Fazeley (same walk twice without achieving anything)

We cooked son Steve a full English before he left for his business meeting on Friday morning and then it started raining and it didn’t stop until about six in the evening.

Moored at Fazeley – it looked the same whatever time of day you looked at it 😉

It meant that we could stay in and get a lot of admin done that has been building up, but during the morning we did have a short four-mile walk togged up in wet weather gear.  We picked a circular walk that took in the retail park at Tamworth.  I know that sounds mad, but we wanted to check if the Boots store there printed photos on the spot if you took them in in electronic form.

Months ago, we saw a photo frame that takes nine individual photos and, as we have nine children, we bought it on the spot.  What has taken a long time is finding pictures of the children let alone getting them printed out.  Anyway, Karen went into the Boots store whilst I stayed outside with Buddy and she found that we could take in a memory stick, phone or laptop and print them out instantly.

The only picture we took on our morning walk – the Coventry canal crossing the River Tame

So, when we got back we put the chosen photos on a memory stick and, after lunch, we got togged up again and walked back to the retail park.  I know it sounds like a naff walk, but Buddy could be off the lead most of the time and had some good runs along the river and canal.

We tied Buddy up outside the store and both went in to get the photos printed.  We connected the memory stick and then realised that it had a password on it and the Boots software, understandably, expects no password to be present.  So, it was another wet walk home, deciding that we should leave the printing until we were near another town.

I carried on with jobs whilst Karen did some cooking.  It’s amazing that after living on the new boat for 18 months we are still doing things like putting hooks up in cupboards.  Karen had asked for some more in the cupboards in the bedroom and it was only when I was putting them up that it hit me she may have been inventing jobs to keep me at the other end of the boat 😉  

So, Friday was a non-cruising day, but we’ll probably move on Saturday, possibly reaching the Trent & Mersey canal.  I know most people would easily make it the eleven lock-free miles, but we do like taking things easy (and it is due to keep raining) 😊

Fazeley (battening down the hatches)

We left Atherstone after breakfast on Thursday and headed down the remaining six locks of the flight.  Although the forecast was for a dry day with sunny intervals it certainly didn’t feel or look like it, but the dark clouds emphasised the yellow of the oil seed rape fields:

At one of the locks on the flight

When we reached lock number 8 we were reminded that last time we moored at Atherstone we got chatting with Terry, the son of the lock keeper who used to live in the lock cottage at number 8 lock.  Sadly, all that is left is the path that led to their front door.   

The front path to the cottage at lock number 8

Terry provided a lot of insight to the history of the flight and I wrote it up in the blog (click on 11 September 2016) if you’re interested in finding out more, including pictures of the lock cottages on the flight before they were demolished.

The locks on the Atherstone flight are really easy for single-handers as the lock tails are very long so the boat can be left safely when going back up to close the gates.  They also come in handy when Karen and I are locking together as she goes to set the next lock whilst I close up the previous one.  The lock tails have steps leading back up to the lock side and this one has a lintel over it but I’m not sure of its purpose.

Ideal lock tail steps for dogs and humans

We stopped at Grendon wharf for coffee and to take on water.  The permanent moorings at Grendon have always been attractive as they are in a quiet rural spot but, for some reason, there were far fewer boats there than usual – have the charges gone up too much we wondered?

Moored at Grendon wharf

The next town was Polesworth which was where we were first led astray by Mike and Aileen in one of the local pubs.  Just before Polesworth is an encampment of caravans by the remains of an old swing bridge .  We have always stopped to buy eggs from one of the residents who keeps chickens.  They have a sign in the trees saying honk three times if you want eggs.  Our plan was to get a couple of dozen eggs from them but as we neared we saw the sign was no longer there.  We stopped and tooted the horn a few times, and although there were chickens running about, there was no sign of human life, so we left empty handed.

Before we left I got a picture of a stanking plank store by the old swing bridge that, for some reason, has never made it to my stanking plank page.

Stanking plank store with air holes

We only had a few spots of rain during the cruise although the clouds were dark and heavy, and it was very windy for most of the day.  We moored just before Tamworth for lunch and I stupidly cast off on my own whilst Karen was making hot drinks.  I say stupidly because it was so windy.  I had got the fenders up and undone the bowline but by the time I got back to the other end of the boat to move off, the front had been caught in an extra strong gust of wind and we were practically perpendicular across the cut.

I was so pleased we had replaced our centre lines with longer ones the other day as it made it much easier for Karen and me to rescue the boat.  It was my own fault as I knew it was windy and Karen had offered to help: still living and learning, eh? 😉

Whilst Karen worked indoors, I cruised down the two locks at Glascote and then onto Fazeley junction.

The two locks at Glascote

The canal passes over the River Tame on an aqueduct to the south of Tamworth.

Crossing the River Tame – which was named first, the river or the town of Tamworth?

Fazeley junction is where the Coventry canal meets the Birmingham & Fazeley canal on its journey from Birmingham up to the Trent & Mersey canal; although, for historical financial reasons, it becomes the Coventry canal again for the last couple of miles before reaching the T&M.

Turning right onto the Birmingham & Fazeley canal

I couldn’t believe how many boats there were in the visitor moorings; so many, that I had to moor beyond them where there weren’t any rings.  To be honest it’s better there as it’s more open and the sun is not blocked by the flats that overlook the visitor moorings.  I chatted with the guy on the Plant Boat as we passed him, and he said he was the only boat there in the morning, but it had filled up during the day.

