Streethay

Quite a bit has happened since the last post, so here is a quick update. On Bank Holiday Monday 7/5. we departed Shackerstone aiming for Market Bosworth. This was an unplanned move, to facilitate a visit to a dentist the following day. We did wonder if there would be any space to moor at Bosworth, being a holiday weekend and with glorious weather, but to our surprise, we had our choice of spot being the only boat there. Wednesday 9/5. Visits to the dentist complete, our destination was Stoke Golding. The heat of the past few days had reduced, but it was still pleasant cruising weather. It was also much quieter, now all the workers had returned to their day jobs. On arrival at Stoke Golding we secured the boat, and after lunch wandered off to the farm shop at bridge 23 for supplies. Our evening meal was once again taken at the Mango Tree Indian restaurant, I can see this becoming a regular haunt when we pass this way. Thursday 10/5. we had a non moving day, instead taking four legs on a longish walk to Sutton Cheney Wharf for lunch. This is a round trip of about five miles, so it gave our legs a good stretch. The following day, Friday 11/5. we had a short hop of about one hour to Hinckley Marina. We were leaving the boat here for a couple of days, to attend a family Golden Wedding event near Newbury over the weekend. On returning to the boat, we took a further few days restocking the supplies and moving cars around, before finally getting underway again on Wednesday 16/5. Our intended destination was to be close to Springwood Haven Marina. As we navigated through Burton Hastings we spotted Nessie, a couple of hundred miles south of where he or she should be.

Nessie bobbing around at Burton Hastings

Turning right at Marston Junction, rejoining the Coventry Canal, we continued our journey north. We had to pass through Nuneaton, which as per usual meant encountering an increasing amount of rubbish dumped in the cut. As we approached Springwood Haven, we spotted a boat moored in our usual spot so we carried on on a bit. We found a nice spot just prior to a winding hole with some cows for neighbours.

Mooring near Springwood Haven

Thursday 17/5. We had a relatively short distance to cruise, but this did include the eleven locks of the Atherstone flight. We must have been righteous that day. Not only was the sun shining on us, and not so hot as to make it uncomfortable, but at all bar two of the locks we met oncoming boats. This meant nine of the eleven locks were set in our favour. At the bottom of the flight, we plodded on until reaching a usual spot for us, about a mile before Polesworth.

Mooring prior to Polesworth

We only stayed here one night before moving on to Whittington. So Friday 18/5. after breakfast we moved off. The weather was much cooler than it had been for the past couple of weeks. Our journey was going to take us by the birthplace of our boat, at Glascote Basin. We stopped above the top lock of the Glascote pair, at the water point. Whilst waiting we had a look into the Basin from the bridge. We will be back here in July for a boat gathering, which this year includes a hog roast. Once the water tank had been replenished, we set off again descending the two Glascote locks, and then continued on towards Whittington. We passed through Fazeley Junction, bearing right and joining the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. One feature of this canal, is that the bridges are named instead of being numbered. We only had a couple of miles to travel on this canal, before rejoining the Coventry Canal (detached section) at Whittington. Approaching Hopwas it was lunchtime, and the mooring directly outside the Tame Otter PH was empty. This was a sign, so we stopped for refreshments. After lunch we carried on for the remaining couple of miles to Whittington, and found our intended spot vacant. Securing the boat we took the opportunity to try out a new purchase, a sun parasol. Unfortunately, the nice shady seating caused four legs to misbehave, and following a disciplinary hearing, he has been demoted to third mate, for the offence of stealing the captains chair.

Four Legs committing a heinous crime

The demotion in rank also entails a restriction of privileges, meaning no Bonios for a week. A loose plan was to remain here for a week, whilst the crew popped home to do some dog sitting duties. This would give me the opportunity to complete some necessary maintenance tasks, including varnishing and wood staining. Wednesday 23/5. I moved the boat up to Kings Orchard Marina for services and took up a mooring just beyond the Marina entrance. Me and the third mate, will wait here til the crew returns on Saturday.  

• Totals Monday      7/5.   3 Miles
•          Wednesday 9/5.   6 Miles
•          Friday        11/5.  3 Miles
•          Wednesday 16/5.  11 Miles
•          Thursday    17/5.  7 Miles 11 Locks
•          Friday         18/5. 12 Miles 2 Locks
•          Wednesday 23/5.  1 Mile 
• Running total 125 Miles 32 Locks 5 Tunnels 

Whittington

We only stayed one night by the pig farm, so on Thursday 29/9 we set off for Fradley Junction. We had a brief stopover in Rugeley, to stock up on supplies at the large Tesco store by the canal. Then it was on through Armitage, the town made famous for its toilets. The weather was fine for the time of the year, and there was very little traffic. On arrival at Wood End lock we encountered a hold up. The lock has a defective ground paddle, and is very slow to fill. Today it was made worse by a huge island of reeds that had been sucked into the gate paddle reducing the flow further. Each fill was taking nearly half an hour. Once we got through it was only a short hop to Fradley. We dropped down a further two locks and then made our turn onto the Coventry Canal. Once through the swing bridge, we had our pick of position on the visitor mooring as it was empty. It didn't stay that way for long.

