Day 111 - around Rugby, a surprisingly non-urban experience.

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0 locks, 425 in total.







A short but picturesque run today finishing with a loop around the edge of Rugby. The North Oxford canal was originally a contour canal, like the South Oxford that we took after the R. Thames. However 50 years after construction it was losing out to the railways so it was decided to straighten out some of the loops and raise the canal on embankments and aqueducts (like the Shropshire Union), avoiding building locks and saving 13½ miles in the process. Some of the obsolete bits of loop are still there but inaccessible from the new route. This has caused an anomaly with the bridge numbering, with almost half the numbers missing! Generally the canal is quite high up and provides good views. Initially this was rolling farmland and groups of farm buildings. As we approached Rugby there were about 10 boats moored on the offside, each with about ¼ acre of land but no house; all the land was beautifully kept and we wondered what planning restrictions were in place as presumably the land could have been sold at a much higher price for housing.







Then Rugby, not that we saw much of it from the canal. There were trees hiding the out-of-town superstores and the canal was incorporated into walks and green open areas as a local amenity. Pictures of the canals and the game of rugby were under several of the bridges and there was not much housing immediately backing onto the water. The overall effect was that this was not an urban canal, and it was lovely; we even saw a heron again today.







Autumn fruits are abundant although usually on the offside where you can't pick anything; blackberries, of course, plums, damsons, hawthorn berries, sloes, rosehips – a canoe might be an idea another time!







We are moored at the bottom of the Hillmorton locks – they're very shallow and it looks as though we may have to upset a lock volunteer tomorrow by telling him that we don't require his services – we're getting desperate for some exercise. We're very close to all the radio masts at Rugby – I had no idea they covered such a vast area.







One story I forgot to tell you yesterday. About 2 years ago we retrieved a gangplank that was a floating hazard on the K & A. (Gangplanks are needed to get ashore if the water is too shallow to get right up to the bank.) We already have two of our own and we've carried this third one around for longer than is reasonable so we decided to leave it at the rubbish area at Hawkesbury – if someone wanted it then they could have it. As we passed the boat moored next to ours, the chap eyed the plank. Would you like it? Yes please! As easy as that.

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Photos

Hattie and I walked to the first bridge....
....waiting for John to pick us up.

Not sinking....
.... it's just a ridiculously small narrowboat - all out of proportion.

Newbold Tunnel.
250 yards long so not a problem when you can see sunshine at the other end. I've learnt my lesson though - if it's sunny then wear sunglasses before the tunnel and whip them off as you enter the gloom. I also have to put on my other glasses or I'd still hit the wall.

Looking over the canal edge at a hazard....
... rocks like these lurk and scrape the boat as you moor. Also the Oxford seems to have sloping stone edges and fenders are no use then.