Hartshill

Saturday 1st November and Sunday 2nd November.

Hartshill 7 day moorings.

The weather on Saturday morning was cold and frosty, which was fine by us as we love that sort of weather. It may have been cold outside, but inside Hadar we were lovely and cosy, with both stoves lit. Once we had done the usual morning stuff, we thought we would take a walk up in to Hartshill. After all there is no point in stopping at a place and not going to have a look around. To get to the village we had to walk up hill a long the main road, which does not have a pavement, so we did take our life in to our hands, and we also hoped that the oncoming cars were paying attention whilst driving; otherwise we would have been road kill. Hartshill is described in the Nicholsons guide as a village that has been swallowed up by Nuneaton, but from the parts we walked around there is very little evidence of that.
Hartshill was once a community dominated by mining; it even thought that the Romans may have been there. In 1125 Hugh de Hardreshull chose Hartshill for the site of his castle. From the position of his castle, he reckoned it gave him a clear view across the countryside as far as the peaks of Derbyshire. That we will never know, as it is all built up now. We took a walk around the perimeter of the castle, but it is now private land so you cannot get up close to the castle walls. The village itself has a couple of shops for provisions and two pubs. We thought it was worth the walk.
Once back onboard Hadar, the weather took a turn for the worse, as rain began to fall and the wind began to blow a hooley, at first the rain was light, but as the afternoon and evening wore on the rain turned torrential and the wind got very gusty. We were sat watching the TV and listening to fireworks going off in the distance, when we were clobbered by a boat trying to moor up in the dark. It used Hadar’s hull as a guide, hitting her all the way to the bow as it pulled in for the night. They did not have a headlight on, which would of helped their cause, and would of prevented them crashing in to us every few seconds, they had obviously never heard of fending off.

Sunday and what a contrast to yesterdays weather, it is cold but wet after all the over night rain. Paddy was not impressed with the thought that he had to walk through muddy puddles. He just did what he had to do and turned around quick smart to get back to the boat. What he really wanted was his breakfast biscuits, because he was hungry after not eating yesterday. On the 1st of the month Paddy does not get fed all day. It was recommended to Keith by his vet, when he had his other dog, not feed him once a month, to give his stomach a rest. So this morning we could hear Paddy’s stomach rumbling. Infact Keith and Paddy were in competition with each other LOL. Paddy has such a sensitive stomach and is on a restricted diet, so not feeding him one day a month suits him, as it gives his stomach a break from food. I suppose when you think about it, if he were still in the wild, as all dogs were in the beginning of time, he would not eaten everyday anyway.
So with the weather being a little yuck, we will not be venturing far. It looks like a day to get some knitting done and to a chance to watch the last race of the F1 season.
Tomorrow we will be underway again.