TRIP REPORTS

AFTER THE "NATIONAL"

August / September 2007

Part 1 — Atherstone to Rugeley

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Wendy and the cats were at Atherstone for just over a week while I was at the "National". I came back on the (second) Tuesday evening, worn out after the Festival.

We made a late start at 14:11 because I was still catching up on sleep from the "National" and Wendy was still fairly groggy, with her ribs aching after all the coughing. We had to queue for the water point below Atherstone locks, but at least it wasn't raining! An angler at the water point told me how he'd grown up on FMC and Barlow's boats.

We stopped at 18:10 on the Samuel Barlow pub mooring at Alvecote Marina, having a conversation with Drew Burge as we tied up. I had every intention of visiting the pub later in the evening, but fell asleep after dinner, so never did.

We set off at 10:29. There was a big delay at Glascote, where there was a problem with the bottom lock. The problem was with a damaged cill, which was supposed to have been put right during a stoppage a few days before, but apparently hadn't. BW was in attendance and insisting that the top lock wasn't emptied until the bottom lock was full - presumably because that was the only way they could get a level. We had a pleasant conversation with the people off the boat behind us - Cutweb members and friends of Terry & Sue Waldron. This canal is very silted, particularly on the towpath side.

At Fazeley we joined B'ham & Fazeley section of the Coventry Canal, which goes to Whittington Brook, where it becomes the detached section of the Coventry proper. I managed to get a decent photograph of the boundary stone between the B'ham & Fazeley and the detached section of the Coventry, which appears to be the wrong way round. We stopped at the water point immediately before Fradley junction and struggled with a tap with a broken handle. I went to look for a mooring and found a single 24-hour visitor mooring free between the swing bridge and the junction, so we tied up there at 17:45.

Starting at 10:23 and heading north on the Trent & Mersey, we found a lot of traffic (not unexpected at one of the busiest junctions of the system) and we were about fourth boat in the queue for Fradley Middle Lock. I'd suggested that Wendy should walk round to the lock, for which she was grateful as the lock mooring is terribly high, and the moored boats prevent one from stopping anywhere else.

Fradley

We planned to stop for lunch at The Plum Pudding, Armitage. It didn't seem sensible to start a much-needed wash until we were through the three locks, which meant that the drying hadn't finished until we tied up at the pub, so Wendy didn't feel able to join me for a pub lunch. The pub has moved up-market since we were last here (12 years ago?). The bar snacks were fine, and I enjoyed a good cheese ploughman's, but the restaurant looked expensive.

Armitage

Wendy steered after the stop, and had completely forgotten the long road bridge at the beginning of Armitage ex-tunnel, with a curve before it which prevents one seeing whether there's an approaching boat in the narrows. On this occasion there was, but fortunately there was a dog-walker on the towpath who warned us (not sure whether or not she was off the approaching boat).

There were many strings of long-term moorings on the way, and we tied up at 17:10 at Rugeley. Rugeley has 14-day moorings between bridges 65 & 66, with no rings but decent bank, and 48-hour moorings with rings between bridges 66 & 67 (nearer the town centre), so we chose the latter, but Tilly wrong-footed us again by going walkabout.