Solace Day 3

We wanted an early start today as we hoped to get as far as Middleport Pottery, which we will visit tomorrow.

Having decided yesterday that it would be better for me to steer the boat rather than open the locks, I had 12 of them to negotiate today. This is by no means a big number compared to some of our days afloat but I've only done a few in all of my boating holidays. Even though I didn't do the locks previously, I had a good teacher and listened to what The Late Mate said as he was approaching them. I have to say, I did very well. Going up the locks is easier than coming down as you can see the walls and aim for the gap. The blip is my view from in one of the locks

We would have moored for the night before the pottery but we came upon a group of intoxicated teenagers shouting at us from a bridge. We moved on to a regular mooring place at Westport Lake. We'll turn around in the morning and head back.

In doing our bit to remove litter from the canal we picked up a full catering-size can of nitrous oxide. No laughing matter having heard reports on the news this week.