MUSEUM VISIT

The Bygones museum has been created by Andrew Fox at Butlin Farm Claydon. It is easily accesed from the South Oxford Canal at bridge 145 and a walk of just a mile into the village will take you back in time.
The museum overlooks adjoining farm land and the views are fantastic. Also on site is a gift shop and a licenced restaurant.
Andrew Fox has gathered this wonderful collection of items from our past, and i saw tools that my dad had when i was a boy, from towns and villages in scrapyards and old stables, barns, attics, cellars and what were once thriving tradesmens workshops that like so many of our past skills have gone to sleep and to the far east!

Above is the old Granary now home to amongst many things a large collection of old Typewriters and Telex machines, that hit a note as my late wife Valerie was a Telex operator for Kodak that also springs up in a picture below.

Above rows of old shops have been re-created in one building at the museum and the windows of each shop are filled with the goods they sold as in the photographers window below. Also in yet another building that was once a milking parlour for 16 cows several different scenes are created and below is a 1920`s kitchen/scullery and other rooms include a carpenters workshop, an electricians repair room with some wonderful old appliances you thought you would never see again. In all 6 scenes even a Boatbuilders workshop. In the Barn pictured below can be found a Traction engine, road roller and many farm tractors.
Next to the barn another building houses many stationery steam driven engines and a collection of old machinery of all types.Well i`m certainly glad i discovered the Bygones museum and it was well worth the £2.50 entrance and after a relaxing sit down with a coffee i was ready to walk back to the boat.

LITTLE PEOPLE

Well here they are my new crew for a week, Jordan and brother Jack seen here on one of our walks at the top of Cracks Hill in Crick. They arrived with mum&dad (Andy/Bev) at Braunston








with enough clothes for a week and a half (wise mum) plus computer games, DS i think there called but then gramps is old, isn`t he Jordan!, and so they might be make up cases for all i know. So below we have Jack helping move the boat along to a gap in the hedge where they can get into the field and old grandad can watch them while they bravely venture to within 1/2 mile of some cows. Wish i was young and brave.


The picture below came about when grandad told them about boats being pulled by horses but nowadays the boats had engines, my big mouth, so what do they want to see?, the engine and then what? yes to get in the engine bay.
I told Jack boats had to be washed every week, cruel i hear you say, rubbish he couldn`t get the bucket filled quick enough.

Now this thing about female drivers, i can tell you this young lady was a lot better than her brother. Jack tended to push the tiller one way or the other there didn`t seem to be an in between position but Jordan had that gentle bit at a time touch.
So off we went up the Braunston flight and through the tunnell heading for Crick. Jack loved the tunnell but Jordan after showing her face briefly went and played on her game machine inside. Anyway after stops on the way of our months of cruising, well at the end it felt like months ok i was just plain tired and as Jordan said old we arrived at Foxton where i was due to be relieved of duty by mum & dad well in about 24 hrs time.
So off we went to the canal museum that sensibly only charges adults and lets 3 children in for nowt. Jack enjoyed operating the model of the inclined boat lift and they both had fun on the
mock up of a butty boat and after the pair had run around the museum and had a go at getting the boat through the model lock we had lunch at the top of the flight in the old lockeepers cottage that has been turned into a cafe.

TRADERS ON THE CUT

Well it`s been a hectic week as i have had 2 of my grandchildren on board. Children near water is a dangerouse mixture and i spent all their waking hours watching them and i can tell you i was exhausted at the end of the week when mum&dad arrived to rescue me, but a near future blog will reveal the angels.
Also i am at present in the process of installing a wind generator, again more on this later.


This is one of the more common traders on the cut selling handpainted canal ware. Also stocked are boaters requirements like coal and rope fenders all made on board. Unusually this boat doesn`t sell diesel.

Graham Philips on board NB Tia sells Environmentally Responsible products. These include everything from washing the dishes, the boat and yourself. http://www.tiacares.co.uk/

Graham Varcoe has set up a bike shop on board NB Pennyfarthing and sells not only folding bikes but also your bog standard comfort cycle. He also does repairs and among the accessories he stocks are thorn proof tyres. He also has a land based shop in Leamington.

