UK Canals - Journey reports

Oxford Canal:Brinklow

Last day!    Off to a good start, but after 8:00 am we started to meet opposite direction traffic with increasing intensity after 9:00.   The Coventry Canal is quite a curly canal through to Marston Junction (with the Ashby) and with vegetation partially obscuring some of the bends it got quite exiting at times.   Arriving at Hawkesbury Jct we found loads of mooring space so presume that was where all these boats came from.    On to the Oxford now, very little traffic.   Just one head on encounter at Stone bridge (9).   It’s an awkward bridge on a sharpish bend so I guess we were both going slowly so no problem.  Brinklow was reached after 7 hrs 20 mins total cruise from Atherstone.

Coventry Canal:Atherstone

A good early morning run through to Fazeley, although offside vegetation is becoming a real issue in places, obscuring corners and taking up half the canal width.  Passing opposite direction boats becomes a lottery.  Pat nipped off for some essential shopping at Fazeley and then we carried on to the bottom of Glascote Locks.   There our luck changed.   There appeared to be a lock-keeper opening the gates for us, but then we realised that there was a boat just leaving the lock moorings, so no chance of a straight in.   In fact it wasn’t a lock-keeper as such, but a CRT operative there to help a workboat though to Atherstone which was now behind us.   The bottom Glascote Lock is excruciatingly slow to fill, now.  Much slower than I ever remember and this has to be due to a blocked culvert.   This throws the nice synchronisation of the two locks out and water imbalance as a result.  So 45 minutes for that.   

Then opposite direction traffic increased markedly, due apparently to the dispersion of boats from a Braunston Rally.   Two boats ahead at the bottom of Atherstone Locks, but opposite direction boats to boot so slow progress.  Water levels were down in the longer pound between the two pairs at the bottom and I was stuck attempting to get into the lower lock of the upper pair.   This was probably because the boat was moored nearer to the lock than I would have preferred and there is a build up of silt/rubbish there.  The centre line was better and once forced over entrance to the lock was fine.

The last 6 locks to the top were messy really.   First we waited below lock 6 not wanting to turn it round believing that a boat was coming which wasn’t.  Then having turned it round and got the next lock ready, three boats appeared in the pound above lock 4 making water management non-existent and running the risk of very low water levels in this short pond as they draw water to continue descent.  The last two locks were awash with volunteer lock-keepers.