Blogging friends 3.

 

On the twelfth of the twelfth at twelve o’clock, eight of us met up to celebrate two Birthdays and enjoy an early Christmas lunch together. We joined Del and Al of nb Derwent6 and took two buses over to Crick and met up with Paul and Lynne, nb Piston Broke and John and Angela, nb Ellen. So, here we are having pulled our crackers, suitable imbibed with lovely hot mulled wine, about to enjoy our succulent Turkey roast. The two Birthday boys are deep in conversation at the far end of the table, I wonder what was so important?

The Red Lion Inn was all cosy and warm with the colourful festive decorations all around. A big thank you to Lynne for organising a table for us all on this special occasion, which we enjoyed very much.

                           

There was a quaint little coal fire glowing over in the corner with the emblem of the pub warming himself on the mantle piece above. The picture on the right is a mystery item which was hanging on the wall above our table. Can anyone guess what it is ?

When we left mid afternoon it was still freezing cold, even the spider webs were still looking like strings of pearls in the bus shelter. The fields, trees and bushes had all turned white and stayed that way all day. Maybe we will take it easy tomorrow and spend the day on board and keep our glowing Squirrel company!

Blogging friends 2.

 

                           

As we were about to move on, we noticed that narrow-boat ‘Like Ducks 2 Water’ had pulled in and went along to say a quick ‘hello’. Jacquie and Stein then kindly invited us on board for coffee and to see their lovely new boat. It was beautifully furnished and looked very cosy with all the Christmas decorations up, Of course we chatted about our various cruising experiences and other boaty things. It was lovely to meet them at last and we hope to see them again on our travels.

Despite reporting the state of the bank by the water tap at Brownsover last year, nothing had been done about it. Perhaps I’ll have another try and e-mail the Canal and River Trust before this muddy bank erodes away any further. We decided to pass on by and fill up the water-tank on our way back.

So, we carried on along to turn by the Willow Wren Bridge seen here in the distance. There were five boats resting on their winter moorings here between the two narrows.

There are Elsan and waste facilities here in the park at Brownsover. We managed to scrape the bottom of the boat on something when we passed under Masters Bridge. I wonder what that could have been?

On walking past Mr Kipling's roundabout we found his cup cakes were looking very patriotic and Christmassy!

Blogging friends.

    

We waited for Mark on Callisto to come by with some coal and diesel for us before moving on. He said he had been breaking ice in some places to get through. We really do  appreciate his services in wintertime. but will buy from him all year round whenever we are on his route.

Nb Valerie had past us earlier on and we found that they had moored just around the corner. We follow their travels via their blog and had only been within waving distance on previous occasions. So we hoped we would meet up properly further on. They did catch us up the next day and came aboard for a long chat over coffee. It was lovely to meet Les and Jacquie at last and get to know each other a little bit. It was very interesting to hear about their recent travels to America and how our two countries differ in many ways.

Icy chill.

Red sky in the morning, Shepherds warning, so they say.  Well Jack Frost had run his icy fingers over everything during the night.

                        

However the sun appeared and a hire boat came past later nice and slowly, breaking the ice, which meant the swans could paddle along in search of food.

                   

The Longhorn cows and calves even came around to do a bit of sunbathing later. They seem to move very slowly and we were pleased to have such unusual neighbours.

After my lovely roast dinner aboard I had a brisk walk along to Tesco in Rugby. The towpath was hard and still frosty, so no squelchy mud to negotiate. The layer of ice over the canal had melted away in most places.

Derwent 6 was looking cosy with smoke curling out of the chimney, then I met Del and Al  who were down in Tesco. Unfortunately their calorifier (hot water tank)  has sprung a leak and they will be replacing it as soon as possible. Not really the time of year to be doing this sort of thing, anyway we hope it all goes well for them.

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore.

     

We had a walk up the hill into the village, en-route we could see the Rugby Cement Factory busy in the distance. As we approached we saw the village Millennium plaque set into a large stone and the Church of St Marys dates back to the 13 century.

This type of image used to adorn boxes of chocolate, this lovely thatched cottage stands right beside the main road.

Further on was The Bull Inn originally built as a farmhouse in 1598, but made into a pub some time later. Opposite are three shops, General store, Beauty and Nail Parlour and a Hairdressers. 

                 

A WW2 Pill Box stands guard over the towpath near Bridge 66 and a disused Railway Viaduct spans the Golf course. It is a shame that these have not been turned into useful cycle-ways as we have seen in other parts of the UK. Maybe they all will when motoring becomes too expensive in the future.

                         

The towpath hereabouts is in a sorry muddy eroded state in places.