All steamed up.

9 Locks, 11 Miles. Now moored at Braunston top lock.
607 locks, 807 miles, 22 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

On Wednesday morning it was goodbye to Rugby for this year as we set off for Braunston. We will be back here in February for our 6 monthly doctor’s appointment.

Along the way we passed n/b President and butty Kildare. President was in fine form with a good head of smoke being emitted from the chimney. It’s nice to see the pair working after reading so much about them in the magazines.

There were still a lot of boats heading north again today and we met one of them in a blind bridge hole. Luckily I blasted my horn as I approached and he reciprocated so I became aware of his presence. With a quick change into reverse I was able to back off in time as he was already in the bridge hole.

Bridge 80 on the Oxford canal just North of Braunston is really looking the worse for wear with a huge chunk of brick work missing.

which we found in a BW work boat just further down the canal. This will be a major repair job.

Upon arrival at Braunston we watered up and went up through the first 2 locks where we moored so that we could visit Braunston bottom lock chandlery who stock Masons paint. We later wandered up to the top lock to see what the mooring situation was there and found 2 slots available. On the way back to the boat we spoke to a couple of BW guys who were painting the balance beams. Their recommendation was for us to move up past the top lock if we wanted to get away to an early start in the morning. Apparently the middle pounds leak overnight and drain out and it may take them until 9 or 10am to refill them again. So we took a chance and set off up the flight hoping that the moorings would still be there when we got there. Our luck was in, a cruiser that had been here earlier fixing his headlight had left and we got a great mooring so we are all set for an early start on the tunnel in the morning.

Au Revoir Christina and Derek.

1 Lock, 14 Miles, 1 Tunnel. Now moored at Brownsover Park.
598 locks, 796 miles, 22 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Yesterday was another lazy day with only a few chores done. At 7am we motored up to Bedworth Hill bridge and winded the boat and returned to our original mooring ready for Tuesday morning. Later I polished some brass and Dot and Christina went for a walk into Bedworth.

This morning we said our farewells to Derek and Christina on n/b Kalimera who set off early to get up to the Atherstone flight. There was a difference of opinion as to whether they would be dealt with today or tomorrow. They are heading off to their winter quarters to get some painting done before the weather changes.

We set off about 8.30am with the first stop being the water point just before the junction as Dot was planning on catching up with some washing. Moored on the other side of the junction was the diesel boat Gosty Hill so we pulled alongside and filled up ready for the long haul south. We only took 38 litres but at 50p per litre you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

The trip down to Rugby was marred by being rammed by a day boat propelled by a complete novice who either had been given no instructions or he only understood Hindi. I hope his car driving skills are better than his boating skills.

There were many boats heading north including Tui Mk3 (? another New Zealand boat) presumably the past owner of N/b Tui now owned by John ( a friend of Les on N/b Valerie) seen here near Hawkesbury junction. I don’t know if the succession of boats was heading home from the IWA festival at St Ives or they were heading up to the Ashby for their festival week-end, perhaps both. Majority of them were private boats, only a few hire boats.

Once we had moored up at Brownsover Park it was off to Tesco’s for a week’s supply of groceries as the next convenient supermarket won’t be until Milton Keynes.

I had to set too and defrost the freezer box before we could the meat and ice cream away as it was badly iced up and the door wasn’t shutting properly.

Bedworth Almshouses

Christina and Dot went for a walk into Bedworth this morning from Hawkesbury junction for a couple of grocery items and were surprised by the shops in the town including Tescos. This photo showing the beautiful old almshouses although they are private residences now.

Lazy day.

Still moored Hawkesbury Junction; Coventry canal.
597 locks, 782 miles, 21 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Today we had another taste of summer with clear blue sky and lots of sunshine. With temperatures up around the mid 20’s and a light breeze it has been a good day to laze around. Well isn’t that what hot sunny days are for?

Being a long week-end there has been a lot of boats on the move enjoying the fine weather. Another good reason for us to stay put.

