Friday 30 Sep 2011

Friday 30 Sep 2011

On the Coventry Canal near Mancetter, I have decided to have a lazy day after yesterday – started out at 09:15 with a slight haze on the water, but already warm in the sunshine.  Only a few boats out so I have been surveying and recording (for future journeys) where the steel piling is.  I find this easy to moor up to as there is no hammering of spikes into the towpath.  Passed Valley Cruises base, lots of cream coloured boats, At Hartshill a BW working boat was reversing out just after a bridge, then through Nuneaton  passing the Starline base nothing till bridge 16 which looks like an old World War 2 Bailey Bridge, there is lots of mud spillage either side of the bridge from a quarry.  Next sight was of Charity Dock in Bedworth.  The Nicholson guide says it’s a boatyard but looks more like a scrapyard to me with boats, cars and all sorts just piled up around the crane.  The last mooring has a ‘garden’ filled with life-size shop manikins in all sorts of poses.  At Bridge 14 there is a sign saying the ‘Navigation’ pub is just past the bridge – it is, but totally derelict including some roof tiles having been taken away.  Just before the junction with the Upper Oxford canal I passed “Naiad” another Braidbar.  At Hawkesbury Junction you do a U-turn under a bridge in full view of all the gongoozlers (spectators) sitting supping pints at the Greyhound pub.  That was managed without having to revert to the bow-thruster then into the ‘stop-lock’ which only has a lift of about 1 foot.  My initial plan was to stop in Ansty but not possible so on to Bridge 19 near a golf course where the sounds of civilisation intrude – the hum of the M6 motorway, the rumble of goods trains and the roar of the high speed trains zooming past.

Thursday 29 Sep 2011

Thursday 29 Sept 2011

Last night at 21:30 in pitch dark a boat arrived and moored immediately in front of me – fenders together.  Decided that today would be a long run and that I would try to get through 13 locks and 10 miles, so ready to go at 07:15, just as last night’s boat was also pulling away, so she beat me to the Glascote locks.  Safely through without injury, unlike last time on the way to Crick when I ‘did’ my wrist.  Uneventful run down to Alvecote Marina where “Stafford”,last night’s boat, was moored with red British Waterways plates (are these trade plates like car deliverers?)  Then on to the first of the Atherstone locks, which come in pairs with short pounds (see Thursday 22^nd Sept) then a longer one, but even the longest of these is only a couple of hundred yards long and all eleven are within 2 miles.  Not wanting to get locked in as BW have water conservancy measures in place I slogged on and was through by 15:00 then carried on to Bridge 36 where I have moored opposite Purley Park which is a beautiful view.  19:15 and just visited by a family of 5 begging swans – they are really big when they peer in the side hatches.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Having breakfast at 07:45 when “Monarch”, a Fellows, Morton and Clayton boat towing “Grimsby” an unpowered tender or butty, went past.  Ready to move at 08:50 then a steady run down the Coventry canal to Huddlesford where I passed “Farne”, another Braidbar boat that had been at the open day.  On to Whittington and through Bridge 78 where the canal changes its name to the Birmingham and Fazeley canal, you have to look for a marker stone on the towpath for the exact point.  The B&F doesn’t have bridge numbers, all bridges are named so that is another clue that you have changed canals.  The canal goes past a military firing range, so probably not a good idea to moor on the side opposite to the towpath.  At Fazeley the B&F heads away and the canal reverts to being the Coventry with bridge numbers.  Today has been just like a summer’s day and there have been few boats out.  Moored at Bridge 77 even though I’ve been through 15 bridges.

Update to Tuesday 27 September 2011

Lack of connection, so

Saturday 24 September 2011

Up early ready to start, but “Sanity Again” had already gone.  Was just about to pull out when two boats (one was “Bob and Barbie”) went past so I followed and was at the back of the queue when we got to Stoke lock flight and all the way down.  A flight is where there are several locks close together, a staircase is where one lock empties directly into the next.  The two boats did get ahead of me and stopped at the Plume of Feathers in Barlaston.  I was just about to pass when they both pulled out again, so again at the back of the queue down through the Meaford flight of locks and all the way into Stone.  Out for a meal to the Star Inn when Bob came up and said he wanted to see how I got through locks as I was so quick that I could keep up with him

Sunday 25 September 2011

Decided to have a quiet day with no travelling.  Went to church in the morning – St Michael’s in Stone, then spent the rest of the day wandering around being a tourist.  The ‘Nicholson’ guide says “Look out for the statue of ‘Christina’ by Bridge 94”.  When travelling past I had seen the statue but the guide does not go on to say who she was, however, by bridge 94 there is a canal guide and I had a chance to read it.  She was a woman called Christina Collins who in June 1839 was to travel from Preston Brook to London by canal boat but was murdered by the crew.  I had seen the story as it was done as a late Inspector Morse film where he was ill and he investigated the murder from his hospital bed.

