Out From Under The Crane
Craning in day for the Mid-Warwickshire Yacht Club was Sunday, April sixth, setting our deadline to leave. Based on various calendar arrangements, the weather forecast and how ready we felt, we decided that Thursday, April third, would be a suitable date to clear the wharf at Hatton. The day turned out to be bright, sunny and not too hot so a perfect day to tackle the Hatton Flight. However, we appeared to be the only ones who thought so. We came down the flight almost completely alone and with no help from volunteer lockkeepers or passing boats, it made for one of our longer passages at over four hours. Arriving at the bottom we carried on round to the Cape Of Good Hope and tied up on the visitor moorings there, ready for a well-earned pint.
Despite Warwick Parkway station being just at the foot of the locks, there were no suitable trains to catch back up to Hatton to collect the car. It actually turned out it would be quicker to go through to Leamington Spa the next day, get off the boat by the station and catch a twelve minute train from there. So that was that for the night.
Boats, Trains And Automobiles
On Friday, we had the two Cape locks to do, which were just as we set out. One other stop was going to be for fuel. The fuel boat, Rich On Roach, hadn't been able to get to us before we left, as the owner was unwell, which left us with only half a tank. Plenty, in all probability but not with a comfortable margin. Diesel suppliers are pretty scarce all along this section but a place called Delta Marine was said to sell fuel to passing boats, so we planned to try our luck there. As they had not answered their phone or called back at all, confidence was rather low. Just before we reached their site, however, we arrived at the old Kate Boats yard. They had moved out a while ago but it was now owned by Warwickshire Narrowboats. They helped us stop there and seemed really nice people. We filled up the tank and the owner told me they had just successfully concluded a three year battle with developers who wanted to knock the place down. He now owned the site and had every intention of continuing to provide boating services for generations to come.
I jumped off at Leamington and caught the train back to Hatton Station. Sue waited until she heard I was back at the car and on the way, before taking the boat on alone to meet me at Radford Semele. Leaving the car there, we had some lunch and then tackled two more locks to moor up in a nice, isolated spot just above Fosse Bottom Lock. Archie and I walked back to collect the car again and dropped it at a lay-by on the Fosse Way for the night.
On The Third Day We Were Home Again
Saturday, fifth April, was just as bright and sunny, although the keen edge to the easterly breeze certainly made itself felt. As we set out, around ten-thirty, we saw "Speakeasy" starting to work the lock behind us. We got up into the next one and waited for them to arrive. We wanted to stop for water before the next lock so they carried on without us. While the tank was filling, Archie and I picked up the car and moved it up to Welsh Road and walked back. This took a little longer than normal, as HS2 had closed Welsh Road until six o'clock that night. We ended up driving in a wide circle to come back in and meet the canal from the other side.
Back at the water point, Sue was ready to leave and we headed up through Fosse Top Lock. As we were closing it up, "Lady M" arrived behind us and we arranged to wait for them in Wood Lock, the next one up. The two guys on "Lady M" seemed to know what they were doing, although not that familiar with the area. They accompanied us all the way to the top of Bascote Locks and working together, we made fairly good time. By two o'clock we were mooring up at Long Itchington, where we planned to keep the boat for the next week or so. Time for lunch, then. Later, while Sue was packing up anything we needed to take home, Archie and I walked back to Welsh Road to pick up the car once more and bring it to the car park of the Two Boats, about as close as we could get to the boat.
All in all, a very successful trip. Great weather and nice, dry towpaths making all the difference. Phase one complete!