Narrowboat Oakfield

Hillmorton.

2012-01-26T15:14:00.000Z

A Tesco van stopped briefly while the two chaps had a walk round on the grass verge. The sheep thought they had brought their hay delivery and flocked over there baaing loudly. During my walk around I did my towpath tidy collecting about a dozen beer cans en-route.

After depositing the rubbish I walked over the bridge and it seems that the old house is undergoing renovation and the garden has also been tidied up.

Next I strolled around the churchyard of St John the Baptist parts of which date back to the 13 Century. The lovely old red sandstone tower has a peel of six bells that are still in working order. I got chatting to a gardener there who told me his wife was soon to take over as vicar. The graveyard has been stripped of all it’s gravestones and they have been re-sited around the circular perimeter fence. There are several old Yew trees interspersed with Crocuses, Snowdrops and these yellow flowers just emerging from their winter rest.

Badsey’s Bistro is closed for January and February as the owners are carrying out renovations. We look forward to them re-opening as their food is fabulous.

Afternoon-amble.

2012-01-24T21:08:00.001Z

During our afternoon stroll Saffi and Crystal greeted the friendly ponies over the fence.

Further down at Hilmorton middle lock BW had pumped the water from above the top gates to work on the ground paddles.

Baking.

2012-01-23T18:33:00.000Z

I’ve made Boat Cakes, Ginger Cakes and Cheese Scones, but the quickest thing I have ever made are Palmiers from a recipe that Betty had given me. It is just puff pastry bought ready made rolled out fairly thinly, spread with Pesto and sprinkled with a layer of finely grated cheese. Then it is rolled up, either as a whole to make rounds, or sides to middle which make ‘Elephants Ears’. I did both. Cut into thin slices about a quarter of an inch thick and cooked on a baking tray for about 10 mins at 200C. They would make an ideal party food snack that would only take about half an hour to complete! You can also make sweet versions too, have a look on Wikipedia.

Walkabout.

2012-01-22T18:32:00.001Z

While at Rugby I had a pleasant walk up the disused arm of the canal starting near The Bell and Barge Inn opposite the water tap. The area between Masters Bridge and the footbridge is marked in our Nicholson's Guide as a winding hole, but we wouldn’t attempt to turn Oakfield there. The water was crystal clear just after the surface ice on the canal melted revealing many dumped trolleys squashed and embedded into the mud beneath. I crossed the footbridge and meandered along the muddy towpath. There was a slight flow on the water towards the canal and watercress was growing there just out of reach. Turning left before I reached the end I saw the entrance into the Swift Valley Country Park. Someone had used the old tree stump to very good effect by carving a Green Man into it.

Gosty Hill came by and topped up our diesel and coal supplies while I was cooking the Ginger Cakes. Iain began to drool as he could smell them, so we gave him and Alison one for their tea, which apparently only lasted them two days!

Frosty window.

2012-01-19T10:52:00.001Z

There had been heavy frosts for days and the canal had frozen over during the nights, but on Wednesday the ice had melted away a little. We had a quick dash down to Tesco with the trolley for a few missing items of food. Then we pulled onto the opposite bank to attend to the loo and rubbish before leaving Rugby for a quieter mooring place. You may have guessed that the noisy building work beside the canal is still going on. As there is some space left they will eventually cover that with flats or houses too. Lynne and I had had a brisk walk into Rugby to meet with Betty for a nice long chat over coffee midweek.

Through the cold spell, with the ground being frozen solid for days, Oakfield is keeping cosy and inside. Bottle started a loaf off in the bread maker to cook en-route. Also, while we travelled along slowly through the floating sheets of ice I did some cleaning and hung the washing up to dry. It’s amazing how the trusty Squirrel dries the washing hanging in the saloon overnight.

The sun is beaming through the portholes and it is now time for morning coffee whilst doing the crossword, so bye for now.

Tesco's Trolleys.

2012-01-16T13:47:00.001Z

Well I toddled off down to see Richard the manager at Tesco's Rugby store, but he was on holiday this week, so I spoke to Lee his deputy. After a lengthy discussion with him, he assured me that they would seek a solution to the problem. He already has two ideas which he will put forward to HQ. He took my e-mail and blog address, so I look forward to hearing from him very soon!

The top picture shows the trolley barrier and the footpath that leads up to the new housing estate and the canal. The other picture is of the Grunt and Groan Team flexing their muscles heaving trolleys out.

Surely it will be worth Tesco’s cutting down on their continual trolley losses, even a small trolley costs £120 to replace. So, how many food items would they have to sell to recoup the £120 I wonder?

Us narrow boaters have our own shopping trolleys for trundling our supplies back up the footpath to our boats. I do know that many of us visit Tesco’s and spend a great deal of money stocking up our larders. So, come on Tesco, please find a solution to trolleys being dumped in the canal here, because WE’RE WORTH IT!

Trolley Dollies.

2012-01-15T13:44:00.001Z

You may remember that we posted last year about the problem of Tesco trolleys that end up under Masters Bridge at Rugby. Well this morning Paul and Bottle went along with a mooring hook on a rope. Between them they pulled the four mangled trolleys out that they could reach. I went along too, as photographer and reporter.

We managed to heap the damaged trolleys onto the least bent one and wobbled them down the long footpath through the car park, where we attracted quite a bit of attention.

Then into the foyer of Tesco's where we left them to go in to have ‘discussions’ with the manager. We spoke to a relief manager from another store called Julie who said she would pass on our concerns. I have made several visits to the store to see the manager Richard who seems to be rather illusive. The last time I spoke to the deputy manager Rosie, who was a very nice girl who said Richard was in a meeting and she would tell him about the squashed trolleys in the canal.

Tomorrow Richard is rumoured to be in-store, so I will try and see him then! I am quite determined to get some thing done about this, however long it takes.

Winter Warmers.

2012-01-11T13:41:00.001Z

Well, we are all geared up for a cold snap if we are going to get one now.

The new Covent Garden Souper Greens soup is quite delicious, even though it also has water and potato in it too! I can also recommend their Carrot and Coriander and Winter Vegetable varieties too. They are about £2 a carton, so are a tad expensive, but I always treat myself when they come on offer for half that price. Makes a nice meal on it’s own with a crusty roll if your not up to cooking something.

I already had a pair of these 2.3 tog socks which my daughter gave me last Christmas. They are good and keep my feet warm and toasty. I now have three pairs and have also bought some for for Bottle. They can be found in the street markets, but I recently found some in Tesco's for £6 per pair.

Friends and Bloggers.

2012-01-10T18:34:00.001Z

Having spent a few days in the good company of Piston Broke and Tranquility we said our goodbyes and left our mooring at Hillmorton as we needed to fill with water. Our tank only holds 130 gallons which is fairly small we think. The washing machine was started and I had a quick shower while we filled our tank, which took about an hour. It was probably rather slow because another boat was using the other tap. We had the third lock set for us as a couple with four dogs, they were moving holiday boats down but weren’t ready to enter the lock. They very kindly let us go first and helped us lock down. It was a brilliant day for cruising and we met up with Del and Al for a long chat, after which they set off too. As you can see the water was mirror smooth today as they slowly glided past us.

Awww, lovely!

As we passed by this unusual shaped boat by Clifton Cruisers there was someone at work inside and they gave us a wave.

Hmmm, Shepherds Pie for dinner this evening I think, so bye for now.

Rock and Roll.

2012-01-07T16:11:00.001Z

Oakfield has definitely been rocking about at times in this stormy weather. Today though there is sun and some blue sky and the sheep have been walked over from the field opposite to pastures new. Saturday is usually a relaxing day for us starting with ‘Sounds of the Sixties’, walking, cleaning, reading and catching up on the internet blogs that we follow. joining the hoards of Saturday shoppers is not for us. We have also been frequently flexing the bus passes as it is not much fun cruising in such weather conditions. Hillmorton is a convenient palace to moor as buses run every fifteen minutes from just up the road into Rugby. From there we have accessed buses to Coventry, Braunston and Daventry. Rugby and Daventry have weekly street markets and there is a huge indoor market at Coventry, plus all the usual large superstores to peruse. Many improvements are being made here around the Lady Godiva and Transport Museum areas in readiness for the Olympics.

Although the three locks here are all duplicate ones, one side has been locked off, presumably because of the water shortage. The signpost opposite Granthams Bridge points left to Oxford 62 1/4 and Banbury 33 1/2 and right to Coventry 22 miles, but you’d need binoculars to read the small lettering from your boat as it passes by.

Badsey’s Bistro looking good in the sunshine.

Snowdrops.

2012-01-04T19:00:00.000Z

It’s lovely to see that the snowdrops have appeared already. I do hope this is a sign that Spring is on it’s way, or are we in for some more icy wintry weather, because we haven’t had much of that yet?

During the Summer months we had quite a few Ladybirds hitching a lift aboard Oakfield. Today though is dull, dark, very windy and raining horizontal ‘cats and dogs’ at times. We think you could ease off on the rain dance a bit now Dave!

So, it’s lucky that we can take it in turns to host afternoon tea, usually followed by an alcoholic beverage, with our friends on their boats. I don’t know what we find to chatter about , but we always do somehow. The Squirrel is still ticking over gently in the corner making everything cosy and warm.

Family time.

2012-01-03T18:44:00.001Z

We were so excited as we were off to spend time in a ‘house’ with our daughter, her partner and our Grandson. The latest member of their family is a kitten who is aptly named ‘Pickle’.

Here he is peeping out of his cosy little Igloo which is also his retreat for a quiet time by himself. He also has this new fluffy bed which hangs on the radiator in the kitchen. Although he is already well trained he is still very lively and playful.

You may notice that the Christmas tree is bereft of decorations, except for tiny lights, and the ribbon is rather askew as he thought it was great fun to rearrange it. When we played the football game Pickle joined in too, pawing the ball into the goal several times. We exchanged presents and spent our time reading stories, doing puzzles and playing games with everyone. I volunteered to bath my Grandson, not realising that it was his first ever bubble bath. Needless to say he enjoyed it so much that I got extremely wet too. The time passes by so quickly when you are enjoying yourself and you just don’t realise how tired you have become, until your head hits the pillow at night. Thank you for a wonderful action packed time,’that’s the way to do it’!

Stowaways.

2012-01-01T17:03:00.001Z

We have been busy since our last posting enjoying time spent in the company of family and friends. We would like to thank everyone for their festive greetings sent by snail-mail, e-mail, text, and phone. Thanks to our blog reader Dave for wishing upon us much rain so that we could cruise freely along without bottoming out! Unfortunately we had a whole weeks worth on Friday and got rather soaked! Apart from a couple of visits to the Boat Inn at Braunston we have spent a quiet time on board doing our own thing.

Some evidence of stowaways was found in the front locker of our cratch where there were two neatly constructed balls. Obviously a mouse, or mice, had found their way on board and chewed up parts of my mop and polishing cloth and made a couple of cosy little nests. I think they may have been attracted by the fat balls that I had out there for the birds food. Anyway after clearing everything out, I think that they have now jumped ship and gone back to their country habitat, hopefully!

It is difficult to find things to write about on the blog especially as we are not cruising so much or taking as many photos either.

So, while we are idling in partial hibernation, cheers to you all for 2012, make the most of your year wherever you are!

Greetings everyone.

2011-12-24T17:49:00.001Z

This was the snow scene at the beginning of December last year when we were all iced in for weeks. This year is much milder and we are all able to cruise freely about without crunching through ice. Yesterday it was windy and raining all day so we stayed on board and I cooked Ginger Cake. Paul and Lynne came for afternoon tea and Paul was a bit bedraggled having got some new fishing tackle and been fishing for a couple of hours. He was quite happy with his catch however, forty-six fish in total, amazing. Eight of us met up in the pub in the afternoon to chat over drinks and a snack with much jollity.

Tomorrow we will all be in hibernation aboard our own boats with good food and some Christmas tipple to help us over the festive season. We shall enjoy chatting to friends and family on the phone as usual too.

Here are a couple of pictures of a spectacular sunrise we took recently within a few minutes of each other. Luckily it didn't live up to the old saying, ‘Red sky in the morning Shepherds warning’.

We would like to send our warmest wishes to our friends and families here and in Australia, fellow bloggers and all of you who follow our ramblings here on our Oakfield blog.

Have a Jolly Christmas and may we all look forward to a Peaceful New Year.

