Sunday 30th
December 2018
Brenda was rummaging in the bedroom wardrobe this morning, and we were
horrified to discover the woodwork at the bottom of the outside, front corner
was soaking wet and the wood had turned black. Feeling around the whole area it
feels dry to touch, welds are intact and there is no sign of water ingress. We
can only put this down to condensation of which we have been getting a lot in
the mornings around the windows and portholes. It has all been dried up and the
whole area left open with drawers removed and doors left open. This will
definitely have to be monitored.
Today seemed to be a day of churches. We left the mooring quite early
and moved the ¾ mile to the rickety looking pontoon moorings at Sutton
Wharf. These pontoons were all buckled and looked unsafe and slippery. They
were however, made of fibreglass so were not too bad but you still had to be
careful walking on them.
We walked up the road to Sutton Cheney, mainly to visit the church.
The walk was pleasant enough but, just before the village, it became very
narrow so you had to watch for cars, many of which were doing well over the
30mph limit.
The village of Sutton Cheney is a delightful little place. Very
charming, very English. The church of St. James originates from the 13th
century. It has a curious looking tower that is square and topped with a
conical roof. From afar it could be mistaken for a sail-less windmill.
When we arrived the church was closed but a lady had seen us and came
with to open it for us. The key was huge, about 18inches long and very old
looking. The entrance door was massive, very heavy and itself, dated from the
18th century.
Inside the atmosphere was very peaceful and tranquil. There are many
interesting artefacts and architectural features. These include the tomb of a
knight who died in 1633, Sir William Roberts, with his effigy on top, also a
stone slab set into a wall of one Margaret Neal who died in 1567. That predates
the Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne.
Of course, as with just about everything in this area, there is deemed
to be a King Richard III connection. There is a Richard III corner and the Society
of Richard III hold an annual service on the Sunday closest to 23rd
August, the date of the Battle of Bosworth. Richard, supposedly, heard mass in
the church prior to the battle. His funeral cortege on 22nd March
2015, paused at the church gates for a short service.
Just beside the church yard are alms houses dating from 1612.These
were originally a hospital built by Sir William.
We returned to the boat and moved onto the service point. While here,
there were no fewer than 6 boats passed, all heading up the canal. Apparently
they were all emerging from their marina moorings for a New Year’s gathering at
Shenton aqueduct. At least at Sutton Wharf, we didn't have to pay!!
Once filled with water, the water tank was checked for any leakage in
view of the condensation found in the wardrobe. When the boat was first put in
the water and the tank filled, it was found that neither the tank vent pipework
or the filling line had been tightened and water poured into the boat if the
tank was topped up. To rectify this, the wardrobe had to be dismantled, the
drawer removed and a hole cut through the adjoining bulkhead. Even then it was
incredibly awkward to fully tighten the connections and they were found leaking
every time they were checked. Every time since, when filling with water, we
have been in the habit of filling up, and then running off some water to get the
level below the leaking connections. On checking this time, the leak at the
vent seems to have taken up, and at the filling point, is a very slow drip.
Certainly nothing to account for the water in the wardrobe.
We cruised back to Stoke Golding and were lucky enough to stop on the
same mooring we had over Christmas. We are here for New Year.
We walked up to the neighbouring village of Dadlington to visit the
church there. Apparently there were many dead from Bosworth Battle buried here
in a mass grave. Seemingly only the gentry were removed from the battlefield and
returned home for burial. The remainder were stripped of everything and thrown
into mass graves in a churchyard or hastily dug pits on the battle site itself.
The church, again St. James’s, with a square tower and conical top and
originating from the 13th century, was originally a chapelry and was
not granted church status until 1623. The interior was plain compared to Sutton
Cheney, but had a nice community feel.
We called into the Dog and Hedgehog on the way back. A very busy pub
serving plenty of meals, but all the locals gather on stools at the bar and it
can be difficult to get served. With any pint costing just £3 who can blame
them.
When we left the boat there were just two other boats on the moorings,
and they had been here since we first passed on 7th December.
Returning to the boat, another four boats had moored and they were followed by
two more. Five of these are old working boats and are double breasted.
We had a few drinks before dinner in the front cratch. We love sitting
up there enjoying the views, it is very peaceful, although tonight our view
consisted of four, double breasted boats.
Weather: another mild and pleasant day.
Day Total: 0 locks; 3 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Boat Lift;
engine running hours 3.3
(including running of engine for hot water etc)
Overall Total: 323 locks; 655 miles; 30 tunnels; 5 Swing Bridges; 2
Boat Lifts; engine running hours 405.5
Comments
Post a Comment