The floating bookshop on board NB Frenchlands II. Rosemary&Colin sell many second-hand & new books. Even found a book by one of my favorite authors Linda La Plant.

ALONG THE Sth. OXFORD

The windmill on top of Napton hill

View from the windmill.

One of many lift bridges along this canal.

The old school house in Fenny Compton village.

Sun flowers standing like soldiers watching the boats go by.

Single beam footbridge, very basic.

The footbridge view as you cross, carefully.

The end of a pleasant days cruising.

STILL THE OXFORD

The Oxford canal stretches beyween Hawkesbury Jct. and Oxford and covers a distance of 74 miles. It was used to bring coal from the Warwickshire coalfields to Oxford and here it gained access to the R. Thames and of course into London.


The northern section, Braunston to Hawkesbury, twisted and turned following the contours of the land so much that in the 1820`s 13 miles was cut from the 36 miles of this section. This was achieved by building Aqueducts, deep cuttings and embankments. A lot of the old route can still be traced if you go looking.


The Tunnel at Newbold is the result of this streamlining and the picture below shows two pubs


Barley Mow & Boat Inn. The canal ran right past these pubs and in fact the car is on what was the towpath. I have taken the pic from the towpath as is now and to my right the canal makes its way through the new tunnel and then along a deep cutting dead straight. The bushes on the right belong to a house built after the canal was re-routed but next to it remains the original canal w`house that had stables so the horses could rest while the boatmen drank in the pub.


In the far distance across a road is a church and if you walk into the grounds of the church you can see the route across the lawn where subsidence has left a clear sign and as you walk to the

right of the church itself the public footpath you are alredy walking goes off through a gate and as you walk into the field you are in the old canal bed. Look back and you can see the old tunnel.

Walk away from the tunnel and you can follow the dried up bed of the canal filled in by farmers
in places but walk around the fields a bit and you are suddenly rewarded by the finding of

things like this old footbridge hidden away amongst the trees and bushes that have grown in the old canal bed. I have actually climbed down into the canal bed to take the pic. Then just 50yds

further is this old bridge where the canal passed under a farm access road/track. After this it was difficult to trace the canals route but after walking across a field again it appeared buried beneath a hedgerow.

When i pass Braunston again i am going to do the same as the canal did in fact go through the marina and across the road into the fields.

If all this seems a bit boring to some you must remember that the waterways have become my life and its history is there to find, also with retirement comes time to do whatever takes your fancy and the exercise is good for you.

ALONG THE OXFORD

Came onto the Oxford canal at Hawkesbury Jct also known to the old working boatmen as Sutton stop because of a Mr Sutton who collected the tolls at this jct.
Andy/Tina had Sandra aboard for a few days, the cakes (homemade) were lovely Sandra, thankyou. I had a visit from a friend on a beautiful sunny day that made it all the more enjoyable.
Chas/Ann on board Moore2life http://www.moore2life.blogspot.com/ cruised by with Ann walking the gunnels tending her roof garden.
Had to help my son Kevin move house so a couple of days away from the boat and a trip down the M1 and back made me appreciate the slow and quiet life i lead, 60mph in a truck is frightening after 4mph on the boat. At least i didn`t have to drive this time as Kev has just passed his HGV test, well done son, and well done to his partner Joanne who passed her test in a car last week.
So returning to the boat after humping furniture i found a card to say that Dot/Derek on their boat Gypsy Rover http://nzgypsyrover.blogspot.com/ were moored just a couple of boats back from me so i invited them aboard for a coffee and a natter. A nicer pair of kiwi s i have yet to meet.
I think in the last month i have met up with 4 fellow bloggers, 2 i hadn`t seen for a year, 1 for 6 mths and the other not at all. One day we will meet again and to you all i wish good health and happy cruising.
At the moment we are all gonna head down the Sth. Oxford canal probably as far as Banbury and then who knows, heh this is freedom.

