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Canal Boating Oct 2020Canal Boating Oct 2020
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A 15-day adventure by S Read more
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  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 1

    Stone

    October 17, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    An early start saw us packing and heading to Stone with an aim of being on the water by 10am. Despite meticulous packing, we forgot an alarming amount of stuff which we had to buy in Stone Morrison's.

    At the marina, we got on the water with a surprising lack of faff... which wasn't to last. Less than an hour outside of Stone, Ben complained at the lack of responsiveness from the engine. Despite clearing the prop of a wealth of tangled weeds and cabling the engine still wouldnt rev. A call to the rental company quickly diagnosed a snapped throttle cable so we moored up and waited for them to fix it. They were mercifully swift to allow us to make progress towards Great Haywood.    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 1

    Wolseley Bridge

    October 17, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    After our stunted start, we made good progress through the locks south of Stone. Travelling alongside the Trent, we saw masses of Canadian geese, ducks and even alpacas! The friendly swans visited us as we waited for locks to fill. I took over driving for a while, which turned out to be a challenge - my driving was fine but Ben's map reading was so questionable he got off far too early for a lock and ended up having to get back on the boat!

    En route we found a lovely farm shop/cafe just outside of Great Haywood, picking up some lovely bread and cakes for the journey. The rain misted in as we left the farm shop but not enough to hold us back.

    We were aiming for Great/Little Haywood, but decided to push on just little to Wolseley Bridge. A quick wander from the boat revealed a 26 acre wildlife refuge and antiques shops that made planning for tomorrow very simple. Whilst the Indian restaurant and the local pub had no table available for us to eat at, we had a few pints at the Wolseley Arms before eating some of our recently purchased baked goods on the boat (after a quick stop at Londis for playing cards that we obviously forgot - standard). Given the local amenities, and the tiredness of end of term, we had an early night in anticipation of the onward journey.    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 2

    Wolseley Wildlife Centre

    October 18, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    An early start for me to finish a bit of work, although I popped out for a bit of misty morning photography first. After breakfast we walked into Wolseley and had a rummage through a fabulous antique shop and a small gift shop.

    Over the road was the Wildlife Centre. Here a raised boardwalk ran through the trees and lakes, looking over myriad waterfowl including some pretty bold geese! It was a very pleasant way to begin the day rather than simply eating, unmooring and heading out.    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 2

    Huddlesford

    October 18, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Leaving Wolseley, we headed for Rugeley hoping for a similarly interesting stop. Instead, we pulled into a ghost town. The entire high street except for Gregg's and Costa was shut and it all felt rather sad. So we nipped into Morrison's before going back to the boat for a swift exit!

    We travelled onwards towards Fradley Junction thinking we might stop there but we arrived about 4.30pm, and with the only attraction being the Swan pub, we pushed on a little further with the prospect of a lie in tomorrow. Instead we turned onto the Coventry Canal (a first!) and headed for Huddlesford. We passed a disused RAF base used for bomber proving and testing during WWII as we went. As the sun went down, a chill crept in and we hit Huddlesford with the last of the light at about 6pm, all geared up for a meal at the local pub. Sadly they also stopped serving food at 6pm on a Sunday so we drank and planned the rest of the journey instead.

    A pleasant day aided by having no goal in mind meaning that there isn't a rush to hit certain points.    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 3

    Breakfast in Hopwas

    October 19, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We planned to leave this morning for a 90 minute jaunt to Hopwas where we could get a full English breakfast at the Red Lion. The morning sun struggled to break through the clouds and for most of our journey the sky resembled twilight more than morning. Passing half a dozen or so boats coming the other way, we plodded on through a quiet, leafy section of canal, complete with adjacent military firing ranges. We moored up at Hopwas for a worthwhile stop as the breakfast was superb! With sadly little else there however, we returned back to the boat to continue on after our meal.Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 3

    Alvecote Priory

    October 19, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    The morning continued on sleepily - cold and with little sunshine it felt far later in the day than it was. We followed the canal to Fazeley Junction, effectively circumventing Tamworth to the south before heading north and on towards Coventry.

