Canals around Coventry

Hi Mayjan That is nearly as bad as the name of the hairdressers, the cut & the cut above. Trading narrow boats lined both sides of the canal through Cropredy. Our foursome group enjoyed many canal holidays which included the Warwickshire ring, to & from Oxford & Banbury & also the Stratford. Shorter trips have included the Ashby. We did consider buying a canal boat at one time but whilst I was full time at work, getting a fortnight off sometimes was a task, leave alone several weeks in order to make boat ownership viable. I will see what pics I can find. During the coming week, I will load some canal pics onto my gallery for you to have a look at. Back in a bit. Early morning just south of Banbury. Sally the swan enjoying 'shreddies', or he might be Simon with the crown on his head.

The longest aqueduct in England is nearly on our doorsteps, Mayjan. This carries the Stratford canal across a river, a road & a railway. Before venturing out on a voyage, we always did a preliminary look around the route that we were planning. That is Pam on top of the aqueduct. I will post a long lens close up for you to see. The view from inside a leaky lock on the Stratford.

We made friends with the team aboard this Calcutt boat & after a hearty pub breakfast, it was off to the boat market. You can see the crowds in the distance. It was as busy with as many people as at Nuneaton market. The towns folk too. Do you want a hat? There were boats trading in all manner of goods, just like any small market town. There was even a litter boat that went by looking like an upside down combine-harvester, needs it as it is not easy to pick up litter that blows away. Banbury is quite something with the canal nearly going right through the main central shopping mall. There was less distance to walk from the boat as there was for people walking from the car-park.

Hi Philip I'm quackers about the picture of Sally or Simon? enjoying the shreddies. Was Pam shouting "Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo". Joking apart great pictures once again, thanks for sharing them. Looks as if you had as much fun on the canals as you did and still do on the railways!

Thank you Mayjan. I will finish with just one more pic, hoping not to break Rob's disc-space, of an event that I don't believe has a parallel anywhere else. It demonstates the closeness of the canal to the main shopping centre in Banbury. Please all enjoy. I will post some more of my Coventry canal trips & walks over the next weeks. The joining of the Coventry canal to the Oxford was like the building of the M1 & M6 & M5 in its day. It took us three days to reach Banbury whereas the old boaters would reach Banbury in a day.

I quite fancy a boat market Philip, would make a change from Nuneaton and Coventry market! Great pictures once again, thank you.

I second that Philip. We lived on the Norfolk Broads for two weeks many moons ago and absolutely adored it. Great waking up to somewhere different every morning and buying fresh milk and bread. The evening river patrol were friendly too especially at 1 o'clock in the morning!!! Lovely to see you enjoying yourselves. Thank you for sharing.

Hello Philip, Just love the canal boats that you have added to 'Hall Brooks'. When we were in Coventry in 2010 we spent 4 days with my brother and his wife on their narrow boat and had a wonderful time. When we visit in 2013 I will bring you a swan to live on your canal. My ancestors on my fathers side were bargees (BARLOWS). Do your boats have names? Gilly

Hello Gilly, Hello Dreamtime I am just starting to personalise the boats, which are ornaments really. I would love a swan! Thank you for your kind comments

Hi Philip, Whilst on your canal trips did you ever come across the 'Cheese Boat'? The Cheese Boat used to moor at Sutton Stop around Christmas time. It was owned by a lovely couple who used to sell delicious cheese and pickles. A couple of years ago they put a notice on their web site to say that the husband was ill and they wouldn't be making the trip to Coventry. The lovely narrow boat photos prompted me to check out their web site to see if they would be making a visit this year. I couldn't find their web site, but found that there are two cheese boats - both listed their ports of call around a month in advance, so I'm keeping a look out for a Christmas visit.

Hi Tricia, Hi all, This was at Sutton Stop. We so enjoyed the Cornish Yarg & Black Bomber cheese. We have seen that cheese boat in various locations during our voyages. There are other cheese boats on the network.

Hi all, Thank you Philip for the photo. I'm pretty sure that's the gentleman I was thinking of. I loved the chocolate cheese and the apricot pickle - not together of course.

Hi Tricia, The internet has made me lazy, as it is easier to pop onto Flickr for someone else's pics than for me to troll through my pre-digital era prints. The Coventry Canal heads north out of Coventry where it joins the Oxford canal at Sutton Stop. The Oxford veers in a huge clockwise arc, to eventually travel south. The Coventry continues north west to Fazeley Junction, where it joins the B'ham & Fazeley. Its identity is lost at this point until a short section a few miles north through Lichfield where it once again becomes the Coventry Canal. The picture above is very close to this junction. In the heyday of commercial canal usage, canal ownership was fiercely fought over hence the name rivalry. Had the railways not entered the scene to bring canal development to a halt, traders in Coventry had planned a southbound extension of the Coventry Canal, to joint the Grand Union near to Warwick. This would have cut out the half a day wasted time going north in order to travel south. Who knows what might have happened!

Thank you Philip. We have never been on a canal holiday, it's something we always meant to do but never got round to it. Maybe one day we will, I love the idea of beautiful countryside, small villages and country pubs lunches.

Hi Tricia, Hi all The scene set by a canalside pub on a warm summers day, is a far cry from a wet or freezing winters day. Our friends who made up our foursome each voyage, were still considering narrow boat ownership, until we embarked upon a winter cruise, even though it was fairly good weather as winters go, but that finally put them off the idea. Regards holidays, hiring a boat & spreading the cost over four or six people makes very good economic sense compared to hiring a cottage or even a Shearings type holiday. Just my opinion now, to enjoy a narrow boat holiday requires at least one person (the skipper) to be fully conversant, possibly with an Inland Waterways helmsman's cert. Two people must be fit & have good balance. In over twenty years of narrow-boating, none of our crew or party ever fell in, or were hurt. Sadly though, several tragedies have hit the news over the years, one being a party of disabled people, where lack of basic skill meant that a narrow boat bow fouled the beams of a lock gate which held the boat under, whilst the water poured into the lock. Several disabled people were drowned, some in their wheelchairs. This particular tragedy stands out because there were opportunities at several points of time for several things to be done, each of which may have reduced the loss of life, but sadly, those in charge had not the experience & it was the efforts of a young boater on an adjacent boat that tried to save the situation. How to Control a Canal Boat Four die as canal boat sinks