Milton Keynes

Winter cruising is always slower than the summertime with frequent moorings as we slowly journey south. No rush to go anywhere and the cold winds of late make the decision to stay fireside with a book so appealing.

We spent a few days north of Milton Keynes and on Saturday made a move to fill up with water and shed a large black bag of rubbish. While on the water point Gary on the fuel boat Ascot came by so he gained our custom that Jules on Towcester could not satisfy 5 days ago as we passed  by each other at Cosgrove. Fifty seven litres of diesel, 2 bags of coal and a bottle of propane.

The water tank is full and fuel stocks are good so off we went to find a mooring at Campbell Park near the shopping centre at central Milton Keynes. At lunchtime not sure of our final plans we walked into MK and visited the outdoor market to stock up on fruit and vegetables.

Having made this walk several times over the years by a different route we followed the signs this time and had a pleasant 20 mins walk through the park. The route passed the cricket ground and then the open air theatre then up the hill to the highest part of the park the light pyramid giving views across Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire.

Forgot the camera so all the pictures are from Googley Imagery.

Milton Keynes open air market and below the stall we made most use of.

 

 Aerial view of the cricket ground. Note the stepped grass tiers to sit and watch the game.

The open air theatre also had the same seating for the public as the cricket ground. 

The point with nice views is lit at night.  

A nice couple of days

We decided to move from the Stoke Breurne area and hoped to meet the fuel boat `Jules` on the way as they were heading towards us. Our wood stock was low but I had already spotted a fallen tree hidden in the bushes just 10 minutes cruise. With some wood on board we set off again and soon after  we turned a bend and Mother Nature

still on our side with a fallen tree laying halfway across the towpath. So our wood stock has increased a little but a lot more will be needed before winter ends.

 

Cruising on we could hear distant shotgun fire then just ahead from a tree flew a Barn Owl settling in a tree adjacent to our stern. In the next field a Hare was making off at top speed. Next sighting were men carrying shotguns with dogs at their sides shooting Pheasant.

 No wonder the Owl relocated to a peaceful perch and perhaps the Hare thought he might end up on the kitchen table.  The shoot stretched for about a mile+ with perhaps up to thirty guns in use spread over several fields. A couple of the Pheasant did make it to new cover much to the annoyance of the shooters whose shots went wide. Don`t you just love the underdog winning.

 

Further along two Bullfinches flew in and out of the trees on the offside just keeping ahead of us, not a common sight so it made me smile.

 

On arrival at Cosgrove the fuel boat was serving the permanent moorings but all Julia had was coal. Our needs are diesel, propane and a top up of coal for overnight burning. So just an overnight stay as a mooring amongst dozens of other boats is not for us.

 

We have found a little bit of towpath to ourselves just on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. A couple of days to chop wood and wait out the high winds blowing around us. We will move on soon as the cold weather is possibly coming back next week so we need to refill our fuel tanks and find another quiet spot in case the ice returns. 

So we have  had  two nice days cruising--both quite short--but we are on no time table so as and when we reach London is of no importance.

Now this would see us through the winter. Somehow this Oak even in the state it`s in does not deserve to be firewood. It stands there upright and solid and seems to be declaring `look at me but I`m still standing`

Gayton waste facility

Remember the picture on the left?. Just received the e mail below from CRT. Now we are way past Gayton now so I can`t keep an eye on things but I bet the bins are still there or even if they have been removed the picture on the left will soon be re-created with rubbish piled up. This area has a lot of long term moorings so something needs to be sorted asap.

Any bloggers out there had a problem loading pictures via Internet Explorer? It seems to be ok now but when we first had the problem changing to Firefox when blogging solved the problem.

