Goodbye Ashby Canal

Another earlyish start to the day as the forecast, as yesterday, was giving rain later.  Today however I was allowed to get up before our departure, unlike yesterday when Geoff departed when I was half asleep and trying to get myself up!

Only about an hour and a half to Marston Junction and it was goodbye Ashby Canal.   We did not see a single boat until just before the junction and then we saw about 6...just like Piccadilly Circus.  One was coming onto the Ashby and appeared to be stuck in the entrance.  We discovered why when he came past....his dog had decided to get off there and there were trying to retrieve him......the boat in front of us who had appeared from nowhere was getting very impatient.......

A little further on brought us a phone call from friends Fran and Keith asking where we were and did we fancy meeting for lunch.   A quick look at our guide suggested Hartshill, just before Atherstone, as a suitable place for stopping and it showed a pub.  The timing was good as the rain started just as they arrived but we had an excellent lunch in the Anchor Pub just alongside the canal.....recommended to anyone passing.

Afterwards they kindly took me shopping as we were getting low on fresh provisions.

The Ashby Canal has a lot of good features but shops close to the canal is not one of them.   However there were plenty of watering points, lots of places to moor and lovely countryside.  Well worth the detour.  The canal and towpaths were clean unlike when we first turned back onto the Coventry.  Maybe it will improve but around Nuneaton there was a lot of rubbish in the canals and dog owners seemed to have forgotten to pick up after them on the towpath.

After lunch and shopping we decided to move on about a mile to a mooring place more in the open.  We managed to complete this manoeuvre before the worst of the rain came down.

Forecast for Thurdsay is dire but we have to stay here anyway as I have a dentist appointment in Nuneaton on Friday morning.   The buses go from the adjacent bridge.

11miles, 0 locks, 4hrs 08min