Well we are back on the boat. after a full Sunday of grandchildren and cousins birthday party we set off down south for the boat. It too three hours but no real problems, just mile upon mile of 40 mph speed limits supposedly for installing extra emergency bays. There were signs stating 'we also work nights' there was absolutely no sign of it at all. On top of that these are supposed to be 'SMART' motorways! Surely they could alter the speed limits by just typing in a different number when nobody is working.
It was a full moon when we arrived at 2245 and it didn't take us long to unload the car. Although it was pointed out to me that I had left certain things in the garage, which is hardly surprising really as I didn't know they were there! Communications need to improve I feel.
After turning out for the marina we could see that a hire boat was just leaving the bottom Calcutt lock. Great help at the Stockton Locks.
It turns out it was a family from St. Helen's on an Ashby Boat. They had 4 crew so we sped down the locks. Unfortunately they stopped for lunch at the Blue Lias and we were on our own again.
The Cuttle Inn was part of the wharf that also had warehouse to the right and a weighing machine that was part of the set-up when put up for auction in 1844.
Opposite the Cuttle In is the Two Boats. It doesn't seem that this was a pun until between the wars, and certainly looks like to cottage knocked through into one. We stopped for water at Bascote Wharf. We thought that it would only take a minute as we both felt sure that we had filled up when we left the boat last time, but we hadn't. It didn't take very long but longer than we were expecting.
As we approached the top of the Bascote staircase we could see a boat shambling down. They stopped to share after the staircase and we shared with them all the way to Radford Bottom Lock. They seemed to be busy at the HS2 works. I couldn't work out what the very deep pit was for that was to south of the canal. It was very close to the water. I wondered if it was to put a pillar in to carry the track over the canal?
There were four aboard the share boat we were with. It seems that none wanted to cross the lock gates so it meant a bit of too'ing and fro'ing as were were told to go first. It was much quicker than being on our own none the less and so we kept going to Leamington. The others were quite happy to come with us too.
Brink seems to have been a busy artist on the Leamington Graffiti trail.
This used to the the Eagle Iron Foundry where they used to make stoves. It started out much smaller near the railway line, but extended massively just before WWII taking over a wharf a bit further west. It was John Flavel who set up a stove factory here in 1803 and started making his 'Leamingtron Kitchener Stove' here. It was a revolution as it kept the food away from the actual fire and was quickly taken up. Successive sons took over and a stove was displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851. It was installed in palaces and great houses and went on to one of the best boosts to family life. In 2002 the factory was modernised as was the products and was Rangemaster until it became part of the AGA business. Much of it now looks derelict!
We moored up just past the factory before bridge 40 and by some student accommodation, which we thought to be more than likely empty at the time of year. After a lovely warm day, and speeding down the locks (we had planned to do about 5 hours and ended up doing over 6), we decided to go for a drink before tea. There is a little micro pub just by the bridge. Not really a pub so much as a bar with no real ale, but some craft beers on. That would do very nicely so a couple of pints to re-hydrate and back for tea.
A very good first day. Fingers crossed for the next few days to be similar.
No comments:
Post a Comment