Friday 9th April

Pressure of work meant that our departure was later than we had hoped for but we left the marina around half past four for our weekend excursion up the Ashby canal. An area of high pressure had settled on the UK so the next few days promised sunshine and temperatures in the mid teens. Despite the late start we still had plenty of daylight hours left and after a couple of hours cruising we tied up just past Sutton Cheney, near Ambion Wood.

Saturday 10th April

The sun was shining as we left our mooring and headed on towards Market Bosworth, hoping for a space on the visitor moorings there. We weren’t disappointed and after securing the boat we headed up the hill towards town for the umpteenth time since we bought the boat, two and a half years ago. We bought the papers and sat on the patio of the Red Lion and had a couple of drinks. We bought some bits and pieces to make lunch with from the Co-op and returned to the boat by half past two.

We were soon underway, enjoying the spring sunshine as we continued our cruise in a north-westerly direction. The last time we visited the terminus, the canal had been shortened to allow contractors to carry out the beginning of the restoration works which will eventually re-join the two parts of the cut.

We turned around in the new winding hole before making our way back through the Snarestone tunnel. We made our way back to Shackerstone where we moored for the night. Visiting the pub in the village, The Rising Sun, we had our evening meal before returning to the canal, of course we had to make our usual visit to the churchyard first.

Sunday 11th April

Our journey home started about half past nine, light cloud hid the sun and a livelier wind from the north kept the temperature lower than the previous day. We made a pit stop at Sutton Cheney for some sweets and crisps before stopping at Stoke Golding for sandwiches and a glass of wine.

Half an hour later and we were on our way again back to the marina. We met nb Lunny at the bridge which carries the A47 over the canal and despite the fact that this is a bridge where two boats can pass, Lunny wanted the canal to itself. We reversed and allowed the boater through, he apologised and claimed that he was a novice although by the state of his eyes, he was no novice when it came to being drunk. This turned out to be the only unusual event of the weekend and all too soon we were manoeuvring our way through the marina, reaching our berth just before three o’clock. It took no time at all to clear our stuff from the boat and that was it, our weekend cruise was over. By a strange coincidence, we made the same trip on the same weekend last year, something that we didn’t realise until today.

Thursday 1st April

We have been reading weather forecast after weather forecast, trying to decide whether or not we can venture out on to the canal for the Easter weekend. Unfortunately, it seems that the BBC have become as discredited as the Met Office when it comes to forecasting the weather. Presumably someone in that organisation has decided to work to extremes on the basis that by forecasting heavy rain and high winds , no-one will complain when the weather turns out to be better than forecast.

We took the decision to provision the boat and wait until Good Friday before taking our chances with the elements and cruising towards the Marston Junction and the Coventry canal.

Friday 2nd April

We rolled out of bed at seven o’clock and made our final preparations for our trip. We had decided to be philosophical about the weather and just accept whatever nature threw at us. By nine o’clock we were pulling out of the marina heading in a south-westerly direction on the Ashby canal. It was a bit windy and we endured the odd shower but our trip to Marston Junction was a pleasant one. Turning right on to the Coventry canal around eleven o’clock we were congratulating ourselves on making the decision to spend the weekend aboard ‘Phoenix III’.

An hour later and we reached Nuneaton where we moored beyond the bridge near the Cock & Bear pub.

Nuneaton gets very little coverage in Nicholson and Pearson guides. It’s a shame really because although it is true to say that it is not a town that is making the best of it’s canal presence, it really is worth stopping there. A ten minute walk brings the canal traveller into the town centre with its shops, pubs, banks and market. We made that walk, not for the first time and had a drink in the Jailhouse which is just behind the Ropewalk shopping centre. A walk around brought us to the George Elliot Hotel, named after the town’s greatest “son” (look it up if you don’t know about George!). We walked back to the boat after another drink and then settled down for the night on our mooring, safe and quiet and near the flats that stand on the land which was previously the old football ground belonging to Nuneaton Borough. It would be good to think that the residents of these relatively new dwellings are occasionally disturbed by the odd ghostly call of a supporter shouting “Up the borough” or maybe even have the unnerving experience of seeing the ghost of a former player scoring a goal at the town end of Manor Park. We listened to some music, ate our dinner and watched a bit of telly before retiring for the evening.

Saturday 3rd April

We both slept soundly before waking at seven o’clock. The sky was blue and we laughed again at how we were having a good time despite the pessimism of the BBC weathermen. By nine o’clock we had dressed and eaten breakfast before setting off for Atherstone. The trip took us two hours and along the way we took it in turn to shower and change in to clean clothing, taking advantage of the hot water generated by the engine running.

We pulled into Atherstone just after eleven o’clock and tied up before walking into town. A wander around the shops preceded a spot of lunch in the Red Lion where we watched Chelsea beat Manchester Utd, life just doesn’t get much better than this!!!

We returned to the boat and after turning her around, taking on water and getting rid of our rubbish at Atherstone top lock, we made our way back in the direction of Nuneaton, tying up for the night just outside the BW yard at Hartshill. The rain started shortly after but with our mooring secure and a roaring fire, we were happy enough.

