22nd September 2016
First day of autumn and the weather turned it on for us. We got to a high of 18c and when out of the shade it was gorgeous. Last night though it rained a lot and we had moored in a cutting which at the time we thought would be a good idea. Not so, as the local bird population used nb Lucy for target practice. Was a real bugger of a job getting the stuff off!!
We had the Curdworth flight of locks today which consists of 11 and we had helpers all the way which made the task very easy. Great having a chin wag to the volunteers and other boats.
On our way down the locks we passed a lot of vintage boats that were on their way to a Heritage Day at Dudley. We reckon nb Lucy might just be eligible to enrol in that catefory. These really are true die hards that have these kind of craft.
They are usually two cylinder engines that give this real thud, thud, thud noise as they a slow revving which for the enthusiast is the correct engine to have. WOW, to have a Lister JP2 is like having the latest Jag. Think it might just make you bonkers though as it is the kind of sound that gets right down into your heart. We passed one that had one cylinder which had a deeper resonating sound. It took forever to get past us and hopefully it will get to Dudley before the boat festival is over.
Down the end of the flight we pulled up and went for a walk around the Kingsbury Water Park which was made from abandoned gravel workings and bird and fowl life abounded. It was very pleasant just strolling along with the sun shining and dappled light coming in through the trees. Almost felt like time had stopped.
The Fazeley Canal is not overly spectacular but serene apart for when we went under the M6 which we will be on in a week as we blat down to Heathrow. We went under the Drayton Footbridge which looked a little out of place. Apparently it is all to do with the Drayton Manor Park which is a themed park near the canal. Thought we could give that one a miss.
Reached Fazeley Junction about 4.00pm and just in time for a beer and ginger beer out on the towpath in what remained of the setting sun. There is a large CART office here so hence the facilities are great. We did the usual of taking on some water as we had done the final lot of hand washing today and consumed what was left in our water tank.
At the junction we have now turned onto the Coventry Canal which we will be on for only a short time.
We are not on such a tight time line anymore as we got through all the locks yesterday so now it is four days of 4 to 5 hours of cruising per day. The weather is looking great so we will take the opportunity to unwind before we wind up again in readiness for going home.
The usual cute Toque shot.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 