Cruising from Rugby to Rugeley

We lingered in Braunston and in Rugby hoping to pick up our new cushions for the dinette. Now that the cushions have been delivered we headed off to Hawkesbury Junction. A little misty to start Friday but the sun was warm enough to burn that off quickly, turning into a nice warm day. These days a starting to be few and far between. Along the way I noticed that CRT/BW had placed a cautionary sign and a couple of buoys on what turned out to be a tree stump protruding into the canal. Why didn't they just cut another metre or so off it?

 

Now cruising on the Oxford Canal, a feature on this part of the canal are the canal arms that are now closed down and filled in as well as the straightening of the canal that has gone on over the years. There were quite a few of these dead ends along the way.

On our way to Hawkesbury Junction we passed Rose Narrowboats; Rachael and I couldn't help but think back to when we met Elly and Mick here just before they handed over their boat Parisien Star. We reached Hawkesbury Junction in early afternoon and moored just above the stop lock. Time to go for a walk and have a look around 'the junction.' We found this old pumping station used between 1837 and 1913, pumping water from underground into the canal.

It was such a nice day it was very competitive for a seat outside The Greyhound Pub where we stopped for a drink and watched the boats go by at this busy junction.

Another fine day as we headed off from Hawkesbury Junction heading for Atherstone. Rachael informed me it was washing day so on when the machine and we filled the water tank before we got too far along the canal. A lunchtime stop and a stroll into Nuneaton before continuing on to Starline Boats for a pump out and a fill with diesel(65p domestic). With the absence of locks the last few days Rachael has been walking along the canal for exercise, I've been urging her on from the boat!

Our cruising started quite late on Sunday even though we were woken early by a brass band in the field next to us. Not sure what all the cars and people were but seemed to be some flag waving and batten twirling going on.

This was at Hartshill, a very small village with some nice rural moorings. It was a short cruise down to Atherstone where we moored and took a walk into town to pick up a few things from mthe local Aldi. We were interested in this sculpture as strolled along the canal towards the shops, the Tree of Life sculpture depicts the history of Atherstone. A plaque beside the sculpture tells of the towns existence prior to the Doomsday Book of 1086.

We had lunch then headed off down the nine lock Atherstone Flight, cruising on to moor in Tamworth just above Glascote locks. We had considered an early stop at Polesworth but after seeing and hearing the motor bikes we quickly changed our minds.

Tamworth was just an overnight stop, the weather prediction for the next two days was poor so there were no sightseeing plans made. We waited for the showers to pass and got underway around 11am, I still copped some light rain off and on for an hour or two but I was dressed for the worse. We passed through Fazeley Junction finally meeting up from where we turned off at the start of the season. Passed the Cheese Boat on our way but we had already stocked up at Rugby.

Passing through Whittington there was a long row of boats, it seemed we were on tick over for half an hour, the remnants of the weekend Huddlesford Heritage Gathering. It was another few hours before we passed through Fradley Junction and on to the Trent and Mersey Canal; familiar territory for us. We finished off our day mooring late in the afternoon at Handsacre, a long day for us fearing the predicted rain for the rest of the week.

Upon waking up this morning, all had changed with the weather reports, very little rain for the rest of the week; from one extreme to the other! With a late start, we cruised the hour down to Rugeley in bright sunshine and moored up in time for lunch, then off into town for a look around. On our return there was time to do some work on the boat, this time installing a couple of lifting rings on the engine room floor boards.

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After