Leaving Braunston for Brum
Thursday 13.3.14 and our travels begin for 2014 ......
We woke to thick fog all around us, visibility was
terrible!
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| Jack runs through the pea soup.... |
After a very foggy walk with Jack we came back to the
boat and prepared for the off. Paul had pumped out the loo and we headed off
for the sanitary station by Midland chandlers. Once there we dumped rubbish,
filled up with water and got rid of the loo contents.
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| Thick fog hid bridge holes and oncoming boats |
By 11am we'd finished and were on our way out of
Braunston. The mornings fog still hadn't lifted, the air was still and the
cruise was lovely. We met a few boats coming towards us, a couple of hire boats
too.
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| A few people were out for a cruise too |
The canal twists and turns to start with but after a
few miles it straightens up and we trundle along very happily.
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| Going along towards the Barby Straight |
The fog begins to lift by about 1pm and at last we can
see again! We were soon at the three Hillmorton locks and despite every lock
against us we were soon at the bottom and on our way again.
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| The two top locks of Hillmornton Three |
4 more miles and we were at Rugby, the sun is shining
and there's not a drop of wind on the canal, the birds are singing away. All's
great!
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| The blue skys starting to show, birds sing away to their hearts content |
Rugby was quiet, not always like this! It's usually
chocablock here with boats but we cruised through easily.
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| Cruising through Rugby its eerily quiet |
We carried on to Newbold, only a mile out of Rugby and
we pulled over on the 14 day moorings here, it was 3pm by now.
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| View from the bridge, our little mooring spot for a few days |
We'd been here
only a few months ago and knew the walks were good, also there's a music day on
at the Barley Mow pub near to the mooring in aid of the flood victims and we
wanted to go. We walked the familiar fields of Newbold, Jack
scampered around like a posessed animal, loving the open fields and woods, he's
so fit and well at the moment!
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| The sun sets over the canal, one boat in front of us |
It was a
great day, the sun was still shining and the birds were singing, everyone was
happy today, chatty and smiley. It's amazing how a sunny day can make everyone
happy!
On Friday I caught the bus to Rugby to look for shoes
for the wedding, no luck! Paul stayed at home with Jack and collected some
lovely oak to chop up for the fire. He also took a load of washing to the pub
as they take in washing for boaters! Only £10, washed, dried and folded!
Saturday 15th March and the sun shone again. It was a
lovely day, gone were the foggy mornings, replaced by lovely bright and
(slightly breezy) sunny days!
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| Just sittin' in the sun..... |
We walked to the local chippy for our lunch and walked
Jack over the rabbit infested meadows, he had a brilliant time! We sat outside in
the garden of the pub, Jack by our feet, and listened to the music playing
inside. He was as good as gold, most people who walked past made a right fuss
of him!
We came back to the boat after another walk and had
our tea. We chatted to our new neighbours, Ruth and Richard from nb Comfortably
Numb and their craft shop butty Echoes.
Back we went to the pub for the evening session and our
neighbours were there, so we all sat together and chatted over the music! lovely
lovely people, I hope we see them again! Paul won a CD in the raffle, never
heard of the group! But at least he won something!
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| Yea... the sun's out and we're cruisin' |
Sunday and the sun was shining again! This is so nice!
Is spring here already?
After a lovely last walk over the grassy meadows, a
quick breakfast and a cuppa we were on our way once again, it was 10.30 and such
a beautiful morning.
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| Heading into Newbold Tunnel, shame to miss the beautiful sun even for a few minutes! |
There were plenty of boats on the move when we set off
for Newbold tunnel. We set off through the short tunnel, we had 11 miles planned
journey for today and the weather stayed lovely!
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| Beautiful open countryside, look at the colour of the sky! |
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| Spring is a comin', the trees have a slight green tinge.... it's definitely started! |
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| The small footpath swing bridge by Roses Narrowboats |
We cruised through open countryside, straight sections
that followed close up against busy trainlines and under the busy M6 motorway
bridge. We stopped for lunch on an embankment in the beautiful sunshine and Jack
had a skip and a run about to stretch his legs.
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| We stopped for lunch on this embankment, the train line providing us a view of sorts! |
After half an hour we were on the move again, enjoying
all the sights and sounds of a wonderful days cruise.
