Friday a lazy day after the exertions of yesterday a greater part of this morning was spent trying to find a mooring for Sybil  and succeeded when a lady rang me back from France ! she was the manager for one of the marinas we wanted to try and was away for a few days . hows that for good service ,after that a train ticket was the next challenge easy to book on line but then the problems started as  our chosen departure station was unmanned and did`nt have a ticket machine so we have to get on with no tickets and collect them halfway at Birmingham despite two calls to India and a very helpful guy at Midland rail I think , the only answer is to rely on the good sense of the inspector
It does`nt seem like we have been out for five weeks already but what I have missed least is the chaos and noise of towns and roads normally we creep down a green and quiet waterway into and through towns and cities and under roads only popping up to see and collect what we want and then back down and moving on again, many people don`t even know we are there.
Returning home on Monday will be a nightmare trains people ,traffic and noise.
We did  venture into town today to visit  Morrisons for supplies but when you have to carry all on your back it really does reduce impulse shopping.
We shall move on tomorrow as this mooring is a maximum of forty eight hours , heading north up TheStaffordshire and Worcester.

As we came down the locks yesterday we passed this chimney around three hundred feet at least I guess 

look closely you can see  a ladder up the left side it`s fixed Fred Dibnah style  with ropes etc what you cant see is in the picture below

This guy was just below the top at least two more were on top , the ladder was the only way up

they deserve all they get paid and more

surprise surprise  no rain today

Thursday morning got off to a damp start as we left Dudley and headed off up The Birmingham Main Line towards Aldersley junction  through Wolverhampton but with the small obstacle of a run of twenty one narrow locks all downhill which always seem to take longer so we have achieved our target after around seven hours of hard work more  for Hilary than me , at an average speed of one mile per hour and a drop in height of 132 ft in that distance .

Here is an old  road bridge over the canal overshadowed by the M5 bridge

This is the M5 straddling the Birmingham canal on our way to Dudley

A wet Wednesday  spent at The Black Country Museum which would have been better with some sunshine 

an interesting place but I guess not a lot different to Beamish or Hutton-le-hole.

Monday we went down to the water point at the top of the Farmers flight filled up , disposed of waste and rubbish turned and went back up to our mooring behind the NIA ready for our departure Tuesday am.
Tuesday  goodbye to Birmingham  will definitely come back again so  off we go heading up towards Dudley  travelling for over three hours  we saw almost no other boats it was almost like our own personal canal with all the moorings we could want and just three narrow locks to negotiate
Now that we have stopped for the night just outside the  black country museum I think it is some what like Beamish  Tomorrow we shall find out.
We also are next to the entrance to The Dudley canal tunnel one and three quarter miles long  dudley canal trust we can`t do a passage at the moment as you have to book in advance to be towed through by an electric tug , some thing for the future  but a real must do .

Saturday morning surprise its raining we are still moored in Birmingham so many things to see and do including the pen museum , really it `s a very interesting place .   pen museum
The Jewelry quarter  a clue is in the name .The markets The Bullring shopping centre so many shops but still the same sort of stuff and familiar names I didn't know there was so much stuff we didn't want .
There is also the Paradise forum teases the imagination doesn't it , it is really a 60s/70s concrete shopping centre which also included the old central library , opposite the museum  and scheduled for redevelopment ,things seem to change quickly in the city centre although  there are a lot of interesting buildings around both old and new.
we are probably going back to the library today to actually look at books.

                                   Looking up part of the Hatton flight quite a daunting sight

First test run on the folding bike

  President and Kildare struggling to get through the double guillotine stop lock at Kings Norton

Inside the library elevators suspended in space through the central core of galleries 

a couple of Mr Emetts creations 

\This is the traffic island in the centre of Birmingham where the canals meet

Arrived in Birmingham this afternoon  we are moored two hundred yards from the city centre  brilliant .
We have just been for an explore of the area already and visited the library ,an unbelievable futuristic place , nine floors of books  in galleries and study rooms you go from floor to floor via escalators lit by blue fluorescent lights and a totally glass lift to the top floors  there is a roof top garden and viewing area , an attraction in its own right as well as a public building We are visiting the museum tomorrow which has a special event on "The amazing machines of Rowland Emett " the designer of chitty chitty bang bang and many others
Torrential down pour at tea time got back to boat with out getting too wet.
On the way here had an exciting meeting with President one of the few steam powered narrow boats left she was towing the butty Kildare together a massive length , almost overcome with excitement ,steam and boats , left Hilary holding the boat quite literally while I went and took pictures.

Yet another Monday morning but no trains packed with  commuters  here to prick our conscience  last was spent moored at Hockley Heath another suburb of Birmingham after a long and very hot Sunday  to give you an idea of the area a steak in a bar was eighteen pounds and the garage is an agency for Rollers and new Maclarens .
Sunday we ascended the Lapworth flight of locks nineteen in total each one lifting us around seven to eight feet these are all together in one large run but are narrow so that when we got a system going it was quite quick with Hilary setting the lock for me to enter starting it filling and then going on up to the next one to start on that while I brought the boat out into the next pound closed the lock down and so on for most of the day .
The final challenge for the day was two lift bridges which had to be wound up and back down to allow the boat through.
The distance covered seven miles!
Saturday was a day of broad locks twenty three in total each with a similar lift but  lucky to meet a guy called Mick who walked with us setting locks ready , filling and helping all round he did this in his spare time for pleasure he also helps some one with working boats as well.
Only five and a half miles today.
This evening we have moved on to Shirley  and tomorrow will head up into the centre of Birmingham

Stayed in Leamington spa today  and went for a walk round town visited the pump room museum which told the history of the spa waters and the development of the town and also contained in this building is an art gallery mainly modern art ok if you like it , the pump room is set set in beautiful gardens and over the road are the Jephson gardens in which are lakes , fountains , trees  landscaped lawns and a large conservatory and many sculptures most of them made from recycled trees well worth a visit .

All of this is well used by the local population especially on a  sunny day like today.

Second in command is a little stiff today after yesterdays exertions so we walked a couple of miles this afternoon to get her into shape for the Hatton flight of locks probably tomorrow that's around 25 ish locks to do 

If anyone sees these pictures from Kirkby who has a laptop wih a descent size screen could they show them to Gran Cook to explain what a floating bungalow fifty seven feet long and seven feet wide is like inside .

and to prove I am not over working her daughter 

This is the view leaving a wide lock we only need one gate open to enter or exit 

This was only the start yesterday they didn't get easier or so I was told , winding up the paddle to let the water out ,you can see the thin rod sticking out the top that is the indicator to tell you the position of the paddle

this our kitchen all mod cons plus fridge freezer and microwave to right hand side

steps go up onto rear deck

bathroom usual stuff plus shower to right and laundry in corner 

sitting room  you can see I didn't tidy up before taking pictures

bedroom double bed ,wardrobe either side of where I am stood and door behind into front deck 

Its not all hard work though

I cant see any thing coming

Last night spent  in the country moored just above Calcutt top lock on the Grand Union which we feel is a bit of an inaccurate name as it is suffering from a lot of vegetation growth on the offside  which narrows it down quite a bit in places not at all a grand canal as the name implies , we got off  to a lazy start as it was a hot sunny morning and there were quite a few boats turning , filling with water and one hire boat that wouldn't start occupied by ten students from Devon , a nice group of people we found out later as we ended up travelling together for most of the day , this really was very fortunate for us as we progressed down through twenty three!! locks , plenty of people to share the work but even they were starting to flag by late afternoon.
We parted company when they stopped to meet an engineer to repair their boat .They passed us again when we stopped to empty our rubbish and we last saw them going into Royal Leamington Spa where we are moored for the night and have just been into town to get a fish supper.
Tomorrow or the day after we head on to Warwick and we shall have a similar amount of locks to work .
I hope that we have to have some one as good to share with .
Of course what I forgot to say earlier was that the locks after Calcutt are wide locks ie they will accommodate two boats up to 70 feet long side by side

After another day of alternating showers and sunshine  we have arrived at Braunston Junction taken on board water and diesel and emptied our waste tanks . Tomorrow will be wash day using our amazing Travel Power unit to run the washing machine as we go( it`s a 240 volt generator attached to the engine) it does now seem be working correctly touch wood .

This is view from Braunston Junction up the Grand Union Canal where it merges with the Oxford  ,there is a triangular traffic island there see further down

How we are moored tonight  yes we are leaning to the side but that is because the canal edge is tapered and we cant get near enough to the side without catching on the bottom

Now all the duck families are growing up father has  gone off in search of new love leaving mother to try and control the children

second in comand starting to look sunburnt

another view of the junction showing the horse bridges over the two arms

a better view of yesterdays double locks

Don't you just hate Monday mornings we laid in bed listening to the rain lashing down and the trains passing in the distance packed with those happy commuters  one of us crawled out of bed at  nineish and made the other her cup of tea it was still raining but a good day for gawping and passing the time of day with passersby we eventually walked up into the village bought pizza for tea , milk and a tin of beans , high living! this evening we have been visiting our neighbours in the boat behind us Norman & Shirl who are based on the Erewash canal , one we will visit at a later date, had a couple of glasses of wine and a good talk about boats and life in general
.

We are still travelling around the outskirts of Rugby and are moored just above the Hillmorton locks for the night in a  rural setting yet five hundred yards away across a couple of mainline railways the  city suburbs  starts .
The Hillmorton locks are doubles ie. two side by side so two boats can go through at the same time in the same or opposite directions

Here`s our neighbour from the other night

Last night was spent at Newbold On Avon just outside Rugby , for the time being we are on the Oxford canal  but soon will be on the Grand Union and heading north to Birmingham which still has a maze of canals through it .
Last night was a bit of sleepless one the wind was quite blustery and there was something underwater on the mooring and every time we rolled there was a clonk on the side,  it chucked it down as well but we were ok , warm and cosy we did put the heating on for a little while last night just to dry out still haven't got round to lighting the wood burner yet
Going to have a walk down to the Coop in the village this morning  to see if there is any thing we need .