Easter Sunday, 4th April

The day dawned, getting light around seven o’clock and we slowly came around to face Easter Sunday. The great thing about this trip has been that there has been no pressure on our time. We had some crumpets for breakfast before untying and leaving Hartshill just before ten o’clock. We enjoyed a lovely cruise to Nuneaton and moored back at the Cock & Bear bridge an hour and a half later. We toddled off into town to discover that all of the shops were closed. Luckily enough the pubs weren’t closed so we had lunch in the local Weatherspoon’s, a building which apparently used to belong to a funeral director called Smith. This escapade is worthy of a separate article so I won’t inflict this story on you, dear reader, at this moment in time.

On returning to the Phoenix, we once again thanked our lucky stars that we have the ability to spend our leisure time out on the canal system. We untied and set off back towards Marston Junction with no real plan in mind. The great thing about this, the “Let’s stick two fingers up to the BBC weathermen” tour has been that it really is a very relaxing break for both of us. At the junction with the Ashby canal we pushed on past and made our way to Hawkesbury Junction. Turning around at the junction with the Oxford canal we headed back and moored up on the visitor moorings. After dinner we took a walk to the Greyhound, purely for the exercise although it seemed a little rude not to have a drink at this ancient watering hole so we imbibed and spent a few minutes there.

We returned to our floating cottage at seven o’clock and settled down for the night.

Easter Monday, 5th April

Seven o’clock in the morning and it wasn’t time to wake up so we both went back to sleep and had another hour.

Eight o’clock in the morning seemed a much more sensible time to get up and have a cup of tea so we did. By ten o’clock we had managed to get dressed and motivate ourselves to the stage that we were setting off and heading back home. Sadly, the wind was quite strong and we had to battle our way around Marston Junction back on to the Ashby canal an hour after leaving our berth at Hawkesbury. Just after midday we reached the Limekilns on the A5 where we tied up and went for lunch. What a laugh we had! Our meals were superb but the entertainment was excellent thanks to the clientele which consisted of some of the boating fraternity. One boater, a bearded scruffy type who reminded us of the Owen Newitt character in the Vicar of Dibley played by Roger Lloyd Pack , bragged about how his boat was “like an oven inside”, Gary the landlord asked him if that was because the inside was covered in grease and had a knob on it!

Mooring at the Limekilns is a bit like being just on the other side of the wardrobe in Narnia. We decided to stay on the boat overnight but took the opportunity to go home and have a shower and get a change of clothes first. So there we were, afloat on the Ashby canal (favourite canal), outside the LImekilns (favourite pub), next to the A5 (George’s favourite road). Tomorrow we will have to get back into the marina, tie up and then return home before going to work.

Wednesday 7th April

Well we didn’t make it back to the marina yesterday but after work today, we took a stroll round to the Limekilns where we collected the boat and made the final leg of the journey. Half an hour later and we were in and tied up. We carried out our usual chores before walking back home.

At last! The winter weather has retreated and we can make our first trip of the year. Not only is it our first outing this year, it is almost four months since we were last out and that was when we were bringing the boat back from having its bottom blacked.
On Friday we loaded the boat with the bits and pieces that we thought that we would need for the trip, switched the heating on to warm everything through and then went home, leaving the start of the voyage until Saturday.
Grey skies and a bit of early morning drizzle greeted us as we left the house but with better weather forecast, we were full of optimism that we would have a good trip. We picked up a canister of gas on our way out of the marina and by half past nine we were heading towards Stoke Golding. Of course we have made this journey many times before so it is only when something unusual happens that we make a note of it. On this occasion nothing remarkable happened and at one o’clock we tied up at Market Bosworth. We lit the fire and then took a walk up to the town, calling in at the award winning chip shop for some award winning chips to stave off hunger and prevent fainting through lack of nourishment. After we had made short work of the chips and disposed of the containers we had a little wander round, did a bit of shopping and then retired to the bar of The Red Lion for a drink and a read of the papers.
We returned to the boat around four o’clock and then just relaxed in front of the fire. We mainly burn coal and wooden pallet blocks on our boatman stove but at the moment we have some peat imported from Ireland. When this is on the fire we leave the stove open and let the sweet smell of burning turf waft around the cabin. It’s difficult to explain the attraction, a bit like boating itself, you don’t really get it until you try it. Turf has been burned as a source of heat for thousands of years so perhaps the smell is actually evoking deep genetic memories? Anyway we watched a bit of rubbish on the telly, inhaled smoke from muck dug from an Irish bog and then went to bed.
Sunday morning was bright and clear, there was a hard frost and the canal was frozen over. We had a few cups of tea and coffee before we set off through the fragile patches of ice and we were underway around half past eleven. As cold as it was, the blue skies and bright sunshine made the journey home an enjoyable one. We passed the coal boat, saw a couple of our aquaintances, Mick onboard Tally Ho! and Steve on The Serendipity before we arrived back at the marina. The usual end of voyage chores were carried out in about ten minutes and that was it, our maiden voyage for 2010 was over. The boat still works despite being laid up for months and we still have the boating bug; excellent!