Monday 26 September 2011

Off again heading South, still on the Trent & Mersey.  Today’s first lock was one by the Star Inn, then on down the canal past Great Haywood junction where the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal heads off to Wolverhampton.  Then passed Shugborough Park and eventually to Rugeley by 3pm where I moored for the night just by Bridge 67.  Just before the turn at the end of the Brindley Bank Aqueduct there is another reference to Christina Collins saying that her body was found nearby.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Left about 8:15, before other boats were mobile, then just past Bridge 66 was one with the same idea, but fortunately going the other way.  Low cloud as the top of the Rugeley Power Station cooling towers could not be seen.  No other boats seen moving in either direction for nearly two hours, then just after I had cleared wide straight parts through Armitage at the narrow bit before Bridge 59, then again at the blind bit by Bridge 58 boats!  At Bridge 56 a boat pulled out and was travelling slowly as if passing other boats, I had to keep going into neutral.  As we passed a moored boat the owner asked what was on as we had a convoy – another boat was behind me.  At the first lock for Fradley Junction I discovered the boat was called “Swift and Sure” and we now had six boats in convoy – delays inevitable.  The boat behind me was “Cygnus Nova” who I had been travelling with yesterday.  When safely through the locks and turned onto the Coventry Canal I decided to stop just past Bridge 91 and allow Slow and Uncertain to get ahead – hopefully I will not meet up with her tomorrow.

Friday 23 september 2011

Due to no signal last night a double dose - 

Thursday 22 September 2011

Ready at 08:30 for the fun of going down Bosley Locks, just about to pull out of mooring when nb “Sanity Again” (another Braidbar boat) went past so a leisurely chug to the first lock as the Macclesfield Canal has narrow locks that will only take one at a time.  Bruce on “Sanity Again” had gone through, there wasn’t another boat coming up so I filled the lock and headed to number 2, but Bruce wasn’t going down.  As I got closer it was to find that there was a traffic jam – locks 2, 3 and 4 had boats in and there was insufficient water in the pounds (that’s the bits of canal between locks) for boats to go between locks 2-3, 3-4, 4-5.  Bruce had phoned British Waterways to report the situation and to get some-one out to supply extra water.  Eventually a BW staff member arrived (with red lifejacket) and agreed that more water was needed and he went off to the top lock.  Bruce then organised a good British standby in emergency – a cup of tea.  Nothing seemed to be happening and a different BW man with a blue lifejacket arrived, had a look and went up to top lock.  Slowly it was noticed that the water level did appear to be rising and eventually we got the word that we could start going down as water would go with us.  So at 10 we began to move and because initially there were no boats coming up progress was quite rapid.  By 1pm I had finished with lock 12 and moored up on the Dane Aqueduct for the day having completed 1 mile along and 118 feet down in 12 steps.  We were fortunate that the weather has been sunny all day, although if it had been raining instead of chatting on the towpath we would have all gone into our boats.

Friday 23 September 2011

Peaceful night watching stars – very little light pollution so a great show.  Up and ready to start at 8:30 and a good run down to Red Bull Aqueduct (just before the junction with the Trent & Mersey) arriving at 12:30.  A quick change of plan and onward to the Harecastle Tunnel to get that out of the way.  Moored up number three in the convoy with two others behind (between “Frodos Hope” and “Mandikini”) waiting till 13:40 as journeys through the tunnel are controlled by BW staff.  The same staff member was on duty as when I had gone south in May and back North at the beginning of September.  They do two weeks duty at each end of the tunnel.  Went through in good time but those walls keep jumping out at me.  Moored for the night at Westport Lake, meeting up with “Sanity Again” again.  Later went to shops and was passed on the way back by “Kisimuls Galley” (another Braidbar boat).  Again the day has been sunny and warm.