Braunston Historic Boat Rally

 Not really a voyage of Densie as she was not there.  However we were so....

The rally of historic boats is an annual event taking place at Braunston.  This small village in Northamptonshire is seen as the centre of the English canal system as major canals from the south, north, west, and north west meet in the area.

Commercial traffic on the canals cased in 1970 but there are dozens of boats from that era still afloat being maintained by enthisiasts.  The Braunston Rally gives them the opportunity to how off the results of a great deal of hard work and expense.

Historic boats at waiting to pake part in the twice daily parade

Twice a day at the Rally many of thehistoric boats parade along the canal. Clearly they need to turn around at the end.....

Narrowboat and Butty pair approaching Braunston Junction

Turning left at the junction

Reverse to the right and side

Reverse around corner

These pictures show how to turn a narrowboat and unpowered "butty" around at a T-junction. Each boat is 70 foot long and weighs about 30 tons.  Manoeuvering such a pair takes significant skill by the two crew, especially when as we see here there are several other moored boats around.

View of historic Braunston Boatyard

Old crane at BRaunston Boatyard

The boatyard at Braunston was once the mainentance yard for a large fleet of commercial narrowboats but is now part of Braunston Marina.

Steam narrowboat Hasty

Originally from the unception of the canals in the 1770s all narrowboats were pulled by horses.  This method of propulsion was in use right up to the end of commercial carrying.  From the early 1900s diesel engines egan to take over.

However for a short time some boats were fitted with steam engines. They were never successful for commercial carrying since the coal fuel required too much space that would otherwise be used for cargo.  However they did find a use as tugs in the docks.  Steam engines of that period, if any survived, could probably not be used now because of far more stringent safety checks.

However some boats have been reconstructed with modern steam engines.  One such seen here is "Hasty" and another "Adamant" was also at the Rally.  Steam boats unlike those with diesel engines require 2 crew, one to steer and the other to keep the boiler running. I did ask Adamant's driver how the he coukd speed up or slow down the engine.  I was told this was done "digitally" with the steerer using his index finger to push a buzzer.  Perhaps one buzz meant speed up and 2 meant slow down, I dont know.

Our first ever visit to the Historic Boat Rally was great fun and it is something we hope to do again.

Back in the marina

Ascending Hillmorton bottom lock

Wild orchids growing at Hillmorton bottom lock

Moored in the marina  - Densie is 4th from the left

 Back in our marina at lunch time after a pleasant journey in sunny but breezy weather.  It was good to see that many more of the orchids at Hillmorton Locks have come into bloom since we were there 13 days ago.

The picture shows a small part of the marina with about 1/6th of the total number of boats visible.

3 hours 25 minutes, 3 locks, 6.84 miles

Overall the statistics for our trip are:
14 days
43hours 55 minutes cruising
96.08 miles
8 locks
2 swing bridges
average distance+locks+swing bridges/hour 2.42 miles
average hours/day cruising 3.14

Tomorrow I will publish pictures of the Historic Boat Festival.

Rugby again

 

Meeting a boat between Brinklow and Rugby

Same boat approachingWest Coast Main Railway

Moored nose to tail at Rugby

Old working boat passing our mooring

We have now stopped for the day at the very busy Rugby moorings.  When we arrived at 11:15 there was only one gap about 58 foot long into which I was able to just squeeze the 57 foot Densie.

Our short ourney today started at 9:30 and was uneventful.  One point of interest was the unexceptional bridge where the 150mph main line trains cross over the canal. Sadly none turned up in time for the photo. Another was the short 750 foot Newbold tunnel.

Several historic ex-working boats dating from before cargo carrying on the canals ended in 1970 have passed us on their way to the Rally at Braunston to be held over the weekend.  We will be going to the Rally by car and I will add some better pictures later.

2 hours, 4.87 miles

Back to Brinklow

 

Bridge 21 on the North Oxford

Boatyard and hireboat centre at Stretton Stop

Congestion near bridge at Stretton Stop

Still on our way back home, stopping at much the same places as on ur journey out. We left Ansty at 9:25 and stopped for the night  at Brinklow woods 2 hours later.  We have no wish to get back to our marina before Friday and so are spreading out the remaining journey over the time available.

The photos show a couple of points of interest not mentioned on the previous description.  The very high bridge shown in the first photo looks like it was built for a railway in Victorian times.  However our map shows no reference to any line crossing the canal.

Stretton Stop was so called as working boats had to stop there, I guess to pay toll fees.  It is now a small boatyard and also hires out narrowboats.  The following rather dark picture shows us passing one narrowboat to go under the single boat-width bridge after Stretton Stop meeting another boat coming in the opposite direction.  It is a well known rule of the waterways that if you are to meet another boat it will always be at a narrow bridge or a tight bend.

2 hours 5 mins cruising, 4.54 miles

Ansty

 

Hawkesbury Junction - turning off the Coventry Canal 

Moored at Ansty on the North Oxford Canal

There was heavy rain most of this morning but it stopped soon after lunch. As we needed to run the engine to charge the batteries we decided to move on, filling up with water at Hawkesbury, ascending the 1 foot stop lock, and travelling a few miles back along the Oxford Canal to the canalside village of Ansty.

