A Day in Rugby.

Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th October, 2015 from Rugby to Ansty.
We have a day in hand and decided to stay in Rugby. We enjoyed a quiet day, the peace of which was only disturbed by the chaps from the council mowing the grass in the park beside us. Having sprayed MM with grass cuttings, they were kind enough to come along with a blower and remove most of the cuttings from MM's side.

In the afternoon, we had another trip to the Cinema, this time to see "The Martian" - an outstanding film and great entertainment that held us enthralled from beginning to end. It even has a happy ending!
Wednesday dawned as another pretty morning - we have been so lucky with the October weather thus far.

This is the fourth time that we have moored up in Rugby but we had never visited the town centre, which is about one and a half miles from the canal. Today, we decided that we owed it to the town to make the effort and so we walked in.
We were so glad that we did. The centre of the town is pedestrianised and has some fine old buildings.

And, of course, a Costa!

We discovered that Sir Frank Whittle's first jet engine was built and first run in Rugby. This sculpture is dedicated to Sir Frank Whittle.

Another brick frieze celebrates the town's indusrial heritage, beginning with the canal and then the railway. Cement and lime making started in the 1860s, steam engines were produced from the 1900s, the first jet engine was produced here and Rugby is also famous for the radio masts, boasting the world's most powerful transmitter in 1926.

In 1976, M took her driving test here in Rugby town centre; R asked her if the town had changed. M said that she wouldn't know, as all she remembered was trying not to hit anything or anyone!
We walked back to MM through Caldecott Park where council workers were busy meticulously planting hundreds of polyanthus and wallflowers. We were amused to see that the trees and benches were decorated with knitted woollen "bits" in honour of the Rugby World Cup.

This included a giant Rugby ball wearing a wooly vest!

We had fun pretending to do Rugby tackles.

In the afternoon, we set off with the aim of reaching Ansty by evening. The trees looked dramatic in the autumn sun against the blue sky...

But the temperature fell equally dramatically and it was a relief to moor up at 5.30, as we were both chilled.

Today: 9 miles, 0 locks and 7.3 hours (two days).
Trip: 459 miles, 323 locks and 349.1 hours.