Stratford to Kingswood Junction

Thu 13^th August

Stratford to Wilmcote

We had planned to have breakfast at Carluccio’s, but rain was forecast later, and we didn’t want to get caught out getting drenched as we went through the locks.  We therefore left early, before Carluccio’s were open.  We went into the basin, turned round and started up the flight. Graham and Cath on Hougham Hall were not up to say farewell. 

The final bridge before the basin

Stougham Hall and the Red Lion

The first two locks were OK. The third (53) was still difficult, with the bottom gate being a beast to close.  After the fourth lock we paused at the boatyard to empty cassettes.

Lock 53

The top gate at Lock 51 was difficult, as there seems to be some obstruction under the gate. We used the weight of the boat to shift it open.

We filled the water tank at bridge 53.  The rain had still not arrived, so we decided to press on with the Wilmcote flight of eleven locks.  There were some CRT volunteers here, and we reported the problem with lock 51.

Halfway up we passed Awesome Wonder who was coming down. (Last seen at Tixall Wide).  The top lock had a strong side flow from the overflow weir, and there were lots of dents in the piling opposite, suggesting some boaters had had difficulty in keeping their boats straight.

  

Wiggly edging

Entering Wilmcote Top Lock

Thankfully it had not rained during our journey up the locks. 

We passed several boats moored at the Wilmcote visitor moorings, which back onto the railway.  We moved on and found a very pleasant mooring before bridge 58.

We put the hood up, and had heavy rain later.

16 locks, 4 miles

Fri 14^th August

Wilmcote

We stayed where we were because of the rain, which was intermittent throughout the day, heavy at times.

In the evening the rain stopped, and we heard music and fireworks not far away. Someone’s birthday probably.

No boating today

Sat 15^th August

Wilmcote to Wootton Wawen

Our mooring near Wilmcote

There seemed to be very few boats travelling today.  Hire boat changeover day was one reason.  We passed through bridge 58, the one they had to widen for David Litchfield’s boat Kew to get to the Stratford Festival.

Kew's bridge

shaved wall

 

Then we had the Edstone Aqueduct, which we could cross in our own time, as there were no other boats in sight.

Aqueduct plaque

From below

A good place to paint the boat sides

Crossing complete.

We moored up before arriving at Wootton Wawen, just before bridge 54. We took a footpath alongside a run down farm, which concentrated on horses.  The path crossed a stream, and led to Wootton Wawen, near the General Stores, where we bought milk and eggs.

 The shortcut to the shop

In the evening James went for a creep in the dark, back along the towpath, to see if he could spot any badgers by the setts we had seen earlier. No success, but he did hear some owls.

Someone let off some fireworks again

Our peaceful mooring

1 lock, 3 miles, 1 aqueduct

Sun 16^th August

Wootton Wawen to Preston Bagot

We took the same footpath this morning, and noticed some monuments in an overgrown area of the run down farm. We guessed they might be horse burials.

  

Horse monuments?

The walk to church

We went to the 11am service in the historic Saxon Church.  It was all by the book, with a choir and organ. There are three linked parishes, and they are in the middle of an interregnum, so an 84-year-old retired vicar took the service.  

Wootton Wawen Church

We went to the shop again (more milk) and then walked up the hill under the aqueduct to the Navigation Inn for lunch in their restaurant. Very pleasant.

Wootton Wawen Aqueduct

We walked back along the towpath to the boat, and set off straight away, as we needed to buy gas from Anglo-Welsh, where we also emptied two cassettes.

We didn’t go very far, and moored before Preston Bagot between bridge 50 and 49.  It was a peaceful spot except that Hugo was chased into a field by a dog.

0 locks, 1 mile, 1 aqueduct

Mon 17^th August

Preston Bagot to Lowsonford

Cooler first thing, hot later.

We were about to leave when a hire boat came up from behind and over took us.  We set off anyway in case another boat appeared, and we followed them slowly towards the first lock of the day.

A pair of hotel boats came the other way, and we guessed that things might have been held up at the lock. This was Preston Bagot Bottom Lock, where there are two road bridges and a footbridge.   The lock bollards are between the two road bridges, and there is only really space for one boat.  There was a short day boat plus another boat squeezed in there, and the hire boat we had followed was waiting further back, before the road bridge.  We pulled in behind them and waited for everything to sort itself out.  There was one boat coming down as well, which helped.

