Congerstone (almost)

Today's Canal : Ashby

We drove up to Trinity Marina yesterday. Apart from the heat it was a straightforward journey - at least when the sat nav is working otherwise the cross country direction is not easy to follow from a simple road atlas. Without the detailed zoomed in display we would probably have missed a turning or two at some rather complex intersections.

We arrived just on 1 o'clock but as we had prepared rolls for the journey we ate those as lunch before we arrived. We were not looking forward to unloading the car and then packing away on the boat. However, with the help of our new(ish) folding shopping trolley, all the to and fro trips were made remarkably quickly. We have to confess that we did not lock the access gate every time!

Later we visited Lidl and then Morrisons to stock up on food - there is almost no nearby shop on the Ashby above Hinkley. One of the reasons for going to Morrisons (apart from it being Mike's choice for lunch time yoghurt whilst Lidl is Christine's choice for bread) was that there was a car charging point there. It can be useful to combine the two operations to avoid to much sitting around waiting foe the juice to flow in. There were supposed to be be outlets for two cars - one was already in action when we arrived. We plugged in and started the charging sequence which always begins with reading a payment card. After numerous attempts with different means of paying. in every case the machine simply said 'Aborted'. We eventually gave up! No great loss in a way as it was only offering half charging rate (25) to a second car so it would not have added much in the time we were shopping.

Since some of the items we bought were frozen goods we headed straight back to the boat and after unloading all the bags (trolley handy once again) Mike left Christine stowing whilst he went a short distance to an InstaVolt charger 4 minutes by car away from the marina. At a rate of 120 (albeit rather more expensive than at Morrisons) the car was soon up to 91%, more than enough for the next car shuffle. Whilst waiting, Mike succumbed to the temptation of a cold drink from the adjoining MacDonalds!

This morning we were awake early but by the time we had sorted ourselves and the boat it was nigh on ten o'clock as we emerged from the marina entrance. Already the temperature was energy-sapping so it was perhaps just as well we are still on a long lock-free stretch for a few days. 30 is forecast before the week is out.

The Ashby Canal is almost entirely rural and surrounded by typical English farming landscapes. Mostly we marked our progress by noting the numbers on the bridges as we passed under them. Soon after leaving the marina a couple of boats sat on our tail but as we ourselves were following another boat that set off in front of us there was not much we could about it! Eventually all three pulled in to moor up for a break.

The former wharf for Stoke Golding is now home to a well known hire base whose boats always look very smart, at least on the outside. Almost all were out at the moment. 

There are several marinas on the Ashby and just after the wharf this is the entrance to the Ashby Boat Centre.

The great majority of the bridges were built to the same pattern, so without the number plate it would be difficult to decide which was which.

Just occasionally one has been rebuilt - less usually as here with a complete new concrete flat deck.

Sutton Wharf is a popular trip out for local people - a pub, cafe and an ice cream boat service different tastes in refreshment. We did think about topping up the water tank but as it was only a small amount below full and another boat has just pulled in ahead of us we opted to go forward a boat length and moor for lunch on the 2 day visitor mooring. We could not do a rubbish disposal as the former bin store here has been closed, we believe because of extensive misuse. Boaters in need are directed either to Snarestone or Hinkley, both quite a cruising time away.

After lunch we swapped our usual yoghurt for a visit to the ice cream boat. last time we were here it was closed when we called but we were definitely not disappointed this time.

The afternoon cruise started quite late but we soon passed under one of the few former railway bridges across this canal. This one carried the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway, part of which is still used as the Battlefield Steam Railway. Even though we were quite close to the line for the rest of the day we saw no signs of trains running today.

Another marina entrance - this one to Bosworth Marina which was fairly new when we last came this way in 2021. Andy, the sales person which found a buyer for us for Take Five back in 2016 when he was at Swanley Brokerage has now moved here.

Across the farming landscape we could see the spire of Market Bosworth in the far distance. Too small for the main photo

but highly zoomed just possible to make it out!

Bridge 44 announced the start of the SSSI designation for the rest of this canal. Although it suggests that boats should only moor at designated moorings, there are far fewer spaces than boats on the move so it is just as well that is seems OK to moor at the places on guides such as Waterway Routes! Reeds are allowed to grow freely and clearly boats have a lower ranking than the wildlife!

Just beyond this bridge we spotted what looked like a good piece of Armco with several boats moored close to the edge However, when we tried to get in at the first two, we could not get closer than about a 1.5 m. Finally we tried the third, right at the far end of the mooring. We started with the stern right in but as we pulled in the bow to the edge, the stern went out! (This is not an uncommon experience on some canals where mooring was not a need when first built). Eventually we settled for about half a metre both ends and a gang plank! Only one boat passed us for the rest of the afternoon and evening and they managed with no problem.

9.9 Miles - 0 Locks