Author: Steve Carter

 

Not much to write about today – just the heat!  “I don’t’ mind the heat so much, it’s those damned drums, will they never stop?!”, is one of Steve’s odd phrases.

They got it right – those Met chaps – pretty much 25+ degrees here all week.

As you can see – over 32 here in the boat (that’s over 90 in old money). With a dull grey metal roof it does rather heat up. Steve’s taken to covering the roof with tarpaulin, dog blankets and anything spare – just to keep the heat down.

Last night we saw another of those meteorological optical thingies – we saw one in Mountsorrel (see blog passim) , called a Sun Dog and now we have a Solar Pillar. Nice.

Not quite a candidate for the “photo of the year” but here’s the inside of one of the battery boxes – sexy innit? Steve bought that battery monitor from that nice Mr Kevin of Onboard Solar on Saturday and was going to fix it today (the BMV 712 if you’re into that sort of thing) and he set about the job with alacrity but with some trepidation. You have to uncouple all the negative wires and attach them to a shunt, connecting it then to the negative terminal. Sounds simple?  Hmm, four big chunky wires and one enormous one too. Got half way thru when he found that two of these blue wires had holes in their terminal too small for the new bolt, doh! Couldn’t drill them out, cos the elastic trickery had been turned off. Doh, indeed. Put it all back and do it in the marina next month.

But a big Thank You to said Kevin for all his help and advice. I know he helped install a lot of kit for Gail (Hello!) on Sleepy Otter and she was impressed.

I know, our sleek and neat Aqualine boat looking more like a skanky one but it does help reduce the insides from the usual inferno. I’m guessing we may move tomorrow, if only to find some shade.

And just for Gail, Jenny & Penny (Happy Birthday!!), here’s a much younger Toby at our old house in Blagdon, in the snow – it cools you down just to watch it.

 

Well, I can’t keep on calling each post Moving On, wouldn’t be right. Stands to reason. Sorry, been watching a lot of Endeavour – we bought the boxed set and are wending our way through them. They are very good. So, if you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll begin . . . Atherstone was great but Saturday looked to be a tad cloudy and then the forecast for the following week, the last in June was set to be Scorchio, so we decided to chug along – doing the 9 locks ahead of us but no rush.  If we go slowly, then maybe, just maybe, someone will come down, setting the lock in our favour.  I must mention, if only DT’s pleasure, that I discovered a new pub – the New Swan. This rather ancient but wonderful pub, in the market square, served 3 Church End beers and at good prices (£3.20) plus they have a new pop-up-van in their courtyard selling burritos and salad boxes – all very pleasant. The Angel Tap is the place to go but they don’t open until 4. Lovely.

Sunset – last night in Atherstone

Down by lock10

And Viv’s birthday seems to go on and on . . . the last bottle of Cava!

During the day that Solar Kettle does it job – 0.5 litre boiling water in an hour or so

Toby gets a new toy after a passing dog took (with our permission) his old piggie

Right 9 locks to do – Viv does 4 and then we swap round for the last 5

Here’s the Plant Boat – seen last year in Brewood – Neil on Jodarolo.  Bought a pot of marjoram from him to add to our herb pot.

And there’s Neil himself!

Top of the locks – ably assisted by 3 volunteers – made the ascent quite easy & enjoyable as they are all quite chatty.

Time to take on water and then on to Springwood Haven – just another hour.

Marvelous sunset – the water very still, so brilliant reflections.

And Sunday morning – here we be! A very rural spot. Ideal to stop for a few days as the solar energy will keep us going.

Just back round the corner is this delightful marina – with Onboard Energy – specialising in Victron products (so Steve went and spent money on a new Victron battery monitor – does Bluetooth, so he can be even more nerdy and watch all those ickle electrons coming and going via his phone!)

Here’s a long shot, showing just how rural we are. Only a few miles from Nuneaton.

 

 

“Farther On and Farther Up.” All the locks are in the up direction now but at least they be narrow ones until we get to Braunston. After Viv’s birthday celebrations we moved off from Alrewas on the Monday morning – five locks to do and a corner turned into the Coventry canal. Down to Kings Orchard to moor for one night.

Fradley Junction – lots of volunteers to help here

Been here many times before – The Swan pub on the right but we turn left, into the Coventry canal.

