Home Mooring

Last night we ate in The Boat House that use to be The Mill House and before that The Boat House, its part of the Marstons chain so you know what to expect, luckily Dian checked the menu on her phone and we got a 30% off main courses voucher.
Not so bright this morning when we set off but not too cold and no wind. It seems the Peaky Blinders may be in town.

I needed to pop into Midland Chandlers, while we were there the chap opposite was trying to start his engine, it was spinning over very well and after several minutes it finally fired up.

Looking up towards Braunston the ridge and furrow fields are very visible with the sun at a low angle.

I expected them all to run in the same orientation but as you can see these two fields are at 90° to each other.
After 14 days out we needed diesel so called into Dunchurch Pools for a top up, Its the first time I have ever been here and its not been windy.

From here its only a short hop to our marina and the first job when we arrived was to pump out the loo tank, we then have to go almost all the way round the marina to get to our berth.

Below is a full Google map of out trips this year, the latest one is in blue

  

Today’s Journey

 

5 miles with no locks in 3 hours

Braunston

Well another day another type of weather, bright, dead calm, fine and cool. We were away a little after ten thirty passing several moored boats between our overnight mooring and Napton Junction. The Grand Union is a broad canal so you get a few wide beams along here, but few look like this one. The wheelhouse made  it look huge. So after this we were at Napton Junction where we turned right, under the bridge staying on the Grand Union canal,

our destination the top of Calcutt Locks to fill with water before winding and retracing our steps. Needless to say we had just finished filling and untying when a boat came along, turned out he also planned to wind, so I turned first and he followed.
We were now making our way back to Braunston. Its a long time since I have seen the Calcutt reservoir as full as it was today, lets hope they can maintain the level ready for the summer months.

For about half an hour we had heard a helicopter buzzing about and could see it in the distance flying low, maybe landing and then travelling on a bit,  eventually it came over the canal, I guess they were doing pilot training and remote landings.

CRT have piled the towpath edge in a couple of places which could have become nice wild moorings, but they have hung coir rolls just under the water surface along the front of one and will probably do the same to the other.

A few years ago the highways department did a lot of work stabilising the A425 road bridges where they cross the canal with lots of ground anchors etc. but it looks as if 108 is on the move again.

Looking out to the horizon I think this was smoke/steam from the cement works going very high into the sky before drifting at all it was so still.

Passing the long term moorings on the offside one boat owner is well into the Christmas spirit.

When we got to Braunston Turn we went straight ahead into Braunston its self, winding in the entrance to Branston Marina and then travelling back to moor outside the Boathouse pub for the night.

Today’s Journey

9¼ miles with no locks in 3¾ hours

Flecknoe

Yesterday afternoon the sun was going down on Barby Reservoir, today it just forgot to come up again.

This morning the weather was quite dreary with thick cloud and fine cool drizzle, the most miserable weather for boating for sometime. It wasn’t long before we were approaching Braunston and it looks as if the old mill is all scaffolded out.

At Braunston Turn we pulled a hard right towards the South Oxford canal. This bit is both the S Oxford and the Grand Union canal as they share the route as far as Napton Junction. This wasn’t always the case and prior to the realignment of the N Oxford canal it joined the GU further east.
We passed a boat that not only had crocheted covers on the mushroom vents but also on the mooring pins. I hope that loop is well welded.

Or original plan was to go to ether Calcutt top lock to between Napton Junction and Napton for the night, but it really wasn’t pleasant boating weather so we pulled over for the night at Flecknoe.

Today’s Journey

6 miles with no locks in 2 hours.

Onley

The forecast was for rain today so we waited until that cleared, just before we set off this ladies rambling group went by, we caught up with them at Brownsover by which time their numbers had swelled to 12 .

Also while we were waiting a pair of Kites were circling overhead but they didn’t both come into shot together.

We pushed off at 11 am just after the ex-working boat Bristol went by with comments about sharing locks. We gave him bit of a start but could soon see him in the distance ahead, turned out he had caught up with some more boats and he was still below Hillmorton when we arrived. We worked up in tandem assisting each other as we went, following

the other two boats up the flight. Its surprising how much faster the original locks are than the newer ones. We went through the Offside top lock which has a  bottom paddle out as fast as our locking partner when through the nearside one.
After the locks I soon caught up with the boats ahead and Bristol caught up with me, so after Barby Straight I pulled over to let him pass as he wanted to make Branston this afternoon, where as we were mooring by the entrance to Dunchurch Pools marina.

Today’s Journey

7½ miles with 3 locks in 3¼ hours

Newbold

Last night looking out in the dark it was interesting to see the line of the M69 with the street lights running off into the distance.
This morning was even warmer but for some reason it was heading towards 11 before we were away only to stop ¾ mile further on in Ansty to fill with water.
Many years ago, because no one was prepared to pay for the repairs to the bridge between the moorings and the Rose and Castle pub the canal trust removed the deck. I do however wonder how often they check the remaining brickwork for movement.

Last trip I passed a Rothen digger that was adrift where they were working on the towpath, it now looks like they have finished but the turf doesn't look too healthy. Its laid from the path to the water.

This is something you don’t see every day of the week, a motor conversion on a push bike. Its basically a 2 stroke engine mounted on the front forks with the output resting on the front tyre.

