrooke Junction. It is a 400 yard stretch of canal apparently owned and managed by a charitable trust. It is mainly residential moorings but there are some for visitors, with electric hook-ups, some washing machines and tumble dryers, pumpout operating on a Sunday (yay!) and a small shop. The one employee of the Trust was so helpful and he does everything there – gardening, mooring allocation, general maintenance and chatting. He suggested a pleasanter route into Birmingham which avoided what he called 'bandit country' and advised us where to moor in central Birmingham which was covered by CCTV cameras and therefore generally trouble-free. An absolute mine of information – thank you Ian.







Many people avoid Birmingham – indeed we haven't visited before in all our years of boating but we thought we had to do it once. Andy, the diesel seller on the K & A volunteered this gem when he knew we were going through – all the rubbish thrown into the canals tends to group near the bridges where the flow is restricted; rev up the engine as you approach a bridge and then put it into neutral to stop the prop turning and coast through the danger zone. We'll let you know if this works for us.







My photos do not do justice to the Saltisford Arm – apologies.

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Photos

Leamington Spa
- ornamental gateway in an effort to spruce up the local recreation ground. The bikes are very effective.

The whole I put my foot in whilst mooring for Tesco
Flat on my back!

Paddle gear.....
....note the little white cap on the long spike. The spike indicates if the paddles are up or down and this cover made it much easier to see. Plus some of the strapping men!

Various views of the Saltisford Arm
Picnic and barbecue area.

Sensory garden....
.... £15000 grant from the local authority!

Old lock gates.
You can see where the water enters and leaves the lock - the paddles are covers for these large square holes.