Even more locks through Audlem

The Shroppie is such a lovely canal but today we had to work our way through 15 locks in the space of a mile and a half.

On some locks we had help but on many we had to work them on our own.

A nice welcome at the top lock. And ...

... a little stall selling biscuits and...

... pasties! Homemade, full of meat and far better than the pies we bought from a bakers recently. 

When there was no-one helping us I would pull the boat out of the lock, tie it up to the steps at the side, close the gates, nip back on board and on to the next one. Brigid, in the meantime, would have walked to the next lock, got it ready and I would sail straight in. 

We stopped for lunch four locks before the end of the flight, and guess what we had, pasties.

One of the famous pubs, in canal terms, the Shroppie Fly. It was once a warehouse and the old crane is still outside. 

My outstanding memory of the Shroppie Fly is from October 2008, first day of owning the boat, we arrive here in a snowstorm. Brigid looked like Michelin Man in all her woolies and mac and boots and, of course, the gates were covered in a thin layer of snow. Not the weather you want for the 15 locks here and the 5 at Adderley. 

Another warehouse but this time a craft centre.  

And just after the last lock, a restored canal stable. 

We've stopped here before, it's a lovely place for the night. Now it's time to put the pork in the oven batten down the hatches as the rain makes a return visit. Still, two days of sunshine ain't so bad.