After completing the insurance claim form, we had to return to the library to photocopy it and then off to the Post Office to get it sent. So we had another walk around Warwick and found even more little nooks and crannies for Barry to photograph! I've visited Warwick previously to go to the castle with family, but have no recollection of actually looking around the city (is it a city or is it a town? In England you can only be called a city if you have a Cathedral, whereas in New Zealand as soon as your population is more than 30,000 you become a city!). Though the shops aren’t wonderful and seem to be spaced out between 2 or 3 different parts of town, it has a really cosmopolitan atmosphere and we loved the market square where people were sitting drinking wine and beer at 11 o’ clock in the morning!
Huge town square with two cafe bars to sit outside on sunny days
East Gate in Warwick, one of the four gates into the ancient town. Under the arch was where Barry previously photographed the doves
One of two 'Pillar Post' boxes at the town gates
One of two 'Pillar Post' boxes at the town gates
Barry says this is a Rastfarian house!
Two sundials, one set to daylight saving and one isn't!
The bear is the sign of Warwckshire - not a very good advert for the police having a caged bear!
We stopped just after lunch in Royal Leamington Spa. It’s apparantly called ‘Royal’ because Queen Victoria stayed there once, so they wrote to her and asked if they could be called ‘Royal’ and she said yes – as simple as that!!! Hilarious. I don’t think I’ve ever visited Leamington either. That is one of the many joys of this trip, seeing an England that I never even knew existed – both on the canals and in the towns, cities and villages that most people by-pass on their way somewhere, usually by driving at great speed on motorways wanting to get from A to B as quickly as possible without time to smell the roses on the way. We feel very privileged to have this opportunity.
We left our moorings at 1150, just before our deadline to leave at 1200, and headed east towards Braunston & Rugby.
We stopped just after lunch in Royal Leamington Spa. It’s apparantly called ‘Royal’ because Queen Victoria stayed there once, so they wrote to her and asked if they could be called ‘Royal’ and she said yes – as simple as that!!! Hilarious. I don’t think I’ve ever visited Leamington either. That is one of the many joys of this trip, seeing an England that I never even knew existed – both on the canals and in the towns, cities and villages that most people by-pass on their way somewhere, usually by driving at great speed on motorways wanting to get from A to B as quickly as possible without time to smell the roses on the way. We feel very privileged to have this opportunity.
Leamington has a Royal Pump Room, similar to Bath but no actual waters to be seen, just the exhibition – but it was free! It’s amazing that in days gone by it was thought to be beneficial to drink the saline water and eat everything BUT fruit and vegetables.
Pub opposite where we moored up. Loud Pink Floyd playing!
One of the Georgian streets of Leamington Spa
The Pump Rooms
We also had a walk around the very pleasant Jephson Park (and an ice cream), where there were lots of groups of teenagers making the most of the fine day. I think it must be exam time so many of them are off apart from going in for exams.
Geese seem to love weirs!
Moving on along the canal, and a few more locks to work - it was the most beautiful blue sky day and we both took advantage of the sunshine and stripped off! Barry did most of the locks as my eyes were really playing me up.
Barry managed to get a photo of us together!! Well sort of! Looking down my cleavage!
Bollards! Unusual mooring pins
Beautiful 'rapeseed' field, such a glorious yellow colour and striking against the almost clear blue sky
This is the life ...
Lock reflections
Barry taking a self-portrait
And another lock ...
We noticed last night a comment from my hosts at Evesham Lock on one of our blogs and knew that they had started out on the same canal as us last Saturday. I had just been thinking about them when we went past their boat ‘Anghara’ (I think I’ve spelled that correctly?!) moored up! So we stopped and had a chat with them, how lovely it was to see them – especially as Barry had forgotten to take a photo of them both before we left the lock. They have 16 days off to go as far as they get on the Oxford Canal.
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