Friday 19th August (5 pm)
I lied in my earlier blog, we were still climbing up the canal, where I told you we were now going down. My apologies for the wrong info. Not that there’s any improvement to our Internet connection, quite the reverse in fact. I’ve had to tie the dongle to a stick and stand it in our top box on the roof, and I’m still only getting two bars up, so a very weak signal here, at the top of Stockton Locks.
We were rather fortunate today, in that the weather turned out bright and sunny and we had the pleasure of the company of another boat whilst navigating through the 10 locks. These locks are fairly close together, the total length of canal in between being only 1½ miles or so, and we made it through in just two hours. Equally fortunate was the fact that, while we were going up, other boats were coming down, saving us the trouble of emptying the locks and opening gates.
We are now moored just past bridge 21, by the side of which stands a pub called The Boat, so we’ll be staying here until Monday morning. I did manage to send a text out when we arrived, but unless I stand on the back of the boat, I am unable to actually call anyone. This is a very rare situation to find ourselves in thank goodness. We are now hoping for a calm and bright weekend.
Sunday 21st August.
In the event, we decided to leave our moorings by the pub and will settle for a drink in Braunston, when we get there. Instead we have moved on to Bridge 103, which is a pretty quiet spot for spending a couple of days.
Sometimes, if Internet connection fails during the day, it is possible to gain access in the early hours and, since our wee doggie decided she needed a pee at 04.30 this morning, I stood my ‘dongle-on-a-stick’ up by the window as soon as we got back. Sad to say that, unless the dongle is on the roof, we have no connection at all.
Yesterday turned out to be a completely relaxed day, not that most of the days aren’t relaxing anyway, so I decided to get some rubbing down of paintwork done, but even this was not to be because, with water levels being as low as they are the area along the boat that I want to rub down is below the level of the towpath.
The trouble is that I am rather bored with reading, the CD player on the radio is up the Swanee, there’s sweet Fanny Adams worth watching on TV and there’s too much chat on the radio. Apart from a visit to the pub this lunchtime, today will be much the same as yesterday. Still, it could be worse, it could be pouring with rain, and that would prevent us from moving on, which we might well do. But that would present another problem, we would have to stop in the middle of nowhere because we don’t want to be in Braunston until Monday.
Monday 22nd August.
My mum used to sing a song that went, “Oh, it’s nice to get up in the morning, but it’s better to stay in bed”. On a morning like this one, where Shiralee is facing the rising sun, which I could see glimmering over the distant hills, I have to dispute that little ditty. I’ve just returned from walking Rusty and could see a mist rising over nearby fields and hear the lambs bleating in a distant field.
To all intents and purposes we are in complete isolation here although, when we walked around the next bend I spied four more boats moored up. This area at bridge 103 has certainly become very popular as an overnight mooring spot. By the bridge is an A4 sheet, secured inside a plastic cover, advertising a pub that can be reached by crossing some fields. I suppose it is close on a mile away from us, so a wee bit too far for a Sunday drink, a pleasure I had already denied myself.
Yesterday was a most peculiar day weather-wise. When we left the top of Stockton Locks the day had started dry and calm. Later in the day, say around lunchtime, all cloud had vanished and was replaced by very hot sunshine. Several boats passed us in both directions with people sunbathing on top. In fact, once we left the junction with the South Oxford, there seemed to be a constant stream of them, it really was the busiest day we’ve seen since leaving Mercia. Later in the afternoon came the rain, to be followed by clear skies again.
Today we’re off to Braunston, where we need to dispose of our rubbish, top up with water and pay a visit to the local shops. I say local but to reach them we have to climb a pretty steep path upwards from the canal. A visit to the village is always worthwhile because they have a butcher and a mini-market, not to mention two pubs. However, the moorings are somewhat limited, well they are if you turn right towards the water-point, which is where we need to be. And, since we will have to turn around in order to make our way to the new Barby Marina on Wednesday, we’ll have to hope to find a space, which is why we will vacate this spot somewhat later than usual. Braunston is only a couple of miles away and there are no locks to worry about, so we’ll only take an hour or so to get there. Leaving late allows for moorers already there to have breakfast and move on. We hope!
Tuesday 23rd August.
It is only a short run to Braunston, about 1½ hours cruise, so we waited until well after 9 am before leaving bridge 103. Leaving any earlier we would have no hope of finding a mooring spot. We arrived at the first water point at about 10.30 and, whilst disposing of rubbish and topping up with water, we could see a space ahead just before the next water point. Luckily nobody slipped in there during the next 20 minutes.
Before walking off to the local chandlery the boat behind us made preparations to move so we waited and pulled back to the position they vacated. The spot we were on was far too close to the water point for comfort and it was on a bend.
That chore being finally achieved we took off for the chandlery. We were looking for a new chimney stack, but a shorter one than the current one, so that we wouldn’t have to remove it when cruising, especially on those canals with low bridges. We also wanted some silicon adhesive with which to re-afix the tiles that had fallen off the wall behind the fire, and a pot of black paint with which to paint over the grouting. Fortunately they had all three items, with the chimney being the most expensive at £39.95. We struck lucky there, because I’ve not seen them for less than £45 anywhere else.
For most of the day, Monday was dry and bright, but the sky eventually clouded over and we had some rain, but only during the night. Right now, at 6 am, it’s still looking rather menacing and we suspect the forecasters will get their wicked way again.
Later in the afternoon Sheila took a walk into the village for supplies as she didn’t want to do it all this morning. She also phoned Barby Marina to arrange for us to spend a couple of nights there; we really do need to give the batteries a good charge on the landline.
Some time soon after breakfast this morning, we’ll be off to the village for the rest of the stuff. I especially want to call in at the butcher’s for pork pies. Last time through here we tried his meat pies but, sadly, we weren’t impressed. I’m not even sure if he does pork pies and, if not, we’ll have to check the Londis shop.
We’ve heard other boaters complaining about the poor reception for mobiles, TV and Internet but, so far, we are only having difficulty with the mobile. Nowhere along this towpath can I call out on mine. Sheila tried hers in the boat, without success. TV reception is good on this moorings spot, but that’s probably because we have a clear line of sight across the fields. We also have very good Internet reception; I really hate it when we can’t get online.
Before leaving for Barby tomorrow morning, we’ll be calling into the local boatyard for diesel then we can look forward to a couple of days relaxing in a marina.
Thursday 25th August.
Two days relaxing in a marina eh? No chance!
On Monday, as you all know, Sheila phoned Barby Marina and arranged a two night stay for Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, after walking into the village at Braunston, I phoned again and arranged for them to hold a small package for us that Alan would post immediately, paying for Guaranteed Next Day Delivery, which is not cheap I might add.
Yesterday we set out from Braunston at about 8.30 am, with the expectation of taking a couple of hours to cover the six miles to Barby, and that’s just about what happened. Bearing in mind that we had stipulated a connection to mains electricity, because we wanted to give our batteries a boost, we were totally gobsmacked at the sight before us when we arrived at the entrance.
Just inside and to the right was a small bay where about five boats were moored. They weren’t moored on individual pontoons either, but rather tied up together, side by side. This wasn’t looking good, especially when we could not see any pontoons at all, anywhere within our range of vision. What we could see were the support posts sticking up out of the water.
Fortunately, just as we were hovering by the entrance, a couple came along with their dog. Sheila asked them what was going on here, which was when we were given another surprise. They told us that the people who had their boats tied up together in the bay, had about six to eight weeks to wait before their moorings would be ready. What chance of us mooring up anywhere in the marina, we wondered?
Not only did it appear not to have anywhere for us to tie up safely, I would also have to navigate, very gingerly, between all those pontoon supports, to wherever we were directed to. This meant continuing to hover whilst Sheila made a phone call to whoever was in charge there. Despite the fact that Alan had already promised to post my package the day before, we decided not to bother with the marina and headed off to find a mooring spot along the cut. We eventually settled for a spot just past bridge 75, another mile or so away from the marina.
We then had to decide what to do about the package. In the event I decided to contact the marina and tell them we couldn’t stay with them after all and would they be kind enough to return the item to Alan if I sent them a SAE, which they agreed to do. However, since we are still a couple of days away from the nearest post office, I then had to arrange for Alan to do the necessary.
The bald truth is, that Barby Marina is nowhere near ready to accept moorers yet, and they are certainly not ready for overnight visitors, and they were going to charge us £15 per night. The most we have been charged for overnight moorings is £10, and that was in a well established marina, with water and electricity to all pontoons. Barby is still being run from a Portacabin, as far as we could see. We were very disappointed at this state of affairs.
Still, the day brightened up later and, on top of the £30 we saved by passing Barby by, along came our old coal and diesel supplier from our days at Bulbourne, (we didn’t bother topping up at Braunston), who saved us even more on the price of those two items. Peter Hawker is his name and we haven’t seen him for several years now, since he plies his trade mainly along the Grand Union and Oxford canals. We reckon he saved us at least £16 on the diesel alone and, knowing that coal is at least £1 dearer at Mercia, another couple of quid there so, a saving of about £ 48 on the day.
After all the sunshine yesterday we now have rain which, I hope, will clear by the time we are ready to move along to a new mooring spot.
Friday 26th August and judging by the rain falling and the fact that it is still dark at 05.45, it appears that summer is on its way out. While it’s true to say that we need the rain, we don’t seem to have enjoyed quite as much sunshine this year. Still, whatever the weather we really do need to move on today, as our tank needs topping up with water and we need to dispose of our rubbish.
Being in such a good mood, having saved all that money yesterday, we decided to set to and replace the tiles that had fallen from the wall behind the solid fuel burner. Whilst in Braunston we had purchased the necessary icky-goo with which to stick them back on, and the black paint to cover the pink icky-goo.
