Audlem to Brewood - 26 locks, 29 miles

We had a lovely day off in Audlem, really pretty little village, as a little treat we had lunch in the tea rooms, it was warm enough to sit outside and if it had got chilly the chairs had blankets ...... Really cute.

Tuesday we tackled the Audlem flight, 15 locks, unfortunately a boat had travelled up in front of us and nothing was coming the other way, so of the 15 locks 13 of them had to be turned, so our progress was slow, but we were soon in a rhythm.

At the top lock there is a small cottage which sells homemade cakes, so we had to purchase, got to support the local community! Scones and bakewells, gorgeous!!  These were enjoyed whilst savouring the beautiful views from our mooring spot.

The weather has been very hit and miss this week, but overall we have managed to move in the best of the weather.

Wednesday and Thursday were work days or Rod, so it was Friday before we were on the move again.

We set off really early as the forecast for later in the day was very wet, we were only planning to do the 5 locks at Adderley and then stop and Market Drayton, but the weather was good so we continued on our merry way and did the 5 locks at Tyrley as well.

The locks at Adderley are a bit of a challenge as they all have really strong run offs just before you get to the entrance, which means it is almost impossible not to dink the sides....more painting.

We moored up near a nice pub and again had some beautiful views.  

From the book we both thought we knew which pub it was from our journey up the Shropshire Union in September/October, but we were wrong!!! It was a totally different pub, but again we felt the need to support the local community........... We have been accused of being on one long pub crawl....how could anyone think that!!

Saturday morning we made our way to Norbury Junction, George and Carol were coming to see us for the weekend, their first stay on the boat but unfortunately the weather was looking like being pretty wet.  As we made the short journey we went through the infamous bridge with the telegraph pole half way up.

We also passed another diddly little boat, I think this one was a little concerned about being hit, judging by the number of fenders it had out!!

We made it to Norbury just before the rain started and George and Carol arrived just before 7:00.  We just had time to get them settled and it was off to the pub to meet Nic, Ant & Steph.  We had a lovely evening catching up.

Sunday George took Rod to pick up the van and then move it on to where we hoped to be on Monday.  The weather was not too bad, some sun and quite a few showers.  George (the dog) soon made himself comfortable.

We were also lucky enough to see our first Kingfisher for quite some time, too quick for me to catch on camera I'm afraid!!

Monday morning the heavens opened it was really wet and pretty grey. We made the short journey to Brewood, where the van was parked.  

George being unaccustomed to cruising with the canopy down, decided the view was not good enough for him so he promptly found a small gap, shoved his head in and forced the zip up!!

I took George and Carol back to get their car, whilst Rod cruised on to our planned stopping point.

When we finally caught up later, the sun decided to put in an appearance, was hard to believe it was the same day.