A right pain in the…

2011-12-22T18:06:00.001Z

I had picked up a form from the new dentist in Daventry I had their phone number.

A filling had fallen out that I knew I would need treatment, then the unbearable pain set in.

So I rang the number and was asked if I had a swollen face or difficulty breathing.

No, just toothache I reply, ok we will try and fit you in she says. I hadn’t heard anything the next day so I rang to ask when they might fit me in and was told they run a ‘Triage’ assessment.

When I asked what that meant she said I would have to wait for someone to cancel their appointment. Finding their advice unbelievable I tried another dentist recommended by our friends.

Their approach was much more positive and friendly. After filling out the form and paying £17 in advance they gave me an appointment for the following day.

I went in, my teeth were all checked, the dentist took x-rays and while they were being processed she cleaned around my teeth.

She told me there were no abscesses or infection present and she would fill the tooth straight away for £30.

Absolutely marvellous and all finished in about half an hour!

So I can highly recommend the Oradi Dental Practice in Daventry they are truly amazing.

All on our tod.

2011-12-19T15:53:00.001Z

There was a layer of ice over the canal this morning and rain was forecast for the rest of the day with an icy breeze, so we decided to stay put.

However our friends took off without us, so it will be even quieter here now. Iain and Alison came by on Gosty Hill and we called out our Christmas Greetings to each other. There is a jacket potato wrapped in tin foil in the ash pan for me and some left over chicken for Bottles mid-day sandwich,mmm. When all our jobs are done we can settle down by the fire to catch up on reading our forums, books and magazines. A lovely way to spend the afternoon accompanied by the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof.

Around Foxes Gate.

2011-12-19T12:37:00.000Z

This is the view towards our moorings from Bridge 100, which has been unofficially named by boaters as Foxes Gate. We haven’t seen any foxes here, so maybe someone will know how the area acquired this name?

On the Puddle Banks the sunken boat is still firmly embedded into the bottom of the canal and another one moored nearby has also flooded.

Since our cruises over the last two years down the Oxford Canal this house has been taking shape. We have watched the steady progress in creating this lovely timber framed house with the thatched roof and it still seems to be unfinished.

Maffi and Molly.

2011-12-18T12:36:00.001Z

Saturday we had a text, ‘where are you’? It was Maffi who said he would be with us at at 3pm and he was. After five hours cruising from Rugby they must have been frozen, so Bottle helped him moor up and Molly the Wonder-dog bounded aboard followed by her master. Apparently she knows us as ‘the biscuit boat’, so after a drink, a biscuit and much stroking she curled up on the mat in front of the fire and dozed off. We chatted non stop over tea, cake and evening meal washed down with much Guinness until bedtime. This morning we joined them on the Milly M for a farewell mug of tea. Maffi donned all his warm gear making him look nearly twice the size, we had a sharp overnight and it was bitterly cold again today. The sun came out and with Molly atop the boat in her bed with a warm blanket over her they waved goodbye till next year.

We love seeing them and Maffi always has many stories to tell about all the people he has met while cruising. He has also done a massive amount of litter picking from the canal tow paths and we are encouraged to do the same. It would be nice if people had the intelligence to take their rubbish to a bin but unfortunately many can’t be bothered. So, it was lovely to see you Maffi and we thank you for all your hard work in trying to keep the canals tidy. If everyone did just a little litter-picking it could make a BIG difference.

‘Three Amigos’ re-named.

2011-12-15T21:38:00.001Z

This is ‘Gongoozlers Rest’ the little floating cafe that cooks your food in their tiny kitchen at the back. Last year the boat underwent an overhaul and it will also be closed for all of January while the work is finished off.

Our three boats, Piston Broke, Tranquility and Oakfield were all moored pointing in the direction of Braunston Junction. One by one we have cruised our way ‘daan saath’ and are now moored all in a row by Foxes Gate a nice peaceful spot surrounded by beautiful countryside. The views are amazing, even the old cement factory in Rugby looks good from here!

We were the last to leave this morning as we had waited for ‘Gosty Hill’ to come with coal and diesel yesterday. We made our way along to Braunston Marina for a pump out £12 for 8½ minutes, got rid of our old oil in their re-cycling tank, also deposited our rubbish and recycled our glass.

While we waited for our water tank to fill outside the Stop House we ordered bacon sandwiches from ‘Gongoozlers Rest’. These came piping hot accompanied by their speciality mini chips all wrapped in tinfoil, yum! A welcome winter warmer with a cup of tea which we finished just before our tank was full.

Although our cruise down was sunny, the icy wind was pretty chilling, good job we were prepared by adding several extra layers of clothes. We saw Kestrels hovering and Fieldfares gorging on berries. On arrival our friends gave us a wave and we were invited round for tea and freshly baked Apple Cake, Betty’s bi-annual treat! Now that Graham is also sporting a beard and moustache, I think we should be re-named, ‘The Three Greybeards!’

Narrow boat Lucy.

2011-12-13T12:14:00.000Z

Here we can see either side of Lucy’s back cabin which still retains some of the paintwork.

As I had found some pictures of nb Lucy during her working days in an old magazine I took it to the yard. They were pleased to accept the item as it would all help with information and details of who had worked and lived on her. Today they were preparing to winch her over to the other side of the yard to make space for nb Clent to be brought out onto the bank for work to be carried out.

Here you can see Lucy’s front end as she is being prepared for the gentle move across. Nb Clent is in the foreground wearing a “nappy” in order to stop water ingress.

Lucy sank on the Puddle Banks nearby and was bought and rescued in 2009 by Peter Boyce of Phobox. The holes in her hull were all blocked up and then they were able pump her out and float her up to Braunston Marina. She was then craned out and taken by road to the London Road yard where restoration is taking place.

For more information look at www.phobox.com/lucy/

Friends and Family.

2011-12-12T17:12:00.001Z

We got our tiny Christmas tree out and put the twinkly lights up all around the boat, so we now we are prepared for the silly season. Our daughter and grandson came for the day on Friday to help Bottle celebrate his birthday. We spent the whole day onboard playing, reading stories and chatting. Of course every time a boat passed by a call of, ’Grampy, boat’ would be heard, so Grampy had to lift the little person up to see it and to wave. I made a tasty Shepherds Pie with vegetables for lunch and Boat Cake for our tea. The day went quickly as we were all enjoying ourselves so much, it was lovely to see them again.

As it was also our friends birthday on the same day we had arranged to meet up for an evening meal at The Boathouse. So with the crews of nb Piston Broke, nb Tranquility, nb Ellen there were eight of us altogether. We had only ever passed within shouting distance of John and Angela on nb Ellen, so it was nice to get to chat to them at last. The meals were from the two-for–one menu and none of us could resist having pudding either. The bill was very reasonable and we spent a really lovely evening together. We came out to a sharp frost and walking back along the canal towpath we could see that the water was icing over. However it melted away during the next day. Our friends came around for afternoon tea today as they had smelt the boat cake cooking the previous day!

Winter’s here.

2011-12-05T21:06:00.001Z

As we have had a few frosty mornings I’ve got the Porridge in. These Jumbo oats are lovely, but I like them chewy and undercooked. Then I add a ‘gert’ spoonful of Honey that I bought while passing through the top lock at Tyreley, mmm nice. I may even use some of the oats for making flapjacks.

Working on the Waterways.

2011-12-02T14:05:00.001Z

The fuel boat Gosty Hill gently pulled alongside in the sunshine on Wednesday morning to inject our tank with diesel.

Caleb and Bosun were keeping watch as usual from the ‘catwalk’ on the top of their boat. Alison had gone shopping so we chatted to Iain for sometime. Their lovely old working boat, along with the business that they have built up over several years, is up for sale. Iain said he has already had an offer, as long as Alison was included, ha,ha,ha !

They travel during the winter months selling diesel and coal to a great number of customers on the Oxford Canal between Claydon and Atherstone, including the Ashby Canal Arm. This is such a vital and much appreciated service to the permanent moorers and continuous cruisers all along this route. We shall miss their courteous, friendly approach, but whoever takes over from them will naturally acquire all their loyal customers.

Although we shall miss them we will look forward to seeing them as we continue to cruise around the canal system. So, if you are looking for an interesting, profitable job with accommodation included there is a great opportunity here. Have a look at http://rugbyboats.co.uk/narrowboats-for-sale.php if you are interested.

Two years ago in the ice, having just descended Hillmorton Locks.

Rugby.

2011-11-30T12:07:00.000Z

Mr Kipling's exceedingly good cupcake sculpture on the roundabout has been re-designed. We took the long walk into Rugby today and the Christmas street decorations are looking nice. Although there was a sharp frost last night it was a bright beautiful day for walking. Rugby was busy and the market stalls were stretched out all along the main street.

As we approached the town we could see that the old cinema on the corner was being demolished. Wonder what plans there are for that space?

The mooring for the water tap here is so difficult to get onto without getting wet feet. The edging has all eroded away and the bottom of the boat grates on the underwater stones as the tank fills up. I think I will point this out to BW/C+RT to try and get some firm edging put in.

I will also be contacting Tesco about their useless trolley barrier. So many trolleys have been wheeled up the footpath and dumped into the canal by Masters Bridge 58. Many boaters I have spoken to have grounded over abandoned trolleys underwater there. We spoke to the BW man who came with his grappling iron to retrieve the stuff and he said they are called to do so regularly.

One positive thing has been done here recently, the Elsan point for boaters has been reopened at last.

Breakfast.

2011-11-29T12:06:00.001Z

Nothing like free foraged mushrooms for breakfast, is there? Here is the best of the bunch looking like one of natures special sculptures.

I remember a friend buying a whole fish for dinner. Before cooking and eating it though, he painted it and did a few prints from it.

So, you don’t need to be an artist as you can make prints from almost anything. Potato and leaf printing maybe a cheap way to occupy the children during their school holidays.

Brinklow Church.

2011-11-26T14:01:00.001Z

St John the Baptist Church built in the thirteenth century has records stored in Warwick County records office going back to 1557. It stands between the old Roman Fosse Way and The Castle Mound which was a Norman Motte and Bailey.

It has just over 200 gravestones and luckily for family history researchers there is a handy graveyard plan in the porch. The ornate glazed Minton tiles are Victorian and cover the space behind the altar.

St George stands over the slain dragon with the yellow stained glass teeth, eyes and ears, backlit by the sun shining through. The fine stained glass west window was made by Hardman, installed in 1871 and has 100 faces. It was rather high up for me to be able to find the makers symbol for Hardman. These symbols are usually at the bottom of the window.

An unusual and curious feature here is the slope of the floor which rises up almost twelve feet from West to East. There are two stone Ambos or Pulpits either side of the steps that lead up into the Chancel. The archway is inscribed with a Christmas salutation ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo et in Terra Pax Bonae Coluntatis Hominibus.’

The Oxford Canal was built through the village in the 1790s. The subsequent straightening of the canal bypassed the village leaving a disused arm. A boatyard/narrow boat holiday hire company still thrives beside the main canal. Every time we pass through this area we have to swing a curious little footbridge that leads between the boat builders yard over to the towpath.

We have very much enjoyed mooring at Brinklow as it is peaceful being surrounded by farm fields. The village is interesting with many footpaths and side lanes which we will explore next time around.

Hartshill-Brinklow.

2011-11-25T19:43:00.001Z

Here we are in Spring Haven having our new batteries fitted and our Inverter reset by Kevin of Onboard Energy. He also made up some larger battery leads to replace some of the original ones which were too small. We can recommend Kevin for his friendly reliable service and helpful advice. We stayed here overnight hooked up via our shoreline to the electricity, a luxury indeed. It was so peaceful that we had a very good nights sleep, but it felt very claustrophobic being in a marina. Can you see Oakfield’s smiley face tucked tightly in 2nd from the left? The marina has a beautiful landscaped hillside setting, but as roads are some distance away it is a disadvantage not to have a car here.

Oakfield was pleased to escape back onto the open canal to freely cruise along on a bright autumnal morning. We passed the interesting jumble that goes under the name of Charity Dock near Bedworth.

There are several semi-sunken old working boats here too. We took a break at Hawksbury junction before carrying on to Brinklow.

Oslo is a new looking R W Davis boat which has an elegant tug-style deck.

Once upon a time these travellers may have been ‘New Age’ I suppose.

Brinklow.

