Atherstone Vlockies

[Beo]

Big thank you to the Atherstone vlockie who helped us and the boat in front all the way up the flight this morning. 👍🙂

[Victor Vectis]

From the very bottom?

 

Well, there's a first time for everything!

[Rob-M]

Were they on their way to the shed at the top? 🤣

[Beo]

He was, yes. But credit where it’s due - he set every lock for us on the way up. And when we reached the top lock there was a warm welcome from the other 2! 

[LadyG]

Thanks to vlockies at Barrowford who helped me today,. winding in a very tight winding hole.

[Hudds Lad]

I saw one leave the top lock once. He’d just helped a boat through Lock 2 who he’d told not to moor in any of the pounds until after Lock 5, and was convinced that once round the corner they were going to moor up anyway, so he was following them down to make sure.

[MtB]

I remember doing Atherstone back in the mists of time, without vollies turning up and interfering with my peaceful and unhurried boating.

 

Those were the days.....

 

 

 

[cuthound]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

I remember doing Atherstone back in the mists of time, without vollies turning up and interfering with my peaceful and unhurried boating.

 

Those were the days.....

 

 

 

 

Overseen by the wooden man with his ball to signify the Atherstone Ball Game in the garden adjacent to.the second (or was it the third?) lock down.

 

 

[Grassman]

I know two of the Atherstone Lock volunteers and unlike most lock vollies they are both boaters 😀

[nicknorman]

On 21/05/2022 at 12:28, Hudds Lad said:

I saw one leave the top lock once. He’d just helped a boat through Lock 2 who he’d told not to moor in any of the pounds until after Lock 5, and was convinced that once round the corner they were going to moor up anyway, so he was following them down to make sure.

Some of them do like to think they are the waterways police. If it had been me I’d have moored there even if I didn’t really want to!

[Ray T]

Credit where it is due, the Fradley volunteer lock keepers, at lock Nos 18 & 19 yesterday, were Cheerful, friendly & helpful.

[Captain Pegg]

It's a shame @Beo hasn't been back to confirm if the volockies really worked the whole flight of 11 locks or the upper 5 locks. Whereas as I have experienced the Atherstone volockies working down to lock 5 but I'd be very surprised to learn they do the whole flight.

 

@MtB could avoid the volockies by doing what I did last Monday which was to arrive at the top lock at 1530 on a wet day to witness them all getting into their cars to go home. I would have been grateful of the help - I'm generally of the view that the standard of volockying has vastly improved since the scheme's introduction - and it would likely have avoided the disagreement I had with a couple of boats who contrived to start to turn lock 4 for a second boat to enter an already low pound while I was in lock 3.

 

On Thursday I even discovered that there are volockies at Hatton that don't suck all the pleasure out of working the flight. I had really good assistance up two thirds of the flight by volockies who worked ahead and left me to get on with the job that's mine, which is working the lock that my boat is in.

 

So now it's only Stoke Bruerne where I remain to convinced of their worth. 

 

[MtB]

24 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

@MtB could avoid the volockies by doing what I did last Monday which was to arrive at the top lock at 1530 on a wet day to witness them all getting into their cars to go home. I would have been grateful of the help -

 

 

I've said much the same many times in the past. On a warm and sunny summer's day I'd rather they were not there, but on a freezing winter's afternoon in the gathering gloom and slashing rain, I'd be delighted to receive their help. 

 

But guess on which of these occasions there are always swarms of them, and on which there are none...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2022 by MtB
Add a bit.

[Beo]

@Captain Pegg Yes, definitely all the 11 locks 👍

[Grassman]

One of them said to me that as a rule they are told not to work below lock 5 but can make exceptions depending on how many of them are on duty, and individual boaters requirements or requests.

 

On the subject of lock vollies not being around in poor weather, I doubt many of them would and I certainly wouldn't unless I was being paid for it.