Turned at Lapworth yesterday, then moored a mile or so above Hatton for the next bash at the locks. Shared the flight in the very agreeable company of the crew of nb Florian, who, as their skipper said, 'Take no prisoners'; only took us 2:45 for the whole flight which isn't quite a personal best but was still an absolute blast. (Our personal best for Hatton was achieved in about 2:30 with a very experienced single hander, breasted up, with P opening the locks ahead, our companion closing them behind, and me steering both boats and making mugs of tea for everybody. It ain't exactly white water rafting, but doing the flight quickly, safely and with skill and economy of effort is really exhilarating. This is why I keep coming back to the canals!)
Much, much nicer weather than Thursday, with the spring flowers really doing their thing at last. This clump of white violets by the towpath was particularly cheering.
Moored above Radford Semele for the night, where Annie the dog gave me the heebie-jeebies running up and down the steep bank between the river and the towpath. I kept listening for a loud splash but she seems to have no trouble doing handbrake turns on a 45-degree slope.
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