A few hours later and we stop near Kings Orchard marina and near to the Plough at Huddlesford

Next day – off again, thru Fazeley junction, turn right here for the Birmingham & Fazeley canal and Brum. We fork left and stop pretty soon, near the Tame aqueduct and a safer place (than Glascote) for visiting Tamworth.

Fazeley junction and our herb box!

This is the view from our cratch – not much, thanks to the tomato plants taking over – be glad when they’re all done.

Kingfisher & robin pix – looking a little faded now.

Nearly there . . . longish day for us . . .

Viv went off with her trolley – to visit M&S, spend her 20% discount (birthday discount!) & 10% off food too. Bit of a trek but worth it.  Next day – off again, tad windy but Viv steers over the Tame aqueduct. Something surreal about water being carried over water.

An alpaca farm near? Dunno.

Nearing our final destination today – Atherstone, we espy Titanic II

Final spot – inbetween locks 9 & 10. A nice, quiet rural spot. Bit of a trek into town but better than being close to the railway & the A5.

Viv took this splendid sunset photo – Steve’s immaculate waxing of the boat gives a good reflection.

And another arty photo – the lonesome tree

Looking down at lock 9

A long shot looking back to our boat – just to show how rural we are! And then zoomed in:

Just up from the “bottomless bridge”

Chris had sent us some money for Viv’s birthday, so we made the trek into town and found the Red Lion hotel – they allow dogs in to the courtyard and have excellent food & more than that, Goat’s Milk – a Church End beer (a CAMRA winner).

Cheers!

We’ve been here before and can heartily recommend it.

Meanwhile here’s one of those signs that really tell you where places are

 

 

We had planned a tapas tea for Viv’s 60th birthday on the Sunday but our chum Mark, who sailed in last night said he was off to Rugeley on Sunday – to find a vet for his poorly dog, Layla. So we moved the “party” to Saturday – bottles of Cava (added to by Mark, cheers mate!) nicely chilled, we set about making all the food.

Mark, who has been a chef (along with most of everything else it seems) and won a competition for creating a tapas dish “Oriente” – sauteed, chopped mushrooms with a mild curry spice, onions, garlic, lentils, mango chutney & mayonnaise! He also brought a dish of steamed asparagus topped with parmesan – nice chap to know eh?

Boat dressed (inside) with all the flags and the 60 stuff, saved from Steve’s birthday do in Mojacar.

Most of the afternoon was spent cooking & preparing the ickle banquet: simple green salad, Lucia’s Sicilian salad, big tortilla, hummus & dips, Viv’s extremely pokey almagrote (red cheese, loadsa of garlic, chilli and oil  all pounded together), ciabbata, papas bravas, cheeses, chorizo, olives – plus Mark’s excellent contributions . . . washed down with Co-op Cava (excellent), then Campo Viejo Reserva Rioja . . and most of it went!!

The birthday girl

 

Steve’s Mum bought Viv some handsome titanium earrings  . . . classy

Viv even had her hair done on Saturday.  Then Sunday night – back on the Cava – this one was bought in Mojacar and kept, yes, hard to believe, kept all this time for Viv’s birthday!! Simple Cajun chicken & salad tonight.

We dug out the Scooby-Do candle and musical candle on a shop-bought orange drizzle cake . . . the candle sounded like it was on its last legs

Sad to see Mark go but his dog is a tad unwell. He’s the off up to Manchester, so I doubt we’ll see him again this year.  Cheers Mate.

 

 

We always aimed to be in Alrewas and no better place to celebrate a birthday. Even if it’s to be a big one.

With its three pubs, chippy, Chinese, Indian, Co-op, post office and good moorings plus the famous National Memorial Arboretum, it is a good place to be.

Just four locks today and Steve does three of them

Very scenic section with a very narrow bridge coming up

 

Looks like we won’t fit through

Tight but OK

Did Steve blink?

Onwards to the river section, Wychnor to Alrewas . . . all calm today.

This boat passes us to the left! Behind him the mighty Trent cuts across the canal. They often shut this bit in heavy rainfall but all serene today.

Oh and I forgot to mention the butchers – renown for its meat & pies!

This should have been a “final resting place” photo but we moved, twice!

This chap turned up and wanted 14 day moorings so we moved on . . .

