August 2026 - 4½ hours to get through Hillmorton Locks, an emotional final entrance into the marina and and lot of sorting out to do

Site of Clifton Loop Line Railway Bridge (Oxford Canal) – Monday 3^rd August 2026
 
It was a hot one today.  We didn’t have far to go before our planned mooring place.
 
Our last tunnel, Newbold, and finally we discovered that Rio prefers to be on the roof going through a tunnel than being on the deck or down below – bit late now.  

We passed through Rugby and saw a rather strange sight 🤣  🤣

We were able to moor where we wanted to which was by the golf course where it was nice and cool.  We were amongst other boats all wanting to go up Hillmorton Locks on Tuesday and there were others passing us all afternoon, it was rather worrying as to what we were going to encounter at Hillmorton the next day.

 C&RT had only put Hillmorton on restricted timing but everyone was expecting an email, at any time, saying that they would be closing them, so were desperately trying to get up before it happened.  I feel sorry for people who are hiring boats who don’t really know what is going on or those who have them booked as their holidays probably won’t happen.

What is going to happen to the canals?  The weather forecasters are saying that these dry, hot summers are here to stay and because the 2000 mile network relies primarily on feed from 80+ reservoirs, local streams, and rainfall to refill pounds, low rainfall combined with high evaporation rates directly impacts the ability to keep canals navigable.  However, England saw four consecutive months of above-average rainfall from November 2025 through February 2026. And by the end of February 2026, overall reservoir storage across England had recovered to 94% capacity.  Can we trust that will happen again in the coming winter? 
 
5 miles

Dunchurch Pools Marina (Oxford Canal) – Tuesday 4^th August 2026
 
We left our mooring at 9.15am after a few boats had got passed us.  We were about 15^th in the queue at 9.45am! The locks were being shut at 2pm – were we going to get through?
 
The three Hillmorton locks are paired (or duplicated) narrow locks, which means that boats can get through quicker, however one of the bottom pair is broken which meant that access through the flight was slow.

In the 1770s, Hillmorton had only three single locks. However, as commercial coal traffic from the Coventry coalfields boomed in the 1830s, and after the canal route was straightened, Hillmorton became a massive bottleneck.  To relieve severe queues, the canal engineers duplicated the entire flight in 1840. The upgrade vastly sped up transit times (allowing chambers to fill in under two minutes) and enabled over 20,000 working boats a year to pass through during the height of the Industrial Revolution. Today, Hillmorton remains one of the busiest lock flights on the UK canal network. Two minutes – it is about 10 to 15 minutes these days!

By 1pm we were 4^th in the queue – another hour before they put the chains on.  Will we make it??  Steve and Tracey were 2^nd in the queue – somebody pulled out in front of us as we went along ☹  We were finally first in the queue at 1.25pm.   Not only is there just one lock working but only one bottom paddle operating on the working lock!  The middle set of paired locks were both operational but the one we were in only had one top paddle working. Could it get any worse?  Yes!! One of top pair had been closed to save water so another queue had formed to go up.  Finally, we were through the top lock at 2.20pm and on our way to Dunchurch Pools.

 
OtM had pulled over before Dunchurch as they had had enough – I don’t blame them.  We pulled along side to say our goodbyes, it wasn’t the easiest of things.

Even the clouds were grey in sadness as we drove in.

 
As we approached the marina so the tears came.  I knew they would so it wasn’t a surprise.  It was quite painful knowing it was the last time that we would be bringing Mary H into the marina.  Richard did a perfect approach to the pontoon which was good considering the wind.
 
We had planned to go to out for dinner in Braunston with Steve and Tracey but it was far too late for them to get there and get a mooring.  As we had nothing out of the freezer for dinner, we took Kiwi to Sainsbury’s and I got some ham and eggs plus a few other nice things, so we had ham egg and chips for dinner!
 
6 miles
3 locks

 

Dunchurch Pools Marina (Oxford Canal) – Wednesday 5^th August 2026
 
We woke up to rain but it soon turned sunny but it wasn’t a hot one.  It was pretty windy though.
 
A day of tidying up Mary H and sorting out what is going home and what can go to the bin.  The bedroom was the first – I even found a Covid test at the back of the dressing table!

We were expecting a visit from Ian Parrott from the New and Used Boat to both give us a price and some advice on how to make the boat look nice for selling.  The sun was shining and by the time Ian arrived and Mary H was looking lovely.  A valuation of £59,950 was made which we were happy with. Richard has a few outside jobs to do before he will be happy to finally put her up for sale.
 
