Leaving the Grand Union

We'd reached Napton Junction but, unlike last year when carried on down the Oxford Canal, this time we turned right to continue on the Grand Union. We went down three locks with nb Escapology (last seen on the K&A last year!) and then chugged past a small arm which looked really familiar - it was Nelsons Wharf, once home to Willow Wren Training and which I recognised from their excellent training videos (watched many times when we were buying Jasmine - and since!).

On the solstice, as we started descending the ten Stockton locks, we came upon a Canadian

couple on a hire boat. Having helped them down the locks they very kindly invited us to lunch at The Two Boats in Long Itchington and later to their boat for a glass or two of wine and some cheese. Their original plan was to continue to Warwick to visit the castle but, less than keen to do another ten locks (and then retrace their steps all the way back) they took up Rob's suggestion of staying put and visiting Warwick by cab.

This did mean that they needed to find somewhere to turn around and, with the aid of social media, I found that they could do this in front of the pub. Early the next morning we saw them starting to reverse up to the lock. Rob hopped on, helped Daryl reverse to the pub and then Karen and I used the ropes to help pull their boat around. A successful mission! And thank you Daryl and Karen for your hospitality.

Our departure the next day was slowed by several boats coming our way - a flotilla in fact,

which we discovered was accompanying a number of walkers doing the Walk4Matt in aid of the Matt Hampson Foundation. Two of their boats were coming up the Bascote staircase as we were preparing to go down so, with the help of a knowledgeable walker who was passing at the time, we ended up doing the Bascote shuffle - meeting in the middle and carrying on our separate ways! We carried on in the heat, eventually stopping after Radford Bottom Lock with a bit of shade from a tree.

We get notified by email from the CRT if there are any issues on the network and had heard that a tree had come down into the canal the previous evening above the last lock (after we'd gone by luckily!). Whilst walking back to fetch the car the next day we saw it - in fact we had to clamber over it to get past - a massive ash tree! We spent the day making sure any boats that came past knew about it but, being a busy stretch, boats had begun to back up. That evening we heard that work had begun to removing it. I couldn't resist a nose, so I walked up the towpath - past all the boats moored up waiting. There was a guy in a dinghy with a large chainsaw - I couldn't watch! But boaters were doing what they do best - adapting to the unexpected by having a very sociable time chatting to each other - it almost had a festival vibe to it! Eventually they cleared enough for boats to squeeze past but it was a while before they cleared it fully. Luckily nobody was hurt.

The next day was very sociable. Rob's youngest son arrived by train and later his eldest son and fiancé also arrived. We all enjoyed a Pimms and then a barbie in the shade of the tree, before a mini cruise to Leamington Spa where they could catch the train back to London. We spent a few days in

Leamington, enjoying the street festival near our mooring, having Rob's cousin over from Coventry for coffee, and exploring the town and the street art. We went to the museum and art gallery at the Pump Rooms and walked around Jephson Gardens and the lovely glasshouse (complete with bees!).

We carried on one evening, going over two aqueducts, over the railway and the River Avon and moored on the outskirts of Warwick by the Cape of Good Hope pub. We were going to be away in Devon for a week so we'd booked in to the Saltisford Boat Club. We arrived at the Saltisford Arm early the next morning and Ian

advised us to turn in the winding hole and then reverse up next to nb Calamity Jane. With a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we managed to do this, helped by a friendly boat neighbour. It's a lovely place and we knew Jasmine would be safe there. On our return we had a visit to Warwick. Instead of visiting the castle we explored the lovely old streets with their timber-framed buildings and then went to the beautiful Mill Gardens. They're right next to the river with its ruined medieval bridge and have the most fantastic view of the castle walls - definitely recommended. (I took far too many pictures - here's just a selection!).

Then it was up the Hatton Flight of 21 locks - except we stopped four locks up - a gorgeous spot where we saw an otter one evening! The original narrow locks were built in the 1790s but then newer, wider locks were built in 1932 (using revolutionary concrete as opposed to brick). Most of the old locks can still be seen and are just overflow channels now. We timed our ascent up the flight just right as the CRT were hosting a corporate day and there were more volunteer lock-keepers than you could shake a stick at! They would set the locks for us then hop on bikes and start setting the next one, so it was all very swift. At the CRT yard lots of employees from Nivea were being shown the ropes and were full of questions!

At the top we treated ourselves to some of Debbie's scones from the cafe - and very nice they were too! After a rainy day coming through Shrewley we moored near Rowington, a lovely spot with very acrobatic bats! We finally managed to book a slot for mooring - in Stourport in October - and decided to explore the Avon and Severn rivers after heading to Stratford-upon-Avon. I also bit the bullet and gave the multifuel stove a good clear out - a messy, dusty job.

Then it was a left at Kingswood Junction and just like that - after exactly 6 months on the Grand Union - we were on the Stratford-upon-Avon canal. After being

on a wide canal with locks wide enough for two boats for so long it was quite strange to be on a narrow canal with narrow locks. It was immediately very picturesque, with little cast iron split bridges (so horses' towing ropes could go through them without unhitching) and sweet little barrel-roofed cottages.

We moored for a week in the lovely village of Lowsonford, enjoying exploring the area in between working and partaking of delicious pies at the Fleur de Lys pub. It was Rob's Mum's 90th birthday and we went up to Cheshire to throw a surprise party for her, which was a great success. We also had a couple of days away, exploring North Wales and Anglesey, which was stunning.

Before leaving Lowsonford I nipped up to Finwood Farm for some of their amazing eggs. We still had the car with us so were doing lots of walking to move it on - but not for long! At Wootton Wawen Rob drove it to Coventry where he could leave it at his cousin's house before catching a train back. We couldn't hang around too long though as we had a hot date in Stratford-upon-Avon - but you'll have to wait until next time to find out about it!

Something to reflect on...