When it was finally our turn to use the lock we had to wait a little longer for the hire boat, as the lady had gone to buy eggs. They were just pulling away when we opened the top gates.  They had four able bodied crew, but they hadn’t learned the knack of sending a person ahead to set the next lock.  However, they were interested in Boaters Christian Fellowship and Canal Ministries, so we gave them the leaflets.

Our turn to enter the lock waiting area

Preston Bagot Bottom Lock

The following lock was Preston Bagot Lock, where there is a barrel roofed lock cottage at the side.  While in this lock, Hugo decided to go and explore, so he got off the boat, jumped across the overflow channel, and disappeared through a hedge.  We thought we might be there for a while until he came back, but James threw some water over the hedge, and Hugo ran back onto the boat!

 Preston Bagot Lock

There were four more locks after that, including Bucket Lock, which leads into Yarningale Aqueduct.  We thought the moorings at Lowsonford might be busy, so we stopped before that, just after the site of an old bridge between lock 33 and 32.  We could start to hear the M40, so we didn’t want to go further. 

Bucket Lock and Yarningale Aqueduct

There was a footpath leading away from the old bridge site, and James went exploring, and walked through meadows to Yarningale Common. Some of the footpaths were immaculately kept, with mown grass and new fencing. Then there was woodland where he saw a deer. He climbed up to Mill Mound, which presumably used to be a windmill.  From there he walked back down footpaths and tracks to the Yarningale Aqueduct, before walking back along the towpath to the boat.

 The bridge over the stream

Immaculate footpaths

Mill Mound

Evening reflections

6 locks, 3 miles, 1 aqueduct

Tue 18^th August

Lowsonford to Kingswood Junction

We had just one lock before the water point at Lowsonford.  There are some permanent moorings along here, and the first boat had a remarkable number of potted plants.

Floral display

Water point

Just after this was Ned’s Cottage, with the Antony Gormley sculpture by the lock.  We also spotted a memorial seat with a plaque which mentions Ted Taylor. Was he called Ted or Ned?

Ned’s Cottage

Hazel talks to a sculpture

Ted Taylor plaque

Ned’s Lock

We stopped by lock 30 and walked up a steep hill to visit the farm shop at Finwood. They rear their own beef and pork, and we came away with a joint of pork, a beef and ale pie, some sausage meat, milk and bread. They have their own chickens as well but we didn’t need any eggs. They are only open on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

At lock 29 we had a small problem.  There was a strong flow from the bypass channel on the left, which made it difficult to enter the lock.  We hit the right wall and rebounded to hit the left wall as well.  One or two things fell over inside the boat, but no damage was done.  A little later, Hazel said: “James, I can’t find the cat”. He wasn’t hiding under the quilt as he sometimes does. The bottom third of our bed folds up against the wall, and this had come down when we hit the lock walls. Hugo would have been on the bed at the time.  James found him hiding in his litter tray, which fortunately had not been used.

We continued under the noisy M40, past the picturesque Dick’s Lane Lock, and continued to Kingswood Junction

Dick’s Lane Lock and Cottage

The final lock had a bit of activity, with boats waiting to come down. One of these was Cygnet, and we are sure we have seen them before. It transpired that he used to be a member of BCF, but lapsed when he remarried. We gave him a leaflet.

We emptied a cassette without tying up for the sanitary station, as we didn’t need water or rubbish.  We proceeded through the Lapworth Link, which apparently was reopened in 1995. Presumably it closed when the South Stratford fell into disuse.

Lapworth Link

Signpost on the Grand Union

We turned left onto the Grand Union and moored by the Navigation Inn, a little further from the railway line.  We discovered online that Alan and Hazel Dilnot had come up the Hatton Flight yesterday, so we thought they must be near. Then we saw that this evening they were at Hockley Heath.  They must have been through Kingswood Junction an hour or so before us.

We had a beautiful sunset this evening.

11 locks, 3 miles

Tomorrow: walk to Baddesley Clinton.  Later in the week: heading round Birmingham towards Fazeley.

Wootton Wawen to Stratford

Sun 9th August

Wootton Wawen to Wilmcote

We had set an alarm to avoid missing the bus, but we woke up before it went off. We walked the half-mile to the church where the bus stop was located. We were 15 minutes early.  Many drivers seem to use the bus stop layby as a convenient place to park their vehicle while they nip into the shop opposite.