Tamsin.

Our final, final place. Right outside the bowling green. 14 day moorings. Nice.

 

 

Puns a plenty with Burton upon Trent and Branston coming up on the agenda today. Just a short 3 hr or so chug today, or so we thought but nature has a way. The winds picked up and gusted well over 40 mph which meant steering our war canoe mighty tricky but it also brought down trees and we’d only gone an hour when, all stop, big silver birch across the canal at Stretton. CRT were called out and 2 hours later they turned up. Much scratching of beards, chain sawing, falling over, laughing . . but they got the job done and we were on our way.

This caused a 10 boat queue one side and a three boat queue t’other

Not to fear CRT is here and 3 hours later we were off.

Maybe not quite the way we would have done it but job done. Thanks guys.

Into Burton & a pit stop at Shobnall marina for fuel (only 70p /litre why can’t other marinas do this, like ours???) . Plus a new chimney. Looks like a colour co-ordinated skipper – all in green? New socks – Danish endurance no less (offer on Amazon)

Off a few more miles and a couple of, now narrow, hurrah, locks to Branston water park. Meanwhile one of these flew over – I thought a chap would descend and give Viv some chocolates? No such luck.

Our final stop – right alongside the water park – another swim session for Toby and chance for Steve to cycle around the park.

A nice park – not very interesting birdlife . .

Best to let Mrs Bill Oddie with her new binos (Nikon Prostaff 7S 10×42) tell you.  They are rather good!

 

 

Time for a 2-day stop and time to order Viv some pressies as it’s someone’s 60th birthday next Sunday. Thanks to those Amazonians, we can order stuff and it’s sent to a local post office “Local Collect” they call it. Wonderful. A new pair of Nikon binoculars for Viv and some granite ice cubes!

We moved on from Weston, in convoy with April Star, as we were keen to share locks. Just two locks but again, big uns. First Swarkeston (10’11”) and then Stenson (12’4″ – huge) but luckily, a CRT volunteer was on hand to help us through. Then it was a short hop past Mercia marina and down to the cute village of Willington.

Swarkestone lock & some help from the yoghurt pot coming up behind us

Final spot – just up from the pub & winding hole.

So what’s in Willington?  Well, the post office (and very friendly they were – had 4 parcels in all!), a chippy, three pubs, Indian, Chinese, florist, tea rooms and a Co-op. Plenty of space to walk the dog. Only mega downside is that we have swapped the planes for the trains! The mainline goes very close to the canal but then a railway station could be useful….

View from the canal – weather station, Mi-Fi and TV mast, all very trad!

We keep meeting up with Mark Eastgate on Tamsin. One of the “characters on the canal”. He’s transformed his boat into a show stage. Cutting out the cratch at the front and putting up a small theatre-like tent. It had its debut at the riverside festival in Leicester, to some success. He’s hoping further bands/events will take him on. He had around 10 acts performing on his “stage over the weekend.

And here’s Mark himself – with his two dogs, Layla & Pancho

 

 

Monday morning. And guess what? We’re not in work.

Time move on after the weekenders have stopped pratting about. Just a short trip to Weston on Trent, about 3 hours and through 4 widebeam locks. Past the “inland port” of Shardlow, through Aston lock and the deep Weston Lock (10’11”), around to bridge 9, Fine George’s bridge and stop. The Trent is not too far away and so Toby gets a swim, for it is our promise and boy, it is another hot day. Can’t say we recommend this stop – unless you like planes! For we are now at the other end of East Midlands airport. All through the night they took off. Plus there were nasty horse flies (cleggies) and biting mossies.

Goodbye to Sawley Cut . . . one of our favourite stops

Steve had an odd moment, so he painted the lid to the tool box.

Out along the Trent and the confluence with the Derwent, under the M1 – see the cows sheltering?

This way for the T&M

Under bridge No 1 – funny to think this goes all the way to Preston Brook and the Mersey.

Steve waits at Weston Lock – just bitten on the foot by a horse fly – children, don’t wear crocs on your boat – lets flies in!!

Yep, pretty deep.

Final spot – a hot day – spot Toby on the grass? And below a field of poppies

 

 

Friday, time to leave Stoke Lock and on to Nottingham and then after a lunch stop at Sainsbury’s, on to Sawley. A seven hour day – not our M.O. anymore but we’d like to get to Sawley before the weekend rush and besides, Dave’s micro pub is open!

