Category Archives: Railways

Apples, Flowers And Bells. 15th September

Leamington Spa

Choo Choo!

The Heritage Open days are keeping us busy. Today we got the train over to Warwick as there were a few things there that appealed to us. Handy hint, if you want to do this journey without your boat go by train, not by bus. My train fare was £1.80 return compared to £5.50 on the bus, only downside is that the bus takes you closer to the town centre than the train, but not by miles.

We’d selected three places to visit, Hill Close Gardens, The Court House and St Mary’s Church. Starting off at the furthest we found our way to the Gardens. Just by the race course hidden away (there are brown signs to it) we came in through the visitors centre. We expected to only be there for an hour tops, but found ourselves weaving through the gardens for two.

RobinHill Close Gardens are rare survivors of Victorian gardens once used by townsfolk who lived above their businesses, to escape the busy town. Back yards were full of wash houses, workshops and privies, no room for flowers or grass. So these businessmen rented a plot of land on the outskirts of town. In 1845 Hill Close pasture land was divided up into plots that Warwick people could rent. In these Detached Gardens they planted apple trees, grew fruit and veg, kept pigs and chickens and built small summer houses from which to enjoy their gardens. At a later date people could buy their gardens and  by the early 20th Century parts were sold off for housing, but what remains today has been saved and restored by volunteers.

View from a summer houseParsley, sage, thyme, chives and moreBy the 1990’s most of the gardens had been sold off, but 16 remained, 2 still tended, the other 14 in very bad shape. By 1993 the council had bought much of the land and planning permission had been granted for 30 new houses to be built, the locals were stirred into action researching the site, one of only four left in the country. By 1994 local activists had managed to get four of the summer houses Grade 2 listed so the development was halted. The gardens themselves became Grade 2* listed shortly afterwards. By 2000 the council had helped to set up a trust to manage and restore the gardens for all to enjoy.

Wonderfully laid out

Heritage Lottery Funding in the mid 2000s enabled major restoration and by 2008 the gardens were opened up to the public frequently.

History of owners

Each garden has a short history about its owners and has been laid out how it once would have been.

Ruby redHumoungusMasses and massesWindfalls60 varieties of apples grow here, some ruby red, some huge, some abundant on their trees, all producing many windfalls.

Beans in every gardenFantastic vineGrape vines, figs, pears, beans (how are yours Frank?), courgettes, all sorts.

PurpleOrangeRedMore purpleWe were also taken aback by the amount of colour still in the flower beds, oranges, reds and purples shouting out at us.

Bra malfunctionPig styCosy summer houseSunny spotThe summer houses, small with their fireplaces, look out over lawned areas all hedged in for privacy from one another. These are very smart posh allotments lovingly cared for and so worth a visit.

We left by the town entrance hidden away behind a modern development and made our way into town. Hungry we decided that we’d have lunch before looking at The Court House. The Market Place Pantry had a free table so we enjoyed toasted cheese and ham sandwiches of full gluten and non gluten varieties followed by a slice of cake each, all very tasty.

The BallroomWhat was Ruth doing here?

By now we’d missed the start of the tour, but went to have a look at The Court House ourselves. The tour was just finishing and they must have been given access to other areas that we couldn’t get to see. The ballroom upstairs was open but that was pretty much it, we’d seen the display downstairs last time we were in Warwick. So we walked up the road to get in line for the tour of the Bell Ringing Chamber at St Mary’s.

Just a small amount of what's already there

The church is being filled with poppies at the moment. A huge community project to mark the end of WW1 is underway. Panels everywhere are already covered in knitted, crocheted, paper, felt and tissue paper poppies. The main columns have been covered in black fabric and poppies are starting to be applied to them too. By November the whole church will be a riot of red. Intermixed with all the poppies there is the occasional white and purple ones. The white are for conscientious objectors. The purple for animals. The other day I came across a poppy I’d made for my friends in Scarborough that must have got away from the others, so if we end up coming this way I’ll drop it off to be added to the thousands.

The chamber

Shortly before 4pm we were allowed up the circular stone staircase to the bell ringing chamber. St Mary’s bell chamber is built at the West end, added on, as the ground wasn’t thought to be stable enough to carry it over the main church. We were joined by about twenty others along with four of the bell ringers. There are ten bells, the oldest dating back to 1701, the current clock from 1901. The clock in recent years has been electrified saving a twice weekly job of winding it up, but this has meant that the quarter hour chimes are just slightly out at the moment due to this summers hot weather.

