I left Armitage and intended to stop at Rugeley to get shopping. I passed by this rather imposing factory building right next to the canal on the way out of Armitage. I have no idea what factory it is as there were no markings or signs. The brick bridge below I thought was unusual as most of them are quite low, hump back bridge affairs, but this was really high. After passing under this, after 10 minutes or so, I took sight of a pub called The Plum Pudding and on the other side of the road, sprawled up the hill, was one of the largest park home complexes, I…

I left the comfort and isolation of the marina and turned left, once again heading to the north. These Weeping Willow trees do look rather nice but they can be a bit of a nuisance when they get too long. This section had quite a few of these trees which can make navigating a little hazardous at times as you just cannot see where you are going for a short distance. After a very short distance of around 3 kilometres from the marina I pulled in to moor up for the night. I didn’t leave the marina until around midday anyway.

This marina is part of the Aquavista group to which my own marina belongs. At the moment they have a scheme called Explore34, whereby I am allowed to spend up to 34 days a year in another Aquavista marina, free of charge. So, after leaving Hopwas, I had a bit of distance to cover, lots of it rather pretty, like this tree lined avenue with the stone facing of the towpath. This went on for quite some distance. The prettiness just kept giving… Not far ahead is Fradley Junction, which is where the Coventry Canal, which I am currently on, joins the Trent & Mersey Canal. I turned left here…

After my shortened visit to Fazeley, I decided to head towards Kings Bromley Marina. This marina is part of the Aquavista group to which my own marina belongs. At the moment they have a scheme called Explore34, whereby I am allowed to spend up to 34 days a year in another Aquavista marina. However, after half an hour or so, I stumbled across this village called Hopwas. I’d heard about this place and was told that moorings here are scarce as it is a popular place to stop. There’s actually nothing here really apart from two pubs, The Red Lion and The Tame Otter. I still felt dirty after being…

The journey to Fazeley Junction was relatively uneventful with miles of tree and hedge lined canal, so I couldn’t see much. Then there came what seemed like miles and miles of gardens that backed on to the canal. Amongst the the best of the views was this skyling horse. On the way to the junction, I had noticed these windows with iron bars on the sides of bridges. I have never seen these before and wondered if they were used to store canal maintenance items or perhaps some sort of cell in to which unruly boaters were put to cool off. If anyone knows, please leave a comment below. The…

After a couple of days in Atherstone, it was time to move on. I untied the boat and headed for the top lock of the Atherstone Locks, eleven in all. Just before them however, Is the Elsan, water and rubish disposal. I managed to do all except for the Elsan, which was out of order. All this is located on the right of the photo below. While I was waiting for the water to fill, one of the volunteer lock keepers arrived and I chatted to him for a short while until the tank was full. Steve, I think his name was. Terrible for names, me.   Here’s the top…

I left Springwood Haven Marina, a happy chappy despite parting with a relatively large sum of money, although some of the funds were donated by the tax man by way of a rebate. However, now I can relax in the knowledge that my new inverter can cope with almost everything I throw at it. I must say, this North Coventry can is really green and leafy. It’s a pleasure to navigate and it seems that every bend reveals another satisfying vista of pleasantness. Some of this vegetation can be quite a hinderance and nuisance as in some places it reaches almost all the way across the canal and sometimes there…

I spared you a lot of the visual state of the canal when I passed through Nuneaton, although I did mention it in the last post. However here is one photo of a large piece of polystyrene, floating aimlessly. I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of items, such as plastic bottles, traffic cones, plastic bags, bin bags containing rubbish, tyres, pieces of carpet and so on. It’s disgusting but it is the same for most large built-up areas and cities. I have also seen piles of rubbish cascading down the embankment from a footpath higher up, building up, down the bank towards the canal. I’m sure there will be…

I set off this fine Tueday morning, sun shining but with a light breeze. I only had a short distance to go before Hawkesbury Junction. However, I neglected to take any photos of the Sutton Stop lock and the junction. That is so incredibly remiss of me as this place is one of the highlights of the canals, what with the Greyhound pub and the incredibly tight 180 degree turn, not to mention the historic buildings. But before I got there, I had to pass by the splendour of this huge substation. Oh well, they have to put them somewhere I suppose, otherwise we’d be complaining about no electricity. Wow,…

This Monday morning looked great. Nice weather and I felt fresh after what I thought was a good night’s sleep. I untied the boat and set off round the corner and under the road bridge. I decided to pull in at the water point just ahead on the left, just past some moored boats. I found that I couldn’t get in close as there appeared to be a ledge or rock or something under the water. Then all of a sudden, I heard this awful noise and I lost all propulsion. I then realised that I must have something wrapped around my propeller. Great, I thought. Pretty much every boaters…