Tuesday July 30 Dog & Doublet
to Fazeley Junction (3 ½ miles, 3 locks)
After
a weekend to celebrate Flo's 89th
Birthday, we returned to Annie, John with a slight hangover! Dull but
dry, so we set off to find the locks set. Liana had a nice chat with
the lady living by the bottom lock. The rain started, so Liana
steered while John put on his waterproofs and brolly. By Fazeley it
was time to stop, as the weather was horrid. Later we bought fish &
chips close by, for a change. The Mill craft shops had all gone,
sadly. With heavy rain falling, we stayed. John felt ill overnight
….. we think fatty foods don't help. At least Liana slept well.
Wednesday July 31 Fazeley
Junction to Polesworth
We slept in and set off late, now it was dry. Liana checked the
junction, John came round the corner and a moored boat set off just
behind him, surprising him when he looked back!
Liana and others walked the mile to the two Glascote locks, where
there was a queue above and below. Boats took turns and crossed over
in the central pound, which worked well, despite one impatient boater
who didn't want to wait for an oncoming boat to enter our lock. It
took a while, but we had a pleasant social event!
We cruised on but stopped at Polesworth, at our previous mooring, as
clouds darkened. We had lunch and stayed here, as we both felt tired.
Binge watched Downton Abbey bluray set, which we have just discovered
we like.
Thursday 1 August Polesworth to
Atherstone and on to Sutton Stop
John spotted six boats all pointing our way, when an early boat woke
him, so set off just before 0800, much to Liana's surprise. She had
thought he was starting the engine to charge our failing batteries.
These cut out the inverter when less than about 91% charge, which
seems weird. Even if they are only 18 months old, it seems that they
have had it, or at least some of them have. John is investigating
replacements, but the best cost a fortune. It was only two miles to
the eleven Atherstone locks, but we didn't find a queue, happily,
although boats were ahead of us. An Australian family in the boat
behind helped us up the first two locks, but we got into a steady
rhythm and ascended the locks fine, despite a family of ducklings
trying to die in one lock with Annie. John managed to shoo them out
without harm, eventually. Three volunteers helped us at the top lock.
We watered Annie partly, but the tap was slow. John did Loo tanks and
Liana did rubbish, The Australian family appeared half an hour later.
Sister Alison arrived, and she and Liana went for our car, taking one
car to Cropredy, Oxfordshire and returning in the other to Sutton
Stop. John took Annie along the long pound through Nuneaton and
Bedworth, past Marston Junction. Arriving at Hawkesbury Junction, he
turned Annie and Liana helped her through the Sutton Stop stop lock.
After mooring, we adjourned to the Greyhound for a couple of pints.
Played Settlers of Catan and watched more Downton Abbey later.
Friday 2 August Hawkesbury to
below Hillmorton locks (12 miles, 0 locks)
It's a pleasant, quietly pretty route to Hillmorton. First, after the
electricity sub station, you see the M6 and Wyken Arm, now moorings.
Anstey has a scenic embankment above the houses. Many loops were cut
off about 1830, when they shortened the convoluted 43 mile route by
15 miles! Picturesque Horseley iron bridges sometimes mark their
disappearance into the undergrowth. John had to take speedy avoiding
action when a hire boat appeared at a bridge hole on a corner. Some
offside vegetation was overgrown, and John was taking Annie through a
short narrow section when an oncoming boat came on regardless. As the
grey haired steerer was heading straight for Annie, John moved to
scrape along the side and the two boats JUST missed colliding by
inches, as the other steerer turned, too. John commented as we passed
“Perhaps you could have waited in that wider part back there, Sir”.
He could have said more! He was ready for a glass of red wine once we
moored up short of the locks at Hillmorton. Chinese Chicken, peas and
new potatoes went down well, as did the big helpings of strawberries
and cream – yum!
Saturday August 3 up Hillmorton
locks to Braunston and the South Oxford Canal (7 ½ miles, 3 locks)
Liana and Ali operated the locks themselves this fine morning. We met
a solitary CRT volunteer at the top lock. John backed Annie to avoid
a nice Steve Hudson boat emerging, then entered. Once up, we motored
through mainly pleasant countryside to Braunston, apart from the big
building programme where the Hillmorton masts used to be. John had
his third near miss in three days when a lady driving a hire boat
came round the corner, panicked and went into reverse, which resulted
in her boat slowing but carrying on remorselessly, straight towards
the middle of Annie! John revved up and turned Annie quickly around
the other boat, just avoiding getting T Boned! He did comment
“Normally it's the lady who dances around the gentleman!” with a
smile, as we parted.
