Two for the price of one.....

.......I know how to save even when posting on the blog.

So two post’s today as my internet signal was weak yesterday.

I left my yesterday about 9:30, the wind and rain had all but disappeared so it was a very pleasant autumnal start to my journey.

Stipers Hill was looking very nice although now it is the home of a motorcycle dirt track which for some will detract from the beauty, I didn’t mind, I thought it gives it a bit more interest.

 Almost opposite Stipers Hill is Hoo Hill which boasts a monument to the former existence of a chapel demolished by Henry VIII in 1538, I doubt he literally did it himself, but you know what I mean, it was during the suppression of the monasteries.

I passed through Polesworth which is quite built up and I will no doubt visit that another day,

In case you're wondering where the pub is, it's over there. 

I liked the name of this little boat, makes me wonder if it was originally twice as long, or is the reference to a drinker owning it? 

Half Cut

The approach to the M42 bridge was rather leafy, many bursts of reverse meant slow progress.

As I approached Alvechurch Marina the rain began to fall and I decided to call it a day, mooring just past this sad looking boat and hoping it wasn't catching.

Last nights mooring.

Friday 20th.

I left my mooring today at 9am, I had a reasonable length journey planned (for me) to get me to Hopwas, it was very cold, bright, but a real chill as per the forecasts.

There are many bridges along this section of the Coventry canal, 12 in fact before reaching the first lock.

As I approached lock 12, one of the two Glascote Locks, I could see a boat already coming up in the lock (I am still going down) so I was happy to think the lock would be in my favour, I slowed right down to give him time to get out and as he did a boat I thought was moored moved off and bashed his way into the lock, no matter, I tied up and went and helped him through, then waited for another boat coming up and saw him through before it was my turn.

Leaving Glascote Lock 12

and looking ahead to 13

One good turn deserves another and as I approached the next lock I could see the boat ahead had opened the paddles to refill the lock for me as he was leaving it, good man, however once I got into the lock I could see he was still on the landing, loosely tied and his boat was wandering in and out across the canal and then of course another boat appeared wanting to go up the lock, his crew helped me through  while he hovered before the lock landing and the ‘loose’ boat, commenting to me as I passed him about inconsiderate boats mooring on the landings, then the chap appeared with a cup of tea, he could have moored further along while he made tea, there was plenty of room.

Not long afterwards he caught me up and was close behind me, so after going across the aqueduct over the river Tame I pulled over and let him go by.

The white object is half a porta potti loo

Passing over the river Tame

Off he goes, no doubt tea near to hand

I passe through Tamworth and again will stop there another time, next came Fazeley Junction, left is to Birmingham but I am heading right to the ‘Four Counties Ring’

Coming out into Fazeley Junction

Birmingham down there

The sky blackened and I decided to stop for tea and a sandwich with perfect timing, a very heavy twenty minute downpour, well avoided.

Moving off again past Peels Wharf now a housing development with permit holders moorings, although no boats inside the area.

Through some more lovely countryside

as the weather improved and then under Ball’s Bridge

the bridges now have names and into Hopwas, I passed through the village and have moored the other side of it.
I will probably stay until Monday. I am on the  48hour visitor moorings but during the winter months November ‘til the end of February, I think, all visitor moorings revert to 14 days unless specifically signed along the lines ‘all year round’, I have a TV signal and good internet and I may even walk back to try a pint in the canalside Pub.

Tonight’s mooring

Total travel: 2 days : 10 miles : 2 Locks

A blast across the bows.....

.......actually it was the stern but I thought bows sounded better J

I left my Atherstone mooring at 10am, it was breezy (again) but not too bad.

Lock 6 has a nice cottage alongside, a bridge and steps leading down between the bridge and the lock to allow you to rejoin your boat as it glides slowly out of the lock, having first shut the gates, well that’s the theory and today it went well, stepping onto the boat as it comes along to meet me is a pleasure when you time it right, frustrating if the boat is moving too slow and possibly disastrous if it’s moving too quickly, causing mild panic and much rushing around.

The weather was quite bright and calm as I passed Barry Hawkins yard.

 Leaving lock 8 the skies began to darken behind me.

This was earning it’s money this month I bet.

Having gone through the last of the Atherstone locks (11)  without seeing another moving boat at all, the wind began to build and as I was passing the residential Bradley Green moorings a boater said “You’re brave”, I didn’t think so, the wind was not too bad.

I stopped shortly after on the service point and did the usual fill and empty, things changed for the worse as I moved off.

Leaving the service point

It was just after this point things changed quite a bit, it is quite wide and open with a winding hole the wind was building steadily, trees moving as nature took control again and showed me who is boss, then while passing a moored boat a particularly vicious blast of wind sent my stern towards him, at this point, because I am passing a moored boat, I am on tickover but that had to change, so a fairly heavy application of throttle and tiller hard over to the left saw me safely clearing him, but it also told me it may be prudent to stop and moor up.

So I found a spot a little way past Grendon Dock with a view of what I assume is Bradley Green church across the fields.

