Calcutt Marina to Saltisford Arm, Warwick

13.65 miles, 22 locks, 7hrs 20mins.

A decent day weather-wise, hence we pressed on, but also most of the locks were with us, which makes a huge difference.

Stockton top lock.

Working down Stockton locks.

The Blue Lias is looking very smart.

Warwickshire Fly Boat Co.

The Two Boats has been spruced up since our last trip along here.

Buscott staircase locks.

The Fusilier has reopened.

Crossing the River Avon, the dividing line between Leamington Spa and Warwick.

Cape of Good Hope at Cape locks.

Approaching Saltisford arm.

Nearly there.

Keith.

Braunston to Calcutt

7.08 miles, 3 locks, 2hrs 50mins.

With it still raining when we awoke, and we were not in a rush anymore, it was a latish start by the time the rain had stopped.

Approaching Napton junction.

Taking the turn towards Warwick. As we approached Calcutt locks “nb Draw Breath” had just finished filling up with water and we shared the locks with them. We moored up early today, it is nice to be back on short days travelling again. After lunch we changed the oil in the engine which has now done 2800 hours since we first set off in 2008. Jo is now having a sort out in the hold. No rest for the wicked then!

Keith.

Fridge/Freezer Safely Returned and Fixed.

We had our Fridge/Freezer returned today, all fixed and functioning correctly. Many thanks to Kevin, Sharon and their Dad Bryan of the family business Daventry Refrigeration based here in Braunston, for sorting it out for us and very kindly lending us a temporary fridge whilst they sorted ours out. Especially grateful as Bryan has been recovering from a stroke which he was recovering from when we first arrived. According to Kevin today he has now made a full recovery, in fact he was off to the Gym this morning, which is great news. We walked up to the Village Meats Butchers and Village Stores to stock up with food before setting off for our next destination which is Warwick, but at a much slower pace than up to date.

Keith.

Cathiron to Braunston.

11.77 miles, 3 locks, 4hrs 15mins.

A day of sunshine, showers and even hail!  At Hillmorton locks we had the great task of fishing out a dead lamb from one of the locks with the assistance of the lock keeper, all bagged up and he will arrange for it’s disposal.

Approaching Braunston.

We had lunch in the Boat House all washed down with a pint of Hobgoblin each. We just waiting for our fridge/freezer to be delivered soon.

Keith.

Bradley Green to Cathiron

22.63 miles, 12 locks, 10hrs 30mins

Our longest day of travelling to date at 10 hours 30 minutes, phew!

Pretty display of flowers at lock 5 Atherstone flight.

The Ball Game sculpture adjacent to lock 2 didn’t last long.

Hartshill yard.

Y0u don’t often see one of these alongside the canal!

Appraoching Marston junction and the Ashby canal, but not this time. I had intended to get to Grimes bridge to moor up, but there was no room, and Cathiron was the first place we could moor at.

Keith.

Streethay Wharf to Bradley Green, below Atherstone locks.

14.62 miles, 2 locks, 7hrs 5mins.

A day of sunny periods, slight rain showers, and gradually strengthening winds throughout the day. Last night we were moored very close to nb Electra, the other narrow boat with the only other National DA2 that we know of, but after we had dinner and showers we were too knackered to go and say hello. This morning they set off before us, but we caught up with them at Peel’s Wharf where they were taking on water. We stopped just before the River Tame aqueduct to sell some coal and they passed us again. We caught up with them at Glascote locks where there was a queue forming due to the bottom lock only having one functioning ground paddle. This gave us a great opportunity to meet Bernie and Leigh, who now own Electra, to have a good chat and compare engines.

 

Following behind Electra crossing the River Tame aqueduct.

The other DA2 engine in Electra. I dug out the information that I got from the Anson Engine Museum, and to our amazement this engine was also in the same batch of 18 built at Trojan of Croydon as our engine.

Keith.

Sandon Lock to Streethay Wharf.

21.35 miles, 8 locks, 9hrs 25mins.

A coldish start to the day, with a few spits and spots of rain, but the wind only picked up as we moored up.

Bishton Hall.

First view of Rugeley power station.

New houses going up very quickly opposite the Ash Tree Boat Club in Rugeley.

Armitage tunnel.

The new marina where we are moored, they are gradually filling it with water, hence the amount of water gushing down the by-weirs as we travelled down the T&M.

Keith.

Stone to Sandon Lock

4.85 miles, 5 locks, 2hrs 40mins.

A cool and cloudy start and with the strengthening and predicted strong winds we got as far as just above Sandon lock and I decided I didn’t want to chance trying to manoeuvre past all the moored boats between Hoo Mill lock and Great Haywood in the strong winds. Unfortunately I left my camera inside the boat so no photos today.

Keith.

Ramsdell Hall, to Stone.

16.45 miles, 11 locks, 8hrs 45mins.

A great day weather-wise, warm and sunny.

A cow and her calf drinking from the canal this morning as we set off. Soon after setting off we saw a hot air balloon, but it was too far away to get a decent photo.

Approaching Hardings Wood junction and back onto the Trent & Motorway. We arrived at Harecastle tunnel at 9:05am and entered the tunnel 25 minutes later, and it took 35 minutes, which is our fastest through yet.

Anyone need a door for their car?

Stoke top lock.

First sighting of goslings.

Maintenance work on the towpath at Barlaston. Henry and Jim were busy working the other side of the bridge.

Keith.

Scholar Green.

This morning Jo and I took a walk into Scholar Green. Before we set off I ran the generator, and so far the Invertor/Charger is behaving perfectly, current fluctuation is now around 200mA at 80Amp charge, excellent. It was in the Absorption mode for over half an hour, much better performance, more like I would expect it to be.

We walked along the towpath to Bridge 87.

Bluebells and Wood Anemones in a wood alongside the towpath.

There are 3 pubs in Scholar Green, this is the first one near Bridge 87, the Rising Sun.

This is the Traveller’s Rest.

This is the Bleeding Wolf which can be easily reached from the 48hr moorings at Hall Green lock.

We returned to the canal at Bridge 94, this is Hall Green lock as seen from the bridge.

Ramsdell Hall as seen from the canal.

Keith.