Visit to Toby & Emma

 

Birthday Dinner at Prime

Birthday dinner at Prime with Peter and Sue, who brought a bottle of Lanson.

Last Day 15 - Saturday - Braunston to Napton

 Left Braunston at 07:00 because the boat had to be returned by 09:00.

When we got to Napton Marina one of the staff boarded to manoeuvre us in. We then had 30 minutes to vacate the boat.  Then a team boarded to replace gas cannisters and clean the boat.

After a few minutes in the office for Dan with the final paperwork we said farewells. Dan and Krisie headed home to North Wales with a stop for breakfast while we drove in the opposite direction.

Two weeks on Midlands canals had gone by in a flash. We'd eaten better evening meals than I expected in convenient canal side pubs and - apart from the last Friday - we'd been blessed with sunny clear days.

Passengers and crew of Annabelle in The Boathouse on the last night.

Braunston to Napton - 5 miles - 0 locks - 2 hours

To go back to Day 1 click here

Day 14 - Friday - Newbold to Braunston

 Our last full day.

We left Newbold at 09:30 and it was dry and bright but at 11:15 it started to rain heavily.

The supplied waterproofs proved not to be proof against heavy rain, but it didn't seem to worry Dan.

Rain let up for a while as we approached Braunston but started again. 

Several fields along the river showed signs of mediaeval strip farming, as shown by 'ripples' in the grass  

We moored at 15:50, most of the places were taken and we couldn't tie-up close to the pub.

Heavy rain had soaked the tow path which was mostly muddy puddles. We were back at The Boathouse which we'd dined in at the start of our cruise. Dan found a route back along the road to avoid the worst of the tow path.

Newbold to Braunston - 10.5 miles - 3 locks - 5h20

plus an hour moored for lunch

To go to day 15 click here.

To go to Day 1 click here.

Day 13 - Hawkesbury Junction to Newbold

 

We left our mooring at 09:55. 

Hawkebury Junction links Britain's two oldest canals, the Coventry and the Oxford. Both run close and parallel for a short distance, meaning we had to make a 360 degree turn in the pool in front of the Greyhound to join the Oxford Canal. It's a very tight turn in a 68-foot boat, and it started to rain.

Coventry Canal's tow path is carried over the water on the 50ft cast-iron Junction Bridge.

There is a seven-inch difference in water levels between the two canals, so we had to go through a lock to go on the Oxford Canal. A CRT volunteer was on hand to give advice, but Dan had to operate the windlass. Another cast-iron bridge carried the Oxford tow path.

Leaving Hawkesbury Junction behind we had the canal to ourselves.

Showers were frequent.

Just before Newbold is the 250-yard Newbold Tunnel, the first I'd seen with a tow path. It was built in 1829 replacing an earlier tunnel as part of a project to shorten the route of the original Oxford canal which took 44 miles to cover two points that were 16 miles apart. The original canal followed natural contours and thus twisted. Its straightening reduced the length by 11 miles and cut five hours off journeys.

We moored at 15:40 at Newbold-on-Avon and went for a walk to discover the local Co-op. 

We had a dinner reservation at the Barley Mow. This is a canal-side pub, but it was positioned for the old canal so now it is at an angle to the current one. As usual we had to pass through an honour guard of smokers at the pub door.

Hawkesbury to Newbold - 11 miles - 1 lock - 1 tunnel - 4h35

plus 1h50 moored for lunch.

To go to Day 14 click here

To go to Day 1 click here

Day 12 - Atherstone to Hawkesbury Junction

We left Atherstone at 09:55 and soon came to Atherstone locks, which were staffed by cheery Canal & River Trust volunteers. CRT volunteers were easily recognised, not so much by their CRT jackets, but by the orange life-jackets they all wore and walkie-talkies that were clipped to them.

Out of Atherstone there were sections where the canal passed fields of crops,

and places where trees hung over the canal.

We reached Hawkesbury Junction and moored on the other side of this footbridge (above) by the tow path at 16:05 and had time to explore before it got dark. The Engine House (above) was first used in 1821 by a Newcomen engine which pumped water from an underground stream to feed the canal. The stream had dried by 1913 when the Engine House fell into disuse.

Dan had made our dinner booking at The Greyhound a couple of minutes stroll from our mooring.

I thought this might be a touristy place, but the bar was packed with locals and the restaurant area was busy and with well trained professional staff. The food menu was encompassing but the wine list was dire with just four reds. The only information given for three of the was the grape variety and country, the fourth was shown as Rioja Crianza, Spain. Rioja is a reliable choice, being bottled in the country of origin. The others could be bulk shipped plonk given a fancy label by the importer or fine estate wines but there was no way of telling from the list. A strange thing on the list was an 'orange' wine from France.

I chose Vegetable Balti, served with a garlic and coriander rice, vegetable samosa, onion bhaji, naan bread with mango chutney & mint yoghurt dips (above) which was delicious and the most memorable meal of the trip

 

To go to Day 13 click here

To go to Day 1 click here

Day 11 - Glascote to Atherstone

 

We left Glascote at 10:00 on another gloriously clear sunny day and soon came to countryside.

The countryside was lush. Leaves were dropping and every now and again Dan went into reverse to clear leaves from the propeller, but trees still had most of their leaves.

Joan insisted on wielding Krissie's windlass and doing lock duties. Krisie was knocked out by the heavy-duty pain killers she'd be given by the hospital.

We moored at 15:40 and, after our usual aperitif of fizz, Dan collected a Fish and Chip takeaway dinner.

Glascote to Atherstone - 8 miles - 6 locks - 4h25

plus 1h15 moored for lunch.

For Day 12 click here.

For Day 1 click here

Day 10 - Tamworth to Glascote

We left The Tame Otter at 10:00 and headed towards Fazeley Junction where we stopped first for water then made a small diversion past an old mill and down the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to Fazeley Mill Marina for a pump out, since we'd been unable to use the planned mooring at Barton Marina two nights before. 

Then we turned back and made a sharp right under Bridge 77 (above) and we were back on our route along the Coventry Canal.

We saw very few moving boats all day, and this stretch seemed very remote. 

Aqueducts carried the canal over a couple of rivers, including the Tame (above) which we'd walked over in Hopwas the previous evening.

Because of the time spent getting water and on the diversion and pump out, the planned route had to be changed and we moored early in Glascote in Tamworth at 15:45.

Dan took advantage of an early finish to open the engine compartment to check the gubbins. Krisie slipped and fell onto the engine. She was in a lot of discomfort and it was possible she had cracked ribs. Dan called 111 and they arranged a callback from a doctor. While we waited we had a takeaway from Miah Indian Takeaway. Much later a doctor called and said she should go to the nearest A&E, so Dan called a taxi. Luckily there were no cracked ribs, but Krisie was in a lot of pain. 

Tamworth to Glascote - 7 miles - 2 locks - 4 hours

(plus 2 hours for water, pump out and lunch stops)

For Day 11 click here

For Day 1 click here

Day 9 - Barton to Tame Otter, Tamworth

We stopped here at Alrewas for water and to get the Sunday newspapers.

There are other canal users. We didn't see many canoes and, in this narrow stretch, the canoeists moved to the bank to let us pass.

Trees were laden with red berries or iridescent blue sloes.

We turned left at Fradley Junction. Immediately there is a swing bridge that must be pulled open, but another narrow boat coming in the opposite direction had opened it and we could pass through.

But Krisie closed it, and we moored and walked to the Laughing Duck Cafe at the junction for lunchtime sausage or/and bacon filled baps.

We were now on the Coventry Canal and heading south back to our starting point. But this stretch of canal soon becomes the Birmingham and Fazely Canal which was built before the Coventry Canal who bought it.

We moored alongside The Tame Otter at 15:50 and had a walk. We were in the Hopwas area of Tamworth.

Just past the Tame Otter was a bridge over the River Tame and we realised the pub's name referred to its location rather than to an otter that wasn't wild,

and that Tamworth also took its name from the river. But we had heard of the Tamworth pig, however this metal one on the roadside was the closest we got to a real one - unless its rashers were our lunchtime roll filling.

Also by the roadside were these magnificent mushrooms.

Dan had a voucher for a bottle of Prosecco from the Vintage Inns group which he used at the Tame Otter, and jolly good it was while we waited for our main course.

It was Sunday so I had roast beef, and we enjoyed a couple of bottles of Penfold's Koonunga Hills Shiraz-Cabernet 2019.

Barton to Tame Otter - 13 miles - 6h40 - 7 locks - 1 swing bridge

plus moored time 25m shopping & 35m lunch...

For Day 10 click here

For Day 1 click here

Day 8 - Weston Lock to Barton Marina

 

We left early at 08:05 as we wanted to moor the night in Barton Marina. Dan had spoken to them by phone and was told they don't take reservations, so he didn't want to arrive late and find there were no visitor moorings left.

We were back on a narrow canal after the wideness of River Trent.

There were stretches of farmland.

When passing moored boats one has reduce speed so the boat makes no wake to rock them. Thus the time it takes from travel from one place to another depends on unknowns including the number of moored boats - and anglers who also have to be passed at minimum speed.

But our Captain was pleased with our progress. We arrived at the modern Barton Marina at 16:20 and tied-up at short time moorings by a row of shops and cafes. 

Krisie returned with the bad news that the marina office closed at 16:00, twenty minutes before we arrived. Dan was unable to raise anyone by phone and no-one in the shops knew anything. The moorings were behind gates and without a key one could not leave the boat.

We were midway through the cruise and planned on using the marina's self-serve laundry and pump-out services; both now closed to us.

After an hour or so Dan steered the boat back to the canal and moored. We had a consolatory glass of fizz and walked down a road to our evening meal.

We had a booking at The Waterfront at the marina, and when we saw this Garlic and Rosemary pizza bread with red onions under starters we ordered one to share as it brought back memories of the delicious complimentary garlic pizza bread served at Beyerskloof Winery Bistro.

A bottle or two of South African Chenin Blanc and very good fish and chips restored us, but Dan was thinking about where to go for a pump-out.

Weston Lock to Barton Marina -16 miles - 5 locks - 6h15

plus 55 minutes moored for lunch and shopping at Willington.

For Day 9 click here

For Day 1 click here