Having got moored up safely the wind raged and the heavens opened and I was glad I made the decision.

Now I have been here and hour or so the sun has come out and it seems like a completely different day, but I think I’ll stay put now and see what tomorrow brings.

Tonights mooring

Total today: 2 miles : 6 locks

Into Atherstone I go

The wind had settled but the sky was dark when I awoke this morning and it didn’t look great, around 9am it began to rain quite heavily and I was contemplating staying put, I prepared everything and got myself ready just in case and about 10am it brightened enough for me to cast off towards Atherstone.

Once again it was a nice cruise through open countryside.

Passing Nelly a tidy cute little boat with a scruffy garden area.

And only one other boat on the move before reaching the outskirts of Atherstone after about half an hour.

I was approaching bridge 41 just before the first of the Atherstone locks, there is 11 in all, when I noticed this boat in front of me, I had no idea where he came from and thought how unlucky I was to have to follow him down the flight but as luck would have it he stopped on the services to take on water.

Appearing boat on services to the left.

So the first lock for almost two months was against me, all normal though,  these locks are slow to fill and fast to empty and as I was just leaving the lock the chap from the other boat walked along and closed the gates for me, that was nice of him and I had remembered how to go through a lock J

A straight forward descent through the first two locks but when I got into lock 3 I could see a high viz jacket ahead and assumed it was another boat coming up.

Entering Lock 3, under the blue tarpaulin is my smokeless fuel, hopefully safe.

When I left lock 3 I was happy to discover it was in fact a couple of volunteers so I stayed on the boat while they assisted me through, sadly they then walked off behind me to help another boat following me down.

Me hovering as the volunteers rest while waiting for the lock to fill

I wanted to moor up after lock 5 which gives easy access then to the town center and was pleased to see there were plenty of moorings available.

Lock 5 and former lock keepers cottage.

Having got moored and sorted just before lock 6, I went for a walk into town, Atherstone is still very much my type of town, mostly filled with a variety of small shops although there is an Aldi and a Co-Op, no large complex to get angry and frustrated in, just a very pleasant walk, cobbled side streets, Church, many pubs and a lovely Victorian Railway Station, the only disappointment was that the butchers in Market Street was closed and I needed bacon, so I had to pop into Aldi.

High Street

Market Square

Market Street

The Old Swan, nearly tempted me but not quite.

The Albert Hall has changed a bit !

Atherstone Railway Station

I want to drain my coolant and refill the system with antifreeze/coolant added so was on the lookout for a small drill operated pump to pump it out of the skin tank rather than cracking open a hose joint and a small DIY shop in town had one, “ideal for draining garden ponds, tanks, cisterns and domestic heating systems” it said on the packaging, so when I got back to the boat I rigged up the hoses and drill and tried to pump water from my washing up bowl on the floor into the sink, not a hope, a pathetic waste of money, even when I put the bowl higher than the sink it still did not have the strength to move the water, so if you need once of these devices, don’t buy the one made by “Marksman quality tools”.

Tonights mooring

Total Today: 3 miles : 5 Locks

Today is a landmark day, one year ago I became the owner of Quinquireme and we have learnt to tolerate each other over the last twelve months, I think we are now friends and I hope we remain that way !!!!

 I will celebrate in the best way possible with a small brandy later this evening while listening to this.........www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaN8jxAFtDY

An early start

Yesterday I left Nuneaton behind me and headed off towards Atherstone in bright but breezy conditions and was quite surprised to find a certain Dr. had parked his transport in the rear garden of this normal looking house, I wonder ‘Who’ lived there.

First stop was at Springwood Haven Marina

I took on fuel, smokeless and antifreeze, very good service and very reasonable prices, 10% discount on the smokeless if you bought more than 4 bags, I bought 6, diesel was at 75ppl, to be honest it was probably the same or slightly cheaper than the local fuel boat, but I prefer giving the working boats my custom where I can.

Departing the service moorings.

I passed this little memorial, I assume it was for a loved pet and not a person but I could not make out the words on the small heart shaped plaque.

Passing Hartshill Yard and the rain started.

I changed my hat, it got worse......I changed my jacket...... it got worse, I located my umbrella (thanks Carol)...... it got worse........I moored up! 

So I am at Hartshill just short of Atherstone during a break in the rain I took a couple of pictures of the mooring.

So what’s the title of this post about? Well last night the wind started, the boat started rocking and occasionally creaking as it does, by good fortune this time, no planning involved I was moored with the wind direction along the boat, it got steadily worse as the evening  went on and at 4:30 this morning a rather prolonged and violent gust rattled my external metal doors on the stern loud enough to wake me, I could not get back to sleep, so it was an early breakfast and an early blog, the wind is howling so I don’t think I’ll be visiting the small village of Hartshill or moving the boat, although one brave( or daft) soul has just cruised past me, I think it’s a day to watch the Formula 1 and do little else, but that may change if the weather improves.

