Re-discovering England ...

Wednesday 24th June
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

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!

Spread 'em Sandra!! These used to be prisoners' doors

How would you list this one Jim - 'Handyman's dream' , or 'a nice little doer upper' maybe?!

We left our moorings at 1150, just before our deadline to leave at 1200, and headed east towards Braunston & Rugby.

A moorhen's nest next to a mooring for water

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.

Coming into Leamington. Wouldn't like to step out those doors!

Pub opposite where we moored up. Loud Pink Floyd playing!

One of the Georgian streets of Leamington Spa

The Pump Rooms

The Hamman - Turkish style steam room

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.

Jephson Park

Geese seem to love weirs!

Church in Leamington

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.

Christopher, Joan and Sandra

Almost the end of the days travels ...

Cooling down, last lock of the day

Leaky last lock!

Then on to our final stop of the day at Long Itchington, dinner and a drink in ‘The Two Boats’ right by the canal. Unfortunately we had no internet coverage, so the blog will be posted tomorrow …

Rules must be obeyed!

We changed our minds and decided to stay at Warwick today. It meant we could get the laundry done here (though much cheaper than last week, it only cost £2 for 2 loads of washing), and also go into the Library and download an insurance claim form and photocopy the details of receipts for Barry’s recent trip to NZ. We need to get it all sorted and posted off and hope that they really will refund us!

Barry went for a long bike ride this morning and got chatting to all sorts of people as usual. He even got shown around a house that's on the market for £2.6million! He also got some fantastic pictures of the Castle from the bridge that he wouldn’t have seen if we hadn’t stayed on. http://www.warwick-uk.co.uk/useful-info/summary.asp

Hire boats moored under the main bridge of Warwick

Warwick Castle taken from the bridge. Timed it nicely and got about 30 seconds of sun on the castle

The railing on the bridge - note where all the other photographers must have stood and worn it down over the last 400 years

A little street I found overlooked by the castle, where all the tradesmen, etc lived.


The view up from the street - you wouldn't want their slops bucket emptied on you!


Barry spoke to the guy who'd just inherited the house in the middle which ued to be the Armourer's/Blacksmith's house. The one on the right was the bridge keeper's

This house is on the market for £2.6million - doesn't look much from the front but was very impressive inside. The iron gate lifts up to drive in.


The rear of the house

Another view of the rear, amazing character to it. All oak beams inside with huge fireplaces and staircases.

After the great fire of 1694 most of the town was rebuilt in the Georgian style. For more information go to:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bobjay99/gfw.htm

It’s been a perfect day weather wise, and we got our washing dry this afternoon/evening (we had to put it all on the front of the boat. Barry found a hardware store to buy a clothes line, and some pegs from Sainsburys. We tried to get it out on the line in the sun on the towpath, but got told off by the camp commandant! It’s a lovely mooring here but there are many rules to be obeyed, very English, though the putting out of washing to dry wasn't in the pamphlet we were given, it must be a new rule!.

Tonight we sat out on the towpath for our evening meal and played half a game of scrabble (sad I know!) before it got too cold and we gave up (only because Sandra was losing!).

Definitely going to move on tomorrow, we’ve recovered from the 21 locks now, Lol!

Hatton locks – a long time for a short journey!

We spent all day going down from Hatton to Warwick – 6 hours, 21 locks, and only around 2 miles! I did 13 of the locks (with some help from Barry I must say) and then decided that I had the hardest part and would give the driving a go instead – luckily it wasn’t too hard and I didn’t scrape the boat at all! I still find it really challenging to keep the boat in one place and straight when we have to wait in between locks that are close together, but I probably just need more practice rather than avoiding it - like most challenges in life they're best met head on. The plague of greenflies is back with a vengeance, a very muggy and warm day, and my hay fever is making my eyes sore and watery which is making life rather unpleasant for me :-(!

The daunting look of only part of the 21 locks ahead

The insect life was enormous! (An amazing looking stainless steel sculpture)

This one's for Lee. (You can just feel the hard work involved in restoring this!)

Got a little congested at times. You're meant to pair up with another boat to travel through. We waited for some time but nobody came along. Must have known it was us! so we went alone. Easier with two boats because you can share the workload.

The view back up the flight. Stopped here for lunch and a rest

Lot's of people walking or cycling the towpath.

This little fella chirped and danced around us at one of the locks. Beautiful yellow. Not sure what he is though

Quite imposing locks. Some required a bit of energy to operate

This gate looked like it needed the lawn mower on it

The last lock. Pity this guy, just starting up the flight. Only 20 to go...

Very Relieved

We’re moored on a little arm of the canal here, Saltisford Canal Trust (http://www.saltisfordcanal.co.uk/ or email info@saltisfordcanal.co.uk), and met a fellow Kiwi (John) from north of Auckland who's here for 4 months and has been doing what we're doing for the past 3 years. He and his wife initially came to England for 6 months in 1995 and bought and sold a boat during that visit, but then had a boat made and have a permanent mooring here.

Very Friendly

The two hotel boats that were in the last blog on Saturday

The red & yellow boat belongs to the fellow kiwi

We had a stroll into Warwick and tried to see as much of the Castle as possible, but it’s mostly hidden behind walls! As it’s £19 each entry and looks more like a theme park than a castle, we won’t be partaking of its inner pleasures! A well kept town, with some nice looking buildings but a lot of through traffic – then again we did see it at rush hour but I suspect it is busy much of the day. A trip to Sainsbury's just up the road, and the food cupboards and fridge are well stocked once more.

St Mary's church in Warwick

Nice little Tea rooms in town. You can just see part of the castle in the background

The most we got to see of the castle without paying out the hard earned cash

Sandra out on the town. She'll have builders whistling at her next!

A couple of doves that live in holes in the blockwork at the market square. Guess their ancestors have chipped out the hollows over the past few hundred years.

Must be an easy place to live. You don't have to do any thinking yourself. There's always someone there to help out. Dah!

Lord Leycester Hospital built in 1400, now used as housing for retired ex servicemen and their wives. Still is apparently. (That may be one out walking)

We’ll probably leave tomorrow and try and get a better view of the castle, travelling towards Royal Leamington Spa and beyond …