Victor: Heading Banbury way

THE start to our usual Autumn cruise started at Fradley Junction, for our Thomas, getting a little long in the tooth, dreads those six awkward broad locks from Derwent Mouth off the Trent, so gets someone to take the boat to the junction.

Just up through Junction Lock, still with its struts to hold the bottom gates closed, we did a short stint passing of course the obligatory boat firmly ensconced on the water tap moorings, to pull in past the line of boats on the Coventry Canal, but with a number having their engine churning away it was virtually to the bridge to get our peace and quiet.

Chicken Farm

And then I noticed it—the stink!  There is now a chicken farm well established, and on this night it was on the windward side, and what a pong—be warned.

It was our normal fairly early start, with very soon finding a loose boat across our bows, but a gentle push from Jan soon had it moved, and there wasn't much point in stopping and tying it up as we normally do, as all it had was the thin blue baler twine, that already boasted a few knots.

Over the years we have travelled the Coventry many, many times, but this time, even with the reduction in boats on the system, we had never ever met so many moving towards us—just under 20 in the distance from Fradley to Fazeley.  The log shows when we did this last time in a September we met just four.  Then we discovered there were a couple of rallies about, all adding to the traffic.

Changed their plans

It was then that a fellow boater told me that the lock being out of action at Stone, had resulted in a great many boaters changing their plans and taking to the Staffs & Worcs at Haywood Junction and various ways back up the Coventry.

Meeting boaters who had actually been stopped at Stone, I was told that there were many who had no choice but to wait, place and time demanding it, with great queues at either side and with many suffering problems. One woman who had 'spent a fortune' coming from Australia to cruise our canals missing her plane back home!

Hire companies, of which there are many either side of the stoppage, had their boats completely stuck, with some hirers not willing to wait for days on end for the lock to be repaired but simply getting transport back, leaving the boats, like all the others at the tender mercy of Canal & River Trust.

A boater whose friend's boat was stuck there told that there was no rush to get the work done, with more concerns with health and safety than getting the hole in the lock plugged, he believing that after the lock had been drained, filling the hole with concrete would have had it done in a couple of days, as it most certainly would have been done when the working boats were using it.

Another stoppage?

Rising in the lower of the two Glascote locks, it was taking ages to fill, when we realised there was too much water leaking out of the bottom gates, as the picture shows, caused either by a damaged cill, or more likely, as the picture shows, rotten gates.  Then a regular user of the locks told me that she had reported it to Cart a couple of times.  I fervently hope that the powers-that-be do not decide to repair it before we get back, as I for one don’t care for the idea of spending a week moored there whilst heath and safety is ponderously implemented to get it repaired.

Empty moorings

It has been reported quite a few times that whilst there are more moored boats now along the Cut than in previous years, the official 48 hours moorings are virtually empty, which is something I can certainly confirm.

Time and time again there were very few boats in those official moorings whilst the two in Tamworth had only one boat between them—that of my old mate Andrew Denny, (hope the poor sod isn't still there when we return in some 10 days or more).  Here's a picture of the deserted second 48 hours moorings at Tamworth.

Empty berths

Time and time again I noticed that there are far more empty berths in marinas compared with past years, well remembering Alvecote with only a few empty, that most likely belonged to boats out on a late summer's cruise, but as we passed this time, the empty spaces were prominent.

I think we all know that the downturn in boating coupled with more and more taking the cheaper alternative of continuous cruising is to blame.  Just wonder how many who put money into building new marinas on the promise of great returns from the former British Waterways now regret listening to such bad advice—as that certainly is what it was.

 

Atherstone Flight

And so to Atherton Flight once again. How so different from the Audlem Flight on the Shoppie we worked in May that really was hard work, obviously having had little attention.

The gates on the Atherstone Flight were a joy to use, all very well balanced, and though an occasional leakage, nothing serious, so someone, somewhere at Cart needs congratulating.

And our first volunteers this year. Three in fact—just like buses—on the flight working the top three locks. All very pleasant and helpful in fact, with one telling us that there are usually six, but the others she thought had been deterred by the promise of rain. Being a former boater this did not bother her too much, being used to rain, so turned up regardless.

In case you are wondering why the volunteers do not go any further down the flight than the first three locks, it is because the rules state they have to be within a certain distance of toilet facilities. And before you tell me that they  do go down further, of course if a boater is having problems, it is human nature to help—rules notwithstanding.

Another thing very noticeable is that there has been lots of painting, the rails shown above a glistening white, with the flight being much more attractive than in recent years.

The marina that wasn't

I wonder how many of you remember the proposed marina at Bridge 35 on the Coventry?  Not many I expect as it was 15 years ago when there was such a palaver about someone digging out water space for boats with absolutely no planning permission whatsoever,  but even then managed to get a boat on the water that was stuck there for years, with of course no connection to the canal.

The water is still there, with vegetation and trees taking over, and the boat gone, but really it could make a pleasant little marina, mind you the costs now involved perhaps make it impossible.

Still they come

Those boat rallies, and the cheaper hiring of boats now that the holidays are over, is certainly continuing the high number of boats moving on the Coventry, with five passing us in the dark, three of them obviously believing we were moored on piling and pulling in after they passed, with quite a bit of activity when discovering it was no more than a strip of wood holding the bank.  One was away the same time as us this morning at 7.30, so was certainly putting in the hours.

For ourselves, it's just around five hours daily, which is quite enough.

Moored just before Nuneaton by Bridge 38 it was time for 'walkies!', when we took to the path across a nearby field, but returning around its edge it was obvious there is a leak out of the canal as there was water running away from the hedge that borders the waterway. Though it had been raining, the rest of the hedge-side was quite dry.  Perhaps the leak is already known.  The hope is of course that it does not get worse...

And so tomorrow it's the Oxford once more.

Victor Swift