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From the Ashby to Wigrams Turn - where in between?


Jennifer McM

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Well we're all prepared, diesel, water, food/drink provisions, logs/coal all topped up, and we're ready to go.

 

We're about to leave the Ashby on a month long journey to Wigrams Turn. Canalplan suggests it will take us 4 days to get to WT; traveling 3 hours a day. But we want to do it in 28 days! Therefore we need a few diversions!

 

We're looking to change our (nacked) bank of batteries for new ones while we're out and about.

 

Wondering if the kind people here have any diversion suggestions, picking up a good deal on batteries as we go?

 

Our boat is NB Cyan, so if you see us..... please give us a wave clapping.gif

Edited by Jennifer McM
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Well we're all prepared, diesel, water, food/drink provisions, logs/coal all topped up, and we're ready to go.

 

We're about to leave the Ashby on a month long journey to Wigrams Turn. Canalplan suggests it will take us 4 days to get to WT; traveling 3 hours a day. But we want to do it in 28 days! Therefore we need a few diversions!

 

We're looking to change our (nacked) bank of batteries for new ones while we're out and about.

 

Wondering if the kind people here have any diversion suggestions, picking up a good deal on batteries as we go?

 

Our boat is NB Cyan, so if you see us..... please give us a wave clapping.gif

 

Nowt of much use to add - apart from - hello neighbors!

 

Altho if you DO go t'other way for a while - it's all rather lovely up to the Birmingham and Fazely junction, and indeed we loved it all the way to Great Haywood up the T&M.. Atherstone came as a rather nice surprise.... Embarrassingly, we've not yet been down to Marston Junction and turned left yet.. Hope you didn't get too too wet this avo.... boat.gif

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Jennifer, if you turn right at the end (or should that be the beginning?) of the Ashby, go through Bedworth and Nuneaton, you'll come to Springwood Haven Marina just before Hartshill. Adrian and Kay Wagstaff who run it also operate 'Onboard Energy' who are specialists in boat power, including batteries. You'll get good advice and service there (oh, and the Anchor pub a mile further along has moorings and is worth a visit too).

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Plus one on that Adrian and Kay at Springwood have looked after our electrical needs for years and have always been most helpful and knowledgeable. You might also want to consider fitting a solar panel or two which will help your batteries last longer.

No other connection other than as a satisfied customer.

 

As for a diversion how about heading up the Leicester section , Foxton can be quite entertaining, but stock up first not many shops up there.

 

Top Cat

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Coventry is worth a visit - cathedral, swimming pool, bus museum to name a few.

 

Er, the Transport Museum is not strictly a bus museum but a museum of British Road Transport. It does have some busses but also includes Coventry's bicycle history, a memory lane to walk through, Thrust SSC and Thrust II. There are also many of Coventry's cars with a history of the once mighty car industry.

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Coventry is worth a visit - cathedral, swimming pool, bus museum to name a few.

Yes - we moored at Sutton's for a couple of days last year and caught the 'bus into Coventry, well worth a look. Didn't find a 'bus museum but did find a transport museum in the city centre, concentrating on the many makes of cars, motor-bikes and push-bikes which were once made in the city However, we admired the new cathedral only from the outside, considering that six quid a head to enter the house of the Lord was beyond excessive. Beware, too, of guide book assertions that there's a wonderful mediaeval street which is packed with antique and craft shops: the street is still there all right, but from memory most of the shops are now food or electronics outlets, apart from one surviving doll & teddy-bear place.

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Er, the Transport Museum is not strictly a bus museum but a museum of British Road Transport. It does have some busses but also includes Coventry's bicycle history, a memory lane to walk through, Thrust SSC and Thrust II. There are also many of Coventry's cars with a history of the once mighty car industry.

 

My apologies. I also enjoyed the art gallery http://www.theherbert.org/.

 

Also, there's a good view from the top of Barby Hill.

 

I have walked from the canal to Dunchurch, and from there not far to Draycote water

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Nowt of much use to add - apart from - hello neighbors!

 

Altho if you DO go t'other way for a while - it's all rather lovely up to the Birmingham and Fazely junction, and indeed we loved it all the way to Great Haywood up the T&M.. Atherstone came as a rather nice surprise.... Embarrassingly, we've not yet been down to Marston Junction and turned left yet.. Hope you didn't get too too wet this avo.... boat.gif

Well hellooooooo

 

We just managed to get moored at the Limekilns before the heavens opened, we were soggy, but at least we were saved being drowned! A 'Scania Hubcap' breakfast soon got us sorted.

 

We've not turned left at the start of the Ashby either.... we cruised the lovely T&M when we picked up Cyan, passing Great Hayward. It's on our agenda to do the T&M again, perhaps in the spring this time, it was so beautiful in August!