Out of the Ice

About 2 weeks ago at Blisworth after going back to the services block to fill the water tank and dump the rubbish the engine decided to overheat.
Mmmm! now having looked at that sentence and noticed it makes no mention of the toilet cassette emptying I need to mention the the composting toilet. Ok so if you feel the need to skip  stop here and start to read from under the hose pictures below. We know of people very interested in the Airhead hence the following.
Now all good gardeners will have a compost heap and will know it takes a while to break down the stuff on your pile of leaves etc. The airhead toilet we installed is we think fantastic with no smell and no heavy smelly cassettes to empty and rinse out.
Now we need to empty ours about every 4/5 weeks. These toilets were originally designed for U.S. sailboats that with occasional use and long periods moored in harbour gave the contents time to break down to a dry crumbly matter.
So as ours is used continually the disposal is a bit more than tipping out the contents on the garden. It can be emptied the same as a cassette but as it won`t tip out easily this could be a problem for others in the elsan queue.
We found the old `bucket and chuck it` the best way. Now what this means folks either side of the pond is dig a decent depth hole and bury it. This is usually done when we are moored way out in the countryside away from the towpath.
I have said it before but once again, there is no smell with this system as the liquids are separated from the solids and the continual drawing of air through the toilet starts the composting cycle.



The above was an update for the people who have showed an interest.
OK the overheating engine, a quick check while topping up the water failed to spot the hose pictured on the right as the damage was  on the under side. All I saw was the hose on the left (ignore the horizontal cuts for easy removal). Sitting in the spares box since the boat was new a length of  heater hose. The hose is the engine take off to the Calorfier (hot water tank) and explains why the water has not been as hot lately. The seepage was on to the top of the engine and quickly evaporated leaving me no tell tale puddles on the engine bay floor. Just for ease of not having to bleed it all twice I replaced the return pipe as well. Next time you are close and personal with your engine, ladies it`s a man thing, just check the undersides of your water pipes men. Oh!  take that which way you want.

The Captain brings the boat through the thin ice

The rise in temperatures and heavy rain over the weekend as good as removed all traces of ice from the canal. So we decided to move down the seven Stoke Bruerne locks and cruise to pastures new. Two locks from the bottom it started to rain and having reached the bottom lock the captain (the real one) decided to stop for lunch. As the wind had increased and the rain was still falling the actual second in command (the one who thinks of captaincy) suggested staying the night so here is as far as we travelled but it sure was good to move after being iced in. We did have some nice evenings with Jacquie and Stein, like ducks 2 water and below is a picture they took of Jaq and I while we all walked in the snow.

 

Ok so tonight looks cold but check out the following days. I am thinking we might be moving soon.

Jaq`s 2 snow tricks

Snow is all around us so Jaq shows me her snow ice cream recipe. I must emphasize use snow from high up off the ground and never never use Yellow snow. We used the top couple of inches from the front bow locker.

One bowl of fresh snow

Add evaporated milk and sugar

Whisk and add Vanilla extract

Viola one bowl of snow ice cream Not to my taste as the sugar is crunchy but Jaq enjoyed it.

 Ok the second thing Jaq does with snow

She makes Angels in the snow

Iced in

We made the decision with Jacquie and Stein to move on from Blisworth. Both our boats were ice free and we had only to go through about a hundred yards of slushy wafer thin ice before being back in ice free water.

Exiting Blisworth tunnel this Ice sculpture hung in the tunnel mouth. The light in the tunnel is `Like Ducks 2 Water` following us through. It`s usually wet in the tunnel with water pouring from the roof but this was the wettest journey and i got very wet.

Having poured boiling water over the water tap we managed to fill our tank and decided to stay above the locks. I reversed back and moored in front of Jacquie and Stein. The pound below the top lock,pic above, was

a mixture of clear water and ice. Having walked down through the seven locks seeing more ice than water I now declare us frozen in.
Just hoping now for a thaw as my feet start to itch as soon as my freedom to roam is restricted.

Technical Writing--But What Do These Instructions Really Mean???

"Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid" - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

  If you read Les' previous post you are aware we were having some technical difficulties with our Kerstan satellite dish. It appeared we needed a new part for it called an LNB. 
   As Les sat drinking his tea this morning I thought I would give the technical manual for the Satellite dish a gander. Simple curiosity drew me to the booklet.
   While I am not a technical writer per say, I have worked as a grant writer, produced a professional newsletter, worked as a journalist for university and community newspapers, written a blog which will be turned into a book manuscript, and started research for another book.
   I have a degree in English-Creative Writing and I teach writing tutorials online for a University, instructing beginning and advanced students in how to become better writers and how to write at a university level, therefore I am of the opinion I am qualified to critically review the written instructions in our Kerstan manual which should provide clear, concise instructions on how to assemble and operate the satellite dish.
   As I perused the pages certain things leaped out at me. The instructions were rife with typos and misspellings, such as, "With our mobile mini-SAT antenna you needn' t rennonce (sic) your satellite-programs, even on vacation, on camping tours in native- and foreign countries. To that end   you only have to fasten the outdoors system with the roof of your car or caravan." Well clearly an editor or at least spell check and a proof reader would have been beneficial before going to publication.
   Reading on: "With the help of the suckfoot this is very easy." Say what??? Suckfoot?? Is this a technical term--suckfoot? Is it a piece of equipment that came with our satellite dish: dish, LNB, antenna beam, wing screw, capstan head screw...yep suckfoot! I am familiar with the term suck face but this one is new to me. Call me an ingenue.
   According to the Kerstan Satellite manual this is a technical name for the satellite dish stand with a suction cup on the bottom. I am warning you though--do not Google this noun. It will provide you with links to porn sites such as "Cuddly Suck Foot Time" on You Tube, or Isis Taylor Pretty Feet Toes to Suck Fetish. Right, onward to Building Up.
   "You can assemble your off-set satellite dish at a wallwinkle at your window..." Wallwinkle??? Really??? Googling this term brings up Bullwinkle. Perhaps wallwinkle is a distant relative of Moose, companion of squirrel.
   "The antenna beam consists of two pieces ((3.1) and (3.2)) which you can combinate for..." Now wait a minute! I am certain there is no such term as combinate unless you are George Bush Jr. According to the technical writer of this instruction manual one can "'combinate' for the kind of assembling you choose. The arm in front with the LNB-holder and ball of the assembling arm you can (with the help of two parallel tongues) push together with the first arm...we recommend to grease the connexion between (3.1) and (3.2) a little bit." 
   Whoa, whoa, whoa! Maybe this is a manual more in keeping with the first Google search! Directions involving two tongues, multiple arms, and a greased "connexion" sound a bit salacious to me.
   The directions suggest "With the help a mast clamp (4) and two wing screws you can fasten the outdoor system with the wallwinkle, mast or railing of your balcony. Now you can easily regulate the vertical winkle of the slope with the help of a slotted hole and the end pieces...when you carfully (sic) remove the connexion between the two clamp pieces with a screwdriver or something like that." Something like that is such a professional term! I always keep one of those handy in my back pack. one never knows when one will need it.
   The manual goes on to recommend you "...put the ball into the suckfoot...with the help of the capstan head screw. Before you fasten the suckfoot at your roof we recommend to put a little bit of water on the rubber." And I thought my husband was reading up on how to fix our satellite. I am not sure these kind of positions are possible in the cabin of a narrow boat but if it helps us get better satellite reception I'm willing to help out.

Mmmmmmmm!!!!!

It`s cold, well it is outside of the boat. Ice forming alongside the patches that have been on the water all day so perhaps an ice in will start tomorrow.

The fridge has decided to play up by forgetting to switch off. Thermostat is on it`s way.

Now the Satellite has refused to work, think I need a new LNB for the dish.

I wonder what else is about to join the mutiny.

Going to have a cup of tea and read a book.
I guess you understand such a small posting.

Waiting to be frozen in.

