The Start of Hatton Locks

We have reached our destination.  Warwick Parkway train station is just a short walk from here.  Although we are not going back by train today as Brendan brought us to Long Itchington and stayed in the area to look round Leamington Spa.  We are so lucky to have such supportive husbands.  The plan is for us to catch the train up to Warwick Parkway for our next walk so we were pleased to find out how close it is to the canal.

We see from the sign that it is 22.25 miles to the Typhoo Basin (Birmingham) but since we can find no mention of the Typhoo Basin in our book we are not sure if that is where we are going to!  Ah well that is for us to sort out another day.

The Saltisford Arm

This is an arm that we won't be returning to as only a very small part of it has been restored and it is used as a permanent mooring facility.

Cape of Good Hope

Have we lost our way and ended up in Africa?

Bird Watching

This is one we haven't seen before.  Any ideas what it is?

A Date

As we were approaching Warwick the concrete slabs alongside the canal all had 1933 etched into them.  We expect to find dates on houses not concrete slabs.

More About Ducks

We came across these young ducks.  One of them is starting to get it's grown-up feathers which is something we had never seen before. 

Aqueduct Number 2

This aqueduct is made of stone and goes over the River Avon of Stratford-on-Avon fame.

We were very excited when we went over our first aqueduct but we seem to be going over them regularly now and are forgetting to marvel at the engineering involved in building them.

Aqueduct Number 1

Here is Catherine standing on the aqueduct over.....

..... the old Great Western Railway.  It apparently has elegant iron railings (which could do with a lick of paint).

Leamington Spa

We didn't really like the first parts of Leamington Spa that we came to.  We were in need of a comfort break but we rejected the first two pubs that we came to.

Later parts of Leamington Spa were more promising....

... and we found a good pub by the canal for our coffee and shared bag of crisps - well we've still got at least 3 miles left to walk.

Another Hazard?

Having to walk over a metal grille with fast-flowing water underneath is definitely a hazard until we realised that actually there was enough room at the side - we didn't need to be walking on the grille!

Kingfisher Country

The lady we talked to earlier about the traffic jam told us about this spot apparently when the trees overhang the canal like this there are likely to be kingfishers.  She and her friend moored up here the night before in the hopes of seeing some but unfortunately they were unlucky and so were we.

Sitting Ducks

We were slightly bemused by these ducks who seemed to want to sit around on the bank rather than swim in the canal which is what we thought they should be doing.

Later we came across these ones who seemed a bit more portly.  We wondered if Heston Blumenthal has heard of the Fat Ducks at Leamington Spa?

En Route Between Fosse Locks and Leamington Spa

This stretch provided us with many lovely views that we felt we had to photograph!

Fosse Way

It seemed only right to take a picture of this famous road.  I'm sure it would have looked very different in Roman times.

Hazard?

Not too much of a hazard really so long as you stuck to the path.  Come back Catherine!  Our book told us that reeds would encroach on the channel and it was right.  It also said it would make the canal feel remote and that there would be no houses to speak of - right again!

M25?

We carried on walking and came across a boat just stopped in the next lock and then we got chatting to this lady who was holding onto to her boat.  She told us what was happening.  Apparently no-one could shut the gates at the bottom of the staircase lock so no boats would be able go through in either direction until the British Waterways person came to mend the gates.  She was holding onto her boat because she was worried that it would end up in the mud if she let go.  The water level did look very low and we wondered if it was because we hadn't had much rain recently but although that was a contributing factor  it also had a lot to do with the water being lost due to the gates not closing.

   

The couple below felt that the safest place to be due to the muddy conditions was in the next lock.  We had quite a chat to them and they told us of other times they had been stuck in locks, one time for 10 days, mostly due to the canal being breached so it seems that you can get trouble with too much water and too little water on the canal.  It doesn't seem to put people off though as most of the boats around here were owned by the people on them rather than being hire boats.

We couldn't resist calling this a traffic jam and likening it to the M25 but everyone seemed more relaxed and resigned to the problem than you would find on the motorway.

A Staircase

Two locks together at Bascote form a staircase that is you drive into one lock and let the water out into the one below then you drive straight into the next lock and then let the water out to drive out into the pound before the next lock.  We were keen to see how this worked in practice but no boats seemed to be keen to go through while we were looking.

There was a boat at the bottom but (I'm not sure if this will show on the photo) but the owner was sitting on a chair on the bank.

Another Straightish Bit

Not surprisingly there are more straight bits on the canal than there had been on the river Thames.

Two Boats

Ready to start on our next walk.  Here we are back at the Two Boats pub which did look very inviting but unfortunately it was closed!

At Braunston

Andy met us at Braunston having spent the day in the area.  We are very grateful to our drivers who have had further to take us for this northern section.  

They like these metal bridges in Braunston.  There were these 2 on the way into Braunston....

...... and this one on the way up to the car.

Having seen lots of posts during many of our walks telling us how many miles it was to Braunston it was  good/unnecessary to see this one saying Braunston 0 Miles. 

Another walk completed.

Nearly at Braunston

Contrary to what you might expect the lady behind was not about to start fishing (she was carrying a fishing net) instead she lay on the ground and started picking some plants!

Work in Progress

We didn't see any workmen and quite frankly with this hazard on the towpath we would have felt happier if they were working on it round the clock.  At least there were no traffic lights.

Wednesday's Washing Day

Hope it doesn't rain.

Kamikaze Sheep

Oh it's all right they are just thirsty.

Lower Shuckburgh Church

We liked the look of this rural church.

Beacon Hill

This is where a member of the Shuckburgh family was told off by King Charles I for hunting while the king was fighting for his crown.

Or maybe this is Beacon Hill.  The trouble is that they don't label hills!

Napton Junction

This is where the Oxford Canal leaves the Grand Union canal on its way to the Thames.

This sign helpfully told us that Braunston was to the left and Oxford to the right but it didn't tell us how far and we are finding estimating distances from the book very difficult.

This is a concrete 1930's bridge at the entrance to the Grand Union Canal.

Another Rural Scene

Such a peaceful scene - what more can you say.

Ventnor Farm Marina

We are getting accustomed to seeing beautiful marinas along the canal.

Something Missing

This is where the Weedon and Leamington railway used to cross the canal.  Many previous railway lines have been made into cycle routes but you wouldn't want to be cycling along this one or you might find yourself in the canal!

The Straight Bit

Are we in Flackwell Heath?

A Flight of Locks

This is the Stockton flight of locks.  Our book talks about Lock 12 so there are at least that many but we were too busy chatting to count them.  Expect you count them if you are on a boat going through them!