Initially I only had three to remove old sticky stuff from but, on inspection of the others, I found another four that were loose and removed them for treatment. Fortunately the silicon adhesive comes off quite easily, so it was then left for Wifey to stick them back on the wall. That too didn’t take long and the whole task was done and dusted within about an hour. It now remains for us to find a bright day, where I can bog off away from the boat, so that she can paint over the cracks and around the fire and chimney. Apparently the paint is a bit toxic and would probably affect my poor old lungs. Find a decent pub, I say, and I’ll soon bog off, have no fear!
Our brand new sealed batteries; of which we now only have four, as opposed to the six we had previously; are not up to the job. As late in the evening as possible I run the engine for at least two hours, sometimes 2½, but it never seems enough when it comes to running the heater and inverter/charger first thing in the morning.
I usually take a cuppa in to Sheila at about 6.30, before which the lights are starting to flicker, the heater has gone off and the I/C is making noises of protest. I am now having to run the laptop on its battery alone, until the warning about having only 10 minutes of power left comes up, at which point I can either close down the laptop or switch on the I/C. Yesterday, after my normal 1½ hours on the laptop and with the heater running, by the time I took Sheila her cuppa our battery panel was showing less than 10 volts of charge. So much for new batteries!!
Sitting here now, after over half an hour with the laptop on and no I/C, all is fine and dandy. I’m hopeful that my ploy will keep our batteries happy and will have to charge the laptop up later in the day.
O.K. so far, let’s post this blog.
Cheers for now and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Thursday 25 August 2011
Thursday 18 August 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #24
Saturday 13th August (late PM)
We left our moorings on the Stratford on Avon, just three locks below Kingswood Junction, at about 08.30, only to find, when we reached the basin at the last lock, some idiot had moored there overnight. When will these fools learn, the moorings by water points and waste disposal units are not for overnight mooring?
When Sheila knocked at the hatch of the offending boat, the owner agreed to move his boat, but added that a ‘good morning’ would have been nice’. To which Wifey replied, ‘you not being here would have been even nicer’. Nice one Wifey! His excuse for being there? ‘I arrived late and could find nowhere else’. Oh, really! What a load of tosh. He had obviously come down the Lapworth Locks and, when he left us, was heading for the Grand Union. Just a few minutes more and he would have easily found good moorings there, in either direction. Sheer bloody-mindedness, that’s all.
Great! That’s that off my chest.
So, having finally topped up with water and disposed of our rubbish and such, we left Kingswood Junction and made our way to the top of the Hatton flight of 21 locks. Oh no, we’re not even going to attempt those today, they are for Monday morning, assuming the weather is kind to us. Meanwhile, having sorted Rusty out – she always demands immediate attention when we come in to land – and enjoyed a cup of tea, we made our way to the local Garden Centre, supposedly just 200 yards from the bridge behind us. Now, where’s that pesky tape measure? By the time we arrived at the actual centre it was more like half a mile.
The aforementioned Garden Centre is, in fact, a whole collection of shops and manufacturers outlets, plus a huge kiddies playground, café’s and other wonderful areas to keep people occupied. Sadly, although they boasted a Pet Shop, nothing could be further from the truth. We saw chickens up for sale, but pet food and such that you would normally find in such places was conspicuous by its absence. So too were any plants needed to fill our roof-top boxes. Those that would have been suitable had been dead-headed so often as to be virtually worthless. We did come away with a 25litre bag of compost though and now need to find a decent Garden Centre with fresh plants.
Tomorrow’s pub visit is about half a mile away, past the third lock down. When we last came by this way about three years ago, we had to climb all 21 double locks in one go, and we did so without benefit of an accompanying boat. On Monday we will be going down all 21, which is a much easier proposition. If we happen to meet up with a boat going down, the trip will be even easier.
Monday 15th August.
There’s a big pub on a hill, to the east of the third lock down, called “The Waterman”, which we had earmarked for our Sunday lunchtime drink. As you all probably know, the price of beer and spirits varies wildly up and down the country, nowhere more so than this neck of the woods. But there are some greedy, unscrupulous, money grabbing gits around, and “The Waterman” falls into that category.
The last time we ‘heard about’ a pub charging £3.60p per pint, was on the Montgomery Canal in Wales but, since we had already been put off by the prices on their menu, we can only go by what we were told by a local farm shop owner. Apart from that possible exception The Waterman is the only pub, anywhere near a canal, that has charged such an exorbitant price for Guinness in over four months of travel. There really are some greedy landlords out there but, the problem is, I don’t know what price they are charging until I go up for my second pint. Rip off England is alive and well!
We always try to watch Countryfile on Sunday evening, particularly for the weather forecast for the week ahead and yesterday was no exception. We rarely bother with Saturdays, simply because there’s such a load of rubbish that it is hardly worth erecting the aerial.
So, yesterday afternoon I put the aerial up and tuned in, everything was perfect. Would you believe it, come 7 pm and the picture and sound started breaking up? We then had to retune to the analogue programmes and watch a very much weaker signal. Still, we now know that at least today should be fine, which is just as well because we have 21 locks to tackle, and they are all doubles.
Tuesday 16th August.
Yesterday was a day full of fun and frolic, but only if you can say as much about a breakdown.
The day started really well and, after topping up with water, we began our descent of the Hatton Flight of 21 locks just after 8 am. With double locks such as these it is necessary to tie the boat to a bollard whilst rising up or, as in our case, descending a lock. But, unlike most locks around the system, those at Hatton have bollards that, in shape, are similar to the acorns seen on gate posts of entry gates to big houses, round but with a very small waist at the bottom.
Now, when descending the lock and just when I am still able, I would flip the rope over the bollard and coil it up on the boat, ready for the next time. However, with these bollards, this is not possible. So, I either have to leave it to Wifey to unhitch the rope, or do the Chamberlain Flip earlier than normal, which leaves the boat able to drift inside the lock.
There we were then, about eight locks down, when I decided to flip early and allow the boat to drift. What harm could it do? In this instance though, the boat drifted rather too far away from the gate that Sheila would open when it came to exiting the lock. This resulted in much manoeuvring before I could line up with the gate.
After plenty of forward and reverse thrust I finally exited the lock and made my way to the next one and, upon entering that, put the engine into reverse in order to come to a stop, which is when I noticed a problem. With boats, as with cars, we all recognise peculiarities in sound and behaviour. In this instance the tiller arm was juddering but, what was more alarming was the odd noise coming from the engine bay. Something was complaining most bitterly about its treatment at the hands of this ham-fisted boater.
After the next lock was a large pound where I felt it would be safe to moor up and take a look. On inspection I discovered that a couple of bolts had sheared from the coupling between the gearbox and drive shaft. With no spares on board this was a job for River Canal Rescue, the AA of the waterways.
The efficiency of this organisation deserves nothing but praise here. From the young lady who answered my call, to the engineers who attended, I was treated with the utmost courtesy and respect. Also, where the broken coupling would have cost us £90 plus labour, we only paid £50 in total.
The only fly in the ointment was the pleasure derived from our misfortune by a certain ‘friend’. But, what are friends for if they can’t have a chuckle at one another’s disasters? No offence taken Al, honest!
Anyway, on with the descent of Hatton locks which we were able to do alongside another boat thus negating the necessity of tying up inside the locks. We eventually found our way to a mooring spot at about 2 pm, only six hours after starting out. And a good day was had by all, including absent friends. Hmmm!
Today we move on to goodness knows where, but only after passing through two more locks and stopping off at Tesco in Warwick to top up with victuals, which have become sadly depleted. Even the dog has been short of her sausage treats for more than a week.
Wednesday 17th August.
The sun is up, the sky is blue…………………etc. It’s looking like a good day for cruising through 10 locks to Long Itchington, which is about five miles away from our present position, between bridges 35 and 34 on the GUC.
Yesterday we only had two locks to negotiate and just five miles, but with a stop off at Tesco in Warwick. It’s been a while since we did a ‘real’ shop and boy, did we know it! I won’t say exactly how much we spent, but it was more than two figures. Still, we’re well stocked up now.
Long Itchington boasts several pubs and, since we will probably be moored miles from nowhere on Sunday, I could be persuaded to partake of a few libations.
Thursday 18th August.
It has just turned 5.30 am and so far we only have some thin cloud above us and calm conditions. According to the weather forecast on Midlands Today yesterday evening, we are due for a considerable amount of rain. Goodness knows we need it, quite badly, and I shall now tell you why.
Yesterday morning, after much discussion, we decided not to complete all 10 locks ahead of us, but instead cover just five of them and do the rest today. After the 21 we did the day before, Wifey thought that 10 would be a bit too much, even though, as I explained, all of the 10 were pretty much spaced apart at more than a short walk, thus giving her plenty of breathing space in between.
However, just a few locks up and with it being a very nice day and rain expected today and Friday, Wifey, as all women are apt to do, changed her mind and decided to go for the burn.
Now, when we arrived at Lock 17 of the Bascote Flight, we discovered two boats waiting in the pound above it. We also noticed that the water level was considerably lower than it should have been. Having pulled into the lock and filled up with water, well, as far as we could that is, we could see that the lock was far from full. Wifey then went off to ask the boaters ahead what the delay was all about and was told, that there was trouble at the two staircase locks at the top of the flight. Apparently one of the gates couldn’t be closed and BW had been called. We were now having to wait about an hour for their engineers to turn up.
Meanwhile, with me sitting on the boat and the water level dropping at an alarming rate, I had visions of the level going down to that of the pound behind us and, since the gates of our lock leaked like the proverbial sieve, the pound above us emptying completely. So, in order to prevent the latter, we closed our top gates, which did slow the problem down somewhat.