Last night’s mooring

Total travel:  3.5 miles

Out and Away again.

Yesterday did not start well, I had told two people at Trinity Marina that I was leaving in the morning and asked how I would get back in once I had handed in my gate fob and been refunded my £20 deposit for it, the Harbour Master told me he would let me back in, so at 9:30 I walked along to the office to find it closed on Wednesday’s, hmmm, no-one thought to mention that to me, there was an emergency number for said Harbour Master, that went to answer phone so I left a message, having no phone signal on the boat I resorted to sitting on the stern and waiting for a call back, just after 10 I saw the Harbour Master walking along the road with two bags of shopping, obviously his phone was on his boat, that’s what emergency phones are for. I explained my dilemma and he said he would refund me out of his pocket and let me back in, I then asked him about my missing coal and asked if anything showed up on the CCTV, sadly the camera covering my area was not functioning!

I was glad to get moving again, although it was a bit ‘breezy’ I managed the sharp left, right, left tight exit without hitting anything, it was a short cruise to my first stop for water and my timing lately is poor, as I rounded the bend and saw the water point I also saw another boat was about to stop to fill up and he beat me by two minutes, never mind a cuppa and a chat, water points and locks make for good chatting areas, he told me to watch out for a great pub on the Shropshire Canal but sadly I have already forgotten the name of it.

I have a rough timetable to get through various points avoiding the winter stoppages (navigation closures for lock and other repairs) but I was not in a hurry and had decided to stop at Burton Hastings about 3 miles away as I had passed through it on my way down the Ashby, having moored up and looked on Google maps I found virtually nothing around so decided to test out my new Kipor generator that I had purchased while in Surrey, it will be used for charging the batteries when not cruising and there is too little sunshine for the solar panel to cope. I read the manual, filled with fuel and oil, set the switches and yanked on the starter cord, 2^nd pull it started, not bad, it’s quite noisy even though described as ‘silent’, so I tested it in various locations bearing in mind noise to me inside the boat and noise to my potential neighbours, I think I will build a soundproofing box and then try again.

Just one picture of the journey as I am just covering the same ground.

That's all one garden, hope he's got a sit on mower.

Last nights mooring.

This morning was bright and beautiful, and I set off just after 10, I wanted to catch a fuel boat at Nuneaton who I knew through his Facebook page was heading through, as it turned out I miss timed that too and missed him by about half an hour! Anyway from Burton Hastings it’s about 3 miles along the Ashby back to Marston junction, the approach from the Ashby is very narrow.

Approaching Marston Junction

 Possibly to make boats slow down as the view of boats approaching the junction from either direction on the Coventry canal is very limited, so a long blast on the hooter, look out Monty’s coming through, all clear though.

Leaving the Ashby behind, another canal done.

Then onto new ground back on the Coventry Canal, what a lovely little cruise through open country with twists and turns in nice warm sunshine, a real delight meeting only 3 other boats (two at bridges and one on a tight narrow bend of course), I was happy as a pig in muck J

Sad looking Tree, I think he's done for.

 As you approach Nuneaton it becomes more built up and not quite so pretty but still very nice, passing Star Line’s wharf quite busy with boats.

A bankside fisherman shouted “it’s lovely and sunny now but get moored up, wind and rain forecast” I had already decided on a general mooring place and carried on just a little way to try to get any wind blowing along the boat rather than across it, I think I achieved it but the boat is rocking a fair bit now as I type this. I will stay tomorrow and do the washing and some other bits.

Tonight’s Mooring

Total Travel (2 days) 6 miles

I’ve just looked at my logbook and the last lock I went through was on the 22^nd September, I’ll have forgotten what to do !

Back on board.

I’ve had a lovely week away from the boat seeing friends and family and attending my son Adam’s wedding to his beautiful bride Natalie. Thanks once again to my sister Carol for her hospitality and to her partner Peter for his company. It was a lovely wedding and everything went off smoothly, we were all treated to a surprise firework display organised and paid for by Natalie’s brother Scott and it was very impressive synchronised to music. Too much alcohol consumed of course but that’s what happens on these long days when one’s ability to say “I’ll have a coffee” is blocked by the already copious amounts of alcohol in one’s system.

Proud parents and Bride and Groom

The journey back from Surrey was good with a fully loaded car and only minor delays on the motorway. The week in the marina was however marred by some thieving lowlife who removed my coal from the roof of the boat, fortunately only two bags and luckily I had one ready to use inside the boat so I won’t be cold until I can get more, but I won’t be buying it from this marina, having failed to get anything other than a cursory comment that they will report it, I don’t know who to? but I feel much better knowing they are doing something...... that’s sarcasm by the way, and they still took another £10 off me when I decided to stay an extra night tonight.

So off tomorrow and back cruising heading back along the final section of the Ashby Canal to Marston Junction before continuing along the Coventry Canal and then the Trent and Mersey to Great Haywood to begin my expedition around the four counties ring dodging (I hope) the winter stoppages for lock and bridge repairs.