Coventry bound

 

We pulled ropes through rings at 09.15 and then filled with water and got rid of waste before stating our five and a half mile cruise in to Coventry where we intend to spend a few days and hopefully enjoy the city. Passing through this bridge as we leave Hawkesbury you just have to admire the artwork on the railings as you pass under.

Passing the Ricoh stadium which is the home of Coventry City football club . I don’t think I would want to be a Coventry supporter at the moment as the club is in serious trouble at the bottom of the league.

We both liked this mural which was in a school on the way in to the city.

You always know when you are getting closer to a city centre as the Graffiti becomes more prominent .

We then started going through all these rafts of rubbish on the canal surface.We built up a bit of speed before hitting all this rubbish and then coasted through it in neutral.

It’s amazing how people just seem to chuck their rubbish over their back garden walls and in to the canal . It seems to be some sort of city mentality that canal’s are just dumping grounds for their rubbish.

After just over a two hour cruise we arrive in the basin and the end of the Coventry canal . To be honest on first impressions we were pleasantly surprised . The area with in the basin was clean and tidy and with several security camera’s and plenty of lighting we felt reasonably secure.

 

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Newcomen

 

This is our mooring at Hawkesbury junction and it is right opposite the old steam pumping house . Although not used for many years it once housed an engine designed by Thomas Newcomen (February 1664– 5 August 1729) who was an English inventor who created the first practical steam engine in 1712, the Newcomen atmospheric engine. He was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, to a merchant family and baptised at St. Saviour's Church on 24 February 1664. In those days flooding in coal and tin mines was a major problem, and Newcomen was soon engaged in trying to improve ways to pump out the water from such mines. His ironmonger's business specialised in designing, manufacturing and selling tools for the mining industry.

  

What a clever man Newcomen was and of course the connection between this and us is Devon .Our home town of Totnes is only 12 miles from Dartmouth and I worked in Dartmouth for over 23 years in the good old days when I was employed by the local water company.

If ever you are in Dartmouth it’s well worth a visit to see the actual engine that was at Hawkesbury and this engine is in The Newcomen Engine House, beside the Tourist Information Centre in Dartmouth,and houses an original early Newcomen engine dating from about 1725. It can be seen operating during opening hours of the T.I.C., using a hydraulic mechanism added for demonstration purposes. This engine was first installed at the Griff Colliery near Coventry, and later moved to Oakthorpe Colliery, Measham, and to Hawkesbury Junction where it was used by the Coventry Canal Company from 1821-1913. It was finally moved to Dartmouth in 1963 by the Newcomen Society for demonstration in Newcomen's home town. The 22-inch diameter cylinder and wooden arched beam are believed to be original, with valve gear and a separate 'pickle-pot' condenser added about 1820. Plus it’s free to get in.

 

We were lucky that we bumped in to our friend Chris on nb Bosley not long after arriving at Hawkesbury and it was good to have a catch up before we head off in different directions on our Summer cruises.

The Sun going down over Inca at Hawkesbury.

Yes I know the pub yet again . Meeting up with Sharon and Rich nb Oakapple and Gary and Dell nb Muleless . Yet again we didn’t have very much to eat or drink. The look on our faces just show’s that we were all a bit tired and having a good time and nothing to do with what we had to drink….Ha-ha !!

The following day and Muleless were on their way to get some work done on their boat at a well known local boatyard. Should catch up with you guys when we pass you in a week or two.

It will soon be time for us to move and we plan to go in to Coventry for a few days . Many people have told us not to bother as it can be a nightmare getting in there due to the amount of rubbish in the canal . Then others have said what ever you do don’t stay overnight in the basin as it’s a bit of a rough area. I think we will do what we usually do and go for it and find out for ourselves,you never know we might enjoy it.

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Boat names 2

 

 

One for my Mum .  Happy Birthday Mummy….

We have had some of this.

Captain Horatio Pugwash made his debut in a comic-strip format in the first issue of The Eagle in 1950.

A bit blurred but we liked this one .

The Marsh wigglers have green-grey straw-like hair, large ears, long legs and arms, webbed hands with long fingers, and hard webbed feet, similar to those of ducks. They also had a muddy complexion and greenish skin, and held an extremely pessimistic view on life.Carolyn said it reminded her of me.

