Friday - Celebration Day

The day dawned bright and started warming nicely. Although the towpath was still muddy, it didn't matter too much as we only needed to unmoor and move off. Here's a piccy just before we left: 

A pleasant cruise to the Hillmorton Locks where a boat rudely pulled out right in front of us to grab the locks before us, so we decided that as we'd had to stop anyway to avoid hitting the boat, we might as well pull in and top up with water. While the tank was refilling we had breakfast and found this rather elegant couple nearby: 

They weren't in the least perturbed by me approaching them with the camera - not even a hiss, until a man with a dog came along, which they were less happy about. We moved off after the water was refilled and efficiently worked our way up the three locks and carried on towards Braunston. 


While about to pass another boat in a narrowish part of the canal,  I was aware of a big splash on the non-towpath side of the canal, but I couldn't see what caused it. Whatever it was clearly bothered both the oncoming boater and a couple on the towpath who'd also seen whatever it was, but neither party could do anything about it so carried on. 


As we arrived at the source of the splash we found it was a large calf that had either fallen into the canal at that moment, or had already fallen in and had fallen back while trying to get out on a very steep part of the bank. We could see that there was no chance of the calf getting out where it was - even a person falling in there would have had trouble climbing out with hands and feet. Having previously rescued a sheep from the canal, I knew how heavy even a soggy sheep was, this calf was probably twice the weight so I didn't reckon I'd stand much chance of helping it out, but I wasn't going to leave it there to drown, so started trying to encourage it a bit further up the canal to a bridge where it looked as though it might have a better chance. While we chivvied the calf up the canal,  it came to a section where we could see it might get out, and it too was clever enough to spot the possibility and gamely launched itself at the muddy slope. Without too much difficulty, it got to the top of the bank where the rest of the herd were, shook itself, and carried on grazing as though nothing had happened. So that was our drama for the day - we applauded and carried on. 


Eventually, after waiting for what seemed like half an hour at Napton Junction while a succession of hire boats came out of the junction and proceeded to hit the far bank, and then turned, each taking four times as long as such a manoeuvre should take, we eventually managed to carry on towards Napton for our planned evening stop. 


At Napton, we were disappointed to find that our first choice of pub to celebrate in was fully booked, so we walked a mile or so up the hill into Napton Village, to the Crown Inn where we were made very welcome and had a nice, if rather basic meal to celebrate Barbara's birthday: 

and our wedding anniversary:

and Denzil's birthday, and Barbara's late father Fred's birthday, and her late grandmother Florentyna's birthday! 


Any colour in our cheeks is entirely due to the sunburn, not the alcohol. 


This is the last entry to this blog as we're now packing and heading home tomorrow - byee. 

Thursday - we found water!

It's been a wet day, but fortunately for us, hardly at all while we've been on the move, though it was surprisingly cold; that just meant an extra layer of clothing though - no problem. 


What it did mean was that I didn't get the camera out to photograph Rugby town as we passed through (not very inspiring anyway) or the pair of buzzards soaring high over a canalside field, or the busy little moorhens scuttling around building their nests, and I would have loved to have caught the brood of at least 12 tiny ducklings cheeping loudly as they followed mum down the canal as we passed by, but I didn't have the camera out then either. 


So I did get it out after we moored up for the night near Clifton-upon-Dunsmore, just to get at least one photo for the blog. Here it is and that's all for today: 

Wednesday - soggy everything day

I forgot to put into yesterday's notes, this picture of a resident near the cathedral(s) here in Coventry. He seemed to be extremely tame and on spotting a new tourist (such as us) rushed up to our feet to see if he could get any food from us. Sadly we didn't have anything for him so he rapidly lost interest, but I did succeed in getting this photo of him: 

Wednesday morning dawned wet. We braved the rain to wander into the town again though, this time the Museum of British Road Transport was open so we spent some time seeing the vast range of exhibits from penny-farthing bikes through to the Thrust SSC, the first land based car to break the sound barrier:

and from the Model-T Ford to a 1991 Baltic concept car:

  
After a nice coffee and doing a minor shop in Sainsbury's, we got back to the boat where it continued to rain. 

But eventually it brightened up so we set off, but not before Barbara insisted on a photo of one of the canalside sculptures. It may not be obvious at first, but the top part is made up of a barrow, spades, etc, and as you can see, it's sunny.

And after motoring on for a bit (hindered by yet another load of rubbish around the prop) here we are for the night in a nice open spot where we should get the morning sun if there's any to be got: 

Tuesday - soggy socks day.

A mixed start to the day with some strong overnight wind and rain, which woke me around about dawn when something up on deck went crash. I hadn't battened down the hatches before going to bed and now regretted it, having visions of the expensive (£60) new TV aerial mast getting bent because I'd left it fully extended. 


So about dawn I pulled on two items of clothing and braved the elephants elements outside to lower the aerial and check for what went bang, which I eventually found was Barbara's daffodils - fortunately they seemed to be unharmed by falling 2 feet or so and just required putting back in their eggshell pot. 