On Friday 30/9 we walked to the canal village of Alrewas, about two and a half miles away down the Trent and Mersey. We can actually return to Yelvertoft that way, but it involves a couple of river sections for which we would need an anchor, and this time we are stopping at Glascote Basin for a few days to have some work done.

On Saturday 1/10, the weather was forecast to rain later in the afternoon, so having stayed our allotted 48 hours at Fradley we moved on. We were aiming for Huddlesford. We needed a pump out and diesel so planned to visit Streethay Wharf on route. Not long after tying up it became apparent the pump out machine was kaput. We continued on to Kings Orchard Marina, and fortunately, unlike our last visit it was not too windy. The forecast rain however had arrived early and as we exited the Marina the heavens opened. Quickly mooring just outside the entrance, we avoided the worst but we're still soaked by the time we finished.

On Sunday 2/10 we walked in glorious sunshine to Huddlesford Junction where we found the Plough Inn. We have eaten here before and the food is great, today would be our first Sunday roast there. The pub is dog friendly, but four legs had been left behind to guard the boat.

Today we moved just one mile to the spot we had intended to reach on Saturday. The weather is again glorious for the season, but we have noticed that in the mornings the boat is colder now. We have yet to light the solid fuel stove but the diesel heating is getting some regular use.

 

We are only staying here one night as the cuisine at the Tame Otter, Hopwas is beckoning. After lunch we walked into Whittington to visit the local shop. One final point is that google have stopped supporting the app for iPad using blogger. This is a new app so I have no idea how it will appear once posted.  

• Totals  Thursday 29/9. 9 Miles 3 Locks
•           Saturday  1/10. 4 Miles
•           Monday.   3/10. 1 Mile

 

• Running total 368 Miles 214 Locks 14 Tunnels

Whittington

We have spent the past week at Achernar's home port of Glascote Basin in Tamworth. We were there for a Hudson owners gathering, which primarily took place over the weekend. By Friday lunchtime the basin was filling up nicely, and the small marquee which would house the beer had been erected. We ended up with 21 Hudsons present which represents about 10 percent of the total number built. On Saturday we were treated to a boat trip in Emu, a former working boat painted in the red and green. Later we had a barbecue which our hosts, Sarah and the Norton Canes staff also attended. It was good to see some familiar faces as some of the staff are former members of Hudson boatbuilders. Sunday started quieter, as people were slightly jaded from the consumption of the previous night, but ended with Chinese takeaway and more beer.

       

       

       

Most owners departed on Monday, however we opted for one more night in the basin. Today we filled with water and diesel, took on a bottle of gas, and pumped out the waste tank. The entrance to the basin is on a slight angle to the canal, and for boats wishing to head north it is better to reverse out, fortunately the wind was light. We descended the two Glascote locks fairly quickly and were soon on our way. We passed Fazeley Junction and the canal which leads towards Birmingham. Soon we were out of the built up area of Tamworth, and the canal began meandering through the countryside. Once beyond the village of Whittington we found our mooring spot and settled down to lunch. We will stay here a while as the crew are planning to abandon ship again at the weekend. 

Totals 7 Miles 2 Locks

Running total 222 Miles 142 Locks 12 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

Whittington

Well we did not make it quite as far as Huddlesford Junction, we stopped half a mile beyond the village of Whittington. Prior to reaching the village we had passed through a secluded wooded area, which also doubled up as a military firing range. It looked peaceful enough as we chugged along. The village itself appeared pleasant, and it had a small shop for us to top up supplies. Whittington, is also home to Whittington Barracks and the museum of the Staffordshire Regiment. Unfortunately one of many ancient regiments that have been cut over the years, due to government savings. Just beyond the village the canal sweeps round a long gentle bend which has secure piling so this is where we stopped. We will be staying here for a week, to allow the crew to return home for a friends birthday celebration.

       

Although we did not reach Huddlesford junction it is only a short distance ahead. So during an exploratory walk of our local environment, we went and had a look. The junction is where the Coventry Canal (detached section) meets with the Wyrley and Essington Canal. At this end this canal only forms a short arm, which are now moorings for the Lichfield Cruising Club. The other end of this canal joins the BCN near Wolverhampton. It is currently undergoing restoration, so one day it may be a through route. On our travels we have recently seen a number of swans building their nests, some of them have been in what could only be described as rubbish tips. This pair however, seem to have found the perfect sunny spot.

     

This is right on the junction by the cruising club moorings. There is as you would expect a pub, The Plough and after having lunch there we decided that when the crew returns after the weekend, we will have an evening meal on the Monday to save cooking, and support local business.

The past few days the weather has been warm and sunny so some outdoor chores have been completed. The boat has had a wash and the stove has been cleaned out. The flue needed a good sweep, I was surprised how much the soot had narrowed the flue diameter. With all this sunny weather the solar panel has been performing well. On good days it is producing nearly 100 amp hours into the batteries. This means we can now survive four days, without having to run the engine for charging our domestic battery bank.

Today we were joined by new neighbours and whilst outside chatting with them, a Hudson boat, Wigrams Turn passed by. As we are soon to be heading the same way, we will probably meet up with them again at Fradley Junction tomorrow, or Tixall Wide at the weekend.

Totals 4 Miles