Monday, June 16, 2014

Whittington



Monday 16 June 2014 –Whittington, Coventry Canal
A pleasant weekend doing very little, the village itself is small with modern housing built around.  Shakespeare was supposedly educated in the Village School, but the ‘Polesworth Circle’ met at the Hall and included Inigo Jones, Ben Jonson, Jon Donne and Raphael Hollynshed.  There are interesting information boards around the place and quite a few historic buildings which are kept in good condition.   I normally try not to travel at the weekend – it gives me an opportunity to locate the nearest Church and check Service times and this time it was Polesworth Abbey Church.  There has been a church on this site since the 8th century.  From where I sat the walls seemed to lean outwards which I guess was an optical illusion.  Lots of other boaters moored up and there was a regular change of moorers over the weekend.
Monday I started out at 08:00 and had no problems with the two Galscote locks.  I have continued on to Whittington where I have moored for the day.
Now pay attention I shall write zis only once: - back in the canal building days Fazely was to be a junction where the Birmingham & Fazely Canal joined the Coventry Canal on its way to meet the Trent & Mersey.  Unfortunately the Coventry company ran out of money so the B&F continued to Whittington and joined up with a linking arm built by the T&M which was later bought by the Coventry Canal when they’d found a few more pennies!!  The result is that from Fazely Junction the next sixteen bridges have names rather than numbers (as do all on the B&F) and then the Coventry numbers them as if the B&F bit didn’t exist – 77 just before Fradley Junction and 78 in Whittington some 5 miles further on.  Isn’t life fun.
Graham & Beryl on Priscilla ii are planning to complete the South Pennine Ring next month and I have asked if I can tag along, which has been accepted so this afternoon I have looked at the itinery and marked it up ready.  It does mean that there will be no weekends off but better to go in company.
The weather all weekend was warm and sunny but today is warm and cloudy.  White fluffy clouds with lots of blue patches.

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