Well it finally snowed during the night after what has so far been a very mild winter. We did have very light snow on Saturday but it was hardly noticeable. Over the years I can remember two occasions being frozen in before Christmas, 2009 and 2010. Last year Jaq and I were frozen in for 17 days about this time of the month.
At the moment we are near Blisworth and have one eye on the weather forecast as all wise Continuous cruisers should be doing through the winter. Having filled the water tank at Gayton we moored for a few days of RandR. We had an exquisite meal and evening in the company of Stein and Jacquie aboard `Like Ducks 2 Water`. We all decided to turn back on Monday and top up our water tanks and wait the outcome of the expected bad weather. Waking up Sunday to a thin sheet of ice on the canal the water run was brought forward. Looking at the picture above it was a good decision.

 Above is the BBC weather for where we are starting tonight and below the prediction from next weekend. A lot of below freezing figures. Not convenient for a Tesco delivery here so a walk to the village tomorrow for a bus to the nearest Tesco near Northampton.

 

The overflowing bins I e mailed CRT about have been emptied. Perhaps the Canal, River Trust will get more done quicker than our old masters British Waterways, early days yet.

Canal, River Trust send e mail re rubbish

Here we have the very quick response to my e mail to C.R.T. As to the site being clear now we will be returning that way shortly and I will let you know.

Mr Biggs,

Please bear with us on the service at this site, the new bridge limits either side of the yard and further up the road have prevented Biffa from accessing on the weekly empty with the normal wagon since the 12^th of December 23012

We have instructed Biffa to attend with a man and van to clear the site since your picture was taken and weekly thereafter so the site should be clear now.

We are working closely with Biffa to resolve the situation without closing or relocating the facility at this site. In the meantime if you are able to use of alternative facilities it will greatly help the situation.

I hope this helps,

Many thanks

Regards

Daniel Barnett

Contracts Delivery Manager

South East Waterway

T 01908 302543 M 07710 175097

Through Buckby and Weedon

Down the Buckby flight of locks next to the bottom lock opposite the chandlers stood the Spotted Cow pub. The present day picture still has the metal work for the hanging sign above the door.

The former Spotted Cow pub.

We saw several of these flying bird scarers over the fields along the canal. They are pretty convincing and in two fields there was no sign of any birds feeding on the crop.
The video on the site shows the details but it`s basically a printed kite attached to a fisherman's pole and powered by mother nature.
Quite an advance on the old scarecrow standing still in the centre of a field.

I have e mailed Canal, River Trust with this photo and I will let you know if they reply.

This was a mooring we had last Sunday. Across the canal is the church St. Peter and Paul. Now I and also with Jaq have moored here many times but it seems not on a Sunday.
At 9am we awoke to the lovely sound of the bells calling parishioners to church. So we lay in bed discussing whether or not the good people of Weedon needed reminding of the service about to start.
The next we knew it was 11.45am!!!
Oh how nice it is to be people of leisure.

Along the way

Nice to see the hedgerows getting a trim

Away from Braunston

 We left Braunston and made our way up the locks and through the tunnel as we needed to pass down the Buckby flight of locks before they close. The maintenance stoppage was due to start on the 7th for 3 weeks.
 
This is the old toll house at Norton Junction where the Leicester branch of the grand Union leaves the main line at the top of the Buckby flight. At the moment it is having an extension built at the rear which perhaps has something to do with the `Toll house boat sales` notice displayed on the front lawn.

Back in 1950 the Salvation Army purchased an old butty and having fitted an engine they cruised the canals helping the working boatmen and eventually had a mooring at Hawkesbury junction.  They also took over the toll house and it was eventually the retirement home of the Fieldings who had manned the boat.
The bridge behind the building was once a swing bridge it can just be seen in the picture below.

The toll house as it was circa 1970. Sally army Brigadier Fielding is believed to have died here in the 1990`s. Some information here.

