And so to Hopwas before the weather closes in..

Thursday and today, Fradley to Hopwas, Coventry Canal 8 miles, 0 locks

We pulled the pins on Thursday morning after I joined Jeff of NB Seyella to walk the dogs through the woods to the west of Fradley.  I took Jeff to the little racing test circuit that I had found the day before, and there were a couple of cars testing over there which was of interest.

Jo and Keith had taken Hadar out of Fradley earlier on their way to Atherstone bottom lock.. keen is Keith, he wants to put in a good few hours a day on his new boat.. can’t blame the man, after all he has waited over 3 years for Hadar to be completed.. now they can both enjoy the waterways..

Just as we left Fradley I had a phone call from the Bed Centre in Tamworth to say that they had made the mattresses that I ordered a couple of weeks ago, and that it was ready to be delivered.. great stuff, we though we would have to wait a while at Hopwas for that call, now we can pick them up at the beginning of next week as we pass close to their base.

Handily, they have offered to take away our old mattress for £20, well worth that.  I was already having trouble getting the council to do that for me… I would have to pay them, plus I need to have a “proper address” as they could only give me a guidance on which day they could pick it up!.. A “proper address?”…. sheeeeesh!

Passing Huddlesford Junction yesterday…

I have never yet passed when there has been  a visitor mooring available to stop to visit this pub!  I wondered if the boats in that area ever move.. they looked quite permanent to me… but a bit further along, this dog was determined that his owner was not going to pull the pins and leave him behind!..

We moored at Whittington last night so I could visit the docs this morning and pick up some post.. hopefully now with some antibiotics I will soon be feeling a lot better than I am at the moment.

Pulled the pins from there late morning and cruised through to Hopwas and replaced them in the ground just as the rain started to fall.  We are fairly sheltered from the wind here with no large trees likely to fall.  Oh so much dog poo on the towpath beside No Problem though, perhaps one of the worst places I have every been to for the stuff, it’s the same everytime we come here.. we have cleared it all up now though.. why oh why do locals let their dogs do that on their own patch I will never know..