Friday, August 31, 2012
Coventry and Ashby Canals
A nice surprise to see clear a clear blue sky when we go tip this morning, however this will explain the very cold night , temperature dropped to 4c, hopefully it will soon warm
Up.
Our journey back up the Coventry Canal was much nicer than the trip there, no rain and quite about of sunshine. It was very quiet not many people traveling on the canal today.
We saw many interesting things on route, please see photos.
I managed to get washing done, dried and ironed whilst Les was on the tiller.
We stopped for lunch near the Ricoh Arena home of Coventry football club, afterwards made a visit to Tesco again, it's a huge store and there are also many other shops in the vicinity.
Made another stop for a tea break where I managed to pick a jug full of blackberries and also some stinging nettles! This was not a mistake but having read of Lois Janes blog about them having them with their a meal I decided to give them a go. I have to say I wore rubber gloves to pick them and prepare them too. The nettles were great, I added just a tablespoon of water to a saucepan and wilted the nettles for about 5 mins. I had googled the use of nettles first and found them to rich in iron and many other minerals and vitamins. The taste was similar to spinach, very enjoyable and I will not hesitate to pick some again.
We took
The ashby Canal turning at Marsden Junction and continued until we reached the Lime Kiln pub and earth where we have moored for the night.
Up.
Our journey back up the Coventry Canal was much nicer than the trip there, no rain and quite about of sunshine. It was very quiet not many people traveling on the canal today.
We saw many interesting things on route, please see photos.
I managed to get washing done, dried and ironed whilst Les was on the tiller.
We stopped for lunch near the Ricoh Arena home of Coventry football club, afterwards made a visit to Tesco again, it's a huge store and there are also many other shops in the vicinity.
Made another stop for a tea break where I managed to pick a jug full of blackberries and also some stinging nettles! This was not a mistake but having read of Lois Janes blog about them having them with their a meal I decided to give them a go. I have to say I wore rubber gloves to pick them and prepare them too. The nettles were great, I added just a tablespoon of water to a saucepan and wilted the nettles for about 5 mins. I had googled the use of nettles first and found them to rich in iron and many other minerals and vitamins. The taste was similar to spinach, very enjoyable and I will not hesitate to pick some again.
We took
The ashby Canal turning at Marsden Junction and continued until we reached the Lime Kiln pub and earth where we have moored for the night.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Photos from Coventry today
James Brindley
Art work for the 2012 Olympic
Lady Godiva
Coventry Canal Basin
Art work for the 2012 Olympic
Lady Godiva
Coventry Canal Basin
A day in Coventry
We took the train today to nearby Canley where there was a huge outdoor living shop. Here we managed to get a suitable ariel for the TV. It was quite a walk to the train station from the canal. On the way back I stopped off in the city to do some shopping and Les made his way back to the boat to fit the ariel.
I should have had a pedometer to check how far I walked today, seemed like miles. After a coffee break off back out to IKEA again to pick up more coat hangers and some spare plates, having bought 6 of everything last week I felt we needed some spares for the future when the design we choose is discontinued.
At last we have TV and everything we need to live comfortably on Blue Moon.
I love the architecture of the old city. There are buildings dating back to the 16th century. As you will see by the photos it's sad that the government have allowed this area to be spoilt by new modern buildings that are not in keeping with the old ones.
We will leave Coventry in the morning we have been watched over by the late Mr James Brindley, famous canal engineer of the 18th century. He looked for a way to improve the transport of coal in the UK and he was commissioned to construct many canals, the first which was the Bridgewater canal in 1759. He is standing tall beside our boat. A bit unnerving as I keep thinking that someone is outside looking in !
I should have had a pedometer to check how far I walked today, seemed like miles. After a coffee break off back out to IKEA again to pick up more coat hangers and some spare plates, having bought 6 of everything last week I felt we needed some spares for the future when the design we choose is discontinued.
At last we have TV and everything we need to live comfortably on Blue Moon.
I love the architecture of the old city. There are buildings dating back to the 16th century. As you will see by the photos it's sad that the government have allowed this area to be spoilt by new modern buildings that are not in keeping with the old ones.
We will leave Coventry in the morning we have been watched over by the late Mr James Brindley, famous canal engineer of the 18th century. He looked for a way to improve the transport of coal in the UK and he was commissioned to construct many canals, the first which was the Bridgewater canal in 1759. He is standing tall beside our boat. A bit unnerving as I keep thinking that someone is outside looking in !
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Rain all the way to Coventry
Shortly after leaving Longford it started raining and it got heavier and heavier. No where suitable to stop on route so a very wet journey, soaked through. Arrived at Coventry Basin in just over one hour. It looks very interesting even through the condensation on the windows ! Hopefully it will stop raining soon and we can then go and explore and explore we did !
On the move
We left Rugby after a couple of pleasant days. Our plan then was to stop at Brinklow, reputed to be one of the prettiest villages on the north Oxford canal. This was not possible as everyone else seemed to have decided to do the same thing it was very busy and we could not find a suitable mooring.
We travelled on then to Hawksbury Junction went through the lock and carried on after seeing how many pylons there were, not an ideal place to stop overnight. It was a wise choice we arrived at Longford and found a good place to moor just near to the bridge.
We can thoroughly recommend the chinese take away in the village.
A long day but we enjoyed the scenery and all the wildlife.
We travelled on then to Hawksbury Junction went through the lock and carried on after seeing how many pylons there were, not an ideal place to stop overnight. It was a wise choice we arrived at Longford and found a good place to moor just near to the bridge.
We can thoroughly recommend the chinese take away in the village.
A long day but we enjoyed the scenery and all the wildlife.
Braunstone to Rugby 25th August
What a night, very little sleep the bed was so hard and it felt as if we were sleeping on a rack. On leaving our mooring at Braunstone we decided to stop at the chandlers and purchase a mattress, if we are going to cope with just a four foot mattress it has to be a comfortable one.
We made good progress on our own and made it to Rugby. Stopped very near Tesco and many other stores so we were able to stock up on supplies.
We made good progress on our own and made it to Rugby. Stopped very near Tesco and many other stores so we were able to stock up on supplies.
Maiden voyage. 24th August
With the help of Mike Allen, our tutor we left Whilton Marina. Les staring off working the locks and I was on the tiller, hopeless would not describe how I managed ! It will come in time hopefully. After a really busy day and 13 locks later we arrived at Braunstone. We walked to a nice pub on the edge of the canal and had a very welcome meal. Stayed here overnight.
22nd and 23rd August 2012
After a brief look at Blue Moon we set off for IKEA to buy bedding china and all the other things that we needed to make life comfortable on the boat.
Blue Moon had a few more scrapes on the side than showed up in the photos of her. Les felt the need to tidy her up . So after a quick coat of paint to the bow she looked good. It was not so difficult finding space for everything as I thought it may be. Lots of drawers under the seats bed and even the steps. After 2 days we were ready to set off.
Blue Moon had a few more scrapes on the side than showed up in the photos of her. Les felt the need to tidy her up . So after a quick coat of paint to the bow she looked good. It was not so difficult finding space for everything as I thought it may be. Lots of drawers under the seats bed and even the steps. After 2 days we were ready to set off.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Blue Moon let the journey begin
After many weeks of planning our adventure on Blue Moon begins. The last 3 days have been spent getting the boat clean and well equipped for our maiden voyage. We have enough food to last us 2 weeks, hopefully this will not be necessary. Tonight we will spend our first night on board, it will be nice and cosy in our massive four foot wide bed ! We are still a little jet lagged after our three flights to the UK. So off to bed now and I will keep you up to date on our adventure.
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