2 hours travelling, 3.58 miles

Return to Hawkesbury Junction

Newdigate Colliery Arm junction with the Coventry Canal near Hawkesbury

Yesterday I mentioned that the forecast thunderstorms had not appeared.  As soon as I shut down the laptop we had a torrential rainstorm that lasted for several hourse.noticably raising the level of the canal.

This morning was dry but overcast.  After setting out we turned right at the junction with the Coventry Canal to travel two miles through the industrial town of Nuneaton to empty our waste tank at a small boatyard there. No pictures of Nuneaton I am afraid as the canal scenery, mainly of estate houses and allotments,  is of little interest.  We then turned the boat around  and headed towards Coventry, mooring back near Hawkesbury Junction at lunchtime.

This was a coal mining area and there were canal arms that went to indivual collieries. The photo shows the end of the blocked and abandoned Newdigate Colliery Arm.  The colliery itself closed in 1982.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is heavy rain for most of the day so we may not move.  We are a day ahead of schedule so there is no point in getting wet.

3 hours 20 minutes, 9.08 miles

Back to the start of the Ashby

 

Former working boat built in 1935

Moored at Birdge 3 on the Ashby just north of Coventry

An overcast day with occasional showers.  We continue our journey back home reaching Bridge 3 on the Ashby about half a mile north of Marston Junction where the Ashby Canal meets the Cooventry Canal. We arrived at 12:45 an hour before a forecast thuderstorm but this afternoon there has only been a few rumbles of thunder and barely any rain. 

We had planned to empty our waste tank at Trinity Maina in Hinckley but found it closed until Tuesday. So tomorrow we will need to take a small detour up the Coventry to find somewhere else. As we are a day ahead of schedule  this will not disrupt our plans.

3 hours 45 minutes 8.35 miles

Stoke Golding

View from Shenton aqueduct

 The very hot weather seems to be over.  We awoke to a cool and cloudy morning with some light rain.  We set off at 8:25 as soon as the rain stopped retracing our journey through Market Bosworth and on over Shenton Aqueduct where the canal crosses over a country lane.  I was not able to get a satisfactory photo on the way up so did not mention it last week.

Soon after the aqueduct we stopped at the services at Sutton Wharf to fill up with water.  By this time the rain had returned, heavier than before.  Luckily there was a cafe nearby so we had a coffee there whilst waiting for the rain to stop, which it did in half an hour.

The final stage of today's journey took us to the village of Stoke Golding where a blue plaque records that Henry 7th was crowned after his vistory at Bosworth. More usefully for us it has a very good farm shop where we stocked up with fresh veg, 3 pubs which we did not visit and a highly recommended Indian restaurant where we may eat this evening.

4 hours 15 miutes cruising, 8.16 miles

Congerstone

We can go no further

End of the navigation

One day the canal will be extended

After turning round - more Ashby scenery

About to leave Snarestone tunnel traveling south

Last night we had a good meal and beer at the friendly Globe Inn in Snarestone.  Well worth a visit.

After starting at 9am this morning we passed through Snarestone tunnel  into a section of canal that has been restored after having been abandoned in 1966 following the loss of the northern part of the canal to mining subsidence. This is somewhat ironic since the canal was first built in the 1790's to carry coal from the Leicestershire mines.

We moored at the Ashby Canal Association's visitor facilities located at the furthest point we can take our 57 foot boat.  Shorter boats can be granted permission to travel on for a half mile to the true end of navigation  where there is a winding hole to turn small boats. We had to walk there and could see where the canal will be further restored to eventually return to its original terminus in the village of Moira.

The ACA's facilities include a water tap where we filled our tank and a small shop where we bought a couple of cartons of excellent local ice cream.  There is also a winding hole sufficiently large to accommodate all narrowboats where we turned the boat around to start our journey back home.

So back through Snarestone tunnel and Shackerstone to the village of Congerstone where we moored up in the hot sun at 12:55.

3 hours 15 minutes, 5.69 miles.

Snarestone

Cruising past the reeds

The Ashby Canal is narrow in places

Mooring near Snarestone tunnel

Another hot day tmade more comfortable byh a cool breeze and plenty of shade from the trees along the canal. 

We set off at 8:40 intending to finish by lunchtime and so avoid the heat of the day.  The journey took us past the Bosworth Battle field Heritage Centre located on the hill where the battle was believed to have taken place. Here there is a visitor centre (not visible from the canal) with a highly regarded exhibition and the normal restaurant and gift shop.   Unfortuately research by historians and archeologists in the 2000's proved that the battle site was actually 2 miles away not far from our mooring last night.

Then on past the road leading to the town of Market Bosworth about 1 mile away.  It looks like we will have to make that walk when we return as we have limited supplies left and shops are very scarce along the canal.

At lunchtime we reached the very small village of Shackerstone where we planned to stay for the night and have a meal in the local pub.   However, we went there whilst exploring the village and were disappointed to hear that they were no longer providing meals.

As we have not eaten out so far on this trip the only solution was to carry on up the canal for another couple of miles to Snarestone near the end of navigation.  There are good moorings next to the tunnel which takes the canal uderneath the village.