BEDWORTH

Coming down the Ashby Canal at Marston Jct. a left turn that needed a bit of reversing to get round the sharp turn brings me back on the Coventry Canal and as you pass under bridge 13 over on the right is what is pictured below. Doesn`t look that interesting does it but according to the map this is the site of the Newdigate Colliery Arm. So after mooring up further along at Hawkesbury jct for a few days i walked back to investigate if anything was left to see and stood
on the footpath bridge that can be seen in the above picture the only surving part of the arm can

be seen in the picture above.

Now i have found it`s always worth nosing around and walked along the dried up bed of the old arm and eventually came upon a park and discovered it was the Miners Welfare Park.

The land was purchased in 1921 by the Bedworth miners welfare committee and handed over to the Parish council in 1923. So full of old mine workings it was no good for housing and after the site was cleaned up it became a place for locals most of whom were miners to walk and relax.

( Handy for those who didn`t want to go to Bingo or a disco)

The park today contains football & cricket pitches, pitch&putt, swimming pool, leisure centre, bird aviary and as a reminder of the parks origins this mine shaft wheel that was taken from

Newdigate Mine when it closed in 1982. The mine shaft was sunk in 1898.

Walking around the town centre of Bedworth i came across these magnificent Almshouses that were erected in 1840 at a cost of £8,500 to replace the original Almshouses of 1715.
In 1715 Nicholas Chamberlaine had before his death been Rector for 51 yrs and Squire of the parish for 29yrs and his will ordered his executors to build 2 schools and a block of Almshouses,

not these pictured, at bedworth Hall.

A schoolmaster `fit sober and discreet` to teach 40 boys born in Bedworth to read and write would be paid £10 per year and an assistant to be paid 40 shillings per year. Bet they didn`t have 7 weeks summer holidays.

A schoolmistress `a fit grave matron` to teach the girls to read ,write, sew, knit & spin would be paid £5 per year. No mention of an assistant.

The Almshouses inmates ( not residents) would get an allowance of 1/6 per week, 4/- per yr coal allowance and every 2 years a gown or coat upto a cost of 8/-. All inmates wore a uniform that was still worn untill 1951. Also inmates not attending sunday service morning & evening would lose one weeks allowance.

So there you go just a bit of nosing around after seeing that scene in the top picture ends up with a walk through an award winning park full of beautiful trees and flower beds and a history.

HELLO GRANNY

Just sitting having a read when through the window i spotted Andrew Denny on his boat Granny Buttons www.grannybuttons.com/ . Andrew is a fellow blogger and a reader of my blog and below you can see his calling card a mini-pac of chocolate buttons that he gives to all he meets. Nice to see you Andrew.

FORGOT THE BLOG

Well not much to report lately its just been a bit of cruising and relaxing. Came down through Tamworth and at Polesworth Andy/Bev came with the kids who have just got over chicken pox and both delighted in showing me the spots that were almost gone.
We all cruised for an hour then winded and cruised back past Polesworth to Alvechurch Marina and had a meal in the newish pub the name of which escapes me. The nice thing is the pub/restaurant is on the 1st floor and from the balcony you get a view over the canal and the marina and the kids are safe away from the water.
So down the 11 locks at Atherstone and a chance to visit the charity shops looking for books. So much time to read that i keep having to grab what i can when we get near towns. At the moment i`ve a thing about Lynda La Plante as an authoress.
Have now gone up the Ashby canal as i did last year and was hoping to go to the Hinkley greyhound track but chatting to locals over a pint discovered it shut just a few weeks ago.
The weather has bucked up lately so i am just sitting in the evening sun having a read or a pint but most of all enjoying life.
Untill next time bye for now.

ANCHOR AWAY or maybe not at the moment

Well the intention was to go down to Stourport and then on to the River Severn down to Gloucester but as you all know from the news coverage anywhere near rivers is a no go. I know i need water to keep my home afloat but just like those poor people whose homes have flooded i only want it on the outside. When is this all going to stop. So having gone so far we decided the best thing was to turn around and head back to Gt. Haywood and south on the Trent &Mersey.
The anchor i bought for the R. Severn trip is now stowed away perhaps not to be used untill next year, still i shall need one sometime so it`s not wasted money.