Eventually, after about an hour or so, BW arrived and solved the problem and we were all able to continue on our way. But, due to the amount of water lost whilst awaiting repairs, when we finally arrived at the end of the flight we found the canal ahead to be too shallow to moor up on the towpath side, this despite attempting to do so on two occasions. We were left with no alternative therefore, other than to continue on to Long Itchington, a stop we had planned for Friday, which is where we have moored overnight and will continue to do so until Saturday morning, maybe!
Considering the time of year, when all should be bright and sunny, we are desperately praying for rain. Although the water level has risen somewhat overnight, having spoken to the boaters who accompanied us through some of the locks yesterday, there are serious problems throughout the canals and rivers this year. I’ve already mentioned the state of the River Avon in a previous blog, but these folks had already grounded this year, somewhere up near Manchester I think, so we really do need rain, and lots of it.
Despite what the experts say, it doesn’t look like raining any time soon.
Friday 19th August.
Despite what I said, it did rain yesterday, in bucket loads and for most of the day too.
We took a walk into Long Itchington via the nearby disused railway bridge, which has now been turned into a footpath cum cycle track and is also a designated nature reserve for the Small Blue Butterfly. So, loads of nettles and such which the SBB needs to thrive.
The track leads to a road bridge that takes walkers and cyclists into the village, coming out at a T junction. Now, which way to the local Co-op? Spotting a man with a push chair with child inside we made a 50/50 guess that he might be heading in the right direction and followed him. He was actually going to the local nursery school which, fortunately for us was next door to said Co-op.
Not wishing to return by the same route, and wanting to see more of the village, we asked the way to the main road that would take us the longer way back. Along the way we spotted several older buildings, one of which had 1823 painted on the brickwork. We also found one with very dark, heavy timbers, possibly dating from the Tudor period. Even the Nicholson Guide mentions the fact about old buildings and refers to the local church too. Apparently the steeple on this was blown down during a serious storm in the 18th century and was only replaced with a stub. Shame!
Anyway, should my dearly beloved decide to move on today, and this very much depends upon the weather, we will be going down another 10 locks – I think – so, not knowing if we’ll have a strong signal on the Internet, I think I had better post this now.
Cheers to you all and have a great weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
We left our moorings on the Stratford on Avon, just three locks below Kingswood Junction, at about 08.30, only to find, when we reached the basin at the last lock, some idiot had moored there overnight. When will these fools learn, the moorings by water points and waste disposal units are not for overnight mooring?
When Sheila knocked at the hatch of the offending boat, the owner agreed to move his boat, but added that a ‘good morning’ would have been nice’. To which Wifey replied, ‘you not being here would have been even nicer’. Nice one Wifey! His excuse for being there? ‘I arrived late and could find nowhere else’. Oh, really! What a load of tosh. He had obviously come down the Lapworth Locks and, when he left us, was heading for the Grand Union. Just a few minutes more and he would have easily found good moorings there, in either direction. Sheer bloody-mindedness, that’s all.
Great! That’s that off my chest.
So, having finally topped up with water and disposed of our rubbish and such, we left Kingswood Junction and made our way to the top of the Hatton flight of 21 locks. Oh no, we’re not even going to attempt those today, they are for Monday morning, assuming the weather is kind to us. Meanwhile, having sorted Rusty out – she always demands immediate attention when we come in to land – and enjoyed a cup of tea, we made our way to the local Garden Centre, supposedly just 200 yards from the bridge behind us. Now, where’s that pesky tape measure? By the time we arrived at the actual centre it was more like half a mile.
The aforementioned Garden Centre is, in fact, a whole collection of shops and manufacturers outlets, plus a huge kiddies playground, café’s and other wonderful areas to keep people occupied. Sadly, although they boasted a Pet Shop, nothing could be further from the truth. We saw chickens up for sale, but pet food and such that you would normally find in such places was conspicuous by its absence. So too were any plants needed to fill our roof-top boxes. Those that would have been suitable had been dead-headed so often as to be virtually worthless. We did come away with a 25litre bag of compost though and now need to find a decent Garden Centre with fresh plants.
Tomorrow’s pub visit is about half a mile away, past the third lock down. When we last came by this way about three years ago, we had to climb all 21 double locks in one go, and we did so without benefit of an accompanying boat. On Monday we will be going down all 21, which is a much easier proposition. If we happen to meet up with a boat going down, the trip will be even easier.
Monday 15th August.
There’s a big pub on a hill, to the east of the third lock down, called “The Waterman”, which we had earmarked for our Sunday lunchtime drink. As you all probably know, the price of beer and spirits varies wildly up and down the country, nowhere more so than this neck of the woods. But there are some greedy, unscrupulous, money grabbing gits around, and “The Waterman” falls into that category.
The last time we ‘heard about’ a pub charging £3.60p per pint, was on the Montgomery Canal in Wales but, since we had already been put off by the prices on their menu, we can only go by what we were told by a local farm shop owner. Apart from that possible exception The Waterman is the only pub, anywhere near a canal, that has charged such an exorbitant price for Guinness in over four months of travel. There really are some greedy landlords out there but, the problem is, I don’t know what price they are charging until I go up for my second pint. Rip off England is alive and well!
We always try to watch Countryfile on Sunday evening, particularly for the weather forecast for the week ahead and yesterday was no exception. We rarely bother with Saturdays, simply because there’s such a load of rubbish that it is hardly worth erecting the aerial.
So, yesterday afternoon I put the aerial up and tuned in, everything was perfect. Would you believe it, come 7 pm and the picture and sound started breaking up? We then had to retune to the analogue programmes and watch a very much weaker signal. Still, we now know that at least today should be fine, which is just as well because we have 21 locks to tackle, and they are all doubles.
Tuesday 16th August.
Yesterday was a day full of fun and frolic, but only if you can say as much about a breakdown.
The day started really well and, after topping up with water, we began our descent of the Hatton Flight of 21 locks just after 8 am. With double locks such as these it is necessary to tie the boat to a bollard whilst rising up or, as in our case, descending a lock. But, unlike most locks around the system, those at Hatton have bollards that, in shape, are similar to the acorns seen on gate posts of entry gates to big houses, round but with a very small waist at the bottom.
Now, when descending the lock and just when I am still able, I would flip the rope over the bollard and coil it up on the boat, ready for the next time. However, with these bollards, this is not possible. So, I either have to leave it to Wifey to unhitch the rope, or do the Chamberlain Flip earlier than normal, which leaves the boat able to drift inside the lock.
There we were then, about eight locks down, when I decided to flip early and allow the boat to drift. What harm could it do? In this instance though, the boat drifted rather too far away from the gate that Sheila would open when it came to exiting the lock. This resulted in much manoeuvring before I could line up with the gate.
After plenty of forward and reverse thrust I finally exited the lock and made my way to the next one and, upon entering that, put the engine into reverse in order to come to a stop, which is when I noticed a problem. With boats, as with cars, we all recognise peculiarities in sound and behaviour. In this instance the tiller arm was juddering but, what was more alarming was the odd noise coming from the engine bay. Something was complaining most bitterly about its treatment at the hands of this ham-fisted boater.
After the next lock was a large pound where I felt it would be safe to moor up and take a look. On inspection I discovered that a couple of bolts had sheared from the coupling between the gearbox and drive shaft. With no spares on board this was a job for River Canal Rescue, the AA of the waterways.
The efficiency of this organisation deserves nothing but praise here. From the young lady who answered my call, to the engineers who attended, I was treated with the utmost courtesy and respect. Also, where the broken coupling would have cost us £90 plus labour, we only paid £50 in total.
The only fly in the ointment was the pleasure derived from our misfortune by a certain ‘friend’. But, what are friends for if they can’t have a chuckle at one another’s disasters? No offence taken Al, honest!
Anyway, on with the descent of Hatton locks which we were able to do alongside another boat thus negating the necessity of tying up inside the locks. We eventually found our way to a mooring spot at about 2 pm, only six hours after starting out. And a good day was had by all, including absent friends. Hmmm!
Today we move on to goodness knows where, but only after passing through two more locks and stopping off at Tesco in Warwick to top up with victuals, which have become sadly depleted. Even the dog has been short of her sausage treats for more than a week.
Wednesday 17th August.
The sun is up, the sky is blue…………………etc. It’s looking like a good day for cruising through 10 locks to Long Itchington, which is about five miles away from our present position, between bridges 35 and 34 on the GUC.
Yesterday we only had two locks to negotiate and just five miles, but with a stop off at Tesco in Warwick. It’s been a while since we did a ‘real’ shop and boy, did we know it! I won’t say exactly how much we spent, but it was more than two figures. Still, we’re well stocked up now.
Long Itchington boasts several pubs and, since we will probably be moored miles from nowhere on Sunday, I could be persuaded to partake of a few libations.
Thursday 18th August.
It has just turned 5.30 am and so far we only have some thin cloud above us and calm conditions. According to the weather forecast on Midlands Today yesterday evening, we are due for a considerable amount of rain. Goodness knows we need it, quite badly, and I shall now tell you why.
Yesterday morning, after much discussion, we decided not to complete all 10 locks ahead of us, but instead cover just five of them and do the rest today. After the 21 we did the day before, Wifey thought that 10 would be a bit too much, even though, as I explained, all of the 10 were pretty much spaced apart at more than a short walk, thus giving her plenty of breathing space in between.
However, just a few locks up and with it being a very nice day and rain expected today and Friday, Wifey, as all women are apt to do, changed her mind and decided to go for the burn.
Now, when we arrived at Lock 17 of the Bascote Flight, we discovered two boats waiting in the pound above it. We also noticed that the water level was considerably lower than it should have been. Having pulled into the lock and filled up with water, well, as far as we could that is, we could see that the lock was far from full. Wifey then went off to ask the boaters ahead what the delay was all about and was told, that there was trouble at the two staircase locks at the top of the flight. Apparently one of the gates couldn’t be closed and BW had been called. We were now having to wait about an hour for their engineers to turn up.
