Snarestone to Hawkesbury Junction

 

Sun 30^th August  Snarestone to Shackerstone.

The toaster didn’t work this morning. We discovered that the battery levels had dropped further than usual. Very soon we had Dave (Vole) and Alan (Pole Star) poking around in the engine hole, testing cables and being very helpful. They found that one of the terminals had corroded a bit. After washing the connectors in hot water, and applying Vaseline, we put everything back where it had come from. Hopefully, it will be OK now.

Batteries receiving attention 

Alan and Dave 

With all that going on, we missed our Broughton Church Facebook broadcast, and the life group Zoom afterwards.

We finished the Chinese meal leftovers from Friday, and had Mary and Jim on board for a cream tea, with scones from the farm shop. 

Mary and Jim 

We left before them for Shackerstone, while they filled up with water. We had a lovely sunny day, and we pruned a few overhanging trees on the way.  We spotted an old mooring bay just before the tunnel.

Leaving the moorings 

Farewell Ashby Canal Association

Autumn sunshine 

Old mooring bay 

Snarestone Tunnel

We saw Rodney’s boat Storm Petrel at Shackerstone, and we noticed the ancient castle mound across the meadow.

Storm Petrel

Castle mound at Shackerstone

We had travelled slowly, and by the time we arrived, Mary and Jim were not far behind. We were about to moor before the bridge, but there was a boat there with noisy music and loud conversations, so we moved on towards the aqueduct before choosing a spot.  We went on board Penny from Heaven for a meal.

0 locks, 3 miles, 1 tunnel, 1 swingbridge. Dep 1640, arr 1820.

Mon 31^st August  Shackerstone to The Barge

Mary and Jim had some tasks to complete today, including driving back to Windsor, so we left fairly early. 

Moored at Shackerstone 

Following Mary and Jim

We passed the place where the tree had blocked the canal, and we saw the remains of the tree. Sutton Wharf was busy, as it was the last day of the chancellors “Eat out to help out” scheme, which has worked really well. 

Sawn off tree 

Sutton Wharf

We noticed that the canal water levels are as high as they can be, as water is flowing over the overspill weirs as we pass. Therefore, the shallow areas are due due to lack of dredging rather than lack of water.

Canal full 

Unusual sight of the day – coffin on a boat

Mary and Jim stopped their boat at Stoke Golding, for some work to be done. Mary stayed with the boat, while we took Jim on to their mooring at “The Barge” by Bridge 21. He collected their car, and drove back to their boat to collect Mary and their belongings. We stayed on their mooring overnight.

This is also where Springwater now moors, although Andy and Sue were away. While we were there, two steam traction engines went past on the road and over the canal bridge. 

Springwater

Steam Traction Engine 

Moored at The Barge

0 locks, 11 miles. Dep 0840, arr 1250

Tue 1^st September  The Barge to Bramcote

This morning, while waiting for showers to pass, we “went to church”. Well, we didn’t go anywhere, but we took the opportunity to catch up with the Broughton Church service on Facebook. Two days late is better than not at all. We couldn’t have done that before this Corona thing, could we?

When it came to leaving the mooring, we were warned not to reverse out too far, or we would get stuck on the mud. We managed it without incident and cruised through to Bridge 16 at Hinckley. We caught a bus to town so that Hazel could collect her computer, sadly not repaired. We also stocked up at Lidl and Sainsbury’s before catching a bus back and moving on again.

Moored at Bridge 16 for shopping 

We spotted a sign at the edge of the canal saying “deep mud”, and we wondered whether it referred to the towpath or the canal!

Deep Mud

We had hoped to moor at “hospital bed” near a sharp bend with good views. The moorings there were all taken, so we went a little further on and moored near Bramcote. We sat in the bows and enjoyed a glass of wine.

Sunshine at Bramcote 

0 locks, 5 miles. Dep 1115, arr 1200 Br 16. Dep 1600, arr 1710.

Wed 2^nd September  Bramcote to Parrotts Basin

Sunrise at Bramcote

We had a leisurely departure, aiming for Hawkesbury Junction. We spotted two familiar boats from the Wey Navigation: Thermopylae and Ajax 

Boats from the Wey 

Marston Junction 

We joined the Coventry Canal once more, and were intending to cruise to Hawkesbury Junction. However, rounding a corner, we spotted Grace moored up at Terry and Chris’s home, and we paused for a chat and then were invited for lunch. It’s good to have friends in strategic places around the canal system.

Alongside Grace

Terry and Chris

We didn’t notice the passing of time, and suddenly realised that a heavy rain storm was due, so we made a rapid departure before we got soaked. We put up the hood as we went, and thankfully we found an easy mooring a few minutes later, opposite the site of Parrott’s Basin.

First mooring space available 

0 locks, 5 miles. Dep 1030, arr 1155 Terry and Chris. Dep 1345, arr 1405.

Next: Through Hawkesbury Junction onto the North Oxford Canal, hoping to get our canopy fixed either at Lime Farm Marina (Terry and Chris’s recommendation) or at A J Canopies at Braunston (Mary and Jim’s suggestion)