25 locks and 11 miles today.

As Friday’s weather forecast is not as good as todays, we decided to try and pass through all the Audlem, Adderley and Tyrley locks so that we’d be left with more than one days lock free cruising should it decide to rain tomorrow.
Once again we set off at 9am and the trip to Audlem bottom lock took almost an hour. We found ourselves in the queue behind two small boats but as they were sharing the single locks they made good progress. We followed them up the fifteen lock flight, passing a northbound boat coming the other way at all but one lock.
At lock 3, Graham purchased two scones from the ‘honesty box’ cake stall outside the lock cottage and then also purchased two pork pies from the stall at lock 1 (the top lock) During the one-mile cruise from the top of Audlem flight to Adderley locks we had lunch on the move which included devouring the two scones. we then ascended the next five locks still following the two small boats.
On our approach to Market Drayton we moored at Victoria bridge (65) and then walked up the road to the Morrison supermarket at the top. Provisioning completed we then continued on into M.D. to stop at the sani-station and dispose of our rubbish. Then on to the Tyrley lock flight where the bywash outfalls at the bottom two locks were so fierce that we had to use the front rope to keep Jannock’s bows in line in order to enter the narrow lock.
Additionally, the top three locks of this flight seem to suffer from top gates that refuse to remain closed when the lock is full. At the penultimate lock, Graham even walked back, closed the gate and let a little water out of the lock to make sure it stayed shut. By the time we were ascending the top lock it was open again.

Incidentally, the 3 bedroom house in the picture above is for sale, with mooring, for £390k.
We moored for the night, above the top lock on the 48 hour moorings, at 6:30 pm after a tiring day for both of us. Brenda photogaphed this wonderful bracket fungus on a tree stump in a CaRT workboat moored above the toplock.