Braunston

We only had a relatively short journey planned today so we stopped at the water point at the base of Hillmorton Locks, even though we knew from experience it was a slow filling tap. This gave us time to have breakfast and get rid of rubbish, whilst we waited. At 9.30 we set off up the locks, several boats had already passed us and gone through, so none were set in our favour. The pounds between the locks are renowned for being low, and we usually scrap the bottom in places but not today. There was even water flowing over the top of the bottom lock gates. Once at the top of the flight we passed the site of the former Rugby Radio Station. This used to be a familiar sight especially to travellers on the M1 and M6, with fields full of radio masts. These have now virtually all gone, and the site is going to be used for housing. In a couple of years the area around Hillmorton Locks will be completely different. We then entered the Barby Straight, a section of canal arrow straight for about a mile and a half. We passed the villages of Barby and Willoughby, then arrived at our mooring spot just a mile from the village of Braunston.

       

       

       

       

  

       

                                                         Just a few pictures of our mooring spot.

This is a nice rural spot and normally we would stay here maybe a day or two. However as this coming weekend is a bank holiday we want to be settled nearer to Napton and Calcutt Boats before the weekend boaters pour out of the nearby marinas. The other benefit of being near Napton is we will be close to a delightful pub we know, The Folly Inn. After securing the boat we walked into Braunston for lunch at The Boat House, followed by a visit to the swindlers, also known as Midland Chandlers. We went in just to have a look, and I was hoping not to spend anything. I failed.

Totals 6 Miles 3 Locks

Running total 526 Miles 249 Locks 19 Tunnels

Hillmorton

We had a later start this morning allowing time for the rain to clear. Hawkesbury Junction had proved busy and we still had boat traffic moving at 10.30 pm last night. Today our aim was to reach All Oak Wood near the village of Brinklow. As we set off it was still cloudy, but breaks were starting to appear. After a couple of miles we were passing through the village of Ansty. Unusually, the visitor moorings here were empty, and a few miles further on we found out why. Everyone it seemed was moored at All Oak Wood. We reviewed our options and decided to push on to Hillmorton. As we had passed under the M6 and through an overgrown section of the canal we had seen another steam boat approaching. 

     

      

On this occasion it was the steam boat Adamant, an example of a steam tunnel tug. Just as we were passing the steerer gave a long toot on his steam whistle making the crew jump. I thought the camera would end up in the canal. We continued on through the swing bridge at Stretton Stop, and beyond Brinklow. Next, was the short Newbold Tunnel, and once through we were entering the outskirts of Rugby. We passed the short arm that leads to the Willow Wren hirebase, and the park at Brownsover with mooring on both sides of the canal. On the approach to Hillmorton Locks we found a spot to moor. The bank here slopes a bit and is concrete so it is difficult to get close into the edge.

       

       

Our plan for tomorrow is to ascend the three locks and travel a few miles on towards Braunston. There is a nice rural spot a couple of miles before the junction where we will turn towards Napton on Friday.

Totals 14 Miles 1 Tunnel

Running total 520 Miles 246 Locks 19 Tunnels

Hawkesbury Junction / Sutton Stop

Only a short journey of seven miles today. Departing Hartshill at about 9 am we were soon passing through the town of Nuneaton. It would appear that this town does not value its stretch of the canal, as we saw more rubbish and plastic bottles in this area, than we have, over the entire remainder of the canals we have travelled this year. Anyway, we were soon leaving Nuneaton behind when we saw evidence a certain 'Time Lord' was visiting.

     

Not long after passing the junction with the Ashby Canal, the skies clouded over and wind picked up. Rain was threatening again and it turned decidedly chilly. About two miles later we made the left turn off the Coventry Canal and entered Sutton Stop Lock. Once through we were on the Oxford Canal, which will now take us all the way to Napton for our appointment with Calcutt Boats next week. We moored a couple of hundred yards from the lock and secured the boat. Previously, we had only visited the Greyhound P.H. for a drink so today we sampled their menu.