John visited the Midland Chandlers, we moored near bridge 99 after
the Old Turn and had lunch. John typed up this blog, before we set
off towards Napton. Finding a pleasant country mooring after bridge
99, we used chains on the armco and got the chairs out. Liana played
her computer game, Ali read and John had a beer and admired the view
of the wheatfield.
Sunday August 4 from bridge 99
past Wigrams Turn and up the Napton Flight to Marston Doles and on
past bridge 129 Wormleighton (12 miles, 9 locks)
The night had been stormy, with thunder, lightning and rain. It was a
lovely morning, and John set off at 8am the 5 ½ miles to Napton
Locks, passing loads of moored boats. We saw a magnificent dairy herd
of what looked like dark oak brown water buffalo, with big horns like
an Irish harp. We must look up the breed, which was unfamiliar to
John. This section of canal is like the centre bar in a capital
letter “H”, being used by both the Oxford canal and Grand Union
Canal, so is very busy. We saw lots of hire boats. Annie passed
through the tightish Shuckburgh turns uneventfully. At Napton we
chatted with various folk including hire boaters who were son and
grandchildren of the owner of Napton narrowboats, grabbing a free
holiday from grandad! John helped two CRT men reach a dead sheep in
one pound, by using the propeller to push the sheep towards the
towpath. It worked! Reaching the top, we watched a helicopter taking
off from behind the buildings there – obviously high flying
business executives. We stopped half a mile beyond for lunch, at a
favourite mooring spot. John likes the twisty summit level, which has
nine miles on one page of Pearson's guide, instead of the customary
four! Sadly, the scenery after bridge 126 has been blighted by HS2,
as the train tracks should cross the canal near bridge 128, ruining
the isolated peace here. We moored just after bridge 129, with a
lovely view across the shallow valley North of the canal in the
evening sun. We played our nightly games of Settlers of Catan,
followed by an episode of Downton in WW1, rather sad. John has
started reading Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve, suggested by
daughter Sarah – a weird tale of cities which move across a
post-apocalyptic world on caterpillar tracks, but interesting –
thank you! Liverpool lost to Man City on penalties after a quality
match for the Community Shield :(
Monday August 5 Along the South
Oxford Canal through Wormleighton to Claydon Locks and Cropredy (8
miles, 8 locks, Engine hours EH 3874)
With Ali watching at the tight corners and bridgeholes, we enjoyed
the unspoilt rural countryside for over six miles, until we reached
Claydon. The sunny start to the day slowly clouded over as the day
progressed, but it was a lovely trip today. At Fenny Compton we
stopped for water behind a boat moored on the water point, so John
had to bang in a pin to moor the boat stern. Although it was
approaching 10am, the chap came up grumbling about us waking him! He
answered John when he asked if there was an Elsan point, but
proceeded to grumble and use F words near the girls, as he moved his
boat with bad grace. Liana did a “speak to the hand!” gesture,
which quietened him.
We passed into Oxfordshire from Warwickshire at the first Oxford
Canal lift bridge we met. At Claydon top lock, the old Oxford Canal
Co warehouse was being converted tastefully to a cottage. We joined a
small queue,chatted to fellow boaters and the time passed pleasantly
down the five locks, which are close together in a “thick”. We
passed a workboat between locks 2 and 3, and an oncoming boater
between locks 4 and 5. John made tea for us to drink in the mile
before our last locks. We passed slowly down the last three locks,
behind two other boats. One oncoming steerer advised us where there
was still free mooring space, before and opposite the new marina,
just after these locks and before the village. This we found to be
true.
Having found a reasonable rough bank mooring, we used four paired
mooring pins to secure front and back (bow and stern to matelots),
plus two single pins to secure spring ropes. Hopefully these should
help stop the main mooring pins coming out as boats pass.
Walking the short distance to Ali's car, parked by bridge 150 at the
bottom of the locks, we checked out the Brasenose Arms in Cropredy.
The Sausage and Mash, Gammon steak and Chicken Diane were ok, and the
beer was fine. The local convenience store nearby had wine at £10 a
bottle, rather than about £6, and bottles of Hobgoblin for £2.99,
rather than £1.25 …. was the owner's name Turpin? We gave it a
miss. I am sure they will sell out this weekend, anyway.
In the evening we played Settlers of Catan for the last time: Liana 5
games, Ali 3, John only 2 :(
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