Day Two - Rugby to Coventry

What a difference a day makes and yesterday‘s rain and storms had disappeared. We woke to a wonderfully sunny warm day. We had our breakfast and set out at eight o’clock on the Oxford Canal again with our evening destination being Coventry.
The first two hours along the canal were exquisitely peaceful and we passed beautiful English scenery including many wealthy-looking farms. Many of the plants have abundant berries and we passed a few people with bags over their shoulders picking the fruit. It was difficult to appreciate that we were steering through some very industrialised parts of England.
As the day progressed the on-coming boats increased. We had no stops along the way except for four locks. Liz and I had no trouble remembering how to do the locks and we felt it was a bit like riding a bike.
The canal was still narrow in parts and Henk had to manoeuvre through one very tight situation around a corner with on-coming boats, overhanging willow trees and boats moored alongside the canal. I couldn’t resist taking photos whilst Henk was intense on the task.
We went through the Newbold Tunnel which was 250 yards long. Unlike other tunnels we have been through which are very dark and leaking this one had a light display with different coloured lights along the way. The lights are switched off at sunset so as not to disturb the bats!
Our final and very small lock was at Hawkesbury Junction where we turned off the Oxford Canal onto the Coventry Canal to make our way to Coventry. This canal is not a pretty one and shows more of the underbelly of Coventry with its graffiti and litter. We also went under the very busy M6. However, when we arrived at the Coventry Basin at four-thirty to moor “Carli” we steered through an entry arch and it was like venturing into the Secret Garden. It is a well-designed modern secure marina close to the city centre.
We made Henk and Tomas a well-deserved cup of tea and we ventured into town via a footbridge over the Ringway to have a quick look around. Our canal boat book says that “..nobody gets excited at the prospect of being sent to Coventry.”
We found a great Indian restaurant called “MYO” and had an Indian buffet. We were hungry and it hit the spot. Tomorrow we need to buy groceries and before heading off we will have a further look around Coventry and visit the cathedral.
Photos: Henk manoeuvring the boat; Swans leading the way; horses on the side of the canal.