Atherstone

Today's Canal : Coventry

When we set off this morning, there was still quite a bit of mist around. This lasted another hour and after that we have had one of the finest days this trip - bright, sunny, gentle breeze and very warm.

A while later when we were gradually benefitting from the sunshine, we could still see thick banks lingering over the nearby hills.

Our schedule - based on getting to Brinklow in time to get home for all the appointments booked in from Monday (first stop, car service!) - involved reaching the bottom of the Atherstone flight by the time we moored tonight. However. once we had established our departure time we substituted an ambition to do a little better, perhaps four or six locks up, so that we can do some top-up shopping at tesco.

By the time we arrived at Fazeley the sunny weather was in full flow. This meant that mostly our pictures have blue sky but, depending on the direction of travel, the bright sun made some shots impossible.

As we crossed the Tame we exchanged enthusiastic, friendly waves with the canoeist below as he passed under as we were just completing the aqueduct crossing.

We were fortunate at Glascote, with a boat just leaving each of the two locks at the right time for us to pass and for them to leave the bottom gates ready for us.

A young lady was patiently waiting at the locks for a couple of boats to arrive so that she could join them. (Lacking a lock key she could only help by pushing gates but that was still very welcome) We later passed nb Cassiopeia and nb Purton, with nb Harnser sandwiched in between. The first is a full length former working boat, largely in its original configuration, whilst Purton has a full length cab. in conversion. Harnser is know to us as one of the listed blogs on the right of this page. Alas, with having to manoeuvre carefully (we, of course, met them at a bridge hole) we failed to take any pictures.

We did, however, manage a shot of the restored and converted boats in Alvecote Marina which seems to have managed to be home to a good number of those still operating. 

Several of the more urban stretches seem to have quite a density of bridges, of all shapes and sizes. Many will have been part of the canal infrastructure for most of its history but others have been added or modernised to serve the many new housing developments close by. And look at the sky!

But the sun was not kind when we passed this sign: Lees and Atkins Dock. It seems that here was once an important and well known narrow boat builder, who, along with Nurser at Braunston, supplied most of the Number Ones, boaters who owned their own boats and were self employed, at a time when, as a result of tough competition from railways, survived by taking their whole family to live on a 'pair'.

We had read a recent comment of someone who thought that when they passed recently, Grendon Dock was looking rather forlorn. For a long time the site has has a close resemblance to a scrap yard but it remains in hight demand as a facility and two leisure boats were in having work done.

By now our sights were set on reaching the services just in front of the next locks, before having lunch - we could then eat whilst the water was filling. Alas, another boat arrived and waited until we had finished - so lunch was interrupted to allow us to relocate back onto the towpath nearer the locks.

And so to the Atherstone Flight. Alas, that boat that arrived at the services overtook us just before we were ready to leave again so the locks were set against us, except for the second where a boat was coming down. Still, these locks are not difficult - unless, of course, someone leaves a gate paddle just a little ajar which we did not spot until we wondered why the last few inches were not filling!

We debated whether to stop after four locks, with a pleasant context and not too close to the railway, or to move on to the visitor moorings which are best for going to the town. In the end. after Lock 8 we called it a day, able to enjoy the rest of the sunshine.

11.5 Miles - 6 Locks