      

Just as we left the pub the rain came, so it was back to the boat to plan tomorrow's journey. It will be another short hop as far as the village of Brinklow and All Oak Wood.

Totals 7 Miles 1 Lock

Running total 506 Miles 246 Locks 18 Tunnels

Hartshill

Since our last post from Coven, we have been making good progress on our return journey. Wednesday 19/08 we set off for a mooring near to the village of Acton Trussell. We had 10 miles and 10 locks to navigate, whilst keeping an eye on the changing weather situation. No sooner had we secured the boat the rain came, we had timed it perfectly, which was a theme repeated during further legs of the trip. 

Thursday 20/08 our destination was to be Great Haywood. It meant passing through Tixall Wide, but we fancied having the grounds of Shugborough Hall as our backdrop. On route we passed Stafford Boat Club which had been our home for a week, on our way to Chester. As we entered Tixall Wide, we recognised a boat moored that we had seen several times over the past few days. 'Millie Rose' was one of Steve Hudsons final boats, and we had met the owner a couple of times on our way down the Shroppie. What we did not expect was to see the crew of 'Lowen' another Hudson boat popping out of the rear doors. We had not seen them for over a year since the last Hudson open weekend, so we made an unscheduled stop on the Wide for a catch up. About an hour later we resumed our journey to the junction with the Trent and Mersey, then turned right and descended the lock before mooring in front of Shugborough Hall as planned. 

Friday 21/08 our planned destination was Fradley Junction, but we saw an opportunity to extend the day and then have a rest day on Saturday. We passed the pig farm and fuel barge near Bishton which seems a popular mooring spot, then continued on through Rugeley and Armitage before arriving at Fradley. We descended the locks with the help of the volunteer lock keepers, and turned right onto the Coventry Canal. Our revised destination just prior to the village of Whittington, was a further five miles away. We secured the boat mid way between Huddlesford and Whittington, and decided that having foregone lunch, an early evening meal was called for at the Plough Inn. 

Saturday 22/08 was a warm, very humid day, and the furry crew member did not appear to be enjoying his walk in the heat. We therefore kept it short, simply collecting a few supplies from the co-op in the village, then returning to the boat to relax and attempt to keep cool. Later, we were treated to a brief thunder storm which cleared the air a little. 

Sunday 23/08 our aim was to reach Polesworth. We made good progress to Glascote where we had two locks to navigate. Both are renowned as slow to fill. The bottom lock takes 8 minutes and top lock 12 minutes. The Canal and River Trust are closing them on Wednesday to conduct an inspection and see what the problem is. After exiting the top lock we passed the entrance to Glascote Basin, our boats home port. This has now been taken over by Norton Canes Boatbuilders, so we popped in for a brief chat. Resuming our journey we passed through Polesworth, taking a mooring just prior to bridge 50. We were close to the main railway line here, but the mooring is shielded by a small hill making it quite a pleasant spot. 

     

      

                               The Icebreaker Lysander now converted to run on steam.

      

      

                                          Departing our mooring this morning at Polesworth.

Today we had the Atherstone flight of 11 locks to deal with. The rain was not expected to arrive until late in the afternoon. Just as we slipped our lines it began to drizzle. Fortunately it was short lived. We used the services at the base of the locks, then set off up the flight. The first two locks went without incident, but then we encountered very low water in the pound between locks 10 and 9. Someone who had gone through the flight at 6 am, had left a gate paddle raised which drained the pound by nearly a foot and a half. We travelled along the pound staying in the centre of the channel. The boat bumped along in a few spots, but entry into lock 9 proved impossible. We then spent about half an hour running water down the flight to raise the levels. After this the remainder of the flight was in our favour, and for the final four locks we had volunteer lockies helping. We passed the CRT yard at Hartshill, then Springwood Haven Marina. Our chosen spot was free and we moored up. Soon after the rain came and we were rapidly joined by another couple of boats.