Since we have been up this far North we have seen families of ducks which I think are Pochards (Aythya ferina). Unfortunately we have not seen a male but from their habit of all simultaneously diving and the adult female swimming with her tail low in the water this all fits the description in my bird ID book.

Pochard - please let me know if I am wrong

While on the bird trail we have also seen 2 families of moorhens that have raised 2 clutches of young this year. While this may not be unusual what we found fascinating was that the first clutch of chicks which are nearly full grown are helping the parent birds feed and look after the second clutch of chicks. Who says birds and animals are dumb.

The other night while quietly fishing off the back of the boat, I got a brief glimpse of a wily old fox out looking for dinner. His big bushy tail was a beauty. He spotted a rabbit and the chase was on but they disappeared over a stop bank never to be seen again.

We can't seem to be away from our fellow countrymen for long. Tonight we were passed by Warren and Wynne on Kiwi Cruiser II with Robin and Wendy Croot from Gypsy Caravans in Levin. Its a small small world.

Computer programme updates, Humbug.

1 Lock, 18 Miles. Now moored Hawkesbury Junction; Coventry canal.
597 locks, 782 miles, 21 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Two days ago Dot had to update our AVG virus program and firewall at the cost of NZ$37. Well she had no sooner done what was necessary when the whole computer refused to function hence no blog for 2 days. After a lot of muttering and cursing and emails to AVG and Brent (son) in NZ she has now got us up and running again. Running with a temporary virus program in the meantime until the renewed subsription is up and running properly.

Since the last blog we have travelled to Coventry via a stop over at Bridge 4 Oxford canal. We arrived at the Coventry Basin mid morning on the 24^th. Our travelling companions Royce and Kathy left us to travel back to London and then to Holland before returning to New Zealand.

Royce and Kathy on Gypsy Rover

Coventry Canal Basin entrance

The canal basin itself as you enter under the bridge

Shortly after this we wandered into the city to have a look at the Transport museum. When we got there we found Royce and Kathy having a quick look around before catching the train. The general consensus of opinion was that for a FREE museum it was absolutely marvelous and reputedly the biggest display of British made cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and bicycles in the world. I found a similar car to my first old banger, a Standard 8 and also my first motorcycle, a BSA C15. Along side that was the BSA Gold Flash, my Uncle Roy had owned one of these with a sidecar.

After several hours at the museum taking a trip down memory lane we went in search of the old cathedral which was burnt out in the 1940 bombing raids over Coventry. The ruins are still used as a place of worship every day even though the new cathedral is right alongside.

While looking for the Cathedral we stumbled upon Holy Trinity Church where a wedding had not long taken place. A church has stood on the same site since 1113.

The oldest part of the current church dates back to the Benedictine monks in the 13^th century. The church warden told us that this church could have gone up in flames along with the Cathedral across the street because of its wooden roof. However the clergyman of the time along with his son and 2 church wardens climbed onto the roof and extinguished the incendiary bombs with water before they were able to take hold and so the church was saved.

The Holy Trinity Church dating back to 1113 AD

Brave men indeed. Up on the wall high above the congregation is what is called the Doom painting or the Last Judgement which is reputed to pre date the Michel Angelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

A memorial donated by Richard Branston, together with a similar one in Hiroshima in Japan

I would have liked to stop longer in the city but we had heard so many conflicting stories about the safety at Coventry Basin and because it was a long week-end and a Friday night I was out voted 3-1 in favour of leaving the basin and mooring up else where. Unfortunately good moorings are scarce along this stretch unless you want to moor among factories and council housing estates. There were no boats moored along this whole 5 mile stretch even unlicensed live-aboards so perhaps that says something for the area. Pity really.

We are now moored about half a mile north of the Hawkesbury junction on the Coventry canal where we will stay until Tuesday. We will then go up to the winding hole at bridge 13, turn around and head back down the Oxford canal and Grand Union to the Paddington Arm to meet Dots sister and Brother-in-law by mid September.

