UK Canals - Journey reports

Oxford Canal:Brinklow and end of cruise

A blue sky morning.  A routine departure, the 180 turn onto the N Oxford with its stop lock and then a straight run through back to Brinklow.   There ceertainly is a number of offside vegetations issues building up.  Some is due to small trees/bushes falling over the cut no doubt due to wind damage, but there was a disconcerting protrusion of vegetation by the abutments of Stone Bridge (9) which doesn't help visibility on this tricky bend.  Worse though was the long standing near obstruction of the canal south of the M6 motorway bridge which is now one way for about 50 yards.  (See photo)  Finally reaching Brinklow there was the usual issue of wind at these open moorings.  There is a way of using the wind which was blowing diagonally across the moorings, by setting up the boat position ahead clear of the pontoon, then waiting for the wind to blow it back before gunning reverse and getting between the boats in front of our space.   The biggest struggle was pulling the boat onto the pontoon itself.  I doubt that it would have been possible using just a centre rope.

Coventry Canal:Hawkesbury Junction

Heavy rain overnight, but dry this morning although grey overcast.  Under slightly clearing skies we had a straight routine run through to Marston Junction (Coventry Canal).  Then the heavens opened for half an hour then just as quickly stopped giving us a warm sunny afternoon once moored up.   Found the short cut to the convenience store on the other side of the canal: over the footbridge by the pump house, follow the path until it joins the road, straight ahead, then first left, first right, first left and there it is.

Ashby Canal:Stoke Golding

We are back here again.   It's a nice quiet mooring with a footpath across the field to the village centre, pubs, restaurant, convenience store.  We left Snarestone early as usual feeling cold.  Just remembering again how shallow the canal is making it a waste of time to use more than a couple of hundred revs above tick over.  Stray out of the centreline and passing other boats can be fun!   Slowly the sun appeared and by 11:00 we could take coats off.   The experimental front piling pin pulley arrangement is working very well.  It is very quick to deploy and pulls the boat in very easily.  Pat has just returned from the village laden with plums she found in a bucket outside the first house after the farm.  "Help yourself".  I guess it's plums and custard for pudding tonight!

Ashby Canal: Snarestone

Not far today to the end of the line. Having had very poor digital reception yesterday we were looking for a good spot on the way, but found nothing. Shackerstone had little to offer . Then followed some heavily wooded cuttings before the crooked Snarestone Tunnel. As we have some sort of a phone signal here we decided to stop for the night (it was only 10:am). Thought we should walk up the line of the canal as far as we could but soon came to the bridge 62 which marks the end of the restored section and a small 52 foot winding hole. The canal bed ahead was dry and partly filled in to use as a haul road, but soon disappeared in a jumbled construction site with no clear indication of the way ahead. Clearly much to be done.

The small winding hole at the end of the Snarestone extension. Infilled canal bed beyond

Ashby Canal: Congerstone

Overcast and chilly. Just a slow dawdle today, much of the canal being very shallow. Initially we aimed for Market Bosworth. No other traffic. Walked the mile into the town, mostly uphill, crossing the Battlefield Steam Railway line just after leaving the canal. No trains running today and the station from the bridge looked a little forlorn, unlike the railway I work for. At the town centr we found a neat looking central square (well really a triangle) with a number of small shops and some interesting looking buildings. Returning to the boat we carried on the short distance to Congerstone Bridge (47) where we had moored on a previous occasion. The Horse and Jockey pub beckoned, having had a pint there last time the the restaurant looked inviting. Indeed, thoroughly recommended. It seems to be a fairly modern building but very tastefully decorated with real solid wood furniture and antuque exhibits for sale which add ghreatly to the anbience. The food was top class and the service good.

Ashby Canal: Stoke Golding

A blue sky morning with little wind, but chilly. Once clear of the moored boats it was not long to Marston Junction for the Ashby. The turning is difficult. Its about 100 degrees turn into a 7ft wide bridge hole. I have managed this in one, but not this time! Being the weekend there seemed quite a few boats about, but plenty of moorings along the way. We stopped at the farm shop by bridge 23 and went ashore to check it out but unfortunately just this Sunday it was closed. We'll try again on the way back. It was only another half hour to Stoke Golding where again there were plenty of 48 hour moorings. Put a bit of paint on the new pole and tried to fathom out the hydraulic circuit for the bow thruster. It is still misbehaving. I need the drawings!

Coventry Canal:Hawkesbury Jcn

We on the move again.  Couldn't help ourselves really.  Just needed a boat fix!   So just for a week we'll see if we can get to the end of the Ashby Canal again.   A half decent day is promised, but the wind at Brinklow was blowing as usual.   Fortunately one of the two boats moored in front of us moved off which gave us room to get out cleanly without being blown on.   The exit from the marina is through a towpath bridge over what used to be the old original canal line, so it is right along the line of the canal and not set back as a new construction would be.   There is no way that traffic on the canal can be seen from the helmsman's potion, so Pat stands in front and indicated that she wanted a blast on the horn.   To my surprise it was answered and then not one boat, but two passed in front opposite direction, and one of those she hadn't seen either.   There was, as expected, quite a lot of traffic about.  In places the width of the canal is being half taken with vegetation on the offside making passing of boats a game of skill (or chicken).   Perhaps the worst place is just south of the motorway bridge in the deep cutting alongside the railway.   There are also quite a few fallen small trees (or bushes) intruding and half blocking passage.  Hawkesbury was busy, but there are still mooring spaces available.   I guess it's changeover day for the hire bases.