You have to go through Heaven (Devon) to get to this strange place.

So have we .

 

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Moored like a T**t

 

We pulled pins at 07.45 from our mooring at Brownsover in Rugby and came across this boat moored just before the tunnel at Newbold.  There’s a Facebook group called “Moored like a Twat” and to be honest I should have probably put this boat on there. It looks like there is a ring in the Towpath just in front of the bow so why didn’t they use that instead of using the Towpath gate?. Anyway having said all that we have seen many boats moored far worse than this.

Entering Newbold tunnel and it was no surprise to see that all of the so called rainbow lights were off. The lights were installed by British Waterways and the borough council who funded the £195,000 scheme in 2005. The tunnel is a quarter of a mile long and is more than 180-years-old. The first time we came through 4 years ago there were a few working but now nothing. It’s meant to have all of the colours of the Rainbow shinning on the roof of the dark Tunnel for Walkers and boaters to enjoy as they pass through. Such a shame the lights are not working after all that money was spent.

Here we go again and yet another hire boat company restricting the canal . This time it’s Rose narrowboats at STRETTON-UNDER-FOSSE . There has recently been a big campaign from Canal and River Trust to stop any boats being moored more than two abreast,but for some reason CRT don’t seem to mind hire boat companies taking the Pee.

How about this for a tree that’s trying to survive against all the odds. It looks like it has been split down the middle but is still clinging on to life and trying to make a tree comeback. Hopefully we will be back this way in late Summer and maybe lucky enough to see it in leaf.

This is true for all of us continuous cruisers.

After coming through Hawkesbury junction/Sutton stop we reversed back onto a mooring just the other side of the footbridge on the Coventry Canal as we intend in the next few days to head in to Coventry.

                            Soon after arriving and reversing back to moor we were met by friends Gary and Della on Nb Muleless and somehow ended up in The Greyhound pub for a bite to eat and a very small bit to drink (if you believe that then you will believe anything). Being Dog friendly Hamish was able to join us and had a great time sat under the table talking to the other Dogs in the Pub. The Greyhound is well worth a visit although it gets very busy at all times of the day. Another great evening was had and I’m sure it wont be long before we are back here again.

 

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Rugby with friends

 

This is our mooring at Brownsover which is a part of the town of Rugby. It’s a mooring we have used many times before as it is so handy for all the local amenities plus the canal side facilities where there’s water, refuge and Elsan.

We were joined on the Parkside mooring after a couple of days by Ray from Nb Ferndale and later by his good lady Diane when she returned to the boat. It was good to have a catch up since we have not met them since London when their boat Ferndale starred (briefly) in the latest Bourne movie. Hopefully are paths will cross again in the Summer when we are all cruising up North.

A couple of days later and we arranged to meet up with friends Rich and Sharon from Nb Oakapple down at The Steam Turbine. As always we had plenty to eat and drink and a good old catch-up even though it’s not that long since we last saw each other. Hopefully it shouldn’t be to long before we meet up again.

Although we never fed him this little chap used to come and visit us every day .

More friends passing through and this time it’s Gary and Della on Nb Muleless .Don’t worry we will soon meet up again and go out for a bite to eat and a catch-up.

Sometimes it’s worse here on the canals than on the M25. With the Welsh Cheese boat trying to get through the moorings while another boat is coming in the opposite direction . It’s all a good bit of fun to watch other boats getting in to a bit of a pickle,just as long as it doesn’t happen to us.

Eating out again with friends and this time it was with Bob and Jan from nb Small Dreams . As well as Bobs love for boating he also has a passion for motorbikes ,just like me. He has now just become the proud owner of a rather large Kawasaki.. Just you be careful with all that power Bob!

With our time nearly up at Rugby we popped down to Tesco to do a big shop to fill the cupboards as we didn’t know how long it would be before we got close to another large Supermarket. As we got to the most important aisle in the store I was shocked at the sight above. A bottle of Red wine had somehow crashed down onto the floor and smashed spilling it’s delicious contents. The only saving grace was that it was a cheap bottle from the bottom shelf.

With Inca now fully stocked we will soon be on the move again . We have arranged to meet with a few friends for a meal and a drink at a local pub a few hours cruise away ,not another pub ! . Well we are retired …………

                                                                                                                      Happy Days