In Rugby last week we met up with Derek and Christina on narrowboat Kalimera who we travelled with for 6 weeks on the Kennet and Avon Canal. After leaving Reading they returned to Devon for a christening while we headed for Oxford. While we were caught in the flooding in Oxford, they were at home waiting for the Thames to subside so they could move out of the marina at Reading and follow us north. We head our seperate ways after the weekend as we head south to London and they north. We have plans to meet up again next year and travel up north together. We will miss their company.

Derek and Christina on N/b Kalimera

British Waterways Stoppages 2007 - 2008 list is now out and available as a PDF file. Click here for a copy.

Explorers.

0 Locks, 5½ Miles, 1 Tunnel. Now moored at Brinklow.
596 locks, 764 miles, 21 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

It was very blustery and cool as we set off from Brownsover in the company n/b Kalimera.It was a slow and steady cruise with a few boats on the move. We had planned on stopping at the Barley Mow at Newbold for water but there was already a queue so we carried on as we are not desperate for water. Our arrival at Brinklow was nicely timed with 2 berths available for both boats.

After lunch we all went into Brinklow to explore the village more fully than on our first visit. We took the public footpath route across farm fields and came out by the Raven pub.

We walked up one side of the village to St Johns parish church where we found a very unusual graveyard where the grave head stones had been made out of what appeared to be slate instead of the more usual stone, granite or marble. The inscriptions were still as clear as the day they were engraved in the late1700’s, early 1800’s. Some even looked 3 dimensional.

The most interesting tomb stone was of Thomas Bolton, a deaf and dumb woodcutter who died in 1779. His epitaph reads “He chiefly got his livelihood by faggoting and felling wood. Till death, the conqueror of all, gave the feller himself a fall”. Also engraved on the tombstone were his tools of trade.

The church itself dates back to the thirteenth century and it is 1 of only 3 churches in the country with a sloping floor which runs east to west. The bell tower contains 6 bells, 5 dating back to 1705 and 1 dated 1913 which is inscribed “My movrnful sovnd doth warning give that here men cannot always live” I will leave the interpretation of this to yourselves.

In the south wall is a small piece of marble donated by St Johns Baptist church in Canberra Australia as a friendship link in 1948.

From the church we walked down the other side of the village main street where we stopped at the local store run by a very friendly lady for an ice cream. On the way back to the boat we walked around the other end of the village up behind the church to a castle mound where Roman soldiers once stood 2000 years ago. It is locally known as “The Tump” and was a Norman Motte and Bailey castle. The view from the top was magnificent with Coventry in the hazy distance.

Before the Oxford canal was straightened it used to meander through Brinklow and it is said that the Navvies on their horse drawn boats would hear the morning and evening prayer bells in the same day as it took so long to pass through the village. It must have been a very circuitous route.

Steam rules.

3 Locks, 4 Miles. Now moored at Brownsover Park.
596 locks, 758½ miles, 20 Tunnels, 37 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

After a leisurely start to the day we meandered down to bridge 74 and winded the boat to return to Rugby. There were a few boats on the move mostly heading north.

We arrived back at Brownsover Park to find 1 mooring under the willow trees which suited us perfectly. We had not long been moored when we received a text message from Christina on n/b Kalimera to say they were close. I went out to have a look to see if the mooring behind us was still clear as the previous boat had left and when I popped my head out the back door Kalimera was already moored behind us. Good to have our old travelling companions back again.

After lunch we all went into town, Royce, Kathy and Heather went to the railway station so that the latter could return to London and we just went into town where I picked up a pair of boots for £15 in a closing down sale. I have just about worn out the pair I bought with me.

Back at the boat we were getting ready to go blackberry picking when we heard what sounded like a steam train whistle. When I got up on deck I found a steam powered narrowboat sliding past with its big chimney up front. The boat was called “Adamant” and with 2 more blasts on the whistle disappeared around the corner.

After this little bit of excitement we went and gathered another 2 containers of blackberries so its blackberry crumble on the menu tomorrow.