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| On our way to Hawksbury Junction, there's a huge electric station here, hence all the pilons and cables|! |
We arrived at Hawksbury junction moorings about 3pm,
this is where the North Oxford canal meets the Coventry canal but we didn't
quite get to the junction, we moored on the 7 day moorings on a large sweeping
corner with a lovely bit of grass by the boat just before the lock. There's
lots of boats here but we managed to get ourselves in a spot just big enough,
despite the wind making it very difficult to land.
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| Hawksbury Junction visitor moorings, there's us in the distance! |
Once we had secured the boat we set off for explore of
the area with Jack. We began by finding a little path that led into a woods.
Little did we know we were entering a firing range and all around us were men
with guns! Oops! Quick exit and we played it safe by walking around some
fields, not great but the best there is around here!
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| These fields were used by local youths and their mini mopeds.... rubbish strewn everywhere, but its the best we can do |
We spotted Mark from Star Class Carriers moored up on
the opposite side of the canal on the water point! After a chat with him we
arranged for him to call in to us in the morning, we were very low on diesel,
gas and coal!
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| Star Class Carriers, moored up for the afternoon (on a water point) |
After showers and a relight of the fire, (today it was
so nice we let the fire go out) we cosied in for the evening. We had a quiet
night here, not a sound.
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| Jack after one particular great rabbit chase! |
On Monday, 17th March, I took Jack for his walk and
Paul stayed to wait for Mark to come with our delivery.
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| .... and filling up at the stern, while his little dog stays on guard on the roof! |
He was there by the
time we got back and we were filled up all round. £189 later and he was on his
way again, and we settled down to have breakfast and wait for our friends Steve
and Kathy. They were due to be here about 9-9.30, but after getting lost
finally made it by 10.00!
We had a great chat, a lovely catch up, but they had
to be on their way, and we were moving today too!
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| The old Toll House at Sutton Stop Lock, we'd just made our one foot decent! |
By 12.45 we were on our way heading towards the junction. There's
a lock here, Sutton Stop Lock, that's only a foot deep. In days gone by this is
where a toll used to be paid when you entered a new canal. Nowadays the old
stop house still remains but there's no toll!
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| You can see Coventry Canal as we go through the bridge and do a sharp right...left takes you to Coventry |
We went through the lock and did a 180 degree turn under
the bridge, coming back on our selves but we're on the Coventry canal now!
The weather is sunny still, but it's turned breezy and
there's a chill in the air.
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| The sign says it all, straight on for Athestone.... with the modern flats and the original pump house in the same pic... |
This part
of the Coventry isn't particulary lovely, our mission this afternoon was to get
through Bedworth and moor up just through Nuneaton.
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| There's all sorts of weird and wonderful manikins dressed up dotted around the yard.... |
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| .... and they seem to have had a bit of a tidy up, well on the outside anyway! |
We chugged on past the weird and wonderful Charity Dock in
Bedworth, believe it or not, they've had a tidy up here since the last time we passed!
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| Dont think we'll be using this lot to black our bottom! |
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| Narrow Boat Oakapple turns the sharp right bend onto the Ashby Canal as we sit and wait for him |
Next we head past the junction of the Ashby canal and onwards to
the 'not so delightful' town of Nuneaton.
Here there are undesirable residential
flats on one side of the canal and row upon rows of allotments the other side.
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| Nearly all the length of the canal on one side is covered in allotments, some looked after and some not. |
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| Not the prettiest place to stop, so we don't! |
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| These inconsiderate youths race past us and scare all who get in their way |
The bridges, most covered in graffiti, are all at a
strange angle to the canal and traffic noise has now replaced the spring sounds
we are used to hearing.
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| "I'm just having a look, anything to eat...?" |
The canal took us 2 and a half miles around the town
centre and eventually we left Nuneaton behind for the familiar countryside sights
and sounds. We came to the edge of the quarry works at Harts Hill and decided,
as it was now 3.30, we would stop here for the night.
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| Little Happy Daze on the other side of the hedge, high slag heaps tower over the landscape here |
The sun was still shining but it was still chilly in
the wind. We walked over lovely dry fields, over and under the railway line and
beside thick woodlands. Back at the boat Jack played outside, Paul fished and I
got the fire lit, getting ready for a cosy evening in.
We woke up to lovely sunshine but this isn't going to
last, apparently it's all change to high winds and heavy showers by 10am, so we
walked Jack early and set off while it wasn't too bad!
