Blacksmith on the cut - our new wonderful weather vane!

While recently visiting the Shardlow Inland Port festival, we met Brian Greaves and his wife who travel the waterways selling items made on their blacksmiths forge boat called Bronte which he built himself over 30 years ago.

 We were really impressed with his work and commissioned a weather vane in the shape of 'Nugget' our Patterdale Terrier.  Brian was only too happy to accommodate our request.

 Brian set to work and then called us within 2 weeks to collect the completed vane.  We couldn't be happier with it, its great. 😀  

Brian has a website www.briangreaves.com  .  We also follow Heidi on her Narrowboat Pirate YouTube channel, which has a section on one of her vlogs about Brian which is really interesting to watch, click here to watch this  episode  Narrowboat Pirate Youtube 

Shardlow Inland Port Festival 2023

 This weekend has been HOT! but it didn't stop a huge turn out for the Inland Port Festival.  What a great event with lots of stalls, activities and Heritage working boats.  Here are some photos from today.

 

Atherstone to Shardlow

 We have now completed the Leicester Ring and are back at our base in Shardlow.  We have had great fun on the trip, seen some wonderful views, wildlife and met some lovely people.  This final  part covers the journey from Atherstone through to Shardlow.

The night before we left Atherstone we enjoyed a delicious meal at 'Herbs and Spices'.  The food was excellent and as you can take your own alcohol and Aldi is a couple of  minutes walk away, this made the evening just perfect.  😋🍷 

The following morning we came down 9 of the 11 Atherstone locks and managed to moor just before the heavens opened!  After calling at Bradley Green CRT services the following morning (great pressure on the water tap here) 👍 we moored for the evening between bridge 63 and the pipe bridge, where once again the rain came down in droves.  Over the next couple of days we descended the two Glascote locks which were quite busy and through to Fradley South.

Glascote Locks

The following morning, we descended the locks at Fradley Junction (as always, there were some wonderful volunteers to help) and arrived at Alrewas just in time to catch the bus into Lichfield to enjoy some lunch sat out in the sun.

Lichfield Cathedral

The bus takes approximately 30 mins from Alrewas and is worth a visit  to see the many historical buildings and a look around the amazing Cathedral built 1340.  In the evening, it was lovely to have a catch up with Ian, Lin and their lovely dog Marley on Narrowboat Probity.

Tatenhill Lock

The next day we descended the locks to Branston and moored for the evening there.  We walked into the village in the evening and enjoyed a very tasty meal from the Chinese take away.  There is also a handy Co-op store in the village, not to mention a couple of Pubs!

The following day we headed towards Burton Upon Trent, calling at Shobnall Marina for fuel and other items from the excellent Chandlery. The fuel price here was reasonable at .95p per litre. The staff are always helpful and friendly.

Just outside Shobnall Marina

The aromas from the hops at the Marston's Brewery nearby were very tempting🍺.  We walked into Burton-Upon -Trent to top up our supplies at Lidl.  Unfortunately the rain poured once again that afternoon and also the following day.  

Sunday Roast at the Green Man Willington

However, we were soon cheered up on the Sunday, as when we arrived at Willington, we were in time for the Sunday roast at the Green Man.  It was very tasty and the adult portion was extremely generous - we will definitely be returning.

On our way back to Shardlow, we had an overnight stay just above Swarkestone Lock and had a walk on the footpath through the fields of corn and poppies to the River Trent.

18th Century 5 arch Bridge over the River Trent

So we have completed the Leicester Ring once again. Last year we cruised it anti clockwise and this year clockwise.  We have moored at different locations and surprisingly have seen many new places.  The main difference was the weather. Last year it was so hot and it was upsetting to see the fields of ruined crops, however this year a lot wetter, however the crops were really thriving which was so good to see. We have seen lots of wonderful wildlife including a snake swimming 😮, and would love to share some photos below:

 

Engine stops dead - carpet round the propeller!!!

Over the last week we have travelled from the Welford Arm towards Atherstone.

The length of the Welford Arm is only 1.6 miles long, a lovely canal with only one lock. CRT services, a pub and a marina at the end.  This was the first time we have navigated the arm and we were pleasantly surprised.   A short walk into the village takes you to a small convenience shop.  

Nugget meets Postman Pat in Welford

Back on the  Grand Union Canal, we made our way to the top of the Watford Locks, very close to Watford Gap Services.  There are CRT services here and a book swap which was handy. The flight is one single lock, a staircase of four and two single locks.  Once again these are run by volunteers who were very helpful. Descending the flight took just 45 minutes.  The locks drop 52.5 feet in total.  We moored near Weltonfield narrowboats for the evening.

