Post Crick: Day 4

It was another day which started off with brilliant sunshine, but quickly clouded over.  I set off at 8.45, creeping past all the boats which had completely filled the length of piling in front of me.  There’s a lot of work going on at Clifton Cruisers, where the outside of the workshop has been removed, but everything inside it is still there.

When I got to Rugby, the water point was free so I stopped, got a load of washing going, topped up the tank, and made a cup of tea.  None of this took long, and I was soon on my way again.  At Newbold Tunnel, a squirrel ran across the portal brickwork as I went in.  None of the coloured lights in there are working any more.

I’d seen very few boats on the move, but as I came onto the long straight past Brinklow Marina, I could see one in the distance.  I caught up with it at Bridge 35, so they were going very slowly.  It was a Black Prince hire boat, and they let me pass at the big corner just through the bridge.  It wasn’t particularly sunny, but All Oaks Wood still looked lovely with the light through the trees.

At the moorings before Bridge 34, I made a mental note of all the gaps in the moorings — essentially one space quite early on, and then a long gap which could take two boats in a much better position further on.  I carried on through the cutting towards Stretton Stop.  Just before the bridge there, the towpath is being worked on with boats narrowing the channel.  There’s also a new stretch of piling where the Rose hire boats moor, which will be much better for them but I think has taken a foot or two off the width of the canal.  I turned around in the arm at Stretton Stop, which wasn’t easy because of the number of moored boats, and the wind direction.  Going back past the work, the guys signalled for me to come through and two boats approaching from the other way to wait.  The first one turned out to be the hire boat I’d passed earlier, but they were on the wrong side of the canal.  I passed them on the wrong side, and then switched to the correct side to pass the boat following them.  There were now also two more boats behind me, so things were a bit messy for a while.

When I got back through Bridge 34 the nicer mooring was still available — I’d been worried that some of the boats I’d passed might have taken it — and I pulled in, followed by one of the boats behind me.  I had some lunch and then went on a Zoom staff meeting.  Later I washed and rinsed the towpath side of the boat, and then it rained for a bit; I managed to get some polish on there once it had cheered up a bit.  We used this mooring a lot when we were based at Brinklow, and it’s nice to be back here.

8 miles, 0 locks.  (60 miles, 37 locks)