9th to 15th Jun – turning on to the Ashby
We decided to stay where we were on Monday as I had plenty to entertain myself – ,mainly Electrika admin – it’s starting to ramp up as we get closer.
I set off late morning on Tuesday and cruised a little closer to Nuneaton. It was a pleasant cruise but not without incident. A meeting at a bridge hole – the oncoming boat was going way too fast. Luckily my Spidey sense had kicked in and I had been just about to toot, when he appeared. My panther-like reactions saved the day!
And then, as I approached another bridge, I saw a gang of small boys. I tooted and waved to them (whilst wondering what the heck they were doing out of school) They asked if I was having a nice day and I asked them – lightly – what they were up tp. Answers were not forthcoming and I smelt a rat. As I passed through the bridge they started throwing stones at the boat from the bridge. I told that they were silly little boys – words to that effect – and cruised on.
I found a spot just past the Anchor Inn at Hartshill, with some tasty looking solar and pulled over. I had finally got round to downloading the Merlin Bird ID App, produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I can identify a few myself – the common ones such as Blackbirds. Robins, Thrushes, Wrens, Skylarks etc, and obviously Coots, Moorhens, Ducks and Swans, but I’d love to be able to say “Ooh! hark! There’s a Chiffchaff!”. Actually, I remembered from childhood that their name is onomatopoeic, once I’d heard and identified it.
On my short cruise I heard Blackbird, Wren, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Rook, Chiffchaff, Swift, Goldfinch and Tree Creeper calls. The app will make my solo cruising much more interesting, henceforth!
As I cruised yesterday, by the way, I found the perfect narrowboat for Chester – needs a bit of TLC (OK – a lot!) , but we think it’d be perfect – and a great spare room/office too!
Wednesday was forecast to be sunny and warm so I started the day by putting a wash on and then set off for a lovely spot we knew of that would do for that night. Only a very short hop, but well worth the move.
Shortly before I left a chap walked up the towpath – possibly drunk/drugged? – shouting and swearing at – well, I don’t really know, but he was pretty angry. Much Anglo Saxon English. He got as far as the pub and then turned round and came back – it was a bit scary to be honest and I very nearly rang the police, but figured that, by the time they arrived (if they did, as he was not really doing anything wrong – apart from swearing loudly in public) he’d have disappeared. But it felt quite threatening. When I set off it was in the same direction that he had gone, but there was no sign of him.
As there was a load of solar coming in and it was shame to “waste it, I quickly knocked up a batch of my Cherry Scones – a particular favourite of ours. I use buttermilk in my scones and Paul had never tasted it. Suffice to say he is not a fan! But he is a very big fan of a scone!
One of the reasons we like this spot so much is the cattle. They are a lovely herd and all come down to the canal to drink (and in my mind – anthropomorphising like mad – maybe a little paddle?). I always have a little chat with them – we exchange pleasantries and they move on. I love them.
Just before we went to bed, we remembered to look for the Strawberry Moon – the last one until 2043 or something like that. I’ll be long gone by then (probably!) so I wanted to see it. Paul managed to get a moody shot of it, between the trees. It was better with the naked eye, of course.
I set off at about midday on Thursday – once the second lot of washing that I had put out yesterday evening was dry. We dropped in to Springwood Marina to do domestics and then I continued along to what we call “our telephone pole” – a place that we had moored a couple of years ago that we quite liked. It’s on the rural outskirts of Nuneaton – about an hour away at our speed, which is perfect for the drug pick-up on Friday morning, before we finally turn onto the Ashby.
Shortly after we had tied up, the heavens opened. I think we had a lucky escape! Although it wasn’t of particularly long duration.
We were up with the lark on Friday morning – well the Blackcap, Blackbird and Chiffchaff! Ha ha! We had a drugs raid to carry out! Our pharmacy of choice was Pharmacy Republic – just a few steps from the cut. Very handy. We had kept up good communications with them – we find it’s better than just routing a prescription to them out of the blue. Paul was waiting outside the door at 09:00 and was back, quick as a flash with the stash, Result!
