Thank you, Travelling Wilburys. We've made it to the end of the Ashby, I think for the first time, because in '05 we didn't go all the way, and in '76 there wasn't a proper winding hole beyond the tunnel so we stayed on the other side. It was another very pleasant day's boating, though the first bit was extremely shallow. This end of the canal is an SSSI* and I was concerned that the lack of dredging might last all the way, but it didn't.
In fact we took just the predicted two and a half hours to do the lot. On the way we saw some evidence of the reason for the status of the route in the form of a swimming water vole, though I doubt that the terrapin we spotted was supposed to be part of the preserved ecology...
There is now a full length winding hole here, just. My approach wasn't helped by the small boat tied just before the start of the hole (why does the 48hr VM stretch right across the hole, C&RT?) and the actual manoeuvre was seriously complicated by the wind which sprang up. Sheila had to do some heavy shafting to shove the bow round as we drifted sideways.
We're now tied safe and sound, however. Although it feels like the middle of nowhere compared to Market Bosworth, the phone signals are actually much better. We've had a walk back over the tunnel through the village, ostensibly to read some mysterious notices fastened to the towpath hedges on the other side.
They turned out to be advance notice of some evening fishing matches on Wednesdays this month and next. How very sensible to let boaters know about them.
Tomorrow, we'll start wending our way back. We need to be in Alrewas on the 25th at the latest, so there's no rush.
*SSSI = Site of Special Scientific Interest
2 comments:
I remember quite a wind for our winding when we were up there. Another boat almost took flight! Perhaps it's par for the course (or whatever the watery equivalent would be).
As Jo reckons, it is always awkward to wind there. The wind always seems to try to blow you further down the canal. Must be something to do with the terrain...
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