Nev Wells is selling `Waterlilly` as he is now the proud owner of Percy. Link for the boat sale is below.
http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=284510


Fellow blogger Ross aka Bert the Gnome came to visit today. Sorry Ross forgot to take a pic. Anyway Ross has sold his house and is now looking at boats with the intention of being a live aboard.

Move along the boat please, your needed at the rear

Almost 7 years ago when I first started living aboard I had read of the many boaters who used an Eco-Fan. This device sits on top of the solid fuel stove and is powered via heat from the stove top feeding a built in Thermoelectric unit that generates power to the blades. I believe mine lasted about 5 years before giving up although to be fair it had fallen to the floor a few times after my early days of bad steering into locks.
Even from new I was not convinced of it`s ability to move hot air down the boat. With the Eco-fan sitting on the stove the bedroom in the stern was always the coldest place in the winter. We have no tall bulkheads to stop the heat until the corridor past the bathroom into the bedroom over half way down the boat.
The stove on Nb Valerie is 27" off the floor so the fan has more of a chance to push the heat over the chairs and dinette...you would think.




So following the demise of my Eco-fan some 18 months ago I rigged up a square computer fan in a wood frame. It worked fine and the difference in the bedroom temperature was very noticeable. The problem was I was not happy with the look of the unit and took it down. Since then I have been half heartedly looking for a solution.
While in the U.S. I purchased two 4" fans that were intended to clip on a car air vent.   Now all that was needed was a means of mounting them from the ceiling.
Woodcraft unlimited  is a company owned by friends Larry and Lael Turnbow on whose ranch we stayed while in Idaho. Larry makes custom cabinets, handcrafted woodworking, domestic or commercial, and the work is beautiful. After showing Larry the fans and telling him roughly what was needed within a half an hour he produced two very nice frames as in the pictures. These are beech and I have given them 4 coats of clear lacquer.


As you might have noticed the fans have  Blue Led`s that look quite nice but totally un-necessary.
The heat through the fans is tremendous and just a few minutes is enough to push the heat down the boat in, and this is my opinion, a much more efficient way than the Eco-fan. Problem with the Eco-fan is it does not affect the heat that rises and sits at ceiling height.
Anyway like boat toilets boaters will have different opinions but I have replaced something that in my opinion was not up to the job.
I am at the moment in the process of replacing something else on the boat, NO not my lovely bride Jaq, but a future blog will reveal all.

The Grand Union/Junction canal

The last time we were on the Grand Union was almost a year ago. We had left London mid December and passed through Braunston about the second week of January on our way north.

 The picture above is a few days old whereas the one below is from the Frith Collection and is circa 1960. This was the original route of the Oxford canal past the buildings and across the road into the fields crossing the present route at bridge 97 along the puddlebanks then turning back near bridge 98. On both sides of bridge 97 the old canal is still in water and on the towpath side amongst the greenery a small section can still be found.

copyright of Frith(link above)

ISBN 0715357506 

 In 1793 an act of Parliament authorised the Grand Junction to build a canal from here at Braunston to Brentford. A much shorter route than the Oxford canal that went via the River Thames. The G. J. route was to be 60 miles shorter and even with more locks would still be much faster. The Oxford raised many objections but could not overcome the might of the rich backers behind the Grand Junction. The Oxford planned amongst others a canal from north of Oxford itself to Marylebone in London a distance of 60 miles. Routes to join up with the Grand Junction at Marsworth were as you can imagine turned down by the G. J. To cut a long and interesting history the Grand Junction had to guarantee the Oxford £10,000($15,000) for lost tolls as boats chose to leave their canal in preference to the G.J. 
The book is fascinating. 
 
 So London is our destination although not Brentford. We intend a return visit to Paddington for a 7 day stay so I can show Jaq more of London.
So ahead of us we have 100 miles and 90 locks. The canal planner states that travelling 3 hours per day the journey will take 52 hours or about 17 days. Well we can quite definitely say our journey is to be at a slow pace and will take.................who knows.