After Ian left then things got messy with cupboards being sorted into what we want, what will go to the charity shop and what we will leave for the new owner. There was stuff everywhere but gradually it went into either a box, a crate, a bin bag or back in the cupboard.

Late in the afternoon I got a message from Tracey to say they were back in their marina. I asked if it was too late to go out for dinner and I got the reply back saying that they could do that and would pick us up. It is just what we both needed.

We continued with our work until it was time to get ready to go out - ah, a problem, all my clothes were in the motorhome which was in the overflow car park and all I had were the tatty things I was wearing. We changed our pickup point and quickly walked to Kiwi where I did a quick change and was just ready when our “taxi” arrived. We went to the Admiral Nelson in Braunston and sat outside beside the lock, lovely location. I had a very nice steak but the presentation left a lot to be desired. Steve and Tracey dropped us back at the motorhome and we said our goodbyes again before taking Kiwi to the boat ready to pack up in the morning.

 
To get to the overflow car park where Kiwi was parked, we walked across a field.  The ground was so hard and was cracking up with some very strange holes appearing too.

 
Dunchurch Pools Marina (Oxford Canal) – Thursday 6^th August 2026
 
An early start as we wanted to be seen to be packing up the motorhome as the marina staff got into work- she shouldn’t have been parked where she was overnight 🙃
 
Richard disappeared into the locker under the bed and brought out all sorts of stuff!  It all went into Kiwi to be sorted out at home.
 
Finally, we were done and went to get a coffee and bacon bap at the marina cafe.  The cafe has been open for some time but it was our first time in there.
 
It was then time to leave Dunchurch Pools. We have been there since it opened in 2017 and have watched it grow and flourish. 
 
Richard will be back to do some minor work on the outside of Mary H and take more things home. BUT it was my final goodbye. Strangely enough I didn’t feel too sad, but I certainly had a strange feeling in my stomach as I walked down the pontoon.
 
I’m writing this as we are driving home in our motorhome having left our narrowboat for the final time. Now I feel sad, very sad, but we are driving into our future and leaving Mary H in our past.
 

August 2026 - Atherstone locks, a ceremonious handover and maybe unsavoury things!

Cherrytree Farm Bridge No 33 (Coventry Canal) – Friday 31^st 2026
 
We have set off at 10am every day, but today it was 10.30am to give the boats at the top of the Atherstone flight chance to get down to where we were, and it worked.  One in and one out all the way up the 5 locks.  When we got to the top, 15 boats had gone down and 10 up.  This was about midday – it had only been 10 and 10 all day the day before.  This photo is Over the Moon coming into the first lock of the day.

 
We used the services at the top of the locks and then continued south.  We went passed where the Wilson & Stafford Works (Brittania Works) had been.  The Grade II listed building had been pulled down a couple of weeks ago.  After standing vacant since 1999, the derelict building had severely deteriorated, creating structural safety hazards along Coleshill Road and the Coventry Canal.  It is now going to be flats for the over 55s. 

Atherstone was once the world capital of the felt hat-making industry.  Wilson & Stafford was one uc manufacturer from 1871until its closure in 1999, it was the last felt hat maker operating in the town—an industry Atherstone was historically famous for.  Why Atherstone? Well felt making relies heavily on washing, planking, and shrinking animal fibres (wool or rabbit fur). Atherstone’s abundant local supply of soft water made it an ideal hub for felt production starting in the 17th century.
 
We only went on for a couple of miles before pulling over at Cherry Tree Farm Bridge where we had stopped on the way up last week – well exactly a week ago and in exactly the same spot.  We sat out but it did get a bit chilly once the sun went behind the trees.
 
I looked out of the side hatch about 8pm and saw lovely scenes both in front and behind the boat – photo opportunities 😊

5 miles
6 locks

Hawkesbury Junction (Coventry Canal) – Saturday 1^st August 2026
 
Today’s post is really about a series of abandoned canals that were built at the end of the 18^th century in the grounds of Arbury Hall.  I have found it fascinating researching it and imagining having the money and the land to build my own canals!! 
 
