Previous Year : 2016 The Bona Boater's Trips Following Year : 2018

2017 - The Ashby Canal.

Crew : Pete W, Stan, Pete M, John, Nursie, Alan.

Boat : Grey Goose

From : Anglowelsh, Great Haywood.

Route : Great Haywood > Fradley > Fazeley > Polesworth > Stoke Golding > Snarestone [w] > Market Bosworth > Nuneaton > Atherstone > Polesworth > Fazeley > Fradley > Little Haywood > Great Haywood.

Coverage : 36 Locks and 126.6 Miles

Notes : As in some previous years, the only big boat we could find was going to be a Friday-Friday hire, which does create a problem for some. Again, BTS1 would not be able to attend due to a family commitment. We had originally intended to do The Ashby Canal, then to turn towards Hawkesbury Junction and go on to Coventry Basin before returning to Great Haywood. When it became apparent that we would not have enough time for this, we turned back towards Great Haywood directly from Marston Junction, thus missing stops at both both Hawkesbury Junction and Coventry Basin. The five miles or so from Hawkesbury Junction to Coventry Basin will have to sit on our "to do list" for a few more years yet. We also had a serious issue with one of the two new-fangled macerator toilets on board, resulting in us only having one functional toilet for six people for the week. Is this a typical case of the more unnecessary technology there is, the more likely it is to break down, and the harder it will be to fix ?

Grey Goose cleared for departure with John at the tiller.

Friday 19th May

Noon : Great Haywood. Alan had phoned the boatyard earlier in the week and they had confirmed that the boat was not out, and that it would be ready for us as soon as we arrived. We therefore arranged to meet up at the boatyard around noon. John & Chris would take Alan, Pete W would pick up Pete M at the services at the A50/A38 interchange and Stan would meet us in The Swan at Fradley Junction in the evening. Unfortunately, Pete W got a bit delayed. Firstly, he forgot his phone. Whilst he did remember it less than two minutes after leaving home, it still took him a further twenty minutes to get back home to get it due to the impenetrable traffic in York. He then also managed to take the wrong exit off The A38 which took him a further twenty minutes just to get back to the point where he had taken the wrong turning in the first place. Having left some spare time in his schedule he eventually met Pete M only about twenty minutes later than expected, and they eventually arrived at the boatyard at about 12:25. By this time, John, Chris & Alan's stuff was already loaded and they were part way through the handover. After finishing the handover and loading the remaining stuff, we left the boatyard at about 13:05 en route to Fradley Junction in overcast and light drizzly showers.

Afternoon : Armitage with Handsacre. As we were away much earlier than anticipated and despite Fradley Junction being about five hours cruising time away from Great Haywood, we decided that we would still have ample time for an afternoon stop. We decided to stop at The Crown Inn, Handsacre (by Br. 58) for several pints of Bass. It was some time after leaving The Crown that Pete W felt the need to recycle some of the afternoon's Bass. Having relieved himself in the new-fangled electric macerator toilet, he pushed the flush button, water flowed in.. then.. nothing... Push button again, more water flows in then... nothing... except a toilet bowl now almost full to the brim and slopping over with a mixture of water and used Bass. We phoned the boatyard and explained the situation. We said that it wasn't really an emergency yet as we still had one functioning toilet, and so we arranged to meet narrowboatrepairman at Fazeley Junction on Saturday lunchtime.

Evening : Fradley Junction. Having left The Crown Inn at 17:25, we arrived at Fradley Junction at about 19:30, moored up and repaired to The Swan to await Stan, who arrived at almost the same time as we did. After several pints and a nice meal followed by several more pints, we repaired to the boat for our usual evening nightcap of Port & Stilton.

The Swan, Fradley Junction.

Reputedly, one of the most photographed pubs in the country.

Saturday 20th May

Lunch : Fazeley Junction. We left Fradley at about 09:00, arriving at Fazeley Junction at about 12:20. We moored on the water point where we found that narrowboatrepairman was already waiting for us, so we took the opportunity to take on water at the same time. After dismantling the malfunctioning toilet, he informed us that the macerator motor had 'gone' and it could not be repaired. He told us that they do normally carry a spare motor but that ironically, that same spare motor had already been fitted to the other toilet on this boat the previous week, and that it would now be at least Thursday before they could obtain a replacement. He advised us that the company would pay for any additional pumpouts we needed, and he also left us an emergency porta-potty just in case, which fortunately we did not need to use. We moved off and moored up on the visitor moorings just beyond the bridge (Br.77) and went to The Three Horseshoes for some more Bass.

Fazeley Junction, Tamworth.

Coventry is off to the right, under the bridge

Stoke & The Potteries is off to the left,

Birmingham is through the bridge beneath the photographer.

Evening : Polesworth. We left Fazeley at 14:50 with the intention of reaching Atherstone that evening, but the weather had other ideas. By the time we reached Glascote Locks, what had previously been overcast with on/off showers had turned into a veritable deluge of biblical proportions. Everyone was soaked, even through their waterproofs. As the weather looked set in for further heavy rain, and it would be eleven locks and at least 20:00 before we got to Atherstone, we decided to stop at Polesworth instead. A good plan as it turned out. We left the boat and went to The Bull's Head. What a find. Whilst it may not be the greatest or most interesting pub in the world, it did have some very nice Titanic Brewery Plum Porter and a curry house next door. After a surfeit of Plum Porter, we went to The India Garden next door for a superb curry, then back to The Bull's Head for even more Plum Porter.