It wasn't worth trying to get back to sleep, so I read for a bit until the sun rose properly and with it, a blue sky magically appeared: 

In due course we set off with the usual accompaniment of little birds (nice reflections as well): 

Then a bit further on we got the promised heavy shower. I was nearly prepared for it, but still had my sandals on, so what with hail and torrential rain, my socks got somewhat soggy - reminding me of Bernard Wrigley's (The Bolton Bullfrog) song "When Your Clogs Let Water In" which has a line that goes "Nobody loves you when you've got soggy socks"! 


So after it blew over, Barbara took over steering while I made myself lovable again with dry socks! And the sun came out and we got a nice sparkly canal again:

Eventually we got to Hawkesbury Junction with a smart new footbridge: 

Straight on here to go into Coventry; a reasonably pleasant route as inner city waterways go with a short tunnel, unusually illuminated - most canal tunnels are dark and wet: 

Even in this very urban environment, spring was becoming evident:

Approaching the basin in the centre of Coventry, which is the terminus of this canal, we found a smart new footbridge, which wasn't there when we last visited in April 2000: 

And here we are, in the Canal Basin in Coventry: 

And this was April 2000:

Before settling down for the night, we walked into town and looked at the old (bombed) cathedral with its spectacular new edition alongside: 

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the problems with inner-city canals: rubbish! At the back of the boat we have something called the weedhatch. Quite why it's called a weedhatch I don't know as the many times I've had to open it to get access to the propellor to free it from debris, the one thing I've never found around the prop has been any weed. On the way through to the basin we had to stop twice to open the weedhatch and remove first, a load of plastic bags and twine: 


and then as we were trying to back into our mooring in the basin, something even worse felt as though it had grabbed the prop. I was amazed to eventually free a much mangled motorcycle tyre from the prop: 

All part of the fun of narrowboating!


More tomorrow.

Monday, another nice day.

A very cold night, but with the coal fire burning all day and night. the boat's a lot cosier now when it's frosty outside as it was last night. But the sun rose early and started warming things up including the boat. Above is a view of our mooring on the side of a hill overlooking the R. Anker valley at Polesworth. 


A not particularly early start saw us get back to Atherstone for more shopping. Not very many photos taken en-route, but this one appealed as most daddy ducks tend to be absentee fathers; not so this one with his seven offspring: 

We moved on a little way further and stopped at another scenic location far enough away from the busy mainline railway that seems to be following the canal here. I couldn't decide which of three photos of tonight's mooring to put in, as they all show different aspects, so I've put them all in. Sounds like a wet day tomorrow, but never mind, we've been lucky so far. That's it for today. 

Lazy Sunday

Not up quite so early today, as the F1 TV coverage didn't start until 7am, then Barbara left for her first ringing of the holiday at St. Giles in Whittington - seven of them arrived to ring the eight bells; a pity I don't ring as well as that would have been just perfect (not that I'd have torn myself away from an exciting Grand Prix). 


As Barbara set off, I photographed our pleasant mooring: 

With the dappled sunlight falling on the boat, it looked warmer than it was, but we were very cosy inside now that we had a coal fire going.

Eventually the Grand Prix finished and Barbara got back from the church and we set off, now on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, having moored right by a sign defining the junction of the B&F with the Coventry Canal. 


After we winded at Huddlesford Junction, taking a whole hour to get back to where we started due to another snail, we eventually got past (he appeared somewhat inebriated) and had some pleasant cruising past fields thick with the scent of the oilseed rape: 

After going up through the two Glascote Locks we stopped for a short meal break in the centre of Tamworth, but you wouldn't know it from the view: 

And the wildlife seemed perfectly happy with their urban surroundings: 

Moving on again, the skies often looked threatening, but it stayed fine if a bit cold:

In due course we got to Polesworth which seemed like a reasonable place to stop, and so it proved. A wander around the small town revealed a nice variety of shops and eateries, as well as interesting heritage (tithe barn and other stuff) and the attractive R. Anker, with pleasant community gardens allowing residents and visitors alike to enjoy its ambience. A nice plaque (one of many) by the church gave some details of what there was to see. 

And, had we needed it .........

All for now. 

Slow Saturday

A whole week aboard Saros now and it feels more like a month. It was very satisfying having at last completed the Ashby Canal; we first tried to go up it in April 2000, but were beaten back by a blizzard, then again in December 2010, when thick ice stopped us. 


Another lazy day today down the two locks at Glascote and ambling through pleasant sunny countryside to stop eventually at Whittington where a good Cantonese take-away provided us with a nice curry for our evening meal. Highlight of the day was crossing the R. Tame: 

The weather was every bit as nice as it looks, and to prove that Barbara does occasionally drive, here's another picture on the aqueduct: 

All for today - Barbara's arranged to go ringing at St. Giles (Whittington) for their Sunday service in the morning while I watch the Chinese Grand Prix. 

Friday the thirteenth!

