Coventry Canal

We were now to join the Coventry canal but first we had to negotiate the stop lock at Hawkesbury junction that is barely a foot deep. It is also known as Sutton Stop after the name of the first lock keeper. It enabled the tolls to be collected.

We then said goodbye to the Greyhound pub that is right opposite the iconic cast iron bridge that spans the junction. It was cast at the Britannia foundry in Derby in 1837 and is as good as the day it was made.

 

Interestingly we have a framed picture of the bridge hanging up between the saloon and the galley. This was awarded to us when we had our last boat when we entered a competition for the best turned out boat some years ago. It was presented to us by the Nuneaton Carnival Queen. We only won it though as we were the only boat to have entered!! 

When we got to Marston junction with the Ashby canal we decided to take a detour up it for a few miles. It is a 22 mile long lock free canal that terminates at Snarestone that is renowned to be shallow. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we were able to maintain a decent speed and that a lot of the offside overhanging vegetation had been cut down. After mooring 4 miles in we went for a walk to look for the site of a medieval village of Stretton Baskerville. We walked across a barren field but could not find any evidence of it. Rather than turn back we continued to follow the "path" that was marked on the Nicholson's guide. We soon came across a field full of oats and had to walk around its edge. Edges of fields are rarely straight and we soon found ourselves battling around three of the four sides only to be presented with another field! No going back now but the way forward got tougher and tougher. We were somewhat miffed when we found an arrow indicating a waymarked path that we should have walked across if the farmer hadn't ignored it!

Eventually Keith found a hole in the hedge that led onto the A5 Roman Road, Watling Street. With black clouds forming behind us we were approaching the Lime Kiln Inn. Couldn't pass up the opportunity for some refreshment so in we went. Just in time as the heavens opened! The pub also sold local cheese made from the milk of 150 pedigree Holstein Fresians on Sparkenhoe Farm in Upton. We bought some "Battlefield Blue" that will be sampled later this evening (named after the nearby site of the Battle of Bosworth which finished it for Richard III).