Ridge and furrow

Granny Buttons was writing today about Shuckburgh on the GU being one of the best places to photograph ridge and furrow. Here's our humble attempt from close to there on a crisp November morning three years ago. I remember it well: it was that weekend out that absolutely definitely convinced us that we needed our own boat to spend more time on the canals. So after the weekend we returned the Ownerships boat to Stockton, and set off around the brokers.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Back to the boat for the weekend - not cruising anywhere this time, just doing some spring cleaning and painting and using the boat as a base to travel to the IWA festival at Radcliffe on Soar on Saturday.

We moored overnight at this spot at the foot of the power station in the middle of our trip in June, just before we joined the River Trent. Looks completely different this weekend.

Friday 14th and Saturday 15th August: The end of the Holiday

We shared the Hatton locks on Friday morning with a nice couple who, like us, decided a slap-up lunch at the Cape of Good Hope Pub was well deserved. Said goodbye to our new friends who stayed at the moorings above Cape Locks to spend the afternoon with a brisk bout of indigestion, and went on down through Leamington. There's a new Lidl right by the towpath on the spot that used to be a garden centre (used to be handy for gas cylinders, now handy for cheap but yummy wine - no contest) and I stocked up on all sorts of stuff I didn't know I needed.

Saturday was a leisurely tootle through Bascote and Stockton locks back to the marina.

Lapworth and Lunch

Carried on through the Lapworth flight and stopped once again at the excellent Boot Inn for lunch.

Gas Street Basin

Woke up in the centre of Birmingham this morning on busy but very peaceful moorings at Gas Street. Bit of a wet start to the day but still a wonderfully atmospheric mix of very new and very old. Stopped for a leisurely lunch at Warstock then started the first 3 locks of the Lapworth flight before tying up for the evening.

Black Country Museum and on to Birmingham

Spent a terrific morning at the Black Country Museum. Low-carb diet or not, there was no way I was missing out on the traditional fish & chips fried in proper beef dripping, cooked in the reconstructed 1930s chippie, and judging by the queues neither was anybody else. Travelled through the old, winding route into Birmingham and really enjoyed the contrast between the old and new architecture; the motorway takes its cue from the old canal route and follows the contours of the canal for a long way. It's eerie and surprisingly peaceful in the tangle of canals and roads and the columns that support the motorway above.

Monday 10th August: Compton to Tipton

Through the Wolverhampton 21 flight this morning and on to moor at the Black Country museum; arrived at closing time so tied up for the night to wait for opening time tomorrow.