Just before Marston Junction was the entrance to a series of canals built by Sir Roger Newdigate (5th Baronet, 1719–1806) of Arbury Hall who was one of the most prolific private canal pioneers of the early Industrial Revolution. Built between 1764 and 1795, this 5½ - 6 mile navigable cut allowed boat traffic—primarily carrying coal, clay, and stone from the estate's brickworks and collieries—to transfer directly onto the main Coventry Canal.
 
Unlike purely industrial canals, Sir Roger integrated the waterways into the Gothic landscaping of Arbury Hall, using them for pleasure boating between ornamental pools and because the network was entirely self-contained on private land, Sir Roger engineered it to custom, smaller-than-standard dimensions.
 
I found this on a Canal World forum.  It was drawn by Chris Lowe.  Chris, I hope you don’t mind me using your drawing. 
 

There were seven canals, the Coventry Communication Canal was a short link running from the Coventry Canal inland toward the estate.  The Arbury Lower Level was connected to the Communication Canal via a staircase of locks.  The Coventry Wood Canal & Arbury High Level climbed through woodland and fed into the Hall Pool directly in front of Arbury Hall.  The Coton Lawn Canal and the Seeswood Canals went out to Seeswood Pool (the main reservoir supplying water to the system).  Finally, there was the  which was a separate branch to the north connecting the Griff colliery to the Coventry Canal (which remained in use for coal haulage long after the rest closed, operating until 1961). 
 
There were 13 locks which lifted the canal system 93 feet 6 inches from its junction with the Coventry Canal up to Seeswood Pool.  The locks were small, built to fit specialized estate boats measuring roughly 40 feet long by 6 feet wide.  The system featured a unique "Triple Lock" near Hall Pool—a Y-shaped lock with two sets of top gates allowing boats to enter from two separate branches of the waterway.
 
Following Sir Roger’s death in 1806 at the age of 88, the estate waterways slowly fell out of use. By 1819, the upper levels were no longer navigable as railway and tramway transport took over.  Today, while the canals are dry or overgrown in places, substantial traces—including old lock structures, bridge parapets, dry cuts, and feeder pools—remain hidden within the private grounds of the Arbury Estate.

Arbury Hall is still owned by the Newdigate family and has been for the last 440 years. The current owner is James Edward FitzRoy Newdegate, 4th Viscount Daventry.  If you have read the above and have spotted a possible spelling error, then I am right and you are wrong!  Originally the surname of the family was Newdigate but when Sir Roger died in 1806 without direct children, the baronetcy ended. To keep Arbury Hall within the wider family, the estate passed to his cousin, Charles Parker.  Under the terms of the inheritance, Parker was required to assume the ancestral family surname. He adopted both spellings to unite the different family branches, styling himself Charles Parker Newdigate Newdegate.  Over subsequent generations—notably through figures like Sir Francis Newdigate-Newdegate—the family simplified the primary surname back to its older, original root spelling: Newdegate.
 
I thought that Gifford-Hull was complicated enough but fancy having a surname of Newdigate-Newdegate!
 
Our goal for the day was Hawkesbury Junction and we were lucky enough to get the last two spots on the 7 day moorings.

 
We went to The Greyhound for dinner and sat outside with the nice view of the junction and the bridge.  It was a good meal.

 
On our way back to the boat, we passed a boat called Talifoo which is a Cutweb boat. (I am the secretary of the Cutweb Internet Cruising Club.)  We got talking and Pauline asked how she could get a club burgee, I said, that as this was outr last trip out that they could have ours.  I sadly took it down and ceremoniously passed it over.  I was pleased that it has gone to another Cutweb member.

9 miles

Hungerfield Bridge No 35 (Coventry Canal/Oxford Canal) – Sunday 2^nd August 2026
 
We had a late start, it should have been 11am but it was, in fact 10.30am  Both men had itchy feet!

This pretty cottage faces right onto Hawkesbury Junction, what a spot to live.

We filled up with water then emptied what needed to be emptied!
 
Through Hawkesbury Stop Lock and then back onto the Oxford Canal, our home canal.