 

Athy and Topcat - thanks for your suggestion re Springhaven - completely agree. We did get 3 solar panels installed by them a couple of weeks ago, and we're very satisfied. We know the batteries are well overdue for replacement as they are probably the original ones and must be about 10 years old. So that's done, we're turning right onto the Coventry and hitting Springhaven.

 

All suggestions are being considered... thanks all.

 

There's something really exciting about preparing for a trip - hope this excitement never fades!

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John's a Coventry kid, and with having 40 years in the motor industry under his belt..... these are great suggestions! Thanks

 

Charging to go into the Cathedral is a bit much....

 

The streat you mean is Spon End, which is the only medieval part of Coventry left standing after the blitz. Sad that it's been commercialised, though I'd like to have a wander.

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Well hellooooooo

 

There's something really exciting about preparing for a trip - hope this excitement never fades!

We were planning to do the reverse of your trip last week. We got the boat out of the marina and an engine mount failed. We nursed the boat to Wigram bottom lock, winded and back to Ventnor. All was not lost however as we hitched up the land boat and cruised to Gloucester, this has enabled me to visit the Waterway Museum and docks. Seems to be a banter of light ships there :)

 

Just waiting for RLWP's hand to get better now.

Edited by Ray T
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We were planning to do the revearse of your trip last week. We got the boat out of the marina and an engine mount failed. We nursed the boat to Wigram bottom lock, winded and back to Ventnor. All was not lost however as we hitched up the land boat and cruised to Gloucester, this has enabled me to visit the Waterway Museum.

 

Just waiting for RLWP's hand to get better now.

Saw in your signature you don't do plans anymore! Rotten luck! Hope all is soon mended biggrin.png

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Hiya. I'm a local too, so happy to help.

The sun's come out now (here in Kenilworth) so maybe you'll get a bit of cruising in this afternoon to get away from the noise of the A5 at the Limekilns.

The canal by Burton Hastings is a very nice length, and then there's the Corner House pub by Bulkington Road bridge for your next stop.

Have you had a walk around Nuneaton town centre yet ? It's well worth a wander - don't miss the Museum and Art Gallery.

After you've been to Springwood are you carrying on north or turning around to come south ? (It'll affect our suggestions of places to stop at !)

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Er, the Transport Museum is not strictly a bus museum but a museum of British Road Transport. It does have some busses but also includes Coventry's bicycle history, a memory lane to walk through, Thrust SSC and Thrust II. There are also many of Coventry's cars with a history of the once mighty car industry.

And its free

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Someone at the Greyhound last weekend said you can't moor in Coventry basin any more. If that's right, where can you tie up to go into Cov?

 

As for charging for the cathedral, you can't blame them really, it must cost a hell of a lot in upkeep. They don't charge iirc if you are going in for bona fide praying purposes. Having gone before they started charging I would say it was well worth six quid of anyone's money, it's one of the most stunning and moving places I've ever visited.

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Someone at the Greyhound last weekend said you can't moor in Coventry basin any more. If that's right, where can you tie up to go into Cov?

 

Might be worth phoning Valley Cruisers to check this out. Sorry don'thave their phone no at the mo.

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.

The canal by Burton Hastings is a very nice length, and then there's the Corner House pub by Bulkington Road bridge for your next stop.

 

Yes - hardly mentioned in canal guide books, but only about five minutes' walk from the canal - bridge 5, I think, which has adjacent moorings with rings.

It's what I call a "six bars, four restaurants" type of pub. Olde Worlde it is not. But we got good service, decent ale (Pedigree, from memory) and plates of decent-quality fish & chips which came close to sinking us. They do a "two meals for the price of one" deal, so if you're Jenny No-Mates you'll pay a rather steep £12 or so for your dinner, but if there are two of you, you still pay only £12. We went there in early September.

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.only about five minutes' walk from the canal - bridge 5, I think, which has adjacent moorings with rings.

.

It's actually within sight of the canal bridge - about 300 yards. Yes, it is Bridge 5. Canalplan calls it 'Bulking Road bridge' but that's wrong, it's Bulkington Road.

There's also another pub in the opposite direction called the Chetwynd Arms.

Also it may be useful to know that there's a regular bus service into Nuneaton along this road and the journey only takes 10-15 minutes. The bus goes to Bedworth and Coventry in the other direction too.

  • Greenie 1
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It's actually within sight of the canal bridge - about 300 yards. Yes, it is Bridge 5. Canalplan calls it 'Bulking Road bridge' but that's wrong, it's Bulkington Road.

There's also another pub in the opposite direction called the Chetwynd Arms.

Also it may be useful to know that there's a regular bus service into Nuneaton along this road and the journey only takes 10-15 minutes. The bus goes to Bedworth and Coventry in the other direction too.

Good info, John, thank you.

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