Down through Rugeley passing this old building dating back some 150yrs and i believe was a mill. Wonder what will become of it after its current use as a car repair yard, housing maybe?
I saw a site recently that was being demolished and the contractor said the canalside small warehouse was going to become flats and the rest of the site houses so maybe a preservation order here and there is no bad thing.

Don`t think anyone will be to bothered if this lot below escapes preservation, it`s Rugeley power

station. So south we head as we are also prevented from going to Burton on Trent because of the River Trents intrusion at Alrewas has caused flooding. Shame really because i wanted to go down through Leicester where one of my boys is farming.

Anyway no real plans at the moment just see how it goes and that`s what this retirement life is all about , no plans, no rush, no worries.

BUMPING INTO FRIENDS

On down the Staffs&Worc` to Weeping Cross where at Radford Bank on bridge 98 a carvery can be yours for £3.50 upto about 6pm on through Acton Trussell arriving at Penkridge that was home for a week while Andy went south on the train to see family. Nice little place Penkridge with plenty of shops and a twice weekly large market. On a Wednesday as well as the market there is an auction of furniture and farm bits and well all sorts. Outside the auction room live chickens, ducks, geese and eggs of all sorts not just chickens are auctioned also fruits.

On the way back from market canalside is the Boat pub with a wonderful cooking range which apart from the surrounding brickwork is original.
Moving on after that all important task of filling the water tank and emptying the loo the M6 having passed over the canal some 3 miles back now runs alongside the canal for 1/2 mile before

the canal swings west and we arrive at Gailey. The tower here lockside looks as though it was part of some long demolished castle but was in fact built by the canal company so the toll collecter had a good view in both directions of approaching boats. The toll on coal was high as this was the main cargoe and therefor gave the canal co bigger profits.

The tower is now a gift shop and the lady runnig it lives upstairs.
At this point the A5 passes over the canal and was first used by the Celts. Then the Romans improved it for their use before Thomas Telford used it as a turnpike and charged a toll. Cargoes came in and out by road to be transhipped to canal boats.

You see above the lockgates next to the road bridge with just enough room to cross for locking but not enough for the normal straight lockbeams, i say normal but these L shaped beams are quite common on gates near bridges all over the system.

Had a nice surprise when 2 good friends in the form of Sue and Vic on their boat `No Problem` (link up on the right) stopped by on their way to getting their new cratch and wimp cover fitted. Haven`t seen each other since Braunston last year.

Now Sue/Vic were my first boating friends and in fact i met them before i even had a boat when after a few e mails asking god knows how many questions they invited me aboard at Bedford back in 2005. Thanks guys, and as a lot of boaters out there know you are real nice peepes.

So a few beers on No Problem and a gossip was a great evening.Till our paths cross again be safe.

STAFFS` & WORCESTERSHIRE CANAL

Turning right at Gt. Haywood brings us onto the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. The canal opened in 1772 and was designed by James Brindley. His aim was to link the ports of Hull,Liverpool & Bristol using the rivers Mersey, Trent & Severn.
His vision came about with the completion of the Trent&Mersey canal but by then he had died.
After less than a mile from the jct. the canal arrives at a very large expace of water called Tixall Wide and in this case you get what it says on the tin WIDE. It came about when the canal was built past Tixall Hall and the owners wanted their land to run down to a lake and not a canal.

The Hall was demolished in 1927 and all that remains is the Tixall Gatehouse built 1580 and still standing. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for 2 weeks in 1596 but nowadays it is owned by the Landmark Trust who buy up old buildings like the gatehouse and use them as holiday lets. The Gatehouse has 2 en-suite bedrooms and 2 tower bedrooms and can sleep 6.

Well sitting here the heavens have opened again and i can`t help thinking that a year ago it was really hot all July. Well the intention was to go down to Gloucester via the R. Severn but so much rain has fallen the river keeps flooding and passage has been stopped until levels drop.

The river was open again for a brief spell but with more rain falling in Wales it was soon shut again so perhaps it might be a good idea to change direction as we don`t want to risk getting stuck waiting for the water to go down. Still always another year and plenty more to do this year so maybe give it a miss for now.