The next day we passed through Braunston Tunnel, which took us approximately 25 minutes.  All the tunnels on this trip have allowed boats in both directions at the same time.  As long as you go slow and keep to your side, you pass each other just fine (usually!).

After descending the 6 locks into Braunston, once again with volunteers help, we popped into the village.  It is a lovely place with a great butchers (couldn't resist this wonderful 'homegrown pork pie'), convenience store and traditional pubs. 

Helen revisited 'Serendipity' a fantastic art shop run by Heather, who is so helpful and friendly.  After topping up Helen's art supplies we headed back to tuck into the scrumptious pork pie! 😋

The following day we cruised through to the top of Hillmorton locks and enjoyed a tasty curry takeaway from the village (a 10 minute walk from bridge 72).  The next day we descended the Hillmorton Locks early and headed into Rugby to top up our supplies at Tesco's.

The following day we headed towards Hawkesbury Junction passing by the crackling pylons at the electric distribution station.  We managed to use the CRT facilities at Sutton Stop Lock and moor  near Hawkesbury Hall just before the heavens opened and the rain begin in earnest!☔

Heading towards Atherstone, we had to do an emergency reverse, approaching bridge 30 (best to pay attention when narrowboats from the opposite direction sound their horn!) The engine abruptly stopped,  proving the auto stop was working. Several minutes later after a lot of huffing and puffing, Chris managed to remove a large piece of carpet some person must have thrown from the bridge. Thankfully no damage. 

It was deemed the carpet wouldn't clean up to use, so was bagged up to be disposed of correctly!. Along the canals we sometimes see mattresses, supermarket trolleys, bicycles etc that have been thrown in the water, removed and just left on the tow path. Unfortunately this can result in them being thrown back in and as well as being disgusting, this can lead to serious damage to boats.  Thankfully after removing from the weed hatch, we were on our way again. 

  

Grand Union Leicester - A big 'Thank you' to the CRT volunteers

 We are currently cruising the Leicester Ring clockwise from Shardlow.  Along the way we have come across many CRT volunteers who do a wonderful job, but more details to follow later....

The weather has been terrific over the last week.  We cruised through Shardlow, the River Trent for a short period and onto the River Soar - the Grand Union Leicester section over a couple of days. On the third day we moored  just above Lock 48 (Cossington Lock). 

A 15 minute walk from the bridge takes you to the village of Rothley.  Woodcock Farm Shop looked great - unfortunately it was a Sunday and this is the only day of the week it is closed 😕.  However next door is a handy Co-op, so we got our provisions from there.

The following day, we passed through Leicester. Some of the artwork/graffiti is by 'Graffwerk' (a street art and culture project team) which looks really good and helps to promote the City of Leicester.

That evening we moored just before Kings Lock and the canalside cafe. This was a great mooring as the bridge below the lock is a medieval packhorse bridge which was really interesting to see and walk on. You can see on the photo below one of the passing places on the bridge.  The area has recently been improved with a wonderful nature reserve and access ramp for all to enjoy.   

Turning right over the bridge leads to the village of Aylestone.  We enjoyed a beer at the 'Black Horse' a lovely classic pub which serves food and is dog friendly.

The following day, we headed up the rest of the locks out of Leicester and moored  at Kilby Bridge where the CRT services are.  The Navigation pub here has recently started serving food and we enjoyed a meal there in the evening.

Kilby Bridge- CRT service area

After a further flight of 7 locks the following  day, we moored just after 'High Bridge' and walked down to  Wistow Church and the Wistow Rural Centre which has a café, some art/craft shops and a garden centre - well worth a visit. On this days cruising, we came across a group of volunteers who were working hard, painting, planting, tidying the locks in this area and what a difference it makes... thank you, the Locks look great.

The following morning after ascending the five Kibworth Locks, we moored for a short time at the bridge at Fleckney for a quick visit to the Co-op and small farmers market in the village (a 10 minute walk from the bridge).  We then moored for the evening at the bottom of the Foxton Flight of locks planning to ascend in the morning when they open at 08.00am.

Once again, a massive thank you to all the volunteers who make the ascent so easy and work so hard keeping the locks clean and tidy.  A special thanks to 'Graham' for our smooth ascent.  Without these dedicated people who give a lot of time and effort, these smooth passages could not happen.