Friday 30 th August 2019 We caught an early bus to Lichfield Train Station to buy tickets to Heathrow. The driver of the Midland Classic bus stumped us when he said they do not allow dogs on their buses. He relented when we agreed Harvey would only sit on our knees and suggested that, in future, he travels in a bag! Using my Senior Railcard saves a lot of money in fares and Brenda will qualify next year. We catch the 14:13 train out of Lichfield next week and our holiday begins. We caught the next bus back, which had the same driver. We told him Harvey was a comfort dog. No lies there then. On the boat, I managed to remove the weed hatch cover, the hinges of which had begun to seize, and greased them and the bow locker lid. We then moved to Fradley Junction, passing through the swing bridge and the lock on the Alrewas side to moor right opposite the sanitary station. The port cabin side was washed before we both became fed up and retired to the Swan to be enterta
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Thursday 29 th August 2019 Happy Birthday to our Manny who is 14 today. Growing up fast. Where do the years go? The hull side was blackened first thing and allowed to dry for a few hours before moving. The fixing screws in the bunting holders were drilled out and re-tapped after having rusted and the solar panel connections fitted with the proper fittings. While this work was in progress, the fuel boats Mountbatten and her butty Jellicoe came into view. You cannot help but stop and watch a working boat and butty, a scene from a long past, past. We had passed them yesterday at Alvecote but the owners were not about and it would not have been possible to stop alongside them anyway. We flagged them down and filled up with fuel, 79 litres at 84p per litre, a big difference from Braunston Marina. It was fascinating watching them leave with Paddy picking the butty as he passed her. A butty is an unpowered barge that is towed by her motor boat. Butty’s have a very large rudder
Wednesday 28 th August 2019 Rain was forecast, the day was much cooler and it duly rained on and off all day. We had planned a day of washing, polishing and blackening the starboard side of the boat. Dodging the rain, we managed the washing and polishing but not the blackening. Brenda did a lot of admin. Harvey’s holiday arrangements have been confirmed, he will be living in somebody’s home rather than kennels, which we are glad of. A hotel in Heathrow has been booked for the night before our US flight. Other than that, it was largely a day of enforced rest. Weather: rain on and off all day.
Tuesday 27 th August 2019 We had decided to leave the mooring early so as to descend the Atherstone Flight of 11 locks before the forecast heat kicked in. I woke at 5:15 and we were on the move by 5:45. It was a beautifully still morning. Very quiet, still dark and a mist hanging over the canal. Very atmospheric. A Misty Dawn With the limited visibility we could only move slowly which added to the experience. At Stoneleigh we passed Harvey’s Boat Builder’s, home of the Towpath Alpaca’s. At the awkward bridge 36 we met a boat coming the other way. All too typical. Sometimes you can go an hour and not meet another boat and then at some awkward point, Murphy’s Law dictates you are going to meet someone. Harvey’s Boat Builder’s and the Towpath Alpaca’s We arrived at the locks and just in time as two boats arrived behind us, all with the same idea of getting through them early. We pas
Monday 26 th August 2019 We visited June and Percy this morning on their boat moored in Exhall Basin. They are a wonderfully fascinating couple that we met a few times over the winter. June made lace eyebrows for our front cratch and also painted and decorated our stove chimney lid. We spent a lovely couple of hours with them being regaled with their tales, all of which should be written down or forgotten forever. Percy was born on a boat near Hawkesbury Junction and both have lived, worked on and been associated with the canals all their lives. We feel very lucky to have been accepted by June and Percy and be invited onto their boat. Most older canal people tend to be private people. We watered up, passed through the stop lock and left Sutton Stop behind us once more. The day was largely uneventful, passing over old ground. There were few boats moored in Bedworth and none at all in Nuneaton, speaks volumes. We came upon the old BW Hartshill Yard, heading for the same
Sunday 25 th August 2019 A long day today. We are having the roof repainted at Streethay Wharf near Lichfield while we go on holiday. The boat is booked in for 9 th September but we can be there on 2 nd , which is our intention. We have decided to head there rather than spend time exploring, which is the reason we have travelled the River Thames and Oxford Canal so quickly, and so are putting in some long days. Hire speed we have termed it. When hiring, you set a target and have to go for it, long days cruising no matter what the weather. We were moored just before Hillmorton Locks when Brenda received the news of Peter’s death, so she was not looking forward to passing through there again. For that reason, we left the mooring early, with Brenda still in bed, hoping to reach the locks before she stirred. It was nice to be moving early before any other boats were about and over now familiar ground. Unfortunately, Brenda appeared just as we reached the mooring site she
Saturday 24 th August 2019 A busy day today it seemed. Brenda went to the butchers to pick up the vacuum packed meat while I revisited the Top Lock Shop. After taking on water we moved into the marina for fuel and gas. Staff in this marina, we have found, are largely disinterested to say the least. We took on a gas bottle and had started to refuel when it was noticed on the pump that they only give fuel at the 60/40 split and the price was £1.20. Shocking. And the declared fuel split is absolutely nothing to do with them. It is between yourself as a boater and the Government, sellers of fuel are purely the middle men. We promptly stopped fuelling, paid our money and left. We stopped off at Midland Chandlers to part with more money. We bought engine oil and hull blackening paint apart from a few other bits and bobs. We also looked at their reclining chairs. We had bought our armchairs from Next, they had to be ordered and were expensive, but we have found them to be too
Friday 23 rd August 2019 We spent the day in Braunston. Such a nice place, Braunston and special within canal circles, full of history. We do enjoy the place, the people are friendly and we were surprised at the number of people who actually recognised and remembered us. The only trouble being, the canal sits in a dip and there is neither phone, internet or TV reception. Brenda visited the butcher and put in our order for vacuum packing. The butcher’s wife recognised her and duly called him out. He had taken Brenda’s advice and has lost 3 ½ stone, feels better for it and doesn’t even miss his suet. She then took the bus into Daventry for her prescriptions. Straightforward this time, with no hassles. I visited the Top Lock Shop, Tradline where I met my fiend Karen again, and Midland Chandlers. Tradline is a fascinating place, a bit of an Aladdin’s Cave. They sell all manner of ropes and boat tackle and make rope work to order, fenders etc. Karen was, once again, ver
Thursday 22 nd August 2019 We had a slow start to the day. I walked the dog to visit with people from the pub last night for the name of the polish they use on their boat. Auto Glym products I have not seen before. Their boat is 13 years old and the finish is still immaculate, due to this polish. We had wanted to water below the bottom lock, but a boat had moored across both water points. Never mind, we can always water in Braunston. We were covering round we had been over a number of times over the winter. Napton was actually the closing of a great big, 9 month, 653 miles circle. Napton passed behind us and the windmill was soon lost to view. There was nothing of any significance about the run to Braunston although it felt good to pass the mo0rings at Flecknoe. We spent time here in the in the winter and enjoyed the peace and solitude of the canal. Today the whole line of moorings were occupied with no room at all.
