Lapworth in the rain

We decided to get up at 7.30am as the weather forecast said it was going to rain at 1.00pm, this would give us enough time to get through Lapworth Locks, all 21 of them, and still have time to find a mooring at the top.. WRONG!
When we got up it had already started to rain, albeit showers, but we decided to set off anyway. We took the left turn at Kingswood junction and then the right turn onto the Stratford Canal and headed north and hit the Lapworth flight of single locks, all 21 of them..

These are very pretty locks, but not as much fun in the rain, and extra care needs to be taken, even with the extra helpers.

The wind wasn't helping either, in between pounds, but we just took our time and made steady progress to the top of the flight..

It seemed very shallow so it was slow going with two draw bridges to deal with..

We stopped at Hockley Heath and sort of managed to get in.

Early evening the boys went and had a couple of pints in the Wharf Tavern, while the girls made a lovely dinner on the boats.

Warwick to Kingswood Junction

We set off at 8.30am after seeing Ian to pay for our Warwick experience. We saw Jo and Keith on n.b. Hadar on the way out to say our goodbyes..

We soon got to the first of twenty one locks on the Hatton Flight and very soon got into a routine of dealing with them.. They are quite easy locks, one because they seem wider that normal locks, and the paddles are easier because of the way they wind down.. The gates always seem very heavy but if you take your time it just feels like good exercise..

It took us 3 hours because we had to follow a single boater up for the most of it. On the second half the lock keeper help set them up and things were a bit quicker but hay ho, we are not worried about speed.   

When we got to the top we decided to push on or as Mark said get a wiggle on. There was a lot of duck weed about which got caught in the prop a bit but it was easy cruising.

We got to Shrewley tunnel, which is only 430 yards long, but we got soaked in there. Derwent6 needed a wipe down when we came out..

We carried on and found a mooring at Rowington and then walked to the nearby pub Tom O the Wood.

It was nice, but food had finished serving at 4.00pm so we walked 3/4 of a mile to The Navagation at Kingswood where fish and chips was in order and it hit the spot!

We had another lovely evening and walked back to the boats for 8.00pm giving us time to chill for the night..

Warwick

We had decided to stay in Warwick for a couple of nights at a charge of £5.50. This is a very secure area with cameras and locked BW gates..  After a peaceful night we thought we would go into town and look around the trinket shops and market stalls but before that Jo and Keith arrived on board for a coffee and flapjacks. It was great to see them and catch up on all our trial and tribulations, but we have all got through them (we hope). They were helping with the organisation of the Idle Woman theatre and ticket sales, and we watched them arrive in the arm.

It was a bit tricky where we were moored due to the boats turning in the wind so we waited till the Arm was full before going out.. Mark and Sian went to Warwick castle for the day, which we had done before, it is a great day out.

In the evening we had some Tesco vouchers to use up so had a cheap meal at Ask. We then did a couple of pubs on the way back to Derwent6 before we crashed into bed..

Blue Lias to the Saltisford Arm









We set off from the Blue Lias pub at 8.00am in brilliant sunshine, after Mark and Sian topped up with water and Del cleaned the bird's poo off the roof.

We soon hit Bascote Locks where there are two locks joined together forming a short staircase, and if travelling as single boats you can pass between the two. We were in pairs and could just go through like you would on a staircase flight of locks..



We carried on through Leamington Spa, which is so run down around the canal area we didn't feel the need to take any pics, and we also didn't feel the need to stop there. The town itself is lovely and its such a shame we couldn't go..

We pushed on and carried on to Radford where there are some nice moorings but we could see darker clouds ahead so we carried on. For the last hour it started to rain very lightly. We stopped at Lidl's which is so close to the canal you can wheel your trolley right up to Derwent6.

After passing through the Cape we then turned sharp left into the Saltisford Arm. After speaking to Jackie we were told to go right to the end of the arm which Mark managed to do, but it was so shallow we ended up coming out to the winding point and breasted up to some other boats there.

We then got ready to go into town and was joined by local knowledge John, Mark and Sian's friend.
He knew a good pub, the Rose and Crown, and also a great Indian restaurant Castle Balti.

The food here was tops and the naan breads were amazing..

We ended up in a bar with a little bit of live music to finish the evening before walking back to our boats up the arm.. A great night...............

Braunston to Blue Lias

We set off early and pulled into Braunston with Mark and Sian in front of us on n.b Mochyn Du.

We both filled with water..

We then set off towards Wigrams turn and was so pleased to see Jaq on n.b Valarie.

We then took a right turn for Calcutt Locks and then headed up to the Stockton flight. It was very busy up till the point we hit the Grand Union and then things got very quiet.

We went down the locks with ease and in good time, not that we were counting the seconds..

We even managed to get two super moorings right outside the Blue Lias pub..

Mark and Del went gliding for a couple of hours over at Burton Dassett, and on their return it would have been rude not to use the pub, where a few beers were had..

A Poignant Day

Today was quite a poignant day for us today as it would have been Alf's (Al's dad) Birthday. He always wanted to make his 90th and made it to 87. Today he would have been 90, you made it in our eyes Alf..

So it was a quiet day for us, cleaning as usual, making Derwent6 look its best which is getting harder now she is eight and a half years old..

We have a new boss on board and it isn't us. Tooty was up half the night and we found two mice in the cratch, from the busy little boy, In the heat during the day it would have been nice to get a little shut eye, but you can see who rules the bed. Shame he doesn't do the bloody locks :-)

Pirates watching Pirates

So today we got the bus from Braunston and made our way back to Rugby, where we changed buses and then got off at the 10 screen cinema. Al had badly wanted to see the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" film and after some brunch we got tickets and watched the 12.30pm viewing.. 

We both really enjoyed the film.....
After a bit of shopping we made our way back to Derwent6 to release Tooty into the wilderness. What we love is that everyday just seems an adventure. It feels like you are playing truant from school, bucking the trend, doing something different, and in the middle of the countryside.. We love this life!

Life has changed

Well we have just come back from a fantastic holiday with some really great long time friends.. This was a "do before you die" trip and we certainly made the most of it.. It all started in San Francisco where we met Zak who joined us from Canada.

Of course we did Alcatraz.

This trip covered Pacific Grove, Pebble beach,

 Carmel, Pismo Beach, and LA. It was then on to Palm Springs, Scottsdale, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon,

 and then on to Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam..
Just when you think it might end we then flew across to Florida and stayed at Steve and Erica's villa in Davenport for two weeks..

The sun and scorching temperatures followed us all the way it just couldn't have been a better adventure..

 It was a sad day when we landed back in Blighty, but we did have Derwent6 to look forward to..  Our trip on our return was to go North with boating friends (or shipmates as we call them) Mark and Sian.. Don't laugh, but first we went South, this was because there was a Bank Holiday Battle of the Bands on at Braunston..

 Yep it was messy with beer, sunshine and music all day, but we all had a fantastic time.

So this new adventure begins and we will try and fill you in with all the details.. It won't be on a daily bases but we will update this blog when we can.. Its so exciting!