Wednesday 12 June 2013

Sunshine cruising.

IMG_3431“Oakfield”

The sun was up early and so were we, there were a couple of boats that sneaked past us before we could pull out though. We followed nb Copperkins down the last 6 Atherstone locks and luckily there was a steady stream of boats coming up, so swapping locks and saving water worked well. We moored up just beyond B50 in a quiet country place. I cut the grass back along the side of the boat to finish off the painting along the gunnels.

IMG_3433A boat made for one!

When I had finished I sat on the towpath sunning myself with my book and a cup of tea brought out by the cabin boy! This unusual little boat cruised by with a big wooden tiller arm reminiscent of those on the old working butties. Looks like he has extra long arms, doesn’t it? We have spotted quite a few hares on the edges of the fields here and up the Ashby Canal.

       IMG_3435                      IMG_3436  Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, and the Coventry Canal to the right.

We moored on the long straight between the aqueduct and Fazeley Junction where the swans and signets came to spend the night on the grassy bank opposite. As there are generally quite a few boats moving over the weekends we stayed put. We donned the shorts and made the most of the hot sunny weekend. Hoards of people walked, jogged and cycled along the gritty towpath, consequently Oakfield is now covered in dust. There is a little handy Tesco Express within easy reach of the junction for boater’s shopping.  

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