Heading north: Day 11

The moorings at Westport Lake are lovely.  We could hear an owl hooting last night, and there was more bright sunshine this morning.  With very little distance to do today, we had a relaxed start.  Our plan was to go and turn around before Harecastle tunnel, but the winding hole there is rather short — the Waterway Routes map says 60ft, and as we are 58.5ft that’s tight!  So we thought we’d better go in decent time, just in case we needed to go through the tunnel, turn round, and come back again.  We did the mile or so up to the tunnel, to find a queue of four boats, some of which we knew had been there overnight, as we’d seen them yesterday.  The boats meant there was even less room for turning, but we got round, with Adrian giving us a pull with the bow rope.

We returned to the lake and moored in the same spot, just facing the other way.  We went for a walk round the lake, and explored the nature reserves on the far side.  The cafe, which is in a building on stilts, has apparently recently re-opened.

We had lunch on board, then set off for Festival Park Marina, where were book in for a month as were unable to get to Higher Poynton because of the hole in the Macclesfield Canal.  Just along from Westport Lake is the best-named cement firm we’ve ever seen: Readymicks.

At Longport Wharf was a boat painted in dazzle camouflage; it’s called 50 Shades.

We arrived at Festival Park and moored outside, while Adrian went to the office to be told where our space would be.  It’s a funny place, with the only water points a long way from the pontoons, and not enough electricity points for us to have one.  But the price reflects that, with it being cheaper than many car parks.  We took the opportunity to fill the water tank, though, before we came in.  Then we reversed off the service point and I swung the boat around while Adrian wound up the bridge over the entrance.

Entry to our berth was managed without a fuss, but tying up is a bit tricky because the pontoons are only half length.  Anyway, we have few options at the moment, and the plan is to not spend a great deal of time actually in the marina.

4 miles, 0 locks.  (119 miles, 60 locks)

Heading north: Day 10

We were up early this morning, as we had an appointment.  Tim Tyler, who’s building the shell of our new boat, Kingley Vale, had contacted us to say they’d be starting to paint it with primer this afternoon, so if we wanted to see it in bare metal, this morning would be the day to do it.  So it was about 6.30 when I got the boat ready to set off.  It was very cold and frosty, there was mist rising off the water, and the sun was showing promise.

Adrian had got up a bit after me, but came out to help with Trentham Lock, which was just round the corner.  It’s a pretty deep one.

We travelled through Hem Heath as dogs were taken for morning walks, joggers were out, and people were going to work.  Bridge 108, near the football stadium, has seen better days.

Soon the incinerator comes into view.  It’s a familiar sight not only from the canal, but from the A500 through Stoke.

Some things always need their photo taking, and the sign of eclectic offerings at Dolphin boat yard is one of them

Adrian said he’d work Stoke Locks, on the basis it was early, they’d probably all have drained empty so would be ready for us, and there would be no-one else around.  The first one was empty, but all the others weren’t, and a boat was coming down the middle one.  The second lock is surrounded by railways.

Below the penultimate lock is the chimney of the Etruscan Bone Mill.

The top lock is by far the deepest.

We carried on past lots of new warehouse buildings on the site of the old steel works, and past Middleport Pottery.  We moored up at Westport Lake, our boating for the day done by 10.15!  Tim Tyler came and picked us up from the car park, and took us back to his workshop, where we could have a good look at the new shell.  It made us both a bit emotional!  It looks really good, with lots of details, and we really like our combination of portholes and side doors.  There’s much more on the visit in the latest post over on the Kingley Vale blog.

We decided to walk back to the boat, and Tim showed us a short cut for the first part of the trip, and then we went under the A500 and over the railway line.  This afternoon we’ve been catching up with various things, and enjoying the sunshine.

7 miles, 6 locks.  (115 miles, 60 locks)

Heading north: Day 9

There was a very heavy frost when we woke up this morning.  As we’d approached got the boat ready to go, a balloon drifted over.

At 8am we moved the short distance to the water point at the junction, and did the usual filling and washing machine combination.  About half an hour later, we set off for Hoo Mill Lock, which was due to re-open at 9.  As we approached, a boat was coming out.

They are rebuilding the by-wash at the lock — and a notice came through yesterday of a similar problem at the next lock, Weston, with the by-wash being blocked.  This meant the pound between the two was very short of water.  Progress was rather slow, because of the shallowness, and moored boats were grounded.  It was much better above Weston Lock.  Bridge 82 always gets its photo taken — this side anyway; the other side is much plainer.

Sandon Lock was empty waiting for us, and above Rowington, the share boat which Catherine and Nigel part own was waiting to come down.  We carried on to Aston Marina, where we went in for diesel at the very good price of 92.4p for domestic.  Then it was back out onto the cut and along to Aston Lock.  Above the lock was a Stone hire boat, pretty much across the canal, apparently unable to get into the lock.  Adrian went to lend a hand, firstly by pulling the bow round, and then telling the steerer which way to turn the tiller.  He didn’t, though, possibly because he was a bit hard of hearing, so eventually Adrian got on board, walked along the gunwales, and steered the boat into the lock.  It all took ages.

