We are still chugging along the K&A. Mon 16 Aug Moored at Bridge 97 - about 4' from the bank 12 mi, 3 fl - 13 locks Start 09:50, moored up at 18:20 Glorious sunny morning which we celebrated by starting with a dunny dump at the quaint Honey St boatyard [very thorough; £12] and a 13kg propane [£24.75]. They want 81p/litre domestic for diesel, in case anyone's heading that way. The next part of the K&A is delightful and we had the best weather for it. Negotiated a fallen tree just short of Wootton Rivers [BW in attendance] and paused for lunch while taking water above Lock 51. Two westbound boats encouraged us to push on after half an hour or so and we continued to enjoy the trip hugely. Not until we got to the bottom of Crofton did reality take over - the n/s bottom gate of Lock 59 is almost unmovable [although we did see a young mink scamper along the lockside] and the n/s ground paddle of 60 is missing, as it has been for 3 years. To avoid boaters being disappointed by this when approaching the lock, BW have kindly removed the entire mechanism, leaving a couple of bolts sticking out of the stonework. This lock is quite shallow but takes an age to fill. Only one gate paddle on 61, but that was reasonably efficient. Despite all of this we felt we'd had a pretty good day, relaxing with one of Lynne's excellent chicken curries on board before meandering into Gt Bedwyn for a drink at the 3 Tuns. Menu looks promising so may visit on the return trip on Weds evening.
Still no useable Vodafone signal so this'll have to wait. Baz
