8 am and time to set off. After saying our goodbyes to Jim and Jenn (would this be the last time we would see them?) I negotiated the left turn through the bridge 'ole at Hawkesbury Junction (Sutton Stop) and sailed into the waiting lock. Ian had it set and with only 6" difference in the water levels from the Coventry to the Oxford, I was out in a trice.
More boats out and about today, goodness knows what it will be like when the restriction on leisure boating is lifted on July 4th. As Ian said, "Every man and his dog will be out from then." The Rose hire fleet at Stretton were being 'got ready for the off' on Saturday so very glad to get past that lot before then.
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| The swing bridge at Stretton |
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| It's not that difficult to move Ian! |
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| That bridge is looking a bit rickety now. |
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| Rose hire fleet |
After the aqueduct and before bridge 34 warning signs are posted about an unstable cutting with the advice to proceed slowly. In the distance, we could see boys in blue milling around and as we approached could see a massive amount of ground clearance. Trees had been cut (plenty of wood lying in the hedgerow) and on enquiry, a small landslip was mentioned. Really?...it didn't look small to me!
Proof I suppose that the boaters should heed the warning.
Old Oaks Wood is usually a smashing place to moor, not today though. I'm sure if C&RT knew about this they would put a stop to it. Nearly all of the towpath had been taken and no sign at all that social distancing had taken place.
Newbold tunnel used to be a joy to cruise through. Many a coloured light guided you through. It's just another dank and dark tunnel now.
We stopped on the 48-hour visitor mooring just beyond the tunnel. Had secured FS, tiller removed and TV on search. Blast we couldn't get BBC. ",No worries" Ian said "We can watch it on IPlayer, Blast again 'cos we had no internet signal! Hmmm, was that a space on the 7-day mooring? Quick walk to check, yelled for Ian to help untie FS while I hurridly replaced the tiller and then with engine fired into life moved into that space just before another boat turned up. First thing checked to see if we had TV and the Wi-fi and result, we had the lot.
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| First mooring |
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| Second mooring. Three boat lengths! |
Oh and now who is stalking who???? Look what boat turned up and pulled into our vacated space. Dire Straits again! Jim and Jenn just can't keep away.😁
I have been wanting to get Pauls Waterway Routes mapping system on this computer for ages. Ian has had it on his for months so, with a lot of badgering, I managed to persuade him to give up some of his time to install it on mine. What a great tool to have. No longer do I need to get the Nicholson out every time I want to find out about the route but by one click on the map button and putting in what area I wanted, (if you want to mark the mooring spot you need to plug in the GPS system supplied on purchase) and hey presto, all the information I needed. On this blogs sidebar is a link to Waterway Routes and I urge everyone to have a look.
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| The red circle with a central dot is our exact position |
And wildlife today,
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| Cygnets in Newbold Tunnel |
2 comments:
We love MemoryMap too - it's a really good app and easy to use. I still use Nicholson's to check if there are shops etc nearby, but for cruising, it's MemoryMap all the way.
It looked to me like the gazebo and furniture belonged to a boater who was still operating on no moving around and had settled in for the duration ... Spreading stuff out like that is not the go though, is it?
Mxx
I'm still trying to get my head around Memory Map. Thank goodness Ian has been playing and can give good advice (he does occasionally but don't let on I said so) If lengthsman were back to walk the towpaths that boater would have been made to go. C&RT need to pull their finger out. Xx
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