The Great Adventure day 2, Friday 10th April. 21 locks! Must be a record.

Today was much better, although it was overcast and raining on and off. We managed to set off by 9.30 and with four of us the locks were much easier, I was doing most of the driving whilst Jon and Neil did the hard work turning handles. What I can’t understand is why the ‘pick up’ moorings are so soon after the locks. I found it very difficult coming straight out of a lock and having to’ heave to’ to pick up the lads. Especially in many cases where the local fishermen seem to think that the mooring spots are there for their convenience. I am sure my driving skills will improve but by day 2 they are still very rusty. Through Brighouse the canal was quite dirty but otherwise very nice (Wakefield, below, will be ignored).

Karen enjoying the view and Tormentil still looking shiny

We saw 2 kingfishers, some Gooseanders and a mink which ran onto a parked work boat and disappeared inside. More boats today and at one point we had three in one lock (one was a very small ‘tupperware’ model that Jon was nervous about as it was the first we have had close contact with (but luckily not that close). More boats means more help at locks which is great. We found a good Lidles at Mirfield near the Ledgard flood lock and restocked the supplies of bacon (bacon butties on the move are the best). Reading Nicholson’s I had worried about going the wrong way and ending up on a wier ( the book if full of dire warnings) but in the end it was no trouble as there were large orange barrels strung across the rivers as a warning. We saw our first supermarket trolley in the canal today. Stopped for the night just past Thornhill double locks at a very quiet place,

and had bolognese for dinner with a bottle of red-yummy. This boating lark is not so bad after all.
21 locks, 11miles.