Coventry to Stoke-on-Trent

Its been a pretty chilly week.  We've had to layer up and are burning coal like it will never run out.

We even had snow and hail so we are cold.  Looking forward to the weather fining up.  Its still been picturesque and relaxing and we have occasionally had the sun on our backs which brightens the spirits even if it doesn't warm you much.

The stop in Polesworth on Thursday night left us feeling a bit seedy on Friday. We got into a session at the Bulls Head with the landlord and landlady while watching the local darts competition.  There were some good darts.

Its been a week of stopping in quaint little villages and cruising through the industrial areas of the larger towns and cities.

The last couple of days its been mainly pottery factories, like Armitage toilets, Royal Doulton and Wedgwood.

Here is a video of our walk through of the boat.

Here are some more photos from this weeks travels.

Passing the Stig

Canola Fields are everywhere

Gongoozlers helping open the lock gates

Linda impersonating the former Geelong Mayor

Approaching a lock under a bridge

Steering the Boat

A Horse for Lindsay

A cold morning in Stone

Middleport Pottery Factory

Brewery in Stone

• Total Locks this week 36
• Miles Travelled this week 58
• Average speed 8.3 Miles per day.

Braunston to Coventry

We are finally on our way. We have decided to head for Wales to the Llangollen Canal and travel across the Pontcysylite Aqueduct.

Within ten minutes of leaving the marina we got stuck in a traffic jam at Braunston turn where the Grand Union Canal meets the Oxford Canal.

First nights stop was at the peaceful village of Hillmorton where the church bells were ringing in the evening.

Next stop was Brinklow where we walked for miles through the fields along the bridle path until we found the local pub.  Here are some photos of the walk.

Yes its very cold

 
 

Sunset at Brinklow

Then we headed for Coventry.  We moored up overnight at Coventry Basin which is only 5 mins from the heart of Coventry.  We walked around whats left of the Medieval part of Coventry and the Cathedral which was bombed and left in ruins during WWII.

When we returned to the boat there was a model RC boat club strutting their stuff.

 In the morning we visited the Coventry Transport Museum before continuing on our journey.  Coventry used to be the heart of the car industry in England.

Jaguars

Thrust SSC - Fastest car in the world. 

Holds the land speed record at 1,228 km/h

Tonight we are moored in the middle of no where on the Coventry Canal just passed bridge 24.  Heading for Tamworth tomorrow.




   

Finally on board

Its been a while and it took a little longer than expected to make a second post we had some bad news and Ken had to return to Australia for his dads funeral so everything went on hold for a while.

Before Ken left we had a survey done on the boat which turned out very positive. 

Ken inspecting the Hull

 These pictures are of the Hull being inspected.  Good news it doesn't need to be blacked for a few years as its in very good condition. 

Ready for Inspection

Having a good look

There were a couple of things to be modified for the boat safety certificate.

These have now been completed and the boat is ours.





































 

First night by the fire

We have just lit the fire and are getting ready to spend our first night on board.

We will spend a couple more nights in the marina here at Braunston to finish setting up and getting supplies.

Then we start our journey on the canals on Sunday.