Wootton Wawen
On Tuesday morning we had a relatively early start, left our mooring opposite the Fleur de Lys, dropped down through the nearby lock and took on water. Off we went again and made our way to Wootton Wawen, passing nothing on the move until we reached Preston Bagot where it all became very lively with oncoming boats, helping us drop through the final three locks of the day. This part of the trip involved passing over the first of three aqueducts on the Stratford canal. This first aqueduct is only about the length of a boat and is next to Bucket Lock cottage.

Bucket Lock cottage
It was a case of “pick your spot” when we reached the basin at Wootton so we chose to tie on the very end, just after the first bridge.

North of Wootton Wawen

Wootton Wawen mooring

The second viaduct at Wootton Wawen
Wootton Wawen is one of those little places out of the way that nobody really knows about and in fairness, there doesn’t appear to be a lot there at first glance. We took a bit of time to explore and visited the local church which dates back to Saxon times. Just think about that for a moment – people have been gathering there to pray for a thousand years or so!

St Peter’s church

Sid’s gate from the hall into the churchyard
The village boasts a couple of churches, a couple of pubs and a trailer park.

The Catholic burial ground
That seems a little unfair when written like that but thanks to Bill Allen, a Wolverhampton motor trader who bought the local stately home, Wootton Hall in the 1950’s and basically saved it from ruination, the village has been revitalised. Mr Allen visited the US in the early 1960’s and decided that there could be a future in providing mobile home accommodation.

Wootton Hall

Wootton Hall
The grounds of Wootton Hall is now home to a number of static caravans, a bowling green, a social club and more importantly, a Post Office and general store. There is another general store on the main road so all in all, the village is well provided for.

Sheep grazing in the grounds of the hall
When we were last here, we visited the local farm shopping centre and bumped into ex Atomic Kitten, Kerry Katona. No human celebs were around when we arrived this time but we did see a scarlet tiger moth which isn’t normally native to this part of the country.

Scarlet Tiger Moth
We had a nose around the antique shops, had tea in the Cowshed café and shopped in the farm shop itself.
Naturally enough, we had to investigate the Saxon church and it was superb as it has a very informative display of the local history. Our walking took us to the Bulls Head where we had lunch and we also supported both of the shops along the way.

The Bulls Head pub