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| Just leaving the mooring.... |
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| The sun comes out for a little while at least |
We didn't have far to go today, the countryside was
lovely with hilly fields and meadows all around.
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| The Anchor Inn, the best Sunday Roasts for miles! |
We went past the Anchor pub where only last year we moored
here and enjoyed our best ever Sunday roast dinner!
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| Stopping for water and a rubbish dump.... |
Soon we were at the water point and we filled up just
as the first shower decided to descend on us. So after hiding up from the
weather for a few minutes we were on our way again.
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| We moored up on a lovely quiet bit of towpath |
Only half a mile later we found a great stretch of
towpath, the nearest we could get to Harts Hill Country Park, and moored up. We'd
planned on stopping somewhere here because we wanted to explore the country
park and the acres and acres of beautiful woodland.
Words cannot describe the
awsomeness of this place so I'll show you in pictures!
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| Acres and acres of woodland..... |
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| We discovered loads of paths in the woods |
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| ... and Jack had the time of his life! |
In a few weeks the woodlands will be carpeted in
bluebells just going on for as far as the eye can see, the amazing hilly green
grassy fields, just perfect for sledging in the winter making the amazing views
across miles of lovely countryside gobsmackingly awesome.
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| The views were just awsome.. |
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| ... and all around there were miles and miles of walks |
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| Jack ran and ran to this little heart's content.... |
This is the best ever
place we've discovered yet, so were staying here just a little while longer! The
weather forecast for the next few days was basically wind, rain, hail and sunny
spells with more wind to follow.
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| The sun did come out for us for a little while.... |
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| .... and Jack just kept on running! |
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| Looking up to where we'd just looked down.. if you get my meaning! |
So instead of moving onwards we spent hours and hours traipsing
the woods and fields, twice a day we ventured in and around the Country Park; Jack,
and us, thinking we'd gone to walkers heaven!
But we still had other things to do. I got on a bus
and went into Coventry for my continuing hunt for some shoes to wear for our
wedding, we both got on a bus to Nuneaton for the very same reason.
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| Paul gets some wood on our way back from our 'Jack walk' |
We collected wood and Paul chopped it for the fire; we
cleaned the outside of the boat, walked up to the village for basic provisions
and generally stayed out of the cold winds and showers. The sun occasionally
showed itself, but it remained chilly.
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| The canal is somewhere down there..... if you look very closely! |
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| Our last (very early) morning in this wonderful place... but there's more around the next corner |
Monday 24th March and the sun finally came out
although it was a cold and frosty start to the day. After a walk over the
grassy meadows with Jack we set off on our day's cruise.
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| Blue skies and not a drop of wind... just perfect for cruising |
It was a beautiful day for cruising, the sun was
shining and there wasn't a drop of wind on the canal .....yet!
After weaving our way a couple of miles through the
hilly green countryside we Came into Atherstone and moored up just above the
flight of locks.
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| We moored up just through this bridge to get some shopping |
We needed more food supplies and after a walk to the
local Co-op we were stocked up once again.
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| Lots of extra helping hands at the top of the Atherstone locks... |
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| And these two volenteers were here to cut the grass, not help us! |
We set off once more towards the top lock, a large
group of little people were all at the lock on a school outing, so extra care
had to be taken.
Down we went, through all five locks, only stopping to
fill up with water half way down. There were a couple of boats coming up the
locks so most were in our favour and in no time at all we were through.
The wind was getting stronger by then and it was
making landing the boat quite tricky.
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| Waiting to go down the lock... |
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| .... and we're at the bottom, all done! |
There were three sets of two locks to do and we made
our way down the rest easily, only struggling with the wind.
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| Its narrow and bendy here, but quite beautiful really. Only wish the wind would quieten down! |
We cruised on another three miles to Polesworth in the
wind, the sun had gone in and was replaced by cold, cloudy skies with a bitter NE
wind.
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| Moored up in Polesworth waiting for Paul and his maggots! |
After pulling in to the visitor moorings Paul went off
to the fishing tackle shop and got his maggots, he was only gone 15 minutes and
we were on our way again. We went another mile (8 in total today) and we were
at our chosen destination for the day.
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| We found a bit of the canal sheltered from the wind, just up ahead |
Pooley Fields Nature Reserve near Alvecote; we stayed
here for a couple of days last year, a wonderful place made out of old slag
heaps and left for nature to take its course!