 
In February 2024 there was a massive landslip which completely buried the canal in the Easenhall Cutting, which is just outside the village of Brinklow.  Following a prolonged period of intense, heavy winter rainfall, the ground became completely saturated. A massive 60 foot section of the steep cutting collapsed without warning.  It dumped an estimated 4,000 tonnes of soil, clay, boulders, and massive mature trees directly into the canal bed. It completely blocked the canal from bank to bank and entirely wiped out the towpath. The canal was instantly shut down, cutting off a vital artery of the network right before the spring cruising season.  Clearing it was a massive, complex engineering headache that took over three months and cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. Because the cutting was so steep and the surrounding ground was a soup of wet mud, contractors couldn't simply drive diggers to the edge.  C&RT had to construct a temporary 300 yard long stone haul road across saturated fields just to get heavy excavators safely down to the water.  Working in brutal mud, crews had to meticulously chainsaw the fallen mature trees out of the water before scooping out the thousands of tonnes of displaced earth.  To ensure the rest of the cutting wouldn't follow suit, engineers had to "re-grade" the face of the hill, cutting it back to a safer, shallower angle to stabilize the remaining land.  Thanks to the heavy-duty stabilization work, the canal was successfully dredged and safely reopened to boat traffic during the weekend in May 2024 and was completely reopened in the July.

There are three mooring places at Old Oaks, Brinklow, but it was bow to stern boats all along.  However, we managed to get on the end of the moorings right beside a small car park.  About 5pm, Tracey asked if we could move as she just didn’t feel right about the spot.  I have to admit I wasn’t sure about the car park and, and as Tracey said, the possibility of people visiting at night to do unsavoury things!  I did wonder why there were just the two spaces left on a rammed mooring stretch!

Our second, lovely mooring place.

8 miles

1 lock

August 2026 - A poorly dog again, a very hot day and the closure of the Atherstone flight

Hopwas School Bridge (Birmingham & Fazeley Canal) – Tuesday 28^th July 2026
 
My day started at 5.30am with Rio waking me up making little mewing like noises, which usually means that he wants to get up on the bed, so I put him up but he carried on making noises.  There was only one thing for it, sandals on and take him out.  Yes, he did need to go out!!!
 
The plan was to go back to Hopwas for lunch at the Tame Otter then move on to somewhere nice and shady to sit out the very high temperatures forecast for Wednesday.

We got to Hopwas and went to the pub for a good lunch.  It wasn’t spectacular but the Tame Otter is one of a large chain of pubs.  On our way back to the boats, we decided that our spot was a nice shady one and the towpath was nice and wide so that we could sit out without taking up the whole of the path and annoying walkers and cyclists.

 
I think we all had a nice afternoon.  I caught up with lots of things while Richard, in fact, did very little but then, why not!  As we had eaten at lunchtime, it was sandwiches for dinner.
 
Earlier in the day we had passed Huddlesford Junction.  This is where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal meets the original north-eastern limit of the Wyrley and Essington Canal (the stretch now known as the Lichfield Canal. Completed in 1797, the Wyrley and Essington Canal joined the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal here to transport coal from local mines to the wider waterways network. Toll cottages were built on-site to ensure passing commercial boaters paid their dues.  As commercial traffic dwindled, the Wyrley & Essington line was officially abandoned in 1954.  The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust is actively working to reopen the route. Currently, only the first quarter-mile of the Lichfield Canal branch is in water, which serves as a private mooring basin for the Lichfield Cruising Club.
 
5 miles


Site of Bridge No 58 (Birmingham & Fazeley Canal/Coventry Canal) – Wednesday 29^th July 2026

 
Another early morning, but this time Rio was sick.  It was about 4.30am when he started making his little noises.  Richard put him on the bed, but it wasn’t long before he started again, so Richard took him out and Rio was promptly sick.  Both R & R came back to bed.  Half an hour later Rio started again, then he jumped off the bed and was sick in the saloon!  My turn to clear it up.  After that we all went back to sleep.  There must have been something around our mooring spot that Rio had eaten as it was after we moored there the other day that Rio was sick before.
 
We had planned to have a day off as the temperature was forecast to get to about 30°  However, we had toilet issues.  We were on our third and final cassette - apparently it was my fault as I had been trying to drink a lot of water to stop getting cramp at night (it did solve the problem).  Richard was worried we would have problems, so we moved on.  I rang three different places that might offer elsan emptying but they didn’t.  In the end, with the help of the torch Richard decided that we would be OK.  What a relief! 

 
Fazeley Junction looked so much better today as the sun was shining.  When we went through there the other day the sky was grey and it all looked very drab.

 
Up through the two Glascote locks and then we stopped to visit the Co-op local which is situated right beside the canal.  Finally, we found a lovely shady spot and sat out as it was 33° in the boat. 

