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Saturday, 20 April 2013



Friday April 19th:
After the gale force winds that started on Wednesday and lasted all the way through into Thursday afternoon we took the decision not to move an inch and stayed where we were. We felt for the boaters who passed us swathed up to the eyeballs in fleeces and waterproofs, scarves and hats of all descriptions battling against the wind and the driving rain. It’s no enjoyment cruising in conditions like that and when you don’t have to move why bother? Mind you the wind had died down by bedtime so we had a peaceful night unlike Wednesday night when we were kept awake for most of the night by the gales.

Fortunately this morning dawned dry with only a mild but coolish breeze. The sun made short fitful visits throughout the morning but not often enough to start with to encourage you to shed the layers.

We had an uneventful journey passing ‘Draco’ and ‘Success’ – the trading boats operated by Michael Wooding and his wife (no sign of life) to Wigrams Turn (aka Napton Junction) where we turned right under the concrete roving bridge and headed past the moored boats to the first of the day’s locks at Calcutt.

Waiting for Calcutt Top Lock
Here we had to wait for a few minutes. The Noah Hingley boat (we can never remember its name) with its butty ‘Rollo’ (we can the butty!) were filling up their water containers. Once they were out we moved in with another Weltonfield boat which we remember well as it was their show boat in 2003 – ‘Zeus’. However the guy was only taking it down the one lock to the service wharf at Calcutt boats so once in the middle lock we waited for a Napton boat – ‘Florence’ – crewed by three American couples to finish filling up with water and work through the top lock.

We had an easy run through the middle and bottom lock helped by the crew off a pair of boats waiting at the bottom.

Off we then went along the pound to Stockton Top. It was still quite chilly, but this is a lovely quiet remote pound with only a few minor roads impinging on the canal’s progress. We always enjoy looking at the boats moored up on the lovely moorings at Gibraltar Wharf as they have such nice surroundings.

The Southam to Rugby road crosses at Birdingbury Wharf ending the remote section as the canal begins to continue its fall to the Avon Valley in earnest. It was sad to see The Boat which used to be so popular closed up and empty.

The Napton boat had followed us from Calcutt, although they were looking for somewhere to wind and head back towards Napton where they are due back tomorrow. They enquired at Stockton Marina, but with the jumble of boats in the entrance they were discouraged from doing so. They
Stockton Top Lock
joined us in the top lock of the flight of 10 locks – 8 down the hill in a row and then two more spaced out ones – and then winded in the pound below where the boatyard guys had said they could. They just made it – it was a 70’ boat.


That left us on our own and we soon set too and were down the next few locks quite smoothly. We then waited for ‘Tincanali’ to ascend, helped by 2 CRT volunteer lockies and it was good to see Malcolm and his wife out on the boat they bought last year – they moor at High House.

At the next lock we waited 20 minutes or so to join up with a single boat that was descending a few locks behind us – with three of the crew working the locks they were catching us up. And so we joined our third locking partner of the morning in ‘Alice Maud’ out from Calcutt and heading for Stratford.

Sadly our joint efforts lasted only to the bottom of the thick as they were mooring up outside the Blue Lias pub for lunch.

Approaching Shop Lock
And so we carried on again on our own for the final two locks. Needless to say the hardest paddle to wind up all day was the last one on the bottom lock. Having overcome it and emerged at the bottom we moved onto the visitor moorings below the lock where we shall remain today. Another closed pub stands forlornly at the bottom – The Two Boats, which we have frequented in the past has closed, a victim of that grasping brewery (known as Charles Wells) that was demanding another £1000 per week in rent.

So we ended up in the Cuttle Inn on the opposite side of the cut to the Two Boats. We’ve never been in there before always preferring the Two Boats. Atmosphere was a little lacking, but the food was quite good (if ordinary pub grub fare) and an excellent pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord always goes down well!
 
Sadly I couldn't get an internet signal today, so this is being posted a day late!


Mooring below Itchington Bottom Lock
 

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