Well another week has passed and still we have been unable to venture out. Our last time was when we brought the boat back from Stoke Golding after having her out of the water to have her bottom blacked. Persistently low temperatures have given rise to a layer of ice so thick on the canal and in the marina that there is absolutely no movement when walking around inside. Temperatures are forecast to rise this week so maybe another couple of weeks will release us from our icy shackles.

Friday 28th August

It’s time to go out for another week. We’ve decided to wait until Saturday morning before we head off on our second summer tour. It’s a bank holiday weekend and the weather forecast looks reasonable for the whole week. Unfortunately, the weather today has been wet and very windy so we have taken the opportunity to have a lazy start to the trip. Most of our gear is on board and tomorrow we will take the rest of our stuff, check the engine over, diesel up and get on our way. Our ultimate aim is Warwick so our route will take us along the Ashby, on to the Coventry before turning at Sutton Stop on to the North Oxford. Turning right at Braunston, we will make our way to Wigram’s turn where we will get on to the Grand Union, heading for Leamington and Warwick. We’ll turn round for the journey back at the bottom of the Hatton flight, saving that for another day! Of course with so many twists and turns along the way, we could end up anywhere.

Saturday 29th August

The day dawned, bright and sunny. A bit breezy but pleasant nonetheless. Of course we were still in the house so we thought it best that we got out of bed and made a move. Despite the fact that we had taken a car load of our stuff to the boat the evening before, we had another car load to go. Along the way, we bought a radio to listen to while we travelled and after fuelling the boat we eventually set off at 11.00am. Despite the wind and the large number of boats around, we reached Marston Junction not long after one o’clock. Turning left on to the Coventry canal, we made our way past the charity dock which seemed to have recruited a few more mannequins complete with stylish clothing. We had decided to moor at or around Hawkesbury junction if we could and sure enough we tied up about a quarter of a mile from the turn. After we secured the boat we took a walk to the Greyhound and had a couple of drinks, shopped at the Towpath Trading boat which was moored at the lock and then returned to the boat. Sue cooked up a steak pie and our home grown potatoes which we ate before rounding the meal off with cherry pie and cream. Some swans appeared and as Sue fed them bread and oats she noticed that the adult had a beak injury which was bleeding. She made a call to the RSPCA and hopefully they will bring some relief to the older bird.( I mean the swan of course, not Sue!)

Sunday 30th August

The sun rises at about six o’clock at the moment and this morning it was very bright. We left our mooring just before half past nine, made our way to the turn and negotiated the lock. Three boys and their father watched us and explained that they had just come for a look before going off to Worcester to hire a boat for four days. We saw quite a lot of boats on our journey south but the hire boat in front was the one that dominated the landscape. Usual stuff, no idea how to steer, missing every bridge hole, kids running up and down the roof and so on. We stopped at Newbold on Avon and visited the Co-op but they had nothing that we wanted so we carried on to Rugby and stopped for water and a quick trip to Tesco. Leaving Rugby, we saw the hire boat tied up, at least we wouldn’t have to suffer them again! We completed the rest of our chores as we ascended the three locks at Hillmorton and then carried on for another hour before mooring near bridge 79. The time was six twenty, so despite this being a trip without ambition, we had travelled for almost nine hours, no wonder we were tired and by half past nine, we were yawning so much we had to go to bed. The weather had worked in our favour, the early morning sunshine had given way to cloud and the occasional drizzle but we got tied up just before the rain started in earnest.

Monday 31st August

Bank holiday Monday and the sun is shining! After yet another lazy start we made our way first to Braunston and then to Wigram’s turn. A wide beam boat pulled of the marina, got caught in the wind and managed to block the whole junction. Well, we eventually got round the corner and made our way to the locks. The boat behind us was a private boat owned by a couple from Chesterfield who kept their boat at Ventnor farm. We had an easy trip down though the three locks with these experienced boaters before waving goodbye to them as they turned into their marina. We decided to moor near bridge 21 and make our plans for rest of the trip. After showering and eating we took a walk to the Boat Inn for a drink and a visit to the dessert menu. We then walked the mile to the Blue Lias for another drink before returning to the boat. We have decided to stay here another day before turning around on Wednesday and heading back.

Tuesday 1st September

Suzy and George go to Long Itchington, have a pub lunch and a few drinks.

Rosie and Jim stay on the boat and play cards.

Wednesday 2nd September

Our day of rest yesterday meant that not only would be travelling today but we had our chores to complete too. We got up early so that we could turn around in the entrance to the boatyard without getting in anybody’s way. By eight o’clock we had turned and were passing the place that we had moored for the last two days. We soon reached the first of the three Calcutt locks and since we were on our own, began the lonely ascent. These wide locks are well maintained and we were soon at the top, taking on fresh water. Sue then started preparing our evening meal, a Spanish style Chicken dish. After jointing the chicken, she combined the meat with chorizo and vegetables, leaving the whole concoction to cook slowly in the slow cooker all day. We made our way to Braunston in a variety of weather conditions ranging from full sunshine to showers. Even the heaviest showers didn’t last long and we were soon completing our chores for the day near Braunston turn. We were in the mood for cruising so we set off again, this time towards Rugby. We reached Hillmorton at half past one and despite the fact that we had not seen many boats all morning, there were three waiting to descend the locks, two hire boats and a privately owned working boat. It didn’t take long to descend the locks thanks to a number of boats making their way to the higher level. We passed the two hire boats after the bottom lock and then we carried on. We enjoyed more sunshine as we skirted around the edge of Rugby. The sky was darkening with rain clouds when we found a space on the visitor moorings just before bridge 58. We managed a quick trip to Tesco and back, set up the satellite dish before the rain started. By the time we had showered and sat down to our Spanish chicken, the rain was pouring down but obviously we didn’t care!

