Thursday 2nd June 2005
Ansty - Calcutt Bottom Lock (25 miles, 6 locks)
We were a bit late getting up this morning, forgetting that we had a reasonable distance to cover on our last full day. For breakfast, we moved on to Stretton Stop to try to escape the motorway noise. The moorings here are up against the sloping stone blocks and the water level in the canal seemed low so we couldn’t get closer than about 2ft 6in from the bank and had to use the gangplank. There were very few other boats around. The weather was dull but dry.
We stopped at Newbold for shopping and then carried on through Rugby towards Hillmorton Locks. These are duplicated, with two narrow locks side-by-side, except for the middle lock where one of them is currently under repair. As we approached the bend before the first lock, a boat coming the other way told us there was a massive queue. Around the bend there were just two boats moored on the water point and every other boat moored facing towards us, so there was no queue at all. Where do these helpful people get their information from?
We turned right at Braunston and Napton Junctions and filled up with water for the final time and polished the brasswork while we waited. We passed down the three Calcutt broad locks and moored for the night about ¼ mile further on. We intended to have our evening meal sitting on the towpath, but the rain started again and we gave up on that idea. So much for polishing the brass, which now looked a mess again.