On Sunday morning we attended a car boot sale, it was like the Lightning Ridge Sunday market but much larger with about 200 sellers and hundreds of buyers. As with the Ridge market, most items were well worn, incomplete, from a bygone era or absolutely useless. We rubber-necked all the stalls looking for that special something then gave up and went home for lunch.
After lunch at the boat we drove to Coventry, did the transport museum and the Cathedral, checked out the moorings at the basin and well, thats it for Coventry. Once again I can't speak highly enough about the Enterprise Car Rental service. http://www.enterprise.co.uk/
We won't be going down the Coventry arm having seen enough of Coventry on the weekend. Instead we have continued south through Hawksbury Junction and onto the Oxford Canal. Someone had damaged the stoplock at Hawksbury and the lock had been closed for 30 hours for repairs. The lock opened about 3pm and a group of BW personnel were manning (and womanning) the lock to speed boats thru. Fortunately it is only a stop lock with a the Oxford canal being a few inches higher than the Coventry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkesbury_Junction Scores of boats were still moored up in both directions and we quietly glided past around 5pm and only waited for 3 boats up and 3 down before it was our turn. Just after we had negotiated the stop lock we went under a small bridge and something fouled the prop. We barge poled to a bank and found a shag pile rug wrapped around the propellor. It was easily removed and within 15 minutes we were back on route. We moored soon after on an embankment with a view across a golf course. We were alone and it was so quiet, birds and rabbits were enjying the twilight and so did we. Next morning we discovered another boat had moored some distance behind us. They must have arrived in the dark and would have had to clear giant rhubarb plants to reach the side as we had taken the only good access in the area. We are now in Warwickshire, moored on the outskirts of Rugby, just past the southern portal of the Newbold tunnel and outside the Barley Mow pub.
So in reverse order, here's some snaps.
Newbold Tunnel, Rugby
Moored on the Oxford on Monday night. We are right over an aquaduct about 8 foot wide that allows golfers to pass under the canal between greens on both sides.
Hi guys.
Lady Godiva on a brass (entire) horse.
Coventry Cathedral destroyed by bombs dropped in WW2
Coventry canal basin. Great restoration job but lacks ambience and can only fit half a dozen boats. There were 3 boats in the basin when we visited and one was padlocked to the mooring with steel cables.
Coventry transport Museum. Waddyamean old? I used to ride one of these.
...and one of these.
T model ford, unrestored, best exhibit from my point of view.
Then again, this one looks good
Thrust 2, fastest car in the world. We took a ride in the simulator, ho hum, obviously these people have not travelled in my little red truck between Walgett and Lightning Ridge, now thats a ride cowboy.
Straight out of the cartoons or chitty chitty bang bang
I'll take it, name your price!
...and this one too
Now here is a late 40's Bentley, that we followed hoping it was on the way to a car show. At each roundabout the driver would floor it leaving our Ford Ka in a plume of smoke. I suspect from the accelleration and the size of the rear wheels that this car is not in concourse condition. Any way after 15 minutes it turned into a driveway and into its stable.
We only have 6 more sleeps on Rhapsody, then a couple of days later we will return to Corrimal. After that? who knows?
See these sites for more info : http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/coventry_ashby.htm
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