Back to Calcutt

Thursday 26^th April; Long Itchington to Calcutt marina, and home

Lots of boats passed us yesterday afternoon, including a narrowboat towing not only another narrowboat but a biggish cruiser.  So as Dave needs to do the car shuffle we thought we’d make an early start and were away at 8.20, just as the Braunston hire boat behind us cast off.  They were delighted to share the locks with us and luckily we hadn’t been 5 minutes later, as another hire boat was making ready to go and would have taken our place.

We made a cracking pace together – the locks pretty much drain overnight, so were ready for us, or nearly, and with locking ahead we were soon at the middle of the flight ….. where we had to stop. 

About half-way

I could see a red lifejacket up ahead, so before setting the next lock I walked on to see what was happening - and it was obvious they were letting water down.  I asked if he’d like us to wait, and he suggested it could be as long as 45 minutes – two pounds had drained overnight.  But in the end it was only about twenty minutes.  The lovely chaps opened a bottom paddle for us at the next few locks as they went back up to the top.  By now the two steerers were in pretty perfect synchrony.

Then, two locks from the top, we could see the top gates were open for someone coming down.  The CRT chaps asked us if we would mind letting two boats through from the top - who had had to wait for over an hour, so of course we had no problem with that.  In spite of the wait, we made it up the flight in a mere two hours.  We needed a pump-out, so rather than go up two of the Calcutt locks and then back down again to moor, we called in at Stockton Top.  It’s now a hire base for Kate Boats and Anglo-Welsh, and no longer caters for passing traffic.  We were greeted by this unwelcoming sign.

The admin lady popped out to ask if she could help us, and someone could – once he could be found.  They operate on a skeleton staff on non-changeover days.  He was a nice chap, very efficient, but we were lucky he had been around.  And when Dave went to pay - £25, where the usual is £18 or thereabouts - it was clear that they regard private boats as a nuisance.  The marina was almost full of hire boats, with just a couple of private boats still moored.

We were soon at Calcutt, pulling in on the visitor moorings.  Calcutt is another place with a poor phone signal and we have never got their wi-fi to work at a mooring. So when Dave went to get the bus after lunch he had to hope the timings were as before.

Not the prettiest mooring, but convenient

Well yes, the timetable was about the same, but the bus didn’t arrive, witht the next not due for ages!  He tried to flag down a passing taxi but no-one was interested, and soon he realised it would be after 9 before he got back to the boat, so he trudged back.  At least he got back before the rain started.  In the meantime Meg and I had been up to the reservoir for a walk.  Sadly you have to keep dogs on a lead – understandable, because of the nesting wildfowl.  Two fishermen were on the bank, huddled in their shelters against the wind.  As I knew Meg wouldn’t go down the steep bank to the water (she is sensibly averse to steep slopes and water)  I let her off the lead to take a photo.

Can you tell she is a bit bored?

You can’t really see them in the picture, but there were dozens of swallows flying low over the water.  They must have been feeding, though there can’t have been many insects flying today.  We walked back below the bank away from the water, where the wind was much less.  Later, we managed to get a taxi booked for the morning, though it needed a trip up to the office area to get a good enough signal. 

10 locks, 3½ miles

Next morning off went Dave, while I got Meg walked before getting on with the cleaning.  Calcutt is quite good for dog walks, which you need if your dog won’t cross double locks gates to get to the towpath.  We took a path through the woods which ultimately led to Calcutt Lock Meadows.

We left late afternoon, thinking we’d miss the Friday rush hour traffic.  We did – only to realise that holiday season has started on the M5, so traffic was very heavy.  So until October we’ll need to avoid travel from Friday to Monday.  It’ll be a while before we get back to the boat – we have a busy month at home coming up!

The issue of the water in the cabin bilge has yet to be resolved.  There is now about a pint every day which we think is far too much to be condensation.  We drained down the water tank before we left and turned off the stopcock.  The engineer we saw at Stourport was certain it wasn’t the calorifier, and as the pump is not cutting in unexpectedly there is not much left to be the source of the leak.  Nothing that is left sounds appealing – a leaky water tank?  A leak in the pipe joint in the corner behind the stove?  It can’t all be careless filling of the water tank.  Dave might pop up briefly to check during our time at home.

Trip stats; (thanks canalplan.uk)

89 miles, 2¾ furlongs and 121 locks. 54 miles, 3 furlongs of narrow canals; 26 miles, 3¾ furlongs of broad canals; 8 miles, 4 furlongs of large rivers; 67 narrow locks; 52 broad locks; 2 large locks. 3 lift bridges, 3 swing bridges, 10 tunnels (M5 Motorway, Impney Way, A449, Dunsley, Netherton, Galton, Edgbaston, Brandwood and Shrewley), a total of 2 miles, 3¾ furlongs underground.

Waterways; Droitwich canals, River Severn, Staffs and Worcester canal, Stourbridge, Fens Branch and Stourbridge extension canal, Dudley numbers 1 and 2, BCN Main Line, Worcester and Birmingham, North Stratford, Grand Union.

 

Another cycle track - but this one might come in handy

Wednesday 25^th April; Offchurch Greenway to Long Itchington

A grey day today, with just a few glimpses of sunshine.  We were away shortly before 9.30 and made steady progress up the three Fosse locks, meeting a boat at one of them.  We topped up the water at the convenient point by the A5 bridge.  Once through Wood lock we were prepared for the general devastation caused by HS2.

