Mancetter

After a good night on our mooring at Mancetter which was the site of Boudicca's last stand against the Romans we pulled pins at 08.40 and headed off towards Nuneaton.



Passing Hartshill and it would have been great to see it back in the heyday of the canals when this site would have been buzzing with canal activity.



Just past Springwood haven marina which we tend to avoid because of their high prices we passed this hill which a local boater told us was known as The Big Tit Hill ,although I haven't a clue why its so named. I was very surprised and impressed to see that someone had driven a car right up to the top of the Hill.



It was only when we got closer that we realised that it was just a silhouette of a car on top of the Hill.



This is probably the most photographed part of The North Oxford canal and there was no way that I wouldn't take a snap of the old telegraph post.


Its good to see that someone has been pulling out all of this scrap from the canal . I just hope its all removed before the Scroates chuck it back in to the canal again.



One day I will stop here and try some of Wing Fats food and will no doubt have a heart attack after eating it.



Passing Charity Dock and it changes every time we come through this way.



I've not a clue what any of it means but it certainly is entertaining as we cruise past.


As soon as we found out that our good friends Richard and Sharon were in the area we arranged to meet up at The Greyhound Pub at Hawkesbury Junction .



Not just one visit to The Greyhound but two ,just how lucky were we .Hopefully it wont be to long before we next meet up.

After a good time together we will now say good bye to Sharon and Rich as they head back to The South coast to go cruising on their vintage Scooters and we will head South towards Rugby and Braunston.

                                                                                                         Happy Days

Living the dream

Some more amusing boat names .

                                                                                                                   Happy Days

UFO ( Unidentified FLOATING Object )

We pulled pins from our mooring at 09.10 and started our cruise to Hopwas and then onto the shopping moorings near Tamworth to re stock the boat with essential supplies.

Stopping off at the huge retail park before Fazeley junction I was well pleased to see that the 25% off 6 bottles of wine was running again at Sainsbury's. Needless to say I bought a lot more than 6 bottles . Just the ticket.

Approaching Fazeley junction and it’s right to Birmingham and left to Tamworth and the South . We turned left.

We passed this boat as we cruised through Tamworth . It was our friends Ray and Diane's boat until they recently sold it. I always liked the old tractor seats on the back and they are very comfortable to sit on.

All the way down the Coventry canal we have observed these yellow painted dots on both sides of every bridge on the towpath side. I did wonder if it was luminous paint to stop people bumping in to the bridge at night.

This was a first for us at the Atherstone flight of locks . With a good crew of Volunteers on duty we had help up the last 6 locks . There was even one lockie cutting grass with a push mower.

Atherstone top lock looking good as always and a credit to the volunteer lockkeepers that tend it.

Not a lot of progress here on the new development of the old Wilson and Stafford hat factory at Atherstone.

Anyone want a windmill ? . We had intended to moor at the top of the locks and have a Fish supper from the chippie there but unfortunately all the moorings were full so we carried on and picked up a mooring for the night at Mancetter.

                                                                                                    Happy Days

PS .You may be wondering what the UFO in the title is all about ? If you are easily offended please do not scroll down any further . I wasn't sure if I should put this on the blog but several of our friends have said do it for a laugh.

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A bit further.

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KEEP GOING

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We thought we had seen everything we could have possibly seen as we have cruised for nearly 5 years on the Inland Canals and Rivers of the UK . But can you imagine what we thought when we saw this going floating by as we headed down the Coventry Canal. Of course with me being as pure as the driven snow I just haven't a clue what it is. If anyone has lost this item and is wondering where it is we last saw it buzzing its way towards the village of Hopwas.

Sticking

Leaving Alrewas we made the short hop to Fradley junction where we stopped for a walk around . Its not a place we ever seem to spend much time in as it’s more of a tourist attraction with hundreds of people milling around on a sunny day.

We did spot this old car parked next to the pub at the junction.

Walking around the lake we did a bit of Sticking. We collect bags of dead fallen sticks/twigs and use them as Kindling to light the fire. Believe it or not I've actually seen some Boaters buying Kindling.

After a good walk around Fradley junction we pulled ropes from around bollards and headed up the last lock before the junction where we turned left onto The Coventry canal.

Passing Streethay wharf and its always a busy place with loads going on .

I bet all the other Horses are so jealous of the one with a multi-coloured coat. Carolyn said she thought he might be called Joseph.

One of the best weather vanes we have seen which just happened to be on top of an old farm house.

We moored up just before Hopwas and were soon joined by friends Tony and Jacqui on NB Timewarp who sell the brightest tiller pins and the tastiest fudge on the whole of the canal system.. Having not seen them for sometime it was good to have a catch up. We will spend a short time here before continuing our journey South.

                                                                                                 Happy Days