Whilst I was mooring up, Steve, my middle son, arrived; he had business in the area for the next two days so was staying over with us.  We had a short walk, ending up in a pub, before staying in for the rest of the evening.

Unusual road sign near the pub

We were moored in front of a boat called Mr Blue Sky which is the title of my most hated/feared earworm.  I am always filled with dread when I see the boat (it is very distinctive from a distance) and try to pass it so I don’t see the name, but it always creeps in during the following night ☹

There’s another Mr Blue Sky that has a permanent mooring at Hockley Heath on the Stratford canal.  As we have spent many weeks in that area over the last couple of years, I often used to have to walk past it with Buddy.  Again, I used to look away from the boat as we went past which must have looked strange to any passers by 😊

During the day we travelled 10 ½ miles through eight locks.

It looks like rain all day on Friday, so I suspect we’ll be staying firmly moored at Fazeley.

Our journey since Monday

Atherstone (our memories aren’t that bad)

Wednesday was due to be another day of rain but with bright spells during the morning, so we set off from Ansty at 7 o’clock (early for us).

Leaving Ansty on Wednesday morning – weather a bit different to when we moored up on Tuesday

It was only a few miles to the end of the Oxford canal at Hawkesbury and as it was quiet, boat-wise, when we arrived we stopped in the stop lock and got rid of recycling and rubbish at the boaters’ facilities. The gated compound is not padlocked, it is right next to the Greyhound pub and therefore very easy for the public to access.  The bins were overflowing (apart from the recycling bins) and a lot of the rubbish looked like household waste, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this facility is on CRT’s list of potential sites to close.  I will be getting in touch with CRT about the possibility of padlocking the entrance gate to the bin compound.

Waiting in the stop lock whilst we disposed of our rubbish and recycling

Karen drove through the junction for her first time and made a perfect 180 degree turn without having to use any reverse or hitting the sides 😊

Buddy waiting whilst Karen brought the boat from the Oxford canal on the left, under the bridge and continued turning 180 degrees, onto the Coventry canal

Now on the Coventry canal – in an old stop lock by the engine house that used to house a steam driven pump

I keep finding that I’m including pictures and writing about places we’ve been to before but then having to stop myself and remember that I only need to write about new experiences or places (as everything is stored in the blog entries for previous visits).  It’s over two years since we were last heading this way but we both still remember things that happened, good places to moor for lunch and places to avoid etc.

At 9 o’clock we moored up outside Bedworth where we knew there was a short stretch of Armco and went for a walk into Bulkington, a place we haven’t been to before.  It seemed to be a fairly modern village and we found nothing of note to report but at least we had a walk even if we didn’t take any pictures 😉

Sign on the Bedworth road bridge over the canal at Bulkington

Just after setting off again we passed a boatyard at Bedworth that always tickles us; the residents all seem to be into life sized effigies and they line the banks outside their boats.

   

  

Part of the yard is a bit like a good old-fashioned breakers yard.  The sort we used to go to when we were young to take out starter motors from Ford Anglias etc.  Health & Safety wouldn’t allow that these days of course ☹

 

We passed several families of mallards and realised we had only seen three families so far this year, before today:

   

I mentioned yesterday that we saw a water vole.  Well, one stretch has had these pieces of coir matting installed with retaining stakes.  They are there to help the water voles get up onto the bank on sections where the sides are either concrete or Armco.

   

When we arrived at Marston junction (where the Ashby canal meets the Coventry canal) it seemed there were boats going in all directions.  As we were just going straight on we went through the other boats to get out of their way whilst they were waiting to either turn off or turn around.

Boat waiting to come out of the end of the Ashby canal

Soon after midday the skies went black and the rain started so we decided to moor up for lunch.  Fortunately, we had just put on our wet weather gear so were prepared when the rain became torrential whilst we moored.

Karen togged up before the dark clouds burst

Our lunchtime mooring after the rain stopped

The next place we went through was Hartshill which has a picturesque (to me anyway) old boat yard still used by CRT.  When we’ve been in this area before we’ve had many walks around the abandoned granite quarries and collieries, but we didn’t stop today even though the visitor moorings were strangely empty.

Boatyard at Hartshill

Our aim for the day was to get to Atherstone where we could top up with food and drink as the next decent supermarket place will be at Rugeley which is a good few days away.  We would go down five of the 11 locks on the Atherstone flight where there are plenty of moorings and then walk into town.

The sun was out occasionally but as it was so windy there were very few butterflies around.  A male orange tip landed on a pot of pansies in front of me as I was driving but the wind wouldn’t let him open his wings fully:

  

Another shot showing the camouflaged underside as well as the bright upperside

When we passed the visitor moorings at the top of the Atherstone flight they were completely empty.  Usually it is really busy and the last time we came it was full, so we had to go down five locks before we could moor up.  It was the last thing we wanted that day as we had had a long cruise and it was beginning to get dark and cold.

Empty visitor moorings at the top of Atherstone

This time we were carrying on down five locks to the visitor moorings at the half way point. There were three boats in front of us at the top lock with none coming up so it was a slow journey down.

Karen back in the swing of narrow locking

Ironically, when we reached the visitor moorings between locks 5 and 6 they were nearly full!

We’re the last boat in the far distance just before the next lock

We walked into town to get the shopping and then stayed in for the rest of the day.  Another busy day for us - 13 miles and 6 locks 😊  We will now stay on the Coventry canal until we hit the Birmingham & Fazeley canal at Fazeley junction, probably on Thursday.

This is the route we have travelled since we left on Monday

To finish, here are a couple of shots of the scenic Coventry canal from our cruise today: