To The Gongoozlers' Rest for Lunch

Friday 7th June 2019 in Braunston.
There is heavy rain forecast for today and the early morning sky certainly had a stormy look to it.

The rain arrived more or less on cue and stayed through the morning. When we walked down to Braunston yesterday, it was crammed with lots of boats breasted up waiting for the Braunston Locks to re-open last night. We hoped that most of them would have moved on by midday, so we unmoored at about 11:00am and set off. Luckily, the rain eased and, by the time we were half way to Braunston, it had stopped.
We had timed it about right as there were a number of free mooring spaces and, after picking up some water, we moored up a few yards east of the marina entrance.
On the opposite side of the canal, in the bushes, we saw this young lady dutifully sitting on her eggs. The nest appeared to be constructed out of dried reeds and was about two feet above the water line. Shortly after, the rain returned with a vengence.

M decided to photograph the pork pie that she had acquired from the local butcher yesterday.

However, instead of eating the pie, we decided to go to the Gongoozlers' Rest for lunch.

A fellow boater by the name of Martin on nb. "Grinstead", had ordered a take-away sausage bap. Dogs are not allowed on the "Gongoozlers' Rest", so he ate his bap outside, while his very well-behaved dogs looked on hopefully. (They did get a little in the end as a reward for their patience).

Braunston Marina is very attractive, even in the rain.

By late afternoon, the rain finally stopped. Hooray! M walked up into the village to buy some milk and to make a couple of calls (the signal down on the canal is very poor). Butcher's Bridge is Bridge Number 1 on the Grand Union Canal going south from the junction with the Oxford Canal. The reason for the name may be lost in time, but the path that crosses it leads up to the excellent butcher's shop in Braunston village, so maybe that explains it.

Some evening sunshine was very welcome.

We plan to stay in Braunston for the weekend.
Today: 2 miles, 0 locks and 2.5 hours.
Trip: 70 miles, 25 locks and 32.8 hours.

A Visit from 400 Year Old Friends

Thursday 6th June 2019 at Willoughby
A dramatic early morning sky.

The weather forecast promised a fine day, so we set off south towards Braunston. Since we last passed this way one year ago, this new marina has opened, Dunchurch Pools by name. We admired the beautiful cast iron bridge over the entrance and wondered if it were brand new or a restored original. Either way, it looks very smart and very much historically in keeping with the Oxford Canal.

It was lovely cruising in the sunshine.

A sad sight. This old signal gantry was the "Up Distant for Braunston and Willoughby" for the Grand Central Railway. It still stands patiently waiting for the Master Cutler express from Sheffield Victoria to London Marylebone that will never come again thanks to Dr. Beeching and the politicians of the day.

After only just over an hour, we arrived at Willoughby and moored up.

The canal village of Braunston was only a couple of miles away and, with the prospect of two excellent cafés, we set off on foot down the towpath. The walking was delightful, the sun shone and the canal banks were lush with vegetation. That is Braunston church in the distance.

R had discovered that there was a footpath that led from one of the canal bridges directly into the centre of Braunston village. We had never walked that way before and it was a very pleasant alternative to the towpath.

Finally in beautiful Braunston again, walking past the church and the old windmill, now a private house, and down to the community café run entirely by volunteers.

The local butcher's shop, next to the café, is held in high esteem in narrowboating circles. M, who is an expert on pork pies, has recently been asked for her opinion on the butcher's version, so a stop here was mandatory. We have previously acquired excellent middle-cut bacon from him but, sadly, he said that he can no longer get it. Then we walked down to the marina and visited the "Gongoozlers' Rest", the floating café outside the marina entrance.
Everyone at the marina seemed to be painting everything - all in preparation for the Historic Narrowboat Rally later in the month, which attracts large crowds and many famous names.

There were dozens of boats moored up outside the marina because the locks above Braunston have been closed since Monday for emergency repairs to the cill of Lock 4. The locks were due to re-open at 4:00pm this afternoon so that those queuing could get through.
On the way to Braunston, we had seen these two very small ducklings who seemed to have lost their mother. In Braunston, we had managed to acquire some duck food, so R stopped to entice them closer to feed them some.

Back on board, the duck food came out again when this family of swans came by. Once they had been given a taste, they made it clear that they were expecting more by tapping on the window as R looked out.

Other vistors came to supper too. Our friends Jan and Abbie, who live in Willoughby, walked up from their house to join us for the evening. We met them both at Mary Arden's Farm, where they both work providing the falconry displays every day and Jan doubles as "Master Palmer", head of the table, at dinner time. It was so good to see them both again and to catch up on news. We very much hope to get down to Mary Arden's again this year; we miss being 400 year old!
Today: 1 mile, 0 locks and 1.3 hours.
Trip: 68 miles, 25 locks and 30.3 hours.

Hillmorton and Marsh Orchids

Wednesday 5th June 2019 near Barby.
Good to wake up to brilliant morning sunshine after yesterday's rain.

We set off after breakfast through the rather uninspiring outskirts of Rugby. We passed huge earthworks that had either been reclaimed by nature or, more likely, had been reseeded - either way, it was lovely to see the mounds covered with white mayweed and poppies.

Hillmorton locks are duplicated with two narrow locks side by side. This must have been a very welcome sight to the old working boatmen, when trade was brisk on this canal and they had the motor and a butty to get separately through the locks.

There were C&RT volunteers helping us through the bottom lock and M got into conversation with one of them about this notice on the spur of land between the two adjacent locks.  It tells people to "Keep Off, Orchids Growing".

The lady volunteer said rather sadly that she didn't think that any orchids were coming up this year but, to her joy, M showed her dozens that were just emerging. One was even beginning to flower. It was  a "Marsh" orchid and, although they grow in most parts of Britain, they vary in depth of colour by region.

M was delighted as she had never seen one before in the "wild".
As MM sails up towards the top set of locks, you can see how they are set up side by side. Last year, only one of each pair of locks was actually working but this year all six locks were functioning, even if some of the paddles were out of order.

Two contrasting bridges soon followed. The first carries the roar of the M45 across the canal and can be heard for a mile each side.

The second was a charming old farm accommodation bridge that carries a much quieter footpath, and the occasional sheep, across the canal. No prizes for guessing which one we prefer!

Our evening mooring was delightful and certainly ranks up amongst our favourites. It is deep in the countryside, close to Barby Hill, with hay meadows either side.

The only sound was birdsong and the occasional bleating of sheep in the field opposite. Bliss.

The evening sunlight and the dramatic cloudscape made a magical image.
Today: 6 miles, 3 locks and 2.7 hours.
Trip: 67 miles, 25 locks and 29.0 hours.

Pumpkins, a Sloping Church and the View from the Motte

Tuesday 4th June 2019 in Rugby.
A bright morning, although the forecast showed rain later.
We set off across the fields to the mediaeval village of Brinklow. There is much evidence of  the old "ridge and furrow" strip farming system in these parts.

The little café, Pumpkins, was open! Hurrah! We've been on a number of occasions - they have had an internal make-over and the inside looks very smart (and modern). For the first time, we met Christos, the charming owner. He is a Greek Cypriot and has had the café for eight years.

We treated ourselves to the Big Breakfast - and very good it was too, with our coffees included in the price.

Much fortified, we set off back through this lovely village with its unusual church, built on a slope so that, inside and out, the east end is 12ft higher than the west end. That must make for a sense of vertigo during services!

One of Brinklow's claims to fame is the remains of the "motte and bailey" castle built by the Normans to guard the strategic Fosse Way, which runs through the village and today forms its High Street.

Unusually, there is a very large double bailey, with an outer and inner sections.

The ruins are locally known as the "Tump". The motte is only about 40ft high yet commands panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. You can see for miles in every direction.

We couldn't help marvelling at the sheer manpower needed to dig the moat and ditches and raise the mound by hand, probably with enforced local labour. Bet it didn't take them years to get planning permission, though!

The sun came out as we walked back towards MM.

We set off south, towards Rugby. The original Oxford Canal was designed by James Brindley as a winding "contour" canal that was completed in 1790. By the 1820s its long and winding path was looking old fashioned and inefficient and was facing competition from the Grand Union so, a modernisation programme was begun by the engineers Cubitt and Vignoles, who created embankments and cuttings that shortened the 36 miles of canal north of Braunston by no less than 14 miles. As a result, there are many junctions and short spurs left of the old canal, many of them spanned by these graceful cast iron bridges made by the Horsley Iron Works in the 1820s. These shortenings must have been a huge relief to the working boat people, to whom time was money as they were paid by the load.

