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)

Autumn Cruise: Day 4

For some reason we were both awake early this morning, so decided to get up.  Consequently, it was about 7.30 when we set off, on a rather murky morning.  We were a bit worried that we’d be too early for a space on the moorings near Tesco in Rugby, but in fact we had a choice, opting for the one beyond the water point.  It was on the park side, so marginally further to walk to the shop, but it wasn’t on a bend like all the others.  It was still before 9am when we set off again having done the shopping.  The next bit of canal through Newbold and Brinklow is very familiar but pleasant enough.  At Stretton Stop there were a couple of boats to come through the narrows, and a man on the offside from where the little swing bridge is operated.

The man let us through too; it turned out he was from a boat moored a bit further along and was just waiting to get back across the canal.  The next few miles are some of my least favourite.  They just seem to go on forever, but at least the sun had come out.

At Ansty, where everything is on a bend, we met a hire boat coming the other way under the motorway bridge.  Rather than just steering round the corner he decided to try to stop; I managed to steer round him, and he then went straight into the bridge, across the canal.  Eventually we arrived at Hawkesbury junction.  An Anglo Welsh boat was coming through the bridge, and the lock was in their favour, so I went to drop off a bag a rubbish at the bins.  For some reason there was a volunteer lock keeper, even though this lock has a fall of less than a foot.  He worked the lock while none of the five people on the hire boat even bothered getting off, but when it was our turn I suggested that as it was the only lock of the day, I’d quite like to work it myself.  Adrian then did the turn round the junction.

Charity Dock was its usual mad self, although not any madder this time, and then we passed Marston Junction, the start of the Ashby.

On the outskirts of Nuneaton, they are building the most enormous warehouse I have ever seen.  It dwarfs the ones by the M1.  This is its short side.

We paused in Nuneaton so Adrian could post a birthday card that should really have been on its way already.  Then we passed one of the most photographed telegraph poles on the canal, and moored up in a lovely sunny spot just before the bridge ahead of Springwood Haven.

21 miles, 1 lock.  (68 miles, 26 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 19

The rain was little more than drizzle when we set off this morning a little before 8am.  It took around an hour to get to the bottom of the Atherstone Locks.  I’d been gradually catching up to a boat ahead, so I was pleased when they pulled onto the water point before the locks!  The first couple of locks were empty, which was good, but they take ages to fill.  A boat then arrived behind us, so as we left the second lock I lifted a paddle to empty it for them.  At Lock 9, a CRT man was prodding about on the cill with a spade with a hugely long handle.  There was still plenty of water coming round the gate, though, which he took photos of.  The pound above was well down, so he ran some water through Lock 8 as we came up in 9; it was still very shallow though.

As we rose in Lock 7, I could see than someone was coming down the lock ahead, number 6.  It turned out to be an old working boat going to the Brownhills Festival.  As he came out of the lock I waved so he knew to leave the gates open for us, so we could just swap locks.

There was another historic boat above the lock waiting to come down, also going to Brownhills, but basically just pleased to be going anywhere.  The locks in the top part of the flight continued to be in our favour, right up to Lock 2 which needed emptying.  By now it was properly raining, and we were getting pretty wet.  I’d put my waterproof trousers on at the start of the day, in the hopes that would ward off the rain — but it hadn’t worked.  As we rose in Lock 2 I walked up to Lock 1 which was also full.  It turned out there were five volunteer lock keepers there, huddled in their hut out of the rain, who hadn’t even noticed us coming.  By the time we were coming into the lock, there was a lockie on each bottom gate and one on each top paddle!

The flight had taken around two hours, which is not bad going.  We carried on, with the rain pretty steady. At least there was no wind though, because vertical rain is much more manageable than the horizontal variety.  Mancetta Marina, which is fairly new, now looks to be full of boats, and has a very impressive canal frontage, with rock gardens and the planted-up front half of an old boat.

I was surprised by where moored boats had congregated.  We’ve often stopped near Hartshill, one bridge back from the yard, and sometimes struggled to get in there.  Today, there was no-one moored at all, either on the official moorings or the piling before them.  Instead, everyone was a couple of bridges back towards Atherstone.  I was aiming for the bridge just beyond Springwood Haven Marine, which it turns out is now owned by ABC leisure (like Fazeley Mill Marina which we passed yesterday).  We moored up about 12.30; it was a soup-for-lunch type of day.  This afternoon I have written up a boat test I did a few weeks ago, and which I’ve been meaning to start the whole trip.  At least it’s now mostly done.

9 miles, 11 locks.  (216 miles, 246 locks)

Repatriation: Day 6

Another cloudy day but a bit warmer, and the sun did make efforts to break through a couple of times.  We set off at just before 8.  As I got ready to leave, a towpath walker stopped for a chat; she also spoke to the angler just down the towpath, some boaters coming the other way, and other boaters still moored up.  We were very soon at Fazeley Junction.

It’s always further from the junction to Glascote Locks than we remember.  Once there, both locks needed turning, but we were soon up.  We stopped on the water point at the top to fill the tank and start a wash load.  While there, Adrian popped along to the Co-op at the next bridge to stock up on veg.  A couple more boats came up the locks while we were there.  It’s not the fastest tap so filling the tank took a while, but we were eventually on our way.  Through Amington the piling is being replaced along quite a stretch.  Near Grendon Dock we passed Harnser, with Brian and Diana getting ready to set off.  At Atherstone Locks, a boat was coming down the bottom lock so we could go straight in.  Another arrived as we left.  Both said the flight had been very busy.  It was 12.30 so we tied up in the pound above for lunch — the first time we’ve actually stopped for lunch on this trip.  After half an hour we were on our way again.

There were a few boats coming down, including one who put the length of our days to shame.  The father was helping his son move a boat he’d bought at Devizes on the K&A to Pillings Lock Marina; they’d set off last Friday, and said they didn’t usually stop until it was almost dark at 10pm.  The traffic meant some locks were ready for us but others we had to turn.  They take an age to fill, but empty very quickly — it’s a rather pretty flight. (Fortunately both of these photos show the clean side of the boat!)

Things came to a bit of a halt below the penultimate lock, as we caught up with the boat ahead, who’d caught up with the boat ahead of them.  It was a former Norbury Wharf hire boat, just bought as they are reducing the size of their fleet.  The family on board seemed to be enjoying themselves.  We got to the top at about 3, so not bad going.  The new marina by Bridge 35 has progressed a lot since March.

We’d been aiming for Hartshill, but it was only a little past 3.30 when we got there so we decided to go on for a couple more miles, and moored through the bridge past Springwood Haven, with one of the nicest outlooks we’ve had all trip.

15 miles, 13 locks. (97 miles, 59 locks)