Sunshine cruising.

“Oakfield”

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

A boat made for one!

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

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

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

Atherstone.

Moving on past the Hartshill Yard we waited in a short queue at the top of Atherstone locks.

 

The large derelict building behind us in this picture used to be a Hat Factory. The circular cast iron disc on the end of the tie beams were made by Masterson and Huxley of Coventry. I wonder if it will ever be transformed into desirable residential use? The yellow Corydalis plant growing from a tiny crack in the brick wall is one of my favourite flowers.

 

These artwork installations depict the activities of the past and present in the local area, Farming, Coal Mining and Canal transport. We thought they were some of the better designs that we have seen on our watery travels.

             

The lovely ‘nb Buffalo’ came out of the top lock, one of the last to be made at Brimscombe Port on the Thames and Severn Canal by Big Fish. Then it was our turn to go down and the volunteer Lock keeper kindly helped us.

We tied up below the fifth lock and walked into Atherstone to explore. The old Station had been turned into one of the finest veterinary surgeries we have ever seen. Amazingly Atherstone is exactly 100 Miles from London as the gold lettering states on this ancient Milestone in Old Watling Street in the town centre. We purchased a small variety of cakes from a small shop right next door to Greggs. Of course we will need the extra energy for doing all those locks you see!

Springwood Haven.

We paused to moor by Bridge 29 to walk into  Nuneaton through the lovely park to visit Sainsbury's for some fresh vegetables etc. After a snack on board we moved on to set up for the night below B27 on a sunny bend on the towpath. I rubbed down the bashed rusty bits of paintwork along the gunnels, cleaned it off with a cloth soaked in white spirit, then applied the undercoat. I was chatting to chap walking his dog early the next morning when my ears pricked up to the sound of a steam whistle. Sure enough President and Kildare came steaming under the bridge bound for Braunston.

Ashby Canal Wildlife.

If you like to see plenty of wildlife in quiet country settings as we do, then the Ashby Canal is for you.

 

Some we managed to picture and some moved too quickly. We saw, Water Voles, Grass Snake swimming, Wagtails and the usual Moorhens, Coots, Ducks, Canada Geese and Swans accompanied by all their fluffy little offspring. The hedgerows and woodlands were full of songbirds and we saw large Carp splashing around in the waters-edge spawning. A variety of wildflowers could be seen at almost every turn as we meandered along.

            

Mrs Duck was brooding her eight eggs in her nest under the hedge on the towpath where we were moored. It was sad to see just how many dog owners did not have their dogs on leads. Consequently the poor duck had to keep fleeing her nest to avoid their intrusion upon her privacy. 

Ashby Canal.

The day after we turned onto this canal the sun gave way to cold wet grey weather again. Living aboard we do have the luxury of not having to move when it is wet, unlike the poor hire-boaters who are out for half term holiday week. So far we have managed short moves between the heavy showers. As we were approaching Hinckley various pylons strode across the misty landscape carrying electricity to the landlubbers. We moored near Bridge 5 on the moorings recommended in the Nicholson’s guide and bumped on a concrete ledge every time a boat passed! We won’t be staying there again.We moved on up to stay overnight at Burton Hastings and Hinckley where we could be on Armco (metal edging). it seemed that after Hinckley the canal became more open with views across the countryside and the sun came out. Things were looking up! Most of the 61 Bridges were in good repair, some built of large blocks of Sandstone, some in Red and Blue Brick, but all had central oval disks clearly numbered.

 

Our next stop was on the delightful off-side moorings where we had a stroll up into Stoke Golding past Ivy House Farm who supply Tesco with their milk. S.G.Wharf is home to Ashby hire-boats. The old yard is quaint and unspoilt, we liked their modern little pump-out vehicle. The only downside to staying here was that it was alongside a road. Families arrived in cars to fling endless quantities of white sliced bread to the fat Mallard ducks!

    

As it was hot and sunny we set off under a deep blue sky for a long 12 ish mile run up to Snarestone. After a late lunch we walked up over the tunnel to investigate what lay beyond. We found two volunteers manning the little gift shop and cutting the grass. The whole area was beautifully kept and a short new stretch of canal with a swing bridge and slipway was open, with more to come soon they told us.

                           

Although Snarestone Tunnel has a kink in it and is lower at the Northern end we passed through quite easily. After turning and depositing our refuse we made our way back down the canal.

Shackerstone Station.

Mooring at Shackerstone we found our way down to the little station there where a diesel train was carrying passengers 5 miles down the Battlefield Steam Railway line via Market Bosworth to Shenton. We sat enjoying coffee from their cafe and browsed around the shop which was in a railway carriage. Their museum is so full of interesting old railway memorabilia we couldn’t possibly take it all in, even though we lingered long enough. They have a large collection of rolling stock in the sidings alongside the car-park too.

 

Market Bosworth Station.

We also moored near Shenton Station and walked along to see the steam train that runs on Sundays. Unfortunately we were told that the boiler wasn’t behaving and needed some attention, shame.

          

Shenton Station,

In the small Station Pottery the potter was busy making his earthenware designs with slipware patterning. Part of the station is a cafe/shop and part Richard Golding’s Glassmaking Studio and shop.

He established Okra Glassware and very beautiful it is too. It was fascinating to see him at work embellishing  a paperweight with small blue flowers. He heated the glass in the furnace then carefully melted the blue glass rod onto it. On the shelf was a stock of glass colours and rods of various thicknesses ready for use. Amazing! This little station was brought from Leicestershire and re-erected here at Shenton.

      

We found our way back along the lane and under the aqueduct where there was a warning sign for ice! Sutton Wharf Cafe was very busy providing refreshments as we cruised past. Many families were walking the route around the railway, canal, Ambion Wood and the Bosworth Battlefied site. The Ashby Canal Association have placed 37 seats for those who get a bit weary on their towpath trek. While this was a lovely mainly rural canal arm to explore, it was not quite as exciting as the Caldon or the Erewash we thought.