We still have our Oyster cards from last year so just a small top up. I have my national bus pass so will need the Oyster card just on the underground train system. After Paddington  our route will be the Regents canal through north London and onto the Rivers Lee and Stort. 

Happy New Year

 

 

Wherever you are in the world be it afloat or not. We wish you all good health and as much happiness and contentment as flows through the 58 feet of Nb Valerie. 

 

 

Looking out from the bow doors as the darkness of 2012 slowly gives way to the first dawn of 2013.

An old map and dinner for birds and friends

In my last blog Jaq and I were gathering wood in the cutting by Newbold tunnel and this got me thinking of the straightening of the Oxford canal back in the late 1830`s. The original canal twisted and turned across the countryside following the contours of the land. This cut down on locks, tunneling, aquaducts etc that are found in a more direct routed canal.
I found some time back in Rugby library a map entitled `Intended improvements along part of the line of the existing Oxford canal` dated 1828. The photocopy I made is not good enough to reproduce on the blog so I have made up my own from modern mapping.

 

 

As well as the present route, i have marked in black the suggested second straightening. It goes from about halfway along the Newbold cutting, very close to my last wood site, to bridge 42 (actually slightly left of my marking). My Yellow marking shows the original line although there was more. Opposite Lime farm and Brinklow marina`s the original line went out into the fields turning back along the contours.

Not sure why the second route was not used, perhaps the land owners would not sell to the canal company.

 

 

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas break. Jaq and I spent a few days at Barby or to be exact Onley prison moorings. Sounds a bit ominous to those without the benefit of a watery basement but i can assure you the prison lies a decent distance back from the canal with plenty of woodland between the two. For three days we had it all to ourselves, the mooring that is. I guess the prison was pretty crowded. Several boats came by including two hire boats from the Ashby canal company. I managed to have a short chat with one crew and like us and many other boaters they had eaten Christmas lunch on board.

 

Talking of lunch while at Onley we provided regular meals for the local bird life. The bird table was installed by I think Bert on Nb Twinkle so all it needed was food. Jaq made up a tasty meal consisting of fat and rind from Gammon steaks, toasted seedy bread and raisins all mixed with chunky peanut butter. Every batch went in no time. Talking of bird food have you noticed the lack of Hawthorn berries this year. There seems to be Rosehips but a very  distinct absence of the small Hawthorn berries the birds feed on through winter.

 

Every mooring eventually gives us itchy feet and the urge to move increases. The rain stopped and the Sun appeared tempted us to cruise into Braunston. We soon came across friends and fellow bloggers Jacquie and Stein on Nb Like Ducks 2 Water. They accepted a dinner invitation offered when we last met them on the Macclesfield canal back in the summer and a lovely evening was spent with two real nice genuine people.   

 

Stoke Golding: Birthplace of the Tudor Dynasty

“I would rather be first in a small village in Gaul than second in command in Rome” ~ Julius Caesar


I love the village of Stoke Golding. It has fine memories for me of our first months together as husband and wife aboard NB Valerie. We also spent a week recently at Ashby Canal Centre in Stoke Golding, blacking our boat which gave me plenty of time for a look around. 

Single lane bridge to Stoke Golding

   As the weeks led into the festive winter holiday season bringing shorter days and longer nights, I made a Saturday foray into the village. Cars honked a warning to those out of site on the other side as they made for the single lane canal bridge in and out of Stoke Golding.

The village Post Office at the start of Church Walk.

   Mothers pushing babies in prams and fathers holding tightly to the hands of small children shared the village sidewalks with folks of all ages stopping by the Post Office to mail holiday cards and packages.
   A late afternoon sun shown through pudding clouds as neighbors tarried to chat with one another. Slowly folks began to gather along the path leading to the church of Saint Margaret of Antioch, dating back to the 13th century. An afternoon service at St. Margaret's Church included the singing of Christmas carols. I arrived just in time to slip inside and take a seat in one of the ancient wooden pews with latching doors. How many villagers had warmed these seats in the last seven centuries as they listened to the Christian gospel?

