Today’s weather lived up to the forecast’s promise so we departed the soggy towpath at Springwood Haven just after nine and decided to make for Rugby.
We would normally have taken two days for this journey but the weather turned out to be so perfect today we went for it and achieved our target.
The towpaths were indeed very muddy for most of the journey and although sunny there was still a cold wind. Soon we were entering the outskirts of Nuneaton, not my favourite stretch as most of the town turns it’s back on the canal.
In one of my ‘If I ruled the world’ moments I thought I would make all offside property owners maintain their land to the water’s edge. Even allotment associations are not innocent and new property developers seem just to erect a fence at the top of the bank and the bank becomes overgrown or worse, an area to dump rubbish. OK rant over!
After negotiating the Boot Wharf ‘chicane’ (how on earth will that ‘fat’ boat leave there if not on a lorry)
Then we entered the ‘nice’ half mile including the house with the crystal tree!
Onwards to Marston Junction, the turning to the Ashby Canal, past the crazy Charity Wharf which seems to have gained a fat lady and a wolf since last we were here or perhaps we hadn’t noticed before.
We arrived at Hawkesbury Junction just before noon and our only lock of the day ‘Sutton’s’ stop lock just a few inches rise.
Oh if any of you are looking for a waterside property, the old Navigation Inn is up for sale.
At Rose Narrow Boats I was excited to see an old ‘spoon dredger’ moored and on the way to Ansty lambs were gambolling in the field.
See top image (couldn’t see from the distance whether it was poker or blackjack).
At Newbold, Joy took the boat through the tunnel but when I took over we met a boat at the next bridge-hole and had to reverse past a boat which was moored at the water point.
Just after five we managed to find a slot for Wrens-Nest at Rugby Visitor moorings at Brownsover, ready for a foray into town tomorrow.