Who took the plug out?

Today started well overall, David went off early to move the car and I didn't.  There was rain forecast in the middle of the day that we wanted to avoid so I did jobs which consisted mostly of playing with my new cordless Dyson, scrubbing out the bathroom and then I got bored.  David arrived back and we planned to go biking, but the towpath was poor and bumpy, so a walk then, but his bad leg was grumbling so in the event we stayed in the boat reading, I finished one book and started reading this  HERE  he writes with an easy talking style which draws you quickly in.

I watched these chicks for sometime.  Geoff on NB Seyella
HERE  once described them as having a face only a mother could love.  He has a point.  There were five altogether, I've ofter thought Moorhens are casual mothers, going off downstream without a backward glance at their young.  

Pretty and elegant.

I had an inclination that the ball of brown reeds behind was their nest.

The rain outstayed its welcome and we had lamb and apricot burgers with chips and salad.

The next day we moved off early.

We got through one lock and very much enjoying the scenery.

Last night's mooring and David drinking his revolting green tea.

These are lovely.

Masses of Crows/Jackdaws/Rooks in this field, Chris Packham would say leave them but my instinct is to shoot them along with all the Canadian geese.

First lock of the day.

So first lock fine, the second proved more challenging.
Somebody left both paddles up overnight draining the entire shortish pound.

I had a quick look in the mud for windlasses but nothing in sight.

I quickly wound down both paddles and if you haven't seen what they look like.

I went back to tell David, I thought it a good idea to phone CART, it was just about 9am.  I explained what had happened to the lady on the phone after a long wait, she put me through to the lady of this area more waiting  I half explained what had happened and then the phone reception dropped out, I really couldn't be bothered to do it all again.  David went off with a windlass to play with he lock in front and put some water down.  I stayed with the boat, made a cup of tea and fetched my book.
One chapter in and David was back saying its fine now, we'll wait here for a single hander to come down and Reader amazingly, we were only about 45 mins, I had quite thought that we'd be here all day.

I walked along for a warm up, oh my goodness the utter joy of it, the sun, the flowers, the birds and the luxury of having water in the canal.

The yellow flag irises came out while we were at home.  We don't get them down our way.

Red Robin, Raggered Robin, Robin-of-the-hedge or Campion nearly at an end.

Is this Queen of the Meadow?  Its a fabulous pink one.

Simply beautiful buttercup filled meadows, at a lock it said something about National Trust, so if this land is theirs they might be happy with buttercups as a crop but not many farmers would.

Sweet little aqueduct, water over water.

15 miles, we're going there.

Wild Honeysuckle in the hedge.

Back in 2009, the Boat Sharers and ourselves stayed in this wee cottage for a weekend, you can too    HERE   we had a lovely time.  This morning as I peered in through the front window, there was the house keeper, we chatted and she is the niece of the last Length's man, he and his wife lived there many years and this lady confirmed that they ate rabbit pie and rabbit stew most days!
Isn't it time Amanda we stayed here again?

Cottage at Lowsonford Warwickshire.

So we got onto the moorings here at Lowsonford, much of the moorings are under trees which I hate.  Grabbed my handbag and off we went to visit Packwood House, a National Trust property nearby, 

HERE

We were to have cycled but rain was coming so we went in the car, barely 4 miles.  Tudor in the main part, restored by a wealthy Black Countryman at the turn of the C20th.

Facinating with beautiful gardens. (Non gardeners could maybe change channels now)....

The glorious Packwood House, 

Unusual geranium 

A long purple boarder

Hydrangea.

no idea what this is.

Cornflower.

I'm not an admirer of topiary.

Supper was chilli fishcakes with french beans.

God I hate heights he wailed.

The dawned bright and sunny, just the sort of day I  like.  
I had felt the boat rock slightly I looked out and saw this;

A large group of Japanese tourists having their photo taken with the boats as a backdrop and also with the Shakespeare memorial.   
As it happens, our daughter in at this very moment in Japan, she has sent us back photos of this and that, she says its no surprise that the Japanese photograph everything as here in Japan everything is so very different...


We crept out of our mooring and snuck around the corner into the road tunnel that goes alongside The Red Lion pub and past their garden in which we had enjoyed a pleasant drink, not this morning you understand.

The tunnel under the road bridge leading out of the basin and onto the canal proper.

The Stratford canal starts here, winding up in a series of locks going past flats, houses and gardens and at one point a row of modest terraced houses, now I bet worth a fortune.

