Day 13 – Tusses Bridge to Hilmorton Locks

The weather forecast for the day wasn’t great so we made an early start with the canopy up.  We stopped for lunch just beyond “All Oaks Wood” near Hungerfield.  The weather did not improve as we pressed on to Rugby where we passed Andy, our instructor on the Helmsman’s course, coming in the opposite direction.

Passing by Hilmorton we went up the twin locks to moor on pins just beyond the top lock.  This is not our favoured method of mooring especially when the towpath is wet and the pins don’t feel particularly firm.

Day 2 - Hilmorton to Hawkesbury Junction

After a leisurely start to the day we descend the 3 locks at Hilmorton.  Pushing on towards Rugby we cross the River Avon by aquaduct.  This stretch of canal we recognise as the place where we undertook our Helmsmans  Course - lets hope we don't run into our instructor!  Soon we arrive at Rugby for lunch which offers the opportunity to shop for a few items.

In the afternoon Anthea and Lizzie walk the towpath, armed with a camera and rejoin the boat much later in the afternoon at Bridge 38.  Not long out of Rugby we come upon the Newbold Tunnel, which whilst not very long is quite unique in having a towpath on both sides.  The towpath used by walkers is illuminated with blue and green lights which makes it appear more like a grotto than anything else.

Anthea and Lizzie are now back on board as we make our way towards Ansty where we think we might find a place to moor overnight.  In quietness of the canals we spot a Kingfisher in the reeds which is no more than 6 feet away from us - is there a camera at the ready, no of course not, lets try not to make this the story of our lives!  When we arrive at Ansty we find a drunken sailor on the towpath doing something unspeakable into the canal whilst in the field on the opposite bank is a fully camouflaged man equipped with a rifle and telescopic sights - the thought of stopping here overnight is soon eradicated from our minds.  Somewhere between Ansty and the Hawkesbury Junction we find a deserted piece of canal to moor overnight.

Helmsmans Course

On Friday 23rd March we undertook the RYA Inland Waterways Helmsman's Course with Willow Wren Training at Rugby.  We were greeted by our instructor Andy Newman, author of "RYA Inland Waterways Handbook" and after a short briefing it wasn't long before we were on the training vessel. There were 3 of us on the course and the course was carefully constructed so that each on of us tackled all of the element whilst at the helm.  Andy has a wealth of knowledge and experience with narrowboats which he was more than happy to share with us.  As a result of this course all of us left at the end of the day more confident and much wiser than at the start.  It is quite a long day, 9:00am to 6:00 pm with most of this time spent on board either learning new skills or honing those we thought we were proficient at.  We highly recommend this course - everyone can learn something from this course no matter what their starting point might be.