Cape (it’s uphill from here)

Sunday was a much better day weather-wise than Saturday so we went for a cruise after lunch.  The sun was out and it felt quite warm.

Blue skies appearing over our mooring at Hatton on Sunday morning

There had been a lot of boat traffic during the morning but it seemed to have stopped by the time we set off so we had the locks and cut to ourselves – just as we like it 😊 Karen did the locks as usual so I had an easy time of it.  It’s also a good chance for her to walk so she stays off the boat and Buddy gets a walk too.

Heading for the first lock of the day

Penultimate lock of the 21 on the Hatton flight - Buddy still can't be bothered to help

Once we had been through the final locks of the Hatton flight, we passed the Saltisford arm.  This arm used to run all the way into wharves in Warwick but only the first couple of hundred yards are still open.  It is a pleasant place to visit and the people that run the canal centre and boat yard are very friendly.  You may have read that I locked us out back in January and the guys in the boatyard lent us some big bolt croppers so I could break the padlock.  I remember feeling as if we had criminal intent when we were walking along the towpath with the bolt croppers.

After the Saltisford arm we arrived at the two locks at Cape.  The first is right next to the Cape of Good Hope pub; a popular spot for locals, tourists and boaters.

Top lock at Cape beside the pub

The skies had started darkening again but as we had decided to moor for the night below the bottom lock we had plenty of time before the rain came again.

Darkening skies

As it was, we moored up, walked back to get the car and parked it in a layby nearer the boat before it started raining.  As we walked back past the pub we decided to go in for a drink – it was Sunday after all and what else is there to do on a Sunday?  The clouds took a long time to roll in so we sat outside and managed to get a couple of pints in before getting home just as the sun disappeared. 

Our mooring below Cape bottom lock

We are now on a long pound that runs through Warwick and Leamington Spa before the next lock at Radford Semele.  From there the canal starts going uphill again and we will continue going uphill even after we join the Oxford canal at Napton on our way to Cropredy.  I’ll probably do a few miles and locks each day this week as we head through our favourite spots around here like Radford, Bascote and Long Itchington.