STONE ONWARDS

The Star pub at Stone bottom lock was fully licenced in 1819 and the building predates the

canal by 200 yrs so that puts it back to the late 1500`s. It had at one time stabling for 12 boat horses and in the past has been a butchers shop and a slaughter house.

Inside the floor of each bar is on a slightly different level so if you have one to many blame the floor. Out back in the garden are some large excuse me a mo Now look Swannie my old mate i know i`ve just fed you half a loaf but i`m in the middle of my blog. Right the garden has 2 giant umbrella thingy`s with infra red heaters so us smokers can sit out.......and thats all i am saying on that subject.
These are the 3 dry docks that is now the base of the Canal Cruising Co. said to be the oldest canal boat hire company on the system. Talking of old, Stone was the home of Eva Morris who died Nov. 2000 6 days short of her 115th birthday and for a year prior to her death was the oldest recognized person in the world.

So leaving Stone we cruise down the Trent&Mersey stopping overnight at Weston upon Trent and as we prepare to turn right at Gt Haywood Jct another new marina of 200 berths has been built.

WANT YOUR PET TO GET MARRIED?

Just when i thought i had escaped the crazy world of the land and survived the R. Churnet in flood i discover at Endon on the Caldon canal near to bridge 28 the Fine Feathers Rare Breeds Farm. Now this place is an old farmhouse with a very large amount of land run by a very nice lady name of Sarie and with her hubby and children not only do they run an animal rescue centre they also encourage some rare breeds to....well breed.

Now the crazy bit, and that`s my opinion and yours are welcome in the comments section, is

they also do pet weddings. So if Rover fancies the bitch next door or the Buck and Doe you`ve told the kids have to be kept apart in case they....fight then this is for you. Get the pets married off then the kids and you can buy a narrowboat and be as happy and content as me.

http://www.petweddingsandpartners.co.uk/

Smashing place to stop off if you are boating in the area it`s free although it would be nice if you put some cash in the collection pot. You can see Llamas, Goats, Pigs, Ostrich, Emu, Racoons and

as in the pic Parrots flying as free as a bird....sorry. Also in one barn amongst many just hatched birds of all types 6 Rotwieler pups were in with a Vietnamese Pot Belly Pig.
Racoons and even a very large Owl all go to make this a pleasent stop off and also there`s a farm shop and being boaters themselves with a boat for hire you will be made welcome.



OK so what have we been upto in the last few hot sunny weeks, that reminds me i wonder if Tesco will take back all that sun tan cream?

After a great w`end at the Middlewich festival we came down the Trent&Mersey and below we


are waiting to go through the Harecastle Tunnell which is the left portal the right hand one is the original that suffered subsidence. Eight or so boats go through at a time in each direction and as it gets low in there i had to move my bike to the rear of the boat.

After the tunnell we went on the Caldon then back onto the T&M down to Stone where we spent 5 days, well we all need a holiday don`t we. Molly was re-united with Andy/Bev & the G`children much to her delight. I met Jo who is living on Misty Lady while her new boat Hadar is built ( link on the right) and i think thats as close as you need to get to our exact location.

Perhaps when we get some decent weather i might get a better sunset pic.
Night all.

MOLLY & THE PROBLEM

Here`s Molly, no it`s not a woman as some friends had thought. Molly has come to stay on board for a week while my son Andy and Bev plus the grandchildren are away on a weeks
holiday. At first she was not keen on eating but as the days went by she realised the family were not coming back straight away so she settled down and now demolishes her food as soon as i put it down for her.
This is what gave me the problem on board and caused me to call out a Vetus engineer. It`s the bit that stops the water coming in where the prop shaft exits the boat from the engine/g`box to

the propeller. The rubber seals inside that shiny gold bit decided they would let the water drip in, now as you can imagine water inside a boat is not a good idea. The engineer said it was unusual for the seals to go so soon and after checking the engine alignment was ok his only thought was it had not been properly installed from day one. Anyway all ok now and my engine bay is bone dry.

The gadget to the right of the shaft is the bilge pump and will auto pump out any water as it is fitted with a float switch.