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| This was our little spot for the next couple of days, no neighbours... yeah! |
We pulled over by the woodlands
and once we'd tied the boat up we went inside for a cuppa and a warm up.
We braved the cold and wind once again and took Jack
out into the woods, he had a lovely scamper around chasing squirrels and mice!
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| We went for an explore of the woods... Jack had a lovely time |
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| This looks like autumn, but you can see the vague greeness of the buds on the trees |
It's really quiet here, hardly anyone about, no noise
from the trains or the busy M42 just a little way away from us and the towpath
is good, right next to the woods. We like it here a lot and rain is forecast all
day tomorrow, more winds and showers for the next few days.
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| We're moored just around the corner, but you can see the loveliness of the place from this bridge |
So for now were staying, only for a few days but
were enjoying the peace and quiet of the countryside while we can, it'll all
change in a week or so when we make the final part of our journey into
Birmingham.
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| The boat in front is the welding workshop, the living quarters for 2 adults, 2 kids and 3 dogs is behind! |
Around the corner from where we moored we spotted a
couple of boats we recognised, the Little Chimney Company boats Tailwind and
butty Molly. After a chat with Kym and Tracey we had a look at their lovely
steel chimneys they made on the butty and decided to replace our old rusted
chimney for a shiney new one, solid and built to last! Well chuffed!
They also
had a black and white springer called Molly, identical to Jack! Size, colouring
etc, but slightly more scatty!
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| Jack ran and ran across these fields chasing the smells of rabbits of old |
We loaded the boat up with wood we found in the woods
and found some lovely fields to walk Jack in too, were spoilt here!
But by Thursday we were getting itchy feet and keen to
move to a new spot. After our Jack walk we set off in the cloudy and cold
morning but not a drop of wind.
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| Huge houses with huge gardens back on to the canal in Tamworth |
We cruised the three miles to Tamworth, under
bridge after bridge that crossed the canal, looking up people's lovely gardens
that lined a huge stretch of the canal.
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| Waiting at the top of Tamworth two locks ... |
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| ... and Paul and Jack set off to get the second one ready |
We got to the Tamworth two locks and followed
a boat down, meaning the locks were set against us. But we soon got through and
cruised on out of Tamworth. The day was bitterly cold and cloudy and we were
soon hugging hot cuppa soups to keep us warm.
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| Rounding the corner to go over the aqueduct over the River Tame |
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| ... and looking over the aqueduct at the large river flowing underneath us |
Over the Tame aqueduct we went,
and past the Birmingham & Fazeley junction where we would be heading
tomorrow.
After about half a mile, just under Bonehill Bridge, I turned the
boat around at the huge turning point and did the short reverse past a few moored
boats and pulled over in a lovely wooded spot, the closest we could get to the
huge retail park we needed to visit.
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| We're tucked in behind this group of three boats... near as we can get to the Retail Park |
A warming cuppa later we set off over the fields (well
it was more like wasteland really) and within 10 minutes we were in Brantano
(yes, I got my shoes for the wedding!), Homebase (bought paint for the gunwhales)
Pets at Home (Jack needed dog food) Mc Donald's (to fill our bellies) and Asda (to fill our bellies more!).
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| Jack was not a happy bunny here, he plodded along just because we said he had to! |
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| And this was the reason why, rubbish, cars and lorries everywhere, he's getting fussy but it's not ideal! |
We walked Jack around
the wasteland, he's not impressed! It rained and rained later in the day but we're
all done now, cosy and warm in our little boat.
On Friday we walked Jack, still not impressed by the
wasteland walk, (no choice tho) and set off back towards the junction.
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| Looking back under Bonehill Bridge, there is no road over it now, its a muddy track! |
The rain
had stopped, the skies were grey but it was a lovely day for cruising. We
stopped for a water tank fill up and dumped rubbish and within minutes we were
at the junction turning right ...
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| The signs tell the way.... Birmingham to the right |
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| Someone's been trying to 'posh' up the junction! See the paintings of the kingfisher and robin! Thats new! |
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| We do our sharp right leaving the Coventry canal behind for the unknown Birmingham & Fazeley |
Onto the Birmingham & Fazeley canal, a new canal
for both of us.... now our cruising really begins....
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| And under the junction bridge we go..... now for the fun! |
