Easter Cruise - Spring 2024

 Friday 1st March - Barby Moorings

Today we loaded the car up with enough clothes for us and enough food for Toby for the next 2 months.  We set off for Barby Moorings with the possibility of moving from the mooring once we were sorted.

Once we were unpacked and filled the water tank it had begun to rain so we decided to stay on the mooring and leave tomorrow instead.  

We settled down for the evening and lit the fire, warmed the boat through and spent the evening planning tomorrow’s cruise.

Saturday 2nd March - Barby Moorings to Willoughby Wharf

Woken to very light winds so have decided to move the boat down towards Braunston.  However, Dave has announced that he has left all his boating trousers at the flat and will need to visit Mountain Warehouse to find some new ones.

Eventually we were ready to leave and after several attempts to get off the mooring because of the slight wind that had sprung up, we left the marina, turned left and headed in the direction of Braunston.  This photo is where Dave went in November where he slipped down into the field and broke his leg.  This is the first time we have been out on the boat since then.

On the other side of the canal is Barby Farm, it is quite close to H.M. Prison Onley, a small adult male prison. 

It is good to be out on the boat again, but it is bitterly cold, something we haven’t been used to!  Hence the thermals and hat, a least the rain stayed away until we reached our chosen mooring.

This is the entrance to Dunchurch Marina where I took the boat after Dave’s accident and where he was collected by ambulance and taken to Coventry Hospital.  It seems that they are selling diesel at a very good price as their custom has dropped right off following the subsidence of the canal at Brinklow.

We continued to Willoughby Wharf and Bridge 85 and moored up along with a number of other boats.  I’m very pleased to announce that Dave stepped off the boat safely and held it steady as I secured the ropes. 

Willoughby Wharf is the site of a canal wharf, where vessels would have loaded and unloaded goods during the late 19th century.  The main construction depot for this section of the Great Central Railway was located at this canal wharf. The canal was used to supply materials for the rail builders (1895-99).

1hr 6mins, 3 miles, 0 locks

Sunday 3rd March - Willoughby Wharf

Today is a lovely bright sunny day so we have decided to stay on our mooring and enjoy the sunshine with a walk for Toby.

This delightful looking boat was moored behind us, the owner was a young man with two dogs and he had only just bought it as a project.  There is quite a lot of work to do inside.  

As we left the canal we could see the course of the Great Central Railway now dismantled.  It was opened in 1897 and was the last main line to be built in Britain with the promoters having visions of linking the north of Britain with Europe via a tunnel beneath the Channel!

We took a footpath across the field and could clearly see the ridge and furrow field patterns.  These were created as villagers cleared forest land, ploughed a strip of land and the soil cleared created the ridge between the strips.  These ran parallel to each other and made up a furlong, so each peasant farmer had an individual strip.

The Rose Inn was the only pub in the village but was badly damaged by fire in December 2007.  Many years ago there was another inn at the junction of what is now Main Street and the A45 this was originally the Three Crosses Inn later renamed the Four Crosses. According to local legend the name was changed after the author Jonathon Swift who was staying at the inn, had an argument with the landlord's wife, and engraved on a window pane "You have three crosses on the door, hang up your wife and she'll make four".

This evening we are meeting up with our friends Di and Mark from nbEnbilulu.  They collected us from the bridge and drove to Kilsby and ‘The George’.  Thank you for a lovely evening and a wonderful opportunity to catch up.  Looking forward to the next time.