Hallo Avon, hallo Hatton...

Grand Union: From Royal Leamington Spa to Kingswood Junction:

11 miles, 23 locks

From the Grand Union Canal Regency Leamington remains out of sight. Though the chimney pots of older properties can be just about glimpsed, there are new builds to be seen behind old walls. Then comes an area of retail parks, with easy access from the towpath for Lidl and Morrisons customers.

 

About a mile from Leamington is a point of interest for aqueduct spotters: here the canal crosses the River Avon, wider now than when it first appears at Welford back in Northamptonshire (reminder here: -  )

   

In the slow moving water could a pooh stick dropped in at Welford Junction have stayed mid-stream and got this far…?!Onwards, now through the outskirts of Warwick. Kate Boats was remembered     – but the housing going up either side of the canal     is certainly new…On a bit more towards the two Cape Locks.  “Look, look,” called a lady from the towpath. “Can’t you stop? Look, there’s five of them there – and five of them there.” She had sighted two Canada goose families, the goslings now quite able to cope on water. This was an entirely new wildlife sighting for her, though for the Macclesfield Canal veterans it is not that unusual at this time of year…Cape Locks loomed ahead, a water tap before the bottom lock.Hosepipe out.Water filler cap removed.But then – consternation. The shiny (new?) tap had a non-standard screw thread on the tap – none of the 8 hosepipe connectors on board would fit the tap…Exasperation.Shoulders were shrugged, the bottom lock chamber emptied of water and then Cleddau started on the first of 23 upward steps. At least a booked overnight mooring in the Saltisford  Arm  should allow easy access to a water tap.Up the two Cape Locks, the top one overlooked by customers at The Cape of Good Hope pub.    Then there was a sharp left into the Saltisford Arm.    In the ten years or so since last here    there seem to have been some new installations -The Cedars meeting room,   and a range of old icebreaker boats,    lock gates and paddle gear. But why would this sign be needed on the office door?! Up in Warwick on a Saturday morning there’s a lively market.    What a glorious smell of new leather there was on this stall… Currently the famous tower of St Mary’s Church is shrouded in safety wrapping and scaffolding.  The Hatton Flight of 21 locks starts just round the corner from the Saltisford Arm. Extra lock crew (The Cheshire Three plus Techno’s Nephew, aka The Warwick One) had texted their progress around motorway closures and Coventry’s urban nightmares. Then came another message: “We are at the bottom lock. A boat has just come down".       This motley bunch have seen Cleddau through many a lock over the years, though mostly through narrow single boat locks. With no companion boat to share the Hatton wide locks extra care was needed.  Once a lock was empty and the gates opened the Captain brought the boat in and threw up a centre rope.   One crew member would post the rope behind the centre bollard on the lock side, then pass the free end back down to the Captain. When the boat was stabilised beside the towpath side wall and the bottom gates closed  The Captain would signal to the towpath side lock helper to start raising the paddle to the half way point. As the boat rose the signal would then be given to start raising the offside paddle and to continue with the nearside paddle…By Lock 3 a routine had developed, Boatwif supervising and securing the centre rope, a pair of paddle winders and gate pushers at the current lock and a pair ahead preparing the next lock…Twice one or two boats were met coming down. Then as the lock frequency increased more towpath visitors were encountered. “Live locally,” said one, “but it’s nice to get out in the country.” The Captain held forth on the historic dimensions of narrowboats and the Grand Union’s upgrade in the 1930s to cope with increased commercial traffic. Meanwhile the “lock slaves” (as named by a passing single-hander envious of the number of hands aiding Cleddau’s progress) continued their toil…As the Cheshire Mum observed, the width of the locks and the noise of the racing water made proper talk difficult to achieve but on the walk between locks odd topics cropped up – extended essays, an upcoming archaeological dig, university open days (the Cheshire One), university deadlines (the Warwick One).Up. Up.Up. Up the Stairway to Heaven, from which the white clad tower of Warwick’s parish church was plainly visible.Near the top of the flight is a side pond graced by a stunning dragonfly sculpture.  At the penultimate lock Techno Son-in-Law went into Ranger Mode, holding the attention of the family gang of gongoozlers and enlisting their help in pushing the top gate.  It had become hot – and never were ice creams at the top so well -deserved!  And the timing?  2 hours, 33 minutes and 30 seconds… Pretty good for 21 double width locks!Once refreshed and cooled the extra hands set off on the two mile walk back down the locks to the car park, while Cleddau moved a mile further on.Between Hatton and Kingswood Junction  (5 miles) there’s a tunnel, Shrewley,   the magnificent Rowington Embankment and lots of floral colour. At Kingswood Junction on Monday Cleddau held her breath, slid through the narrow link - and took a left turn onto a change of waterway... Next time: one wedged boat, one jar of tartare sauce and a mushroom box…

  2023 mileage total: 125½ locks: 83, swing bridges: 4, tunnels: 3

 Conversational snippets in passing…

• At Hatton Locks: “Cleddau, that’s Welsh isn’t it, I’m from Bridgend, and my Dad had to move to Coventry for work after the pits closed down…”
• At Hatton Locks: “Cleddau – Welsh? Yorkshire rose?”
• The Cheshire One: “It could just be a nice field…?!” (to the Captain trying to work out distant activity)
• From the Grand Union towpath: “Cleddau, that’s in Wales, I came back from there yesterday, I was on Skomer on Thursday…!”
• “Do you live aboard?:FAQ now posed 4 times
• “Cleddau – Welsh? Lancaster rose?”
• “Cleddau – Welsh? Yorkshire rose?” (At Hatton Locks:)
• Re the benefit of solar panels:” It’s more important to have clean knickers than burnt toast…”