One of the most famous historical finds in Staffordshire took place right by the canal. In 1943, two boatbuilders working at the boatyard alongside Glascote Locks dug up a heavy, twisted metal ring.  Unaware of what it was, they assumed it was an old iron coffin handle, washed it under a tap, and sent it off to their head office.  Decades later in the late 1960s, it was recognized as the Glascote Torc—an extraordinarily rare, solid gold Iron Age neck ornament dating back to around 50 BC. It is now one of the star exhibits at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

7 miles
2 locks

Atherstone Flight, Above Lock 6 (Coventry Canal) – Thursday 30^th 2026
 
We thought it would be very hot overnight but it wasn’t.  In fact, we haven’t struggled with heat at night since we left the marina, two weeks ago.
 
The plan for today was to use the services at the bottom of the Atherstone flight, go up 6 locks then stop for the night and it all went to plan EXCEPT that it rained!  In the first lock there were a few drops, drizzle arrived in the second lock.  By the third lock the rain was a bit more intense and the raincoats came out at the fourth lock.  As we came out of the sixth lock, the rain had stopped.  I know we need the rain but it could have waited until we had moored up!
 
At 2.31pm C&RT sent out this email. 
 
“Due to continued dry weather and the ongoing pressures on water resources across the network, we have taken the difficult decision to close the Atherstone Lock Flight to navigation from Tuesday 4 August until further notice.” 
 
This has given people four days to do the Atherstone flight which is going to cause some people a lot of problems, as they may not get there in time and, with the Wolverhampton flight also closed, movement from north to south/south to north could be very difficult.

It was my turn to cook, and I thought what I was cooking, Crispy Chicken with Cream Dijon Sauce) would be easy.  Actually, it wasn’t and it was fairly late before we ate.

5 miles

6 locks

3 of these photo was taken by Tracey and I have pinched them!!

August 2026 - An announcement, a well known boat, a poorly Rio and chaos at Fradley Junction

Site of Swing Bridge No 50A (Coventry Canal) – Saturday 25^th July
 
We hadn’t been going long when we passed a boat called Dexter’s Star.  It is a very well known boat, as is their crew, Paul and Anthony who vlog under the name NarrowboatLife Unlocked.  They have over 42,000 subscribers which is pretty amazing.  Dexter's Star is an award-winning 58-foot serial electric hybrid narrowboat built by Elton Moss Boat Company in collaboration with Ortomarine., it won Favourite Boat in Show at the Crick Boat Show 2026.  The name Dexter’s Star honours their late dog Dexter.

 
We had the 11 Atherstone locks to do today, but first we needed to use the services at the top lock.  For once we found recycling bins.  We have been very good with our recycling on this trip, so many times it has had to go in the general waste bin as there is no recycling bin.
 

The nice lockies helped us down the first three locks then we were one our own, but we were only going down the first five before stopping and walking to Tesco.  It was only a short walk but my back was really hurting and I really struggled walking back with shopping bags, even though they weren’t very heavy.  Back at Mary H we put the shopping away and I rested my back for a bit.  We decided that we would moor somewhere on the flight, but the mooring really wasn’t inviting as it was hot and there was no shade.  This meant continuing through all the locks and then cruising on until we found a nice spot.  I lay down to rest my back until we pulled over.

OTM pulled out from inside us and wanted Mary H out of her way!!

Once upon a time I would have loved doing the Atherstone flight, it’s an easy flight and in nice surroundings, but my back started hurting after the third lock and it then became a chore. 
 
It was a very nice mooring until we realised that we were beside the railway, however it really didn’t bother us at all, thank goodness.  We had planned to have a barbecue but it was decided that, with the grass on the towpath being so dry, it was not a very good or ethical thing to do. 
 
Now for the big announcement.  We are putting Mary H on the market in September.  There are a number of reasons but the first is, as we now have the motorhome, we are hardly using Mary H.  This is her first outing since August last year.  Secondly my back really won’t stand up to pulling on ropes and pushing bows out.  Also, Richard’s knees are suffering too.  We had made the decision a few months ago but today proved that it is the right decision to make.  It is sad, but it’s time for pastures new and more explorations.  But, for the time being we are enjoying our cruise especially in the company of Steve, Tracey and Ted on Over the Moon.  We will miss our summer cruises with them but maybe we will be able to take the motorhome to join them somewhere on the system. 

