Tag: narrowboat

September 25th – From Tixall, a stop for tea and cake, and then back home along the canal from there to Handsacre – a fair trip. This stretch, which runs limpid at the rear of the Shugborough estate and shadows the Trent for much of the way is captivating and tranquil. Even as it passes Colwich and the busy rail junction there it seems miles from anywhere.

All the time I was in a gorgeous, but chilly golden hour. 

A wonderful ride that perked up a dreadful day no end.

September 6th – A bright but quite cool day with plenty of sun. I had the need for a good blast, and did 40 miles in three hours – out via Stonnall, Canwell, Hints, Fazeley, along the canal to Alvecote and back through Seckington, Clifton, Harlaston and Whittington.

The countryside glowed in it’s pre-autumn splendour, and the riding was fast and easy. A huge swan family at Tamworth were clearly in rude heath – 8 cygnets in all, with two on the other side of the canal. 

Great to see the new wind turbine at Hademore, too. Elegant. Wonder how long it’s been there?

The boat is for the Mad Old Baggage. She knows why.

August 20th – Much as I hate the current fad for obsessively mowing the canal towpaths, I quite like that they seem to be leaving the reed beds alone for now (although I don’t doubt they’ll be next).

Here near the Pelsall Road in Brownhills, they are little oases of disparate species, havens for insects and other wildlife. 

And they just look really, really good.

Do we have to keep cutting everything back? Put the mowers away!

August 14th – This one’s for Kate Cardigan, who was admiring the flowers on this very boat, moored at Brownhills, as some point on the day I took these pictures.

I’ve not seen this unusual, cream-coloured craft before, but I love the flowers and tomatoes growing on it.

Just the thing when riding through a dull, wet Brownhills on a miserable Friday.

March 21st – A quick spin to Chasewater on a rather cold day. I noticed a fence has finally been erected around the south side of the Nine-Foot pool, which will hopefully stop idiots driving onto the soft ground there. Thankfully, there’s a kissing gate for explorers, so normal access is unhindered.

At Anglesey Basin, the sluice valve is open again, so I doubt we’ll see the reservoir overspill this year. Nice to see Gem’s chimney sweep back for a bit too.

November 25th – Further on, near Bentley Bridge, a narrowboat passed me going a fair lick. Unusually, it was decorated in an eye-catching indian style, replete with Ganesha motif fretted into the hatch door. Equipped with a canoe, this looked like a home as well as a boat; it had that well loved but well used air that comes with such craft.

I love boater dogs. These two are clearly great mates, and I love the way the hound is wrapped, like his boss, against the cold.

A lovely sight.

October 19th- a busy, fraught and not terribly productive day, I spun out past teatime into a dark, deserted and somnambulant town. I had the little tripod, and I welcomed the darkness back into my life.

I spun up the High Street, over Anchor Bridge, and back down the canal, and didn’t see a soul; there was life on the narrowboats, as the chimneys were gently smoking, yet there were no other signs of life at all. 

I love the new LED floodlights on Silver Court – and Anchor Bridge will always be a muse.

Time to embrace the blackness again…

September 26th – I nipped over to Burntwood to get some shopping in after work. On the way, I passed through Chasewater.

Near the top of the dam I saw an older chap with a bicycle trailer, containing a handsome, elderly brown and white collie dog. When your old mate cant walk so far, but still loves the fresh air and a change of scene, you do what you can. 

In this case it was saddle up the bike, get a trailer, put some old carpet in it for comfort, and use it as a chariot.

A lovely sight; two old friends out for a constitutional – not unlike the two boater dogs I spotted on my return at Anglesey Basin. I think they’d had a falling out as they seemed to be studiously ignoring each other…

May 11th – I came back to Brownhills through Chasewater. At Anglesey Basin, I noticed that someone has fitted a guard plank to stop narrowboats – often moored here – banging into the weir edge. It’s a rough old job; the wood isn’t treated, so won’t last long, and the grouting into the sides of the basin is very rough. I suppose it’ll do the job, though. Wonder if this has been prompted by a general concern or a specific incident?