Stoke Golding to Hartshill

Before we set off we left Mum on board and took the dogs up to Stoke Golding village to get some basic supplies ... and basic it was - only white bread, no choice of tea etc. - oh, and no credit card facilities.  I suppose everyone that lives in the village has a car and uses the big supermarkets or gets home delivery, shame for the small shop owner trying to compete.

C&RT were repairing a bank on the Ashby -  one chap's job was too shoo the inquisitive cows away!

We filled with fuel at Ashby Boat Company ... 177 quid (Gulp!); fuel consumption worked out at 1.67 lph. It seems to vary quite a bit between refills hopefully because of the engine working at different loads etc. - not because the fuel delivery pumps are inaccurate - I wonder who calibrates them? 

Graceful yet very cranky swans 

 By the time we started heading through Nuneaton I was bloody freezing and had to put on the beanie and goose feather bubble coat.  I still had my shorts and sandals on though, I quite like looking like a nutter.

The canal and towpath through Nuneaton seemed a lot clearer of the normal rubbish that is found here, perhaps it had blown away in the wind!

We passed NB Piston Broke just north of Nuneaton, I got a picture of Paul........ (much to his dismay !) 

Elaine and Mum took the dogs for a walk on the towpath and soon warmed up ... the path was a bit wonky for Mother so she had to jump back on board.  Elaine walked on for another couple of miles with the boys, who were loving the smells of rabbits along the way ... and kept dragging her along !

We passed Valley Cruisers at Springwood Haven; we hired a boat from them when I was over here last July for Mother's 80th.  The handover was the most thorough we had ever been through, we thought we were never going to get away!  

We stopped for the night outside the Anchor Inn at Hartshill, as we had such a long day and I was feeling a tad tired and emotional we went there for a couple of beers and dinner...I found a new beer I like 'Everard Tiger Beer'.

On the Mastervolt front we got up to 96% Can we top the ton today?

Today we will do the Atherstone flight ... Elaine is getting excited because she hasn't worked a lock for 6 days!