Having met the very friendly & chatty tunnel master, Derek, last night. He said he’d be on at 0800 the next day, so we got going early and arrived at the portal around 0900. One boat had just gone through and then there’d be three coming the other way – so a good hour’s wait, time to put the kettle on!
Then it was our turn …. into the gloom … with the tunnel getting narrower and lower the further you go …
Utmost concentration required …
I told you it was like a ghost train ride – here’s the skeleton
Phew, some 40 minutes later and we made it!
Out of the northern portal and the ochre coloured water
The plan was to chug on for a while, have a look at the CRT facilities at Red Bull and then do a few locks before finding a good mooring spot for the night (pub please!)
Viv did a few locks and then after a lunch stop, Steve did six more making it 12 locks today. Most of these were duplicated, i.e. there were two locks which eases the traffic flow . .
Some of these were quite deep – note the wee bridge with the gap in the middle? This was to take the towing rope from the horse.
We moored up at Rode Heath – nice rural spot with two pubs and even a Chinese take away … here’s a view of the guide book we use . . (we’re going right to left)
