Friday 10th August 2018

So here we are, the last ever blog post from In The Mood.When we set off in June we planned to have one more year aboard exploring the canals around the Pennines. After studying the canal map we realised that we would be covering large distances of routes already explored (in some areas we have visited them at least 3 times) in order to reach about 40 new miles. We decided that this was a somewhat expensive option when we took mooring fees, licence fee, insurance etc.  into account. Therefore we have decided to sell the boat and will hire in the areas which we still wish to explore. We have yet to travel through the Standedge tunnel (this boat is too high out of the water), the South Wales canal (not integrated with the main network), and maybe Scottish canals. We would also like to try canals in Europe.

Lots of you have read the blog everyday when it has been published and hope that you have enjoyed sharing our travels and we may be back blogging - but with hire boats.

Our before and after feet photos have been firm favourites so here they are!

June 23rd 2018

August 9th 2018

Fantastic weather all summer with only 3 days which were wet and windy out of 44 nights away from the Marina.

Statistics for this year

Miles 394

Locks 229 

Since we bought the boat in 2012 we have travelled over 2000 miles and worked 1660 locks. We are sad to see her go but looking forward to planning new adventures. There are whole areas of the world and Britain which we still have to explore. Watch this space........

Monday 6th August 2018

Last day of the 2018 cruise. We left Fradley at 8.15 and most of today’s 10 locks were quite quick to fill so we didn’t waste much time although we were following another boat and had to reset the lock each time. Passing through Alrewas we were surprised to find that The Titanic has made an appearance in another guise.

Alrewas always has good murals decorating the bridges.

We looked at this house when house hunting 9 years ago. It would have been a project as there is an attached warehouse/barn which we would have had to convert. A few years later the new owners had a pig and chickens in the garden. It has now sold again and what a difference!

Pretty use of a canoe in a garden in Alrewas.

We now needed to cross the river section where raised walkways traverse the flood plain. This area is usually closed to canal traffic for periods during the winter as the river bursts its banks.

Narrow section and a narrow bridge as we travel along the Trent and Mersey Canal. We cannot understand why the brick bridge was built so narrow.

Often we stop at Branston Water Park for a meal on our last night of cruising. Not this time but at least a new sign has appeared - the last one had a purple canal.

Last year as we passed through here a new road bridge was being built. Now houses are going up. It is so interesting to see what changes take place over the years.

By 5.15 we were safely moored in our berth. But there will be one more blog in the next couple of days so keep reading!

(Backup) Sunday 5th August 2018

This morning we made the decision to head back to the Marina in order to complete jobs this week and two sets of friends and family are coming to visit before we head home next Monday. Consequently we have had a long day just working our way back in very hot conditions.

Tamworth gardens were all very individual and this one caught my attention. Nice to see 2 narrowboat planters. We have one at home.

Near Glascote locks we passed a fuel boat towing its unpowered butty. There are a few of these boats which ply the canals delivering gas, coal and sometimes fuel to boats moored on the banks. Hard work to steer an unpowered craft. This butty was built in 1928. At locks the front boat goes through and then they have to put the butty into the lock and hitch up again once it has passed through.

The murals at Fazeley Junction are still looking good.

We are actually travelling along the Coventry Canal at this stage. Although we are a long way from Coventry it is named after the company who built it. The reeds have been allowed to grow making it very difficult to have two way traffic. It was a bit like a horizontal obstacle course avoiding weeds, moored boats and narrowing of the canal due to the remains of long gone bridges. If the reeds are not cut soon it will be impossible to pass.

We reached Fradley Junction about 5pm and found a mooring for the night. It is always incredibly busy here so we were surprised to moor fairly easily. This is the house at the Junction which we looked round 9 years ago when we were house hunting. I think that the same people are still there but it is a very strange house having gone from 3 stories to 2 and then is now about 2 and a half. It could be beautiful if restored properly.

Saturday 4th August 2018

As promised a photo of the bridge at Hawksbury Junction. Boaters have to make a 180 degree turn here which can amuse the gongoozlers if a very long boat doesn’t judge the distances correctly. 

We had a lovely meal in The Greyhound pub and were amused by the sign at the door.

Off today to continue the journey back to the Marina. Near Bedworth is ‘Charity Dock’ I think that you could find anything you want in the jumble here - including a mannequin or two!

The Hartshill Maintenance Yard was a good stop for water although it becomes more run down each time we pass. The arched dock is still impressive but the clock never shows the correct time and the other buildings are not being well maintained.

We then reached the top of the Atherstone flight of 11 locks. Previously we have worked these in the pouring rain so it was quite a shock to see the countryside in sunshine! The old hat mill at the top is more smashed up each time we pass. There cannot be many windows left to break.

Luckily they were nearly all set for us or quick to fill so we were down in about two and a half hours. It is always good when locks have been designed so that it is easy to pick up the lock crew.

