End of the season!

Yesterday we pulled pins and left our mooring on a misty overcast morning on the Oxford Canal and soon met Jo and Keith on nb ‘Hadar’ coming the other way -  a quick and pleasant exchange and off we all went, maybe next time we can meet up for longer.

Jo and Keith on nb Hadar disappearing into the mist.
With only an hour and half cruising we were soon at Brinklow.   The colours of the oak trees as we approached the marina are lovely.

Passing a family of swans with the young ones now well on the way to getting their adult plumage. 

We then made the right turn under the lovely original bridge into Brinklow marina.

We entered a very misty marina where ‘Chance’ will be safely moored for the next four months.  We will spend the next couple of days sorting out a few jobs then we will return to our home on the south coast for the winter.

We pumped out the black water tank and then settled onto our mooring pontoon – luckily there was no wind so we got in between our neighbouring boats without incident.   In the afternoon we were joined by the crews of Nb ‘Toulouse’ (Janet and Gerald) and nb ‘Triskaideka’ (Ali and John) on board ‘Chance’ for coffee and home made cake.  By 7pm we all decided to head into Rugby and have a meal at Titash - an excellent Indian restaurant which we can highly recommend and a very good evening was had by all.  We finally got back to ‘Chance’ at 10.30pm after a great final evening to this year’s cruising.

James, Doug, Ali, Gerald, Janet and John having just wined and dined.

Brinklow Bound

Saturday night as we were promised, we had a lovely firework display, free of charge, courtesy of The Globe at Snareston.

Due to camera limitations the only half decent photo we could get of the firework display.

Sunday morning dawned bright and with one of those wonderful misty canal mornings and heralding a fantastic sunny day ahead.

The view from ‘Chance’ on Sunday morning with bridge 61 (the last bridge on the canal) ahead of us.

A wonderful autumn sight in the grass around the basin.

A view of the basin and winding hole at the end of the canal.  Beyond the little white foot bridge is another 9 miles of canal, under restoration at present (albeit very slowly!), ending at Moira.

On the way back on Sunday and our first treat – the Snarestone Tunnel – only 250 yards long but nonetheless exciting as always.

Our next treat on our journey back was Shackerstone and ……..

….. the wonderful Victorian station which forms the headquarters of the Battlefield Line.  We moored up and took Oscar for the 1/2mile walk up to the station where we had a coffee in the equally well presented tea rooms.

The tea rooms were quite busy but everyone scattered when I got the camera out.  However, they were very pleased to know they would get some free advertising on our blog site!  The station is well worth a visit even if you don’t go on the train ride.

Back on the “road” again and our next treat was to see working narrow boat ‘Gosty Hill’.  It’s great to see a coal boat trading on this canal as it was originally built to transport the good quality coal from the pits in the area – Moira coal was highly sort after on the London market.  Although we knew ‘Gosty’ was somewhere in the area we were fairly desperate for coal last week and bought it elsewhere. Pity.

Today was very different, weather-wise, to yesterday – very dank and gloomy and quite cold at the tiller. It doesn’t bode too well for the rest of the week so we’ve  decided to press on today and get back to Brinklow marina a day early.

Not many photos today due to the weather but James decided to take this one of these very old hawthorns and also the smoke coming out of the chimney – little things please little minds!

Deciding to push on and get off the Ashby Canal we came to bridge 1 (the first bridge on the canal) and, shrouded in the mist ahead, the junction with the Coventry Canal.

Tonight we moored at, what is fast becoming, one of our regular moorings just after bridge 19 above the aqueduct.  We’re on our own with just the trains again.

Tomorrow we’re due to arrive at Brinklow Marina mid morning and will spend a few days winterising ‘Chance’ before we go home for a while.  We still hope to use ‘Chance’ in the winter, if the weather allows us, and we shall still continue to blog whatever we’re doing.

As another lovely treat we are meeting up with John and Ali from nb Triskaideka for a farewell meal tomorrow night as they’ve also just winterised their boat nearby.

