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.

Sutton Wharf

Again it was a lovely bright sunny but cool day, just a hint of frost on the grass. It was quite busy today, we met 2 boats, one in a bridge hole and a paddle boarder out enjoying the sun.
As well as working on Snarestone Wharf, the unrestored section of canal the ACA have also installed mile posts along the length of the canal and several benches for walkers to rest their legs plus some interpretation boards.

Passing the new development at market Bosworth I was able to get a photo of the amenity area with rustic wooden swings etc.

We carried on passing under a modern road bridge, I am not sure what the railings are for on the off side, there is nowhere to walk to.

When we reached Sutton Wharf we were pleased to see one vacant mooring spot on the visitor mooring pontoons, these are of course 14 day moorings this time of the year as opposed to a 2 day mooring limit in the summer months.

Today’s Journey

  9¾ miles with no locks in 3½ hours

Snarestone

Last night was so quiet compared to the night before you could have heard a mouse walk by and this morning we woke to bright sunshine. The boat behind us set off before we were up and winded just through the bridge before heading back down the canal.
After breakfast Diana wandered up into town to get a couple of things and I drew Harnser forward to the water point and topped the tank up while I was waiting for her. We finally left at 11am. The canal was a bit busier today and we met two boat out in the sunshine.
Part of this canal is a SSSI but I don’t think many boaters obey the requirements to the letter with respect of grey water and mooring spots.

One of the fields we passed on the offside was grey with Wood Pigeons, there is probably less than a quarter of them in this photo with the camera set to the widest lens position.

Because this length of canal is a SSSI, to protect the habitat of the endangered Water Vole the Canal and Rivers Trust (CRT) installed this wood and fabric piling along the offside in Shackerstone to give a watery margin for the Voles, it has hole  at the water level to allow the Voles access to and from the canal whilst protecting the bank where they live.

The Ashby Canal Association (ACA) are very active along the length of the canal both working to restore the present end of navigation and maintain the facilities along the CRT controlled section and tries to encourage boaters to go the the present terminus.

Of course, like most organisations they are up against a certain amount of vandalism and fly tipping, this is not the first car to have been burnt out at this location.

There is only one tunnel on this canal, Snarestone Tunnel, its quite wide and 228Mt long, but a shallow profile so it only single boat working. It must be very important as CRT have erected two information notices at each end about it.

I am pleased to say that we didn’t meet any boat while we were in the tunnel.
After the tunnel its not far to the present terminus. Well actually its not the try terminus any more as another section has been restored, but due to Badger workings in the towpath it is temporally

closed. There is a winding hole at the far end but it is of restricted length, see one of our old Bloggs. 
After winding we visited the ACA shop on the right of the picture and donated a couple of small items as well as picking up a couple of jigsaws. We then retraced our steps back through the tunnel to moor for the night. Its the first time ever I have not seen any boats moored along this section.

Today’s Journey

7¾ miles with no lock in 3 hours

Market Bosworth

It was a bit blowy over night with lots of rattling on the roof, but everything was still where it was left when I looked out this morning. I don’t know how much rain we had but the levels are even better today.

The wind died down quite quickly and the weather was really quite pleasant when we set off from these rather unusual moorings.

To say the weather was changeable would be an understatement, after about half an hour the wind picked up and with it the driving rain, thankfully it was coming from behind me and not full in the face. I considered mooring at Sutton Wharf but by then the rain had stopped and not a breath of wind, all gone, so we carried on. We didn’t see any boats on the move but one was just mooring by Deakins Bridge, so we only just missed meeting one.
The housing estate as we approached Market Bosworth is still under construction and creeping along towards bridge Jackson’s Bridge with what looks like a peace of amenity land right by the bridge.
Thankfully there was only one boat moored before the water point at Market Bosworth so there was room for us as well.

Today’s Journey

6 miles with no locks in 2¼ hours

Stoke Golding

We had heavy rain early this morning that woke me up, but by the time we were about in had blown through. The worst we had was very cold drizzle with quite a breeze behind it making it quite unpleasant. I had considered stopping in Hinkley and calling it a day, but by then things had improved dramatically so we carried on to just beyond Ashby Boat Company at Stoke Golding.
It was very easy going just passed the A5 and we easily did 4MPH thanks to the good water levels.

We only saw one boat and of course that was right at bridge 15A the railway bridge, I was closest to the bridge so as soon as I saw the bows I blow the horn and carried on, it wasn’t until I was under the bridge I realised it was a well laden fuel boat. Had I have seen that earlier I would have held back for him being heavier than me.
Just through bridge 25 almost opposite Ashby Boat Company, BW in their day put in some nice moorings with rings and raised ground areas, until a few years ago I always assumed they belonged to the hire company.  There were already a few boats moored here when we arrived but plenty of room for us.

Today's Journey

6¼ miles with no locks in 2 hours

Bramcote Ashby Canal

We expected to get up to an inch of snow and a frozen canal, but both were missing and only a light frost and maybe a scattering of snow over night. Although the temperature was a bit higher it didn’t feel as pleasant as yesterday with a bit of breeze and not so bright. We only went about a quarter of a mile before stopping to fill with water.
Pushing on towards Hawkesbury the only ice we encountered was very thin just outside the Coventry Cruising Club. As we approached a boat reversed out of the club and also headed towards Hawkesbury, he was off to Coventry to watch the football mooring by the stadium.
They still haven’t finished work at the Hawkesbury lock moorings and at the moment there is nothing to tie the boat to if single handing.

Once out onto the Coventry Canal we headed towards Nuneaton. When we were coming along here last trip we passed a sunken boat, today the owner and mates were there with a couple of pumps trying to raise it.
At Charity wharf they have moved the old trip boat with no windows and holes in the cabin sides to the mouth of the slipway, that left this old wooden hull visible, I don’t think I have seen it before, it  has always had something moored against it.

We carried on to Marston Junction passing a lone fisherman just before the junction, The turn into the Ashby canal from this direction is tighter than 90°

and the fisherman commented “I see you have done that before” which was nice. I normally cock up if someone is watching.
As we made our way down the Ashby we actually met a boat, the first we have met today, although we were following a couple, one of them a Rose hire boat.
By now the sun was getting lower and we moored for the night a short way before Burton Hastings at Bramcote.

Today’s Journey

8¾ miles with 1 lock in 3½ hours