A first for me as we approached Rose Narrowboats at Stretton, the driver of a goods train gave me a hoot and a wave. On the closer approach to the boat yard I had to hold back, while the coal and diesel boat approached between the rows of moored boats. I think its the same one I met on the Ashby who had to hold back for me at a bridge in Hinkley.

As we came through Newbold Tunnel a boat coming the other way held back until we were out and I am glad he did, as his tunnel light  was an LED matrix about 2 foot long like this

Once through the tunnel we pulled into the visitor moorings for the night.

Today’s Journey

9 miles with no locks in 3½ hours

West of Ansty

As we were in Coventry last night we had a takeaway from Jinseon Korean restaurant. We have eaten in the restaurant a couple of times but I prefer a takeaway as it gives us lunch for the next day as well. Later in the evening we had a light rain shower as the temperature came up and this morning was fine. We only had one problem,  we were still too full to go for a full English at Playwrights, still next time.
It may have warmed up yesterday but I still wouldn’t fancy living in here.

We left at about half ten through the eye of the needle, bridge I. It was built like this with no towpath to stop thieving from the boats in the basin.

Up at bridge 3, William Henry Bridge we noticed that a piece of plastic gutter, used to support cables was hanging down when we passed yesterday so, today I made a point of stopping and refixing it, don’t ask how it came down as its not accessible from the towpath, only from a boat.

We stopped at Bridge 8 to visit the very large Tesco, just over the bridge and also have the remains of last nights meal. About an hour and a half later we were off again and I spotted something I hadn’t noticed down here before, a 3 mile milestone. I did keep looking but didn’t see one for 4 or 5.

We met a couple of boats on the Coventry Canal heading for the basin for the night.
A short way before Hawkesbury Junction there is a sign/sculpture just back from the towpath, as with the same cut out of the canal map from the Junction to the Basin.

At Hawkesbury Junction we turned onto the North Oxford canal having to pass through the Stop Lock. Rothen have completed work on the lock moorings on the Oxford side of the lock and very smart it looks.

We carried on for another half an hour to moor for the night midway between bridges 11 and 12. There is a short length of pilling her, just room for two boat and its the furthest point from the motorway this side of Ansty. As we were mooring up a water vole crossed to the offside of the canal, it made the journey underwater surfacing 4 times for a gulp of air, here is a photo of his last surfacing before reaching the safety of the far bank, sorry no photo of the vole.

 

 

Today’s Journey

8 miles with 1 lock in 3 hours

Coventry Basin

It was somewhat cold last night with the boat covered in ice before we went to bed and everywhere was white with frost when we got up but the sun soon took the edge off that. Again it was dead still with mist rising off parts of the canal.

There was very very thin ice in places with a grove cut through it by a boat that came by before we were ready to leave. We did meet a boat on the move at Marston Junction, I gave a couple of blasts on the horn and he waited while we exited, he in turn then turned down the Ashby under our stern.
As you can see from this boat on the Coventry Canal the wind speed was zero.

At Bulkington Bridge 14 a team of volunteers were busy installing a new hand rail up the bridge side access stairway as well as trimming overhanging branches and bushes.

Since we came this way last week two things have happened:- All the grass has been stripped off the land on the Offside in an enclosed area between Hawkesbury and Bedworth.

The other was that they were obviously successful raising the sunken boat on the long term mooring as its no longer there sitting on the bottom.
At Hawkesbury Junction we carried straight on heading for Coventry Basin.
The Poplar tree I commented on last trip is still standing by the towpath and I think this photo shows its height better than the last photo I took.

After this I got bit of a surprise with a Fox curled up in the sun on the offside, I didn’t have time to get the camera out but I did point it out to Diana, then after about another hundred meters there was another, then would you believe we then saw a third, so I expect they are all one family. We carried on down into the basin and as we passed under bridge 1 there is a nice little garden.

There was only one other boat moored in the basin when we arrived but there is a tent right beside where we lie to moor, so we are on  the other side rather than sitting by his door.

Today’s Journey

10¾ miles with no locks in 3½ hours

Bramcote

It was dry when we went to bed last night but it didn’t last long and the rain was soon beating down on the roof which continued most of the night, The very light drizzle this morning had cleared up before we set off. We we were rather late getting away as we had to check out the cooked breakfast at the wharf, I am just glad we had the small breakfast and not the full English.

1115hrs and we were on our way, as we approached the moorings on the bend at Dadlington there were loads of geese of varying breeds feeding on the

rather wet stubble field. On the bend a swan was requesting that the occupants of a parked car to feed him, its not just boats they visit.
This is another view of the moorings we used a couple of night back at Stoke Golding.

The day by now was quite pleasant, no wind and the sun kept popping out for a bit, but you wouldn’t call it warm. By the time we moored up it was quite overcast again.

Some boat dogs love to bound about on the roof, bark at every passing boat through the windows where as others are just so laid back it not true.

This one was enjoying a bit of lunch time weak sunshine while its owner topped up with water.
Tonight we are moored in exactly the same spot as we were five nights ago, well away from the A5 and the railway.

Today’s Journey

8¾ miles with no locks in 3¼hours.