I popped out of the boat quite late on and got this, what I think (!), is a lovely photo.  The colour of the field looks as if someone has touched it up!

 

6 miles
11 locks

Hopwas School Bridge (Coventry Canal/Birmingham & Fazeley Canal) – Sunday 26^th July 2026
 
Our first landmark today was the Samuel Barlow pub at Alvecote.  The name Samuel Barlow carries significant historical importance in British canal history.  Samuel Barlow was born into a boating family in 1846 and became Samuel Barlow set himself up as an owner-boatman carrying coal from local collieries around Tamworth and Warwickshire. He established his primary operating base at Glascote, near Tamworth, supplying coal via the Coventry and Birmingham & Fazeley canals to factories, gasworks, and depots. Following Samuel's death in 1894, his widow and sons continued to run and expand the carrying business.  By the 1950s, under Samuel Edwin Barlow (grandson of the founder), the company adapted into road haulage alongside canal carrying. As commercial canal traffic dwindled in the 1960s, parts of the operation evolved into the Blue Line Canal Carrying Company based at Braunston, famous for its distinctive blue, red, and white livery and decorative ropework.  It finally closed in October 1970.
 
Next was the two Glascote locks.  It was nice and easy as two boats were coming up.  Very strangely the first boat moors in Ventor Farm where OtM moors and the second one comes from our marina.  Weird! 

I’m not doing much steering at present as I had my cataracts operated on four weeks ago and until I can get new glasses, everything in the distance is a bit blurred and double!  (I am reading and can see the laptop screen which is about 2 feet away without any glasses – magic!) However I do the locks and relieve Richard when he needs to relieve himself!!  Today he was making lunch and I had to deal with a very sharp 90° turn followed by a narrow aqueduct.  I managed it very well, though I say it myself!

 
We came to the junction of the Coventry Canal with the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal.  When we first came passed the junction there was a rather dilapidated British Waterways yard.  Now there are some lovely flats.  Having said in previous blogs that the Coventry Canal Company had stop locks at the junctions of the Oxford and Ashby Canals, I was surprised to notice that there wasn’t or never had been a stop locks at the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal Junction.  Research shows that the Coventry Canal ran out of money in 1771, so the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal Company stepped in to build the 5.5-mile section north from Fazeley Junction to Whittington Brook. Because the Coventry Canal Company never bought this section back, it legally remains part of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal to this day.  So even being tight fisted over stop locks, they still went bust!

We cruised on to Hopwas and pulled over just north of the village. 
 
It was my turn to cook and I did a paella.  I had found a paella pan in the cupboard which I thought would do 4 people but I ended up using the frying pan as well.  Even though I say it myself, it was good!
 
Rio had been off colour all day and then he started being sick and was sick on and off all evening.  When it was bedtime, he slunk off into the bedroom wanting to get up on the bed which is most unusual for him, as he prefers to sleep on an armchair.  Normally he is up on a chair waiting for his bedtime biscuits.  He slept on the bed all night, but he was very good and we didn’t really realise he was there. 
 
I thought that Hopwas was a strange name, so I looked it up.  Recorded as Opewas in the Domesday Book, the name derives from the Old English hop (an enclosure or sheltered valley) and was (a marshy place). Held directly by King William, the survey recorded 13 households, 30 acres of meadow, a watermill, and a royal woodland.  In 1235, King Henry III granted permission to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral to quarry stone in the forest at Hopwas for the construction and maintenance of the cathedral.  One other little fact – in 1277, due to frequent ambushes on travellers, King Edward I ordered the undergrowth in Hopwas Wood to be cleared to eliminate hideouts used by robbers and outlaws.  We were moored in the woods so I was glad there were no highway men around anymore.

9 miles

2 locks

King’s Orchard Bridge No 85 (Birmingham & Fazeley Canal/Trent & Mersey Canal/Birmingham & Fazeley Canal) – Monday 27^th July 2026

 
Rio seemed to be back to normal this morning thank goodness.
 
We made a decision last night that, as things are only going to get worse on the canals with no significant rainfall in the offing, and the last thing we want is to get stuck away from our home marinas, we had to come up with a new plan.  We decided to go up to Fradley Junction, turn round and head back up the Atherstone flight and finally up the Hillmorton locks when we would be safe.  OtM still had the Calcutt flight to do but, so far, I gather the Grand Union Canal isn’t doing too badly for water.  It is very sad especially with it being our last outing on Mary H, but it is what it is.  We had to cut our trip short last year through lack of water too, but in 2024 we got stuck on the South Oxford due to too much water!  Crazy weather.