Meanwhile, with me sitting on the boat and the water level dropping at an alarming rate, I had visions of the level going down to that of the pound behind us and, since the gates of our lock leaked like the proverbial sieve, the pound above us emptying completely. So, in order to prevent the latter, we closed our top gates, which did slow the problem down somewhat.
Eventually, after about an hour or so, BW arrived and solved the problem and we were all able to continue on our way. But, due to the amount of water lost whilst awaiting repairs, when we finally arrived at the end of the flight we found the canal ahead to be too shallow to moor up on the towpath side, this despite attempting to do so on two occasions. We were left with no alternative therefore, other than to continue on to Long Itchington, a stop we had planned for Friday, which is where we have moored overnight and will continue to do so until Saturday morning, maybe!
Considering the time of year, when all should be bright and sunny, we are desperately praying for rain. Although the water level has risen somewhat overnight, having spoken to the boaters who accompanied us through some of the locks yesterday, there are serious problems throughout the canals and rivers this year. I’ve already mentioned the state of the River Avon in a previous blog, but these folks had already grounded this year, somewhere up near Manchester I think, so we really do need rain, and lots of it.
Despite what the experts say, it doesn’t look like raining any time soon.
Friday 19th August.
Despite what I said, it did rain yesterday, in bucket loads and for most of the day too.
We took a walk into Long Itchington via the nearby disused railway bridge, which has now been turned into a footpath cum cycle track and is also a designated nature reserve for the Small Blue Butterfly. So, loads of nettles and such which the SBB needs to thrive.
The track leads to a road bridge that takes walkers and cyclists into the village, coming out at a T junction. Now, which way to the local Co-op? Spotting a man with a push chair with child inside we made a 50/50 guess that he might be heading in the right direction and followed him. He was actually going to the local nursery school which, fortunately for us was next door to said Co-op.
Not wishing to return by the same route, and wanting to see more of the village, we asked the way to the main road that would take us the longer way back. Along the way we spotted several older buildings, one of which had 1823 painted on the brickwork. We also found one with very dark, heavy timbers, possibly dating from the Tudor period. Even the Nicholson Guide mentions the fact about old buildings and refers to the local church too. Apparently the steeple on this was blown down during a serious storm in the 18th century and was only replaced with a stub. Shame!
Anyway, should my dearly beloved decide to move on today, and this very much depends upon the weather, we will be going down another 10 locks – I think – so, not knowing if we’ll have a strong signal on the Internet, I think I had better post this now.
Cheers to you all and have a great weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Friday 12 August 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #23
Saturday 6th August and I can tell we are back on the canal system, the local ducks can see a light at our window and they are squawking for all they are worth. There’s also the difference in water quality, where the river is clear and the bottom is plain to see, the canal water is quite murky and horrid.
Unlike the Staffs and Worc and the Worc and Birmingham canals, this one is being cared for, but for how long I wonder. Soon after we moored up here, just below Lock 50 on the Stratford on Avon Canal, along came the maintenance crew, with their mower and strimmer and set to in clearing the tall grass and weeds.
From Stratford upon Avon yesterday, we travelled just two miles and took in six locks and, with a stop for water and rubbish disposal, the trip took only two hours. For the rest of the day we mostly relaxed, except that Wifey cleaned the starboard side of the boat, which she has been keen to do for some time. Now that we are back on the canal and the weather has cooled somewhat, without the sun shining on the side she wants to clean, the opportunity presented itself and off she went. No doubt when we get to Wootton Wawen on Monday, she’ll clean the other side.
For today though we’re off to Wilmcote, which will take us through another 11 locks and only 2 miles and where we will stay for the weekend. There are two pubs there, The Mary Arden Inn and The Mason’s Arms, neither of which have been crossed off the Nicholson Guide, so I assume we haven’t tried either. Something to look forward to there then.
Sunday 7th August and you could be forgiven for thinking winter is on its way. The days have chilled somewhat and the early mornings, when I’m up around 5 o/clock, can be decidedly cold. Having spent two hours cruising and another two hours charging the batteries, I was unable to get the heater running this morning. This is what we get for being considerate to other boaters and so, during these colder days I’ll have to run the engine to the later time of 8 pm.
Eleven locks we came through yesterday and all but the first one were in our favour, this one Sheila had to empty before we could start climbing. After that it was easy because, with plenty of boats coming down and these locks being close together, as one boat came out, we went in. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does it really makes life so much easier. Bearing in mind that all these boats were heading for Stratford and would probably try to get there the same day, some of them will have a problem finding a place to moor up.
We stopped here at Wilmcote about three years ago and, as we did yesterday, walked into the village to take a few photos. One of them was of Mary Arden House, although this is a misnomer since the house now used to demonstrate living conditions of the day, was built some five years after her death, if memory serves me.
Other than the two pubs mentioned, and the famous house, which attracts visitors in a tour bus, there is just a village shop; at which Sheila purchased two, very fat, sausage rolls; and a mobile Post Office. I’m not a lover of huge Inns and Hotels, so we’ll probably give the Mason’s Arms a try today, the Mary Arden Inn is a rather imposing edifice and sticks out like a sore thumb at the T/junction.
The promised rain reared its ugly head yesterday but, as I look out of the window, the sky is clear and bright and, with luck and a tail wind, we’ll see some sunshine today.
Monday 8th August.
We left Wilmcote at about 9 am and arrived at Wootton Mawan at 10:30, found a mooring spot, but only 24 hour, and settled in with a cuppa before walking across to the farm shop and on to the village shop, about ½ a mile away. We had hoped to pick up some doggy sausages at the pet centre, which is one of the 16 outlets within the bounds of the farm shop, but they don’t open on a Monday. So, having walked to the village shop and found none there either, we’ll wait until tomorrow morning.
Along with the boatyard, where they hire out under the Anglo-Welsh umbrella, and boast the oldest Saxon church in Warwickshire, Wootton Wawen is a peaceful little village that also boasts a Park Home site, but this is opposite the village shop and has no effect on us boaters.
After lunch Wifey finally managed to give the port side of the boat a clean, and so it goes, until next time. Pretty much like the Forth Bridge, you could say!
The rest of the day will be just as peaceful as are 90% of the rest of our days on the inland waterways.
Tuesday 9th August and the days are becoming shorter, so much so that it won’t be long before I’m getting up in the morning while it is still dark outside.
As you all know, prior to leaving Mercia in April, we had a full service carried out on the engine, and we reduced our domestic battery count from six to four. Perhaps we should have included a more powerful alternator because, having had a few chilly mornings of late, and even though the engine has been run for at least 4 ½ hours during the day, we still don’t have enough power in the morning to run the heater.
Yesterday morning, having benefited from the same amount of charge hours as this morning, the heater ran for 1 ½ hours, no problem, but today; possibly because we watched more TV last night; no such luck. I suppose this means more expense when we return to Mercia, a higher A/h alternator wouldn’t go amiss.
I’m not sure where we’re off to today, or even if we’ll be going anywhere at all. Hopefully, after we’ve been to the shops again, we’ll be able to move along and under the bridge, where the moorings do not have a time limit of 24 hours on them, we can then stay another day if we like, or even two, should the weather be bad or we’re just feeling lazy. Whatever happens, I will have to run the engine for at least five hours and take it to the maximum time allowed of 8 pm.
Wednesday 10th August and we’re at Lowsonford on the Stratford on Avon canal, it’s raining and I have no Internet service here. Wonderful! Just when I really would like to get online and check something out on eBay, no Internet.
Our radio is mounted inside a cupboard in our cosy, but diminutive lounge. The wiring for said radio runs behind the timber innards of the boat and, apart from the speaker leads, we have no idea where they run to, or how they get there. Anyway, we have been experiencing a few problems with this unit that has culminated in the CD player not working. Having tried cleaning the lens with the appropriate lens cleaning disc, without success, we are now in the market for a new radio/cd player.
Not knowing what plugs come with newer units, and not wishing to tear the boat apart in order to rewire to a different model, I thought I might see if I can find the same one on eBay. However, since it is probably more than five years old, I don’t hold out much hope of success. So, until we move on from here to somewhere where I can get online, I won’t be able to check eBay out. Ergo, I am not a happy bunny.
Today we had planned to stay here for another day because, just for a change, we thought we might enjoy a pub lunch. The Fleur de Lys is directly opposite our moorings and has a huge garden with furniture and parasols. It also has a sign facing the canal which states, right at the bottom, ‘Mooring for patrons, please ask before mooring’. With luck you could probably squeeze one boat in, but the problem as I see it is, how do you ask if you may moor up if you don’t have their telephone number? The result is that any boaters wishing to use the pub simply moor up opposite, as we have, and walk over the bridge and along the road, as we did on our last visit.
Thursday 11th August.
About two miles and nine locks away lies Kingswood Junction, which will take us south onto the Grand Union Canal. This morning, assuming this wind drops a wee bit we’ll be heading that way, but stopping about three locks short. Staying on this canal overnight will give us the opportunity to pay a visit to the shop that lies just a couple of locks past the junction.
Yesterday we dropped in on the Fleur de Lys, fully intending to take a pub lunch. There are a couple of signs at the entrance to this establishment inviting us older folks to partake of a main meal and enjoy a 25% discount and that, on Lady’s Night the lady can expect a 50% discount. This pub also specialises in pies of several descriptions. Indeed, the canal-side hoarding boasts, right at the top, ‘The Home of Pies’.