Up with the larks this morning to watch the 2nd F1 practice at Shanghai (and the replay of the 1st practice - I wasn't so keen that I needed to get up at 3am!). It was worth it as well because I got to see the lovely (but very cold) sunrise: 

A light mist rising off the water added to the ethereal nature of the view, and even the busy road over the bridge in the background and the equally busy main line railway a few hundred yards away, didn't spoil the moment. 


 A bit later on it got cold and misty, but the sun eventually burnt that off and the day turned out very nice indeed. We moved on into Atherstone and enjoyed quite a bit of retail therapy in the good variety of shops, and then set about the flight of locks ahead, after lunch and using BW's well positioned facilities. 


Just as we were about ready to move across to use the lock, another two boats snuck in in front of us. The second boat's ageing captain told us that he only wanted to wind (turn around) but that he was a beginner and might not be as efficient as some. I offered to shout advice if necessary. 


It was necessary - he hadn't understood what I'd suggested he should do and got sideways across the lock entrance with minimal chance of turning successfully. So I backed across behind him and offered to help from onboard his boat. He and his elderly and infirm wife were very grateful and said yes please as he was still very much a learner. So I took over and tried to show him how to do it properly. I'm not too sure that he really learnt much - maybe I should have just instructed him on how to do it, but they were very happy and it got us under way a bit quicker, so we left them to moor up and enjoy Atherstone as we'd just done. 

Here we are, still waiting for another boat to come up the lock after all the fun and games. Eleven locks later, and a few more minor dramas, and we found a very nice quiet spot to moor before Polesworth. Another bitterly cold night in store, but tonight we have a small stock of firewood courtesy of a little hardware shop in Atherstone, so the boat is really cosy tonight. 

Thursday, boredom & drama.

A lazy start as we didn't need to go too far today. We set our target as Atherstone where it's early closing on Thursday, so getting near there for Friday would be fine. As we ambled gently back down the Ashby towards Marston Junction where we'd rejoin the Coventry Canal, we had to stop while a boat winded (turned 180 degrees) in front of us. No problem in itself, one expects such minor delays every so often.  Annoyingly though, having turned in the same direction as us, they proceeded excruciatingly slowly all the way back down to the Junction, and then turned the same direction as us. We stopped after a while, when it looked like rain, to let them get on ahead of us. 

After the rain had almost blown over, we were rewarded with the above dramatic view of a hedge in blossom against the black sky. 


Moving on at a reasonable pace at last, we passed through the uninspiring suburbs of Nuneaton into some very pleasant countryside beyond. In the distance we saw a helicopter circling and then descending out of sight. Assuming it was a military helicopter on exercises, we thought no more about it until a few miles on we came upon a boat stopped by a bridge, and several people in high-vis jackets. 
As we got closer it was obvious that there had been some sort of medical emergency, and I surmised that the helicopter might well have been involved. As we passed the scene slowly, checking that there wasn't any further help we could offer the lady in distress on the towpath, we found the helicopter on the other side of the bridge, just a hundred yards or so from the casualty: 

There was by then an ambulance nearby as well, so she was clearly in good hands, and the narrowboat that seemed to have stopped to help moved on behind us and the helicopter left as well, so presumably it was all sorted out, hopefully with the lady either being taken to hospital or home if it wasn't too serious. 


Not far on from there seemed like a good place to moor, so we stopped for the night. 

Wednesday - looking for money

Market Bosworth was something of a disappointment - I'd looked up when practice night was at the local church (Tuesday 7pm) and Barbara had walked 3/4 mile back into town again to ring with the locals only to find that the stated time was wrong and even when two people did turn up at 7:30, neither had the key to get in and three people wouldn't have been enough anyway, so they all departed after wasted journeys. 


We stopped at Sutton Wharf from where we had a nice walk through Ambion Wood up to the Battle of Bosworth Visitor Centre. Interesting, but we decided not actually go in, being short of cash. 


So we moved on through various rain showers to Stoke Golding where it did at least have a Post Office and access to cash. The shop wasn't up to much though, so nothing to spend the cash on. And that was it for the day, no photos of anything interesting!

Tuesday - Market Bosworth to Market Bosworth via Snarestone

The weather forecast for the rest of the week had been even more dismal than the Easter weekend, but today was characterised by spectacular clouds and only very occasional brief showers. After passing the station at Shackerstone that we'd seen yesterday, we suddenly came upon Shackerstone's village green: 

Ringed on two sides by the canal, there was a pretty little pond with an island and sheep grazing on the neatly kept green. The sky in the picture isn't nearly as dramatic as some we were to get later in the day. 
In due course we got to Snarestone Tunnel: 

As tunnels go it was very short, but one of the bendiest we've seen. It was possible to see right through from end to end, but only just, such were the deviations in its direction - quite a challenge to motor through without hitting either side. It didn't help that we entered from very bright sunlight, so the first few yards (sorry metres) were especially challenging while my eyes adjusted to the inky blackness. But we came through unscathed and without anyone trying to enter at the far end. Not much further on we found the current limit of the canal with helpful facilities: water etc, and after a nice lunch stop set off back. 
The sky just got better and better:

And here's Barbara taking us back past Shackerstone:

After a while we got back to Market Bosworth to moor for the night again: