The city was full of students it must be a popular university here.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Tuesday in Leicester
Thoroughly enjoyed the walk through the city. The market was large and noisy everyone calling out offering their fruit and veg for sale.
The city was full of students it must be a popular university here.
The city was full of students it must be a popular university here.
This rain is not getting any lighter
An escape from the rain, we decided to have a night away in Leicester. It's a very long time since we went to Leicester so it made for an interesting visit. We stayed in the Mercure Grand Hotel a very old building in a good location just a short distance from the rail station and near by to the city centre. 
Sunday in Hinckley
A rather wet day, Les and I walked into Hinckley and met up with Marc and the girls. There was a vintage car show sad for the people who had gone to great extent polishing their lovely old cars for it to be so wet. The rain stopped for a short while only.
Moored at Trinity for a couple of days
On Saturday I went into Nuneaton to do some shopping after alighting from the bus the first thing I saw was a chinese dragon dance. It was market day in Nuneaton , one of the largest markets in this part of the country. There were also some rock and roll dancers. Marc Dylan and Bella picked me up and took me back to the marina. It was quite good weather after the heavy rain of the day before.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Rain and plenty of it ..........
We left Atherstone mid afternoon yesterday. We would have stayed here longer if we could have got a TV signal.
Our idea was that we would moor at a place in the middle of nowhere where we had stayed on our way to Tamworth. It was not meant to be there were a couple of other narrowboats moored there so we opted for nearby. Sadly no TV what a difference just a few metres make.
Today we set off at about 10am and so hit rain and it got heavier, not a chance of it clearing up. Poor Les he was wet and cold on the back of the boat. We stopped on the outskirts of Nuneaton for lunch and then we turned on the the Ashby canal and moored at the Lime Kilns pub.
Arriving there at around 4pm. A long wet day. We have been very lucky this is only the second time during the last 5 weeks that we have been hindered by rain.
It's still raining now at 9.30pm. It stopped for about 30 mins only. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some sunshine.
The swans here keep knocking their beaks against the boat asking for food they will put their heads through the open windows, I am also very aware how careful you need to be as they will snap at you and could do some serious damage. Beautiful creatures but not as gentle as they look.
Our idea was that we would moor at a place in the middle of nowhere where we had stayed on our way to Tamworth. It was not meant to be there were a couple of other narrowboats moored there so we opted for nearby. Sadly no TV what a difference just a few metres make.
Today we set off at about 10am and so hit rain and it got heavier, not a chance of it clearing up. Poor Les he was wet and cold on the back of the boat. We stopped on the outskirts of Nuneaton for lunch and then we turned on the the Ashby canal and moored at the Lime Kilns pub.
Arriving there at around 4pm. A long wet day. We have been very lucky this is only the second time during the last 5 weeks that we have been hindered by rain.
It's still raining now at 9.30pm. It stopped for about 30 mins only. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some sunshine.
The swans here keep knocking their beaks against the boat asking for food they will put their heads through the open windows, I am also very aware how careful you need to be as they will snap at you and could do some serious damage. Beautiful creatures but not as gentle as they look.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Polesworth and Tamworth
It was a nice sunny start today, it was lovely waking up to see the freshly harvested fields. After breakfast we made our first stop Polesworth. This is a small village with a small Priory. Just a short way along the canal we saw a very tall tower that looked as if it was a matchstick building. In fact it is made from tin. It has been erected in memory of the coal pit that was here. Sadly there is no plaque or info about it in the vicinity, we asked some local people who were walking their dog if they knew of its origins. The walk up the hill was very steep, hard going but well worth the view from the top.
Our next stop was at a small canal shop owned by an elderly widower. He was thrilled that we had stopped and bought some items from him. He run his shop from his home and it was just a small summerhouse in the garden.
We arrived at Tamworth late afternoon, it's a very interesting town with an impressive castle. A good choice of shops and well looked after gardens.
Tamworth has one of the largest indoor ski domes. There is a great viewing area , the various activities looked good fun, very expensive though at £25 for one hour.
It rained a little whilst we were in Tamworth and become bitterly cold. We have just heard an up to date forecast , tonight it's going to be 4c and a high of 14c ! Somewhat cooler than the 43c when we left Koh Samui 4 weeks ago.
Our next stop was at a small canal shop owned by an elderly widower. He was thrilled that we had stopped and bought some items from him. He run his shop from his home and it was just a small summerhouse in the garden.
We arrived at Tamworth late afternoon, it's a very interesting town with an impressive castle. A good choice of shops and well looked after gardens.
Tamworth has one of the largest indoor ski domes. There is a great viewing area , the various activities looked good fun, very expensive though at £25 for one hour.
It rained a little whilst we were in Tamworth and become bitterly cold. We have just heard an up to date forecast , tonight it's going to be 4c and a high of 14c ! Somewhat cooler than the 43c when we left Koh Samui 4 weeks ago.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Atherstone locks all eleven of them !
After stocking up on groceries in Atherstone it was time to start the busy task of going down 11 locks. The locks are mostly in pairs. Quite a bit of walking between them. Les helped whenever he could, the locks are quite strenuous, I certainly ache all over tonight. The scenery was wonderful . On one lock just as I was shutting the gates with Blue Moon inside the lock 8 little ducklings swam in. They soon become very distressed when they realized that their mum was not with them she also was frantic. In a panic they swam alongside the boat and I feared that they were going to be squashed between the boat and the side of the lock as the boat went down in the water it was trapping them ! I pushed the boat away from the wall luckily they swam back out to the back of the boat. I opened the bottom
Lock gates and Les then continued out. Luckily another boat was waiting to go into the lock so the ducklings travelled back up to be reunited with their mum, what a relief .........
It was nice to find somewhere peaceful to moor tonight opposite a lovely field full of bales of hay. What a great view from the kitchen window when preparing our evening meal.
Lock gates and Les then continued out. Luckily another boat was waiting to go into the lock so the ducklings travelled back up to be reunited with their mum, what a relief .........
It was nice to find somewhere peaceful to moor tonight opposite a lovely field full of bales of hay. What a great view from the kitchen window when preparing our evening meal.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Hartshill and Atherstone
It was lovely waking up this morning to a fresh view of the countryside. A very quiet peaceful night. The sky was threatening rain but thankfully it did not materialize. We stopped briefly at Hartshill it was a steep walk up to the village, a lovely view from the top of the hill the village however was very disappointing. We therefore did not stay too long and moved onto Atherstone. It was a good decision as on arrival we found the little town to be a hive of activity. There was a cider festival , a vintage car show and a flower festival in the church.
We stopped and bought an ice cream from a van which had travelled down especially for the car show from Grimsby where the ice cream was homemade. So here we are in Atherstone eating a Cornish ice cream that was made in Grimsby!
The rain has now arrived as I am sat here writing this, we hope it will not last, tomorrow we have a busy day as we make our way through 11 locks dropping 80 feet in total. Fingers x'd for some sunshine tomorrow.
We stopped and bought an ice cream from a van which had travelled down especially for the car show from Grimsby where the ice cream was homemade. So here we are in Atherstone eating a Cornish ice cream that was made in Grimsby!
The rain has now arrived as I am sat here writing this, we hope it will not last, tomorrow we have a busy day as we make our way through 11 locks dropping 80 feet in total. Fingers x'd for some sunshine tomorrow.
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