The Napton Flight and the Summit Pound

 Monday 31st May 2021 near Priors Hardwick.

What happenned to the weather? We woke to a chill mist. It was so cold that you could see your breath in the air. To make matters worse, people in other parts of the country were waxing lyrical about the gorgeous weather!

However, by the time we reached Napton, the mist had cleared and the sun appeared. Hooray!

M walked to the local village shop, which proved to be an absolute delight - hoememade cakes, sandwiches,coffees, provisions - and a post box.

Meanwhile R started up the nine locks of the Napton Flight.

Halfway up the flight.

Latin scholars of the world unite! M will award a Kit-Kat for the first correct translation!

The summit pound of the South Oxford is one of the loveliest stretches of waterway on the network. It meanders for ten dreamy miles surrounded by meadows, flowers and grazing livestock. Hardly a house in sight.

We moored up against a bank of cow parsley, which came half way up our windows. Magic.

Yet another lovely sunset.

Today: 7 miles, 9 locks and 5.2 hours

Trip: 83 miles, 33 locks and 36.2 hours.

Busy Braunston and a Wildflower Railway Embankment.

 Sunday 30th May 2021 near Flecknoe

Inca (Mel and Peter's dog) on full squirrel alert (the triumph of hope over experience)!

There are three "double" locks at Hillmorton and there are usually volunteers at the bottom locks. One obligingly posed with Mel for a photograph. Our two boats are side by side in the parallel loocks.

The hawthorn has been amazing this year with cascades of white blossom like a bridal veil.

Always lovely to see Braunston Church spire in the distance. This time we will not stop in Braunston but continue down the Oxford where it also becomes part of the Grand Union.

The approaches to Braunston were heaving with hire boats on "staycations" (it was half term week and the sun was shining) so we continued on down towards "Wigrams Turn".
We moored up about halfway to the junction next to a disused railway line. M & R went to explore it but couldn't go more than a few hundred yards before they were met with a fence preventing further exploration.

The embankment is obviously not much visited and was a mass of at least twenty varieties of beautiful wild flowers.

We were rewarded with a magnificent sunset with a view right down to the horizon.

Today: 11 miles, 3 locks and 4.6 hours.

Trip: 76 miles, 24 locks and 31.0 hours.

Hawkesbury and a Broken Throttle Cable

Saturday 29th May 2021 in Rugby.

 Hawkesbury Junction, known to the old boaters as "Sutton Stop" after the family who used to manage the lock. It is the meeting place of the Coventry Canal and the North Oxford Canal. We paused here briefly to take on some water, and R and Peter did the stop lock (just a few inches deep, designed to stop the Coventry Canal from stealing the Oxford's water). Note: we were still wearing several layers of clothing - summer had not yet arrived in Warwickshire!

In its heyday, Sutton Stop was where the boats waited for their orders, where they picked up coal to take down to London. This was the energy distribution centre of the Midlands, supplying coal to the capital. It is still the energy distribution centre - only now it is distributing electricity instead of coal. Progress?

Passing Brinklow, MM's engine suddenly died back to idle power. After ten years of service, the throttle cable had broken. We pulled in to the bank (by shere luck there was a space) and R disappeared down into the engine room. By pure chance, Mel and Peter on "Inkling" had a spare cable and R was able to fit it, although initially he couldn't work out how to connect it to the Morse control. Peter supervised, offering helpful advice!

So R improvised with a pair of mole grips to keep the revs up! It worked!

  

After we moored up, R was able to talk to Simon, our lovely engineer. R then worked out how to connect the cable to the Morse control, and we were back working normally again.

 

The buttercups have been amazing this year with whole fields a mass of gold.  Beautiful.

We moored up in Rugby opposite the park and went shopping in the big shopping centre. Such a warm feeling to have the fridge full of goodies!

Today: 13 miles, 1 lock and 4.8 hours.

Trip: 65 miles, 21 Locks and 26.4 hours.

Gnomes, Atherstone and Boudicca's Demise

Thursday 27th & Friday 28th May 2021 near Sutton Stop (Hawkesbury Junction).

The Tamworth Gnomes are still there. Last time we came this way, they had been decimated by vandalism but it seems that they are making a come-back!

Hopwas Woods look idyllic, and they would be if they were not a military firing range! No mooring allowed here (maybe that is why they are so idyllic?).

Fazeley Junction, where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal goes south west into Birmingham. We didn't go that way this time.

The "Piggy-Bank Locks" at Glascote, so named because they are very slow to fill but quick to empty.

We overnighted at the bottom of the Atherstone flight of locks and it was here that the weather suddenly changed. Up to now we had been wearing multiple layers of clothes to keep warm but today the sun came out and the main worry was if we had enough sunscreen on! The rise in temperature was matched by a rise in our spirits (which were pretty good anyway) and we celebrated with gin and tonics in the evening sunshine.

