Wending to Wales: Day 5

After our work pause, we are on the move again — and got under way pretty early at 7.30.  It was a dank morning but very still, and although it tried to drizzle a few times it was never heavy enough for me to put my coat on.  We didn’t see a moving boat until Newbold, but then they came at regular intervals.  At Stretton Stop, a hire boat which had been on the other side of the narrows cast off and came through, meaning we had to wait.  But at least the little bridge was swung for us.  Adrian jumped off to close it.

I was surprised by the apparent lack of trains on the main line alongside, but then remembered it was a strike day which probably explained why there were only freight trains running.  When we got to Hawkesbury Junction, there was a boat in front of us in the lock, and we then followed them down the eight inches or so.  The man in front picked up his wife who’d been working the lock, but this seemed to put him in the wrong position to make the turn, so he made what I think is technically called a right pig’s ear of it — and had to have another go.  But it also turned out there were two boats waiting in the narrows the other side of the junction, so he’d have had nowhere to go anyway.  Eventually one of them came through the junction, and he went through the other way.  The second boat then came through — meanwhile I stayed where I was in the lock, in spite of the wild gesticulations from the steerer of the first boat.  I just wanted to wait for the second boat to come through the bridge before I set off, otherwise I’d be a bit stuck.  I thought I was too far over to the right to make the 180 degree turn in one go, but in fact it went perfectly.

We stopped on the water point and got a wash load going.  It took about 40 mins for the tank to fill, and was just past 1pm when we set off again.  But only a couple of hundred yards further down I spotted a slightly elderly but kindly-looking couple* working on the roof of their boat — and I realised they were very familiar.  It was Marilyn and David on Waka Huia.  There was a convenient space just behind, so we tied up (initially leaving the engine running until the washing machine had finished) and went on board where Marilyn magicked up a selection of cheeses and biscuits, a variety of chutney, and cups of tea.  We had a good hour or so catching up on all their news.

Waka Huia will soon be for sale, so if you are looking to buy a boat click on the link which will take you to Marilyn’s blog from where you can get in touch with her for all the details.

We set off once more at about 2.30.  Charity Dock still has plenty of wacky manikins and such like, but I thought the actual boat yard bit was much less piled up with old boats rotting away.

At Marston Junction a Stone hire boat had just come out of the junction and was in front of us.  The massive warehouse they were building last time we came this way is even more massive than I remember. They are currently building a big glass frontage, with offices behind.

Going through Nuneaton we met boat after boat, sometimes in awkward places but at least none of them were in the really narrow bit by Boot Wharf.  Out the other side of town, a plastic boat came round a corner on completely the wrong side, meaning I ended up with my stern stuck on the towpath side, while his wash pulled the bow over to the far side.  He apologised for getting it wrong because he was on the phone.  We stopped for the night shortly afterwards, before Springwood Haven.  It was 5pm, so it had been a long but enjoyable day.

* Marilyn demanded more adjectives in the blog, so I have given her a few.

21 miles, 1 lock.  (56 miles, 24 locks)