Bakers and Boat makers - Tuesday 21st April

This morning we decided to walk up the hill from the canal to Grendon and Baddesley Ensor. On the way we spotted these road names. One for the Canal and River Trust (Carts Lane) another from the Western movies (Boot Hill) and finely for us Brummies (Little Brum).

The main reason for walking up the hill was to visit WH Gayton & Sons Bakery in Maypole Lane. It was established in 1919 by Grandad Gayton, the bakery has been kept going through thick & thin, by the one & only Gayton family. His grandson & granddaughter keep his traditions alive and produce the finest handmade crafted bread & cakes. Mrs Gayton Snr. gave a talk to June’s Craft Club and we wanted to see what the bakery was like and purchase some fresh bread and cakes. We were made very welcome and  came away with some lovey produce.

Baddesley Ensor is a mining village and there were mining activities in the area for centuries before the two main shafts, which formed Baddesley Colliery, were sunk in 1850. Although called Baddesley Colliery it was actually just over the border in Baxterley. From then on until 1989 when the pit closed most Baddesley men worked in some capacity at the mine. The worst disaster at the mine occurred on 2 May 1882. There was a fire followed by an explosion and 23 men lost their lives in attempting to rescue nine nightshift workers trapped by the fire.

A memorial to all the men who worked in the mines, in the form of a pit head winding wheel was erected on the common on the site of the old Maypole pit.

Baddesley Ensor it the highest point for miles around  and is known for its common. There are beautiful views to be seen looking over towards Birmingham and also Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

St Nicholas Church is a well kept cemetery with lovely flowers and the wild Blue bells just coming out to give it a fresh look.

Returning to the boat for coffee and our fresh cakes we motored down to Bradley Green Bridge and filled with water from a quick filling tap. We met and passed the time of day with the Waterways Chaplin who was there to visit boaters on the permanent mooring, a very nice fellow.

As we approached Grendon Dock the staff were manouvering a working boat which had jsut come out of the dock after being blacked. Another two boats had gone and the dock  was being pumped dry.

We stopped for lunch at one of our favourite spots near Bridge 50 and then motored on to Alvecote where we moored opposite the Samuel Barlow pub. By this time the weather was so warm that I am afraid my milk bottle legs had to come out.

After mooring up I went for a walk to explore the area and found Alvecote Priory which is a ruined Benedictine Priory. Now very little remains of the priory, most of the walls have been eroded but a fairly high wall remains on one side. The main entrance arch is the most impressive feature, still standing at around 20 feet high. It was founded 1159 by William Burdett as a dependency of Great Malvern Priory. After returning from a crusade, Burdett accused his wife of being unfaithful and stabbed her, and as penance founded the monastery. Little is known of the history of this small priory. We only know the names of five of its priors. The first prior of whom any record survives was William de Wikwane who resigned in 1282. The last priors of this small house occurred in rapid succession. William Sutton was recorded as prior in 1535 but by the following year he had been succeeded by William Umberleye. It was probably he who finally surrendered the house to the King's commissioners when the mother house of Great Malvern was finally dissolved in 1540.

A little further up the canal I spotted this old wooden boat (NB. Dane) being refurbished at A.P Boatbuilding’s yard and asked if I might take a look at it as it looked really interesting. Ade who was working on the boat welcomed me in and we had a good chat about his work. He had refurbished his own boat and decided to see if he could make a go of it as a profession having been in the business for 20 years.

The oak he uses to rebuild the boats has to be seasoned for 2 years before it can be used and so anyone who decided they want a real traditional boat must plan well ahead. He has recently completed a boat for the Black Country Museum which required a complete new back end. Each boat takes several thousand hours to complete and thus his clients tend to be Heritage museums. The current boat is for the NBHF(the Narrow Boat Heritage Foundation) who are seeking donations to help with their work in saving old boats.  Visit their website at ww.nbhf.co.uk/

Next door at the Narrowcraft Yard are several old working boats in their basin.