2011-11-22T16:48:00.000Z

While we were filling up with water at Newbold I walked down the road to discover that there was a Co-op. I got some milk because we will be miles away from any shops for a while. At Brinklow we met up with our friends Graham and Betty who were on their way south. Long chats over drinks were in order over the next few days. Friday we all walked into Brinklow for a snack at the cafe which was excellent value.

There is quite a mixture of interesting architecture all along the main street, this one was called Fosse Cottage.

The old Fosse Way runs straight through the centre of the village.There is the Cafe/Delicatessen, General Store, a Fish and Chip shop, Chinese Takeaway and two pubs.

These two little cottages are now one and named after the Holly Tree which still grows in the garden.

Here is an interesting row of cottages, the cosy little one in the middle is for sale. On Saturday Betty and I walked up for her newspaper while Graham did a bit of fishing and Bottle was on the laptop of course. Sunday we said our goodbyes as we headed for Hawkesbury Junction and they continued on down to Rugby. We have just enjoyed bacon with bubble and squeak, haven’t had that for ages!

All Oaks Wood.

2011-11-21T16:45:00.000Z

On my walk through All Oaks Wood I found there were quite a variety of toadstools flourishing in these warm damp weather conditions.

I find them fascinating and here is a selection for you to peruse and maybe put names to.

Don’t know what this woodland plant is either, but the Marigolds were growing in a roadside cottage garden.

Whose daring do?

2011-11-20T16:43:00.001Z

Something came aboard and left a message on both of our gunnels overnight. The top picture shows the size of them on the three inch wide gunnel. Unfortunately there were no footprints left behind to give us any sort of clue as to who the culprits were. Perhaps there are some budding Chris Packhams’ out there who can identify the creature responsible.

Walking towards Easenhall I found these two delightful little dragons on the corner of a Lodge Cottage at the entrance to a big house.

About turn!

2011-11-19T11:38:00.001Z

Our batteries are just over two years old and are beginning to fail, we have turned around and heading north again to get some new ones fitted.

Having lit the Squirrel on the cold evenings, we have now got it going permanently until the Spring now. As October and November have been pleasantly warm and sometimes sunny we have saved on using our wood and coal. We will be cruising a little less during the winter months and staying longer wherever we moor our blogs will not be quite so frequent, sorry.

Rugby

2011-11-13T21:03:00.001Z

There had been a bit of heavy pruning going on in the park next to the canal when we arrived. You can see the Willow trees holding up their bare arms to the sky. As Friday was as dull as ditchwater we busied ourselves within the boat for most of the day.

Saturday was much brighter and so we decided to walk into Rugby to browse around the shops and have a snack somewhere. The bridge which we walk over spans many railway lines busy with passenger and freight trains. Once we hit the outskirts there is a lovely park well laid out with flower beds, trees and a children’s play area catering for all ages.

The clock tower stands in the town centre and to the left of it is where the markets are held on the pedestrian streets. We made our way up to Joto’s Toy shop for a look around. There are not many of these old fashioned toy shops around now. The people who run it are very knowledgeable about what they stock and will offer their help when needed. Then on to Wilkinson’s to buy a couple of ceramic non stick ovenproof dishes as mine had cracked.

We like the plaque depicting Rugby’s Industrial Heritage. Needless to say the whole place was alive with Saturday shoppers everywhere. So we made our way to Wetherspoons for a snack and a rest before the long walk back. On Sunday we did a trolley run down the path to Tesco’s for all the bargains. Now we are stocked up to the gunnels with three for two deals! En route we passed a couple of chaps in the new housing estate doing their car maintenance. It was hard not to notice how the sun highlighted their bum cleavages as they bent over their cars, not nice! It is not often that we have a Sunday roast aboard, but I made an exception with chicken, stuffing, green vegetables and roast spuds, very enjoyable. The new dishes worked a treat and are so easy to clean afterwards too.

Monday again and the workmen will be back on the building site making a noise. They have been on site for more than a year now. We look forward to their completion as Oakfield is just blanketed in their dust blowing over.

Newbold.

2011-11-10T10:08:00.000Z

We turned left leaving the Greyhound behind as we passed through Sutton Stop Lock and onto the Oxford Canal.

The Stop Lock is just under twelve inches deep and it’s purpose was twofold in the past. It prevented water escaping from the Oxford Canal into the Coventry Canal and while the boats were passing through they would be charged their canal tolls.

We heard ‘Hadar’ coming before it stuck it’s nose around the corner and pulled over to let Jo and Keith pass chatting as they did so. Then it was on past the large electricity station with it’s pylons striding out in all directions under the wintry skies. I rather like these and hope that they will remain as features in the landscape long into the future.

I liked the dark branches of this half clothed Willow as it spread itself half way over Bridge 11. Having had to pass mooring spots which we found too shallow we spotted a 60’ strip of metal and clamped ourselves to it. We were just short of Newbold by the railway bridge which was rather noisy, but we managed to sleep well anyway as we were very tired.

On Wednesday we set off along through the colourfully lit Newbold Tunnel and saw Maffi and Molly striding along the towpath. So we pulled over to moor up for a natter over tea and cake, it was lovely to see him on the move again.

Hawksbury Junction 2.

2011-11-09T15:42:00.001Z

On Saturday evening the fireworks began just before dusk as we are surrounded by fairly flat land here we could hear them for miles around. They sounded just like popcorn, with an occasional whistle thrown in. Sunday we ventured along into the Greyhound for a delicious, melt in the mouth roast beef dinner, with four fresh vegetables, tasty roast potatoes and huge scrunchy Yorkshire pudding.

As it was a dull damp day on Monday we caught the bus into Coventry arriving in time for coffee at Wetherspoons ‘The Flying Standard’.

IKEA was a long walk over to the other side of the city where we bought a bowl to replace the one we broke. There are several open spaces and a market among the large variety of shops here, so plenty of browsing was done en route. Hundreds of Pigeons were strutting about, picking at scraps of food and showering themselves in the fountains.

We passed this lovely red sandstone church on our way to Spon Street.

Many of the lovely old timber framed buildings here are medieval. The ‘Old Windmill’ is a sixteenth century building and has all it’s timber framing hidden under white plaster.

Some stand in their original position and some were moved here from other parts of Coventry in the 1970s-80s.

The lane leading off to the right is called ‘Watch Close’ and gives a clue as to what they used to make here in the past. All of these buildings have been restored and stand within a conservation area. With so much of interest to see we didn’t notice how gloomy the weather was and enjoyed our day out. On our return journey the bus was packed, with people standing too.

We were pleased to hear the good news that our friend John (nb Phoenix) has been the recipient of a successful liver transplant. Amazingly he was only in hospital for sixteen days and is feeling much better already.

Around the Junction.

2011-11-06T18:03:00.000Z

On my usual stroll around I heard a harsh whistle and saw the Steam Tunnel Tug “Hasty” coming along the Coventry canal. Notice how the large chimney has to be lowered whilst going under the bridge.

Being steam driven the engine was running very quietly and with a whoosh of water it slowly turned into the basin.

Gliding underneath the bridge she gently drew over to moor outside the Greyhound. How about this for a lovely tug then Dave?

The shapely iron bridge was cast by the Britannia Foundry in Derby in 1837.

The boiler on the left had a fire door with Robey, Lincoln on it. The engine was a Sissons made in Gloucester. This is a replica of a 1922 tug and was built at Brinklow. If you want to learn more have a look at their website www.tunneltug.org.uk

Hawksbury Junction.

2011-11-06T12:59:00.000Z

Iain and Alison arrived to fill us up with diesel before we left Bedworth. We were not surprised to see that Caleb had made himself at home and that Boson doesn’t mind sharing his bed with him. Here they are on rooftop lookout duties together. We were so pleased to see them, they provide a brilliant service for permanent moorers and continuous cruisers alike. After a long catch-up chat it began to rain quite heavily, but Iain had so much to tell us I got the umbrella out to keep us all dry on the stern of the boat. Eventually we gave them a freshly baked Ginger Cake as their resources on board are rather minimal. The diesel and bags of coal take up much of their boat space.

On arrival at Hawkesbury we spent quite a while filling with water as we were on empty and we had two bags of rubbish. Luckily there is a recycling facility here so we could also get rid of all the stuff we have been saving for that as well. It is quite a way from the last services which were way back at Atherstone. The moorings here were full, but luckily we were able to pull the boat back onto one of the last vacant mooring. This evening there are boats moored overnight on all the water tap moorings too!

J. Sinclair was the engineer of this fine cast iron bridge which spans the junction. The Engine House, which contained a beam engine, pumped water from a deep well into the canal from 1837-1913.

There are numerous paths and footbridges all around the junction area. It is a great shame that the engine house lies empty,useless and lost with all the new housing surrounding it.

The greyhound Inn was doing a roaring trade, well it is Guy Fawkes Night isn’t it?

And so to Bedworth.

2011-11-05T13:48:00.001Z

En route we passed this lovely turnover Bridge No 18 which the towpath crosses and leads back along to the disused Griff Arm.

Then we passed the entrance to the Ashby Canal to our left.

Underneath B 15 we found a nice quiet spot to moor on a long straight stretch opposite a school playing field.

The signals were good here and it wasn’t too far to walk into Bedworth either.

It was dull on Thursday morning when we walked up into the busy town and there was only one thing worth photographing. The ornate redbrick Almshouses which had to be viewed from a distance in respect of the residents privacy. From Bedworth trains run to Coventry or Nuneaton and there was a bus station next to which a new Tesco is in the process of being built. There are many charity shops so we were able to buy some books ready for our winter reading by the fire in the evenings. It was quite a distance to Homebase where Bottle bought a tool that he wanted. We walked back in the rain and I spent the afternoon cooking Ginger Cakes. Baking cakes is one of my favourite occupations on a dark wet day.

The leaves are falling fairly quickly now and wrapping themselves around the propeller when we are on the move. So we have to stop frequently, slow down, then gently go into reverse gear and that usually gets rid of them. We have run over some underwater obstacles during our summer voyage because the water has been low. I think one must have been a large sunken tree trunk which was the equivalent to a car going over a speed hump in slow motion for us, it was a bit scary at the time!

Nuneaton.

2011-11-03T16:55:00.000Z

Apparently Nuneaton is the most central town in England and Chilvers Coton is famous for George Elliot whose statue sits in the shopping centre. The route from the canal has a well marked footpath running through the park. There are masses of shops large and small, Bottle liked the Iron Mongers and popped in for a couple of tools he needed. Wednesday is market day and what a huge one it is too, masses of stalls selling all sorts. We had a choice of two Wetherspoons here, so we chose the William White, better known as, ‘shut that door’ comedian Larry Grayson. So after our first visit to Nuneaton we rather like it and may return sometime.

This is Boot Wharf.

They have a massive crane as you can see here.

Tuttle Hill Nature Reserve.

2011-11-02T16:52:00.001Z

On Monday we moved on a couple of bridges to moor by Valley Cruisers Boatyard. There was plenty of nice dry wood among the trees for me to collect for kindling as we light the fire most evenings.

We went wandering up Tuttle Hill in search of the Windmill. There was an old picture of it on one of the nature reserve boards. As it was built in 1821 we thought it may have been demolished. Then we could see it peeping through the trees. By poking the camera through the metal fence I managed to get a picture of it, an advantage of having a digital camera with a screen! The wooden top was gone but the red brick tower looked in good condition.

On the way back down we saw the vast area that was Judkin’s Quarry.

This was the view from the hill as we emerged back down out of the woods. The canal boat and train looked like little models from here.

Mancetter.

2011-11-01T13:29:00.000Z

We set off for a circular walk into the village to fetch milk from the local shop. The girl who ran the shop was very friendly and had lived there for fifty years. She chatted to us about the history of hat making and pointed out where the footpath back went across the railway. The whole place was very tidy and well kept, although it was quite overwhelmed with many housing estates all around it.

The church had a large graveyard which had also spread into a field across the road where there was a quaint row of almshouses.

This was our peaceful mooring near Mancetter with cows one side and sheep the other.

When we returned across the field path the cows were lolling about sunbathing .

Hartshill.

2011-11-01T07:39:00.000Z

After our walk around Mancetter we moved on passing some ‘Pyramids’ which were old spoil heaps from quarrying Granite and Quartzite. The whole of the local landscape beside the canal has been completely reformed by this and also from the mining of coal and clay. The mounds are gradually greening over and being reclaimed by nature. Some have been made into parks and nature reserves with lakes with marked footpaths running all around them.

