As we want to go down the
Hatton flight after Karen comes home from work on Thursday, Buddy and moved a little closer to the top of the fight by having a
mini cruise to Hatton station on Tuesday.
No locks for a change but one tunnel.
I forgot how wet Shrewley
tunnel is, even in this dry weather the water was gushing through the roof in
places. Fortunately, I avoided most of
the water but the boat and I were still pretty wet when we came out. I know I always put a picture of Shrewley
tunnel in the blog when we go through but the offset horse tunnel still fascinates
me.
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Shrewley tunnel with its separate
tunnel for horses and workmen painting the railings (actually one was a
workgirl)
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This section of the Grand
Union – between the locks at Knowle and Hatton varies between being in deep
cuttings or on high embankments which makes for a pleasant and varied journey. The cuttings are always welcome when the sun
is beating down.
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Cutting coming into
Rowington
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Rowington embankment
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Mooring at Hatton station was
easy when we were last here in January as there was only one other ccer there. When we arrived on Tuesday there were two
boats moored so I went to get in behind the furthest one. It wasn’t possible as the sides were too
shallow. It seemed that the only place to
moor near the station was where the two boats were. I
kept trying for a few hundred yards and eventually found a spot where I could
get the boat in to the bank. As it
happened it was actually a much better spot – more open and away from the
houses by the station.
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Moored in the sun at Hatton station with a shady spot for the dog
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Although we walked a bit
during the day, Buddy wasn’t really bothered and much preferred laying outside
the boat. Most of his time was spent in
the shade of the trees whilst I sat outside and read.
It was a good spot to moor
as there were plenty of butterflies around including lots of freshly emerged Gatekeepers. I have noticed a lot of Red Admirals around
at the moment too, so maybe their next brood, which emerges when the fruit is
on the ground, will be really plentiful.
Red Admirals in the late autumn sun, getting tipsy on rotten fruit,
always remind me that winter is nearly here but also that summer hasn’t quite
gone! Just sitting outside the boat I also saw some Green Veined Whites, Large Whites, Small Whites, Large and Small Skippers, Commas, Small Tortoiseshells, Speckled Woods, Meadow Browns and some tatty Ringlets.
A family of buzzards spent
a lot of the afternoon soaring and mewing above the boat and a couple of kingfishers flew
past as well. Now we are back on the
Warwickshire section of the Grand Union I would expect to see kingfishers every day now. When it’s hot Buddy still insists on laying on
the dustiest bit of the towpath so walkers and cyclists have to go around
him. I feel it’s fair as he obviously
finds it cooler and the towpath is plenty wide enough to get past him. Of course, if the path is too narrow then I
don’t let him do it and make him lay elsewhere.
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Dead to the world – if it
wasn’t hot I would have had to stop him pestering the children
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In the evening Karen and I
went to Stratford to play bridge. I
think we will stay put on Wednesday and maybe take the train to Warwick to have
a look around. Even though it’s only
three miles or so away it wouldn’t be fair on the dog to walk as the forecast
says it’s meant to be even hotter.
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Signpost where we were
moored on Monday night – ensured we were going the right way towards Warwick 😉
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| Peaceful mooring for Tuesday night |
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