So after a lovely break with Ron and Lyn and having popped into Weedon and got the dog sorted, we arrived on the Leicester branch of the Grand Union. The first thing which struck us was just how pretty this part of the GU is. Lots of countryside and nothing else, with most of the villages and towns set back away from the canal. We have heard that Welford is worth a visit, if for no other reason than the pub!
Ron and Lyn join us on the boat for a small 4 day trip down towards Milton Keynes. We had an awesome time and it was really great to be able to share our trip with them both. Can’t wait for them to come along on another trip later on!
So, after a lot of messing around in Weedon, and sailing up and down this stretch of the canal, we are finally getting back on track! Ron and Lyn are coming to visit next week and we are organising a marina to stay in so we can meet up and they can park their car. Honey is back on solids and seeming to be more agile on the new non-steroid drugs! Fingers crossed that will work out.
Lyn seems to be on the mend and Wendy is a lot happier now she has gone and seen her. Honey is, er, less fluid today and the sun came out – happy days!
Yesterday, I watched all the Jason Bourne films back to back – awesome. He still reminds me of Dan but in a more vigorous sort of way. He is also a tad more violent than Dan.
Anyway, we are right outside the Midland Chandlery, so it would be rude not to pop in and take a look, but first I have to do battle with the hoover!!! Wish me luck.
Well we never saw this coming. We’d arranged to meet up with Ron and Lyn on Sunday and have a little 4 days crus down the Grand Union. So I booked 3 nights in at the Braunston Marina for the Friday, Saturday and the following Thursday (when we would get back from the trip). All was looking good and both Wendy and I were really looking forward to the company. Sadly, however, Lyn has become quite unwell and has had to go to hospital for some checks to see what is wrong. Naturally, Wendy wants to go and see her sister, so we are going to get to Braunston early and then Wendy will get a cab to Rugby train station and go into and out of London to Clacton to see Lyn on the 10th (exactly one month since we set off).
I will hang around Braunston for a day or two and then go into the Marina. Wendy is going down on Wednesday and returning on the Thursday. I hope Lyn is feeling better soon.
Now, after a short stint on the Stratford canal we have moved onto the Grand Union on our way to Warwick and Lemington Spa. We have spoken to a number of people and they all say that Birmingham is not very nice. One couple said they never saw another boat for over 24 hours when they sailed through – so I am glad we decided to do the 21 locks into Warwick instead.
Just by the canal in Wootton Wawen there is a collection of shops in an old farm which sell all kinds of stuff from garden furnature to the things shown above! There is a farm shop for supplies and an awesome coffee shop which does the most amazing burgers!
Wendy quite liked the idea of going to Birmingham, though I do feel it was more to do with the 21 locks we are going to hit early on when we get on the grand union canal. You can see above we are at the junction between the Stratford canal and the grand union and we are staying here on the Saturday as it sounds like it will be way too hot to do any sailing! We spoke to a number of people and weighed up our options and in the end we decided to do the locks and avoid Birmingham for the time being.
We will set off on Sunday and moor before we hit the upper lock. After that we have 21 deep, double width locks which is going to take around 6 hours to navigate! Luckily there are pubs at the bottom where we can get refreshed and we also will be in Warwick, which has lots of shops and stuff for us to recharge with – it’s amazing the effect some retail therapy has on Wendy.
We made it to Stratford-upon-Avon! The river was lovely in places but at times it was a bit of a pain. Getting stuck at Evesham and Bideford as we did slowed things down quite a bit. Stratford-upon-Avon is really lovely. It has a unique feel all of its own, unlike many other towns which all seem to be the same as each other these days. Stratford has loads of character and the recreation grounds alongside the river are stunning. Anyway, that is the end of the river for us and it’s onto the canal network! We are on the Stratford canal, but not for very long until we turn onto the grand union. We still need to get the loo fixed, which we are planning to do at Wilmcote where we will pick the part up from the post office there.
As we travel along the different rivers and canals I will add a section to the menu here on the home page for each of them. At the moment we are on the Avon, so click on the Avon menu item or hover over it to see all the pages showing our progression along the river. I have been a little lax at getting these updated lately as we have had some technical issues recently – but we are mostly back up and running and raring to go!
The list of pages so far is:
Artful Dodger 