Avon calling !

 

After 2 days moored in Bancroft basin its time to make a move . We pulled pins at 06.55 with my plan being to turn left when we drop down onto the river Avon and head up to the water point and then continue as far up the river as we could.

On the way we passed this field of Giant Hogweed. At up to 18 feet tall its a nasty plant and you don't want to go anywhere near it as the sap can seriously damage your skin causing blisters and if it comes in to contact with your eyes it can cause blindness.

Once we had filled with water near the old bathing place we carried on up the river and passed these Glampers.

While the statutory head of navigation is at Alverston which is 3 miles up from Stratford it is apparently inadvisable for deep draughted boats to proceed past Cliffe cottage. Even the average narrowboat struggles past The old Bathing place as it gets very shallow. But I was determined to get as far as i could. We ended up winding (turning) with some difficulty a couple of hundred yards from Cliffe cottage as it was getting extremely shallow and I didn't fancy reversing a mile or so back down a flowing river or even worse getting stuck. Still I was well pleased we got that far as many boaters never attempt it and it was well worth the effort.

Heading back into Stratford upon Avon.

With all the boat traffic on this stretch of The River Avon you need to be very careful especially when going with the flow when heading downstream.

Passing The RSC Theatre.

How about this for a mooring…We are opposite Holy Trinity Church which is the final resting place of the great man himself, William Shakespeare. We will have a day here before deciding what to do next. Decisions decisions decisions….

                                                                                           Happy Days

Stratford upon Avon

 

How lucky are we?  . With the basin nearly full we just managed to grab this 48 hour mooring in Bancroft basin.

Looking out of the back and over towards The RSC Theatre.

Moored opposite to us is this ice cream boat , I'm sure that William Shakespeare enjoyed a Mr Whippy ice cream ….Do you look for ICE CREAMS and TREATS here you RUDE RASCALS? Henry VIII 5.4.9-10 (ish)

Having an evening stroll around Stratford and we came across this lot.  You cant beat a good old evening of Morris dancing.

and a walk around the town.. How lucky is Carolyn to get all this free entertainment. Shame about the shops being closed. But no doubt she will give them a good going over in the morning.

We were going to go and have a look around the Shakespeare centre, but at £15.90 each we thought better of it.

I bet this place does a roaring trade in July. Its a Christmas shop .

After an evening walk around the town and the temperature still at 30 deg C there's nothing better to do than chill out with a glass or 3 of the red stuff and watch the world pass by in the centre of Stratford On Avon.

                                                                                          Happy Days

Onto the Stratford

 

After a good day moored at Rowington we made a later than normal start and headed towards Kingswood junction. This is where we come off The Grand Union canal and head towards Stratford upon Avon on the Stratford canal. After turning off at the junction you can take the lock on the right that takes you up the Lapworth flight and then onto Birmingham. But we turn left as we are heading down towards Stratford upon Avon

A lot of the bridges have these slots in them. It was used to allow the rope from the canal boat to the Horse to pass through without having to disconnect it.

A barrel roofed cottage and one of many on this canal . The roofs were constructed using the same wooden frames that were used for constructing the bridges.

Carolyn and her new friend . Whoever he is ?

 

All these Gongoozlers watching and not one of them gives a hand to push the gate open. Well i suppose they are on holiday…

Mirrored glass .The owners of this canal side cottage obviously enjoy their privacy and what a great way this is to stop people looking in their windows.

I'm not sure how this sheep got up on the roof terrace but he seemed to be very happy there.

We encountered this strange lock gate on the approach to Stratford upon Avon. Luckily there was a lockie on duty who said that it was very hard to work with one person, although no doubt Carolyn would have managed.

After 2 days of travel down the Stratford canal we finally arrive in Bancroft basin which is in the centre of Stratford upon Avon.Now for the difficult job of finding a mooring.                              

                                                                                                           Happy Days

Hatton Locks

 

After a good night in Warwick we awoke with the thought of the Hatton flight of 21 locks in front of us . In fact it was 23 locks as there are the 2 Warwick cape locks before the main flight. But lucky for us there was a boat waiting on the bottom lock landing for a boat to share with.

We paired up with Bob and Jan on nb Small Dreams and with Bob and Carolyn on lock wheeling duty and myself and Jan doing the most important job of steering we soon started to put some locks behind us.

Not far from the top and you can see all the way down the flight and into Warwick.

This Dragonfly is a stainless steel sculpture by Gideon Petersen and is in a side pond above Lock 42 on the Hatton flight, opposite the British Waterways depot.

We eventually made it to the top in a good time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. It made a great difference having an experienced crew to work our way up with. We treated ourselves to something to eat at the cafe , then were off again

With Shrewley tunnel behind us (and yes it was very wet i and I got bloody soaked) and a lovely warm day we decided to pick up a mooring near Rowington as it was somewhere that i had made a note of in our Pearson guide when we past through here over 2 years ago . With good weather forecast we may well have a day off tomorrow and catch up with a few jobs on Inca , as well as catching up on some all important chilling out…….

                                                                                                       Happy Days

Royal ???

 

After a night below Stockton we filled the next lock and got on our way towards Royal Leamington Spa.

I was very lucky to catch this very rare pair of woodland creatures. I am not sure what they are as i can’t find any reference to them in any of my wildlife books.

One of the most famous boats on the cut in NB President which passed us on route to Leamington Spa. We ended going hard aground and struggled to get off as apparently he was touching the bottom even in the middle of the canal.

It would seem that this building which contains some very good water is the reason for the Royal in Leamington Spa. Although the town was originally called Leamington Priors before it got its royal prefix name which was granted by queen Victoria in 1836.

After a look around those very boring shops which I rushed Carolyn through we went to the Jephson Gardens which are kept absolutely immaculate and are well worth a visit.

What a picture.

Into the hot house, although i must admit i do seem to spend a lot of time in the hothouse.

With plants and flowers from all over the world , plus its free to go in.

Watch out Carolyn it may bite !!!!

After our walk around Leamington we pulled pins and headed into Warwick were we did a shop at the Tesco which is very handy being next to the canal. We couldn't get on the Tesco moorings but were lucky enough to pick up this tree mooring a little way back. With the time getting on this will do us for tonight and prepare us for The Hatton flight of locks in the morning..

                                                                                    Happy Days