Hartshill to Atherstone - Coventry

Dobbies

Yesterday (Monday) we stayed put and went to Dobbies Garden Centre, it is about a 10 minute walk from where we were moored.

Food Hall & Butchers

We set off late morning along the towpath and up onto the road, then a short walk and we were there.  It is a massive garden centre with a food hall and a butchers and a really nice cafe/restaurant.

Fruit & Veg Stall

We had a wander around, they sell lots of fresh cakes, scones and bread, so we bought a couple of scones and some bread.  The food hall is really good and they sell lots of lovely things to eat and drink.  Then it was lunchtime, so we went to the cafe and had a panini and a drink and then had another look around, then went to the butchers and bought a few things.  Outside there is a big fruit and vegetable stall so we bought some English strawberries and plums then walked back to the boat.

We had a few spits of rain during the afternoon but it didn't come to anything and it has been very humid today.

Round the Bend We Go!

We are moving on today and it was another sunny warm day as we set off along the canal. We are only going a couple of miles to Atherstone.

Another Bridge

The canal was quite quiet and we only passed one or two going the other way. We went under a few bridges and round a few bends, the canal is quite winky wonky in this section and then we were approaching Atherstone.

Coming to Another Bend

There is a flight of 11 locks here but we were hoping to moor at the top of them and save them for another day and we were lucky, there were plenty of spaces so we moored up.

Heron Walking Away

We then went out for a walk to the town, it is a nice place with a good variety of shops including a big Co-op and an Aldi and even has a train station which is handy as I am off back to Weston tomorrow to visit my dad.

There was a small market in the square, just a few stalls but one of them was a fruit and veg stall so we got some fruit.  We then walked back to the boat and just chilled out.

We are having fish & chips for tea tonight so looking forward to that.

We are now staying here a few days, Kev is staying with the boat while I go to see my dad and I should be back on Thursday then all being well we will go down the locks on Friday.

Moored at Atherstone