Now departed Coventry down to the Hawksbury junction turned onto the Oxford and moored up for the night but just as we went into the junction we picked up a discarded rucksack on the prop and could`nt move until we opened the weed hatch and cut the bag apart with the carving knife carried for such a purpose At the mooring there are a couple of horses tethered next to us the owner came down tonight and said would we keep an eye on them just in case they twisted their tether  !!
Tonight it`s a grand sunny evening which after the windy afternoon is nice (wind on a narrow boat can be challenging considering that the side is 50ft by 5ft the size of a small aircraft wing ).
Tomorrow we are onto new ground might go round to Birmingham as I believe the Oxford is closed further south due to a collapsed lock

As you travel down the M6 this is what holds you up while we creep underneath

Hawksbury Junction

The bombed out Coventry Cathederal

Museum roof

Cathederal looking towards the alter

Today we visited the museum of transport which had free entry and  really was quite interesting .
It was primarily based on the production of transport in Coventry from bikes to Jags , after lunch ok it was a Greggs pasty but it was good even eaten on the move  we then moved on to the Herbert museum which included everything from industry to classic art and modern art , very interesting and also free , Both of which are really well worth a visit.
next on our very full schedule was the cathedral the old part really did bring to life the realities of the  wartime bombing there was of course no charge for entry next we moved on to visit the new cathedral , this was where the Yorkshire  breeding kicked in again , £16 to enter , I think not  , so again we viewed and admired from outside .
We did find out later that you can enter for free for the five pm evensong but I am not sure that would be the correct way  I would rather just look through the windows.
We finished of the afternoon with a stroll round the charity shops in the centre , bought a nice  copper jug for £4  looked at a few dvds for £1 and passed on some others at £2 However at the witching hour of 5pm
the city suddenly changes to a less friendly place an influx of police , beggars drunks and ladies? we took a wrong turn and ended up under a multistory car park but to our relief found our way back to the safety of the canal basin and what for now is  home.
Unfortunately tomorrow we must leave as our 48 hrs mooring limit  is up in the afternoon .
Coventry really does need more time to see all , perhaps another time

Wednesday evening we are now back off the Ashby which we decided was like a very long country walk but without the sore feet , six days forty four miles with just the scenery to admire  . Now we have continued on the Coventry right to the very end and are moored in the centre of Coventry within a hundred yards of all the city attractions We walked down to Sainsburys this evening to get some desperately needed food supplies   . Tomorrow we hope to visit the museum of transport and the cathedral as well if we have time.
The maximum stay allowed here is forty eight hours.

Today we walked about half a mile up to what was the site of the battle of Bosworth except it is now believed not to have been and in fact was possibly a camp site with the actual battle taking place some distance away there is a very nice visitor centre there but as they wanted us to pay £16 to see an interactive display we decided to just admire the building (modern) and look at the field where the battle maybe didn't take place although it was a very nice walk through woods to get there a mix of a few hardwood and conifers ,a bit like Dalby maybe .

                                                         Lunch break on the way up

            These two are of  a beautiful cottage in Station Road Market Boswell which among the
                                  carvings in the garden had this memorial to WW1

                                      

A spiders web of con trails overhead 

We have made it to the top of the Ashby ,through the kinky tunnel without collision turned and back down to moor at Snarestone for the night A nice sunny start this morning , cruised down to Shackerston stopped for lunch and then visited the Battlefield Steam Line .
 Well worth the £1 admission fee onto the platform where apart from steam trains there was a very interesting little museum  containing thousands of small railway artefacts.  Battlefield Line.
Stopped for the night at Sutton Wharf soup for tea and now we have to do that what all boaters have to do which put simply is  fluids in and waste out  enough said .
Some more pictures tomorrow  perhaps.

Good day to day  fueled up his morning  at Springwood Haven marina , excellent place staffed by nice helpful people .
http://www.springwoodhaven.co.uk/
The day started cloudy with a cool breeze  but now has has finished with sunshine .
We are now moored at the Lime Kiln just outside Hinkley a mere five miles up the Ashby  but I had forgotten how pretty this area is cruising as slow as possible through the countryside without any locks to test the crew for over  twenty miles altogether .

We are back on Sybil tonight , we left Kms at 8.30 this morning  and two buses , four trains and a taxi later We are spending tonight in Springwood marina and tomorrow will head off up the Coventry to Marston junction and then up the Ashby to explore this at leisure .we have done it in a hire boat boat before but only had two days to get up and back down not enough time really

Blue bell woods near Atherston

                                  Our feathered friend  in Polesworth  I think he was a young wagtail
                                  he spent all his time going from window to window tapping on them

                                 These were our overnight companions whilst moored one evening