We settled down to study the menu and the first thing to catch my eye was the Fish and Chips. £10.50? I know food prices are rising but, even with the discount, we would be spending over £15 on our meals alone. What’s more, they have the effrontery to charge £2.05p for a slice of Bread and Butter. Just what planet are these people on?
We settled for a bag of crisps and a packet of Mini-Cheddars then later, for our evening meal, we had a Spanish Omelette, made with four eggs, sliced Chorizzo Sausage, onion and tomatoes. I kind of exceeded the recommended amount of innards when preparing, hence the four eggs, and even they didn’t completely cover the filling. Nice though!
For most of yesterday Wifey was keeping an eye on three Moorhen chicks, one of which was being cared for by another juvenile, whilst the others were attended to by two adult birds. Later in the afternoon after we returned from the pub, I spotted a ginger tom slinking away with a little black bundle in its mouth, heralding the demise of one moorhen chick. Since that event we have been keeping our eye out for the other chicks, who seem to be conspicuous by their absence. Maybe they have moved along, but I rather suspect pussy has feasted rather well.
This is one of those rare places where we have been unable to access the Internet on this years cruise. This situation is unlikely to continue though as we’ll soon be heading towards Rugby and other such places, including Coventry, a city we missed on our last trip in this direction. Having spoken to other boaters at Mercia and Pillings Lock, it seems Coventry Basin has been smartened up and is well worth a visit.
Friday 12th August and, despite misgivings about the weather, we finally decided to move on yesterday morning, albeit rather later than normal. We are now moored up between locks 25 and 24, about half a mile short of Kingswood Junction with the Grand Union. We’re here until tomorrow morning when, I think, we’ll be heading for the top of Hatton Locks for the weekend.
Although we only had six locks to go through, we met a good few boaters going down to Stratford. No doubt this was because we left Lowsonford late. Two of the boaters we spoke to were only out for a week but, because they were either on a friend’s boat, or were handing over to someone at the other end, they could travel that much further in their week away. One lot were on a Time-Share boat, much like holiday apartments in Spain and such, which is also a popular way of boating. (No, I don’t believe they have Time-Share boats in Spain!)
As it turned out the weather was pretty fair for most of the way, waiting until we were almost through the last lock before reminding us who’s in charge.
Back at Lowsonford, just above the lock, there was moored a ‘butty’, which had a Patrol Notice on it. Obviously the owner had outstayed his welcome and had been told to move along. Without an engine installed this is no mean task but, later in the day just as we were returning from the pub, there were two people, 1 male and 1 female, hauling the ‘butty’ by hand, which included getting it safely past ours and other boats.
Yesterday, on our way to our current moorings, we came across that ’butty’ and, no doubt because the owners were a bit peeved at being told to move, there it was moored on the bollards specifically set aside for those people using the lock. It takes all sorts!
I haven’t been able to access the Internet for the past two days, only the eighth time since leaving Mercia. That’s an awful lot of stops where we have been successful, which state of affairs I’m quite chuffed about. Hopefully we’ll have as much success next year.
Saturday 13th August and I am hurting! What is more, at 05.15 it’s still dark out there, but that’s because of the heavy cloud and the rain that goes with it. So, why am I hurting? Well, about half a mile from these moorings, is the Village Shop at Kingswood, which is where we planned to walk to yesterday morning. Indeed, we did take that walk but, just as we reached the first lock, we found a lone boater trying to go through. Unfortunately for him, having had quite a few boats go down the locks before him – he was going up – the water level had dropped, restricting his movement into the lock. We therefore decided to give him a hand through the remaining four locks to the junction.
This assistance for a fellow boater, whose name by the way, is Brian, slowed us down somewhat and put more strain on my calf muscles than I would have liked. Once Brian had turned onto the Grand Union we continued on up the Stratford, looking for the sign for the aforementioned shop. The sign told us to turn right over the road bridge, which we took to mean the bridge that stood another two locks up.
The upshot of this was, that instead of walking only half a mile to and from said shop, we probably covered a mile or more there and, upon realising we should have left the canal at the first lock, just a half mile back. The combined effort of opening and closing lock gates and the longer walk, saw me limping for the last few hundred yards. I was never more pleased to see Shiralee in all her glory. Not to mention the cup of coffee that followed.
This morning we’ll be leaving the Stratford on Avon for the Grand Union canal, via Kingswood Junction. I don’t remember how reception of the Internet was down there but, since we are heading for some pretty big towns; the first of which will be Warwick, which we are hoping to bus into; reception should be pretty good.
On that note then, I will now post. Have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Unlike the Staffs and Worc and the Worc and Birmingham canals, this one is being cared for, but for how long I wonder. Soon after we moored up here, just below Lock 50 on the Stratford on Avon Canal, along came the maintenance crew, with their mower and strimmer and set to in clearing the tall grass and weeds.
From Stratford upon Avon yesterday, we travelled just two miles and took in six locks and, with a stop for water and rubbish disposal, the trip took only two hours. For the rest of the day we mostly relaxed, except that Wifey cleaned the starboard side of the boat, which she has been keen to do for some time. Now that we are back on the canal and the weather has cooled somewhat, without the sun shining on the side she wants to clean, the opportunity presented itself and off she went. No doubt when we get to Wootton Wawen on Monday, she’ll clean the other side.
For today though we’re off to Wilmcote, which will take us through another 11 locks and only 2 miles and where we will stay for the weekend. There are two pubs there, The Mary Arden Inn and The Mason’s Arms, neither of which have been crossed off the Nicholson Guide, so I assume we haven’t tried either. Something to look forward to there then.
Sunday 7th August and you could be forgiven for thinking winter is on its way. The days have chilled somewhat and the early mornings, when I’m up around 5 o/clock, can be decidedly cold. Having spent two hours cruising and another two hours charging the batteries, I was unable to get the heater running this morning. This is what we get for being considerate to other boaters and so, during these colder days I’ll have to run the engine to the later time of 8 pm.
Eleven locks we came through yesterday and all but the first one were in our favour, this one Sheila had to empty before we could start climbing. After that it was easy because, with plenty of boats coming down and these locks being close together, as one boat came out, we went in. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does it really makes life so much easier. Bearing in mind that all these boats were heading for Stratford and would probably try to get there the same day, some of them will have a problem finding a place to moor up.
We stopped here at Wilmcote about three years ago and, as we did yesterday, walked into the village to take a few photos. One of them was of Mary Arden House, although this is a misnomer since the house now used to demonstrate living conditions of the day, was built some five years after her death, if memory serves me.
Other than the two pubs mentioned, and the famous house, which attracts visitors in a tour bus, there is just a village shop; at which Sheila purchased two, very fat, sausage rolls; and a mobile Post Office. I’m not a lover of huge Inns and Hotels, so we’ll probably give the Mason’s Arms a try today, the Mary Arden Inn is a rather imposing edifice and sticks out like a sore thumb at the T/junction.
The promised rain reared its ugly head yesterday but, as I look out of the window, the sky is clear and bright and, with luck and a tail wind, we’ll see some sunshine today.
Monday 8th August.
We left Wilmcote at about 9 am and arrived at Wootton Mawan at 10:30, found a mooring spot, but only 24 hour, and settled in with a cuppa before walking across to the farm shop and on to the village shop, about ½ a mile away. We had hoped to pick up some doggy sausages at the pet centre, which is one of the 16 outlets within the bounds of the farm shop, but they don’t open on a Monday. So, having walked to the village shop and found none there either, we’ll wait until tomorrow morning.
Along with the boatyard, where they hire out under the Anglo-Welsh umbrella, and boast the oldest Saxon church in Warwickshire, Wootton Wawen is a peaceful little village that also boasts a Park Home site, but this is opposite the village shop and has no effect on us boaters.
After lunch Wifey finally managed to give the port side of the boat a clean, and so it goes, until next time. Pretty much like the Forth Bridge, you could say!
The rest of the day will be just as peaceful as are 90% of the rest of our days on the inland waterways.
Tuesday 9th August and the days are becoming shorter, so much so that it won’t be long before I’m getting up in the morning while it is still dark outside.
As you all know, prior to leaving Mercia in April, we had a full service carried out on the engine, and we reduced our domestic battery count from six to four. Perhaps we should have included a more powerful alternator because, having had a few chilly mornings of late, and even though the engine has been run for at least 4 ½ hours during the day, we still don’t have enough power in the morning to run the heater.
Yesterday morning, having benefited from the same amount of charge hours as this morning, the heater ran for 1 ½ hours, no problem, but today; possibly because we watched more TV last night; no such luck. I suppose this means more expense when we return to Mercia, a higher A/h alternator wouldn’t go amiss.
I’m not sure where we’re off to today, or even if we’ll be going anywhere at all. Hopefully, after we’ve been to the shops again, we’ll be able to move along and under the bridge, where the moorings do not have a time limit of 24 hours on them, we can then stay another day if we like, or even two, should the weather be bad or we’re just feeling lazy. Whatever happens, I will have to run the engine for at least five hours and take it to the maximum time allowed of 8 pm.
Wednesday 10th August and we’re at Lowsonford on the Stratford on Avon canal, it’s raining and I have no Internet service here. Wonderful! Just when I really would like to get online and check something out on eBay, no Internet.
Our radio is mounted inside a cupboard in our cosy, but diminutive lounge. The wiring for said radio runs behind the timber innards of the boat and, apart from the speaker leads, we have no idea where they run to, or how they get there. Anyway, we have been experiencing a few problems with this unit that has culminated in the CD player not working. Having tried cleaning the lens with the appropriate lens cleaning disc, without success, we are now in the market for a new radio/cd player.