This was the longest day on our journey so far:

5 hours 15 minues, 11.83 miles

Stoke Golding/Dadlington

 

Ashby Canal view

Stoke Golding church overlooks our mooring

Getting boring, yet another very hot and sunny day and attractive scenery. After leaving our mooring we stopped at Hinckley to shop.  Unfortunately the nearest  shop , a small Coop, was more than half a mile walk from the nearest mooring. Never mind, we walked there, bought sufficient provisions to last a few days, walked back and set off again.

The photo shows a picture of another bridge.  A probem with taking canal pictures is that the bridges are the only things to photograph.  General views of attractive scenery just dont work

We stopped for the day at 13:00 between the villages of Stoke Golding and Dadlington rather earlier than the plans said but we will catch up tomorrow.

In the afternoon I walked into Dadlington but apart from the small 13th century church where some of the dead from the Battle of Bosworth (Richard 3rd, a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse etc) were buried there is little to see.  I will be saying more about the battle tomorrow.

2 hours 20 mins cruising, 6.31 miles

On the Ashby Canal

 

Densie leaving Hawkesworth to turn right on the Coventry Canal

Looking back to the start of the Ashby Canal

Typical Ashby Canal scenery

Moored near Hinckley

A perfect day for cruising with a cloudless blue sky and hot sun, but with a gentle cooling breeze.

We left our moring at 8:50 to avoid the hottest part of the day.  After passing through Hawkesbury Basin we turned right onto the Coventry Cnal (left for Coventry city centre).  Almost immediately we stopped to fill up with water at a rather slow tap. The set we off on the 2.5 mile journey through the outskirts of Coventry to Marston Junction where the Ashby Canal branches off to the right.

The Ashby Canal does not join any other canal and so we will be travelling the 30 miles to the end of navigation, then turning round and retracing our steps. It is quite dfferent to the previous 2 canals being shallow with delightful wooded scenery. Our speed is limited by the depth of water to 2.5mph compared with the 3.0mph we could easily reach previously. 

We moored for the day a mile before  Hinckley, the only major town on the canal, at lunchtime just as the breeze was dying and the temperature rising.

3 hours 40 minutes, 7.37 miles

Hawkesbury Junction

 

Disused canal arm

M6 passes high above the canal

Hawkesbury Junction stop lock

Last night was somewhat disturbed with rain and thunder.  At 2am we were woken up by the screeching bark of a fox  which seemed to be right outside the boat.  Today has been another hot and humid day. First job in the morning was to spray WD40 on a couple of stiff hinges and have a general check of the engine.  All was well so we set off at 9:40.

Our route took us through pleanat thoiugh unremarkable countryside.  All along the canal there is evidence of the changes that the canal hs undergone since it was contructed in the 1770's.  The picture shows the old bridge over a now disused arm to the nearby village of  Brinklow.  Other similar bridges are all that remains of extravagent meanders in the original canal which was straightened in the 1820's. The engineer if I remember correctly was Marc Brunel, Isambard Kindom's father.

Further on we pass ed beneath a more modern construction, the high bridge that takes the M6 over both the canal and the adjacent West Coast main railway line.

We finshed our journey for today at 12:50 at Hawkesbury Junction, which marks the end of the North Oxford Canal.  Here the canal descends a 1 foot stop lock to the Coventry Canal.  The lock helps maintain water levels and prevents water flowing from one canal to the other as the canals were built by separate ond often rival companies.  Of course water was a valuable asset.

3 hours 10 minutes, 7.99 miles,

Rugby and Brinklow

 We started early this morning at 9:00 so that we could make reasonable progress before the weather got uncomfortably hot.

Descending Hilmorton top lock

Orchids at Hilmorton Bottom Lock

Leaving the paired Hilmorton Locks

First point of interest was Hilmorton Locks where the canal descends 18 feet through 3 locks, each being paired to speed the flow of traffic. Then to Rugby where we moored up at 11:00 as the weather was getting hotter and we needed some things from the shpping centre conveniently located a few minutes walk from the canal.

Cruising through Brinklow Woods

We stayed in the boat, with the cabin temperature at 30 degC for lunch and did not set off again until the weather cooled a bit at 15:00.  We were somewhat apprehensive as the weather forecast was showing a possible thunderstorm.  Fortunately it never happened and we moored up at Brinklow  soon after the very attractive woods at about 17:00. 

Cruising time 3 hours 50 mins, 3 locks 7.7 mile,

Out again - June 2023

 

Densie in the marin

Ducklings at Barby Moorings

Bridge 76 on the North Oxford Canal

We are out on Densie again for a 2 week cruise to the Ashby Canal. .  As we had packed yesterday afternoon we were able to leave home earlier than usual and arrived at the marina at 11:30.  After unpacking and fillng up with diesel we set out at 13:40 going north on the North Oxford Canal.  The temperature was forecast to be around 30 degC with thunderstorms.  It was certainly sunny and very warm with a slight breeze but fortunately no thunderstorms.

We moored at 15:15 near Hilmorton Locks.

1 hour 35 mins cruising, 3.70 miles