Hawkesbury Junction (North Oxford Canal) to Coventry Basin (Coventry Canal)

Saturday 19^th September

We are staying here today, so we went for a walk down the towpath as we found out there was a few shops at Longford and also around there somewhere was the Rioch Stadium and a shopping complex, so we went to see if we could find it.  We got off at Bridge 10 and found the few shops then carried on down the road as we could see the Stadium.  We went down one road but it was just industrial and a dead end, so we went back to the main road and carried on for a bit and sure enough we soon came to the shopping complex which is right by the Rioch Stadium.  We went into the complex and found a nice café which was also a carvery but as we had quite a long way to walk back and it would be a struggle after a big carvery, we opted for a coffee and a toasted teacake!

It was a big shopping complex with all the usual stores and right by the Stadium.  We saw a path through the complex which was going in the right direction for the canal so we went along there and we were soon back at the canal, it was much quicker than going on the road.  We walked back along the towpath and back to the boat.  It was a nice walk.  We just chilled out for the rest of the day and it was a lovely sunny day as well.

Sunday 20th September

Coming into Sutton Stop Lock

At Hawkesbury Junction

 

We are moving on today and going down to Coventry.  We set off in lovely sunshine to the stop lock just before the junction.  It was set for us and it is a really shallow lock, it only drops down a few inches.  Soon through there and we were at Hawkesbury Junction which is also known as Sutton Stop, after the name of the first lock keeper and under the bridge and we turned left onto the Coventry Canal.  This is new territory for us, so exciting, a new adventure. 

Onto the Coventry Canal we go!

We chugged down the canal under the M6 motorway and past Longford Junction which was the site of the original junction between the Oxford and Coventry Canals, the canal widens here.  The two canals now meet at Hawkesbury Junction.

Cash's Hundred Houses

We chugged on down the canal and you could tell we were getting near a city in some places as the canal was a bit scruffy with graffiti.  There was one part which went very narrow as it was overgrown with bushes and guess what, in this section we met two boats, the only two boats we met on the whole 5 mile section!  On we went and past a row of elegant weavers houses which are known as Cash’s Hundred Houses, where the living accommodation was on the lower two floors, with the top storey being occupied by looms, driven by a single shaft from a steam engine.  There never were 100 houses; only 48 were built, and of these only 37 remain.   Soon we were coming into Coventry Basin under Bridge 1, a tiny structure designed to be easily closed with a wooden bean each evening: indeed at one time no boats were allowed to stay in the basin overnight, obviously these days there are visitor moorings in the basin and they don’t close the bridge at night.  

James Brindley Statue

We turned around and then moored up on the visitor moorings near a statue of James Brindley who helped build the canal.

Holy Trinity Church

We had lunch then went for a walk up into the centre.   We first came across the Holy Trinity Church and had a look in there.  The church was built by the Benedictine monks and their tenants.  The oldest part is the 13^th century North Porch, although a church stood here as early as 1113 and was destroyed by fire in 1257.  It is a fascinating church and above one of the archways is a Doom Painting (Last Judgment), it is early 1400’s.  The left side is the way to Heaven and the right side is the way to Hell.

When we were in there, they started shutting the doors so we could see that the church was shutting, so we lit some candles in one of the Peace Chapel and then went to go out but the main door was locked and we couldn’t get out.  Funny thing was the two chaps who were locking up walked past us when we were going to the Peace Chapel and never said a word to us about the place closing, perhaps they wanted to lock us in!! We walked down to the back of the church and found one of them and asked him how we get out, he said oh yes if you go through that door then there is another door which is unlocked and will take you outside.  We went through there, I think it was the vestry and we saw the open door and out we went.  It was quite funny really being locked in, but I don’t think we will be going back in there again just in case!

New Cathedral next to the old one

Ruins of Old Cathedral

We then went to see the Cathedral Church of St Michael.  Only the ruins of the old cathedral, destroyed by the Luftwafffe in 1940, still remain.  Some of the original stained-glass windows survived.  It is really interesting as the new cathedral which was completed in 1962 stands beside the ruins of the old cathedral.  We had a look around the ruins, really interesting and quite beautiful.  Not sure if I like the new cathedral as much, it doesn’t seem to have much character.

We had a stroll around the shops, then back to the boat. We are staying here tomorrow as well so will have a better look around then.

Moored in Coventry Basin