When we got to Fradley junction it was total chaos.  A day boat was moored on the water point and had been abandoned, another boat with an angry crew and four boats trying to get through the swing bridge and then trying to turn to go through the locks and having to queue.  Thank goodness by the time we actually got onto the Trent and Mersey Canal things had calmed down and we were able to turn round and head back down the way we had come.  There were two water points so both boats were able to fill up.

Back in the 19^th century, the junction and the locks were busy with boats carrying coal, pottery, timber, and agricultural goods which passed through day and night.  Both canal companies erected cottages, maintenance yards, and red-brick workshops for lock keepers, lengthsmen, and maintenance crews.  Central to the junction is the Swan Inn.  It dates back to around 1770, this iconic pub served boatmen for generations and remains the centrepiece of the wharf.  It is affectionately nicknamed "The Mucky Duck".

 
We wanted somewhere to stop but there were C&RT “No Mooring” signs everywhere where it was possible to moor.  Apparently, this is in force for a week while they put more stones down on the tow path.

 

We finally found somewhere, thank goodness.  There was road noise, but I hoped that maybe the wind would change direction and it would quieten down – it didn’t!  Tracey cooked fajitas for dinner which were scrummy.
 
11 miles

August 2026 - A Marmite boat, farewell to the Ashby Canal and a quick chat with NB Huffler

Geary’s Bridge No 33 (Ashby Canal) – Wednesday 22^nd July
 
We availed ourselves of the Snarestone facilities, winded and set off back down the canal. 
 
Richard had mended the tunnel light, the bulb had gone, so when we went back into the tunnel, I didn’t have to be Linda the Light this time! When the canal was built, to cross under Snarestone village without building a costly flight of locks, engineers excavated the 250 yard tunnel, which was completed in 1804. Both tunnel portals are Grade II listed.  To me they just look like tunnel portals, but apparently, they are grandly built from ashlar and rusticated stone (whatever that is!). Positioned directly above the arch head on both portals are recessed stone niches. These originally held commemorative plaques or inscriptions, though the lettering has eroded or been lost over the past two centuries. 

We lost Richard’s special mug in an incident where a chap came round the corner on the wrong side of the canal.  Richard had to quickly reverse and ended up in a hawthorn bush.  His mug was full of coffee on the taff rail and got knocked onto the deck and broke.  It was a sad time ☹  I had lost my matching one a year ago, so I hope they are now together again in mug heaven.
 
We went passed Shackerstone, or Sacrestone as it was known in the Domesday Book of 1086.  Shackerstone is the home of the Battlefield Line Railway which was originally part of the 1873 Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway which closed to passengers in 1931 and freight in 1969, when it was saved by volunteers to preserve local rural railway history.  Sadly, it only runs diesel trains during the week and we don’t like diesel trains!  An interesting fact for you!  A significant royal event in the line's history occurred in December 1902, when the brand-new royal train made its very first official outing which was to Shackerstone Station.  Onboard were  King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, and Princess Victoria.  They were travelling to visit Earl Howe at Gopsall Hall - the famous country estate near Market Bosworth where George Frideric Handel is said to have composed parts of Messiah.
 
We were aiming at mooring on the pontoons at Sutton Wharf where we had moored on the way up.  We pulled in but it was really too hot so we moved on a bit and found a really nice mooring where we could sit out under the trees.

During the evening a very strange boat came passed us.  We had heard about it but hadn’t seen it.  It was exhibited at the 2026 Crick Boat Show and drew a lot of attention and gained names such as the floating shoebox and an air fryer!  We thought it was ugly but I guess there are people out there who like it as is it a hire boat which costs over £1000 for the weekend.  This is NB Theta which is definitely a Marmite boat!

 

11 miles

River Anker Aqueduct (Ashby Canal) – Thursday 23^rd July
 
A mixed day of cloud and sun.
 
The canal seemed to be getting more and more difficult to navigate when passing other boats.  We ended up on the bottom more than once, but nothing serious thank goodness. 

We went passed Hinckley where a railway branch, the Hinckley Branch, was built in the 1870s.  The Midland Railway and the North Western Railway were locked in a territorial was over the lucrative coal and mineral trade in the area. To settle their disputes, they agreed to build a joint network.  The line was completed but before it could open the companies got into a massive corporate deadlock over running rights and operational fees.  Neither side would give in so the line was abandoned without a single train going along it.