Thursday 3rd September

Heavy rain fell during the early hours but by the time we got up it was windy but dry. We were unsure Whether to travel or stay put and walk into Rugby. In the end we decided to get on our way. By nine o’clock we were on the move. We had a near miss at the entrance to the Rugby marina when a working boat emerged ,ignored our warning and narrowly missed us. After that our journey was g quite uneventful and by one o’clock we were approaching Hawkesbury junction. On rounding the turn, Sue saw the swan with the damaged beak. Thankfully still alive and well. We passed tie boat -‘Mr Mercury’ before making our way to Marston junction the sun was shining as we traveled along the Ashby canal towards Hinckley. Moored next to Nutts Lane and only a few hundred yards from home may seem like madness to some but this stop allowed us to visit home and the local shop. Tomorrow we will head off towards Market Bosworth .

Friday 4th September

The sun shone again this morning and so we headed towards Market Bosworth, hoping for a place on the town moorings. Stopping at the marina for a few minutes to dump our rubbish and empty the toilet, we were underway by half past nine. Sue took the tiller for most of the journey which lasted its usual three and a half hours. Most of the Ashby boats seemed to be in the Stoke Golding wharf, leaving a narrow route through and under the bridge. We had the impression before we had started that the canal would be busy with people heading towards Shackerstone for the weekend festival. As it turned out, the earlier activity on the water was unrepresentative of the rest of the water traffic. As a result we didn’t see that many boats on our trip. What we did see was evidence of dredging, something that has been long overdue. When we reached the stretch near Bosworth Battlefield we saw the dredgers at work.

When we arrived at Market Bosworth, we were pleasantly surprised to find only one boat on the mooring, allowing us to tie up easily and get ready for the walk up the hill to town.

Saturday 5th September

Today was the last full day of our holiday so we decided to stay put in Market Bosworth. After a lazy start we were locking up the boat when we saw our marina neighbour, Lee on board ‘Mamta’ heading for Shackerstone. We wandered up the hill for the second day running having decided to have lunch in the Red Lion. The meals were good, we had a couple of drinks and read the papers as we whiled away the early hours of the afternoon. Returning to the boat we ran the generator for a couple of hours to charge the batteries and heat the water. We completed our ‘lazy’ day by watching television before turning in for the night.

Sunday 6th September

We turned the boat around and began the final leg of our journey. Our lunch was already prepared and we planned to stop on the way back to eat it. Sue began to pack our stuff up, ready for our return to the marina. By half past eleven we had reached the Stoke Golding visitor moorings so we pulled in and ate our midday meal. Just after we started off again we saw the Red Arrows who were displaying at Shackerstone. We pulled up again and watched what we could of the display.

As we waited, we were passed again by Lee and his mate who told us that they had managed to get a mooring at Shackerstone. We followed them back to Hinckley in convoy and by the time we got there we had a couple more boats behind us. By two o’clock the boat was empty and the car was full, we were ready to reume our land based life.

Well, we’ve had a good time and maybe to the casual reader of these articles it may seem like we have hours of nothing much happening interrupted by exciting things like filling the water and emptying the toilet. Very often the only other living creatures that we see have four legs or wings or make quacking sounds. That’s it really, you either get it or you don’t. We do and after two years of boat ownership, we still enjoy our trips out on the canal.

Friday 10th July

Another summer weekend with no particular plan in mind so off we went, this time heading north on the Ashby. The beauty of this time of year is the length of the days and after passing through the already full moorings at Market Bosworth we tied up twenty minutes later near the winding hole, half way to Congerstone.

Saturday 11th July

A cloudy start didn’t deter us, even though we had no idea what we were going to do for the day. We decided to turn around and try our luck at Market Bosworth, we were unsuccessful so we carried on. We toyed with the Battlefield but decided it was too early, we could have stopped at the Limekilns but chose to carry on. By the time we had reached Burton Hastings we had decided to make for Hawksbury junction, a destination that is very popular and we knew that we might not make a mooring. We were lucky and as we pulled up, so did three other boats, effectively filling the available space in minutes. A walk to the greyhound and we had a surprise re-union with our old friend, The Cheeseboat. Three cheeses, a couple of drinks and twenty quid later and we were heading back for the Phoenix. The predicted rain didn’t start until after half past seven and then it was on for the night.

