Atherstone to Shackerstone
Wednesday 10th July
Yesterday we shopped early and were away from Atherstone by
9 am, heading for goodness knows where. In the event, after a bit of a delay at
the 2nd lock up out of the 5, we stopped at a spot between bridges
30 and 29.
The delay was as follows: Having entered said lock and
started filling it up, along came a man from the next boat waiting to come
down. When it came to opening the top gate to let me out, the darned thing
wouldn’t move; not even with three of us pushing it. After a bit of thought we
decided to investigate the bottom paddles, which, as we suspected, had been
left slightly open and allowed as much water to run out of the lock as was
running in. Needless to say, the previous boat through was a holiday hire boat.
Later in the evening along came a bunch of people in sculls
and canoes, and it was quite late too. Obviously they know when it’s safest to take
their boats out. This canal is somewhat loopy, in that there are lots of twists
and turns, so they have to be wary of boats coming up behind and/or emerging
from the next bend ahead.
This morning we’ll be off to the start of the Ashby canal
and, when we get to the end of it, we’ll catch a bus into Ashby-de-la-Zouche.
Two years ago, when we last travelled that canal, we caught the bus to the
nearest town, but this time we’ll be a bit more adventurous.
There’s only one thing likely to mar the trip to the Ashby
this morning, and that’s a sunken narrow boat. But, at least we know where to
find it, because enough boaters have told us about it. This boat has been lying
there, around bridge 18, for over a week now and, when I mentioned it to two
BW/CRT workers on the way here, all they could come up with was, ‘oh, the owner
probably can’t afford to pay for its removal’!! Which remark left me kind of
speechless, I mean, what’s more important, the safety of boaters or the
inability of the owner to pay for his mishap? It could be months before some
decision is made regarding its removal. Meanwhile we boaters have to negotiate
our way around it. So much for the improved efficiency of RCT over BW.
Thursday 11th July
Correction to the details re-sunken narrow boat, it’s been
there for much longer than a week. Either that or so many boats have hit it
that it’s now almost falling apart. Indeed, if it stays there much longer, it
won’t be recognisable as a boat. Still, I suppose the fish enjoy investigating
it.
Well, we spent yesterday at bridge 3 on the Ashby canal and
today will move on Hinkley Wharf where it is but a short walk to the bus stop
for Hinkley where, having taken quite some time online to discover, there is an
art shop where I can increase my stock of Derwent Pastel Pencils.
As for the rest of our time on the Ashby, well, that will be
a slow cruise to the navigable end at Snarestone, where we’ll probably catch a
bus to Ashby-de-la-Zouche and also where we’ll be obliged to pass through the
tunnel and turn around to go back to the Coventry canal. Our other stops will
probably be atStoke Golding, Market Bosworth and Shackerstone. One place that
we won’t be stopping is Trinity Marina, where they charge £50 deposit for a key
to get in and out of the place.
Needless to say, there are one or two decent watering holes
along the way.
Now, just in case I haven’t mentioned this before, some of
you lovely family members may be wondering why I no longer send text messages
from each place we stop at. Well, prior to leaving Mercia Wifey and I had a
little chat about this and we came to the conclusion that to those people who
did receive my texts, I also sent my blog and it seemed pointless for them to
read about our moves twice. And besides, I can’t imagine anything more
off-putting than to be half way through something important, only to be
interrupted by a pointless text message. So, we abandoned the idea and, since
nobody has complained at the loss of this information, we think we probably did
the right thing. Nuff said!!
Friday 12th July
Well, the weather is set to really warm up this weekend and
I really do not like it when it’s up in the mid-20s.
Anyway, we left our moorings at bridge 3 and, with a view to
taking the bus into Hinkley, we cruised to Hinkley Wharf and tied up. After a
quick cuppa it was off to find the nearest bus stop. The trip into town took
only about 15 minutes and, according to the First Mate’s blurb, should only
take 20 to 30 minutes to walk. Yeah, right, pull the other one. Fifteen minutes
on a bus does not equate to 20 minutes by Shanks’s pony, especially not with my
dicky legs, so it’s just as well we took the bus.
I particularly wanted to visit Hinkley, because, having
telephoned an art shop there I wanted to add to my pastel pencils. Sadly this
shop, once we found it, had only a few of the ones I needed, so I was somewhat
disappointed. Also, they had colours amongst theirs that didn’t correspond with
my list of 72.
This morning I received a reply to an email I sent to
Derwents, in which I asked about their 90 range of pastel pencils and was told
that the 90 range had been discontinued and that the full range is now 72. So,
that’s alright then. This will undoubtedly cause more confusion in the future,
since some shops will still have some of the 90 range in stock.
Today we’ll go for a cruise but, as yet, we haven’t decided
just how far we’ll be going. That will be a nice surprise!!
I’ve been undecided of late as to whether to continue with
ukulele practice; something I’ve neglected of late, in favour of my pastel
painting; or get back to the guitar and simply learn some songs. Not that I’m a
great singer, you understand, but I do like the idea of being able to strum and
pick along with my favourite tunes. The trouble with guitar is that I do have
difficulty with the most common chords of ‘C’ and ‘F’ and, as anybody who plays
guitar will tell you these are not the easiest chords to learn. They’re even
more difficult for me, because of my slightly twisted, arthritic fingers. Ah,
well, no doubt I’ll get there eventually!