Why is it we usually meet boats coming through bridge holes, as we did at No 35.

After emerging from this bridge we then encountered a trip boat with ‘Uncle Albert’ at the helm!

We passed Hartshill Yard with it’s magnificent Clock Cupola on the roof of the main workshop.

Oakfield then went under bridge 31 leaving the yard behind and on along to moor outside The Anchor Inn. We had chosen this spot because there was easy access to the pub from the canal and the road bridge. We had looked at the menu on their website and sent the postcode to our visitors for them to tap into their sat-nav.

On Sunday, we lit the fire in the morning as it was a bit chilly and of course as soon as it was ‘going’ the sun came out. We met up with my cousin David and his partner Barbara, for a roast carvery lunch together. A few years had passed since we had seen them so quite a bit to catch up on. In the afternoon we relaxed by the fire on Oakfield and had scones and cake for tea. As this was their first time aboard they had a conducted tour and liked what they saw. We spent a wonderful day with them.

Atherstone.

2011-10-31T13:27:00.001Z

There had been heavy rain all evening and through the night, but we left Polesworth at 9.30am in bright sunshine. Cruising along was very slow going as the canal was so shallow. Water was in short supply when we reached Atherstone Locks too. They have been closing them from 4pm until 8.30am and workmen have been clearing out the sludge and rubbish that was blocking one of the side ponds and culverts. Boats were grounding in some of the pounds. We spoke to a worker and he told us that a cottage and pub below lock five had flooded three times last year and had claimed compensation from BW. I wonder if this is because they have dispensed with the services of the lengths man/lockkeeper here who would have known how to keep the water levels under control. I wonder which is cheaper, a resident lenghtsman, or paying out compensation for flood damage?

This is Grendon Dock (Narrowcraft) and next to it are these two cottages. What a shame that the one on the right is looking so forlorn.

Rothen’s coal carrying business have vacated the lovely little wharf overlooking the top lock basin. We were knackered by the time we reached there. As some boats had grounded in the pounds we had to queue and slowed to snails pace! So after six hours and doing eleven locks we had travelled five and a half miles finally mooring up in a quiet spot near Mancetter. Rain set in just after we arrived and continued all day on Thursday, so I made some tasty cheese scones and took it easy for the rest of the day.

Polesworth.

2011-10-26T18:45:00.001+01:00

Cruising past Pooley Fields Heritage Centre we saw a monument atop the large spoil heap and the large coal pithead wheel which are part of the heritage trail.

A little further on we passed Pooley Hall, Farmhouse and former Chapel which are all now private residences.

Pooley Hall was built c1509 and the whole group here are Grade two listed buildings. This lovely canal-side poem on a copper cut-out of a coal miner was written by Raymond Hendy.

Memories of Pooley Mine.

I stood and watched as they pulled it down,

The blackened gear head of Pooley Mine,

The big black wheels rock and stumble,

And part of history began to crumble,

Locked in this twisted steel,

Were memories of men and coal,

Who gave their sweat and blood

To hew the coal that lay below.

I stood and watched them cap the shaft,

And thoughts went deep below,

like some blackened hand with fingers

Burrowed deep into my soul,

Gone this once proud mine.

We thought the poem was rather beautifully written and worthy of sharing with you.

This is the 15th century Abbey gatehouse which has been restored and is occupied.

Walking through the gateway and down the drive the Abbey Church comes in to view.

It is a shame that this old school building in the town centre is not in use. We popped into the busy little P.O. Stores, there was also a Green Grocers opposite and a Fish and Chip shop around the corner. Returning over the River Anker bridge we were commenting how clear the water was when we saw a couple of large brown rats. There riverside existence must suit them as their fur was lovely and shiny.

And on the other side of the bridge there was someone shouting “Look at me”

Alvecoteamble.

2011-10-24T15:46:00.001+01:00

As we were in a cutting by Tamworth we moved on to moor in a nice light open spot just short of Alvecote. We are trying not to moor under trees in these winds if we can help it.

On a very windy Monday morning we decided to stay put, but we had a walk along the towpath towards Alvecote. There was an old boat out of the water at the boatyard which was in a sorry state. This is it’s engine, unfortunately we couldn’t see a makers name on it. (edit: magnifying the photo we have found Enfield, bottle) Trotters Independent Trading van of Paris, New York and Peckham was hiding nearby.

Moored outside the Samuel Barlow Inn we saw two working boats Kangaroo, and Australia which was heavily loaded down with coal.

Continuing on along over the canal bridge we arrived ay Alvecote Priory ruins. The remains are kept in good condition and the walls were about three foot thick. There was a fantastic wild pear tree there which was laden down with little fruits. We liked the designer fashion jacket that this horse was wearing.

We found another route back through the mainly deciduous woodland which ran between the railway and the canal. There were signs of spoil heaps from the coal mines that were around there in the past. It was nice to amble back out of the wind in the peacefulness that being among the trees offered. Here is the view through the round window when we arrived back on board for our lunch.

Tamworth.

2011-10-24T09:34:00.001+01:00

The weekend weather turned out much nicer than predicted on the weather forecast, so on Sunday we moved on down.

Up through the two locks at Glascote to fill with water at the top. See how still the water is as there was no wind whatsoever.

There were quite a few boats moored in Glascote Basin where S.M. Hudson build their boats.

There have been so many ‘desirable’ canal-side housing estates sprouting up absolutely everywhere. Soon our towns and cities will all be joined up together.

We moored up a bit farther on and walked into Tamworth. This is St Edithas which has been built of a mixture of red and yellow sandstone. Opposite was parked this scooter which seemed to be a bit top heavy with mirrors and lights!

The footpath into town through the parkland is very well marked. The ducks and geese on the River Anker are bulging with bread as they were continually being fed. We strolled around Anker Shopping Centre, but many of the shops were closed. However Wetherspoons was open so we popped in for a lovely leisurely roast lunch with a couple of pints all for £13.80, fantastic value. There was also a shopping centre called Ventura but we were too tired to walk that far.

Strolling back through the park we saw Tamworth Castle on it’s mound and this Knight at the entrance which was cleverly constructed from red and green House Leeks.

Fazeley Junction.

2011-10-21T14:05:00.001+01:00

We cruised along on beautiful sunshine, in fact it was just like a summers day on Thursday. Stopped off at Sutton Road bridge where Sainsbury’s was within walking distance from the canal. One of Duncan Bannatyne’s Health Clubs (he of Dragons Den)was en-route, but we didn’t go in. We get all the exercise we need for free doing locks and walking everywhere. After a snack aboard we carried on to turn left from the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal onto the Coventry Canal and moored up a little further along.

I left Oakfield moored all on her tod and went to explore. There is a huge crane in the timber yard nearby and many large oak tree trunks waiting to be manoeuvred ready for sawing up.

Canalside is Tolson’s Mill which was built in 1883 and BW were working on replacing the stone edging along here. Looking back through Watling Street Bridge is the old Junction Toll House which is now lived in.

Another view of this impressive mill.

This lovely chapel was built in 1854 with lovely brick patterning, beside the canal bridge

This is the view from the Toll House, the chapel is hidden behind the new house which is part of the new development stretching all along Peels Wharf.

Here is the old and new together, a great deal of new dwellings have sprung up all around Fazeley, but there are very few shops here. To the left is a large busy industrial estate covering quite a few acres.

Fradley to Hopwas.

2011-10-19T16:21:00.001+01:00

As we needed some diesel we reversed back around the corner and down through the lock to moor opposite the cafe to be near the road. I baked a couple of boat cakes while we were there and we rang Graham on 07970 893245 as he delivers ‘Diesel-in-a-Can’ direct to your boat in his van. He turned up and emptied the 20 litre cans into our tank, how convenient is that at 85p per litre? Bill the elderly chap in the boat moored in front of us said that Graham had had been a life line for him over the winter months when his boat was iced in. We learned that he had lived on his boat for twenty four years and has now reached the ripe old age of 84! Bill was such an optimistic boater and had made many improvisations on his boat over the years which worked well. Before he left I gave him some boat cake and he was overjoyed and gave us a few useful tips on boating that he had picked up as a longstanding continuous cruiser. Jan came up for afternoon tea and we said our goodbyes to her and Graham and gave them a boat cake, we had such a fabulous time with them and look forward to meeting up with them next time.

We left quite early next morning as we had to reverse back through the lock. Things were going well, but we didn’t reach the lock as the engine suddenly cut out. Bottle threw the centre rope and i pulled the boat into the side. he donned the ‘pond gloves’ and grovelled about down the weed hatch to find a tyre on one of the propeller blades. With a bit of prodding and manoeuvring with the boat hook luckily it came off. Back we went, turned onto the Coventry canal, filled with water. Hot drinks were needed as we cruised along towards Streethay Wharf and Boatyard.

They seemed to have quite a bit of work on the go and four workers waved while sitting outside on their coffee break as we cruised by in the sunshine.

We moored up at Hopwas and went for a walk up the hill to St Chads Church which had a beautiful stained glass window.

Moored next to us is ‘The Chimney Man’ and this is Molly his lively three year old spaniel who wanted us to throw her stick nonstop. We got chatting to Kym who set up his Little Chimney workshop after being made redundant as a fabricator. He made one for himself, then a friend wanted one and it took off from there. What an entrepreneur, who has found his very own niche in the market and may it continue to grow. He lives aboard with his family and they tow the little butty workshop called, ‘Molly’, wherever they go. So if you are in need a well designed stainless steel chimney that will last for years as we did, call him on, 07876654120 and he will make one for you. They are made from a heavier gauge stainless steel than those we have seen in chandlers. You can see two examples on the butty.

Fradley Folk.

2011-10-15T18:24:00.001+01:00

Thursday night is Folk Night at The Swan Inn and everyone is welcome especially if they can play music or sing. I was keen to go but Bottle wasn’t, so we agreed to go and have a drink and stay for an hour. We met up with James from nb Marquis and sat at the bar, then the musicians began to trickle in. There were eight of them eventually, 4 guitars, various whistles, 2 accordions, a concertina, Irish Pipes, a Hurdy-gurdy, Bodrum, and a Greek Bouzouki. They took it in turns to lead with one of their own choice of folksongs and everyone joined in. It turned out to be such a great friendly evening that we stayed until it ended.

We had a walk down to see if Jan was on board nb HUFF ‘N’PUFF and met her walking her little dog Bernie, so she came and joined us for a cup of tea.

Bernie seemed to like my rag rug and was very well behaved while we had a long chat. We met up with them for a couple of drinks in the evening at The Swan, it was good to catch up with our canal exploits during the year.

We were asked to go for coffee with them which we did. Although their boat is eight years old it looks as good as new, it’s amazing. Jan kindly made hot bacon rolls with egg and mushrooms for us all which was absolutely delicious. After lunch we all walked Bernie and ended up on Oakfield chatting over an alcoholic bevy. Graham had us in stitches telling us all about his childhood inventions and miss-haps, what a lad he was!

Well, time has just flown past while we have been here and we have enjoyed every minute!

Fradley Junction.

2011-10-13T17:47:00.001+01:00

Woodend Lock and Bridge 53 are very well kept and quite picturesque, so couldn’t pass through without photographing it.

As there were no spare moorings before the junction we turned right onto the Coventry Canal and luckily found one just around the corner, busy place this. The little footbridge is a joy to work as it can be so easily swung with the lightest of touches. We liked the little wooden Duck House in the garden next to the swing-bridge. After mooring up we wandered round to the old BW yard Cafe to treat ourselves to a snack, yum.

Fradley seems to be surrounded with beautiful Oak Woodland all along the canal-sides. I awoke to watch the Squirrels, out of the bedroom porthole, chasing each other all around the branches, up and down tree trunks. Bottle was dong the engine oil change today while I was cleaning and washing the floors over etc. Then we saw some familiar faces passing by on a nice shiny boat. We went along to see Steve and Denise who had pulled in to take on water.

After chatting about all things ‘boaty’ and putting their hose away we were invited aboard for a look around. What a fantastic boat they have, so well thought out with such a light and airy feel to it. Although we may share similar solid woodwork design features, both of our boats have quite a different look.

As it was quite busy around the junction I went down to help them with the lock and while we were waiting I happened to snap this old Bugatti coming past The Swan Inn, luvly jubbly. Wouldn’t mind a spin round the country lanes in that!