The first lock, a gorgeous garden here with flowers and herbs, its thought someone in the flats opposite tend them.

I'd woken up with my back grumbling slightly so I went ahead and was going to do a lock or two to warm it up a bit.  Two oncoming boats crew's had warned me that opening a bottom gate, it is that well known gate, that two years ago David and two volunteers had opened.  I just said as he was in the lock below it that I would walk along and try it.  
I ended up so low down on my bottom pulling it as it is set at a daft height, but I got it open!

Felt a bit smug until I was closing it, as the bar that I pushed backwards really did dig into me.

Its a shocker.

I did swap over after about five locks and David took over the donkey work.

I needed that sun hat too.

So the locks start coming more regularly and slightly lacking in confidence I was perplexed to approach a lock with a boat coming out, it was a hire boat full of novice men, due to another boat being moored immediately after the lock landing as I approached the hire boat took fright, panicked and in trying to manoeuvre out of my way he ended up across the canal 
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" was the plaintive cry, so here was I a little over being a complete novice telling him what to do which was mainly to stop revving, pull forward very slowly and happily another crew member jumped out and pulled him in with the middle rope.  
I advised that men seemingly find it an alien concept not to go fast....!  
They took it in the proper spirit and I wished them well and there were big smiles all around.

So reaching the top lock there was the Aqueduct to contend with.

Famous Stratford "Split Bridges"  

Note the wording of England- not Wales?

I quite like this shot but it was taken without me actually looking as I don't like precipices, David doesn't like heights.

We had planned to moor up at Wootton Wawen, a village with a saxon church that we had explored last time, but surprisingly the moorings were full.  So we crawled past the visitor moorings and a mile or so further on rather 
anti-socially popped ourselves onto a small stretch of armco, button to button with a hire boat but with both of our sterns staked off of the armco.  

The family were out walking when we arrived, but when they returned we apologised and explained that the moorings were full for us long boats, the man was laughing when we said "Oh you are close aren't you"  twenty minutes later they left, but he said that there was a mooring they were going to fit in nearer the pub which was a mile away.  

Reception for 4G was critical as it was that football final in Madrid, Liverpool v Spurs.  Well Liverpool won and David was delighted.
(Commiserations to Debby on NB Chuffed) 


Supper was pea and lemon risotto and blackcurrant pie.

Traffic jams were sent to try us.

The day we left to drive back to WaL was not as we intended.  On the M40 is a nicely placed Waitrose with a café about 90 minutes into our journey, perfect for a stop.  As we approached High Wycombe, it flashed up that the M40 had a delay, then a much longer delay, then a 90 minute queue and as we sat in the car park at the supermarket, Google said the road was closed, indications were it would be open in about four hours...

So with the shopping onboard, we had brought ice-packs and a cooler bag from home for this very purpose, we needed another plan.  I suggested going to John Lewis, a large one very close-by, David thought not and deftly found a National Trust property close by.  So we went to Benjamin Disraeli's house here called Hughenden   HERE


We jointly knew nothing about the man so from that aspect it was interesting.  He was called 'The man most unlikely to be Prime Minister'  that was because he was an outsider, not having been to public school, (although his brother had), being Jewish (although his father had renounced the faith and had all his children baptised into the Church of England at young ages), Disraeli was born in England and because he was mighty low on funds (although I remember Churchill being the same, of course Churchill was years after).  

The house was possibly one of the most ugliest houses I have paid money to see, but once inside it was surprisingly colourful.  
Hughenden had a top secret role to play in WW2, as map makers, not ordinary maps but special ones for the pilots, with targets taken from agents in the fields and also intelligence collected form a secret establishment at Danesfield House,  Medmenham on the Thames.  A place we have passed by many times and now a hotel I think.  HERE

So all in all a good visit.  

Finally getting back to Stratford much later in the afternoon, we found a handy car park close to the basin and with only £2 to pay till 9am the next day, did the transfer to the boat with ease.

It was a lovely warm evening and I put pretty frock and was taken out to one of about a hundred restaurants, but beforehand we went to the oldest pub in Stratford. 
   
HERE 

There's some squabble about which is the oldest but which ever it is, this one is a grand old building that has served beer for 549 years so that's good enough for me.


Supper was at Carluccio's, I had a VEGAN dish, Oreccheitte Verde, much against my nature, which was very tasty and the reason I ordered it was that it was very similar to what we ate in Puglia last autumn, pasta and turnip tops!  Sounds dreadful but it is delicious.