The end of the line

Yesterday we left our mooring at bridge 13 and carried on down the lovely Ashby Canal.  We see some unusual craft on occasions as we cruise around….

but this one takes some beating!  It could be a relic of “It’s a Knock Out” or some ones’ primary mode of transport – who knows?

As we’ve said already the Ashby is a beautiful and, in the main, rural canal and at this time of the year the autumn colours are starting to show themselves to full effect.  With the fine sunny periods we’ve been getting you never know what fine vista might be round the corner….

through bridge 26 with the Ashby Canal Centre entrance on the left there was this fine sight.

Just after this photo was taken the weather took on a threatening look and we were soon plunged into some heavy rain.  After several abortive attempts at mooring up ( the chosen moorings were not deep enough to take our 30 inch draught! and we ended up grounded on silt and mud banks).  Enduring the rain we eventually ended up at our original destination choice of King Richard’s Field moorings.  This is right next to the field where Richard 3rd was slain at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.  We pitched up in the pouring rain and quickly settled in for the night.

This morning we took a walk with Oscar (actually more of a very gentle saunter – he’ll be 14 later this month!).  This photo is of King Richards Field with the commemorative stone in the foreground.

The inscription on the stone – and nearby an explanatory notice to say that they’ve now found (in 2009) the correct site of his murder and the aforesaid stone will be removed this winter (after forty years!) and placed where they now think it took place.  When we came here 3 years ago we questioned whether this was really the site .. well well.

We carried on with our walk to Shenton Station which is part of the Battlefield Line steam railway which we went on last time we were here.

Shenton Station.

A walk back to the boat and we were off again and soon mooring up at Bosworth Wharf for a long walk into Market Bosworth for a newspaper, milk and bread.  This is a stunning little town with every viewpoint a pleasure…….

the Market Place, Market Bosworth.  Too many cars!

Another view of the Market Place.

On our walk back to the boat we had to cross the railway bridge over the Battlefield Line and we were lucky enough to get there just in time to see the train arrive at the station.

A pity we can’t reproduce the smell!

Off again towards Shackerstone Station (what another great name)

Back on the ‘Chance’ and another great scene on our way to the end of the canal at Snarestone (this time at bridge 59)

We got to the end of the canal at 2:45 this afternoon and winded to face the right way to go back tomorrow.  A fine evening with another red sky and, again, we are on our own.  We’re promised a firework display in Snarestone village tonight which we should see over the field in the background.

Onto the Ashby Canal

Yesterday we did the short trip from our mooring to Hawkesbury Junction where we had arranged to meet friends Gerald and Janet on nb ‘Toulouse’.  (They were heading towards us from the other direction).  In the evening we went for a meal at The Greyhound (situated right on the canal junction) and we had a really excellent meal so we can highly recommend the food at this well known boater’s pub.

On our journey to Hawkesbury just before Tusses Bridge we came across a rather unusual back garden…..

….about a dozen or so ageing VW’s but is this a Ferrari Dino? If so he has two!!  Both have been there for quite a while.

Anyway - this morning nb ‘Toulouse’ left in the opposite direction to us but we shall see them again when we get back to Brinklow Marina as we’re both mooring there for the winter.  As always we had a great time with them.

Gerald setting off on nb ‘Toulouse’ – Janet is just visible on the front of the boat.

Leaving Hawkesbury Junction and back on the Coventry Canal.  The old junction pumping station is ahead on the left.

We continued for about an hour and turned onto the Ashby Canal at Marston Junction.  After another hour we decided to moor for the night just after bridge 13 near the village of Stretton Baskerville.  (We’ve got some cracking place names in this country!)

Photo taken from the top of bridge 13.  ‘Chance’ in the distance on our mooring tonight – all on our own again.

We had a drop of rain today but after we moored up the sun came out and we took the opportunity for a walk with Oscar.

Doug and Oscar returning to the boat.

A lovely peaceful evening in the sunshine – is it really November?

On the move again!