Fabulous weather for gathering in the hay this year and this stack should last the farmer a while.

Friday 3rd August 2018

A day of travelling today and not visiting any places of interest. This is because we have travelled this canal in both directions and have visited Rugby and seen the Museum. We stopped at Tesco in Rugby for some shopping. Since we were last here a lot of the mooring has been taken away, the towpath repaired and no mooring signs on very strong posts put up. They could easily have put in some running rails for the cost they must have paid and the manpower used to put in the very sturdy ‘No mooring’ posts.

After filling with water we headed through the Newbold tunnel. Quite a short one but this time with a towpath running through it.

Rather cloudy at times but still very warm. We spotted an ‘Eddie  Stobart’ lorry as we passed under the M6.

There was a single handed lady working the boat in front. She had beautiful flower displays on top but seemed to have trouble seeing over them!

Apart from the canal going under the M6 there were also the electric wires for the West Coast Main Line railway. You can just see them in this photo.

No train was passing when we did although we did see quite a few further on and managed to snap this one.

The canal now went through a rather unloved section. There is scrubland on one side and a huge power distribution station on the other. No one was mooring here.

At Hawksbury Junction (known in boating circles as Sutton Stop) an artist was hard at work.

Sutton Stop is where the Oxford Canal meets the Coventry Canal and the pair are separated by a shallow stop lock (about 12 inches)

Some photos in tomorrow’s blog which I’ll take when we walk back to the Greyhound Pub for our meal tonight.

Thursday 2nd August 2018

Another sunny day which became very hot during the afternoon. We left just before 9am and were practically straight into Braunston Tunnel which takes about 20 mins to complete. It is a 2 way tunnel but we didn’t meet any boats coming the other way. 

Next came the 6 Braunston locks and as we had reached the summit of our journey all the locks will be going down from now until we reach our home base in Willington. One of the houses between the locks had a lovely stained glass panel. 

The lock gates are very heavy so again I was driving and Graham was operating the locks. Luckily there were lots of boats going in the opposite direction so they were all set for us. These 2 photos show lock arm opening and a satisfied Graham as he reaches the last one.

Volunteers were out painting the lock arms and bollards but unfortunately they didn’t mark which ones they had painted.......

Water seeps into cracks in the stonework on the locks and as the lock drains it finds its own way out!

We stopped in Braunston for a few hours to do some shopping, find Wi-fi and have another look round this historic village where so much boat traffic history has taken place. The marina here has 3 dry docks for repairs and there are a great number of boat associated industries in the old premises such as canopy making and rope and fender making. Not sure what the dog thinks of it!

Mid afternoon we left Braunston and headed for the Hillmorton locks which are 3 pairs. We decided to go through them today as we have quite a few miles to cover tomorrow and we have booked a meal at The Greyhound at Hawksbury Junction. We have eaten there before and really enjoyed the food.

Braunston is famous for its wrought iron bridges at the entrance to the route to Napton.

Here is a boat emerging from the Oxford direction whereas we are heading for Rugby.

Wednesday 1st August 2018

After a very enjoyable meal in the canalside pub last night we woke to sunshine again today. No need to dry out the bilges and we set off for Weedon. Although an attractive village now it obviously had a flourishing trade at its wharf as the sign on this terrace of houses testifies.

There are quite a few boatyards on this stretch of the Grand Union canal and it seems that people probably buy boats to do up as a project and then lose interest. We don’t think that this one will be going anywhere soon but it can be sold with ‘an established tree on board!’

Some boats are definitely well looked after.

To get narrow boats into the water a crane with a cradle is needed. This one was in a field with no boats around.

Dredging is taking place along this stretch of the Grand Union canal and we came across quite a few workmen today. They are repairing the offside bank with mud taken from the bottom of the canal. Their equipment is very cumbersome. We were stopped for about 15mins while they worked and the chap on the bank is trying to indicate that the boat approaching needs to stop - you can just see the drivers heads above the green boat. They completely ignored the warning and ploughed straight through. Luckily they didn’t hit anything.

This man is having a peaceful day.

We picked up a tree branch from below the water line and realised that we were dragging it along. We had to stop at the bank and Graham pulled it out.

The 7 locks at Long Buckby are broad allowing 2 narrow boats at a time to use them. Unfortunately no one was around when we started the flight. It is hard work when only one boat is going through a broad lock. The locker has to keep walking round if there is no footbridge over the gates. We were also following 2 boats and had to keep emptying a lock as we came to it. This shows some of the water coming out when the paddles are opened. Unfortunately the photo doesn’t do justice to the force of the water and the heaviness of the gates.

Still we made it to the top and are getting ready to go through Braunston tunnel tomorrow. We are now on new territory again for this holiday and have not covered this part of the canal network in this direction.