Monday 7th August - Diglis Basin to Bilford Top Lock
Today we are beginning our move from Diglis Basin where we have been for the past 5 years, to a new mooring just outside Rugby on the Oxford Canal just 5 miles from Braunston Junction.
Ella has been in dry dock having her bottom blacked and here Jason is reversing her out of the dock and back to her mooring. We spent the rest of the morning loading up the boat with food, clothes and water before having our lunch at Cafe Afloat.
We are leaving the Basin for the last time through the swing bridge and turning right onto the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Dave was fortunate to have help with the swing bridge as it is very heavy for one person. He then walked round to Sidbury Lock.
Approaching Sidbury Lock, Dave indicated there was a boat coming down the lock, so I waited in the middle of the canal until the lock was ready for me. We met a lock keeper at the Bilford Locks which was a stroke of luck and we moored up for the night opposite Perdiswell playing grounds.
2.5 miles, 6 locks, 2hrs 12mins
Tuesday 8th August - Bilford Top Lock to Hanbury
After a very pleasant evening enjoying the warm sunshine and a peaceful night, we decided to move early to avoid the heavier rain forecast for this afternoon. Our first lock was Blackpole Lock, all very quiet and no other boat in sight.
Dave working the lock and waving in the light drizzle. It continued to drizzle through the whole of the cruise today.
My favourite view as the canal passes by Oddingley, this farmhouse has had some work done to it but all the scaffolding has been removed and it is looking splendid once again.
Approaching Dunhampstead Wharf, the mooring here has been improved and The Forge Studio now runs a cafe cruise boat that does afternoon tea and a cruise along the canal.
After Dunhampstead is Dunhampstead Tunnel and a boat just exiting the tunnel as we approached. The tunnel is 210 metres (230 yards) in length, and is wide enough for narrowboats to pass each other in the tunnel. There is no towpath and originally crews would pull the boats through by means of a handrail on each side of the tunnel.
6.75 mile, 8 locks, 4hrs 12 mins
Wednesday 9th August - Hanbury to Queens Head Visitor Moorings
Today we are travelling to Stoke Pound where we shall meet Tom Keeling who will do our 4 year BSS examination. A boat safety examination that is similar to a car MOT. We had a slight panic last night as we discovered one of the smoke alarms didn’t work even with a new battery. A phone call to Tom this morning reassured us as the BSS doesn’t cover smoke alarms!
It was a lovely day for a cruise, warm, dry and little or no wind. Dave worked the first set of locks and this is my favourite lock keepers cottage, beautifully maintained with a stunning garden on the other side of the lock.
We met several boats, passing them in the pounds between the locks.
I found this pretty little butterfly beside one of the locks, I think it is a Gatekeeper. As its English names suggest, the Gatekeeper (also known as the Hedge Brown) is often encountered where clumps of flowers grow in gateways and along hedgerows and field edges.
This is the boat belonging to John and Jackie who run Bridge 35 chandlers and where we have bought our diesel over the past 5 years. It is moored above the first Stoke lock. We continued to the Queens Head and had a choice of moorings as there was only one other boat moored. Tom arrived at 2pm for our boat examination and I am pleased to say that Ella passed her examination and is safe for another 4 years. So relieved!
4.25 miles, 12 locks, 3hrs 6mins
Thursday 10th August - Queens Head to Tardebigge Top Lock
A lovely sunny start to the day and forecast to stay that way all day. The start of the Tardebigge Flight of 30 locks, we left our mooring at 8.30am with a view to meeting some volunteers on the way up. This is a view across fields to a neighbouring farm, quintessentially English countryside.
This is the Landmark Trust property, this cottage is a rare survivor of its type built between 1790 and 1815. Many such handsome and unpretentious buildings remained until the 1950s when they were ruthlessly demolished.
Negotiating a bend on an approach to the next lock, this flight of locks is so interesting and it is always a challenge to get in and out of the locks without hitting the lock walls.
We met a large group of volunteers working on the locks, they were strimming along the locks and cleaning the walls of the locks all the way from the beginning of the flight to the end. Unfortunately some boaters get upset when they see a working party like this as they assume they ‘can’t be bothered to help them through the locks’. Members of such working parties are not trained to work locks and therefore would not be covered by CRT insurance if something went wrong. As Volunteer Lock Keepers, Dave and I went through vigorous training and assessing before we were allowed to work locks.
This is our volunteer lock keeper, Frank, who worked with us all the way up the locks. He has been volunteering for 4 years and was a great help.
Approaching the last lock of the flight, Tardebigge Top Lock, a deep lock which is left empty after every use. Not sure why, but I’m sure there is a good reason. We were surprised at the amount of weed which had grown up around these boats, it must be difficult to get through without fouling the propeller. We moored for the night above the top lock and enjoyed a BBQ in the evening sunshine.
2.25 mile, 30 locks, 4hrs 6mins
Friday 11th August - Tardebigge Top Lock to Alvechurch
Another bright and sunny day, so we left our mooring and moved across the canal to the service point where we filled up with water, emptied rubbish and toilet. From there it is a short hop to the mouth of Tardebigge Tunnel which we passed through without meeting a boat!
A very pretty leafy glade reflecting in the water.
We arrived at Alvechurch, passed the marina and found a spot to moor just beyond the Crown Inn. The pub is not dog friendly but we decided to sit in their garden and have a bite to eat for lunch. We then took a walk into Alvechurch and did a spot of shopping.
A little later in the afternoon we went for a walk behind the pub and climbed up the hill, spectacular views down towards the canal.
3.25 miles, 0 locks, 2 tunnels, 1hr 36mins
Saturday 12th August - Alvechurch to Warings Green Wharf
The Bittel Reservoir and for the first time we have seen a little boat out fishing, there are usually many people fishing from the banks, so this was a first for us.
After passing through Wast Hills Tunnel we approached the turning onto the Stratford Canal. The Junction House was badly damaged by fire in 2017 and Canal and River Trust have restored it. It is looking very smart.
The guillotine lock has also been smartened up, a lot of the graffiti has been removed. It is the only guillotine-gated stop lock on a British canal and was built to stop water flowing from one canal to another.
The canal narrows at what used to be Bridge 2, it was a swing bridge put in after a successful campaign by the Inland Waterways Association to keep the waterway as a right to navigation.
The entrance to Brandwood Tunnel has a plaque with the bust of William Shakespeare in it.
A mother duck with a second brood of ducklings. We continued on to Warings Green and moored opposite the wharf. All very quiet and peaceful. We walked down to Wedge’s Bakery and treated ourselves to their delicious sandwiches and cakes.
13 miles, 0 locks, 2 tunnels, 4hr 36mins
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