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Sunday 25 September 2016

A little windy but winsome.

We moored close by the old Boat Inn. It seems that it is in a hamlet called Hungerfield that consists of the Boat Inn Cottage, Boat Cottage which was the new Inn  and Town Thorns Farm and a 60's bungalow. They were a thirsty lot the boaters in these parts it seems. Just nearby is Town Thorns Hall that was bought by Alfred Herbert in 1940 to house the children that were evacuated from Coventry during WWII. He was a wealth industrialist that made a fortune out of machine tools. It later became an orphanage and is now a residential home run by BEN the Automobile Industry's Charity.

To the right of the bridge is the Boat Inn that has a cobbled path at the front gate. It looked the same fashion as one that had been revealed on the tow path edge between Bridge 42 and Brinklow Marina entrance. I thought it was a drain but it seemed to go up and down so would not flow.

This is Town Thorns Hall that is just a short walk from the canal.

On a dull day All Oaks Wood is very foreboding but as the sun was trying to come through there were patches of sunlight that led us on.

At Streeton Stop there is another cut off leg of the original canal that leads under the West Coast Main Line and down to Brinklow Boat Services. The straightening reduced the distance from Rugby to Coventry by 13 miles.

At Rose Narrow Boats there were a few boats still moored up so maybe not doing quite so well as Clifton Cruisers. We stopped to top up with water and dump the rubbish.

Soon after we passed Stretton Stop there was a terrible smell and I thought that somebody had dumped a cassette in the bushes. I then noticed that the water was very black and remembered that Adam on NB Briar Rose had reported the same to C&RT and it hasn't moved much or the smell dissipated much over the time. At Ansty the water had cleared and we caught a glimpse of Ansty Hall. It was built in 1678 and remodeled in 1800 and is now a Macdonald Hotels

The M69 flies high above the canal and the railway. The sides of the carriageway means that most drivers may not even know they are passing over a more sedate form of transport.

This is the arm that led to Wyken Main Colliery and not one of the old loops that had been cut off by the straightening in the 1830's. This pit was worked out by 1881 but there were still three other pits in the area and more were dug by the Warwickshire Coal Company that took over all the pits in the area in 1901. It is now used by the Coventry Canal Society,

As you approach Hawkesbury Junction you pass the site of the old power station on the left. The land has been cleared and in 2014 the 30 acre site was granted planning for a 225 berth marina and other housing and industrial unit for a a sum of about £5 million. Nothing has been done about it so far and the land is been advertised again.

On the right as you approach the turn are the transformers and transmitting pylons that fed the power into the National Grid. A better photographer would make a better fist of getting an interesting picture of the insulators than I have but I do find it strangely alien. We rounded the corner before the stop lock and decided to moor up. I'm not sure whether it is the bit of wind or people going too fast as they come round the corner but I'm glad I'm not moored on the outside of the bend on the long term moorings as three or fours boat would have been visiting today! (There is  no boat there today). I reckon I may be allowed out for a pint at the Greyhound this evening. I wonder if they have the fire lit. I am getting worried that the weather wont turn cold and we wont be using the fire before having to go home!

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