    The Glascote locks on the east of Tamworth were a bit challenging, both in how slowly filled but also the unusually heavy gates which were a bugger to shift. Over the aqueduct the other side we wound onwards towards Alvecote. Notably once away from Tamworth, the canal again became more rural and tree-lined, and each breeze blew orange and red leaves across the sky like confetti... a pleasant scene to watch, certainly!

    We parked up briefly at Alvecote to visit the ruins of a benedictine priory, and by the time we did the sun was at least a little warmer than it had been through the morning. Whilst not much remained of the building, the stones that did had a beautiful array of colour in the afternoon sunshine. Onwards to Polesworth, where we plan to turn around and trundle back to Fradley Junction via a stop at Tamworth and Whittington.    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 4

    Tamworth

    October 20, 2020 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    So, we travelled from Alvecote to Polesworth in search of a good bookstore and a good pint...we were disappointed on all fronts. Polesworth was rather not worth a visit. The short town had little on offer beyond tanning and beauty salons and so fairly sketchy looking pubs...alas the bookstore appeared to have shut. We spent a quick half hour hour jaunting through the town and around the priory (which interesting did have some CWGC graves in the cemetery), before heading back to the boar and onwards to a winding hole to turn around. We did end up returning to Polesworth where we finally lost the light and moored up for the night, treating ourselves to an Indian.

    Away early the next morning, we headed to Tamworth which was considerably more interesting. Whilst the castle was closed it still made for an interesting stop and the main streets retained some beautiful buildings from previous eras. The walk into Tamworth along the canal and the River Anker was rather nicer than we expected too. All making up for the disappointing evening the night before!    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 4

    Fradley Junction

    October 20, 2020 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Back through Fazeley Junction after Tamworth, we were aiming to make Fradley Junction for the evening. Just before we returned to Hopwas, I changed into my running gear and hopped off the boat for a cheeky 5km. Running on the towpath between Hopwas and Whittington was very picturesque and as I hit 5km I readjusted and headed for the Plough beyond Whittington in Huddlesford. 9km later and quite broken I treated myself to a pint whilst I waited for Ben to collect me!

    We journeyed the last hour through to Fradley where we moored up whilst I simultaneously sat on a Teams meeting, and then cracked my head off the roof of the boat as my battery died and I tried to sort the charge out whilst maintaining signal...OUCH. A restorative cider did little to calm the splitting headache and after a tea of spicy noodles back on the boat I had a relatively early night.

    Rain overnight had eased but not disappeared by morning, although mercifully my headache had. We went for a wander in the drizzle around the Fradley Nature Reserve before making a move through the locks and onwards to Alweras.    Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 5

    Alrewas

    October 21, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    The rain remained with us through the morning, but just an hour from Fradley we stopped at the village of Alweras. The National Arboretum was nearby and we may stop there as we return through Alweras. As it was, we walked through the village and on to the Trent to scope out the next bit of the journey on which we joined the canal and had to navigate a weir (by which we mean, do NOT go near the weir!). Watching another boat make the join made it all look simple, so we returned to the sleepy, pleasant town and found a lovely cafe called The Bank where we partook in some lovely loose leaf tea and home made cakes (including an extra couple which we took away with us!). The local butcher was also fabulous with some lovely pies and sausages. Full of sugar, we went back to the boat and navigated our way on to the River Trent.Read more

  • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
    Day 5

    Barton Under Needwood

    October 21, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    From Alweras, the route was rather sedate. Although we joined the river, there were a good number of long straight stretches before we rejoined the canal at Wychnor...and more long straight bits after that, bordered by the noisy A38. At Barton Marina, we moored up to walk into Barton-under-Needwood. A bit of a walk from the canal, this small town also boasted a fabulous cafe - The Skinny Kitten. Not only did they have an extensive collection of exquisite homemade cakes, the also had the biggest gin list I had seen and a selection of craft ales too! So we had more cake but this time with alcohol...rocky road with Black Powder Salted Caramel gin for me and lemon and elderflower cake for Ben with Rocky ale from Shiny Brewery. In fact the cafe was so good we stayed for a second drink - Ben trying Shiny Brewery's Affinity and me trying the Drunshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin (lemon, lime, grapefruit and gunpowder tea). Wandering back to the boat, we stopped by Barton Marina for a coffee but the whole place had the feel of an overly-manicured gated community, so we didn't stay long.Read more

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