Atherstone

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 is just enough width for one boat. On several occasions I’ve had to negotiate a boat coming the other way but things were always cordial and polite.

This was quite an interesting section of canal, where I passed by quite large CRT (Canal & River Trust) depot, an old work boat just moored on the offside and an Alpaca farm. By the way, if you didn’t know, it is only permitted that you moor on the side of the towpath. Mooring on the offside is normally prohibited and any boats that are moored there belong to private moorings. It has been known for boats that do moor on the offside, next to a field of cows or crops, have been paid a visit by the land owner or farmer demanding a fee to moor. It’s normally only ten or twenty quid but they have also been known to kick you off their land. 

The Alpacas were a delight to see and I adore their cute faces. The only trouble is, they were quite distant and my view was obstructed by buildings, fences and the like. Next time I pass, I’ll get my Canon camera and telephoto lens on the case.

I eventually arrive at Atherstone and to my surprise, I had a choice of moorings. It is normally chock a block as it is a very popular place with a decent market town high street only a couple of hundred metres away.

I did have some video footage from my phone of me negotiating a bridge, however, I have removed it from the blog as I still haven’t figured out how to place these videos properly yet. There is something not quite right somewhere.

There was a nice cafe called “The Old Bakery Cafe” and I called in here for breakfast. It was really nice but I much prefer my regular cafe “Fat Birds” in Leamington Spa. The prices weren’t bad though, I’ll give them that and the service was efficient and cheerful. I had to ask one of the waitresses to open a sachet of brown sauce as I wasn’t able to so without making a complete mess. The sauce just ended up all over my hand and fingers rather than on my breakfast.

Here’s one view of the high street. It wasn’t too busy with traffic or people but I suspect that would be different on a weekend. I visited the hardware shop on the right of the photo and my word, what a place. I had been told about this shop and believe me, it is a true Aladdins cave of items. They probably have anything that you do want and everything that you don’t want. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask and the friendly staff come and help. Unbelievable.