Sunday 12th July

Blue skies greeted us on Sunday morning as we sorted ourselves out and got on our way. We made the short trip to the junction, already quite busy despite the early hour, turned around and headed off to Nuneaton. We had enjoyed our previous visit to the town the week before and thought that we’d give it another go. The trip from Hawksbury is only a couple of hours so we were moored just after eleven o’clock. We had stopped on the southern side of town, near the boatyard so our route to the centre was different to the previous week, this time through streets of terraced houses. A wander around, a coffee at Costa before browsing in Waterstones and then a dash through Sainsburys and Riversley park before returning to the boat. The weather was bright and breezy as we weaved our way back to Hinckley and once again we were surprised at how much we had managed to do in what seemed like a short space of time.

Friday 3rd July

We took the opportunity to make the best of another summer weekend and left the marina in the late afternoon. The predicted showers didn’t materialise until after we had tied up at eight o’clock. Our trip to Springwood Haven left us about an hour and a half away from Atherstone.

Saturday 4th July

The day dawned bright and sunny and we timed our run to Atherstone in such a way that we were able to get a mooring above the top lock. We were wandering around the shops on the main street by eleven o’clock when we decided to have lunch in the central glass covered area in the Red Lion Hotel. A couple of hours later and we made our way back to the boat, ready for the next leg of the journey. We had to turn round of course and we saw just how busy the locks were, with a queue of craft waiting to descend through the flight. We hadn’t made any hard and fast plans but we had an idea that we would head back to Hartshill and then visit Nuneaton on Sunday. In the event we carried on to Nuneaton anyway and moored near the site of the old football ground. Unlike Atherstone, the canal is not that close to the town centre, which is a bit of a shame but we made the fifteen minute walk in the late afternoon sunshine anyway. We did no more than have a look around before returning to the boat and soon we were underway again, pleased that we had stopped and promising to visit again. For the record, we have now driven to Nuneaton (10 minutes), walked to Nuneaton (1 hour) and travelled by boat (3 hours). By the time we reached Marston junction we had decided to head for home and use Sunday to catch up on some work around the house and garden. We made it home for eight o’clock, amazed at how much we had packed in to twenty eight hours.

In the week after our trip down the Grand Union, it was time to give the engine a major service. It was then that I discovered that there was a fuel leak at the glow plug. It took over a week to track down a replacement (and a spare for the future!)

After fitting the new part and checking for leaks, the decision was taken to get out on the cut and give the engine a good run.

The trip was a straightforward run up the Ashby, stopping overnight at Market Bosworth before returning on Sunday morning. The engine ran beautifully and quieter than before, we were back in business and looking forward to getting out and about again.

Friday 5th June

The start of our holiday! The weather forecast didn’t look so good but we decided to set off anyway. We had been loading the boat up for a couple of days but today we took the last few provisions on board. At three o’clock we left the marina and set off for the bottom of the Ashby where it meets the Coventry canal at Marston junction. Passing the Limekilns we saw old Jim sitting in the garden enjoying a pint with his mate. We reached the junction at five o’clock and turned south towards the Oxford canal and Hawksbury junction. Sue was steering when we reached the 180 degree turn so for the first time in her boating career she made the turn while I prepared the stop lock. We had a brief conversation with a couple of hirers before motoring on towards Ansty. The forecast had been for heavy rain but we had seen nothing but sunshine for the previous three hours. By the time we reached Ansty just after seven it was cloudy and starting to get cooler so we decided to keep going and have our dinner one at a time inside. The rain held off until half past seven and even then we only had to endure very light showers. We moored near bridge 26 at half past eight and settled down for the evening, pleased with the progress that we had made. We worked out that we were a mile away from Stretton stop and about six hours from Braunston.

Saturday 6th June

The rain fell heavily during the night and was still going when we had our first cup of tea at seven o’clock. Since we had no need to try and cover any great distance we took our time, showered and had a light breakfast before finally getting underway just before half past ten. Twenty minutes later and we threaded our way through the moored boats at Stretton stop. Leaving the brightly coloured Rose narrowboats behind, we were soon on our way to Newbold on Avon. The first boat on the visitor moorings was Carpe Diem, a boat that had been our neighbour in the Trinity marina before it unexpectedly disappeared at the end of last year. We saw Trina on board but we couldn’t really stop to catch up and find out what she and Stuart have been up to. The drizzle persisted as we made our way through Rugby, it had only been a few weeks since we had been this way so we weren’t too bothered with the poor weather that accompanied us all the way to Hillmorton. We took on water and got rid of our rubbish there before proceeding up through the three locks before we really noticed that the rain had stopped. Shortly afterwards we encountered a boat that had broken free of its moorings but with a bit of deft bargepole work by Sue, we soon passed it by. As we approached the Barby straight, we caught up with a hire boat that just seemed to be moving aimlessly along but before we caught it up completely, we had an incident in a bridge hole where the oncoming boat really got himself out of shape, basically because he was travelling too fast. We decided not to chance finding a mooring in Braunston and resolved to find a place to tie up somewhere before we reached the junction. Sure enough, we were able to get a lovely spot just before bridge 81 on the Oxford canal. With another five and a half hours cruising under our belts we prepared for another day on the cut.