Riverside Escape had to await it’s turn by the side of the pub for a while before passing through to moor up opposite the Cafe. We were invited to join them there for a snack which was very nice. There two little dogs are so friendly and well behaved, but haven’t quite got fully used to their life on board yet?

Here they are sharing their bed in the cratch wondering what is going on in the lock. After we said out goodbyes, Bottle returned to finish his oil change and I wandered around the woods and lake. This beautiful little thatched hide overlooks the lake, it’s so cosy inside I think I could easily move in! What an unexpectedly eventful and enjoyable day that was!

At Armitage.

2011-10-12T17:03:00.001+01:00

We left Rugeley as we needed to fill up with water, and who should we see already filling up, but nb Peruvian Skies. It was lovely to chat to Dick and Nettie as we hadn’t seen them for ages.

En route we passed Rugeley Power station which is run on imported coal since the nearby colliery closed down. This impressive blue glass tower has ‘Chaseregen plc printed on the top. With the tank full of water we did a short cruise along to moor right outside Hawksyard which was formerly called Spode Hall. On my afternoon amble about in search of firewood I saw that the Community Payback gang were busy clearing the area along the Armitage Tunnel and painting the vast amount of metal railings through it and all around it.

Lovely Old Boats.

2011-10-07T17:03:00.001+01:00

These four boats were resting in the sunshine below the Iron Bridge.

Bottle has been very busy since he invested in a can of Silicon. He has sprayed nearly every moving part on the boat. It works especially well on the cratch cover zips and the door furniture.

We went in search of the ‘Caves’ that are marked in our Nicholson's guide. We crossed the iron bridge over the canal and went under stone arched bridge of the railway, up through the wood and turned right across the fields. There was a lovely view across to Shugborough from the ridge-way and the inquisitive grazing calves came over to check us out. There was a great cavernous entrance where sandstone had been quarried out but we didn’t see the entrance to the caves. It was behind a cordoned off bit and a warning that it may be dangerous, H+S again. Anyway we enjoyed our walk and found our way back along along a different little footpath.

Someone in the village had a sense of humour. This little place was called Rock Cottage, although on the glass door panel they had changed the R and the C around!

Around Great Haywood.

2011-10-05T17:14:00.000+01:00

Bridge 73 spans the canal below Haywood Lock.

Walking over the canal bridge we passed the Lock-side Cafe and this was the view from under the railway bridge.

Apparently Essex Mews Cottages were built to re-home the people who were turned off the Shugborough Estate many years ago. The houses are a mirror image, seems a shame that some thought white paint was better than brick

There is a Post Office, two Grocers and a Chemist in the village and a Farm Shop, which opened in a new building in August, is just the other side of the canal junction, the same entrance as the new marina.

Looking back through the main arch along the Bridleway over the Canal Bridge. The Virgin Trains pass overhead slowly, so are fairly quiet thank goodness.

We liked the carved stone figureheads on the turret of the catholic Church.

After visiting the new Farm Shop for some delicious Focaccia Bread, Cheese Scones and Cotswold Meringues we sat for a while on Haywood Junction Bridge watching the people and boats passing. The wind has increased now so the boat is again covered in leaves and bits. I think I will delay cleaning it until the wind drops because it is a mammoth task probably equivalent to cleaning ten cars.

Shugborough Stroll.

2011-10-05T09:21:00.000+01:00

We decided to go for walk along the Staffordshire Way which runs right past Shugborough Hall. This is the lovely Grade 1 listed Pack Horse Bridge which goes by the name of Essex Bridge built in 1550 for Queen Elizabeth 1 by the Earl of Essex.

The bridge crosses the River Trent, the angled recesses make a nice overview picture we thought. The bridge is built of sandstone blocks and has 14 of it’s 40 arches still visible, as the river is quite shallow and it was a hot day dogs were paddling about cooling themselves. We passed this little wooden Ticket Hut at one of the entrances to the Shugborough estate, but decided not to go in even though it was half price for wrinklies on Mondays.

Sugborough Hall looked nice in the sunshine behind the magnificent Copper Beach tree.

……and here is the zoomed in version.

This is the Bridle Path from which you can see nearly all of the beautiful parkland around the Hall. The Tower of the Winds was a replica Water Clock completed in 1765 and is one of eight follies or monuments dotted about. We saw a leat which had been channelled through the woodland and across the railway in an iron trough and on into the park to top up the lake.

Tixall Walkabout.

2011-10-03T16:40:00.001+01:00

Tixall Wide is so called because it is like a lake and boats are able to turn around here quite easily. This was the lovely liquid gold sunset view from our side doors on our first evening here. The sun was up early on Saturday so we walked up to Bridge 108 and along a track onto the Tixall Road to get a closer look at the gatehouse. We emerged by Tixall Farm which is now all in residential use. Opposite here was this delightful little Bottle Lodge.

So called because of it's unusual shape and built around 1575 on the old driveway from Tixall Hall which was demolished in 1928. It looked lived in, with a very pretty garden complete with satellite dish in the flower border.

We then made our way along the grass verge of the busy little road to the gatehouse which is a grade 1 Listed Building. When chatting to the couple on nb George they told us that they had holidayed there and it was a Landmark Trust property. Apparently a roof terrace spreads between the four turrets at the top. How nice to view the surrounding countryside from up there and to recline there in the evening with a glass of wine watching the stars come out.

A bit further on we came to the church which is beautifully kept. Fortunately it was open so we strolled inside to take a few photos. There were many hand stitched hassocks on display along the pews.

We liked the spiral stone steps that led up into the pulpit…

…and the carved wooden spread eagle lectern.

There was a produce sale on in the little village hall so I popped in and came out with a few home made goodies, perfick! There was an old wood turner selling his wares which I admired but didn’t buy because space is a bit limited on a boat. We came back along the canal which made a long circular walk back, so we were ready for a drink by then.

Tixall Wide.

2011-10-01T12:36:00.000+01:00

The sun was up early and so were we, ready for moving along. There was quite a few boats on the move too, luckily one was just coming up Tixall Lock as we approached.

Narrow-boat Unicorn is moored by the crane opposite the lock landing.

This little plaque above the lock cottage tells you exactly where we were.

Arriving at Tixall Wide we slid into one of the last remaining spaces behind a nice little tug-boat called Ivy. Can you see Tixall Gatehouse above Oakfield's roof? If not, here are two larger versions of it.

The wide is a very popular spot and there are about twenty boats moored up. Some are drying their washing and some are touching up their scratched paintwork.

We thank nb Triskaideka for their fascinating blog with so many pictures of their first summer trip on the canals. We look forward to following them on their next cruise.

Family visit.

2011-09-30T08:59:00.001+01:00

On Monday we had a lovely surprise visit from our daughter. She had asked our grandson what he would like to do that day and he had replied,’Grampy, boat’, so that is what they did. Luckily we weren’t in the middle of nowhere and there was a road quite nearby. Travelling is made so much easier with the aid of Sat-nav too. It was a beautifully sunny day so Grampy was able to take him toddling down to the tunnel where the towpath runs under the bridge. He seems to be fascinated by bridges and tunnels at the moment. On the way back he was galloping sideways and said,’ I’m a Kangaroo’! He understands so much and is able to delight us with these funny little comments occasionally. I cooked lunch on board and we played and read many, many books until he dropped off to sleep on the rag rug. Then it was time for a nice relaxing cup of tea. It was so nice chatting and catching with what we had all been up to, but it also tired us out.

On the move again we called in at Teddesley Wharf for a £20 pump out, ahhh that’s better! The chap was playing with his Priestman Crane as we pulled in. He was just checking it over as it has to be inspected annually. It has a large chain link cradle attached, don’t think we would like our boat lifted out of the water with no covering over the chains. Then we passed by this house which has twenty solar panels dominating it’s roof, I wonder if that’s enough?

We have had temperatures of 28* to 29* here at Radford Bank so have been taking it easy. It’s so nice to watch people busy gardening when you no longer have one to tend. Not so nice when they get their lawnmower going though, especially when it sounds like an annoying demented wasp! I’ve had to wait until the boat cooled down in the evening to be able to give it a wash and buff up. Hope you are all able to take advantage of the sunny week ahead, take care out there.

Stafford trip.

2011-09-26T17:11:00.000+01:00

We caught the bus from Penkridge but weren’t quite sure when we had arrived at Stafford, so I asked a lady who seemed to know the area well. We started off going up a little cobbled lane past the old Sheriffs Office and The Soup Kitchen, although they didn’t have any soup on their menu! It seemed expensive and there was a compulsory service charge of 15% too, so we gave that a miss.

This tiny thatched fruit shop had a date of 1610 and looked very tempting with it’s gorgeous displays of flowers. The Bear Grill was once an old coaching inn, but I suspect the food on their menu was more enjoyable than Bear Grylls ever eats on his TV expeditions.

From the alleyway we could see the splendid side High House, built in 1595 and reputed to be the largest timber framed house in the country. Unless you know different of course. Anyway it is now a museum with period room settings, a herb garden and a Staffordshire Yeomanry Regiment museum at the top floor. I had to wait to let about 50 school children come out before entering. As I was interested in the herb garden I asked where it was. The lady opened the back door and showed me the tiny bit that was left with a small box hedge and one or two bedraggled plants, so that didn’t take long!

There were some remains of the original old hand painted wallpaper on the stairs and educational rooms on how timber framed houses were built. The four poster bed in the Stuart Room was heavily carved. The tapestry wall hanging and hand stitchery on the bed coverings were amazing.

Mr Marsons Edwardian Shop had been splendidly recreated in one of the rooms. Notice that whoever set it up had a sense of humour as under his hand there are four candles! I also liked the carved sandstone on the archway of the Bank Passage.

Guess where we ended up? Yes it was a Wetherspoons in the old Picture House which was built in 1914 and had remained in use until 1995. All the original features remain, except that the seating had been replaced with tables and chairs. We liked the art nouveaux style stained glass along the frontage which probably looked brilliant when lit up at night.

Penkridge.

2011-09-25T17:11:00.001+01:00

On arrival we went to explore the village passing the Old Gaol which is on the way. It has been beautifully restored and is now used for The Penkridge Heritage Centre.

This is one of the little cottages which survives in it’s original condition. As we walked by we were being watched from the window by a Golden Retriever reclining over the back of a sofa. There is a Co-op and a variety of useful small shops, the busiest one being Jasper’s the Bakers.

Friday we caught the bus opposite the White Hart and went into Stafford for the day. On Saturday there was a very large outdoor market selling just about everything. I bought a book on The Thames and Severn Canal by David Verey at a much reduced price! What a wonderful way to spend a warm sunny day while Bottle stayed on the boat.

Gailey along we go.

2011-09-23T11:22:00.000+01:00

As it was a bright breezy day there were quite a few boats on the move. We were heading a convoy of four which caused a bit of congestion at this bridge. Oakfields horn is given a blast when we can’t see what is around the corner. Luckily the oncoming boat hovered to let us all past, poor chap. We pulled over just short of Gailey under the Oak trees with acorns occasionally bouncing down onto our roof.

We strolled along to the Roundhouse (circa 1880) Shop which has all kinds of wonderful tempting goodies which I succumbed to. Timewarp came along so we helped them go down the lock as several boats were watering up and queuing.

Bottle did a bit of contemplating while I wandered about to find a letterbox. The Wharf Cottage of 1805 faces the busy Watling Street was delightful with it’s arched cast iron pattered windows.

This is a view of the roundhouse from it’s courtyard and when I took it I tilted the camera to give it some perspective. Then Bottle modified it, so, which image do you prefer?

Coven.

2011-09-22T11:22:00.001+01:00

Leaving Brewood behind we passed under the grand balustraded sandstone Bridge 10 which led to Chillington Hall. It was a very short cruise for us just along past Bridge 8 to moor as recommended by Tony and Jackie and what a lovely spot it was too. On a long straight stretch with views of the country all around with no noise of the worlds transport whizzing anywhere near it. After listening to Sounds of the Sixties on Saturday it was a bright breezy day so I gave Oakfield’s exterior a wash and buff up. On Sunday we rang family members for a chat and e-mailed pictures of the weekend when we had seen them. In the afternoon we went for a stroll, then relaxed reading our books.