This should have trees, hedges and crops on it

We think it’s a waste of money between London and Birmingham but that doesn’t stop us being fascinated by the technology and equipment, and the skill and expertise of the people doing the designing, planning and the actual work.  The conveyor bridge was in operation, with something dark, possibly earth, dropping off the end.

An enormous truck was waiting with a digger to take it off somewhere.  When we came in the other direction last year, with all the leaves on the trees, we hadn’t realised how close the works are to Welsh Road lock and the cottage.

Welsh Road lock cottage

Looks idyllic, doesn’t it?  Directly behind that little white cherry tree is their drive, and at their gateway onto the lane are temporary traffic lights.  And the other side of the lane?  It’s the huge area of works at the other end of the conveyor bridge.  We saw a lorry grinding its way past and could hear the racket from the works above the noise of the engine and the filling lock.  Unsurprisingly, there is a sticker in the window saying No to HS2.  Poor things, they are in for years more disruption.  Perhaps they take solace in what could be a model railway in the garden.

At Bascote locks things were easy, with the locks in our favour.  Three hire boats from Stockton Top were coming down, so efficient that they had filled the top of the staircase lock ready for us before they had come out of the bottom.  They were all Dutch visitors, and two of the boats were crewed by complete novices – they had been well trained by the lead boat who knew what they were doing.  I suppose if you haven’t sussed it out by the time you have descended the Stockton flight you’re always going to find locking a challenge!

Bascote staircase, bottom lock

It wasn’t far to our mooring for tonight.  On the way a honey bee, heavy laden with pollen, paused for a rest.  We couldn’t let her rest for long in case we carried her too far from familiar ground, so gently encouraged her to fly on.

We moored at the aqueduct before Long Itchington.  This area is a notorious black spot for phone coverage, and if we had thought to check the bus times to Leamington yesterday, we would have avoided the walk up to the bus stop to check.  Calcutt, where we will be leaving Bonjour for a while, is an awkward place to access by public transport.  Dave's got the bus from here before for the car shuffle, and when it works it’s great – but with a 2-hour wait for the next one, and no taxis available (on the very weak signal I got by standing on the table outside the pub) we decided to go back to the boat for a cup of tea, before walking up the old railway line with Meg.  Last time we went up here it was a rough track on railway ballast, and we walked up looking for butterflies.  Not today!  Too chilly and windy for butterflies of course, but it’s no longer a rough track!

You could get a car down here!

There was a board showing the development of what will one-day be an off-road route – the Lias Line - all the way to Leamington and Rugby.   A few hundred yards along, the track passes the lane that leads to Long Itchington, though we didn’t go much further than that.  In the other direction, across the canal bridge, you can get down to Southam, past the cement works I would think

But we were glad to see the embankments are still being managed by Butterfly Conservation.  Cowslips and bluebells occur along elsewhere along the line, but not as resplendently as this!  It should make a fabulous butterfly walk in a few weeks’ time, and possibly one day be useful for car shuffles! We’ll need to get a bike first.

The track was quiet today with no cyclists, but it was a bit too chilly for sitting and enjoying the flowers.

Lias Line Greenway

We'd had the forethought to book a table at the Two Boats, and had an excellent pint and a pleasant meal later on.

3½ miles, 9 locks including Bascote Staircase, HS2 mess and disruption

Better weather

Tuesday 25^th April; Hatton flight to Offchurch (above Radford Bottom lock).

We awoke to find the rain all gone and brilliant sunshine in a clear blue sky – but again, extremely cold.  We wished we had banked the fire up last night.  I wasn’t surprised to find frost on the cratch when I took Meg out about 7.30.

Brrrr!

We dressed warmly for the last 4 of the Hatton locks, though when I was in the sun I felt over-dressed.  We met 3 boats coming up those locks, but it still took us 45 minutes to get down.  Just time for a cuppa before we reached the Cape locks, and to hastily replace the layers I had shed while working the locks.

First of the four

The Cape locks both needed filling; they were very slow to fill and heavy to operate. 

Cape top lock

Time for another cuppa on the move before we moored at Emscote for a Tesco visit, and we had lunch before setting off again.  As we came through Leamington we wondered if our eyes were deceiving us, before we remembered we were on a wide canal.

It was as wide as they come and from a distance at looked as though it was blocking the canal. They were moored shortly before the cat and mouse artwork.

Just a bit cross-eyed

We pottered on out of Leamington to Radford Semele, where we had planned to stop for the night, but there were already several boats moored, and the weather was so lovely we opted to go on up Radford Bottom lock to the woods, where we hoped it would be quieter.  It was, just one other boat.  I left Dave down the engine hole doing various checks and took Meg off for a walk up the Offchurch Greenway, first making a detour down to the bins with the rubbish.  Annoyingly there was no recycling, so that bag had to come with us on our walk.  Apart from the steps and steep slope to get up to the old railway level, it is easy walking.

It’s popular with dog-walkers and runners, and has good views over the Warwickshire countryside where the trees thin out.  With cowslips and bluebells, and the leaves starting to unfurl on the trees, it was a beautiful spring day.

Bluebells by our mooring

By 5 o’clock there were five boats moored along this stretch, but there is plenty of room and they all moored behind us so we had an uninterrupted view from the bow.

6½ miles, 7 locks