We checked to see if the rain was going to hold off but the strong winds did give us some doubt.
We set off at about 9.30am and crunched our way slowly past the boat moored by us. 
It felt like we were escaping and it really felt good to be moving. Saying that, Lichfield has been kind to us, and there are a lot worse places to be iced in. We had a good co-op and station just a mile away, and a great pub that supplied us with water and beer 200yrds from Derwent6!
It felt like we were escaping and it really felt good to be moving. Saying that, Lichfield has been kind to us, and there are a lot worse places to be iced in. We had a good co-op and station just a mile away, and a great pub that supplied us with water and beer 200yrds from Derwent6!We carried on, and as we suspected the ice was worse in the shady areas, but Derwent6 managed to plough it's way through it. We had some patches where all the ice had gone but you soon found that it had just been blown down the canal, and all joined up like a massive jigsaw puzzle. 
The bridges were a bit tricky as the ice all came together here and tried to deflect Derwent6 into the bridge walls as you were entering. We were tipped on our sides at times where the ice had got underneath the bow and it didn't help that we were so low on water that the bow was trying to come out the water. This also made it easier for the wind to get hold of us. But with all these problems we still made it to Fazeley junction. The sun came out just as we managed to get on the water point. After clearing the ice away, we filled the tank to the brim.
The bridges were a bit tricky as the ice all came together here and tried to deflect Derwent6 into the bridge walls as you were entering. We were tipped on our sides at times where the ice had got underneath the bow and it didn't help that we were so low on water that the bow was trying to come out the water. This also made it easier for the wind to get hold of us. But with all these problems we still made it to Fazeley junction. The sun came out just as we managed to get on the water point. After clearing the ice away, we filled the tank to the brim.After having a look round the corner we could see that the ice was still broken, so we chanced our luck to get through the two locks at Glascote. 
We had to move some ice to get the gates open but it all seemed ok at this point. When we got to the top lock we could see that the ice was only broken from the marina here, and it was pretty solid from then on. You could even see the footprints of some pratt that had tried to walk on it.
We tried to break the ice and it soon became apparent that it was still two inches thick and Derwent6 was going no-where. We managed to reverse back up to the water point after clearing the ice away. 
We are just two hours away from Atherstone where the locks close on Monday, our gateway to the south. If this ice hasn't got thinner by the morning we won't be going any further.
We had to move some ice to get the gates open but it all seemed ok at this point. When we got to the top lock we could see that the ice was only broken from the marina here, and it was pretty solid from then on. You could even see the footprints of some pratt that had tried to walk on it. We tried to break the ice and it soon became apparent that it was still two inches thick and Derwent6 was going no-where. We managed to reverse back up to the water point after clearing the ice away. We are just two hours away from Atherstone where the locks close on Monday, our gateway to the south. If this ice hasn't got thinner by the morning we won't be going any further.We couldn't get a TV signal here so we watched DVDs all evening, pondering over the weather.
7 comments:
Hopefully you have had the lovely sunny day we have and fingers crossed it has helped melt the ice. Think the lack of tv signal would be more traumatic for me than the burst radiator!!
lol
Z
Mike Askin brought Victoria down Atherstone the other day but I don't know where he stopped
It must be good to have a change of scene ..hope you have lots of DVD's with you !!....x
Hi Z, that made us laugh, you and your TV!!! I'll have to catch up with Dancing on Ice later in the week, but apart from that there's nothing on lol x
Hi Brian, no chance of getting to us, the ice is just too thick here...Even BW gave up!!
Hi Lorna, it was great to move, we felt like we were part of the great escape!! Hopefully we will be able to move again soon x
by the looks of it you could practice for dancing on ice and be a late entry!!! I am abit traumatised by the lack of Celebrity BB this Jan - don't know what I will be like in the summer! Mind you with Sebastian still lodging here, him and Greg gang up on me and I seem to have lost control of the remote :(. Greg took the oven today as the one in his T Wells flat has broken, so I have now lost that along with over half of the cupboards which he has been removing for various demolition work over the last few months - I am hoping he will let me order the new kitchen in the next week otherwise at the rate we are going I will end up cooking in the camper van! Glad you are feeling better - hope to see you soon.
love and xxxx
Z
Post a Comment