Not knowing what plugs come with newer units, and not wishing to tear the boat apart in order to rewire to a different model, I thought I might see if I can find the same one on eBay. However, since it is probably more than five years old, I don’t hold out much hope of success. So, until we move on from here to somewhere where I can get online, I won’t be able to check eBay out. Ergo, I am not a happy bunny.
Today we had planned to stay here for another day because, just for a change, we thought we might enjoy a pub lunch. The Fleur de Lys is directly opposite our moorings and has a huge garden with furniture and parasols. It also has a sign facing the canal which states, right at the bottom, ‘Mooring for patrons, please ask before mooring’. With luck you could probably squeeze one boat in, but the problem as I see it is, how do you ask if you may moor up if you don’t have their telephone number? The result is that any boaters wishing to use the pub simply moor up opposite, as we have, and walk over the bridge and along the road, as we did on our last visit.
Thursday 11th August.
About two miles and nine locks away lies Kingswood Junction, which will take us south onto the Grand Union Canal. This morning, assuming this wind drops a wee bit we’ll be heading that way, but stopping about three locks short. Staying on this canal overnight will give us the opportunity to pay a visit to the shop that lies just a couple of locks past the junction.
Yesterday we dropped in on the Fleur de Lys, fully intending to take a pub lunch. There are a couple of signs at the entrance to this establishment inviting us older folks to partake of a main meal and enjoy a 25% discount and that, on Lady’s Night the lady can expect a 50% discount. This pub also specialises in pies of several descriptions. Indeed, the canal-side hoarding boasts, right at the top, ‘The Home of Pies’.
We settled down to study the menu and the first thing to catch my eye was the Fish and Chips. £10.50? I know food prices are rising but, even with the discount, we would be spending over £15 on our meals alone. What’s more, they have the effrontery to charge £2.05p for a slice of Bread and Butter. Just what planet are these people on?
We settled for a bag of crisps and a packet of Mini-Cheddars then later, for our evening meal, we had a Spanish Omelette, made with four eggs, sliced Chorizzo Sausage, onion and tomatoes. I kind of exceeded the recommended amount of innards when preparing, hence the four eggs, and even they didn’t completely cover the filling. Nice though!
For most of yesterday Wifey was keeping an eye on three Moorhen chicks, one of which was being cared for by another juvenile, whilst the others were attended to by two adult birds. Later in the afternoon after we returned from the pub, I spotted a ginger tom slinking away with a little black bundle in its mouth, heralding the demise of one moorhen chick. Since that event we have been keeping our eye out for the other chicks, who seem to be conspicuous by their absence. Maybe they have moved along, but I rather suspect pussy has feasted rather well.
This is one of those rare places where we have been unable to access the Internet on this years cruise. This situation is unlikely to continue though as we’ll soon be heading towards Rugby and other such places, including Coventry, a city we missed on our last trip in this direction. Having spoken to other boaters at Mercia and Pillings Lock, it seems Coventry Basin has been smartened up and is well worth a visit.
Friday 12th August and, despite misgivings about the weather, we finally decided to move on yesterday morning, albeit rather later than normal. We are now moored up between locks 25 and 24, about half a mile short of Kingswood Junction with the Grand Union. We’re here until tomorrow morning when, I think, we’ll be heading for the top of Hatton Locks for the weekend.
Although we only had six locks to go through, we met a good few boaters going down to Stratford. No doubt this was because we left Lowsonford late. Two of the boaters we spoke to were only out for a week but, because they were either on a friend’s boat, or were handing over to someone at the other end, they could travel that much further in their week away. One lot were on a Time-Share boat, much like holiday apartments in Spain and such, which is also a popular way of boating. (No, I don’t believe they have Time-Share boats in Spain!)
As it turned out the weather was pretty fair for most of the way, waiting until we were almost through the last lock before reminding us who’s in charge.
Back at Lowsonford, just above the lock, there was moored a ‘butty’, which had a Patrol Notice on it. Obviously the owner had outstayed his welcome and had been told to move along. Without an engine installed this is no mean task but, later in the day just as we were returning from the pub, there were two people, 1 male and 1 female, hauling the ‘butty’ by hand, which included getting it safely past ours and other boats.
Yesterday, on our way to our current moorings, we came across that ’butty’ and, no doubt because the owners were a bit peeved at being told to move, there it was moored on the bollards specifically set aside for those people using the lock. It takes all sorts!
I haven’t been able to access the Internet for the past two days, only the eighth time since leaving Mercia. That’s an awful lot of stops where we have been successful, which state of affairs I’m quite chuffed about. Hopefully we’ll have as much success next year.
Saturday 13th August and I am hurting! What is more, at 05.15 it’s still dark out there, but that’s because of the heavy cloud and the rain that goes with it. So, why am I hurting? Well, about half a mile from these moorings, is the Village Shop at Kingswood, which is where we planned to walk to yesterday morning. Indeed, we did take that walk but, just as we reached the first lock, we found a lone boater trying to go through. Unfortunately for him, having had quite a few boats go down the locks before him – he was going up – the water level had dropped, restricting his movement into the lock. We therefore decided to give him a hand through the remaining four locks to the junction.
This assistance for a fellow boater, whose name by the way, is Brian, slowed us down somewhat and put more strain on my calf muscles than I would have liked. Once Brian had turned onto the Grand Union we continued on up the Stratford, looking for the sign for the aforementioned shop. The sign told us to turn right over the road bridge, which we took to mean the bridge that stood another two locks up.
The upshot of this was, that instead of walking only half a mile to and from said shop, we probably covered a mile or more there and, upon realising we should have left the canal at the first lock, just a half mile back. The combined effort of opening and closing lock gates and the longer walk, saw me limping for the last few hundred yards. I was never more pleased to see Shiralee in all her glory. Not to mention the cup of coffee that followed.
This morning we’ll be leaving the Stratford on Avon for the Grand Union canal, via Kingswood Junction. I don’t remember how reception of the Internet was down there but, since we are heading for some pretty big towns; the first of which will be Warwick, which we are hoping to bus into; reception should be pretty good.
On that note then, I will now post. Have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Thursday 4 August 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #22
Monday 1st August.
I’m getting just a wee bit concerned about the depth of the Avon, in places it is quite shallow and where the water is deep directly underneath the boat, rocks and gravel can easily be seen to both sides. So it is necessary to steer a pretty meandering path in order not to ground. Of course the fine weather of late has to be blamed here, normal rainfall has not materialised this year.
When we arrived at Tewkesbury, the lock keeper gave us a new booklet that gives a great deal of useful information, such as obstructions in the water, moorings and which channel to take into and out of the locks in order to avoid the shallows. Coming out of the last lock before Bidford, the sign says to keep to the right. Under normal circumstances this would be a wise move but, with the current and unusual shallowness of the river, we would surely have grounded had we taken that advice.
The vast majority of boaters here, and on the Severn, are friendly and helpful, but there are a few who seem to go out of their way to be difficult. Occasionally we come across people who object to us running the engine, and I’ve mentioned one already, but our arrival at Bidford takes the cake for rudeness of some boaters.
The Park Moorings at Bidford are the main ones, with room for about five boats. As we approached I could see a space behind a small cruiser, but realised it was just a wee bit short. However, with the cruiser spaced back from another narrow boat I also realised that, if he were to move a few feet closer, we could just squeeze in.. So, like any sensible boater would, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind closing up to the narrow boat. His response was, “I’m just filling up with water, then I’ll be off, but there are more moorings just across the river”, and pointed us in the direction of the local pub. So, thanking him, I made for those moorings.
As we neared them Wifey pointed out the need to take Rusty to do her business, and we really didn’t want to do so in a pub drinking and eating area. So, we turned the boat around and hovered behind the cruiser waiting for him to move on. Did he move? Did he hell! OK, I can play that game, so I cruised further down river, turned around and hovered again, only this time I was facing him and he could not ignore me.
Eventually, when he saw we had no intention of doing as we were told, he very, very slowly, removed his cover at the stern and prepared to move off, as did the narrow boat in front of him. We then realised they were in this together and had been deliberately making us wait, for what reason I cannot imagine. Pretty childish I thought, since they had already been there overnight and these are only 24 hour moorings.
As the narrow boat passed alongside of us, no doubt to add insult to injury, the woman at the stern said, “You could have said thank you”, as if they deserved thanks for allowing us to use their space. Sheila remarked, “I did thank you”. I in turn remarked, “Not that you deserved any thanks”. End of this sorry saga of the sad attitude of some boaters.
Today we’ll be moving on to Luddington, the place we had to turn back from in 2008 due to flooding. That one cost us £50 for the licence. If the moorings there are full, we’ll have to move on to Stratford, where we will moor up on the river and just below the lock. We intend staying there for two nights and then pass through the last lock, through the basin and through the first lock to the Stratford on Avon canal.
In the main, of course, our journey along the Severn and Avon has been most enjoyable, not least because of the weather, only to be slightly marred by the very occasional light shower.
As it happened yesterday turned out to be a most enjoyable day, we walked across the bridge into town and found, to our delight, that the shops were close by. We then wandered up the High Street and found a pub called The Bull, where we enjoyed the usual drinks and snacks. On offer there were two meals for just £8, which we though very reasonable and, had we been able to stay another day, we would probably availed ourselves of that offer. We then wandered back and found a small loaf of bread at the local One Stop, then back to the boat.
This weekend has been Bidford’s Family Weekend and, as such the Park has been opened to cars so that local folks can enjoy a day out by the river, which they did in their hundreds. The kiddies play areas along this river has to be seen to be believed, with a 30 foot tall, pyramid shaped, rope climbing frame and another item of play that I’ve never seen before and begs the question, where are the Safety Police in this part of the world?
In Evesham we saw a Maypole type roundabout, where the kids could hang on to a bar and be whirled around at a decent speed. Here at Bidford they have a wire, strung between two poles, which is quite high up and from which hangs another pole with a small seat attached. The child climbs to a platform and grabs the bar, sits down and lets him or herself whiz along the cable, very much like a ski lift.