We had lunch on the move between Aston Lock and the bottom of the Stone flight, then headed up.  The pub where we had our post-Christmas family get together in January looked busy.

There was a slight delay getting to the third lock as one of the permanent moorers was reversing to the water point, and got a little bit aground.  We got there soon enough though.

Above that lock the water was very low again, but it was better above the top lock, which has a novel solution for a replacement balance beam — it appears to be made of scaffolding planks.  Roger Fuller’s yard is also in this pound.

The Meaford flight has also had problems the past couple of days.  A boat coming down told us CRT had been fixing a hole in the canal bed between the top two locks, but the pound was now full again.  The levels were down all through the flight though.

We carried on for an hour after the locks, and moored at Barlaston, not far from the Wedgwood visitor centre, in a very sunny and warm spot.

14 miles, 12 locks.  (108 miles, 54 locks)

Heading north: Day 8

I had a boat test to do this morning just back at Kings Bromley Wharf, so we had a pretty relaxed start to the day.  Even though I had just a few minutes walk up the towpath and Andy the photographer had driven a couple of hours up the M40 and M42, we both arrived at the same time.  We were pretty efficient, and I was back at our boat and setting off at about 11.45.  We went through Handsacre and then past the Armitage Shanks factory.

There were toilets and basins being loaded onto Lorrie’s, ready for new bathrooms.  At Plum Pudding, where there’s a very narrow section, a boat was just starting to go through.  We assumed they had sent crew ahead to check the way was clear, so we followed them.  The cutting is only one boat wide, and used to be a tunnel, until the roof was taken off.

The boat ahead had passed our overnight mooring a long time before we set off, and he continued to go quite slowly until he moored up at Rugeley.  We also stopped a little further along the moorings, and made a visit to the very convenient Tesco, to stock up for the next few days.  With that done we continued north, crossing the Trent on an aqueduct just out of town.  The bird in flight was caught completely by accident.

The next section is quite pretty, sometimes in the open valley, sometimes in woods.  At Colwich Lock is one of my favourites because it’s so attractive.  As we arrived, a boat was just leaving which was handy.

In the peak season, the section up to Haywood Lock is full of boats, there weren’t many today, a we thought we’d take a chance on there being a mooring above the lock, near the junction.  As we came up the lock it looked pretty full, so we stopped straight away; but walking round the corner we found better spaces, so went and moved.

As we’d approached the lock, a boater coming the other way had told us that Hoo Mill Lock, the one after Haywood, had been due to re-open at 3pm but didn’t, and was now shut for five weeks.  This would have put our plans into further disarray.  But checking the stoppages, it seems there is a problem which means the lock is closed between 3pm and 9am, but passage is available during the day.  This was confirmed by other people moored at the junction.  We’ll find out for definite tomorrow.

10 miles, 2 locks.  (94 miles, 42 locks)

Heading north: Day 7

Another sunny day.  We had scrambled eggs for breakfast as it was Sunday, and set off about 9.15.  Just around the corner was Huddlesford Junction, where a boat club use the remains of the Lichfield Canal as moorings.

Parts of this canal are very pretty, with nice little bridges and reeds.

Parts of it, at Streethay, run right next to the A38, which isn’t so nice.  Before long we were entering Fradley, where lots of new houses are still going up on the old airfield.  We found a space before the junction and tied up.  We went for a walk down the locks, dropping off our rubbish on the way.  There were loads of people out and about enjoying the weather and the canal.  The junction was looking particularly pretty, and I think the Swan pub has had a repaint.

We walked up the locks too, and then went for an early lunch at the Canalside cafe at the holiday park, where the toasted sandwiches were pretty good.  Returning to the boat, we set off again, with Adrian walking back to swing the little bridges out of the way and walk up to the locks.

There was a volunteer at Middle Lock, so he worked that one and sent Adrian up to get Shadehouse Lock ready.  Shadehouse is one that has a bridge over the tail.

A little further on is Wood End Lock, and as we arrived someone on the towpath said hello to me.  It was a boat builder I’m visiting tomorrow for a magazine boat test; I hadn’t recognised him at first, out of context.  At the lock, the new bottom gates both swung open, but some people watching came and held them closed.  We moored just along from Kings Bromley Marina, because of my boat test tomorrow morning.  It was only about 2pm, but we have a former colleague of Adrian’s visiting as he lives nearby, and Helen and Andy are coming round this evening.

7 miles, 3 locks.  (84 miles, 40 locks)

Heading north: Day 6

The mooring at Grendon was excellent, with the hill between us and the railway line really cutting out the noise of the trains.  This morning, there was a lot of birdsong, including a weird robotic type noise, which is that of the lapwing.  Once I knew, I could then see them in the field next to the towpath.  The Merlin birdsong app also picked up dunnock, robin, wood pigeon and collard dove.

