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| Bridge 50 mooring April 6 2008 |
It was a lovely morning. Everything looked fresh and clear, particularly the fields adjacent to the towpath hedge which had been prepared for potatoes. The modern equivalent of ridge and furrow ploughing looked crisp and clear, almost like a newly opened pack of plasticine.
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| Bridge 50 mooring Apr 6th 2012 |
People often denigrate the Coventry (perhaps as I do the Northern Oxford) as being featureless, but just look at the contrast in landscape we passed through today.
We started with rolling countryside, followed by the bridges of Polesworth. The M42 is followed by the reclaimed greenery of the former North Warwickshire coalfield. The former mining villages of Alvecote, Amington and Glascote, now distinctly upmarket, give way to the Tame Aqueduct (and pill box) and the old coaching stop of Fazeley with its ever expanding suburbs and industrial estates, before finishing the day with more rolling countryside and glorious views of Cannock Chase with its ubiquitous tall telecommunications mast. What more could you ask for?
We wound our way through the former slagheaps of the coalfield, all now grassed and wooded and a popular area for dogwalkers. There were only a few of the usual clutch of former working boats at Alvecote: ‘Ostrich’ was in the marina, and ‘Kangaroo’ and ‘Verbena’ were on the towpath side. For once the basin next to the pub was completely empty. A hideous looking squared off wide beam boat was tied up at Narrowcraft – it won’t be able to get very far as it won’t get through the bridgeholes! The front was akin to a Canal Time boat but with windows in the front end, but the back end of the cabin went down sheer to the waterline. Ugh.
It was then into the suburbs of Tamworth and the old mining villages. Old properties have been done up and many new ones have been built in the last few years. We always enjoy looking at the long line of back gardens that run down to the offside. The moorings above Glascote Locks were all occupied by what looked like a BCF gathering – it is Good Friday after all.
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| Leaking top gate, Glascote |
We didn’t have to wait long at the top lock for a boat to come out. They warned us of a badly leaking top gate, and boy, was it leaking. Coventry Canal locks are notorious for being quick to empty and slow to fill. Well this one would have filled pretty quickly!
The first boat had left the gates of the lower lock open for us and a boat waiting at the bottom kindly waited for us to descend both locks before getting started themselves. Makes a change to Braunston!
The pub that used to stand by bridge 74 and the Tamworth Cruising Club moorings had long been in bad shape. The last few times we have come past it has looked mostly derelict and now it is nothing more than a few heaps of brick and rubble. Gone completely!
For once we didn’t meet any boat at Fazeley Junction and to complete our astonishment there were no boats on the visitor moorings opposite Peel Wharf. Previously it seems to have been filled by permanently moored boats right under the nose of BW’s Regional HQ. Perhaps the BW suits have actually got out of their shiny chairs and done something!
Fazeley seems to grow every time we come through. Certainly the retail and industrial estates seem to dog the canal for some distance as it tries desperately to ruralise itself. Soon enough we were out in open fields on both sides and the looming bulk of Cannock Chase and its huge telecommunications mast came more into focus.
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| Mooring at Hopwas |
Once through the village and its narrow bridgeholes we arrived at the visitor moorings by the village primary school and here we tied up.
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