Monday we untied and made our way along to Autherley Junction. After filling with water we joined the queue for the stop lock, then turned left to moor just past it to go along to Morrison’s. We had now joined the Staffs and Worcs Canal and soon found ourselves negotiating a very narrow cutting through shear rock. luckily the hire boat coming towards us held back until we got past them. Then it was on to moor near Coven. Tuesday we took the path along the edge of the field, over the duel carriageway past the Church and down another footpath to the shops.

We posted our cards, letters and photos off and called in to The Fox and Anchor for a drink on the way back. It was a tad posh and pricy so we just had one drink and left. Along the towpath we saw that nb Timewarp had caught us up and were invited aboard for coffee. Their Alsatian ‘Calli’ welcomed us, then settled down on her bed for a snooze. As we were departing the old folks moored behind them were moving off when we heard ‘man overboard’, so Tony and Bottle ran along and fished him out while Jackie and I pulled their boat in and secured it. He seemed OK and said that he had been in a few times over the years.

We spied a boat coming towing another, so had a look out as they passed by. It was Peter on nb Futurest who was being taken to have his big end fixed.(No not Peter his boat engine) Good Luck Peter, we hope that all goes well for you and your lovely boat.

This is the beautiful black cat who keeps an eye on us from the boat moored next to ours.

Brewood.

2011-09-16T18:40:00.000+01:00

How nice to have less wind and more sunshine, except that many other boaters thought so too and were on the move. While cruising along we passed over the ornate Watling Street Aqueduct which looked a little bit rusty in places.

These cows seemed to be admiring their reflection in the canal.

Workmen were out in force cutting the grass along the towpath. These lovely sandstone steps led up the side of the bridge to a stile at the top.

We passed the lovely steam boat ‘Emily Ann. Stroud’. Emily Ann is steam powered and fired by coal.

We were being watched as we went under bridge 14 to moor in the cutting beyond. The skipper of a boat already moored came to take my rope and pull us in, how kind was that! So, there are some very kind helpful people on the canals too. Then another friendly boater moored nose to nose with us and we exchanged boating experiences with him. After a snack we walked into town to the Co-op passing the fancy mock castle frontage of Swan Hotel. We arrived back to the canal to see Tony and Jacquie on nb Timewarp to chat and catch up on each others summertime travels. The last time we met them was on the Oxford at Great Haywood.

Wheaton Aston.

2011-09-15T18:30:00.001+01:00

On Wednesday we had a pleasant 10 mile lock-free cruise along to Wheaton Aston meeting quite a few others boats en route. There were some very high bridges over the Grub Street Cutting made from a mixture of Red and Blue Bricks and blocks of Sandstone.

We passed Norbury junction en-route, we liked their trailer advertising their facilities which was in the form of a short narrow-boat called Judy.

We liked the curves of Plardwick Bridge 36, the bridge builders certainly had some fine skills as these bridges have stood the test of time well.

Cowley Tunnel was only 81 yards long, but it was still quite impressive as it was cut through Sandstone Rocks.

On reaching Weaton Aston we pulled alongside the wharf at turner’s Garage to fill with diesel for 72.9p per Litre, brilliant.

This is the little garage viewed from up on the road, it reminded me of the one in the TV programme ‘Heartbeat’.

The iron sign of the Shropshire Union Railway and Canal Company is on bridge 19 by the garage. It reads, ‘This bridge is insufficient to carry weights beyond the ordinary traffic of the district’. It makes us wonder what those weights might have been and what increased weight it has to bear with today's traffic. Just as we were mooring up fellow bloggers from nb Triskadeika came by and stopped for a long chat. It was nice to meet them and find how much they were enjoying their travels aboard their new boat. They cruise for about six hours a day, so have covered quite a few miles already.

Shebden Embankment.

2011-09-14T09:53:00.001+01:00

As it was blowing a gale we stayed put at Market Drayton until Tuesday. When we reached Tyrley locks there was a queue of four waiting to ascend. The first pound was low and there was a wide sandstone ledge on the towpath side. Other boaters told us that a boat was marooned on it the previous day for a couple of hours, so everyone was being cautious. Anyway, it took us two hours to get up the five locks, then we stopped for about an hour on the services waiting for the water to dribble into our tank. Meanwhile I had spotted some hazelnuts on the towpath below the lock so I went back and collected up about 3lbs of them. So, there was and advantage to the high winds after all, they had blown all the nuts off. The front gardens of the top lock cottages are a delight and the butterflies were taking advantage of a splash of sunshine on the Cornflowers.

There were apples, pears and honey for sale here so we bought some, we like our stewed apple with custard.

Here is my hoard of nuts, some of which I shall Squirrel away ready for my winter hibernation. Fortunately Bottle doesn’t like them, so all the more for me. There are very tall bridges through the narrow Woodseaves Cutting and everyone passed each other at sensible speeds in, the few, wider bits.

This was the once busy Knighton Wharf where churns of milk from surrounding farms were gathered to be mixed with sugar and cocoa to be turned into chocolate crumb. This was transported by canal to Cadbury’s at Bourneville. The last cargo of crumb was carried on ‘Mendip’ by ‘Chocolate Charlie’ Atkins fifty years ago.

When we reached Shebden we slid into a designated mooring space with rings, sharing one nose to nose with the boat in front. As I was preparing dinner we heard a raised voice saying ‘bloody bad manners’ so Bottle went out to see what the fuss was about. Apparently the bloke in front on nb Bradgate Oak didn’t like anyone mooring near to him. He told Bottle that it was not right to share rings and that BW rules said that you should not encroach on other peoples space. Then with the assistance of his wife pulled his boat back from us and tied up a couple of rings away! His boat now had about a thirty foot gap at the front and fifteen behind. So no room for anyone else to moor, how selfish and pig-headed is that?

Market Drayton.

2011-09-12T09:15:00.000+01:00

I had an afternoon stroll around Adderley but didn’t find much of any interest except this unusual sign. Some friendly sheep came across to the gate to marvel at the sight of a human being, otherwise the place seemed to be deserted. There was a little stall beside one of Adderley Locks selling garden produce where we bought runner beans and apples. There was a steady stream of boats in both directions using the locks, so no water was wasted when we went up.

We had a pleasant cruise through the quiet Shropshire countryside, then passed Betton Mill at Bridge 63 to moor a bit further on by the aqueduct.

This old Pillbox sits beside Bridge 62 where a footpath leads up onto the road.

The town is quite pleasant and has an Asda and a Morrison's Supermarket, with a good variety of smaller shops too. We also found Wetherspoons occupying the old Hippodrome Cinema. We like their Coffee with Toasted Teacakes, especially when we can recline on the leather sofas to enjoy them. Market Drayton also seems to have suffered a fire and the Sandbrook Vaults and Tudor House Hotel had to be rebuilt in 1653 using timber framing. ‘Rogers and Son Flour and Corn Mills’ remain in use as a mixture of commercial and residential properties.

At last we have some decent signals here for the mobile phone and internet again!

Adderley.

2011-09-10T16:42:00.000+01:00

We ascended the rest of Audlem Locks in two hours as we exchanged at every one with boats coming down. Most of this canal has concrete edging with a ledge just below the waterline that grates away the bottom of the boat, so wheelbarrow wheels are a necessity. We were pleased to see some tin with mooring rings below Adderley Locks, so we pulled over for the night. Just having a rest with tea and cake as the rain came down, lucky again I guess.

As there were no photos taken today, here are a couple taken from the information boards for you.

Sorry, it doesn’t state the locations at which they were taken though.

Audlum.

2011-09-10T09:34:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday we set off to Audlem, what fun that was battling against the wind. We arrived to moor up by the Aqueduct below the locks. Later the wind grew stronger and the boat was being rocked about as if it was at sea. So we decided to move up two locks into the last mooring spot in the pound above.

We slept well here as it was so peaceful and we weren’t being tossed about so much. Having done all the usual chores we set off to explore the village.

We passed The Shroppie Fly Inn and noticed this lovely old 1926 Morris Charabanc in the car park there.

Then we passed Audlem Mill, which sells gifts, books and crafts and turned left at the Bridge Inn down towards The Square. I popped into Classic Cuts Hairdressers which is a tiny shop set back from the street. Their prices are very reasonable and are displayed in the window. Luckily they could give me a trim straight away, perfick! They also had a Funky Fishy Feet tank, but I didn’t try that as Bottle was waiting. Next we found the Old Priest House Coffee Shop on the corner, opposite the church gate, and went in for coffee with toasted tea cakes. It is a really homely little place, retaining its old fashioned wooden counter and weighing scales with shelves full of sweets in large jars.

Union Jacks were flying and there were tubs of flowers everywhere brightening up the whole village.

Overlooking the Square behind the old pillared Butter Market is the 15c red sandstone Church of St James the Great.

Some of the many stained glass windows were interesting especially these two depicting soldiers and St Hirronymus with his pet Lion.

There were many castles in the backgrounds of some of the window scenes. This one would look great on a ‘Roses and Castles’ boat painting don’t you think? We followed a footpath through the fields past Moss Hall and to the bottom lock of the canal. The Shropshire Union Canal is well supplied with useful information boards about local history and things of interest along it’s towpaths.

Beside the bottom lock there is an unusual little shop selling Georges Pork and Chicken products. The girl who runs it makes the sausages herself and acquired the little hut and land about a year ago. She also has fresh free range eggs and vegetables. Tidy plots of vegetables and flowers have been planted out along the grassy lock side too. We bought a few things here as we like to support small enterprises like this, and it is so handy for boaters too.

Busy Weekend away.

2011-09-09T16:34:00.001+01:00

Bottle’s Father had reached the ripe old age of 90, so we set off to celebrate with him over the weekend. We found his parents in good spirits and while we were having coffee our daughter, partner and grandson turned up too. We knew they were joining us but it was a nice surprise for the Birthday Boy! We all lunched together at the Ladybird, then it was back for Birthday cup cakes made by our daughter. These were accompanied by a ‘Lightning McQueen’ cake that his great grandson had chosen especially for him. We stayed overnight then travelled across country to see our daughters new home. It was rather exhausting as our grandson wanted us to play with him non-stop. It was a nice day so we spent some time in the garden and even helped with a bit of gardening too.

The herbs etc, had to be watered, so I had to fill his little water can about 20 times which kept him busy for quite a while. Then we were presented with a lovely homemade cake for our Ruby Anniversary which is later this month. Very professionally done and a chocolate one too, I think we have a budding Delia here!

What an exciting weekend we had, covering 450 miles altogether. On Monday Bottle returned the car to Enterprise in Crewe and we did a trolley run to the supermarket to re-stock our supplies. Needless to say the rest of the day we relaxed and put our feet up.

Nantwich.

2011-09-05T21:07:00.001+01:00

We passed through Minsull Lock with one of the prettiest cottage gardens we have seen. Arriving at Nantwich we cruised past the enormous Horse Sculpture made from oak and iron.

It is quite a long walk from the canal down Welsh Row and over the River Weaver into the town. I liked the Malthouse with it’s quaint windows which protruded out and were all supported by tiny wooden brackets.

Opposite it I spotted this nice little cottage which was undergoing some restoration work.

A stroll around the town revealed a variety of black and white timber/red brick houses, pubs, cafes and shops. There are 250 little specialist shops in fact and a market too. The town suffered a great fire in 1583 after which many of the old buildings were re-built. As well as being a ‘salt’ town the area was known for cheese making, shoemaking and it’s clock makers.

The Black Lion Inn stands opposite the Widows Almshouses, now The Cheshire Cat, also in Welsh Row on the way into town. The well worn sandstone mounting block is on the right.

On the right of the High Street is The Crown Hotel and further up on the left is Queen’s Aide House. Rebuilt after the 1853 fire with help from Queen Elizabeth 1st.

Looking along the narrow cobbled Castle Street the side of The Bookshop shows the upper story overhang, or jetty. This is one of several locally made clocks to be found in the Museum in Pillory Street. I liked this particular one with its colourful painted dial surround.

Here is the bustling Bookshop and Coffee Lounge which was rebuilt in 1854 overlooking Town Square. There is a convenient Morrison's Supermarket just on the edge of town too.

Church Minsull meander.

2011-09-02T12:12:00.000+01:00

Walking down the busy road was a bit hair-raising, for me anyway! The narrow bridge over the River Weaver was only one car width, but even that didn’t seem to slow the cars down much.

There are some delightful timber framed buildings in the village. This one was built in 1540 and used to be the villages Post office.

