Hinckley Wednesday 27 July 2016

We set off just after nine before any boats had come by and made steady progress to Snarestone Tunnel, we had some very fine drizzle on the way but it was ok. 
Passing through Shackerstone there is loads of protection on the offside so boats don’t damage the weeds.

At Snarestone we had to wait for a boat to exit the tunnel before we could enter, although this was build as a broad canal there is   not room for two boats to pass in the tunnel and although its not straight you can see end to end. We winded at the last winding hole and walked down the restored length to look at the new bridge. This must be the largest accommodation bridge anywhere on the system. The farmer was able to drive straight over the infilled canal, but now needs to get his combined harvester across from one field to the other. The bricks for the bridge were salvaged from the canal when they re-dug it, they also found the Midland railway cast iron notices which have just been refitted to the bridge, one each side.

  We returned to the boat to retrace our steps, just as well as 3 other boats had arrived at the terminus since we came and we met a few more the other side of the tunnel.

Yesterday I posted a photograph of a stone mile post on the Coventry Canal, The Ashby Canal Society have erected  steel mile markers showing the distance to each end of the canal. This is the last one on the restored navigable section indicating it is 22 miles to Marston Junction and 8 miles to the terminus still to be restored.

We have seen a few giant hog weed plants on the banks of the canal but thankfully all on the off side. 

Some of the bridges have bat boxes fitted to them, note the large sign on the front so that the bats know where to go.

Our return journey was much faster than our outward run, even the badly silted sections weren’t too bad without the slow boat ahead of us, unlike yesterday where most of the time was just over 2 mph and a max of 2½ mph today we were doing 3¼ at times, much better.

We passed one moored boat where a Moorhen had set up home in the offside fender, good job the boat doesn't get hit to often, it does mean he can’t go cruising until they hatch and leave the nest.

We only saw a couple of voles this time on the Ashby, this one swam across and then along the boat for a bit before returning from whence he came. 

We decided that we would eat at the Lime Kilns in Hinckley tonight beside the A5 road bridge. We went under the bridge and moored as far from the road as possible, I just hope it quietens down a bit later. On there law is one of the original boundary Markers, unlike the Coventry Canal Company who used stone these ones are iron and have the initials MR on them for Midland railway, the same as the iron notices on the new bridge that I posted photos of earlier.

The pub was doing a pie night on a Wednesday so its a pie and a pint for a tenner. They must have had over a dozen types of pie on including 3 vegetarian ones. We were only just in time to eat as they stop doing food at 8 30 pm.

Today’s Journey  22½ miles, 1 tunnel twice in 8¾ hours