Back and Forth
Tuesday 24th July
I had decided that a visit to the
Battlefield Line Railway was the order of the day from Market Bosworth, where
the terminus was just across the canal, so I let go at 09.30 heading in that
direction. I must say that this canal and surrounding countryside is stunningly
beautiful and with no locks, that is a bonus.
In two and half hours I reached Bosworth
Marina, where there were moorings advertised outside. Strangely enough, Dame du
Cane was there too and after I had winded Stronghold, Pat and Sue gave me a hand
to moor up behind their boat. We had a walk across the bridge to search out the
station and I left them to have a bite to eat back on board. They returned not
long after to give me the bad news, which was that there were no trains running
for some time due to staff shortages and the possibility of sparks from the
loco setting fire to nearby fields, so that was a trip wasted for me, although
I decided there and then to stop the night and maybe bus up to the town for a
pint later, when It had cooled down a little.
We went on the bus to The Olde
Red Lion, where I had been last time, in the centre of Market Bosworth. The beer
was Marston’s of course, being a Marston’s house, but the food was home cooked
and good.
As we had come on the last bus,
we had to walk back, but at least it was all downhill.
Pat and Sue on Dame du Cane were
going to stay another night here, but we agreed to meet up again at Sutton Stop
on Friday, so they will experience the glory of The Greyhound for the first
time.
Wednesday 25th July
Another red hot day was forecast
and it has been more or less like this since the beginning of May, so no one
can complain that it was a lousy summer. Canals are in trouble in the north and
the Huddersfield Narrow is now closed from end to end. I have heard that the Southern
Oxford has problems too, so it may be wise to return down the GU.
I let go at 09.30, heading back
to The Lime Kilns again and the trip was uneventful although very hot once
again. I thought of either stopping at Duck Corner and having a pint in the
George and Dragon at Stoke Golding or keep on going to The Lime Kilns; the
latter choice was the winner, although I did stop for lunch and to shop at the
Bridge 23 Farm Shop, which was rather a waste of time with very little on
display as they were about to close.
Continuing on, I arrived at the
pub in good time and almost immediately went in to rehydrate, although I did
not eat there this time. It is a very noisy mooring at evening rush hour and
first thing in the morning, because it is adjacent to the A5 road, but there
was ample mooring space above and below the A5 bridge.
I had had problems getting the
cold air fan working, so that was taken apart and the spindle was quite stiff,
so a little light lubrication was applied to both ends and then it started immediately,
which was very welcome in the evening heat. You may remember that I found this
12 volt Road Pro car fan in the Braunston Marina launderette last year, along
with the semi-circular table that is in the forward well deck well. Places like
this seem to be a clearing house for other peoples’ cast offs, similarly the waste
bin compound, where all sorts of treasures are to be had for free.
Thursday 26th July
I was away fairly smartly this
morning to get a good mooring at Sutton Stop. All went well and I got to
Marston Junction in good time without meeting any boats coming towards me. It
was nice and cool at this time in the morning and an ideal time to go boating.
I got to the Junction in an hour less than my trip up a couple of days ago.
Sure enough, there were loads of empty spaces at Suttons on the Coventry, so I
did not need to turn the corner and I picked the closest mooring to the old
pump house – pole position for The Greyhound, where I paid a visit straight
away.
The afternoon was mostly spent on
trying to rehash the horn, using a relay and a separate power source, but it
sounded pretty hopeless after a great deal of fiddling about. I think the
answer is to either use a motorcycle battery or have the horn at the stern end,
where there is less voltage drop.
Friday 27th July
The heat wave continues and I
intended to clean up some of Stronghold today, but it has to be in the morning
before it gets too hot. The horn was another continuing problem and by chance,
I found an electric horn whilst searching a locker for something else, so I
tried that out and with some alteration to the adjustment screw, I got it to
work OK. It obviously did not require so much current as the 8 amp air horn.
