A miserable day, and a second Dutch invasion.

Well, the weatherman/woman said that today was going to be wet, and they weren’t wrong. It’s rained pretty much all day, sometimes showers, sometimes just fine drizzle but we’ve not had much let up.

Ducklings huddling together for warmth

Poor little mites…

Yes, apart from it being wet, it was also considerably cooler too. Down to 13°, and with no expectation that it was going to get much higher, so I lit the fire!

It was only the other day that I‘d stripped it down and given it a thorough cleaning ready for next winter!

It was quite late by the time we got off, and we only went around the corner before stopping for water. The tap here is on the offside, outside the maintenance yard.


Hartshill Yard is pretty much contemporary with the canal, and was built to deal with maintenance and repair of the boats of the Coventry Canal fleet.


It was a slow tap and took a while to fill the tank, but we were off again by just after noon.

Ten minutes on we passed The Anchor, with the unusual sight of four Napton hire boats tied up.
They’d only just tied up, and the crews were getting organised to go to the pub. I shouted across, asking if they were all together, and was told yes, they were all from Holland, and expecting the fifth boat in the convoy!
Much like William of Orange’s “Glorious Revolution” in 1688, I’m sure these latter day invaders were happily welcomed by Napton Hire Boats and any hostelries they come across on their trip!

As we approached Nuneaton the conical peak of “Mount Judd” can be spotted over the trees.
The hill is actually a spoil heap, made up from discarded rubble from Judkin’s Quarry. The quarry has ceased operations, and the once barren slopes of the heap are now dressed in a green mantle as nature regains it’s hold.

Redundant bridges connecting the quarry with the railway across the canal.

We pulled in opposite Boot Wharf in Nuneaton.
We wouldn’t normally stop here, although I think we have once before. But I had some business to attend to up in the town. First was to negotiate new mobile phone contracts for my handset and the WIFI dongle. With not having the equipment unnecessarily replaced, I managed to reduce our monthly communications bill by over £25!
And the second was to pick up the replacement camera.


It’s a Fuji FinePix S8600. It’s not new, but is a factory refurbished unit with a 6 month warranty. It’s also slightly bigger than the old Canon, but that’s mainly due to the impressive 36x zoom. So look forward to some close-ups of beasties from way over the other side of the canal!


Sorry guys, I’ve not been keeping up with the comments you’re kind enough to post. Steve, thanks for the correction, I see what you mean about the shape of the Goldeneye’s head. Big, init!

John, Jen. Been following your trip up north. Hope you enjoy the L&L. You can look forward to an improvement in the quality of the pics once I’ve got to grips with the beast!

Hiya Jaq. Yes, Les and I both enjoyed the history side of the canals. I see you’re getting plenty of company while you’re down there around Braunston, you’ll have some more when you get nearer us later in the year.

Locks 0, miles 4