An early start to go up the Atherstone flight. All the locks on this canal are narrow so we have to go through one at a time with the two boats. Each helps the other as far as possible but it usually means that the boat behind has all the locks against and has to empty each one in turn after the first boat has gone though. However, we made good progress.

Just south of Atherstone is Mancetter, which is reputedly the site of the final battle of Boudicca in AD59 or 60.  Here a very disciplined Roman army defeated a much larger but (according to the Romans) more disorganised rabble of  Angles (i.e. us!). 

Hard to equate the surrounding peaceful countryside with such slaughter.

Thirsty cows.

A relic of a previous age of communications. One pole like this could handle as many as 24 conversations at once!

Two Days: 27 hours, 13 Locks and 12.1 Hours.

Trip: 52 miles, 20 Locks and 21.6 hours.

A Last Glimps of Rugeley's Cooling Towers and the Blight of HS2

Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th May 2021 at Streethay.

 The geraniums are back (much to R's despair, as he can't see where he is going!).

Breakfast at the Great Haywood Café was irresistible. 

Last night Bridgett had said that she was meeting old friends for coffee at the Great Haywood Café and, to our delight, she was still there when we arrived. There she is, on the left, chatting to her friends.

At Brindley Bank, we found Mel, Peter and "Inkling" waiting for us (with Inca, their Hungarian Vizsla dog and Tonic, their cat).

Mel had generously offered to cook for us - a great treat!

On Wednesday morning we stopped off in Rugeley for a "few bits" in Tesco.

For years Rugeley has been defined by the huge power station in its midst. Each time we have passed we have been amused by the sight of small houses that seemed to have huge chimneys sprouting from their rooftops.

Sadly, this is the last time we will see this view as on 6th June, these cooling towers are scheduled to be demolished and the site redeveloped for housing.

Even sadder was the sight, near Fradley Junction, of the destruction of ancient woodland to make way for HS2.

The woodland on the facing bank illustrates what the other side used to look like and this too will soon be flattened in the name of "progress"?

It looks like these close-packed, plastic wrapped infant trees have been planted as part of their "planting two trees for each one cut down" pledge but how few of these close-packed trees will survive? And what about all the wildlife those woodlands supported?  Can that be replaced?  It makes you weep.

Tonight's mooring was one of our favourites between Streethay and King's Orchard Marina. Now a quiet backwater but HS2 will go roaring by just a hundred yards away. Still, a beautiful sunset.

 Two days: 20 miles, 6 locks and 7.9 hours

Trip: 25 miles, 7 locks and 10.5 hours.

Off at Last on our 2021 Summer Cruise.

Sunday 23rd & Monday 24th May 2021 in Weston-upon-Trent 

Well, finally here we are, about to set off on our 2021 Summer Adventure! Although, we have to admit that this posting is a bit delayed as we have been quite busy!

We left Reigate in the rain and it was still raining at Aston when we arrived. We parked the Touran next to a very handsome Tesla.

Unloading the Touran took a while and stowing everything away took even longer but Mel and Peter very kindly drove over from their house nearby to help us.

The four of us had a very welcome dinner together in No.26 to mark our joint departing (Mel and Peter also keep their boat "Inkling" at Aston and we plan to travel together down to Surrey). So nice finally to get to dine in a restaurant!

The following morning, we set off into Stone to get the fresh provisions at the local M&S, which had a café - so we started with breakfast, of course!

We were back at the Marina just in time to run up on to the bridge to see Mel and Peter on nb "Inkling" start off. Like us, they are thrilled at the prospect of setting off for our summer cruise. We will catch up with them at Brindley Bank, on the outskirts of Rugeley. The plan is for the four of us and the two boats to travel down to the Wey & Arun Navigation to Godalming, the southernmost point on the canal network.

Unpacking all the provisions took a while but then we moved to the service bay for fuel, water and a pump-out. Nick, the Marina Manager was there to wave us off.

Always a special moment as we turn out of the Marina, the start of yet another adventure.

The rain was there to greet us as we left, but at Sandon Lock the rain stopped just long enough for M to do the lock and keep dry.

Clearly, this is the very best way to travel! Warm in your Mum's embrace.

The rain returned as we carried on towards Weston-upon-Trent. Typical!

Our friends Bridgett and Peter, who live beside the canal at Weston, had kindly invited us to join them for dinner and provided the best fish pie that either of us had ever tasted. Delicious! We passed a truly lovely evening in their company. A lovely start to this cruise.

Today: 5 miles, 1 lock and 2.6 hours.