They also seem to have cornered the market in old Reliant 3 Wheeler vans. This one is signed up as Trotters Independent Traders. The Reliant factory used to be just down the road so it is not far from where it was made.

The other side of the railway line is the Alvecote Nature pools which were home to lots of wild life and would be worth a visit on future trips.

Cold and Hot - Monday 20th April

We awoke to a hard frost with even the inside of the Houdini frames being frozen. Within a short time a thick mist began to descend across the fields and the canal.

Ecco did not think too much of the cold and mist but with no wind it did not feel as cold as yesterday.

We waited for the mist to lift and then wended our way into Atherstone where we moored near the bridge so that we could walk into the shops to buy some Gayton’s fresh bread from Bates the Butcher and then visit Aldi for some of the basics. We returned to the boat in lovely sunshine and had to strip off our cold weather layers. As we had a cup of coffee a boat went passed and started to go down the locks. We followed on after it.

The last time we were at Atherstone top lock we were able to walk down inside it as C&RT had an open day for people to see the work they were doing on the locks.

This time we were met by two very friendly and helpful volunteers who helped both boats down the first 5 locks where the lead boat stopped for water. We carried onto lock 6, the volunteers seemed to enjoy chatting to June, so accompanied us down to the lock where we thanked them very much and bid our farewells.

June took over the helm for the last 4 locks and we began to meet a few boats coming up so it was nice for me to have a chat instead of being isolated on the tiller. In the long pound we passed this push-butty we have seen all over the system they certainly seem to get about.

We decided to moor up below the last lock and enjoy the afternoon sun sitting on the bank. The boat which normally moors opposite was out so we had a clear view across the fields and were protected from any light breeze by the hedge with a nice wide towpath for Ecco to enjoy.

It was such a warm spot that I am afraid the shorts had to come out and reveal my milk bottle legs!!

Ecco enjoyed being on land and could not resist sticking this feather to her nose like a white moustache.

Later in the afternoon, Liz, Jimmy’s Guide Dog Trainer phoned to say that he had progressed so well that he would be leaving Leamington early and was likely to go Exeter and would we like to go and see him working in harness before he left. So we are looking forward to seeing him guide around the streets of Leamington in the near future.

The Difference a Day Makes - Sunday 19th April

Today started cloudy with a very cool breeze which meant we needed to wrap up well as we were heading straight into it. Just around the corner from our mooring, the owner of this land seems to enjoy old commercial vehicles. Each time we pass they seem to change, this morning it was an excavator and an old dumper type truck last time it was a gypsy caravan.

At the next corner just before Tusses bridge this swan had decided to make her nest on the land filled with old cars and vans but a great habitat for wildlife, as a mallard had made a nest on the windscreen of a van and a cat was living inside another.

We rounded the bend to Hawkesbury Junction to find it surprisingly almost empty of moored boats on both sides of the stop lock.

Leaving the Oxford Canal and moving onto the Coventry Canal requires a 180 degree turn through the bridge on the left.

Looking back the well known Greyhound Pub which fronts onto the junction is easily spotted. It houses a large collection of Toby Jugs and is a popular venue for a Sunday lunch.

The Navigation Inn at Bulkington bridge has now been turned into a spectacular private residence, I would suspect that it must be owned by a property developer as there is a selection of ground works machines in the garden and work never stops being undertaken on the site.

Approaching Nuneaton, June took the opportunity of stretching Ecco’s legs and giving her chance to spend. Very difficult at the moment as she is in season.

Lots of people were making use of the towpath for a Sunday morning jog, walk, bike ride, or just walking the dog; but as we passed Hartshill  C&RT Yard we expected to see lots of boats moored beyond the bridge but again to our surprise there was only one boat where normally it would be full.

We love the spring because it is the time of year when all the trees are begining to sprout and the baby ducks are taking their first swim. Here we passed 8 as we went under a bridge and I was concerned they might get squashed so gave them as wide a birth as I could. Later we saw an even larger  family of 11 ducklings.