Sunday 7th June

We awoke again to the sound of the wind and rain. This was no surprise of course, it had been forecast and there was no expectation of dry weather until the afternoon. Another relaxed and civilised start to the day saw us showered, breakfasted and cleared up for eleven o’clock. We got all of our wet gear on and sallied forth, heading south towards Braunston and the lighter skies. We were not disappointed, the rain stopped after twenty minutes and by the time we reached the locks, the sun was out. We met up with a hire boat at the bottom lock and between us we ascended the Braunston flight.

After the top lock, there is a short distance before Braunston tunnel and we entered the darkness just after half past one. Following our lock-mate, we only passed one oncoming boat before emerging into the light thirty-five minutes later. Braunston tunnel is one of the best tunnels that we have travelled through, wide, high and with the exception of a little kink towards the southern portal, virtually straight. We emerged into a different world, the skies were blue and the sun was shining through the trees of Bridge Spinneys. We managed to collect a tree trunk floating in the water but managed to dislodge it from the bow fairly easily. Another half an hour and we had turned at Norton Junction and then approached the top lock of the Buckby flight. We descended through these locks in the company of two narrow beam cruisers, crewed by two couples in their seventies, in fact the eldest lady was eighty but that didn’t stop them running around like teenagers. Through the afternoon, we learned that they were from Peterborough and had travelled to the Thames at Oxford and were now on their way home. We eventually cleared the bottom lock and left our new septuagenarian aquaintances looking for fish and chips at Whilton marina. We carried on for another three quarters of an hour, continuing to be sandwiched between the A5 and the west coast main railway line, all the time flirting with the noisy M1 motorway. It was only on this part of the journey that we grew to appreciate the Grand Union canal for what it is, a broad canal. Other than the broad locks, it is easy to ignore the breadth of the canal through the locks at Braunston and Buckby and of course a tunnel is a tunnel, no matter how wide it is. By comparison to the narrow canals that we are used to, the Grand Union is a great treat, easy to navigate with no risk of grounding.

We decided to moor at Weedon and got a prime position near the village. Weedon is one of those places that you pass through in a car without noticing anything, it lies on the junction of the A5 and the A45 with just a set of traffic lights to halt the motorist’s progress. After we had tied up for the evening, we walked back to the bridge and the main road, ignoring the pub we made straight for the chip shop and by seven o’clock we were back on the towpath; deck chairs, table, plated up fish, chips and mushy peas washed down with a glass of wine. The sun eventually dropped below the trees and we called it a day. On checking the weather forecast, we saw that the rest of the week looked to be very promising.

Monday 8th June

It was nice to wake up and not hear the sound of rain on the roof. We got ourselves organised and got on our way by twenty to ten. We stopped to take on water before setting off again at twenty five past ten, heading towards Gayton Junction. The day was pleasant; warm but not too hot, windy but not problematic, quiet yet interesting as we passed through the Northamptonshire countryside without incident. The bar opened at midday and a short while later we passed Gayton and the entry to the way to Northampton. A few minutes after one o’clock and we we were slipping into Blisworth tunnel, notable for being the third longest in use on the system. Like the Braunston tunnel, Blisworth is wide and high, however, unlike the Braunston tunnel, it is also straight. Our passage through was very smooth and we only met one boat on the way. We moored at Stoke Bruerne just after two o’clock and after we had a drink, we took a walk down to the shop and museum.

Returning to the boat at half past four we decided to move on down through the locks. We reached the top lock alongside NB Meridien and we all went down through the flight in just over an hour. There was a bit of excitement when an ambulance turned up to treat youth who had fallen in the canal. As the air ambulance landed, the story unfolded. The youth had decided, in his drug induced state, to untie a boat waiting for the lock. The boater ran back to his boat and the youth tried to push him in the canal, there is no contest between a determined boater and a stoned youth so the young man ended up in the water. His friend jumped in to rescue him and the result was a call-out to the emergency services. We said our goodbyes to the Meridien crew at the bottom lock and pressed on to Yardley Wharf, just before bridge 60.

Tuesday 9th June

No rain on Tuesday morning, so we were moving by quarter to nine on the short hop to Cosgrove where we took on water and got rid of our waste. We went through the only lock alongside a shared ownership boat and then headed towards Milton Keynes. The Ouse aqueduct was a bit of a let down in terms of scenic value but we took a picture nonetheless.

A shopping stop at Wolverton by bridge 71 broke our journey for half an hour next to the railway line. We ploughed on through the afternoon with a ham sandwich for lunch as we skirted around Milton Keynes. It’s a strange route because you don’t really get any idea that you are on the edge of such a large conurbation. The usual wildlife abounds in this area but we were struck by the number of herons, who appeared to be very tame. We even saw a Tern dive into the water and emerge with a small fish in its beak, we would see many others but none as successful as this. We passed through the locks at Fenny Stratford, Stoke Hammond and Soulbury before mooring for the night near bridge 109. After feeding the ducks as well as ourselves, we turned in for the night, exhausted by our day’s cruising.

Wednesday 10th June

We left our countryside mooring at nine o’clock and made our way to Leighton Buzzard, we were fortunate enough to catch a boat at the only lock and made our way through very quickly. We saw this sorry sight along the way.

