No more locks - for the time being

Looking back down the Lapworth flight

We finished the Lapworth locks this morning and after a stop for shopping and lunch we have moored near the Blue Bell Cider House for the night - a journey of 4 miles and 13 locks. These are the last locks for a couple of days, then we tackle the 35 or so on the Tardbigge flight.

Apart from the locks the travelling is quiet and slow as the Stratford Canal is fairly shallow and meandering. It is pleasant in a gentle sort of way. The weather helps as it is warm but not too hot, again pleasant in a gentle sort of way.

As readers may have gathered, life on board focusses on the basics. Things like getting provisions and water and dumping rubbish and, er, used water. It is the first of these which has been exercising our minds today. Basically there are minimal facilities for shopping along the whole of the Stratford canal after leaving Stratford itself. So planning meals well in advance is a necessity as is taking opportunities to buy when possible. Today we had three such opportunities.

There was a small and minimally stocked general stores at Lapworth. More useful were the shops at Hockley Heath where we stopped for lunch. Here there is a larger but still small general stores and a butcher with a very good range of produce including duck, partridge, pheasant, wild boar and much else beyond - mainly frozen, but still a welcome find in a small village on the canal.

The final surprise was the bakers and farmshop a couple of miles further on. This really is out in the country, several miles from anywhere of note except for the M42. But their carpark was full as people clearly visit from around the area to buy the home produced breads and pastries, and the veg, cheeses and other delights.