The Bull's Head, Polesworth later in the week.

Titanic Plum Porter and a curry house called The India Garden right next door.

Sunday 21st May

Morning : Early Start. As we estimated that it was going to take over six hours to try to catch up to where we should have been, we decided to leave Polesworth at 06:30, though it was nearer 06:45 when we actually moved off. The morning was glorious, with no hint of yesterday's cloud and rain - in fact the rest of the week was going to be wall-to-wall sunshine and blazing hot.

Lunch : Bulkington. Despite leaving Polesworth at 06:45, it was still almost 10:00 by the time we reached the Top Lock at Atherstone. There was a surprisingly large number of boats on the Atherstone flight, which caused us somewhat of a delay. Even having reached the top lock, it would still be at least another three hours to Marston Junction and the start of The Ashby Canal. Once on The Ashby Canal, we stopped by Bulkington Road Bridge (Br.5) and went to The Corner House. Not really our 'sort' of pub, being a large roadside family-orientated eatery, offering such joys as Halloumi Tikka Masala. It did however have some proper beer in the guise of Robinson's (or is that Hartley's ?) Wainwright & Marston's Pedigree. The Wainwright was far too cold, hazy and definitely not at it's best, but the pedigree was rather good - until it ran out, at which point we all left as they had no other real ale.

Afternoon : The Lime Kilns. We left Bulkington and continued up The Ashby, arriving at The Lime Kilns by Br.15 at about 17:00. We moored on the pub's mooring and went in for a quick couple of pints. Thankfully, the beer here was much better than that in The Corner House. We finally left The Lime Kilns at about 18:15 en route to Stoke Golding.

The Lime Kilns by Bridge 15.

Evening : Stoke Golding. We arrived in Stoke Golding at about 19:45 and went to The George & Dragon for a couple of pints of various Churchend Brewery Beers, followed by a curry in The Mango Tree. Nice curry, but not quite as good as the one in Polesworth the night before. Replete with both beer and curry, we went straight back to the boat giving The White Swan a miss even though it still appeared to be open.

Stoke Golding visitor moorings.

Monday 22nd May

Lunchtime : Snarestone. We left Stoke Golding at about 08:00, passed through Snarestone tunnel and winded at the Winding Hole just before Bridge 61a. Beyond bridge 61a the canal is run by the A.C.A (The Ashby Canal Association) and not by C&RT. It is used mainly for private moorings but is accessible if requested. Boats over 52' cannot wind at the far end so must either reverse in or reverse out. We chose to do neither, but to take on water and buy some gifts at the gift shop instead. We then set off back down The Ashby Canal, passed through Snarestone Tunnel again, moored up immediately beyond it and went to The Globe. Here, we were surprised by Sue M (Pete M's wife) turning up unexpectedly. She said she only knew roughly where we might be, but somehow managed to guess correctly that we'd be in the pub. Now how did she manage to do that, I wonder ?

Bridge 61A.

The current terminus of The Ashby Canal with The Ashby Canal Association shop.

Taking on water at the Head of The Ashby...

The sign at the head of the A.C.A managed section.

The Globe by the Southern portal of Snarestone Tunnel.

Afternoon : Shackerstone. After a few rounds with Sue M in The Globe, we left Snarestone and decided to stop and investigate Shackerstone Station & The Battlefield Line, even though we knew that there would not be any trains running. After a few photos of the station, we walked into the village to investigate The Rising Sun, but unfortunately we found it shut. We left Shackerstone at about 16:45.

Nursie, demonstrating her interest in all things railway by staying on the boat !

An upcoming feature on The Battlefield Line with carry-on-esque character names.

A proper train for those of my era, who don't actually remember ever seeing working steam.

The Rising Sun, Shackerstone.

Evening : Market Bosworth. We left Shackerstone at about 16:45 and arrived in Market Bosworth at about 18:00, but due to the heat of the day most of us needed a rest before the twenty minute walk into the town. We passed by Stoke Golding Station, noting the semaphore skignals... not sure where that word came from, but everyone seemed to be using it. We walked into the town, but on arrival were a little disappointed by the choice of pubs. We eventually went to Ye Olde Red Lion Hotel for a meal and some beer.

Ye Olde Red Lion, Market Bosworth.

Tuesday 23rd May

Early morning : Another early start . We left Market Bosworth at 07:15 aiming for Nuneaton, as we had now realised that we would not be able to make it to Coventry and back in the time remaining.

Lunch : Nuneaton. We left Market Bosworth and headed for Marston Junction where we turned back towards Nuneaton. In contrast to the previous days, there was an overcast and a little light rain in the early morning, but this soon gave way to another hot day. We stopped by Boot Bridge (Br.20) and went to The Horseshoes for a few pints. In need of some provisions, John & Chris then went looking for a Sainsbury's (thanks to the girl behind the bar for directions) while the rest of us had some more beer. After another couple of rounds, we returned to the boat to find John, Chris and the supplies had only just arrived there minutes before us. We then set off for Atherstone.

