A very late start

Saturday 23^rd September; Atherstone bottom lock to Pooley Wood

It was distinctly chilly this morning as we prepared to leave, so out came the hats and gloves.  The boat moored behind us started his engine before we left and I rather liked the way the sun caught the white smoke from its chimney as it puffed up into the morning air.

I pushed off at the bow and as I walked back through the boat I wondered why we weren’t going anywhere.  Dave was cursing a bit, he had pushed the Morse control forward and it was loose.....  we had just enough momentum to get back in to the side.  A quick investigation confirmed that the throttle cable had snapped.  Well, at least we were now in the sun so the solar panels could get to work!  So a call to RCR was made, and the engineer would be with us at 1 – he would be driving from Newark, so would be some time  After coffee I decided to go up to Atherstone and get a paper, and put on my running gear for a bit of exercise - just a slow jog interspersed with walking in pleasant sunshine.  I was back well within the hour, but the engineer had arrived early and was already half-way through the job.

I am sorry to say we have both forgotten his name.  He was very efficient.  He was the same one who had advised us over the phone last year when the engine wouldn’t start – he had remembered the boat name.  After getting us going again, he would be on his way to Welford for his next job.  We had lunch before setting off, this time with no hitches.  There were fewer boats on the move than a few days ago.  Grendon Dock was quiet too – just one boat moored. I wonder if the old boats that are often moored here have gone to Huddlesford for the Heritage Boat Gathering.

The canal end of the cottage here is still semi-derelict, but outside is a magnificent stack of logs.  There were a couple of interesting things to see as we cruised through Polesworth.  The first was canalside at the bottom of a garden.

Site of Lees and Atkins Dock

I could find very little online but it appears that the Lees and Atkins yard ‘built boats for many well-known carriers’ (Alvecote marina website).  The NB Holderness blog http://nbholderness.blogspot.com/2021/06/taking-in-tamworth.html has a bit more info.

We didn’t need to stop in Polesworth as we had already got the paper.  One of the boats on the visitor moorings had some unusual devices on the gunwales to stop fenders falling off while the boat is moving.

I've not seen these before, andI think I’d be worried about tripping over them if I needed to walk down the gunwales (not that I make a habit of it but sometimes you have to).  Or what happens if you end up in offside vegetation, would that cause damage?

We went through Polesworth, under the M42 and along beside the lovely woods on the old colliery spoil heaps, just catching a glimpse of the golden pillar in the sunshine before trees obscured it.  We carefully moored in the spot we hoped would get the sun for longest – we haven’t travelled far and have also been running the inverter to charge the electronics.  Meg of course demanded to be taken for a walk.  The trouble with these moorings is that unless you moor way back towards the M42 bridge you will have an oak tree over at least part of your boat.  The first acorn pinged off the roof at 9.30.

4 miles, and a new throttle cable