Newbold tunnel is only 250yds long. M, who normally likes to walk over the top, stayed on board as there is no clear path over this tunnel because, quite unusually, it has a towpath and so there was no need for a path to walk the horses over the top.

The moorings in Rugby are predictably much in demand, being only a short walk from two large shopping centres. We were lucky and found the last remaining space as we arrived, although later there was a lot of coming and going with, at one point, six boats in a row queuing to get past the moored boats. The rain arrived eventually, but luckily we were in the shops for the worst of it.

Given the proximity of the shops and a big, busy road, these moorings by the park are surprisingly quiet and M was astonished to hear the amount of birdsong at 4:00am!
Today: 5 miles, 0 locks and 1.8 hours.
Trip: 61 miles, 22 locks and 26.3 hours.

A Lone Telegraph Pole and an Oxymoronic C&RT Notice.

Monday 3rd June 2019 at Brinklow.
After yesterday's intermittent showers, it was great to wake up to a clear blue sky (even if it didn't last).

M, while washing up after breakfast, was pleased to see a C&RT gentleman on a bicycle checking boat licences. M complimented him on his work - it turned out that his name is Ed, he is a full-time employee of the C&RT and his job is pedalling up and down the Caldon, Ashby, Coventry and bits of the T&M canals, checking licences. What a super way to earn your living!, said M.
We set off soon after through the countryside.

Beside the canal, we saw a blast from the past - a solitary telephone pole, sadly deprived of its many individual wires that used to carry our telephone calls from place to place, in a crackly sort of way.

By the appearance of detritus in the water, including a buggy, numerous plastic bottles, beer cans, a garden seat, a car tyre, etc., we knew that we were approaching Nuneaton...
...It was good to be past Nuneaton and back out into the countryside.
We had already decided to bypass the Ashby Canal, with its 22 miles of lock-free cruising - much as we would have liked to visit Bosworth Field again and the heritage railway, but we will have to save that for another day.
The old Engine House at Hawkesbury, or "Sutton Stop" as it was known in the old days, marks the junction of the Coventry Canal with the North Oxford.
R and MM negotiated the tight turn under the cast iron bridge over the junction (on the right in the photo). On the left of the picture is the "Greyhound" pub, recently voted the "Canal Pub of the Year" - and rightly so - it is excellent.

A typical example of the C&RT not knowing its *rs* from its elbow - the first and most important item when saving water is "Two in a lock" - in a narrow lock???

As we approached Brinklow, we passed the bridge spanning the entrance to the "Brinklow Arm" that used to take the canal right into the centre of the village. The entrance bridge is still there but sadly the arm was filled in long ago.

This evening's mooring is at Brinklow. We like it here and have only moored here four times before!

It is a very pleasant walk into the village across the fields and past the remains of its "mott and bailey" castle. Tomorrow, we have promised ourselves breakfast in "Pumpkins Cafe" in the village.
Today: 14 miles, 1 lock and 5.7 hours.
Trip: 56 miles, 22 locks and 24.5 hours.

Bach Again.

Sunday 2nd June 2019 near Nuneaton.
A lift to the station from our very kind neighbour, followed by three trains and a taxi, brought us back to MM at Springwood Haven Marina just north of Nuneaton. The taxi driver immediately recognised where we wanted to go; he said it was down at the end of the roughest piece of road in Nuneaton!
This truly is a lovely small marina in a bucolic setting, even if the road to it is a bit bumpy.

We filled up with water, disposed of the rubbish and set off south - for all of 200 yards! There is a stretch of excellent rural moorings just round the bend from the marina and this was our overnight stop. After our long journey, the bed looked very inviting in the evening sun! How about that for a view from your bedroom?

A very cute, but rather unwelcome, visitor was this cheeky lass, who spent ten minutes preening herself before pooping on the roof and flying off. Her parting gift really does the paintwork no good at all.

Rosie and Jim (alias M & R) enjoyed the evening sunshine as we unpacked.

The evening sun cast a beautiful light on the canal. It really is lovely to be back.

Today: A couple of hundred yards and that's it.