Across from the play area they had a band performing from the bed of their truck and there was an ice cram van and a snack van. All in all every taste was catered for and, as far as we could see, everyone had a good time.
We also noticed a few old cars parked here. I spotted a very old Bentley; the colour of which could only be described as army green; an Austin 7, and a Triumph Herald, to name but three.
Later in the afternoon, just as the boat behind us moved off, another one came down river and took its place. Talk about luck! Anyway, we got chatting, as you do, and it turns out that the owners also live aboard and have done so for the past eight years. Having recently retired this is their first season away from their base on the Kennett and Avon, which is where most of their family and grandchildren live.
It seems they have a problem with their engine at present, but they have called in RCR, who will be turning up later this morning. We may even have them for company at Mercia because they intend doing the Pennines next year and, rather than return to the K&A, want to moor up somewhere different, but within reach of the family, very much like we are doing.
I can safely say that, apart from the snotty welcome when we arrived here, Bidford has been a most pleasant experience, possibly the most pleasant of our river trips.
Tuesday 2nd August.
We had intended to cruise the five miles and four locks to Luddington yesterday, but after some consideration regarding these river locks, decided instead to moor at Welford lock, assuming we could find a space. This left us with just three locks and three miles, a much more comfortable trip we thought. Actually, although known as Welford Lock, this is really W .A. Cadbury Lock, presumably named after someone who was involved in its installation.
In the event the locks were quite easy and in our favour, with the gates open for us to enter. On the River Avon it is necessary to leave a gate, or both gates, open on exit, unlike canals where they must be closed. So, with the gates being in our favour, we made good progress and were moored up within two hours of leaving.
By the side of our boat is a small clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes. Not only did this give us shade from the sun, it also has a path down to the weir. (All locks have weirs beside them, which is why the locks were placed where they are.)
Naturally we opened up our canvas chairs and sat out under with a cold drink or two. Wonderful!
A short while later, the boat ahead moved on, its place being taken up by another narrow-boat that had been here when we arrived, but had turned around a gone back to Welford to pick some people up. Apparently they thought they would be able to walk into Welford from this lock, but there’s no way to get across the weir. We learned this from the lady on the boat when she walked past us to check on the lock. In fact we had a very long chat with her, so long that her husband eventually came to her rescue. It seems they were meeting their niece and her husband, who are over here on a visit from Oz.
Meeting up with other boaters who have experienced similar situations as yourself is a pretty rare occurrence but, when it does happen, you tend to take full advantage and natter on forever. Once we had exhausted our tales of trials and tribulations, these two returned to their company and we saw nothing more of them. No doubt we’ll say our farewells when we leave this morning.
This time we will make for Luddington, which is now only one lock and two miles away, so we’ll be leaving here a little later than usual, so as to give moorers at Luddington time to leave us a space.
For the first time in over a month we are unable to access the Internet here. Hopefully this will not be the case at our next stop, because I am already heading for my seventh page and I really do need to post this blog soon. No matter, we’re sure to get online at Stratford.
Wednesday 3rd August and we are now at Weir Brake Lock. At least, the Nicholson Guide refers to it as Weir Brake, but there is a metal sign by the lock naming it as Gordon Grey Lock, (1907-1994?), who was responsible in no small measure, for the restoration of the Upper Avon. The lock itself was built with the aid of a bunch of Borstal Boys. Well, it got them out and about!
Sadly we were unable to moor at Luddington, because the spaces there were already full, which is why we are now here, and not there. Simple!! With the expected bad weather for this region, I don’t know that we’ve missed out on much.
The five mile trip here took 2½ hours with two locks and we arrived just in time to see the Air Ambulance come in to land. To one side of this lock are some tall trees that grow on a hillside. Sheila took a walk up the footpath yesterday and found another path that runs alongside the top of the hill. Apparently this is where somebody fell down the hill and injured themselves. Of course, there were plenty of people on hand to help with the emergency as this seems to be a popular area for walking and watching boats go through.
Yesterday evening we saw a couple of young men close the bottom gates and, dressed only in swimming trunks, enjoy themselves by jumping into the river from the top. This is quite a drop, easily equal to the high board at a pool, and they didn’t have to pay to get in. Sadly they were unable to re-open the gate, simply because they didn’t have a windlass with which to empty the lock.
At this point Sheila came to the rescue and opened them up again. In case you are wondering why she bothered to do so, it is necessary on this river to leave the gates open when passing through locks. In fact, this is usually the case on rivers anyway, whereas, unless otherwise stated, it in equally necessary to close them on canals. I’m sure there must be a reason for leaving the gates open on rivers, but I have no idea what that can be. On the canals it is simply to save water.
We also saw the restaurant boat, The Countess of Evesham, which has got to be the longest boat on the river. This came through quite late and had all lights blazing. I have to wonder why they were too lazy to even close the paddles when they left the lock. If memory serves; well Sheila’s memory; this boat goes as far as Luddington, where it turns around for the return trip. It is actually moored at Stratford Basin and, because of limited space in the basin it has to be reversed into the lock for its upward journey into the basin.
This morning we’ll be off on the final leg of our trip along the River Avon, up to Stratford itself, which is only a mile away and takes in the final lock of 15 in total. That figure doesn’t include those coming on to the river at each end.
Since most boaters seem to leave their moorings quite late in the day, we won’t leave her until quite late ourselves, so as to guarantee a spot in Stratford. Had we left W.A. Cadbury Lock a bit later, we may have been able to stop at Luddington.
This blog is already eight pages long but, since we’re almost at the end of the river, I’ll post it from Stratford.
Cheers for now.
Thursday 4th August and it is now exactly four months since we left Mercia. For the most part this year’s cruise has been very enjoyable, with very little bad weather to complain about, and only a few moronic boaters to cloud our sunny skies. Talking of which, that bunch from Bidford are now moored up behind us.
Apart from the short, one hour trip to these moorings in Stratford, I do not have a lot to report. When we arrived here at 10.15 yesterday morning we had no difficulty finding a mooring spot, unlike the holiday boat that arrived at about 9.30 last night. They tried, and failed, to moor up on the last spot before private property, but they were a wee bit too long and finally headed up the lock into the basin. At that time of night it’s doubtful they would have found anywhere up there either, and they would have had to go up another four locks on the canal.
Today we will take a walk into town for shopping, Sheila already did so yesterday but it was far too hot for me. I’ll report back on any happenings tomorrow and, as this is quite a long blog, will probably post it in the morning, bringing to an end our 42 miles and 15 locks on the Avon.
Friday 5th August and it’s cloudy out there but, whatever the weather, we have to leave these moorings today.
Yesterday we headed into town and, believe it or not, the holiday boat from yesterday evening had found a spot in the basin. Not that it was a legal one, because they had moored at the approach to the first lock onto the canal. Still it was rather later and getting dark, so I doubt anybody else would be coming into the basin at that time.
I realise we are now at the height of the holiday season, but the throngs of people took me completely by surprise. Still, we managed to get the rest of our shopping without problems, although it was necessary to visit the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and M&S to do so. For major outlets these three stores are really quite small.
On our last visit the Shakespeare Theatre was still in the early stages of renovation, with scaffolding surrounding it. Part of the steel barriers also encroached upon the mooring basin too. Now the theatre looks as it should, all clean and shiny and a rather splendid edifice to the performing arts. No wonder so many visitors come here, with almost every one carrying a camera.
Naturally, for our last day here, we had some rain, but it has still been rather muggy. This morning we’ll be off as early as possible and will be making our way up the first six locks to Wilmcott, the home of Mary Arden’s House.
Well, that’s all for this blog. Back to normal today.
Cheers me dears!
Dave, Sheila and our lovable pooch, Rusty.
I’m getting just a wee bit concerned about the depth of the Avon, in places it is quite shallow and where the water is deep directly underneath the boat, rocks and gravel can easily be seen to both sides. So it is necessary to steer a pretty meandering path in order not to ground. Of course the fine weather of late has to be blamed here, normal rainfall has not materialised this year.
When we arrived at Tewkesbury, the lock keeper gave us a new booklet that gives a great deal of useful information, such as obstructions in the water, moorings and which channel to take into and out of the locks in order to avoid the shallows. Coming out of the last lock before Bidford, the sign says to keep to the right. Under normal circumstances this would be a wise move but, with the current and unusual shallowness of the river, we would surely have grounded had we taken that advice.
The vast majority of boaters here, and on the Severn, are friendly and helpful, but there are a few who seem to go out of their way to be difficult. Occasionally we come across people who object to us running the engine, and I’ve mentioned one already, but our arrival at Bidford takes the cake for rudeness of some boaters.
The Park Moorings at Bidford are the main ones, with room for about five boats. As we approached I could see a space behind a small cruiser, but realised it was just a wee bit short. However, with the cruiser spaced back from another narrow boat I also realised that, if he were to move a few feet closer, we could just squeeze in.. So, like any sensible boater would, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind closing up to the narrow boat. His response was, “I’m just filling up with water, then I’ll be off, but there are more moorings just across the river”, and pointed us in the direction of the local pub. So, thanking him, I made for those moorings.
As we neared them Wifey pointed out the need to take Rusty to do her business, and we really didn’t want to do so in a pub drinking and eating area. So, we turned the boat around and hovered behind the cruiser waiting for him to move on. Did he move? Did he hell! OK, I can play that game, so I cruised further down river, turned around and hovered again, only this time I was facing him and he could not ignore me.
