Freedom of the Cut 2019 - 15.

Locking DownTo Polesworth

Thursday 1^st August continued.

It turned out to be an unexpectedly busy day later as nb Nuneaton came past with Kirk and Setarah steering, so I grabbed my windlass and set off for the top lock to assist with locking them down as far as Lock 5, after which the locks become too far between. Nuneaton is travelling to her home mooring for a while at Alvecote before having extensive repairs to the hull.

I walked back up the flight to bring Stronghold down next, but had to fill with water first at the top lock. It was my lucky day, as on the ground there was a very smart multi holed windlass with rotating handle, although nothing can beat my aluminium Double Dunton for ease of carrying and lightness. After reaching the moorings below Lock 5, I pulled in to the first available spot which was too close to the A5 bridge for comfort, because the noise of traffic went on all night and was not conducive to a good nights rest. By now it was 4.30 and I was to meet Eric at 5pm as well as have a much needed shower beforehand.

The road into town from here goes beneath the main line railway, but on the way there a lady on the towpath informed me that the road was impassable due to being flooded. I had heard of this previously, so tried a detour up the embankment of the A5. The barrier was quite high at the top, so I tried to follow a faint path through the woods until I came to a fence, so now had to climb the muddy 45º slope to the Armco and cross the busy A5, eventually getting onto Old Watling Street from where it was just a short walk to the pub, where Eric was sitting in the window seat waiting. He agreed to take me to Church End Brewery tomorrow, where I have been once before with my daughter. It will be an interesting visit for me, having been a home brewer in a past life and they are bound to have all their ales on tap there.

No way am I wading through this!

Another landmark for me Is that I quit my home mooring on the Wey Navigation, so Stronghold is homeless at the moment, but negotiations with Rugby Wharf are ongoing and that looks like where I will be in future. I look forward to the change of venue and only having to buy one licence for the whole year from now on.

He is trying to find the way in.

Friday 2^nd August

Not much of interest today and the weather had dried up at last, including the flood beneath the railway. Instead of meeting Eric outside the Kings Head opposite, He turned up at 4.15pm with Daisy the dog and knocked on the boat. It was rather an inopportune time as I was having another go at back pumping the water pipe to the main tank and there were tools all around, as well as a disconnected pump. I was aiming to complete the job by 4.45, when we were due to meet up and that is exactly how long it took, so Eric continued his walk until then. This time I pumped about 6 pints of water through. All was reassembled and the water pressure at the tap appeared to be the same as before, but I will have to wait for a shower to judge it more accurately. This I did the following day and there was a small improvement in pressure at head height.

Church End Brewery Tap is located in Ridge Lane, Nuneaton and the entrance is in the middle of a row of terraced houses, so any unsuspecting visitor could easily pass it by. The brewery is very modern with all stainless steel tanks and is visible from the large bar, but at this time no one was at work of course. There were several own brew beers on off, but no Stout Coffin, which was probably my favourite stout of all time, so I had to settle for Fallen Angel, which is just as good, but a strong bitter. Conversation ensued between us and I ended up buying another pub tee shirt to accompany my now rather worn out Anchor Inn one, that came from the Shroppie some years previously.

The bar with brewery behind the glass screen.

I bade farewell to Eric for the last time for a while when we got back to Atherstone. It was time to move on again soon.

Saturday 3^rd August

I set off for the remaining six locks of the flight, which I did solo, as the volunteers did not normally come down this far. Passing Baddesley Basin at Glascote, I got an enthusiastic wave from Jane and David on nb Rowan as they were taking a mooring there for a while.

Shortly after the main line bridge towards Polesworth, a passing boater told me that there was another River Wey boat moored around the bend, to which I asked if it was maroon and was assured that it was, so it could only be nb Cranley with Mick and Susanne and Lexi the dog. Sure enough I pulled in to have a long chat, but did not appreciate the stink from the local sewerage works nearby and moved on to Polesworth later, finding a good Armco mooring opposite a closed warehouse. Although it was next to a recreation ground, it appeared to be quiet, so I tied up securely for the night and set about doing the washing, as I now bereft of anything to wear, after which I went for an aperitif at the Royal Oak, close to Bridge 52; not that it was my kind of pub, but they did serve beer. 

I cooked up the last of the calves liver, which I bought on the Ashby on 25^th July and that was ten days ago! Although it was frozen at the time, it still smelled OK and I suffered no ill effects – delicious to the last.

Sunday 4^th August

Being a Sunday, there was no hurry to get anything done – just like any other day really! The morning was spent writing this up and checking the engine before it was run to charge batteries. The day began with sunshine, but then deteriorated to high cloud. TV reception was OK for some programmes, but  wi-fi is good at this location, so I had to catch up on Sky news on the PC.

After a spot of lunch, I took a walk around the town to see what shops were available and suss out a couple of pubs. The Spread Eagle was first and although they had Church End Goats Milk on tap, the pub needed some serious TLC. I popped my head in The Red Lion, but no real ale, so I left. The final pub was Fosters Yard, of just Yard and it was buzzing with motor racing fans watching the gran prix, I imagine. It was noisy, but that seems to be normal for a sports pub. This place had been converted to a pub from being a haberdasher’s and had a railway style canopy over seating at the front, so the building went back a few years. There was a Victorian coal fired wash boiler on display and a wood burning stove for colder days. After my last visit to Polesworth many years ago, it was time they had a reasonable place to drink.