Wednesday 21 st August 2019 We really did not get a feel for Fenny Compton although, other than to walk the dog, neither of us ventured far. It just seemed an odd place and we were glad to leave. We cruised from Fenny Compton to Napton, a distance of 8 miles by canal. The countryside is lovely but villages keep their distance and in that respect, there is little to see. Between bridges 134 and 133, the canal makes a curve around the site of the Medieval Village of Wormleighton. Of course, there is no longer anything to be seen of the village but the ground is very broken and the grass a different colour. No doubt from the air, foundations etc can be seen. The canal meanders on its course with some great sweeping curves and others very tight, a few actually making the canal double back on itself. At one point of the day, after covering almost 3 miles, we were just a mile away in a straight line. Beyond bridge 128 there was a huge construction site with diggers, ea
Tuesday 20 th August 2019 We left the moorings quite early and stopped at the Sanitary Station. The state of the bins was awful, but apparently, it was because for the recent Music Festival. Just as we were about to leave for the neighbouring lock, another boat passed us. Not much harm done though, when we got to the lock there were actually three boats in line ahead of us, so a long wait ensued. The day was a steady progression of locks. The one at Cropredy was followed a mile later, by a group of three, then a further mile on, came the five closely grouped Claydon locks beyond which was the 11 summit of the Oxford Canal before the long descent to Coventry. The Oxford Canal was built as an early contour canal. following the lay of the land. Although the course had been twisting and turning since Oxford, it becomes really apparent once the summit is reached. The views were at first, wide and open. Between Broadmoor and Varney’s Locks were many old working boats al
Monday 19 th August 2019 We both had a restless night last night and were up a lot. However, we quite enjoy a cup of tea and a chat in the middle of the night. Harvey wasn’t bothered. As soon as we got out of bed he was straight in there, buried in our nice fresh bedding. I noticed this morning when out with the dog, a new marina being dug across the canal. One thought says not another, whereas another thought says it should take more boats off the canal moorings. We cleaned the boat through, Brenda called into the village shop and I put another coat of wood stain on the top for the sewing table in the front cratch. Phil and Michelle had arranged to call in on us, it was so good to see them. It seems ages since we had any visitors. They had been to Birmingham to collect one of Phil’s guns. We had lunch on the boat using our Old Country Roses crockery including the teapot and cups and saucers. We don’t use these very often but it always feels nice when we do. And a c
Sunday 18 th August 2019 We had kippers and poached eggs for breakfast. Love kippers but not when you taste them all day. We were also treated to a dazzling light display in the boat. It is lovely when this happens. With the sun in the right direction, and at the correct angle, the light off the water shimmers across the ceiling and the reflections from the crystal ware and glass mosaic oil burner sparkle over the walls and ceiling. We had a very short run into Cropredy, less than 2 miles and through the one lock. We have not been doing too well at keeping our Sunday’s and so were stopping here and visiting the pub prior to our dinner. Cropredy is one of the must-visit places on the canal system. Well known for its annual Folk Festival which was held over last weekend. We had heard stories of boats being moved to Cropredy in May, on 48 hour moorings, and left there as accommodation over the weekend of the f
Saturday 17 th August 2019 We had a short cruise into Banbury where we moored at bridge 168 for a visit to Morrison’s. It so easy when the supermarket is just across the canal bridge. We made two visits, one for food and groceries, the other for dog food and alcohol. We then moved a short distance to the sanitary station for all the necessaries, washing the bedding at the same time. We had to hold the boat against the bank for a long time while another boat was doing their business. It turned out the woman had gone shopping! As it happened, Brenda visited the nearby Post Office for our mail while doing the servicing, but protocol would have said to move if another boat arrived. Our holiday tickets have arrived. Banbury Lock followed the sanitary station and a lift bridge immediately afterwards, the canal here passing right next to Banbury’s Castle Quays shopping mall. Tooley’s Boatyard is located next to the lift bridge and in the midst of the shopping mall. This