We stopped at bridge 23 to go to the Spinney Bank Farm Shop.  It is a must for visitors to the canal.  Our freezer was pretty jammed so I couldn’t buy that much ☹  However I managed to buy two, yummy looking steaks and some bits for the BBQ.  Oh, and one huge onion!!
 
We were hoping to stop at the River Anker Aqueduct again.  We managed on the way up, but only just.  This time the whole mooring stretch was empty – well until we turned up!  However, by about 5pm the stretch was full.

I was doing a few things on the boat and looked out of the side hatch to see what the others were doing - they were all studying their phones intently!

Here is some information on the Ashby Canal. It was authorized by Parliament in 1794 to tap into the rich coalfields and limestone quarries around Measham and Moira. When it was finished in 1804 the entire 30 mile route from Marston Junction to Ashby Woulds was built without a single lock by carefully following the natural 300 foot contour of the land.  In 1846, as the railway boom swept the UK, the canal was purchased by the Midland Railway Company. Unlike many other canals that were immediately closed by railway companies to kill competition, the Ashby Canal remained highly profitable, carrying over 140,000 tons of coal per year well into the late 1800s.  Between the 1940s and the 1960s, because the canal ran directly overactive coal seams, the ground beneath it began to shift and sink. This severe mining subsidence caused the canal bed to crack and lose water. Unable to keep up with the damage, the northernmost 8 miles were progressively closed and abandoned between 1944 and 1966, cutting the navigable route down to its current 22 miles.  In 1966 the very last regular commercial coal boat travelled down the canal, marking the end of its life as an industrial transport network. It was subsequently classified as a "Cruiseway," transitioning entirely into a recreational route for narrowboats. At that point the Ashby Canal Association was formed to stop the canal from being abandoned and filled in  Then in 2000 the Ashby Canal Trust was created as a strategic umbrella group. Its board includes representatives from local authorities, the Inland Waterways Association, the National Forest Company, and the ACA itself. They then launched an ambitious effort to reclaim the lost northern sections. A major milestone was reached when a small, isolated section at the historic Moira Furnace was restored and re-watered. Active work continues to gradually push the main navigation north past Snarestone to eventually reconnect the entire line.
 
8 miles

Cherrytree Farm Bridge No 33 (Ashby Canal) – Friday 24^th July
 
It was goodbye to the Ashby Canal.  I’m glad we did it as it is a lovely canal even though it was shallow.  We had heard that the canal had been dredged earlier on in the year, so were quite surprised it was so shallow in places.  It turns out that CRT had only done a 3.7 mile stretch, not the whole thing!
 
Tracey and I decamped, with the dogs, for a walk to Marston Junction.  We then turned right onto the Coventry Canal.  You may remember when we came off the Oxford Canal onto the Coventry Canal that there is a stop lock as the Coventry Canal Company wanted to protect their water, well it was the same at Marston Junction where they required the Ashby Canal Company to build a stop lock at the junction. In 1819, both companies jointly funded a modification to narrow the lock chamber. The lock gates were eventually removed, leaving the Ashby Canal completely lock-free for its entire navigable length.  Historical maps and archaeological records show that two key canal buildings once flanked the junction: "Lock House" and "Canal House." These provided housing for lock keepers and toll collectors overseeing traffic between the two canals. Although the structures were demolished in the 20th century, their site footprints remain visible near the junction banks.
 

It was so nice to be away from the overgrown and shallow Ashby.  Suddenly it felt as if we were on the M1 of the canals (for the width not the speed!). 
 
We passed Margaret and Tony on NB Huffler.  Margaret is a long time blogger and we have known them for many years now though we haven’t seen them for a long time.  It was really nice to see them.  Once again, I forgot to take a photo, though Margaret took one of us departing and has kindly shared it with me.
 

We stopped near the The Anchor Inn Hartshill and Steve and Tracey went to investigate but decided it was not for us, plus there was a marquee in the garden with people setting up for some sort of a party.  We moved on!  The next place was nice, under the trees with a wide towpath, then we started to smell a rather unpleasant smell, so moved on again.  We were lucky the third time at Cherrytree Farm bridge, it sounded nice and it was.

This photo shows just how low the water level is.

9 miles