Back to the cleaning business at
long last. I had with me a Whale pump that I used in the garden for transferring
water from one water butt to another, so I connected that up to a 12volt socket
and extended the hose and tried it out. Sure enough it would pump water from
the cut to the top of the boat with ease, which cut the cleaning time
considerably and saved having to lift water in a bucket. Meanwhile, Pat and Sue
were on their way to the pub for an early afternoon drink, so after finishing
off the cleaning I joined them.
Back on board, I was tidying up
the tools and replacing things on the cabin top, when there was a knock on the
boat and I was very surprised to see Vic Wadley standing there with his dog Eric.
It appears that he was moored just around the turn and was taking Eric for a
walk, when he saw Stronghold. I should explain that Vic became a drinking buddy
in The Pelican at Addlestone some long time ago, when he was fitting out his boat
to go continuously cruising. That was more than six years ago and we seem to
meet up by chance every year somewhere on the cut.
After such a hot job, it was time
for a shower and change of clothes to welcome my daughter and fiancée on board
and a visit to The Greyhound for a delicious meal in the restaurant and some
suitable drinks, which was also very welcome after such a busy day.
Saturday 28th July
This morning was spent answering
e-mails and sorting out attachments to be sent to the new editor of The Steerer
magazine that I gave up editing a while ago. The internet connection was so annoying
when it kept cutting out, or telling me that my e-mail server had gone off line.
The BT hotspot was hit and miss too, so how does that work? Sometimes it was
there and at others times it had disappeared completely. I discovered by chance
that if I used a different USB port, things improved considerably.
Pat and Sue were on their way to
the pub for a light lunch and shortly after that Vic knocked to join him at The
Greyhound, so after introductions were made, we all sat at the same table and exchanged
experiences. I occasionally looked out of the window and saw nb Guilrose about
to come through the turn, so went out to surprise Jenny and Mike Moorse, who I
last saw at Canalway Cavalcade in May. We had a brief exchange at the Stop Lock,
before they went on their way towards Rugby – what a coincidence!
It had begun to rain when we left
the pub, which then turned into a thunderstorm and it was the first rain since
the beginning of May. By 6pm, the heavy clouds had passed over and the wind
dropped to zero, after blowing strongly all day. There is more rain forecast
for the next couple of days, which might catch me out on the cruise back to
Rugby.
Sunday 29th July
I think it rained all night, but
it was much cooler and sleeping was more comfortable. The rain continued throughout
the morning and is forecast to carry on until 7pm and then after today it will
be sunny intervals, so cruising back to Rugby is looking good.
It was a lazy morning mostly
spent reading blogs and writing this one. I was pleased to see that Maffi has
started blogging again and rightly has a go at speeding boaters and the damage
they cause to banks and wildlife. It really annoys me too when they are so
inconsiderate towards other moored boaters and threaten to pull out mooring
pins with their speed. If you ask them to slow down a bit, you are often told
to “get a life”, so they are also ignorant as well as selfish.
Monday 30th July
I got to Newbold and had to ask a
man on a brand new boat if he would mind moving up to the next ring, so that I
could get in, which he and his wife obliged and Stronghold fitted in with about
three feet to spare. The guy then asked if that was standard practice to moor
on the same ring, to which I replied that it was like parking in the street
with room for someone else to park as well. From that I recognised that he was
new to boating, which he owned up to and he had only had his boat for a week,
although he had hired boats previously. When I walked up to The Barley Mow, his
wife was there having a drink, so I joined her and he turned up later.
Tuesday 31st July
It was time to move again and
before going home, I had enquired about a mooring in Rugby Wharf, which is one
of Brindley’s original arms now, although it was originally a part of the North
Oxford Canal, before Telford dug out all the straight connections. Mooring was
no problem here and I got a bank side position, but with only one ring to tie
up to, so had to use a stake as well.
I had a walk to suss out the bus
stops and had a pint in the Steam Turbine, a big Hungry Horse pub and you know
what I think of them! Sure enough the Abbott ale was off as soon as the barman
pulled the handle, so I had to settle for something else.
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