Radford Semele (An easy cruise - just one mile and one lock)

Although the spot we have been moored in is really quiet because it is a third of a mile from a road it does mean it’s not much good when Karen is off to work.  This is especially so now that it is pitch black when she leaves and when she returns.  She does use a torch but the towpath is very uneven here and it’s easy to slip over, so on Monday morning I moved the boat to the outskirts of Leamington.

There was only one lock to go down – Radford Bottom lock.  There were a couple of guys watching me work through the lock as they had never seen one in operation before.  I asked them if they would close the gate behind me as it would save me mooring up and going back to do it myself. They were really nervous as they had never done it before but were really pleased with themselves once I had talked them through it.

Radford Bottom lock looking autumnal

Before we set off on our mini cruise, Geoff, the local Enforcement Officer for the area stopped to have a chat.  Enforcement Officers are like traffic wardens/police and check boat licences are valid and that boats are not overstaying in one spot.  I took the opportunity to talk him through why we have taken a winter mooring but don't expect to use it very much.  Our thoughts were that we could stay locally during the period of the licence without falling foul of the rule that says we have to keep cruising to different areas every fortnight.  Our reasoning being that the winter mooring could be considered our base and we are just popping out and back from it every so often - as people do if they have a boat on a marina.  Geoff agreed that it was a good idea and wished that more people did that as it would make his job easier and avoid confrontations.  It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.

We passed the start of the Offchurch Greenway, one of many cycle/walking paths in the area using the line of old railways.  Buddy and I had walked a couple of miles or so along here in the morning.

The start of the Offchurch Greenway

We moored up just before the road bridge that signifies the start of the housing estates of Leamington Spa.

The last rural mooring before the conurbation of Leamington and Warwick

We have bridge lessons on Monday evenings at Stratford bridge club which is to the south of where Karen works so I tend to have the car on Mondays.  It saves her driving back to get me and then going back past her office on our way to Stratford.  Having the car on Mondays does mean that if we need a bulky supermarket shop that I can get it out of the way.  Buddy and I walked back to get the car and on the way back to the boat did the weekly supermarket shop.

Now we are in walking distance of Leamington Spa I can now arrange those chores like check ups with the dentist etc.

Looking back at the pictures I can see what a grey day it was but at the same time it was very mild.  It was so cloudy that we did not get a chance to see the supermoon.