The birdsong at Stoke was wonderful – not sure what they were but here’s a few minutes . . . answers on a postcard . .

Our place on the Sawley cut – same as a week ago

Just behind us are a load of permanent moorings – with threats of £150 a day charges! Scare tactics from CRT. Why do they do this? They did promise they’d do away with online moorings as it wastes space for visitors but then they realised it’s money. They can charge upwards of £1,000 a year for these moorings and that’s on top of the licence. End result . . . visitor moorings jampacked – permies – empty! Does make I livid!!

Empty spaces! Below the cafe open early for Sunday breakfasts – nextdoor to the micro pub.

Looking back to the double locks, pub & cafe.

View from . . . the pedestrian bridge – shows the car park behind with the facilities – good toilets & showers, all well kept. Rubbish, elsan & water here too.

A short walk along the Trent brings you to the Erewash canal (see blog passim) and two old timer boats

And an arty shot in B&W, doesn’t quite come off with the van in the background.

Busy day, Sunday. Lots of boat movements – here’s a widebeam, Jane Away11

Meanwhile, we bought some duck food and have been feeding the insistent little beggars for days

 

We admired the visitor moorings just before Stoke Bardolph lock on the way down and said “hmm, be nice to stop there, looks so quiet” and so we did. Only an hour or so from Gunthorpe and Mrs. Skipper drove all the way, yes, indeedy. Allowing me to film all the Canada/Greylag geese scooting out of Viv’s way. At times I thought she was actually aiming for them. Wildlife? What did we see today . .  loadsa geese, swans a plenty, oyster catchers, egret (on the way down we had No Egrets!), arctic tern, heron, little grebes, swallows . . . .

Does she look happy?  Helming through gritted teeth? No, she’s a pro at this now and look, no lifejacket! The boat behind is Border Reiver (Raider), in convoy. Teddy looks good as does Steve’s dangle (?).

Catching oysters??

Just to show that  a 20 metre (65 foot ) boat is quite a long beastie, keep going Viv!

Short video of all those geese convoys. So many geese and yes, apparently, you can catch and eat them but our neighbour said, if you put them and a brick in the oven, the brick would be done first!!

Ah, we saw two egrets. Normally we have No Egrets (cue song)

Hmm, hardly a day’s cruise but then you’ll see why we stopped here later. Big sign saying “this way”. Stoke lock. I think someone’s glad to see land again.

It’s a HUGE lock but the (volunteer) lock keeper checks us all in and presses all the button to close the gates (12 tons each) and open the paddles . .  yes, we are now are going uphill and the water comes in to lift us up. Gunthorpe was the lowest level reached. All the locks from now on will be uphill ones. Choosing to go anticlockwise around this ring means the majority of “up” locks will be narrow ones – a tad easier than the large locks, especially if you are on your own where the boat can swing around a bit, a lot . . .! In these huge locks there are plastic runners up the sides, so you can slip a rope around the to steady the boat. The paddles are also programmed – once the button is pressed, a program causes the paddle to rise slowly and only part way, until the lock is half full. Neat and quite gentle.

Final stop – around the corner to the floating pontoons – the Trent can rise another 10 feet or so! Toby seems happy.

It really is a quiet spot – no roads, trains or planes  . . .

Even CRT appreciate this stop

Here’s a photo lining up for photo-of-the-trip – a quiet spot.

Wood cutting in the woods

And yes, we do get bigger vessels coming down the Trent. Luckily, this was as far as he came. If you don’t turn into the lock – this is what you can face

A weir

Chance to give Toby the swim. Photographically,  what’s the subject here? Steve, Toby or that Swan??

The lock setting is quite sublime

Oddly that wasn’t the end of the day. Our wonderful chums on Raven suddenly turned up . . . . but I thought they were long gone, heading down the Trent and on to Goole?  Seems a problem with oil pressure so they’re retracing their steps to Foxton. Got to get that fixed – can’t head down the tidal Trent with a niggling engine . Shame but nice to see them again and maybe share a pint or six in the Lock Keepers Rest at Sawley. They took the time to stop and chat – thanks! And then on to Nottingham. Catch you guys tomorrow.