Later…..
We eventually decided to stop at Stoke Golding for the day
and will press on tomorrow to Shackerstone.
Meanwhile, just a couple of miles short of the moorings is a
small mooring basin by bridge 21, called The Bridge, obviously! On our last
trip up the Ashby two years ago, we spotted our friends Dave and Jackie, who
used to moor at Pilling’s Lock and had taken up moorings at The Bridge. It
would appear that there are some moorings available at this site and I have now
emailed our friends for more info.
Of course, even if we don’t hear from Dave and Jackie, we
will give the owners of the moorings a call, because mooring there would knock
about an hour or so off my drive to Harlow, and that can’t be a bad thing.
Saturday 13th July
Yesterday was pretty darned hot and, having decided to stop
at Stoke Golding, we were subjected to the full force of that heat. With no
shade whatever, even when the sun went down, we suffered for my decision to
stop. Of course, we could have moved on later in the day, but, since we didn’t
know what we could be letting ourselves in for, we decided to stay put and
brazen it out.
So, this morning after breakfast, Wifey will take a walk
into the village and buy a Mail, and then we’ll be off to Shackerstone, with
one stop along the way to dispose of rubbish. I know of no other lifestyle that
obliges you to take your rubbish with you!
It’s now just after 7 am and already warming up, so we can
expect a very hot weekend, so, if, as we suspect, the moorings at Shackerstone
are fairly well sheltered; this is Sheila’s memory, not mine; spending the
weekend there should be more comfortable. The Post Office cum Newsagents no
longer exists in Stoke Golding, so no paper this weekend. Shame!
Sunday 14th July
Well, this is some heat wave, very, very hot yesterday. It
started out pretty warm and by 8.15 we were on our way to pastures new. We had
planned for Shackerstone for the weekend, but would have settled for anywhere
where there were a few shady trees. Sadly, after topping up with water and
disposing of rubbish, we did, eventually end up at Shackerstone and, as luck
would have it, found a spot right at the back end of the moorings.
We were really quite knackered by the time we arrived at 11
am and, with the sun already hiding behind the trees, we took the chairs down
from the Topbox and rested our weary bones. Of course Rusty came with us, but
she’s a dog that can’t sit still and, instead of resting, she wandered around
at the end of her lead, making herself even more exhausted that she already
was.
We returned to the boat quite late and, when it came time
for Wifey to take her out for her last call of nature, she shouted to me just
as she left the boat. I shouted back but, without benefit of a reply I assumed
all was well. Apparently that wasn’t the case, because, when Wifey returned to
the boat it was with the news that, as she lifted Rusty off the boat the poor
wee thing collapsed on the ground. Eventually she managed to get her up on her
feet again and walked her around for a few minutes.
I’m hoping this was just a case of heat exhaustion, but we’ll
have to see how she is when I take her out this morning, although she’s showing
no signs of wanting to at present, and it’s already 6.20 am. I’ll wait until I
take Wifey her early morning cuppa, then encourage Rusty to make a move.
Meanwhile, more news about the moorings at The Bridge, and
it’s not very encouraging. Dave phoned us yesterday evening and, after catching
up on the gossip, he told us that the cost of renting a berth at the place
amounts to about £580 per quarter, or £193 per month. I was absolutely
gobsmacked at this news after all we only pay just over £200 at Mercia, where
there are all the boating facilities, so I don’t think this one is going to be
a viable proposition.
Keep looking folks!! It’s early days yet, but The Bridge
would have been an ideal location, what with the almost 30 miles of lock-free
cruising to be had on the Ashby canal and the much shorter car drive to Harlow.
This morning, what with the fact that it looks like being
another really hot day, I think we’ll move on to Snarestone because, if memory
serves me correctly, the moorings lying just before the tunnel, are far better
shaded that here at Shackerstone. We’ll still get our Sunday lunchtime drink,
of course, but I’m hoping it will be somewhat cooler there, especially for our
wee pooch. I’d hate to think of her collapsing again today and, having already
looked up any vet practices around here and finding there’s nothing within five
miles, this could pose a problem.
Finally, while we were enjoying a relaxing rest in our
chairs, we heard boisterous noises emanating from the canal bend behind us.
This, we thought, sounds very much like a bunch of people on a Day Boat and,
indeed, that’s what it was but, as we soon discovered, it wasn’t one Day Boat,
but two, with upwards of 20 blokes of varying ages. Only one of those boats
could fit in behind us, so the other one stayed out of sight.
Normally we would equate Day Boats with noise and stupidity
but, as these fellows walked by they gave us a cheerful ’hello’ and explained
that this was their third year of this Saturday lunchtime bash. Of course they
were noisy, but they weren’t abusive with it, unlike some parties of mixed
genders that we’ve come across, and not one swear-word between them.
And, I guess that’s it for another blog.
Take care and enjoy the rest of this warm weather while it
lasts.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
No comments:
Post a Comment