Retirement takes its toll

Its happening -most bizarre incident or is it my southern accent. We had walked into Atherstone to do some shopping and find a coffee shop. We did it all but no increase in my good cappuccino count. We found the only cafe in town and noticed that they did marmite to go on toast. We order our coffee - 1 mug of cappuccino and 1 cup of black cofee and 2 pieces of toast one with marmalade.

Well one mug and one cup of cappuccino arrived with 2 pieces of toast one with marmite! I am sure I ordered black coffee and marmalade- Anne reckons its how I said it!

The locks have arrived

Our mooring tonight is by bridge 50 north of Atherstone.

Today 4miles and 11 locks , total to date 80 miles and 15 locks


The photo below shows a larger version of Black Bess's colours! we saw it in Barry Hawkins yard which is located at the old Baddesley colliery wharf.

The photo on the right shows the old toll house at the British Waterways yard at Hartshill north of Nuneaton which we passed through yesterday. It is leased from BW by a banjo playing folk singer who pays a low rent but has to keep the inside of the grade 2 listed building in good order. The boats used to pass underneath the building to be measured for toll fees but has now been bricked in and forms a cellar for the house.

Tomorrow we head for Fazeley and Fradley junctions on our way to Great Haywood where we will join the Trent and Mersey canal which will take us to Stoke on Trent and the Caldon Canal.

Still connected on the Ashby

Well when we stopped tonight at bridge 8 Burton Hastings I still had a 3g connection. The photo is our mooring for tonight in bright evening sunshine its now raining.

Travel day 6 - 12 miles no locks, cumulative is 66 miles and 4 locks

Good cappuccinos to date 1

The calm before the storm as once we head for Great Haywood the locks come thick and fast, Anne cann't wait!

A few more pictures

Canal boating can be dangerous saw this on the Oxford canal the other day

Anne is very proud of her "snow through a porthole" picture

Coming off the Ashby Canal

The above picture is of Hawkesbury junction or Sutton Stop named after one of the lock keepers which we went through last Friday.Its where the Oxford meets the Coventry canal( the one on the left) The tall chimney is the old pumping house that pumped water into the canal from a deep well.

Sunday morning 07.30 in the middle of nowhere on the Ashby Canal the fields and trees were all covered in snow but by midday it had all gone. The Ashby runs between Rugby and Leicester and is very remote ie no Orange 3g signals at all. I am posting this just outside Hinckley beside a huge new Triumph motorcycle warehouse.

We are aiming to leave the Ashby tomorrow and head up towards Fradley and Great Haywood junctions where we can get onto the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Mooring tonight

Our mooring at Hillmorton near Rugby. In the background are the masts of the Rugby Radio Station which in 1926 was used to operate the first telephone link between London and New York and now broadcasts time signals for the Royal Observatory.

At last we have started - Day One

The above is a picture of Hillmorton top lock - the first of 300'ish

Today 12.5 miles and 3 locks

Well we have finally left the marina and have gone 15 lock miles to Hillmorton near Rugby. Left at 07.50 and stopped for the day at 13.00. At least the wind has now dropped compared to yesterday and the run was not too bad, a bit cold but the stove was alight and warm air passed through the boat from the bow to the stern so at least my feet were nice and warm.

The other event is that we have 4 bars on my phone and I am connected to the internet so an excellent start to our trip. We did hear the weather forecast for the weekend and its snow showers again!. We should be on the Ashby by then near to Bosworth and the battle site of 1485.