Shardlow to Barton Turns

We got away early from Shardlow with an 07.00 start and enjoyed a couple of hours of dry weather. After the first two locks we were able to team up with "Victoria ", whose owners had just bought her at Sawley and were taking her back to the Coventry Canal.
Having two boats together made the broad and deep locks at Swarkstone and Stenton much easier, even if Victoria's oversize fenders didn't leave much room between us.
The rain and hail returned soon after Willington - short but very sharp showers! so we stopped at Horninglow and went into Burton on the bus for a couple of hours,  during which time it stayed dry.
Once we got back to the boat the rain returned and we set off up to Barton. Turns, where the canalside pub (and it's landlord and landlady)  are a throwback to a different age reminding me very much of how cut-side pubs used to be. I can't recommend Barton as a mooring though as there was noise from lorries running their engines in the lorry park until well after midnight (like narrow boats of old,  the drivers live aboard these days, but there is no 8pm curfew!) and noise from moving lorries on the adjacent A38 dual carriageway started in the early morning.