Moving along past the post office, general store and hair dressers...

...towards the entrance to the church of Saint Margaret of Antioch, 13th century.

   It was a good thing a carol sheet was supplied because lo and behold traditional Christmas carols in England may share the same title as those in the USA but there are some interesting differences as I found out! Several carols seemed to use the same music repeatedly and still others had lyrics of which I have not heard. Who knew??!!
   While not a Christian in my personal beliefs, I sat and listened to the brief service which did indeed remind me of the Catholic mass of my youth minus a bit of high ritual.
   As I looked around the ancient church my eye caught the well worn slate headstones of the long dead which were buried under the floor many hundreds of years ago. I sat wondering if the long dead souls took any comfort in the continuity of worship spanning over seven hundred years.
   Amongst the arched stonework and old roof timbers the carved ancient faces of the Green Man looked back at me, articulating the mixture of Pagan and Christian which is the real underpinning of the season. As we filed out chocolates were offered in a festive spirit at the door.

   Outside in the gathering dusk I walked quietly in thought, watching old fashioned street lights blink on like magic to shine across darkened walkways. 
   Squirrels ran along old stone walls, hurrying home to add foundling nuts to a growing larder; wrens sat in the bare branches of hedgerows cocking their heads from side to side, tails seeming to dip up and down as if to ask, "Where are all the berries?" 
   A long, wet summer with too much rain and too little sun left thousands of miles of hawthorn trees bereft of winter bird food. Only the different species of roses hanging amidst the decaying blackberry shrubs and naked Hawthorn branches offer any nourishment. Plump, leathery scarlet rose hips glow in the dim afternoon.
   As I walked back along the road in the early evening dark, Les came up from the boatyard, LED torch in hand, to look for me. Such loving thoughtfulness touches me as we turn and walk arm in arm back to the boat.

Ancient graves by the side of the church

St. Margaret's lit from within as dusk descends

Typical of all small medieval villages, the church spire is the highest thing to be seen throughout Stoke Golding.

   Across the canal I could see the lit spire of St. Margaret's atop Crown Hill and I was reminded of the Battle of Bosworth where Richard III lost his kingdom and his life on August 22nd, 1485, to The Earl of Richmond--who was crowned on said hill in this very village as Henry VII where the Tudor dynasty was born.
   Over the week we blacked our boat I thought often of the gathering masses of soldiers on both sides who fought in what was the final decisive battle of the thirty year long War of the Roses: the White Rose of the House of York supporting the Plantagenet regime, and the Red Rose of the House of Lancaster which supported the Welsh born Henry's bid for the throne as the battle drew nigh.
   Locals from the village climbed the parapets of the church tower that fateful morning to view the clash of the two armies two miles hence on the fields of Redemore as it was then known, which lay to the north of Stoke Golding and the nearby village of Dadlington. "King Richard had 10-15,000 troops at his disposal--more than twice the number available to Henry." (The Battlefields Trust; UK Battlefields Resource Center. 2001-2012. Accessed online on 12/24/2012 at http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/warsoftheroses/battlepageview.asp?pageid=378)
    Henry, who had been exiled in France, returned with 2000 French mercenaries. Marching from Pembrokshire in Wales, the army followed the old Roman Road known as Watling Street. Richard and his army traveled from Leicester along the old Roman Fenn Lane. Both armies decamped the night before the battle on the plains around Ambion Hill. 
    In the pre-dawn hush the morning we were due to leave the marina and go back into the Ashby Canal, the spire of St. Margaret's again caught my eye. As first light broke I sat staring out the window at the pointed tower thinking of twenty thousand troops preparing for battle the morning of August 22nd, 1485.
   The very same spire was the main sight on the horizon for all those men as they heaved to, gearing up for war. On the early morning breeze I listened with my eyes closed. I could hear men shouting, chain mail and weapons clanking and horses snorting and neighing as knights mounted, shields in place. Soldiers buckled their helms and tried their longbows. Infantrymen fell in as their footsteps tolled the march to battle.