Wednesday 19/08 totals 10 Miles 10 Locks

Thursday 20/08 totals 8 Miles 3 Locks

Friday 21/08 totals 17 Miles 4 Locks

Sunday 23/08 totals 12 Miles 2 Locks

Today's totals 6 Miles 11 Locks

Running total 499 Miles 245 Locks 18 Tunnels

Coven

We departed Brewood early this morning hoping to pass through the narrows prior to Autherley Junction, without meeting too much oncoming boat traffic. We succeeded in that objective however the queue at the stop lock by the junction would slow us up a bit. We filled with water whilst waiting, and in no time it was our turn. Passing through the lock we turned left onto the Staffs and Worcs Canal. At this point on the canal we are on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. It is easy to tell when near a city, as the canal water appears black in colour. We had one further narrow section to pass through and could see a boat ahead of us, so we followed them in. We arrived at our planned mooring location between bridges 73 and 74 at about 1.30 pm. We now have a timescale of sorts to keep to, in that yesterday I booked our visit to Calcutt Boats for the 1st September. This is have our diesel heater repositioned in the engine room, to a more serviceable location. Calcutt Boats are located on the Grand Union Canal south of Braunston so we have some way to go yet. Tomorrow the weather is reported to take a turn for the worse later in the afternoon, so we will aim for another early morning start.

Total 10 Miles 1 Lock

Running total 446 Miles 215 Locks 18 Tunnels

Brewood

Just before 8.30 am we moved forward the short distance to Norbury Wharf. The diesel price here is nearly the cheapest on the canal network at 59.9 pence per litre. Knowing we would be refilling here we had run the tank lower than normal, so took on 112 litres. Our trip today took us across the substantial Shelmore Embankment, before passing through the village of Gnosall and the very short Cowley Tunnel. At Wheaton Aston we had a single lock to navigate, then two more miles to our destination at Brewood. We have now left Shropshire behind and are well into Staffordshire. Tomorrow we will leave the Shropshire Union Canal, as we head along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal towards Coven Heath.

       

       

Totals 11 Miles 1 Lock 1 Tunnel

Running total 436 Miles 214 Locks 18 Tunnels

Norbury Junction

Slipping away from our mooring at Market Drayton by 8 we soon arrived at the Tyrley Locks. This flight also consists of five locks, and as yesterday, all were in our favour. As can be seen from the photo below, the lock gates at this flight leak like a sieve. You would think the paddles were raised already with the amount of water flooding through the top gate.

       

The bottom of this flight is located within a wooded cutting, but as we ascended we emerged into bright sunshine. We have to keep an eye on the furry crew member. He has realised that if the hoop of his lead is simply placed over the small bollards he can with a bit of jiggery-pokery lift his lead off himself.

       

Having arrived at the top of the flight we now only have one more lock to navigate on the Shroppie. We met a couple of boats as we passed through Woodseaves Cutting so rather than rub sides with them we stopped at a wider section allowing them to pass. When about half way through the cutting we passed the location of a recently fallen beech tree. Reports were that a couple of weeks ago, chaos ensued as the cutting was blocked with dozens of boats stuck for a couple of days at the busiest time of the year. Little of the wood remained so we suspect a few liveaboard boaters have stocked up with fuel for the winter. Our next obstacle was a fishing competition, consisting of 75 fishermen spread out along a mile and a half of the canal. Boats coming the other way informed us they were very grumpy, but we acknowledged each of them as we passed and found them ok. It was like receiving a royal salute, as fishing poles were raised in turn to allow our passage. On arrival at Norbury Junction we were lucky to find a spot prior to the bridge and service yard. Our journey had taken five hours and it was now lunchtime. The Junction Inn was serving a Sunday roast and also had a decent selection of vegetarian options for the crew. We plan to fill with diesel at Norbury Wharf at 59p a litre. It is a penny a litre dearer than Wheaton Aston but the fuel filler is on the correct side here. Tomorrow we are aiming for Brewood.

Totals 11 Miles 5 Locks

Running total 425 Miles 213 Locks 17 Tunnels