A model of how the bells work with their wheels was demonstrated to us and then a bell was rung. Large boards around the room celebrate the peals that have been rung for certain occasions and under a box (used to stand on) there is written a note to mark Queen Victoria’s death. Much history has been marked by the ringing of the bells.

BellsThe towerAfter we’d had everything explained to us we then took our time to climb the next 40 or so steps to see the bells. I’m not too keen on heights and Mick normally does such things on his own, but I felt today the official photographer should be on hand. The floor a metal grid was a touch unnerving for me, but once the ringers started to explain about the bells  and point out the hammers etc I felt a lot better. Our visit here was timed so as not to coincide with any bells ringing! Then we all made our way up another 50 or so steps to the top of the tower.

The castleThe roof

From here we could see for miles. The race course, the castle stood out very easily. Leamington Town Hall and church too. We tried to spot the Hatton flight of locks, we knew where it should be but it was being shy amongst the many trees. We’ve only done the flight in spring or autumn and wondered if you still get a good view of the church at this time of year.

I still don’t understand how people can stand leaning against the bars looking over the edge of such buildings, I can not get closer than two foot away. But I did my best and took photos at arms length.

Dong dong

Back down the stairs, much easier to descend backwards, there was chance for people to ring the bells. Mick held back, but I could tell he really wanted a go and in the end he succumbed, not having to jump into the air as much as the younger members of our party.

A very good day had by all. Except me!

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains, 16 gardens, 60 varieties of apples, 2 hours around the gardens, 2 toasties, 2 pots of tea, 2 slices of cake, 1 tour missed, 10 bells, 1701, 1901, 150 steps, 1 big boy bell ringer, 4 fantastic views, 1 rat to watch all day!

Tilly Weissmuller 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th September

