A schedule, a schedule, an easy life for a schedule

Friday 18th April to Saturday 19th April 2014

Prior to turning at Marston Junction on Thursday, Diane had generously offered to set all of the locks on the Ashby - she is a kidder; probably going to come back in the near future to laugh at again.

See - eyepad purchased and it was on sale as well

She had studiously looked at the villages and towns along the way and made notes from reading other blogs about places to moor and to see, so there was a plan of where we would head to - for Thursday it was to be the Battlefield moorings with a brief stop at Sutton Wharf for an Elsan stop.

As has been the case for the past week almost, the sun was again out and casting warmth onto our backs, but there also was the cold air, which with a lack of a breeze was OK but we were still a bit cold as well.

Diane says - hope the grass is mint flavoured - saves having
to put in on later

All went well until we neared Sutton Wharf - rounding a corner we had suddenly caught up with a boat we had been following - the reason - there were another two boats in front of them - the first slowed by the moored boats and the rest of us in convoy.

Fortunately at the wharf, the first and third boats carried on and just the two of us pulled in and breasted up together - each for the same reason - Elsan and rubbish.

As is generally the case, you get chatting and the fellow on the other boat advised us that the battlefield moorings were no more - due to Richard III having the audacity to conduct his battle in a different location, the farmer has rescinded permission for boaters and others to cross his land.

A quick decision was made to moor up on the jetty moorings for the day (and night). This decision was primarily decided on one of us (that would be the one that eats bacon) thinking that the SuttonWharf Cafe would be a nice place for a light morning tea.

Diane's idea of a light snack

A quick look through the Nicholsons guide showed another footpath from the cafe up to the Bosworth Battlefield exhibition - problem solved.

Off we went - a casual stroll up the gentle incline. It went so well that Diane spent most of it on the phone sorting out the plans for our flights back to Australia later this year and then return flights via NewZealand and the US.

(We got the email through later and it is practically perfect for dates and most importantly the price as well!).

Anyway we were suddenly at the destination; paid our money and had a good look through the display.

her knight in shining armour

just taking the mickey

and her knight's horse

critical to discovering where Richard III was probably killed
was the finding of the silver boar

It is well worth the effort to go through - especially for us foreigners who may have heard that there was a battle and not completely sure about all of the intricacies of it all.

another part of the display were these magnificent birds

sundial - not adjusted for summer time

Market Bosworth in the distance

There was a self-guided walk around the area - no access to the newly-found actual battle-site (seems the owner of this land wasn't giving permission for the general public to go wandering about his land), but we did find the railway station and as luck would have it, the steam train had just arrived and was in the process of shunting for the return journey - it would have been semi-heaven for Paul.

A little bit more walking around before we opted for a return to the boat via the towpath.

We were a bit tired when we got back and took the easy way out - flopped down to recover.

Saturday was a slightly later start for us - must have been a bit more tired from our walking the previous day, but the day itself couldn't be much more different to yesterday - cloudy and very cold - even a little ice on the pram hood at the back.

So we untied the ropes a bit later.

Today's destination was planned to be Shakerstone and from Friday we had planned to make the train journey down to Bosworth station - as we had seen yesterday.

Cruising along - there were a few shallow sections to negotiate - we thought about it a bit and decided to reappraise the schedule - we would make for the terminus at Snarestone - just a few extra miles and not much longer.

As we passed the Market Bosworth moorings, the new marina was very evident - the first part is in water, but there appears to still be a fair amount to be done - no power or water to the pontoons.

We carried onto the end, passing through the Snarestone Tunnel, winded and took the last mooring spot at the end of a group of boats - which included a couple of CaRT vessels.

Timing can be everything, and not long after we moored up there were three other boats that had come through - a couple left and the other stopped for water and other services.

A short walk back into the village (just about a km), a visit to The Globe for a quick drink each and then back to the boat - it hadn't got any warmer, but at least the walk made us feel better.

just a pair of big kids....

...trying to get warm

At least one of us relaxed a bit too much in the lounge when we came back - I did feel better for the nap.


17 Miles, 1 Tunnel

Totals: 2316 Miles, 1682  Locks, 76 Tunnels, 32 Lift Bridges, 146 Swing Bridges