How lucky to be descending Tardebigge on such a wet day!

Friday 20^th October; Tardebigge top pound to above lock 33

Yes, very lucky indeed, as you will see!  It had rained heavily all night, and this morning when I took Meg out I needed wellies as the towpath was flooded.  A boat had arrived behind us as darkness fell last night, and they left in the rain to tackle the rest of the flight at about 9.30.  They were followed a little while later by a Black Prince, probably on its way back to base at Stoke Pound.  The forecast said the likelihood of rain would be decreasing towards 11, and would be drier this afternoon, so we set off at about 10.30.

A bit less flooded now

It was soon raining again, but at least it wasn’t cold!  A few locks down I had got warm enough to be taking off one of my fleeces under the shelter of a tree, when I saw a CRT lady walking down.  No windlass though?  Sadly, one wouldn’t be needed.  She had padlocked the top gates, as the flight had been closed because of the risk of flooding lower down.  Please would we moor up?  Well, we were emptying lock 55 and as 54 was already full we went into 54 and tied up to the steps to stop us drifting out again.  We had been going a mere 38 minutes.  We peeled off our waterproofs, had coffee and read.  The soft tops of my shoes were wet from the standing water and the drips from my waterproof trousers, so my socks were wet too.

I don't know what the curved gate-opening path is called, but you couldn't see the bricks where you brace your feet.

We had coffee and read.  After a while I got togged up again – it was still raining, though not heavily - and took Meg for a walk to see how far the other boats had got.  There was no sign of them - they had got well past the reservoir anyway, which they should have done with an hour’s head start on us. 

 

Reservoir still looks a bit low

On the way back I met a CRT chap with a rake checking the bywashes and culverts.  There would be an update on the stoppage at 2 o’clock, but there wouldn’t be many people behind us, if any – a tree had come down at the end of Shortwood tunnel and brought a landslide with it.  It had been reported by a boater (who turned out to be this morning's Black Prince) who had only just passed the spot – if he had been just a few minutes later .... it doesn't bear thinking about.  So we were glad we hadn't stayed in Birmingham for an extra day.   We had lunch, with the rain coming and going.  At one point I thought I heard a boat engine, but when I looked it turned out to be the bywash thundering past.

Looking more like a weir than a bywash

 

 

We checked the stoppage notice at 2 as directed.  It had vanished, so off we went again.  It was mostly not raining, though ‘dry’ wasn’t exactly accurate either.  We had a slightly modified splitting of the work, as everything was so wet and we had to have safety even more in mind than usual, but it worked pretty well.  My sports watch told me I had walked about 10 miles today - as I was walking 2 locks ahead to raise a paddle (and then 2 locks back to close up after Dave had come down) it wasn’t surprising.  I’d worn shorts this afternoon as it was so mild, though I didn’t quite get down to shirtsleeves!  But with the skies still grey and cloud very low, the light was going before we were anywhere near the bottom.   

Setting sun gilds the cratch

We soon realised it would be dark before we reached the bottom of the flight - far too dangerous for locking!  So we moored on the armco in the slightly longer pound 5 locks up, leaving a bit of slack in the ropes in case of a change in the water level.  The original plan had been to eat in the Queen’s Head, but we couldn't book a table until we knew we'd get down the flight.  When we finally phoned we found there would be no tables till after 8 unless we sat outside in the marquee.  So, with a dark, wet and muddy towpath to get there as well, we opted to stay in and had one of Dave’s specialities - beef stroganoff - instead.  Yum!

The bywashes debouch* below the bottom gates

 2 miles, 24 locks

*This word popped into my head and I couldn't think of another one so I looked it up to be sure I wasn't inventing it.  I wasn't, it means emerge, and one of its specific uses is for a river or stream.  But I had to use my old dictionary - you have to pay to use the OED online, and the American websites gave me 'debauch' instead!