We set off again towards Marston Junction and points east. It’s 3 years since our last visit, I think? We’d forgotten how lovely and quiet it was. There were loads of boats heading in the opposite direction – clearly word of our advent had spread!
We arrived at our destination – Aquavista’s Trinity Waterside and Marina – making use of our very useful Explore 100 moorer benefit. Something from Deliveroo that night and a grocery delivery the next morning was the plan. And a quick chunk of leccy to boot!
It was very hot indeed – which seems to be a bit of a theme for our visits to this lovely canal. We took our portable fan with us when we went for a beepy – much needed after our early start! It’s a recent purchase and we are very pleased with it. It’s rechargeable, cordless, and you can use it absolutely anywhere – even out on deck, if required. It’s a “Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Fan” – although we have yet to use the misting element. It’s powerful but quiet enough to have on those really sticky, still nights, when sleeping is hard because it’s just too hot.
We had a bit of a lie-in on Saturday. Our supplies were not arriving until between 10:30 and 11:30 so there was no hurry to get up. We even read for a bit before getting up. Not that there was much in the way of breakfast to get up for. We had to make do with two rather stale bagels!
We did domestics while we waited and then, once we had taken delivery of our provisions, we set off. It was pretty windy but also warm and sunny and it was rather delightful in the Leicestershire countryside, as soon as we left Hinckley behind. We only cruised for a couple of hours before finding a spot of which we had fond memories near Stoke Golding – birthplace of the House of Tudor. There was a space for us, so we nabbed it.
Remember I mentioned about a new gadget? Well I can finally reveal it! It’s a cordless, handheld leaf blower! And it’s for the gullies at the edge of the roof, where leaves and other airborne stuff collects. It’s always a bit of nuisance with a brush as you have to sweep it along to the next indentation to get rid of it and on a windy day it’s even more awkward. I was musing about the problem one day when I thought “I wonder if they do a cordless handheld leaf blower? Reader – they did!
I ran my idea past the skipper and we selected the one that we thought would be best. When it turned up, it was in a little case with 2 batteries. I say! AND – it works a treat. All the stuff that collects on the roof is organic, so it’s not a problem to blow it off into the cut. When you think about it, if it hadn’t landed on our roof it would have landed in the cut anyway. Yes – I know you’re all laughing at me but I’m very happy. And so is my boat roof! And well-deck.
We awoke late again on Sunday morning but this time there were eggs to get up for! A real Sunday Tradition for us. I’d rather have boiled eggs than a fry-up to be honest. The smell, the mess, the grease and the often somehow disappointing end result. It’s not for me.
We set off around mid-morning and thoroughly enjoyed our cruise down to Sutton Cheney Wharf, where Sunday morning trade was brisk. We spotted an electric skippered day boat at the wharf. What a lovely idea!
I must give a mention to the Ashby Canal Association, who have placed (and maintain) many benches – often memorials – along the length of the canal. They must be much appreciated by the many walkers you see along the towpath. Although I note that a wag has removed the leading capital from one of the benches. I’ll leave you to guess which one. In addition, they are responsible for the upkeep of the information boards that you see as you cruise along. They are also working hard to get the canal restored to its original length.
I must also mention the lovely mile markers that you see – well – every mile. They are so distinctive and tell you how many miles you have done and how many miles you have to go – although the canal currently terminates at Snarestone – at around the 21 mile mark, I think?
We had a Father’s Day phone call from George and co shortly after passing the wharf. Although we video call pretty much every day, it was especially nice to hear from him on their special day. It’s not that long until we shall be seeing them, as we are popping down for Chester’s 2nd birthday. How time flies.
We cruised on until about 14:30, when we found a lovely quiet spot – sheep to the left of us, cattle to the right and nowhere near any roads to ruin the tranquility. And a DONKEY! We love spots like this.
We will not be going all the way to the terminus this time, but we both feel we need to come back and spend 2 or 3 weeks doing this lovely canal in its entirety again. At some point. And that’s the end of Week 9! I need a haircut! It’s been 17 weeks. S
Next week, we’ll be retracing our steps, with a view to being on the North Oxford by the end of next weekend, so that we have an easy cruise back to the MOD in plenty of time for the run up to Electrika.