More Serendipity.
Thursday 25th July
I was now on a mission to get back to Suttons at a
reasonable time to get a good mooring, which at the latest was about midday. If
I arrived much after 3pm then most of the decent moorings would be occupied.
Again it was very hot and forecast to be the hottest July day on record.
Although my shoulders were a bit sore from the sun yesterday, I had to remove
my tee shirt again in the afternoon for a short while, because the cooling
breeze disappeared when there were trees around.
Stopping off at Spinney Bank Farm Shop was difficult, as I
had no option but to moor alongside working boat Corolla for a short period. My
stern line was around the backend rail, centre line around a cross beam and
ditto with the bow line. Fortunately the guy from Papercourt Lock on the Wey
was there too, so assisted with the centre line to hold the boat in. All this
palaver for a pot of cream and when I got to the shop there was no one to serve
me, so I left the money on the counter.
Onwards towards Marston Junction, although I wanted to stop
earlier if possible so as to give more time tomorrow to reach Suttons. Luckily
there were moorings at Bulkington, where there was also a pub, which I walked
to later. It was a Marston’s house and if you were reading this earlier, you
will know what I think of them, but the beer was OK. Getting back, I had to do
something with all the meat in the fridge, which had been there too long, so I
rustled up a casserole with the few vegetables that were left and had to cook
it in the oven for 90mins – all done in this heatwave! In the meantime the cooling
fan was blasting warm air through the cabin to try and keep me cool.
Friday 26th July
Although I was up early, there
was no point leaving before 11am, so some time was spent writing this and
surfing the net.
The turn at Marston was done
to perfection, considering there was a gongoozler watching from the bridge. I had
passed another boat on a corner very slowly and thought I recognised the
steerer, and on giving it further thought, I think it was Snowy who works or
used to work at Alvecote Marina. I was shortly back at Suttons and there was
one space on the Coventry side of the turn, but I took a chance and winded in
the turn, before reversing to the services to dump a load of rubbish and
bottles. The previous dump was now closed and was relocated inside the building
with a locked door to negotiate. I had left the Watermate key on board, but
another boater loaned me his. It would appear that the previous site had been
extensively used by fly tippers and the new system was supposed to prevent that.
The day so far was much cooler
that the last two, which was a relief, but at that point it started to rain –
just a little, but enough to get any books under cover and close the slide.
Luckily it did not last long.
I returned to the watepoint
where the tap was broken off, so had to use a pair of pliers to turn it on. The
mooring space was still vacant, but I was not sure Stronghold would quite fit,
however after leaving the tap a plastic cruiser was about to pull out of his
space and there was no doubt that my boat would fit in there; I was home and
dry now with time to spare to do some odd jobs around the boat.
I had a quick pint of mild in the pub and asked at the bar
If I could plug in my PC, the reply being, “Yes, if you can find a socket.”
Well I did find one and settled down in the corner. Shortly afterwards another
one of the bar staff, who may be the shift manager told me that it was not
allowed as the wiring was so old, but I reckon they plug in a 2kw vacuum
cleaner there in there for the morning cleaning session, so it really is being
very petty.
Returning later for the meal, we had lots to talk about and
had a very good meal with plenty to eat as usual. The restaurant was full, as
were the bars and patio at the front, so a very compatible atmosphere. We will
probably repeat it again when I return from more northern climes.
With Toody in The Greyhound.
Gongoozlers Terrace at the front of The Greyhound.
Saturday 27th/Sunday 28th July
These two days were spent almost entirely inside sheltering
from the rain. There was no shortage of things to do and keep me occupied as
well as a couple of short trips to the pub. There were people cruising of
course, but either they were hire boaters who had to make the most of their
time on board, or they were on a tight schedule to get somewhere………finally they
could just be nuts, like I used to be.
Monday 29th July
At last the rain cleared and it was time to move on with
the aim of Atherstone at the end of the day. It was nowhere near as hot as last
week being a comfortable 25ºC. It was easy boating with
surprisingly few boats about in the 4.5 hours it took me, although I did stop
at The Anchor moorings in Hartshill for coffee and some lunch, avoiding the
temptation to have a beer there.
I can remember when there were
millions of these along the railway lines.