I liked the shapely legs on this one that are holding up the small room which protrudes out onto the pavement. On the opposite side was a smart pub/restaurant called the Badger. It looked as if it had been recently refurbished and the cooking smell wafting out from the kitchen was good. There is no mention of it in our Nicholson's guide however.

Here is a side view of the one above and another grand one looking rather like a dolls house. Because the road was so dicey we found a footpath that meandered through the fields and woods looping around to rejoin the canal. There were no directional arrows to indicate which path to take though. Anyway we met another couple who were going the same way and between us we managed to find our way through.

Croxton Flash to Church Minsull.

2011-09-01T12:12:00.001+01:00

Having enjoyed the company of our friends Graham and Betty for a few days we said our goodbyes and left them in Tranquility at Anderton. Along the way Bridge 210 looked like a tricky manoeuvre to avoid the moored hire boats, but we got through alright. Bottle got rained on several times at the helm, but I didn’t as there were no locks to be done. I kept him supplied with vitals and hot drinks as it was a tad chilly too. Luckily there were no other boats at Croxton Flash so we were able to moor there. After our evening meal we heard many raised voices which turned out to be a large family who were finding it difficult to get their 70’ hire boat to go round the bend. Bottle went out to lend a hand as we didn’t want them to run aground in the shallows on the offside. They were hoping to get to the Big Lock Inn, I hope they made it before it got too dark.

Leaving the Heron in peace to catch breakfast we cruised off under grey skies. At Big Lock we helped a couple bow-hauling their boat down through it. They think they have the dreaded diesel bug and were going to fix it themselves once back at their mooring. We exchanged the last two locks with another boat coming down then turned right at Middlewich onto the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal.

A boat had just left Wardle Lock so we went straight in and left the gate open for one coming down.

It was sad to see this house which appeared to have been completely burnt out.

This is the boat we caught up with at the next lock and the owner was operating it by remote control, amazing. It has it’s own separate garage which is securely strapped on and pushed along at the front.

We helped him with the lock, then he pressed a button and the boat reversed for him to step on with ease. He sits in a comfy seat and steers from the enclosed cabin, perfick.

These former stables had been very tastefully transformed into living accommodation. Poor old Bottle put his hand into his pocket only to be stung by a dozy wasp that was lurking in there. He managed to pull the sting out, but his finger swelled up and went all red.

Moored at Moore.

2011-08-29T17:24:00.000+01:00

We came back to Moore and we all followed the footpath up through the fields to Daresbury.

On arrival there were roads blocked off and police in attendance as the Creamfields Festival was on over the weekend. We were very politely quizzed as to what we were doing there. We had come to see the stained glass windows in All Saints Church depicting scenes from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. These were installed in 1935 as a memorial to Charles Lutwidge Dodson who was born in the parsonage in 1832. Work is underway to create a visitor centre there too.

We liked the Cheshire Cat which graced the frontage of one of the houses there. There was also a lovely weathervane on the school there.

Walking back down via the lane there were sweeping views across over the Power Station.

The thump of the ‘music’ from up the hill lulled us to sleep that night. The next day the fuel boat ‘Ariel’ came by and filled us up with diesel, perfick.

The Bridgewater Canal is nice and wide and there are some lovely moorings along it. However boats with home moorings on this canal need a separate licence for doing so. We have found that a majority of these boaters travel at speed and do not slow down when passing moored boats.

They are actually spoiling their own canal as mooring pins are being dragged out as they hurtle by, as ours were. The banks will be breached and they do not seem to consider or even care about this likelihood.

We are glad that we are back onto the Trent and Mersey Canal again, moored at Anderton. Although in the evening a man who had drunk rather too much was trying to ride his bike along by our boat. Bottle, after ensuring he was not ill, insisted that it would be safer for him to walk, which he did do.

Then a hire boat pulled off from the pub moorings with several chaps on the roof with one sitting on a chair. I could see that he was going to be knocked off it when the boat went under the footbridge and waved to him to duck. He just managed to do this within inches of banging his head and being swept off into the water.

Anderton to Lymm.

2011-08-29T17:17:00.001+01:00

Our next stop was to see the Anderton Boat Lift which conveys boats between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Weaver. Built in 1875 it consists of two caissons, or tanks, supported on hydraulic rams and as one ascends the other descends. Each caisson or water tank can carry two narrow boats or one wide beam. It became badly corroded and was forced to close for many years. After extensive restoration it reopened in 2002 and was extremely busy when we went along to the visitor centre. A trip boat takes visitors down in the lift for a trip up the river, boaters can use it for free too. I took my usual amble around the area while Bottle was engrossed on the computer catching up. I discovered that Manor Farm was selling fresh eggs and potatoes. I like to buy local produce wherever I can.

On leaving Anderton we had three tunnels to negotiate along the way. Barnton and Saltersford Tunnels were quite short lengths. Then we came across a boat stuck into the muddy bank just before a bridge floundering about with poles and bow thrusters. He tried forwards and reverse, then he threw us his stern rope over and we reversed and pulled him off as another boat had come up behind us. We caught up with them again and had to follow them through Preston Brook Tunnel which is also one way traffic it is longer and rather twisty. It was a bit hair-raising as he was being instructed by his wife from the bow of the boat to go right a bit, left a bit. We slowed right down as he zig-zagged his way through. When we cleared the tunnel he pulled over and let us all go past him, phew!

We emerged from the tunnel and were now on the Bridgewater Canal.

Then we encountered a little day boat coming at us round a heavily reeded bend on our side of the canal. We swung over on the left and avoided him. He had been advised to give bigger boats the deep water! He seemed surprised when we told him that he must always be on the right hand side when passing other boats. He immediately swung over, luckily missing the boat following behind us. Anyway we eventually arrived to moor at Moore and took the scenic route along the footpath over the railway to the village shop. The next day we pressed on as we had agreed to meet up with our friends who were cruising down from Sale to meet us at Lymm. As we needed water we had to pass through Lymm and up to the tap at Little Bollington. The tap is on a banked up section and quite exposed, and yes the wind was howling across, so it was fun fighting to get the boat over to the tap. We turned a bit further on and headed back to moor next to nb Tranquility.

After a snack and a chat all we went for a stroll around the town and up the valley path around the lake.

Sextons Bakery stands over the damn at the bottom of the lake and the church can be seen from the well used footpaths running along the edges of the valley.

What an enjoyable walk that was, we quite envy the locals for having such a beautiful, peaceful place to walk with their families and dogs.

The next day saw us moored at Stockton Heath to walk through the town and across the Manchester Ship Canal to shop at Morrison's.

Wheelock up to Marston.

2011-08-24T16:11:00.000+01:00

On our trip to Crewe I bought some enormous free range pullets eggs. When I asked why they were so big the man told me that when they lay their first eggs they are either small, or very large containing double yolks. I thought this was a fascinating story and asked if I could return them if they were only single yoked! Anyway it turned out that he was right, they were all double yoked, amazing.

We filled with water before leaving Wheelock to cruise along to Crows Nest Bridge 161 where Alan and Kath pulled alongside us on nb Chalice for a chat. Nice to see you all enjoying your whistle stop holiday, we must stop meeting like this so we can have longer exchanges on our boating experiences.

Fuel boat ‘Alton’ passed us by, but unfortunately we didn’t need any diesel , shame as it was very reasonably priced at 83p per litre.

We left this peaceful mooring and passed on along to moor just beyond Middlewich Narrowboats above the lock. We strolled into Middlewich passed the White Bear which was undergoing restoration and popped into Tesco. As there were so many hire boats hereabouts we left at 7am (early for us) the next day to beat the rush. It was amazing with the mist rising off the water as the sun began to warm everything up. We got through ‘Big Lock’ without to much trouble, then it was lovely lock free cruising along to Marston. We hooked up beside the old Lion Salt Works where the buildings are listed and being preserved. There are many ‘flashes’ (pond/lakes) all along the canal here created by salt mining and saline extraction. Much land and even some cottages have been swallowed up and disappeared underneath the water. We had a nice Sunday roast lunch at the friendly Salt Barge just down the road.

They also stock a few essentials for boaters to buy which was very handy indeed.

Here we are by the large iron saltpan of the works. While we were there we made friends with the permanently moored boater in front of us and his little rescue dog called Oih.

Isn’t she a great little character? We asked how she got her name and he said she came to him when he said ‘Oih’ so he stuck with it.

From here we walked into Northwich and went into this splendid Wetherspoons called The Penny Black. It was the old Post Office built in 1914 and is the towns largest liftable building. This means in times of any subsidence there are automatic jacks under it to keep it level. It has a blue plaque outside saying it is a grade 2 listed building and also appears in Pevsner’s book Buildings of England.

This is the Library where we picked up a couple of leaflets on the locality. We had a walk down the main street where we saw several more interesting timber framed building. As we walked over the bridge spanning the River Weaver we could see that several narrow boats had come down in the Anderton Lift to visit. After calling into Sainsbury’s we made our way back through the well laid out wildlife park around the flashes. We arrived back at Oakfield gasping for a drink as it was a very hot day.

Two years old today.

2011-08-24T09:07:00.001+01:00

Happy Birthday nb Oakfield, we have just completed two enjoyable years of cruising many miles around the canals and rivers.

By way of celebration here are some of the wildflowers and insects we have encountered on our travels.

This summer has been sunny for us, most days, as we seem to have been on the periphery any showers.

To those we met, even the curmudgeonly ones, thank you, we have enjoyed it.

Macclesfield.

2011-08-21T16:00:00.000+01:00

As we didn’t think we would take Oakfield up the Macclesfield Canal this year, we cheated and went to see the town by bus. It was a bit hair raising sitting on the top of the double decker bus around all the twisty lanes and we got held up for 40 minutes in road works.

We paused at Congleton which is also known as ‘Beartown’ I think. Anyway we saw a variety of large sitting bear statues at the road junctions. Macclesfield sits on the top of a steep hill and the bus just about made it up to the tiny bus station on the edge. There is a museum in this large, pillar fronted building with a Tourist Information office next door where we obtained a street map. I think the church was sandstone, it was difficult to tell as it was a bit black.

After perusing the shops we made our way downhill towards the canal. Some of the side streets still have their cobbled surfaces. The town did have a bit of a tired, run-down feel about it although it was bustling with people. We passed these old 1895 Almshouses en route to the canal.

We walked along quite a stretch of the canal which was a bit wild and unkempt. The only item of interest we could find was this old Silk Mill with a boatyard alongside it. As we couldn’t find anywhere to have a snack we returned into town to look. We found a very homely little cafe right next to the bus station. From our table by the window there were sweeping views across the valley to the hills in the distance.

Sandbach Mill.

2011-08-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

On Sunday we followed a footpath meandering through the fields and wooded valley up to see Sandbach Mill.

Along with the little old millers cottage adjoining it all seemed to be in residential use now.

The mill pond and water controls could be seen from the lane. We liked the neat little brick building with the tiled roof in the garden of the cottage. Wonder what that could have been used for in the past? (rhetorical)

The mill leat had been turned into a tasteful garden feature, but there was no evidence of the mill wheel at all.

This must have once been a thriving Blacksmiths Forge, but now used for a workshop and storage. We saw smoke seeping out from under the tiles on the roof of the barn and found that this lovely old Davey Paxman stationary engine was fired up and being worked on. What an enjoyable walk that turned out to be.

Sandbach.

2011-08-20T16:00:00.000+01:00

Saturday we walked up to Sandbach and luckily it was a market day with stalls around the Town Hall.

We had a freshly prepared snack in quaint, ‘Ye Olde Black Bear Inn’ dating from 1634. There are several pubs clustered around the War Memorial/Market Place which retains it’s original cobblestones.

These two beautifully carved Anglo Saxon Crosses of 634 AD had been smashed up and scattered by the Puritans. It is thanks to the relentless work of one man who relocated all the bits and reassembled them, that we may enjoy seeing them here today. Many timber framed cottages can be found around the cobbled backstreets. This one is a grade two listed building dated 1570.

The cottage on the left has the amusing name of ‘The Cake House’, while the one on the right looks newly built and is the Doctors Surgery. We were fascinated by Sandbach and found many streets interesting to walk around. By the way there is a Waitrose in the town centre too.

Wheelock.

2011-08-20T09:00:00.000+01:00

On leaving Rhode Heath we were entering our first lock and I could hear squeaking. I looked around and found these delightful fluffy bundles snuggled up on the sheltered ledge of the disused duplicate lock. We managed to do the 14 locks to arrive down to moor at Wheelock.

