2 locks, 415 in total. Motored past the Boat Rally again but light was no better this morning than last night for photos although it was considerably warmer. We moored at Polesworth to visit the village and the Abbey Church, which was a wooden structure in the 9th century. After the Norman Conquest it was rebuilt in stone and it was demolished in 1539, ending 700 years of Benedictine worship, and replaced later with an Elizabethan manor house, cloister building and church. All that remains now is the gatehouse, part of the cloister wall and the Abbey Church, dedicated to St Editha – she had lived in the Abbey after her near miss with the Danish king. The church is fairly small but there is an immense feeling of calm as you enter it, aided by ... read more

0 locks, 411 in total. We had a flying visit from Sam this morning – it was lovely to see her and that's twice in one week! Apart from that it was a very quiet day – water, pumpout, etc. We have friends visiting late tomorrow for a couple of days and have earmarked a good section for them to travel so that's why we've hardly moved today. With the dearth of interesting news and photos, it seems like a suitable time to tell you of our sad decision to sell Dunlin after this trip. There are many reasons why this is a sensible thing to do but saying goodbye is still going to hurt. We've had a wonderful time this summer, thanks to friends and family covering for us at home and we are so ... read more

0 locks, 411 in total. We had plenty of cloud for much of the day which gave me a chance to explore a little. I gave Hattie a good walk and swim first thing, fed her and then headed into Tamworth. There's a new shopping centre which I didn't visit – seen one, seen all of them – but the pedestrianised areas had a large range of individual shops as well as a few High Street staples that presumably didn't want to move to the new area. I didn't go into the castle as there seemed to be several large tourist groups swarming over the place. It was King Offa of Mercia's stronghold and palace and was also the stronghold of Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great. The Danes completely devastated Tamworth twice in two of ... read more

0 locks, 411 in total. I caught the bus into Tamworth to meet an ex-colleague who was visiting for a few hours. A request to be set down at the station resulted in the bus driving past it and eventually setting me down half a mile away. As the station is on a vast one-way roundabout I couldn't find where the return stop was so we went back to the boat by taxi instead as Sam is unable to walk very far. As I was moored at The Tame Otter, we went there for lunch and left immediately after looking at the menu – just a bit too fancy for us. The Red Lion was much friendlier. After lunch we pootled past the Hopwas back gardens which ran right down to the towpath and an hour ... read more

0 locks, 411 in total. A little background to the Coventry Canal as there's not much else of interest today. The plan was for the canal to run from Coventry to Fradley Junction, where it would join up with the Trent & Mersey. Work started at the Coventry end, as far as a colliery which would pay tolls to the canal board and reduce the cost of coal for Coventry inhabitants. Then the money for finishing the canal ran out. So the T & M started work on a southwards link from Fradley to Whittington and the section from Whittington to Fazeley Junction was undertaken by the Birmingham and Fazeley company, extending their existing canal northwards from Fazeley Junction; the planned Coventry Canal was effectively split into three ownerships. Eventually the top section was bought back ... read more