The bus (X20) was on time at 0854 and took us into Stratford, first going under the aqueduct.  We saw the large Tesco shortly before we crossed the canal again on bridge 65.

In Stratford we found a place to have a drink and a pastry.  We visited the Sunday market where we bought a pendant for Hazel to celebrate our ruby wedding, which was in May.  James walked round Bancroft Basin to see who was there.  The six short cruisers we had seen at Kingswood and Lowsonford were there.

We went to Stratford Baptist Church, where we had gone two years ago with Don and Celia.  Today they were celebrating their kids club, and they had a mock up of the Orient Express on the stage, which ended up as a puppet theatre. They had a team from OM who had been involved for the week.

Stratford Baptist Church

The puppet train

Action song

We were made to feel welcome, and over coffee afterwards, two people told us their testimonies.  Unknown to everyone else, Chris had been suffering from depression and hadn’t been seen for several weeks. Doris didn’t know him well, but had this strange feeling that she should contact him, but he didn’t even answer his doorbell. She shared this with the pastor, and he said that next time she felt this she should act.  She was watching Emmerdale when this feeling happened again, and she couldn’t concentrate on the programme. She went down to his house and tapped on his window.  He had been thinking, “I really need Doris to come to see me”.  After a session with the pastor, he became a Christian and his depression left him, and he was filled with joy.

We returned to the market and visited a food stall to have some noodles. We had a hunt for some still cider, visiting three pubs. We ended up having apple juice from one of the boats.

We walked round the boats again, as someone from the church said they had seen a Christian fish symbol on one of the cruisers, and they had assumed that was ours.  True enough we found a cruiser called Fleur d’Eau, and we met Chris and Mair Potter. They were among the six small cruisers we had seen earlier, and were from the North Cheshire Cruising Club, from Stockport on the Macclesfield Canal. Apparently they had met Alan and Hazel Dilnot at the IWA Burton festival, where they had moored alongside each other.

 Chris and Mair

We were sitting on a seat by the bus stop, when a very overweight lady came and said, “Is there room for me?”  We made room for her, and immediately she lit up a cigarette, which made Hazel cough. We explained that Hazel had asthma. She finished the cigarette and threw the stub on the ground.  Then she lit another one! She said she was diabetic and therefore couldn’t have sweet things, so she felt she was entitled to have alternative pleasures such as cigarettes.  Thankfully the bus arrived, so she threw that one on the ground as well.

Back at the boat we moved off straight away, as it was 3.15pm and the boatyard closed at 3.30pm. Usually their boats are moored stern on, but there were no boats on their pontoon, so we pulled alongside.  70.5p per litre.  We also emptied a cassette, before setting off across the aqueduct.

Wootton Wawen Aqueduct

Looking down on the road

At Bearley Lock there were two boats coming up, with a third waiting. It was slow to fill and slow to empty.  Then came the Edstone aqueduct, which crosses a farm road, a river, a railway and a road.  Because the towpath is low level, there are no high railings on either side, so there is a drop on both sides. It is apparently the longest aqueduct in England. (That doesn’t include the Welsh ones).

Edstone Aqueduct

Crossing over

The iron trough

We found a pleasant mooring between bridges 57 and 58.   3 no trumps arrived and moored facing us. We last saw them last year on the Trent and Mersey near Wheelock.

1 lock, 3 miles, 2 aqueducts

Mon 10th August

Wilmcote to Lock 50

Hugo caught a mouse in the morning. We waited for the rain to finish at lunchtime before we set off to do the Wilmcote Locks.  There is a warning that these are narrow. We have heard of boats getting stuck.

 Narrow Locks warning notice

Wilmcote Top Lock

Two boats were travelling up the flight towards us, and there were volunteers on the flight, so we made good progress down the hill towards Stratford. Just the last three locks were against us. 

As it was hot, James was wearing shorts, a decision he regretted because, two locks from the end, he was stung by a wasp on the back of his leg.  There seem to be a lot of them around this year.

Wilmcote flight

Moored below lock 50

We moored as possible after lock 50, 2 miles from Bancroft Basin, as we thought the moorings in Stratford might be full late in the afternoon.

