The best laid plans.

We had a quick visit to the Navigation pub, just by the aqueduct but just had one. We set off after a quiet night about 0930.

The aqueduct from the road side.

It just about says it all.

Wooton Wawen Aqueduct over the A3400 in an iron trough and the sunken towpath make it all vert Stratford Canal.

Very soon we come to the Edstone or Bearley Aqueduct, another fine construction that passes over a railway, waterway and a roadway.

It says in our addition of the Pearson's Guide that the towpath is very good on this canal. Our experience is that it is atrocious with much been bog. It is obviously well walked but is in unfit condition to my mind. Not the message that C&RT are putting out about the canals been used by all.


I assume that there are mile markers along the canal but I haven't seen many of them.

There are loads of cowslips out in the hedgerows around here that add a cheerful look to the area.

We got to Odd or Bearley Lock astern of a winding boat with brand new crew aboard. We found out later that they had been married on Sunday and had never been on a narrow boat and were under instruction. There was also a day boat. They both let us past after the lock and we arrived at the top of the 16 locks down into Stratford upon Avon behind a 69' hire boat. They had been told that lock 51 had just been closed due to a rotten beam and they may be able to wind in an unoffical winding hole below the first lock. They couldn't and after a long time they came up backwards and the went astern to Wilmcote to the winding hole there. We decided to do the same, after winding below the lock. It was easy enough for us.

 

We moored up at Wilmcote just after bridge 59 which was the one that they wanted to lower to make a cheap road bridge that would have closed the canal for good. In the end they didn't and we nearly got to Stratford thanks to those fighters.

In thre early years of the 19th Century the Oxford Movement started up to bring Catholism back to the Church of England. It was very high church and the walls are adorned in paintings and these pictures of the scriptures painted on zinc sheets. It is St. Andrews built in 1841 by William Butterfield, a renowned Gothic architect who also built the manse and school next door.

We walked past Mary Arden;s house and farm. Above is said to Mary Arden's House. She was Shakespeare's mum. This is in fact a neighbour's house Adam Palmer. Mary Arden's house was more modest and is behind and is part of a farm complex. Both are now owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. We went back to the boat and as it was so early we decided to catch the train to Stratford.

Wilmcote station is quite cute and unmanned. It looks like the emblem on the cross over bridge is for the Great Western Railway who took over the line. the journey is only about 15 minutes with one stop and for two of us with out railcards cost a princely £3-40.

We were worried that there wouldn't be any room for us at Bancroft Basin when we got there. We needn't have worried as there was nobody there. Maybe next time.