We had some
rain during Thursday night but nothing like forecast. Friday dawned grey but dry so we walked
through Warwick and turned round when we reached Leamington Spa.
We are
currently moored on the Grand Union in Warwick near the entrance to the Saltisford
Arm that used to run into wharves in the centre of Warwick. About half of it has been restored so we went
for a wander down it in the afternoon.
It is used for permanent and visitor moorings and there is an education
centre and contemplative gardens – the restoration group have done a tremendous
job.
This is half
way down the restored section.
And this is
the current end of the arm. The last 400
yards was filled in in the 1970s and factory units built. These have since been demolished and
apartments put up in their place.
We carried
on trying to work out the original route; at one point the remains of a canal
bridge can still be seen.
The basins
at the end were right next to this pub which reputedly dates back to the 1600s.
On the way
back to the boat we walked round Warwick racecourse.
Whilst
outside the boat on Thursday evening a guy who lives on a boat moored a couple
of boats down from us came up with an expression that keeps making me chuckle. Roof ventilation on narrowboats is generally
achieved through mushroom shaped cowls.
These are usually brass and shiny boat people spend ages polishing
them. As this seems a waste of time we
painted ours like toadstools. Anyway
this guy (who was obviously very relaxed) stopped to chat and then noticed our mushrooms
and said, “Ah, a trip hazard”.
No comments:
Post a Comment