Days 1 to 6 - Sawley to Fradley Junction

Jan and Pete set off from Sawley at 8pm Monday, since 20mph winds were forecast Tuesday - to find the starter battery promptly died on Sawley Cut.  Scrabbled around various petrol stations to find enough water and left the poor thing to souse overnight.  Fortunately, it had recovered enough by Tuesday morning for the engine to start first time (and, fingers crossed, thereafter).

On with the first stage of this year's trip, the Warwickshire Ring anti-clockwise, via Fradley Junction, Fazeley, Birmingham, Warwick and back north up the Oxford and Coventry canals to Fradley.

The weather turned perishingly cold - needed the stove going while we were cruising. The first couple of days it was too cold to do jobs outside, so we assembled and painted cupboards and ate stew.

Chilly morning

Mural at Horninglow, outside Burton on Trent

The boatyard at Barton Marina made us new battery leads

Lorries on Ryknild Street alongside the canal

Pete at the tiller

Pete working Wychnor Lock, before the Alrewas river section

Cow Bridge, Alrewas - the boat goes through that narrow bit

Skirting the weir

Black swan

Water meadows

Walkway along the river

The view from Alrewas Lock

Some of Pete's pics:

The Swan at Fradley Junction, view from the start of the Coventry Canal.  Sheila and Denis joined us here for an enjoyable Saturday lunch before the start of the next part of the journey for Denis and Jan, south to the Warwickshire Ring.