Creaking Gate

I have been off the radar for a couple of days as I had a trip up to Sutton Coldfield on Tuesday on family business.

As the return journey was going to be in darkness I made all the stops and diversions on the outward journey in the morning. I made it my business to take the route that I had frustratingly passed through in darkness last month and so got to see what Lechlade on Thames, Burford, Shipton-under-Wychwood and Chipping Norton actually looked like. Along the way I spotted a short eared owl sitting in a tree at the edge of a field, a large flock of lapwings flying over the Thames, a great spotted woodpecker, a hen pheasant and a few soaring buzzards. I pulled over near the medieval packhorse bridge in Burford to take a look at the flooded Windrush and continued on a maze of previously untravelled roads, through narrow lanes and slightly-flooded tracks, up to Warwickshire.

My car is programmed to automatically pull over and park when it spies something of particular interest and there is nothing I can do about it, so when it saw a sign for the Grand Union Canal as I drove along Dark Lane and stopped, I was obliged to walk down to the tow-path, where I saw a sign for Hatton Locks Café and set off towards it. Along the way I met this boater and fell into conversation about my camera with him. I was intrigued by the name of his boat and asked how he came by it. He told me that when he retired he had a medical to review all his aching bones, and the doctor told him that he was like a creaking gate; he would go on forever.

As I walked along I remembered that the Hatton Locks were a challenging series of 21 locks known to the boaters who worked it as the 'Stairway to Heaven'. Shortly afterwards I reached Hatton Locks Café, which I can wholeheartedly recommend for their friendly helpful service, especially since I found they stocked chilled Fentiman's Dandelion and Burdock, which I consumed with a freshly cooked and prepared BLT sandwich on the tables by the canal outside. This is why the projected 10-minute pause at Dark Lane turned into an hour long stop-off.

More little roads followed, guided by the sat-nav, taking me through Coleshill and on to the Water Orton area. The car made me stop again at Curdworth Bridge, so I had an exploratory stroll along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and got to see the 52-yard long Curdworth Tunnel, finally arriving at my destination after a five hour journey.

The Extra shows the Grand Union at Hatton.

L.
6.12.2012

Blip #864
Consecutive Blip #077
Day #985

Alternatives:
Flooded Windrush At Burford
Picnic Tables At Hatton Locks Café
Hatton Locks

A Trip To The Midlands, 4 December 2012 (Flickr set)

Lens (Alternatives): Pentax 12-24 mm

Canals series
Family Business series

The History of Hatton Locks (Canal & River Trust page)

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (Celebration Day)(Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, O2 Arena, London, recorded 10 December 2007)

One year ago: Smokey