Week 4

19:09 28/06/2010 End of week of R & R !

Glorious week - watching the tennis, meeting friends. Alan and Dorothy on their way back to Crick on Dorothy May, and John and Mo on Josephine II. They entertained us to a great meal on Saturday night. Bella watched hot air balloons, and we enjoyed the sunsets.

Week 3

19:45 23/06/2010 day of R & R

19:38 22/06/2010 11 miles 2 locks
Prompt start in the sun, with a good run up through Handsacre and Armitage (all your bathroom china made here) and on to Rugeley to shop, via 4 young men paddling surf boards 'for charity', they don't appear to know how heavy a narrowboat is! Stocked up at Morrison's for the next few days, bizarely the moorings were empty at lunchtime, still lots of working boats moving south for the Braunston show. The move south explains the emptiness of Tixall, normally this has a small cluster of working boats, but today none. There is one small sunk boat, apparently the owner 'was taken away by the police' !

20:27 21/06/2010 8.88 miles 3 locks and a swing bridge.
Glorious day - but very busy boats everywhere which made the first half of the day very slow and frustrating. Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and Boaters go out in the Midday Sun ! Said goodbye to Chris and Helen as they turned around to return to their mooring up the Ashby, sorry to see them go. Fradley Junction was busy but with some moorings apart from the water point which was two deep. Probably CanalTime boats moored for the day. Not much traffic around the corner, just enough to help us through the tree locks and we headed on up to Kings Bromley and a lovely mooring under the trees, a cold beer was very welcome.

19:53 20/06/2010 11 miles 2 locks
Bright start to the day although it took a while to warm up, the canal winds around Tamworth, to Glascote locks where there was a short queue (4 boats), lucky for us we were not coming the other way as by the time we reached the bottom of the locks there were at least 12 boats waiting to come up, some of them might still be there now! We watered at Fazeley Junction (for Birmingham), we carried on north to Hopwas and found a Chris sunning himself at a nice country mooring. Tomorrow Chris and Helen turn back for home,so we ended the day with a joint BBQ.

17:54 19/06/2010 5 miles 11 locks (Atherstone)
Well back to locks with a vengeance today, the 11 at Atherstone, at least it didn't rain this year. The guide book describes them as extremely attractive and varied. That is, varied in the time they take to fill, slow or very slow!Around three hours top to bottom about par for the flight, the sun never appeared and the wind cooled us down, we moored in another favorite site away from the trains before Polesworth. Too cold for a BBQ, although the sun has now appeared to warm the evening up.

Week 1

19:13 11/06/2010 6.64 miles 1 (tiny) stop lock
Jim the Engineer phoned to say he had the new heater, so we sat and waited and very promptly he arrived, fitting was fast as it was a' drop in' replacement, then we played with the diagnostic software for ages testing out all its functions! I think Jim likes the idea of an ex IT man looking over his shoulder. Eventually much poorer we were on our way up towards Hawkesbury Junction and the Coventry Canal. Soon we turned in to the Ashby and looked for a mooring, a glorious sunny afternoon and evening.

16:17 10/06/2010 10.7 miles
Prompt start in the dry to move on up to the shops at Rugby. Saw an old friend 'Crystal' now working for a new boat yard having left 'Rose narrowboats'. Stocked up from Tesco as usual and moved off again, mooring and canal were remarkably quiet. Pleasant if cold run up through cuttings and across the countryside to Rose boats and on to Ansty, it got colder and more windy as the day wore on, so I was in fleece and waterproof by the time we arrived at our moorings opposite the pub.

18:50 09/06/2010 8.53 miles 3 locks
Watered at Braunston and then up the North Oxford and through Hilmorton Locks - just the right amount of traffic to ever lock was in use and then ready for us - bliss. Slight panic later as I noticed the heater coolant was rapidly vanishing, the coolant was being heated from the calorifier and expanding through the clamps put on to stop us losing it whilst the heating was missing, a gallon of coolant ended in the bilge. Moored in our usual place by the golf club.

16:17 8/06/2010
Found an Engineer to look at the water heater, after valiant efforts on his part (thanks JIMM) it still failed, needed spares would cost nearly as much as a new unit! So we ordered a new unit and will have it fitted en route to the Ashby

19:26 07/06/2010 2.24 miles 6 locks
Started out just before 10 and arrived in Braunston a bare 2 hours and a bit later, tremendous run, straight through the tunnel , well not straight Braunston is known for its kinks.No smog so we could see right through. Only three boats coming the other way so an easy passage. Just moored above the locks and made coffee when more boats arrived so we quickly teemed up and shot down the locks to Braunston. All in all a record run.

19:24 06/06/2010 Day of rest! Already! Watched Mens tennis final in the afternoon.

19:22 05/06/2010 3.57 miles 7 locks
Left Crick Marina via the services, cruising at last after waiting for family member to leave hospital.Easy trip in the sun to Watford locks, and only a short wait before zipping down them and on to Norton junction.Moored as usual at the beginning of the restricted 48hr moorings, the first place the sat tv works! Watched the ladies tennis from Paris.Entertained by a thunderstorm in the evening, Bella was not quite sure what to make of it.