We are delighted to say that our pride and joy, Autumn Myst, has been sold to lovely new owners Kevin and Petra, not forgetting the most important member of their crew Molly.
We wish them well on their future exploits and hope that they enjoy the boat as much as we have done over the last six years. Please give them a welcoming wave if you see them on your travels.
We will miss all the friends we have made on the canal and wish you all well for the future.
Bob and June
This morning we motored on towards Hillmorton and between Falls Bridge and Newbold we came across C & RT excavating an old brick drainage ditch which runs at the bottom of the cutting adjacent to the towpath. It will make a big difference to the dryness of the towpath through the cutting which rarely dries out as it is in the shade nost of the day.
Its a great shame that all the lights have now gone out in Newbold as it was a lovely feature of the North Oxford Canal.
Approaching Brownsover you can now look down onto the multi coloured back of the Elliot's Field Shopping complex which always seems very busy with shoppers and is in an ideal location for the passing boaters.
Much to our surprise there was plenty of mooring at Brownsover (Rugby) on both sides even though for some strange reason the Water Tap has been moved from the other side of Masters Bridge and placed in the centre of the mooring on the park side which is always a favourite of boaters. Temporary signs have now been placed in position on the grass to denote the water point mooring.
Clifton Wharf was very busy with moored hire boats as it is their main changeover day and on the other side of Bridge 66 it is such a shame to see what used to be beautifully kept and much admired allotments have fallen into disuse and are all overgrown.
Presumably this is because of the ground works which are being undertaken along the stretch of canal up to Hillmorton for the new housing on the old Radio Station site.
The mooring at Hillmorton was almost empty and so we could pick our spot. After lunch the wind picked up and became very strong and gusty with the occasional brief shower.
Strange weather today, first light rain, then lovely sunshine, followed by a strong breeze and finally in the evening the wind died to a dead calm and the sunset created a lovely sky.
We had another late start for us and headed down to Sutton Stop Lock having passed several boats going in the opposite direction and when we arrived there were a few mooring places which had been vacated.
A boat had just come through the lock and another was just entering so we had to wait a few minutes before we could go through and wind in front of the Greyhound Pub. By this time there were another two boats in front of us. We were going up the Ashby canal but as we were told the Shackerstone Festival and just finished and the canal was very busy and having experienced it a few years ago we decided to turn around and head back the other way.
Just passed Tusses Bridge we were met two chuggers, one towing butty Gosport, all looking very smart in deed.
We met lots more boats on route and at Ansty encountered four boats as we negotiated the bend and moored boats just beyond the bridge where the canal is very narrow.
We stopped for lunch near to Bridge 26 and on the other side is this nice mooring, the cutting made a few years ago.
As we had to pass our marina we decided to call in and stop the night there.
After meeting Guide Dog Oakley at the Crick show some years back it is nice to see that he is still enjoying life working with Tracy on their narrow boat and we follow his exploits on their bog.
We had a late start this morning leaving the marina at 9.00 am and turned out onto the canal into a line of 4 boats. We thought we were on the M6 as we headed towards All Oaks Wood as so many boats were passing us going in the opposite direction.
At Stretton Stop we negotiated the swing bridge which connects the two parts of Rose Narrow Boats yard and motored down the lines of moored hire and private boats.
The canal from Nettle Hill to Squires Bridge was really murky and smelly, as a result of the boat traffic stirring up the sludge from the bottom. When we had come through on our spring trip the water had been crystal clear. We stopped in Ansty near to the bridge for Zola to spend and were passed in a couple of minutes by two boats.
We continued on under the M69 meeting boats at all the narrow stretches and unsighted bridge holes and moored up for lunch around mid-day. A couple of boats told us that they had had to wait in a long queue at the lock at Hawkesbury Junction so as the weather was nice we decided to stay where we were and pick Blackberry’s for tomorrows crumble.
The afternoon was even busier than the morning and I wondered where everybody who was travelling late would find a place to moor.
We arrived at the marina just around noon and after unloading the car we went off to Rugby for some lunch and provisions. The evening sunshine is lovely and the weather is very warm forecast at 18 degrees over night.
Our new pup Zola has taken to boating life like an old sea dog and made herself at home on the boat finding a nice secure place under the dinette to sleep.
This morning we crept quietly off the mooring in Brownsover to avoid waking the other sleeping boaters as it was only 6.00 am and we wanted to get back to the marina before the forecasted rain later in the day.
The Brownsover mooring was full on both sides of the bridge as were the moorings at Newbold. The poor weather yesterday afternoon had obviously decided both privateers and hirers to put down their pins for the day. It was reported on the TV news that Rugby had had floods and a funnel cloud but we had not seen anything like that sort of rain, a couple of heavy showers but that was all. My sister who lives near Warwick reported that they had had 2 inches of rain yesterday so we were very lucky.
It was only an hours trip back to the marina and we did not meet any other boats on the move and all was quiet as we reversed onto our pontoon. We quickly packed up the car and did the necessary maintenance jobs on the boat before Autumn Years arrived for a pump out and to say our last farewells. It has been a great 8 weeks and we will miss Graham and Carolann dearly.
We waved off Autumn Years as they exited the marina and after an early lunch and chat to nearby boaters closed down the boat and wended our way home.
No sooner had we left the marina than the heavens opened and we had heavy rain all the way home where it stopped as we turned into our drive. Carolann told us later that they had stopped travelling because of the rain and it had not stopped all afternoon, so a wise choice on our part.
In the 8 weeks we have been away we have hardly encountered any rain and it has certainly not stopped us doing anything. We seemed to have just been in the right place at the right time.
Cruise Stats:
Total Distance 455 miles, 7½ furlongs
Total Locks 255 locks
Total Moveable Bridges 62 of which 6 are usually left open;
Total Small Aqueducts 117
Total Major Aqueducts 4
Total Tunnels 11 which meant travelling 13219 yds underground
We travelled:-
144 miles, 7½ furlongs of narrow canals
172 miles, 3¼ furlongs of broad canals
32 miles, 2½ furlongs of commercial waterways
32 miles, 5 furlongs of small rivers
28 miles, 7½ furlongs of large rivers
44 miles, 5¾ furlongs of tidal rivers
93 narrow locks
143 broad locks
19 large locks
