23rd – 29th June 2026
Where We Are This Week
| Voyage this week | Summer Cruise 1 to date | ||
| Miles Covered | 18.8 | 18.8 | |
| Locks | 1 | 1 | |
| Moveable Bridges | 1 | 1 |
The extreme heat this week sent us home on Monday as the boat was just too hot for us but also and especially for Bracken and Teasel. We returned to the boat on Saturday evening and prepared for a short trip.
Our original plan had been to spend this week visiting Coventry, a 4 day round trip from Brinklow. However, a last minute check revealed that there is an event going on all week in the Coventry Basin. This meant there were no moorings there and so we had to rethink.
We decided that we would have an initial quick trip up the Ashby Canal instead. We want to spend longer on this stretch at a later point as it is reportedly very pretty and rural.
We set off on Sunday Morning and made it as far as Bridge 4 on the Oxford Canal. The weather was much cooler and more what we would have expected from a British Summer, rather than the extreme heat of late.
As we cruised we learned, thanks to the Little Gem book, all about butterflies. There were so many of them darting around we thought we should learn more. Who knew there were so many different sorts! We also saw horses and sheep at the canal side taking a drink. New duckling hatchlings are still about and we love seeing them out and about on the water.
Drinks and supper on the aft deck was really very pleasant. I spent ages trying to spot a wren who was working in the bushes near by, but with no success. They are so quick!
Our first job on Monday morning was to move the short distance down to Hawkesbury Junction. There is a stop lock that separates the Oxford Canal from the Coventry Canal. We came this route last summer on our way to Brinklow but from the opposite direction. We used the services while we were here before navigating the hairpin turn out onto the Coventry Canal. This was expertly manoeuvred by John.
We turned onto the Ashby Canal just after the very odd ‘junk’ mooring (Charity Dock) with the very disturbing mannequins along the bank and lots of rather old and dilapidated boats.
We reached the junction of the Ashby Canal and were faced by a sharp (135 degree) turn through a narrow and low bridge. Again, this posed no problem for Captain John who didn’t even touch the bow thruster and slid beautifully through the gap without touching.
We had a delightful cruise, looking and listening out for wildlife. On several occasions John put us into reverse to see if we could spot a bird that Merlin (bird app) had told us was in the area. We were amazed to spot two large ravens perched on one of the huge electrical pylons that follow the line of the canal. We also spotted Greenfinches who seem to be prevalent in this part of the canal network.
As we passed the village of Burton Hasting, we spotted a church which was another St Botolph’s, the same as our home church in Limpenhoe. Unfortunately, there were no moorings so we were unable to visit on this occasion. This is certainly one we will aim to do when we revisit.
We travelled through the built up area of Hinckley and, although there were some moorings here, we decided to press on to see if we could find a more rural spot. This we did, stopping just before Bridge 19. John took the dogs for a walk and I finally saw my elusive Wren who was very busy and very loud seeing off the reed bunting who dared to land on her bit of the bushes!
John had taken yesterday’s butterfly lessons to heart and spotted a comma and a red admiral as well as a Least Carpet moth!
We enjoyed sitting on the stern deck of the boat watching the world go by but it was a bit buggy so we came in earlier than usual.
We will continue our route up the Ashby Canal this week hopefully arrive back at Brinklow so that we are ready for Electrika the following weekend.
If you are interested in Electric boating why not come along. Tickets are free but you must apply via the website as there are only 500 tickets per day. We would love to see you.
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