We reached the visitor moorings at half past ten before making another shopping trip to Tesco. The rain made an appearance just after we returned to the boat so we had a bit of breakfast before setting off again. We turned and stopped at Grove lock and then the heavens opened so we were glad that our timing was as good as it was. Checking the weather forecast, we decided to stay there for the night and make the best of the of the weather in the days to come.

Thursday 11th June

The sun was up early and so were we. After resting the day before when the rains came, we were ready to do some travelling. We headed north at twenty past eight and an hour later we had stopped at Leighton Buzzard, refilled the water and emptied our rubbish. We expected the odd shower but none came and we passed through the locks at Old Soulbury with an elderly couple just after eleven o’clock. We made a stop at Fenny Stratford and walked to the railway station to check out the trains to Milton Keynes. seeing that they were not too frequent and involved a change at Bletchley we decided to forget that idea and move on. The shallow lock at Fenny Stratford caught us out with its swing bridge but we eventually made it through and skirted around Milton Keynes before mooring above Cosgrove lock just after half past five. The sun was still shining and so we sat out on the back deck with a drink to relax. We were quickly joined by some courageous ducks that had no problem in treating the boat like it was their own. We took a few pictures before sitting down to our own evening meal.

Friday 12th June

Another sunny morning, this time in Cosgrove. We had a long day the day before and we aimed to have another on this day too. We shaped ourselves and left our mooring at nine o’clock, heading for Stoke Bruerne. Less than two hours later and we were taking on water at the bottom of the Stoke flight, ready for our ascent. We made the journey along with Alan and Linda from nb “Our Dream” and we mad it through six of the seven locks in an hour and a half. Linda decided to visit the shop at the top to buy an book, a task that she promised would only take a few minutes. We waited with her husband, dog and boat for half an hour before Sue finally found her meandering around the exhibits being put together for the festival that would be taking place over the weekend. We eventually left the top lock at one o’clock and followed the pair into the Blisworth tunnel. Sue kept us both dry by her careful use of a golf umbrella, we pulled out of the tunnel back into the sunshine, forty minutes later. Unlike on our south-bound journey, we passed a number of boats travelling in the opposite direction through the tunnel.

Leaving the tunnel we kept tramping north, taking in a home made pizza on the way for lunch. We passed a horse drawn boat and a steamer, presumably all heading south for the Stoke Bruerne festival.

We couldn’t find a suitable mooring at Weedon so we ascended five of the locks from Whilton Marina to Norton Junction. A delicious casserole from the slow cooker rounded the day off leaving us with a whole host of choices as to which direction to take in the morning; North towards Leicester? West towards Braunston? If Braunston, where next? Rugby? Banbury or Leamington? So much excitment after a long day at the tiller caused the two writers to crash into bed for the evening, tomorrow would have to take care of itself!

Saturday 13th June

With only two locks to get through at the top of the Buckby flight, we set off at nine o’clock. An hour later and we had reached the top, taken on water and got rid of our waste before making our way towards the Braunston tunnel. We met a number of boats on the way before emerging into the sunlight at eleven o’clock. The Braunston lock flight was particularly busy but we paired up with another boat and reached the bottom without incident by half past twelve. We were fortunate enough to secure a mooring outside the marina by bridge one and took the opportunity to walk up to the village for a few supplies. We returned to the boat and had a sandwich before walking along to Midland Chandlers where we bought some rope to serve as an additional centre line for the boat. We returned to our mooring, untied and called for diesel before starting out on our afternoon cruise. The weather continued to be perfect and two hours later we tied up near Wigrams turn, our plan for the rest of the trip was to make our way to Leamington and Warwick.

Sunday 14th June

Change of plan!

The stomach upset that had plagued Sue on and off during the previous week returned in the early hours of Sunday morning. A quick calculation made us fourteen hours from home, so at 6am, we made a start. An ambitious undertaking but one that would allow us to be on the doctor’s doorstep first thing on Monday morning. For the first time on this holiday, we were working against the clock. In principle, with almost sixteen hours of daylight ahead of us, there should be no problem in making the trip. However, this had been forecast as a sunny Sunday so maybe there would be too many boats to allow us a straight passage and then again maybe fourteen hours in the baking sun without a break would be too much to manage. Travelling along familiar canals would be our only advantage, so we went for it.

After turning at Wigram’s we headed back into the low morning sun, making Braunston turn at eight o’clock. The traffic started building as we made the next leg of the trip to Hillmorton, reaching the locks just after ten fifteen. We had a couple of boats ahead of us but with the oncoming traffic we cleared the bottom lock an hour later, all of this despite the grumpy boater at the top lock who insisted on doing everything himself but with a manner that saw him narrowly avoidng getting thumped. A couple of hire boats whose crews were clueless and some equally clueless parents who seemed to have no concept of the potential dangers posed to their offspring around the lock areas.

Anyway, we motored on towards Sutton stop with only one further incident, an oncoming Rose narrowboats day hire boat at Newbold on Avon. Stretton stop was relatively empty and the small swing bridge was open so we passed through without waiting.