St. Margaret's spire in the pre-dawn hours...

As dawn assembles so too do the sounds of an ancient battle...

How many of those men looked in the first rays of an August morning, to the spire of St. Margaret for reassurance?

   "The watchers on the tower saw the armies closing and about ten o'clock heard the shouts of command faintly in the distance.  The gap  between the two armies began to close. Then at 250 yards they saw the first black flights of arrows, like flocks  of birds rising and falling.  They could see  men on both sides fall, their screams of agony carrying on the morning air.
The archers could use their longbows to good effect at 250 yards. As they closed  they proved themselves deadly,  firing 15 arrows a minute, the hardened heads of the shafts penetrating the leather tunics of the soldiers and, at closer range the armour of the knights.
The watchers with the sharpest eyes could see the various sections of the armies as they closed or fell back. One shouted he could see the King on his white courser. He even claimed to see the sun sparkle on his golden crown." (Courtesy of the Trust of Thomas Barton, accessed online, 12/24/2012 at http://www.stokegolding.co.uk/history/watchers_on_the_tower.htm).
   After ninety minutes of combat it appeared the King had routed Henry's soldiers; suddenly the tide of conflict turned and Richard was overwhelmed. He went down and never rose again. Thirty years of conflict died on the fields of Redemoor with Richard Plantagenet and a new royal dynasty was born.
    Henry and his men moved up into a Stoke Golding farmyard to rest while the dying were dispatched with a dagger under chain mail and the dead were carried off the field to be buried in mass graves in Stoke Golding and Dadlington. Henry's troops sustained a loss of approximately 100; Richard's army lost over 1000 men. 

The canal is just below and past the hedge about 2000 yards. Crown Hill Farm.

Blue plaques throughout the village commemorate sites of historical importance thanks to the Charity of Thomas Barton.

    The king's golden circlet was found amongst some Hawthorn bushes and brought to the farm yard where Henry was crowned with it by his Uncle, Lord Stanley, whose son was held hostage by Richard to ensure Stanley would commit his considerable troops to the royal will. Instead Lord Stanley and his troops held their own ground and watched at a distance until it was clear Richard was losing the fight at which point they entered the fray and mopped up the field, scouring the area for weapons, and valuables. Henry's men made themselves comfortable in the chapel of St. Margaret, sharpening their swords on the stone cills under the windows.
    For me history is still alive in the village of Stoke Golding, where one Thomas Barton, local man, established a trust July 10th, 1400 by deedpoll to make funds available to repair the local roadways in benefit of commerce. The trust, ruled by seven trustees, owned considerable acreage and a few homes in and around the area from which it received revenues. Poor management almost saw Barton's Trust bankrupted in the 1600's.  In 1929 the oversight of this trust was ceded to the Stoke Golding Parish Council which has sold some properties in the charity's portfolio to provide investment funds. "With roads and pavement repairs being the responsibility of local and county councils, it was decided by the Trustees to ask the Charity Commissioners for a new order to be made to allow the Trustees to spend interest from their investments for the general benefit of all the people of Stoke Golding. This Order was granted on 17 July 1992 and thus, the generous endowment by Thomas Barton in 1400 celebrates its 600th anniversary on 10 July 2000 by still providing benefits for the village community." (Narrative by Denis Cash; The Charity of Thomas Barton, copyright reserved, 1999.)
   A once king, a future king, and a common man. So much history has marched on the roads Master Barton funded for repair and upkeep. I too, have trod their way and while I am nobody important, a bit of me mingles ever after in Stoke Golding with the breath of kings and commoners who oversaw a slice of this country's history. 

Dawn on The Ashby Canal at Stoke Golding; St. Margaret's spire on Crown Hill.