Eventually, when he saw we had no intention of doing as we were told, he very, very slowly, removed his cover at the stern and prepared to move off, as did the narrow boat in front of him. We then realised they were in this together and had been deliberately making us wait, for what reason I cannot imagine. Pretty childish I thought, since they had already been there overnight and these are only 24 hour moorings.
As the narrow boat passed alongside of us, no doubt to add insult to injury, the woman at the stern said, “You could have said thank you”, as if they deserved thanks for allowing us to use their space. Sheila remarked, “I did thank you”. I in turn remarked, “Not that you deserved any thanks”. End of this sorry saga of the sad attitude of some boaters.
Today we’ll be moving on to Luddington, the place we had to turn back from in 2008 due to flooding. That one cost us £50 for the licence. If the moorings there are full, we’ll have to move on to Stratford, where we will moor up on the river and just below the lock. We intend staying there for two nights and then pass through the last lock, through the basin and through the first lock to the Stratford on Avon canal.
In the main, of course, our journey along the Severn and Avon has been most enjoyable, not least because of the weather, only to be slightly marred by the very occasional light shower.
As it happened yesterday turned out to be a most enjoyable day, we walked across the bridge into town and found, to our delight, that the shops were close by. We then wandered up the High Street and found a pub called The Bull, where we enjoyed the usual drinks and snacks. On offer there were two meals for just £8, which we though very reasonable and, had we been able to stay another day, we would probably availed ourselves of that offer. We then wandered back and found a small loaf of bread at the local One Stop, then back to the boat.
This weekend has been Bidford’s Family Weekend and, as such the Park has been opened to cars so that local folks can enjoy a day out by the river, which they did in their hundreds. The kiddies play areas along this river has to be seen to be believed, with a 30 foot tall, pyramid shaped, rope climbing frame and another item of play that I’ve never seen before and begs the question, where are the Safety Police in this part of the world?
In Evesham we saw a Maypole type roundabout, where the kids could hang on to a bar and be whirled around at a decent speed. Here at Bidford they have a wire, strung between two poles, which is quite high up and from which hangs another pole with a small seat attached. The child climbs to a platform and grabs the bar, sits down and lets him or herself whiz along the cable, very much like a ski lift.
Across from the play area they had a band performing from the bed of their truck and there was an ice cram van and a snack van. All in all every taste was catered for and, as far as we could see, everyone had a good time.
We also noticed a few old cars parked here. I spotted a very old Bentley; the colour of which could only be described as army green; an Austin 7, and a Triumph Herald, to name but three.
Later in the afternoon, just as the boat behind us moved off, another one came down river and took its place. Talk about luck! Anyway, we got chatting, as you do, and it turns out that the owners also live aboard and have done so for the past eight years. Having recently retired this is their first season away from their base on the Kennett and Avon, which is where most of their family and grandchildren live.
It seems they have a problem with their engine at present, but they have called in RCR, who will be turning up later this morning. We may even have them for company at Mercia because they intend doing the Pennines next year and, rather than return to the K&A, want to moor up somewhere different, but within reach of the family, very much like we are doing.
I can safely say that, apart from the snotty welcome when we arrived here, Bidford has been a most pleasant experience, possibly the most pleasant of our river trips.
Tuesday 2nd August.
We had intended to cruise the five miles and four locks to Luddington yesterday, but after some consideration regarding these river locks, decided instead to moor at Welford lock, assuming we could find a space. This left us with just three locks and three miles, a much more comfortable trip we thought. Actually, although known as Welford Lock, this is really W .A. Cadbury Lock, presumably named after someone who was involved in its installation.
In the event the locks were quite easy and in our favour, with the gates open for us to enter. On the River Avon it is necessary to leave a gate, or both gates, open on exit, unlike canals where they must be closed. So, with the gates being in our favour, we made good progress and were moored up within two hours of leaving.
By the side of our boat is a small clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes. Not only did this give us shade from the sun, it also has a path down to the weir. (All locks have weirs beside them, which is why the locks were placed where they are.)
Naturally we opened up our canvas chairs and sat out under with a cold drink or two. Wonderful!
A short while later, the boat ahead moved on, its place being taken up by another narrow-boat that had been here when we arrived, but had turned around a gone back to Welford to pick some people up. Apparently they thought they would be able to walk into Welford from this lock, but there’s no way to get across the weir. We learned this from the lady on the boat when she walked past us to check on the lock. In fact we had a very long chat with her, so long that her husband eventually came to her rescue. It seems they were meeting their niece and her husband, who are over here on a visit from Oz.
Meeting up with other boaters who have experienced similar situations as yourself is a pretty rare occurrence but, when it does happen, you tend to take full advantage and natter on forever. Once we had exhausted our tales of trials and tribulations, these two returned to their company and we saw nothing more of them. No doubt we’ll say our farewells when we leave this morning.
This time we will make for Luddington, which is now only one lock and two miles away, so we’ll be leaving here a little later than usual, so as to give moorers at Luddington time to leave us a space.
For the first time in over a month we are unable to access the Internet here. Hopefully this will not be the case at our next stop, because I am already heading for my seventh page and I really do need to post this blog soon. No matter, we’re sure to get online at Stratford.
Wednesday 3rd August and we are now at Weir Brake Lock. At least, the Nicholson Guide refers to it as Weir Brake, but there is a metal sign by the lock naming it as Gordon Grey Lock, (1907-1994?), who was responsible in no small measure, for the restoration of the Upper Avon. The lock itself was built with the aid of a bunch of Borstal Boys. Well, it got them out and about!
Sadly we were unable to moor at Luddington, because the spaces there were already full, which is why we are now here, and not there. Simple!! With the expected bad weather for this region, I don’t know that we’ve missed out on much.
The five mile trip here took 2½ hours with two locks and we arrived just in time to see the Air Ambulance come in to land. To one side of this lock are some tall trees that grow on a hillside. Sheila took a walk up the footpath yesterday and found another path that runs alongside the top of the hill. Apparently this is where somebody fell down the hill and injured themselves. Of course, there were plenty of people on hand to help with the emergency as this seems to be a popular area for walking and watching boats go through.
Yesterday evening we saw a couple of young men close the bottom gates and, dressed only in swimming trunks, enjoy themselves by jumping into the river from the top. This is quite a drop, easily equal to the high board at a pool, and they didn’t have to pay to get in. Sadly they were unable to re-open the gate, simply because they didn’t have a windlass with which to empty the lock.
At this point Sheila came to the rescue and opened them up again. In case you are wondering why she bothered to do so, it is necessary on this river to leave the gates open when passing through locks. In fact, this is usually the case on rivers anyway, whereas, unless otherwise stated, it in equally necessary to close them on canals. I’m sure there must be a reason for leaving the gates open on rivers, but I have no idea what that can be. On the canals it is simply to save water.
We also saw the restaurant boat, The Countess of Evesham, which has got to be the longest boat on the river. This came through quite late and had all lights blazing. I have to wonder why they were too lazy to even close the paddles when they left the lock. If memory serves; well Sheila’s memory; this boat goes as far as Luddington, where it turns around for the return trip. It is actually moored at Stratford Basin and, because of limited space in the basin it has to be reversed into the lock for its upward journey into the basin.
This morning we’ll be off on the final leg of our trip along the River Avon, up to Stratford itself, which is only a mile away and takes in the final lock of 15 in total. That figure doesn’t include those coming on to the river at each end.
Since most boaters seem to leave their moorings quite late in the day, we won’t leave her until quite late ourselves, so as to guarantee a spot in Stratford. Had we left W.A. Cadbury Lock a bit later, we may have been able to stop at Luddington.
This blog is already eight pages long but, since we’re almost at the end of the river, I’ll post it from Stratford.
Cheers for now.
Thursday 4th August and it is now exactly four months since we left Mercia. For the most part this year’s cruise has been very enjoyable, with very little bad weather to complain about, and only a few moronic boaters to cloud our sunny skies. Talking of which, that bunch from Bidford are now moored up behind us.
Apart from the short, one hour trip to these moorings in Stratford, I do not have a lot to report. When we arrived here at 10.15 yesterday morning we had no difficulty finding a mooring spot, unlike the holiday boat that arrived at about 9.30 last night. They tried, and failed, to moor up on the last spot before private property, but they were a wee bit too long and finally headed up the lock into the basin. At that time of night it’s doubtful they would have found anywhere up there either, and they would have had to go up another four locks on the canal.
Today we will take a walk into town for shopping, Sheila already did so yesterday but it was far too hot for me. I’ll report back on any happenings tomorrow and, as this is quite a long blog, will probably post it in the morning, bringing to an end our 42 miles and 15 locks on the Avon.
Friday 5th August and it’s cloudy out there but, whatever the weather, we have to leave these moorings today.
Yesterday we headed into town and, believe it or not, the holiday boat from yesterday evening had found a spot in the basin. Not that it was a legal one, because they had moored at the approach to the first lock onto the canal. Still it was rather later and getting dark, so I doubt anybody else would be coming into the basin at that time.
I realise we are now at the height of the holiday season, but the throngs of people took me completely by surprise. Still, we managed to get the rest of our shopping without problems, although it was necessary to visit the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and M&S to do so. For major outlets these three stores are really quite small.
On our last visit the Shakespeare Theatre was still in the early stages of renovation, with scaffolding surrounding it. Part of the steel barriers also encroached upon the mooring basin too. Now the theatre looks as it should, all clean and shiny and a rather splendid edifice to the performing arts. No wonder so many visitors come here, with almost every one carrying a camera.
Naturally, for our last day here, we had some rain, but it has still been rather muggy. This morning we’ll be off as early as possible and will be making our way up the first six locks to Wilmcott, the home of Mary Arden’s House.
Well, that’s all for this blog. Back to normal today.
Cheers me dears!
Dave, Sheila and our lovable pooch, Rusty.
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