Basecote Aqueduct to Fosse Top Lock to Radford Semele
There’s a bit of catching up to do around here!
Drawings, drawings, drawings
Saturday was meant to rain, lots. The skies only opened up when Mick had headed off into the village for a newspaper. Sods law really, but at least he didn’t get a soaking and returned to the boat not too damp. Tilly spent much of the day out in the sideways trees enjoying herself whilst I had a serious day of doing technical drawings for Panto. I’d originally thought this would only take a couple of days, but it ended up being more like four, lucky there were more than four days in hand.
The pound we were in is above Basecote Staircase locks, which means that quite a lot of water gets used from the pound, more so than if it was just a single lock. Therefore the level was down, we remembered this from our last time of mooring here as we rose by a few inches to then drop again depending on boat movements and back pumping.
Time to shuffle
The moorings here are okay, but we quite like to have a view, this was lacking. So on Sunday we decided to move on and find a bit more sky. A mile further on was the staircase, two boats were coming up. So we waited our turn. Below I could see another boat waiting to come up, I walked down to see if they were happy to do a shuffle. I think one of the boats already in the locks had suggested this to them and the chap was getting his head around how this would work.
Shuffled
With a staircase of two you need the top chamber to be full and the bottom one to be empty, no matter which direction you are going in. You use the top chambers water to raise the bottom one and then either fill the top chamber or empty the bottom one depending on which way you are going.
Waiting at the bottom of the staircase
We came into the top as they came into the bottom. The paddles between the two chambers were lifted to level them, gates opened, boats swapped positions, gates closed and we could both be on our way again. This is an efficient way of using the locks, one more boat in the mix would have made it more so. But we shared the water and left the locks set for the next boat to come along, normally you have to empty or fill one of them. Just a shame we were now on our own for the rest of the flight.
A Menu
The next few pounds were also low, we kept spotting places to moor only for the bottom to be too close to the top! We’d considered stopping by Welsh Road Lock 18 as the cottage here sold chilled medication. There were big signs out and a full menu to choose from as you waited or worked the lock. However below the lock we simply couldn’t get into the bank, we tried a few times. If the selection of medication had been more unique, less standard, Magnums etc, then I think we would have persevered. Well if it had been a proper chilled medication parlour we’d have headed to the counter having left Oleanna on the lock landing!
Too low to moor
Down another lock still with no luck on the depth front, until we reached the next lock. Here there were a couple of boats moored up, one on a jaunty list. We decided to give it a go as the amount of sky was good and there was suitable space for Tilly to play. The depth was just okay, phew! So for the afternoon Tilly played in the sun shine, Mick listened to the test match and I carried on with my drawings. These 1930’s locks are quiet, no click click click of the paddle gear, so we only noticed boats coming up the lock as the level dropped.
Sharing
The radio reception wasn’t so good, Mick had ended up having to listen to the cricket via the internet, moving would hopefully improve matters. So on Monday morning we pushed off to cross to the lock, just as a lady walked round the bend with a windlass in hand. Marvellous, we had a buddy for the last four locks down to Leamington Spa. NB Talpa Secunda were heading to the Saltisford Arm before starting their climb up Hatton.
Breasted up and on their way to Braunston
At just about each lock someone was either exiting or arriving just at the right times which meant there were fewer opening and closing of gates needed. Mick handily spotted Raymond and Nuffield breasted up coming through a bridge hole in time to be able to hold back behind some moored boats.
Kingfisher
Kingfishers lurked in the trees their high pitched cheeps giving them away.
The last lock of the day
Down Wood Lock we waved goodbye to our lock buddies and paused to get rid of rubbish. Here there were a couple of glass recycling bins and four normal Biffa bins. Surrounding the bins was a mountain of bags. First impressions were that the bins were full. Two were, but the ones at the back weren’t. Why are some boaters so bloomin’ lazy! There was even a plastic bag full of newspapers and glass bottles leaning against the half filled glass bin. Mick did his bit to help reduce the mountain of bags and filled one of the bins at the back before we moved further along.
Surveying the new outside
A mile along and the sky returns, a field rising up to Radford Semele church, a popular mooring. We pulled in, it only being 11:30am there was plenty of space so we moored at the end of a length of armco. The doors were opened up, Tilly let out to explore her new surroundings, the radio worked so Mick was quite content listening to Alastair Cook scoring his final test century against India and I got the drawing board out again!
The outsides that they have tied down recently had all been quite good, but today was that bit different. Here there were new friends to find and play with. I made the most of it bringing them home to introduce them. One friend was certainly very different. Most are furry and have long tails and squeak with excitement as we play. But this one was long and slender, maybe it was just a tail and had lost it’s body! How careless, I wouldn’t be without my tail. It didn’t squeak either, it made a funny noise and stuck it’s tongue out at me, very rude. We played for a while until I fancied some dingding.
Mick had been concerned at Tilly doing her Johnny Weismuller impression with a snake. But luckily it must have just been a small grass snake and no harm was done to Tilly, not sure about her friend!
The cricket had been exciting, so Mick decided to see how easy it would be to get to The Oval for the final days play. Now being over 60 he bought himself an old fogey railcard and a train ticket.
Evolution of panto tuppaware
The alarm was set early and Mick headed off down the towpath to catch the 8am train, leaving me to finish off my work. Tilly spent the day coming and going, her new friend not wanting to play today, I did try to find him. A treat lunch was needed for me to help push me on for the final few hours at the drawing board. Ocado had delivered some gluten free fish fingers, so I made a good sized butty to keep me going. I was just about to start the final drawing when a boat bashed into the side of Oleanna. What the…?
Yumminess
I went outside to see if all was okay and see if I could help the Kate Hire boat. The crew were all looking the other way, were they hoping nobody had noticed their lapse of concentration? No, they were all looking at a man swimming in the canal. I went to see if I could help pull him out, but others had got to him. What I could do though was stop their dog who had jumped in from running along the towpath. He stopped when he saw me and turned back to be picked up by the very soggy man who was just in his pants. Someone was going to need a good hot shower!
The Oval
Mick had a very good day at the cricket. Jimmy Anderson, England’s fast bowler had beaten the record of the number of wickets taken, England won the final test match of the summer by 118 runs and he was there on the last day of Alastair Cooks Test Match carreer. Watching the highlights later on, he managed to spot himself up on the balcony.

Red arrow just for Tom

10 locks, 2 a staircase which we shuffled through, 4.78 miles, 2 many low pounds, 2 few places to moor, 1 lock buddy, 2 full days drawing, 2 half days, 1 final test match of the summer, 2 trains, 4 tubes, 1 day at the cricket, 1 snake, 1 soggy dog, 1 soggy man, 1 model packed and ready, 12 sheets of working drawings, 5 groundplans, 1 storage plan, 4 fish fingers, 2 slices of bread, 1 squirt of tomato ketchup, 1 lean, yummy.