This is the bottom lock of Malkins Bank, sometimes referred to by the old working boaters as ‘Heartbreak Hill’. Having moored on the straight stretch below the lock we put our feet up with a hot drink and heavy rain set in. How lucky was that?

Here we are at Wheelock and the facilities and information boards were good. Wouldn’t it be nice if only all villages were as boater friendly. There are two pubs, an Italian Restaurant and useful little shop too, but without the Post Office that was once there.

The next day we walked up into Sandbach to get the address of the PO there so we could receive some post. On the way we saw this lovely old Leyland bus which was in very good nick.

While we were waiting we thought we would have a day out to Crewe where we picked up a few things in the market. This is the old Cheese Market, cheese must have been very popular in these parts judging by the size of the building! It is now an indoor market with a wide variety of stalls.

Back on the Trent and Mersey.

2011-08-19T16:00:00.000+01:00

We passed more bottle kilns at Longport and Middleport potteries. The kilns themselves are works of art in brick and are probably protected by being listed buildings. Other industrial building are in disrepair or turned over to residential use. Middleport Pottery covers quite an area alongside the canal and is still busy producing pottery.

We paused to fill up with diesel at Stoke Boat builders Yard which still has it’s original cobbled stone frontage. Full with fuel we carried on to moor beside Westport Lake before moving on to tackle the Harecastle Tunnel. This is the third tunnel to be built, the other two having sunk down due to mining in the area.

There was a short wait as one boat was coming through, then it was our turn, with one other boat behind us. When we reached the other end one and three quarter mils away, there was a queue of 8 boats waiting. If you are interested it took eight and a half million bricks to build this tunnel, quite some undertaking eh? The water is a strange rusty colour as the water drains down through the ironstone all around. Visited Tesco's from our overnight mooring at Kidsgrove. Many of the locks are duplicated along this stretch of canal, which speeded things up. After 11 locks we moored at Rhode heath and decamped into the pub for a well earned lunch.

Up the Leek Branch.

2011-08-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

We had a lovely evening meal in the delightful Boat Inn at Cheddleton. From the outside it only looked like a tiny cottage bedecked with flowers, but there was plenty room inside and outside undercover overlooking the canal.

We cruised back past Cheddleton Silk Mill and under the Hazelhurst Aqueduct to turn at the junction and head up the Leek Branch of the Caldon.

There were several large canoes moored on the lock landing as we came up. The group were enjoying a picnic nearby, so I asked them if they could move them as we didn’t want to chance touching them and cracking them while manoeuvring round the corner as it was a bit tight. Further along we went over the same aqueduct and moored up. As the Hollybush Inn was close by we went for an evening meal there where we chatted to some boaters at the next table. The next day we cruised up 5 locks and under 2 lift bridges to moor above Engine Lock in the countryside. I walked across the fields to Baddeley Green for a few groceries. There was a Co-op and an excellent butchers shop selling home made cakes, fresh vegetables and eggs, as well as all things meaty. We also took a bus ride into Stoke City centre which is in Hanley and looked round the Potteries Shopping Centre.

Then we pressed onward to Leek and the canal was very shallow in places so we had to be careful. On approaching Leek Tunnel there were three boats moored in the turning space just before it. A chap on one of these boats told us that there was no room to moor beyond there. He had been up and had had to reverse all the way back through the tunnel and had turned to go back down. So we turned and went back whence we came as it was not deep enough for us to moor anywhere en route. A bit disappointing for us as we didn’t see Leek at all.

This is the Froghall Tunnel and Leek one was just as short. I like the little tractor resting in the long grass after a lifetime of hard work. In fact it looks just how I feel some days, knackered!

Leaving the Caldon Canal.

2011-08-18T15:29:00.000+01:00

So, what did we think of the Caldon Canal? Beautiful in many places and if you like industrial heritage it is very interesting indeed. Quite a few chicanes, especially so under some of the narrow, low bridges, so Bottle was challenged in many places. Why is it that boats always seem to meet in these places too? We always peep the horn when we can’t see our way clear, if only other boaters would do the same life may be easier for us all!

Here are a few of the old advertisements from the railway stations for you to reminisce about the good old days.

Froghall Station.

2011-08-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

As the station was closed when we were up there on Oakfield when we returned back down to Cheddleton we caught the steam train up there. I had to coax a reluctant Bottle to go with me, but he DID enjoy his day out really.

There was a souvenir shop, cafe and picnic areas here, a signal box, a water tower and a newly built waiting shelter on the opposite platform. We decided to return on a later train so that we could mooch about and enjoy some homemade cakes with tea.

This was the engine pulled us up to Froghall, then ran around to head the train back. We travelled in the first class carriage which had nice comfortable sprung seats.

To our surprise there seemed to be a lady fireman shovelling the coal for the driver and another man who decoupled the engine to run around, plus a visitor along for a ride in the cab.

We had to wait at the platform on our way back at Consall Forge to let the diesel train pass us by.

‘Captain Charles’ was in the siding when we got back to Cheddleton.

This one didn’t seem to have a name just a number 5197.

Cheddleton Station.

2011-08-17T16:00:00.000+01:00

Most weekends during the summer months Cheddleton Station runs steam trains along the five mile track as far as Froghall.

We were lucky enough to have arrived on a Sunday to see them in action. The Gothic style station was opened in 1849 and has a small museum, various rolling stock on the sidings around the Engine Shed, and a small Tea Room. Bottle enjoyed a tasty crisp bacon roll with his coffee.

We had noticed the bacon relaxing over the wall earlier. Do you think the one on the left is a Boris look-a-like?

From our mooring we could see this U.S.A. engine by the Cheddleton Signal Box. Through the porthole on the other side we had cows meandering back and forth.

We liked the wooden crate of ‘Beer at Home’ and the neat little stove in the waiting room.

This is just one of the items on display in the tiny museum.

Froghall Basin.

2011-08-17T09:00:00.000+01:00

This unusual shaped bridge goes under the delightful name of ‘Cherry Eye Bridge’. It got it’s name from the bloodshot eyes of the iron stone workers who used it. As we came out of Flint Mill Lock there were plastic strips acting as a height gauge for Froghall Tunnel and they dragged on our roof and sides. The route to Froghall was reminiscent of the Llangollen Canal with steep woodland on either side of the Churnet Valley. So, we turned and moored just short of the tunnel and walked along into the basin.

Through the very short tunnel we reached a the lovely peaceful basin which is surrounded by beautiful wildflowers. There are several more limekilns nearby and the area was once bustling with much activity. The picture on the right is the wharf above Froghall on the disused Uttoxeter Canal.

A shallow lock descends down to the basin with pontoon moorings for about ten boats. There is a small visitor centre (closed when we visited) and excellent boaters facilities which go mainly unused as very few boats can negotiate through the tunnel. The basin has been renovated using a legacy left by a lady benefactor. It’s just a shame that hardly anyone can can make use of it.

The old working boat ‘Birdswood’ is permanently moored at the end of the canal outside the old Wharf Warehouse which used to be a restaurant, but is now residential. There is a small car park with picnic areas and many walking routes to be enjoyed roundabout.

Consall Forge.

2011-08-16T16:00:00.000+01:00

We had bought a postcard with this view of a boat moored with the steam train going over the bridge with the Black Lion pub in the background. Luckily a boat was just leaving so we were able to moor here and were able to re-create the scene. We trundled over the level crossing to sample the the local ales on offer at the Black Lion Inn which has a good view of the railway.

As you can see here at Consall Forge Station the canal runs right alongside the railway. This station is half way between Cheddleton and Froghall.

All the stations were kept in immaculate condition by the volunteers and the staff were all wearing smart uniforms. The gardens were full of little flowers, Tomatoes plants and Runner Beans. refreshments were being served from a trolley as there was no cafe at this tiny station.

We left under the bridges carrying the rough track and the railway which were rather a tight squeeze, with a challenging right turn after them. Consall Forge was so named after the three large limekilns that stand right beside the canal.

Cheddleton Flint Mill.

2011-08-16T09:00:00.000+01:00

The crane stands above the mill on the canal wharf below which are the kilns that have been used for burning Flint and Ochre for use in the potteries. Also Lime-stone. to produce quicklime which was needed by builders.

There are two small mills here each with their own water wheels. The calcined flint was taken, crushed and run to the mill in little trucks along an iron plate- way.

The truck was rotated on a turntable to be hoisted up through the trap-door and then unloaded into the large Grinding Pan on the upper floor. Mixed with water the slop-flint would be run off, then dried in the slip-drying kiln.

The millers cottage was built of sandstone in the 1800’s.

In the living room there was a large cast iron cooking range made about 1870. This was fuelled by coal and used for boiling water over the open fire, heating or cooking food in the oven at the side. In the back kitchen was a copper boiler for washing clothes, a low sink with cold a tap and most importantly a mangle for squeezing water out of the washing which then speeded up the drying process. Unfortunately the narrow-boat ‘Vienna’, built in 1911 by F.M.C. at Saltley in Birmingham, no longer moors on the canal beside the mill. She had to be sold in 2008 due to escalating maintenance and insurance costs.

Caldon Adventure.

2011-08-15T19:48:00.001+01:00

We left Etruria up the deep staircase lock and cruised along through the once busy industrial area which is now slowly being replaced with new houses. We found a nice quiet country mooring above Engine Lock. This canal is rather twisting and the bridges are rather low taking Bottle’s complete concentration at times.

The next day we did ten locks and two lift bridges which were hydraulically wound up using the windlass.

We admired this ornate Pumping Station, then beside the lock there was a nice sculpture incorporating aspects of the locally potteries.

At Hazelhurst we passed the junction that goes off along to Leek and carried on to Denford. By then we were feeling a little peckish and spotted The Hollybush pub right next to the canal so we pulled in. It was rather hot and the pub was busy, but we didn’t have to wait long to be served with our food, phew.

Feeling refreshed we carried on to moor just below Cheddleton. En route we had passed this strange roundabout in the middle of the canal just before Endon Basin. We passed beneath the substantial Hazelhurst Aqueduct is constructed of red brick, painted white. This carries the Leek Branch of the canal over the main line.

We are back

2011-08-15T19:46:00.001+01:00

Well after receiving a new ‘dongle’ and the same problem arising, I contacted our mobile phone company.

After trying many different things, uninstalling, re-installing, different drivers and a few more, it has been decided that the fault is with a Microsoft Security Update.

I have now got a work round, not ideal but we can again use the net.

Over the next few days we will post all the blogs from the last fortnight.

Happy reading.

Boo!!!

2011-08-12T12:24:00.000+01:00

Hi. Have you missed us, of course not, you have better things to do.Suffice it to say we have had dongle problems, it will be a little while before it is solved.Will be back soon.Ps. This is from my new phone, hope it works.

Caldon Canal.

2011-07-28T17:58:00.001+01:00

As we approached Etruria we caught site of our first Bottle Kiln, and a very large pair of Binoculars!

On coming out of the lock we turned sharp right to enter The Caldon Canal. After mooring up we walked back to the Etruria Industrial Museum and had coffee and cake before exploring the works. It is actually called Jesse Shirley’s Bone and Flint Mill. This is the Flint Kiln where the flint was calcined (roasted) to make it easier to grind. When it was ready it passed out through ‘draw-holes’ in the base and passed into The Crusher Room.

The Pan Room is on the left where the fine grinding of the bone and flint took place in water. The Cornish coal fired Boiler of c1903 provided the steam to power the engine, ‘Princess’, the 1820’s Beam Engine that powered all the machinery through various vertical and horizontal gears and shafts. It is thought to be the oldest one still in use, although today was not one of their in steam days. There were some large Whale and Elephant bones displayed on the wall. A newspaper cutting also told of Mona a 38 year old Indian Elephant of Bostock and Wombwells Circus who died in Hanley in 1898 after eating poisonous leaves from an Irish Yew Tree. Also in the article it states that there was thought to be an elephant graveyard hereabouts. However the elephant meat was probably fed to the circus lions and the bones ground up and made into Bone China here. So, poor Mona was probably distributed throughout many bone china tea-sets at the turn of the century.

A couple of old working boats, Keppel and Lindsay, in BW blue and yellow livery were moored alongside the mill. Some BW workers ware fixing the leaky wharf wall to stop the ingress of canal water into the basement of the mill. The Trent and Mersey was busy with boat movements today so we had the opportunity to chat while waiting for the locks.