Evening : Atherstone. En route to Atherstone, we stopped for a quick couple at The Anchor Inn at Hartshill. A nice pub, but with rather useless wooden beermats. Surely, the whole idea of a beermat is to soak up spilled beer, something which wooden beermats would seem to be spectacularly bad at. We eventually arrived in Atherstone at about 20:00 and moored above the locks. We went to The Angel Alehouse for a few beers, then on to The Raj Mahal for yet another curry.

The Anchor Inn, Hartshill

With utterly useless wooden beermats.

Wednesday 24th May

Lunchtime : Polesworth. We left Atherstone at about 09:10, descended the eleven locks, eventually arriving at Polesworth at about 12:40. We moored and went straight to The Bull's Head again for another 'fix' of Titanic Plum Porter. On entering the pub, we were immediately recognised by the barmaid who wanted to know whether we'd had a good curry on Saturday night. We assured her that it was excellent. Unfortunately, the Plum Porter had run out and she didn't know how to change it... potential disaster - Fortunately, the landlord was summoned to change it, and once changed, we had numerous pints. Replete with Plum Porter, we finally left Polesworth at about 15:00.

Afternoon : Pump-out. Having had only one functioning toilet on board for six people, we decided that it might be prudent to get a pumpout. We could not find any obvious gauge to say how full the poo tank might be, but we really didn't want the one remaining toilet to fail leaving us with only the bucket-and-chuck-it to use. We stopped at Narrowcraft Boat Services for a pump-out. The chap told us to wind the boat so that the pump out point was alongside the bank... which Pete M did, and did rather well - only for the chap then to realise that the pump-out point was actually on the roof rather than in the more usual position on the gunwale.. so in fact the winding had not actually been necessary. Pump out completed, Pete M winded the boat again and we continued on to Glascote Locks where we took on water. We then continued on towards Fazeley Junction, arriving there at about 18:10.

Getting a pump-out at Narrowcraft Boat Services...

...meanwhile, John lies in state..

or maybe that should read "John lies in a state !"

Evening : Fazeley. On arrival at Fazeley, Pete W went straight to The Three Horseshoes, arriving there at 18:25 only to find that it would not open until 18:30. Minutes later he was joined by Stan just as it opened and they were shortly joined by Pete M, followed by John, Chris & Alan somewhat later. Numerous pints of Bass followed. In previous years, we would normally have gone to The Ivory Tusk curry house next door, but having had a curry on three of the previous five nights, we felt something different was in order, so we went to The Peninsular Cantonese where we had a superb Chinese meal.

Leaving The Three Horseshoes before going to The Peninsular Cantonese.

Thursday 25th May

Lunchtime : Fradley Junction. We left Fazeley and eventually arrived at Fradley, successfully negotiated the Junction, and climbed the two locks to the Visitor Moorings. Unfortunately, our boat was a bit too long for the one remaining space. We tried to moor, but the front would have been stuck well out from the receding bank beyond the end of the armaco. Then the chap in the next boat back (Albert) said he would move his boat back for us, which he did. We then just managed to fit in, tying up to the very last bit of armaco. We thanked him and offered to buy him a pint at The Swan, but he declined. We went to The Swan for several pints of Everards. After a couple of rounds, who should walk in but Albert, so we got him a pint and he joined us for the remainder of the lunchtime session. We eventually left Fradley at 15:45.

A selection of nice hats leaving The Swan at Fradley Junction.

Evening : Little Haywood. Having left Fradley at about 15:45, we eventually arrived at Colwich Lock (21) and moored just beyond The Railway Bridge at 19:45. We went to Old Red Lion, but it was not doing meals. All they had left were five ham salad rolls, which we soon demolished, along with numerous pints of Saddle Tank, Banks's Sunbeam and a packet of pork scratchings. A proper evening meal. After noting that Alan had the token for next year, we headed back to the boat for the last of the port, stilton & black pudding. Whilst we were partaking, Nursie said she thought there was a light coming towards us. No we all said, it must be on a house or bridge or something. then a few minutes later she said yes, it is definitely coming towards us. Intrigued, we looked out to see a boat coming through the darkness. Night Boating. I had heard that some people do do it, but I'd never seen it until now. We then returned to our port, stilton & black pudding.

... and just for the record

Alan has The Token for 2018

Friday 26th May

Morning : Great Haywood. As it was a relatively short run to The Boatyard, it just gave us time for a quick clean up of the boat before Stan performed an almost perfect reverse parking manoeuvre under the watchful gaze of the boatyard staff. We unloaded the stuff, and said our goodbyes. John & Chris took Alan & Stan, dropping Stan at Uttoxeter, while Pete W took Pete M back to meet Sue at the services on The A38, before continuing on to Bradford for the traditional post-boat curry at The Karachi.

Previous Year : 2016 The Bona Boater's Trips Following Year : 2018

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