Burton Hastings (Ashby Canal) to Hawkesbury Junction (Coventry Canal)

Monday 13^th August

Another Lovely Night Sky

It was a nice bright day when we got up, so we decided to move on.  We set off along the canal, it was quite quiet so we didn't meet many boats.

Coming to the Narrow Section

We chugged on under a few bridges and then came to a narrow section of the canal which passes some park homes, luckily we got through here without meeting another boat and on we went and then we were coming to Marston Junction, the junction with the Coventry canal.

Under Another Bridge

There was a boat turning in, so we waited for them to go past then we went into the narrow bit which used to be a stop lock and then we turned left onto the Coventry canal leaving the wonderful Ashby canal, we have spent the last five and a half weeks on this canal exploring it thoroughly and enjoyed every minute, it is such a great canal, lots of great walks, farm shop, pubs and villages, we are sad to leave but it is now time to move on.

The Junction is in Sight

We went on along the Coventry canal and passed lots of boats, this canal is much busier than the Ashby, back into the real world now!

On we went and after a few miles, we were approaching Hawkesbury Junction, which is the junction with the North Oxford canal and we moored in a nice open spot not far from the junction.

Coming to the Junction

We want to get the bus to Coventry so Kev looked on Google and found a bus stop just over a mile away, so we set off to find it, we walked down to the junction and onto the North Oxford canal and followed the towpath and got off at the bridge and the bus stop was under the M6.  We walked back the way we had come and when we got to the junction, we sat on a bench and Kev had another look on Google as the buses from the bus stop we had just walked to were not that frequent and only ran until early afternoon. 

Out onto the Coventry Canal We Go

He found another bus stop with more frequent buses straight down the Coventry canal this time, probably a twenty minute walk, so Kev took the milk back to the boat which we had bought in the local shop and I waited on the bench.  When he got back, we set off to find bus stop No. 2!

We walked down the canal and got off the canal by the Longford Engine pub, went up onto the road and the bus stop was outside the pub and several buses went frequently from the stop to Coventry, the walk was about 30 minutes. 

Along the Coventry Canal We Go

Before we trudged back, we went into the pub for a drink and a rest, it was really nice and we sat by the canal.  Kev looked at the buses again and discovered a bus stop which looked nearer to the canal than the other two.  We said we would go and find it tomorrow, but on a closer look, we could walk to it from the pub then back to the canal so doing a circular walk.

The Old Engine House

So we set off again, this time to find bus stop No. 3!  We walked along the road, under the M6 again and up the road and there was the bus stop.  We turned right and went on along the road and after the shortest walk, we were back at the canal, so it turned out bus stop No. 3 was the shortest distance, less than a mile, it only took us over 5 miles to find it!!  We did laugh on our way back, if only we had checked Google properly, never mind it was a nice walk!

The Grey Hound Pub at the Junction

At the junction, is a nice pub, and an old engine house.  This used to pump water up into the canal from a well.  IRS engine was installed in 1821, having been previously employed for nearly 100 years at Griff Colliery, a few miles up the canal towards Nuneaton.  This Newcomen-type atmospheric steam engine, called Lady Godiva, is now in Dartmouth Museum.  It ceased work in 1913.

We walked back to the boat and I flopped out in my chair until tea time!  We are now staying here a few days before we chug down to the junction to turn around and start heading back up the Coventry canal.

Moored Near Hawkesbury Junction