We moored in one of our favourite spots which was again empty of boats and after lunch when the sun came out and it warmed up we walked into Atherstone to Aldi for a couple of items. Yet again the Atherstone moorings only had 2 boats there and they moved off as we walked back to the boat. Yesterday had been busy with boat movements in both directions but today we hardly saw a boat moving, very strange.

The town has some very old streets and a lovely Market Square in front of the Church. The High Street was once the Roman Road known as Watling Street and to us the A5 but has now been bye passed as it is very narrow

Atherstone was once an important hatting town, and became well known for its felt hats. The industry began in the 17th century and at its height there were seven firms employing 3,000 people. Due to cheap imports and a decline in the wearing of hats, the trade had largely died out by the 1970s.

An annual tradition in Atherstone is the Shrove Tuesday Ball Game. It is a complete free-for-all played along Watling Street (the old Roman road) at the point where it forms the main street of Atherstone town. The ball is decorated with red, white and blue ribbons that are exchanged for money by who ever is able to obtain one and is made of thick leather to make it too heavy to kick far. It celebrated its 800th anniversary in 1999

Blue Skies - 18th April

A later than normal start today saw us heading out of the marina in a beautiful clear blue sky with hardly a cloud in sight. There was still that strong easterly wind however which helped keep it cool. No sooner had we turned onto the cut than we started to meet lots of boats heading in both directions, presumably the nice weather had encouraged people out early.

Passing through All Oaks Wood we were bathed in sunlight now that the trees have been dramatically thinned out as part of the woodland management.

Two years ago you would not have seen any light through the trees even with no leaves on and now there is blue sky everywhere.

We motored through the Easenhall Cutting which cut out the long loop of the canal which took it to Brinklow village and back through this now defunct foot bridge. We have managed to wind the boat here in the past but it is very tight now.

On reaching Stretton Stop we had a boat close behind us and two more approaching the swing bridge (which joins the two sides of Rose Narrow Boats Yard) from the opposite direction. Here another of the old loops of the canal goes off to Brinklow Services and other boating facilities and it is now used for moorings.

We motored on through Ansty village, on the way passing the golf course which is on both sides of the canal linked by an underpass and on to the Coventry Cruising Club entrance bridge. This is a very narrow entrance at an acute angle to the canal and must have been a devil to get into if coming from Hawkesbury Junction.

The CCC arm was once the entrance to the old Wyken Colliery and is in a nice setting but unfortunately over shadowed by the M6 motorway which splits it into two halves. To get into the second basin there is a sharp left hand bend into the tunnel under the motorway.

This part of the arm is quite wide and provides room to wind narrow boats and is full of cruisers and a few narrow boats. It is also the main entrance to the Club with its club house and facilities block.

The Blackthorns are a sight to behold with masses of white flowers looking as though it has been snowing.

The lambs are frolicking around in the fields and came down to the canal to drink the water just opposite our mooring.

The lovely weather gave the time to do a little more boat polishing and touching up those odd spots which have suffered through the winter.

At Last - Friday 17th April 2015

After many months of Doctors, Hospital and finally Dentist and Opticians visits we have made it to the boat and are ready to start our Spring Cruise. Autumn Myst has been serviced and polished and filled with water ready for the off tomorrow.

The Daffodils around the marina have been spectacular this year as they were allowed far more time to put the energy back into the bulbs before they were mown over.

The swans are also back on their nest with at least 6 eggs and hopefully more after the successful season they had last year.

Whilst mom sits on the eggs dad is prowling around the marina keeping a close eye on who is going near the nest but as everybody is very careful with them they do not seem frightened even when Ecco, on the lead, went close to the nest.

Whilst it looks as though we have missed the glorious weather we had over Easter the forecast is quite good for the forthcoming week so lets hope it is right.