Another fabulously hot day

 In the morning we pulled the pins and filled the lock.  I walked past Wood End Lock and down to Fradley Junction, about a mile.  The new gravel path that HS2 have put in (That is to say you and me tax payers) has it downsides as within seconds tiny pieces of gravel flick up into your shoes, some of them agony, but let's not complain.

As usual the volunteer Lock keepers are a jolly bunch and are also enjoying themselves.

We turned right at the junction, onto the Coventry canal and headed south, but first dropping off the rubbish and watering up.

We thought Fradley was very quiet.  Looking past the junction onto the visitor moorings there were three boats in the distance and one was pulling off.  In the past, on occasions it's been so full we've had to go straight through.

Where is everyone this lovely sunny weekend?

The previous night I'd heard from my son-in-law in London that the Northern Lights had been seen from their house and even from our town on the south coast, we had an early night but at about 2am I climbed out the back of the boat and took the following shots....

Ummmmmm

This one is better I hear you say, sadly it's Lichfield city lights.
back to bed.

I've since heard that there might be more opportunities later....

WaL leaving the picturesque Wood End Lock.

Wood anyone?

The Mucky Duck pub in the background where we had supper last night.

Now on the Coventry canal.

We made our warm way along and you can easily see the problems that this wet weather has caused farmers.  Crops have laid in the wet and not germinated.  This will be very expensive to do again.

We moored up a little before Whittington that afternoon hoping to see in the sun, I was coming towards the end of a cracking book (Wake by Shelley Burr), but in the event I had to sit in the boat until the sun went far enough behind WaL to get a bit of shade.

Later that evening we were royally entertained but tractors, they were prepping the fields for potato planting, then one got stuck, wheels slipping at one point I thought he might end up in the drink.  A second tractor failed to rescue him.  

Retired farmers are allowed to chortle at other farmers as in the past it's a certainty that you have had worst troubles.  

I could list some of ours.

  

The blue one had sunk into a muddy hole.

He slipped and slithered closer to the edge.

We went to bed and the tractors carried on to about midnight.

Supper was beans on toast with cheese on the top.

Cracking book.