Ten hours after we had started and we were passing the Rose and Castle at Ansty, the beer garden was busy with families and couples enjoying the June sunshine. We picked something up on the prop under the bridge which resulted in a short pit-stop to remove a rope fender. This only cost us about ten minutes and we were soon approaching Sutton stop just about five o’clock. It was fairly busy there but with such a shallow lock to empty and fill, we were soon round the turn and on to the Coventry canal. This territory is very familiar to us so we knew that were definitely on target to reach Hinckley for eight o’clock.

Of course by now, most people were moored or mooring for the evening, so much like the start of our day’s journey, we saw fewer and fewer boats as the evening went on.

We rounded the bend at Marston junction an hour later and soon we passed one of our marina pals, Steve the geordie aboard nb Serendipity, heading in the opposite direction. We saluted each other in customary naval fashion, traded friendly insults and then carried on. Still no sign of Mr England on the Bulkington trailer park, one day we might see him.

One hour to go as we approached Burton Hastings, the heat of the sun dying with the day’s end. Again like the start of the day, the sun was low enough to get in the steerer’s eyes under a couple of bridges but there was no problem because there were no oncoming boats.

We passed Jim moored by bridge thirteen and then we were passing the Limekilns with its busy beer garden. We pulled into the marina at five past eight, had we not picked up the fender on the prop, we would have made our eight o’clock target.

Our trip was over but we were to count ourselves lucky when we sat at home on Monday afternoon watching and listening to the electrical storms overhead.

Friday 22^nd May

Unusually, the weather forecast for the bank holiday weekend is good. This time last year, we went to the Crick show on the Saturday but the last day of the show was cancelled due to high winds and heavy rain. Anyway, as usual we got our stuff on to the boat and we were underway just after three o’clock. A gusty cross wind hindered our departure but we were soon heading north on the Ashby. Not only is there a bank holiday on the last Monday in May, the week is also the school half term holiday. We saw evidence of this as we passed through Stoke Golding, home to the Ashby boat hire fleet, Other than that, the journey was pleasantly quiet as we made our way through Sutton Cheney towards Market Bosworth. The visitor moorings near Bosworth battlefield and Market Bosworth were fully occupied, so we cruised on to a point between Market Bosworth and Congerstone. The weather was as predicted; cloudy, breezy and a little cool out of the sun. We hoped that the forecaster’s predictions for the following days were just as accurate and we would enjoy a couple of sunny days.

Sat 23^rd May

As predicted, the day dawned bright and sunny, The temperature rose quickly inside as the sun got to work on the outside of the boat, We eventually moved off the mooring at ten o’clock with no particular plan for the day except to enjoy the weather, As we approached Shackerstone we realised that there was a steam train running on the preserved railway. We were fortunate to find a space to tie up on the village moorings. The train was just leaving as we reached the station so we bought a couple of platform tickets and looked around the museum before settling down to a pot of tea in the station café. After we drank our tea we positioned ourselves on platform 2 and waited for the return of LNER 1306 “Mayflower”. Very soon we were able to watch her as she steamed gently into the station. After taking plenty of photographs before returning to Phoenix III, we took to the water just after

one o’clock and headed towards the canal terminus. The breeze and high clouds did not spoil the sunshine and we were all to soon at Snarestone tunnel. We were puzzled to see signs which declared that the canal ahead was closed, it is a dead-end after all! Work has begun to extend and restore the end of the Ashby canal through to its original terminus at Moira. As a result, the Canal has been shortened, hence the signs. A new winding hole has been excavated just after the last bridge and It was here that we turned around before we headed south again. We had to wait for two boats to pass through the tunnel before we could enter, with another behind us it seemed to be very busy indeed. Leaving Snarestone behind us we enjoyed a leisurely cruise in the afternoon sunshine. It was half past four when we reached Congerstone village moorings by bridge 47 and it was here that we tied up for the night. We sat on the back deck, in the sun, listening to music before eating dinner “al-fresco”. The sun finally dropped below the hedgerow just before eight and so we cleared the deck before going back inside for the evening.

Sunday 24^th May

We awoke to hear a duck on the back deck and then the sounds of the boat expanding as the early morning sun started to exert its thermo-nuclear force on the steel work. We sorted ourselves out and headed off at half past nine for the one hour trip to Market Bosworth. We were fortunate to secure a mooring in one of our usual haunts before walking up to the town. All in all our visit was good one, we saw the Mayflower on its way from Shackerstone to Shenton before exploring the Farmers Market which was standing in the town, We bought the papers, went for a drink in the Red Lion and then made our way back down to the canal. We basked in the afternoon sun before barbequing some ribs on the towpath. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Monday 25^th May

Bank holiday Monday dawned with less direct sunshine than the previous two days. We were keen to avoid the chance of showers later in the day so we headed back to Hinckley just after nine o’clock. It was a pleasantly uneventful trip back to the marina and although there was a good cloud cover, it was still quite warm. We reached the marina around half past twelve and before we brought Phoenix III into her berth, we re-fuelled ready for our next big trip in a fortnight’s time.