It 'turned out nice again' today and we were up and off by 0945. There was some sort of junket starting upo in one of the units as we left. I managed to spring round the corner and head out without looking bad, enough for a lady to come over and tell me she was impressed. She had just bought a boat herself and had never seen that done before.
In the day every boat had to leave the basin every night and as there is no tow path through the bridge they were able to secure the place from pilfering.
Along the Coventry Arm are various sculptures. This one, just outside the basin is titled 'The Journeyman' by Stephen Hitchin.
Just a little further on is the old municipal electricity generating plant that has been converted to flats. On the building are numbers that relate to the number of subscribers taking electricity from the plant each year from when it was opened in 1905 when it was 637 and by 1924 it was 11283. I wonder what it would be now!
Just a little further on, in a loop of the canal is a very large building that was built in the 1920's as offices for the Coutaulds Factory on the other side of the canal. In 2012 it became managed office space and recently has had planning permission granted for 100 apartments. At one time it was used by Fed Ex.
The mural by the bridge is great and with the carved bollard and heavy duty mooring rope it makes a nice little sitting area for the locals.
This is a massive building and was part of the Courtaulds Factory where rayon was made. It looks as big as some of those massive sheds being made for Amazon etc.
The Rioch Stadium is one of those few that can be seen from the canal. It seems that Wasps Rugby play there, but Coventry City didn't play there for several years, first sharing with Northampton Town and later with Birmingham City. This year they have returned to the ground that they initiated but could not pay for so have to pay rent. It is to be called the Coventry Building Society Stadium. I wonder if they will ever take the Ricoh signs down. I doubt they will bu the new name up as, like a telegram, it has too many letters to be cost effective!
Exhall Basin Moorings seem a little empty at the moment, but look like a nice place to be. They say that this was a transhipment basin from canal to rail but this must have been carried out after 1948 as there is no sign of such on an OS map of that year.
We stopped for water at Hawkesbury and I was going to dump the rubbish too, but extraordinarily there is no disposal site there! Can that be true or was I just looking in the wrong place. We missed a lot of action at the junction and sailed past serenely with the foot bridge and the old pump house empty of people. The pump house had an old steam pump istalled in 1821 that had been used on the Griff Arm for around 100 years. It ceased work in 1913 and now is in a museum at Dartmouth. it was called Lady Godiva.
We passed Marston Junction with nothing coming out again today. This is another trip for us to accomplish this year perhaps. We went on a little further and moored before Bridge 17.
After a bite to eat we set off on a walk to Nuneaton. We headed down Gypsy Lane which was too busy really and there was no pavement and the verge wasn't continuous. The amount of rubbish was appaling. We were soon on the Riversley Cycle route into the town. This mural is very well carried out and looks like it could be the same artist as that one near the Courtaulds Factory down the Coventry Arm.
The next building was also beautifully painted too.
Surprisingly, only because we didn't know it was there, we came across the Nuneaton Museum and Gallery. There was a WWI and II memorial and this one to the South African Wars. It was free and open to 1630 so it would have been rude not to have a gander about. They have taken George Elliot to their breasts and there is a fair bit about her there.
We were soon in town and had a wander about. The markets stalls were just packing up. On Saturday they have a very big market that is worth the walk down from the cut. Helen bought some stuff from Superdrug and we didn't stop otherwise for an ice cream or pint, or anything!
WE wended our way through the terraced streets and back to the canal instead of walking back up the busy road. This is turn over bridge that carried the towpath over to the other bank so that access could be gained to the Griff Arm.
We were soon back at the boat and had a drink and a sit down. My feet were hot!! Another 5 miles to add to Helen's tally.
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