Not too much has happened in the last couple of days as Doug went home to get the car, so it’s here for when we go home later this month.  James stayed on board with Oscar at Brinklow Marina, doing a few odd jobs on the boat, the most important being an inspection and top up of all the batteries.
As the weather is still good we’ve decided to travel back up the Oxford Canal a short distance and turn off up the Ashby Canal.  It’s a lovely canal which we enjoyed when we had our last boat – it’s a lockless canal, and a dead-end, so we plan to have a lazy cruise up and back in a week.

‘Chance’ on the temporary mooring in Brinklow Marina.

A view from the top of the marina – ‘Chance’ is right down at the bottom!  James has had the privilege of watching a father swan using this stretch of water to teach his two youngsters to fly.  A wonderful sight.

Having left the marina we travelled through some lovely oak glades – the autumn colours are just beginning to show.

One and a half hours later we moored up where we moored before (all on our own again) with lovely open views across towards Coventry and just the trains to keep us company!

Another lovely day!

Today started off as yesterday had finished, drinking and eating, this time morning coffee and cake on ‘Briar Rose’.  James did a quick bit of work on ‘Briar Rose’ for Adam and Adrian and so after the cake we set off back the way we came for Brinklow Marina.

Doug and Adrian tucking into sponge cake (baked by Doug)

On the way back we bumped into Lyn and Paul on ‘Piston Broke’ – we’re quite often seeing them around these days.

A dog on a cold tin roof! (Oscar still likes to get on the roof occasionally!)

Adrian ahead of ‘Briar Rose’ at the top of the Hillmorton Locks.

Adrian and Doug chatting while ‘Chance’ goes down in the world.

This was like this 3 years ago! one day it will fall on some ones’ head.

‘Chance’  at a quick stop in Rugby, to go to Tesco’s…

Entering the Newbold Tunnel – tunnels always seem exiting.

We arrived at Brinklow Marina at 3.30pm as Doug is having a lift home with Adam and  Adrian to get the car back here.  We are booked into the marina for 4 months over winter but don’t plan to come in permanently for another couple of weeks yet.

Sunset over Brinklow marina.

A weekend with nb Briar Rose

On Friday we made our way towards Brinklow to meet up with Adam on Nb Briar Rose for a planned weekend trip to Braunston and back.  Adam had left Brinklow marina about 1/2 hour before we got there so we followed with about 6 or 7 boats between us –it seemed very busy but was probably due to fact that people had not moved much on Thursday because it was so wet.

We passed through the Newbold Tunnel before getting to Rugby.  The tunnel is famous for its lights which flood it like a rainbow.  Sadly there are now too many bulbs which have blown and it’s all looking a bit grim.

We stopped off at Tesco in Rugby and while Doug was shopping James watched a British Waterways chap pull this lot out of the canal from under the road bridge in less than 20 minutes!………

We moored up with nb Briar Rose by the golf course just outside Rugby.  Adam had managed to find a place for both boats and the place for ‘Chance’ was perfect down the last foot of space (bless him).  Adrian joined us at 7.30 pm having taken the train from work.

‘Chance’ and ‘Briar Rose’ moored up for the night.

On Saturday both boats headed up the Hillmorton Locks where we met up with, and had a quick chat with, Ian and Irene on  Nb ‘’Free Spirit’,  (fellow bloggers) - hope to meet you for longer next time!

Adam, Adrian and Doug at the top lock at Hillmorton – having a quick coffee and home made ginger biscuits made by Adam.

Passing the somewhat infamous Barby Marina still very much unfinished but with a few boats moored together as there are still no pontoons!

We arrived just after lunch time at Braunston.  As there weren’t many spare moorings we breasted up together and then took a walk to the Admiral Nelson pub at lock 3.   Surprisingly they didn’t do a lunchtime snack menu so we had a pint and then walked into Braunston village and had a bite to eat at The Old Plough.

Breasted up at Braunston.

After a walk around and visits to various chandlers we then headed back towards Brinklow and  mooring for the evening  just after bridge No 88.

We had a great evening aboard ‘Chance’ with Adam and Adrian -  plenty of food and drink of course!

Adam,  Adrian and James  (James looking surprised for no apparent reason)

Adrian, Doug and Adam after several more bottles of wine (not really!)