The mooring was not far from the A46 bridge, so we had some traffic noise.  We also had some country aromas. We think the farmers had been putting slurry on the fields. The other problem was that the towpath alongside the boat was used as a road by two or three houses, and the CRT team. Every so often a car or van would travel past with hazard lights flashing. We thought it was unsafe to let Hugo out until later in the evening when it had all quietened down.

11 locks, 2 miles

Tue 11^th August

Lock 50 to Stratford

We started early, as we wanted to have a choice of moorings in Stratford. The first stop was at bridge 63, for the rubbish bins and water tap, which was slow to fill.  Lock 51 seemed to have something under the top gate, which made it difficult to open and close.

There was a tantalising glimpse of the roof of Morrisons, quite close to the canal, but with no moorings or access.  We paused at the boatyard to empty our cassettes, before the final four locks into Stratford. Lock 53 was very difficult, with shortened lock beams because of a road bridge, and it took two people to shut the bottom gate.

The difficult gate at lock 53

 

Lock 54 and 55

At the final two locks we chatted to a man who was out for a walk, and we told him where we were planning to moor, behind the Red Lion pub.  He was moored there himself on Monmouth, and was just about to leave.  By the time we arrived there, he was ready, and he left his space for us.

The next boat was called Stougham Hall, and we had a pleasant chat with Graham and Cath.

We contacted Ricky and Martina as planned to tell them where we were, and we nipped to Sainsbury’s local to get some milk etc before they arrived.  In the end they were late arriving, and we all went off to Jimmy Spices for lunch. It was just after 1pm when we got there, and there was a coach party of Japanese tourists waiting outside the door.  We were shown to a table straight away, but the place was heaving with people.  Many of the dishes had run out because it was so busy.  At these places we usually wait for a gap before going up to the buffet, but there was no chance of any gaps today.  But the food was tasty, and it was good to catch up with Ricky and Martina.

Ricky and Martina

Crowds in Stratford

 

Marigolds

They went off on some errands, and we also did some shopping on the way back to the boat.  Later we walked across the Tramway Bridge and along the river as far as the first lock on the Avon.  We met a pleasant couple on a boat called Maranatha, as they had a Christian fish painted on the side, above the word Kinver. They had bought the boat second hand and had not repainted.

Shakespeare’s Church

The Theatre

Back across the river, we called in the Red Lion for a drink, as it was very warm.

5 Locks, 2 miles

Wed 12^th August

Stratford-on-Avon

It was hot, with lots of people everywhere.  We took a bus (222) from outside McDonalds to Morrisons, and we were the only people on the bus.  We bought enough to fill our shopping trolley and four bags.  The bus back was completely full and we had to stand.  The bus also serves the park and ride. Presumably in the evening it is full going out and empty coming back.

We offloaded all the shopping at the boat, and went for lunch at the Thai restaurant, which overlooks the river.  A lovely situation and good food and service.

We went to the butterfly farm, but there were so many people there that we decided not to go in.  We had an ice cream on the meadows, which we thought was expensive at £3 for a single cone.

Back to the boat for showers etc before going to see Othello at the theatre.  More overcharging there - £8 for a glass of wine.

The theatre had been nearly full when we booked, with no adjacent seats left. We took two seats either side of an aisle. Hazel’s seat was easily accessible. James’s seat had a barrier across so that you had to go in from the other end, past about 20 other people.  The seat pitch was very narrow, and the ladies sitting there didn’t look as though they wanted to move, so James went back to his end and climbed up and over the barrier.

The set was intriguing with a water feature and moveable platforms.  It was an experience for us and as such we are pleased we went, but we have decided that Shakespeare is not for us.  The language is so unfamiliar that it needed a lot of concentration. The words were displayed on a screen and we were watching that more than the acting so that we could follow the story.  There were some long speeches, during which the other minor actors appeared to be standing around doing nothing.  There were nearly as many dead bodies as in Midsomer Murders.

James was sitting next to a lady who was taking copious notes. When asked if she was studying Shakespeare, she replied that she lectured on the subject. She was now preparing a paper about “Cleanliness in Shakespeare”.  A bit of a niche subject.

Sunset over Stratford

No boating today

Tomorrow – starting back up the Stratford Canal and then the northern section of the Grand Union to Solihull before heading for Fazeley.