Beyond Nuneaton, the land of allotments

Thursday 21^st September; Hawkesbury Junction to Hartshill

It was clear and sunny this morning, the M6 hadn’t been intrusive and we slept well.  We left just before 9, several boats already having passed us on their way from Hawkesbury.  It was pretty cold, unless we were in a sunny patch, and we were well wrapped up with woolly hats.    It’s not all roads and industry along here – there is a strip of green on the offside between the canal and a road, with some houses and some hens.

The huge area of electricity supply stuff on the offside isn’t known for its beauty, but some individual pylons have a certain degree of elegance.

We arrived at the stop lock to find it being prepared for a boat just coming round under the bridge.  I went down to dispose of the rubbish as they rose up.

The little hut seems to have a purpose now

A boat was arriving below to take our lock, and round the junction we met one in the narrows by the old engine house, with yet another close behind.  The moorings must have been pretty full last night, we were glad we had stopped where we did.  By the time we got to Charity Dock it was quite warm and layers had been gradually discarded.  The gardens and their mannequins are looking pretty sorry now, unkempt and damaged by the rain.  Some things still made us laugh though.

One way to keep the rain out of your flue pipe

We had been wondering if the dock was actually functioning any more, or was it just a repository for a load of old junk?  But the dry dock does appear to be in use.

The canal through Nuneaton is no longer the litter-strewn linear dump it used to be.  We didn’t see a scrap of litter.  Nuneaton has a huge number of allotments, and there are several multiple-football-pitch sized areas abutting the canal.  I always like to see what people are growing and how their crops compare to mine.  The good folk of the town like their sweetcorn, and giant pumpkins too

Pumpkin nestling in greenery, bottom right

We moored just past Boot Wharf and Dave went off to look for a shop to get a paper.  He turned east at Boot bridge and walked up to the main road (Bull Ring) where he found a tiny little shop which did have the paper he wanted.  Opposite was a brilliant mural.  The owners of the garden wall had asked a local street artist to create a football mural after the England men’s football team reached the final of the Euros in 2020, so he painted the manager Gareth Southgate flanked by Harry Kane and Raheem Stirling.  It was very popular, and when the Lionesses won the women’s Euros last year two actual winners were added – Bobby Moore, captain of the 1966 World Cup team, and Leah Williamson who captained the Lionesses to glory.  Another street artist added the late Queen to the right of the gate. 

Aren’t they talented?  It's so much better than the scrawly rubbish you so often see.  It became a tourist attraction and raised £10,000 for a defibrillator appeal.  Good stuff!  We had an early lunch then set off towards Hartshill.  I noticed a diesel sheen on the water as we cast off, then every now and then we saw a bit more and it was obviously fresh as the smell was very strong.  After a while we caught up with the cause – a cruiser was moored on a blind bend, with a narrowboat stopping to help.  We got the full story when we pulled in to get fuel at Springwood Haven, as they came in behind us.  He had recently filled up, and at some point one of the pipes started coming adrift and fuel entered the bilge, so the bilge pump duly pumped it out into the canal.  He hadn’t noticed either the smell or the bilge pump cutting in and only realised there was a problem when he ran out of fuel!  The narrowboat which stopped had some diesel, which got him to Springwood Haven after he mended whatever was wrong.  He was on his way to Huddlesford where there is a heritage boat gathering this weekend (see NB Free Spirit).  While we were at the wharf I took advantage of their recycling bins before we went off again.

It's mandatory to take a photo every time you pass by

We moored on the approach to the bend before the Anchor pub.  We had barely finished tying up before Meg was agitating for a walk, so off we went as soon as a shower had passed over.  She ran ahead and was waiting for us by the gate to the footpath that leads down to the railway.  Do dogs know where they are by sight or smell, I wonder? She can't have been here more than 6 or 7 times over the years.

Playing ball on the way to the railway line

We did the full circuit – along the railway, over the bridge, across the field to Caldecote Manor, now private apartments.  Actually we went round the field – the crop (oilseed rape I think) was untrodden and there seemed to be large earth banks thrown up on the far side. 

Mount Judd on the horizon, a quarry spoil heap

Anyway, we picked up the bridle paths back to the railway (under this time, not over), coming out at the bridge by Springwood Haven marina, and back along the canal.  We had hoped to leave the boat at the marina for a couple of weeks before returning to Droitwich, but it’s a very small marina, and since the ABC hire company took it over they want to use any spare berths for brokerage.

1 lock, 8 miles