We set off about 8.45, under cloudy skies and with a stiff breeze.  The sun soon burned off the clouds, but it didn’t get warm until this afternoon.  We crept through Polesworth and past the mining heritage centre with the big wheel outside.

There’s then a brief glimpse of the Golden Tower of Leaves poking out above the trees, from its position on top of a spoil heap.  In 2022 we walked up the hill to it, so there are better pictures on that blog.

The back gardens of Amington were enjoyed, and then we reached the Glascote Locks.  A boat was coming into the top lock from below, with a very chatty couple on board.  They moved to a life afloat in 2001 planning to do it for two years; they’re still liveaboards 24 years later!  Their boat had crossed with one in the middle pound, so the bottom lock needed filling before we could go down.

As we dropped, a boat arrived at the bottom, so we could leave the gates for them.  We carried on to Fazeley Junction, where the Coventry Canal meets the Birmingham and Fazeley.

We tied up and went to the little Tesco to stock up on hot cross buns, then we decided we might as well have lunch while we were stationary.  We wanted to get out into the countryside for the night, so we set off again at 12.30.  This is a very pretty section of canal, and was even better in the sunshine.  Past Hopwas is Hopwas woods, which look lovely — but actually contain a firing range, with warning signs.  No red flags today though, so no shooting.

This part of the Coventry Canal was built by the Birmingham and Fazely Canal company, who got fed up with the slow progress that was being made.  It changes back at Whittington and there’s a marker by the canal.  But you can also tell who built which bit, because the B&F used names for their bridges, while the Coventry used numbers.  At Whittington you get the last named bridge and the first of the numbered ones.  It’s number 78, picking up from the bridge at Fazeley Junction which was 77, as if all the ones in between hadn’t happened.

We pulled in after a couple of hours before Bridge 82 and Huddlesford Junction, in a nice sunny spot.  We have the trains for company, but that’s true all along here.

14 miles, 2 locks.  (77 miles, 37 locks)

Heading north: Day 5

We were up a bit later today, and untied about 8.30.  A boat was coming through the lock, who Adrian went to help, so we could go straight in, and then a boat arrived behind us.  The tiny lock takes no time, then I did the about turn through the bridge.

I confess I needed a blast of reverse to get round, but that was still a lot better than the boat behind, which seemed to take several minutes to make the turn!  We stopped at the water point to fill the tank and get some washing on.  It’s not a very fast tap.  We set off again at nearly 9.30.  Charity Dock is as mad as ever, and I think has some new displays.

The huge warehouse on the edge of Nuneaton now looks fully operational.  There’s even a roof garden on top of the office section, which has a five storey tall atrium at the front.

At this point we started meeting boats, first the Hargreaves trip boat — but for once they were all at fairly sensible places, such as just after Boot Wharf rather than in the middle of it, because it’s always a tight squeeze.

We had lunch on the move after Hartshill, and got to the top of Atherstone Locks right behind another boat.  However, with lock keepers going down with us, and boats coming up, we made good progress down the first five.  It’s always a pretty flight, which helps.

By the time we got to Lock 6 another boat had set off from the moorings there, so we were following them down.  It was a boat we recognised from the Crick towpath moorings, as they volunteered at the show every year.  They only did four locks before stopping.  At the last pair, a boat had just come up the first, but the other still needed filling.

We carried on to moor just beyond bridge 50, past Grendon Dock, and treated ourselves to an afternoon hot cross bun.

14 miles, 12 locks.  (63 miles, 35 locks)

Stargazer on test

The May edition of Canal Boat is out, and included my boat test on Stargazer, a 70ft widebeam by Bespoke Boats.

Heading north: Day 4

We were awake early for some reason, so set off at about 7.30.  It was a stunning morning.

These waters are very familiar, from when we used to moor at Brinklow.  It’s still very pretty though, and we seemed to have the canal very much to ourselves.

In a couple of hours, we reached Hillmorton Locks.  Adrian topped up one so we could go in, and opened the gates to the paired lock for a boat heading up.

We swapped with a boat at the middle lock, and at the bottom one, so the flight hardly took any time at all. 

We needed shopping, so were hoping for a space at Rugby.  There were several to choose from including one that was on a straight section and close to the footpath to Tesco, so we moored up.  While we were shopping, I also got the battery in my watch replaced.  It was around 11.30 when we set off again, and were soon at the short Newbold Tunnel.

Just before All Oaks Wood, I saw my first ducklings of the year.  You may have to squint to see them.

The main point of interest was the cutting beyond All Oaks Wood, where landslips closed the canal for a while last year (or was it the year before).  The two sites still don’t look all that stable.

We passed through Stratton Stop without having to swing the bridge as there was a boat in front and one coming the other way.  The boat ahead stopped on the permanent farm moorings further along.  We went under the M6, through Ansty, and under the M69.  We were aiming for Hawkesbury Junction, in a repeat of a day we did back in 2020, on the trip which was curtailed by Covid.  We arrived about 3.45, and got a rare space with straight edge, just before the lock.

23 miles, 3 locks.  (49 miles, 23 locks)