A vacant mooring in Atherstone was like hen’s teeth and
some guy on the towpath said that the empty space I could see was taken by a
boat gone up to the locks to wind his boat. I found out later that this guy
frequents the towpath and is the equivalent of the village idiot, shouting out
untruths to passing boaters. Luckily another boat was just leaving as I came
alongside, but another one was following and chaos ensued until he reversed to leave
room. There was also a moored Tupperware boat on the offside to complicate
things even further!
Shortly after I had secured the boat, October Morn came in
behind and being only 36ft long, just squeezed in. I helped the lady moor up,
for which she was most appreciative and we had quite a chat about things, one
of which was that she was brought up I Surrey and knew of my home mooring. Another
woman passed later and asked if the boat really was from The Wey, where she was born and bred!
After a shower, I hit the bright lights of Atherstone and
looked in The New Swan, where I knew they served Church End Ales, but they only
had Goat’s Milk on tap, so I moved on to The Angel Ale House in the market
square where I came last year. Not only is it a CAMRA recommended pub, but it
has been North Warwickshire Pub of the Year five times recently. Being a
member, I got a 20% discount and there was a 1st class section of
beers on handpump, most of which I was unfamiliar with. This is also the only pub
I had ever experienced with a selection of vinyl records available to play.
The Angel Alehouse in Market Square.
The bar with record deck to the right.
Tuesday 30th July
There was more shopping to do today and I badly need a haircut,
the last one being in Braunston more than a month ago. October Morn left this
morning, but not until we had another long conversation about home moorings and
I learned a few things from her.
I have had mixed feelings about moving from The Wey to
Rugby Wharf ever since I had a temporary mooring there a couple of weeks ago.
The biggest disadvantage of course is that it will take more than twice as long
to drive to from home; the other consideration is that to get out on a cruise
each year, I have to pass through The Thames and up the Grand Union to get to
anywhere interesting, with appropriate licences for each. The National Trust
who own the Wey Navigation put up their mooring prices every year without fail
and are extremely fussy about the rules of navigation and how boats are moored
on their navigation. Rugby Wharf on the other hand is offline, so no
disturbance from passing boats, apart from hire boats moving to and from the
end of the arm occasionally; mooring fees are half that of NT for the same
facilities and there is more bankside available to me; there is a boatyard at
the end of the arm, who understand narrow boats, showers and guaranteed parking
spaces; shopping at the local Tesco and The Steam Turbine pub (Greedy King and
Hungry Horse), but the beer is OK; I can easily get to Rugby Station for trains
home; the site is also secure at night now since a few break-ins, which is
better than my mooring down south. Finally, I have already made a new friend
with Mick on nb Ragamuffin. Having now typed out this list, I think there are
more pros than cons in my favour of moving.
Rain was forecast again today, although sporadic and began
at lunchtime, but again there were several boats on the move in it. Nb Tramper
No.2 came past late morning and managed to stop opposite while we had a shouted
conversation – funny really how we seem to meet up by chance almost every year ever
since we met up in Sawley some years ago. My mate Colin bought their original boat
several years ago and still has it at Stoke Golding.
Wednesday 31st July
It really was time to get a haircut this morning as well as
a bit more shopping. As I walked into town, I passed a guy who struck a chord
so turned and shouted his name twice, at which he turned and was not sure who I
was. I reminded him that we met at Ricky Festival earlier this year and it then
all fitted into place. His name is Eric Naylor and we stood there and reminisced
over the festival, as well as other things and it turned out that he lived in
Atherstone. I mentioned that I had been to The Angel Alehouse where he normally
goes too, so it is strange that I have not seen him in there. The outcome was
that we would meet there about 5pm – I look forward to it.
And what a good evening it was too, with good company,
conversation and first class beer. It was so enjoyable that we agreed to meet
up and lead each other astray again tomorrow in the Church End Brewery, where
Eric was prepared to drive.
Thursday 1st August
There was a knock on my boat this morning whilst I was inconveniently
on the pot! It could only be Eric taking his dog Daisy for a walk along the
towpath. The arrangements had to be changed for this evening for Eric and we
would go to the brewery tomorrow lunchtime instead. In the meantime the Angel
was still on for later. I had plans to shift moorings further down below Lock 5
for a change of scene and also these moorings were supposed to be only for
48hrs, although there did not appear to be any CRT notices anywhere along the
stretch, as I mentioned in the blog for 2018.
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