Day Three - Coventry to Atherstone

We had heavy rain overnight and we woke to very grey skies over Coventry. Thankfully it wasn’t raining and the weather continued to be mild. After breakfast Liz and I ventured off to Sainsbury’s to stock up on groceries for the next couple of days. Given the size of the kitchen and the fridge there is a limit on how much we could buy. We had to resist on a number of occasions the “Buy Two” offers to get the bargain knowing we would not have space to store the items.
At nine-thirty the four of us walked back into the centre of Coventry. The city which is the ninth largest in England was looking a lot brighter on this Monday morning. It would be unfair to judge Coventry on what we saw on a very quiet, overcast Sunday afternoon. We walked to the old cathedral which was bombed in 1940. Only the shell remains of what would have been a magnificent cathedral. A very modern cathedral built in the early sixties sits alongside the old ruins. Also near the cathedral was a well-preserved Guild Hall in which we saw a very large 500 year old tapestry which has hung in the same place since it was installed. There was a fine tribute to the firemen of Coventry which was amusingly penned by a Sir Firebrace! We also came across a statue of Lady Go diva a past resident of Coventry.
We couldn’t resist a morning tea at the city centre’s shopping centre before moving on to one of England’s largest covered market places. Liz and Tomas bought a cold pork pie for lunch and it was delicious.
As the weather bureau predicted there were showers late in the morning just after we set off back along the Coventry Canal. We didn’t need to do any locks today. Poor Tomas and Henk donned their wet gear and braved the rain whilst Liz and I read the paper and caught up on our emails etc. It was very cosy inside. We made lunch and Tomas and Henk had to eat it whilst steering the boat with each of them coming down below eating and returning to the deck. Liz and I had a little crisp white wine with our pork pie and salad.
By mid afternoon the rain had gone and we had sunshine again. Motoring along in the late afternoon light was very pleasant. We moored the boat at Atherstone at five thirty having covered about twenty-four kilometres and we took the last mooring place on the edge of the town. We walked the brief walk into town and had a look around. Atherstone was an ancient market town and is now a small town with a large square for a market place and many small shops. Up until the twentieth century the town was known for its felt hatmaking and mining.
We had dinner on the boat having spaghetti bolognaise followed by self-saucing chocolate pudding for Tomas and Henk. I am amazed at the range of foods which can be purchased at the supermarket. They have packaged apple crumble topping and “Mar Made” which is a kilogram tin of cut oranges which can be made into jam.
Photos: Tomas and Henk enjoying a break in the weather; Liz and I feeding the ducks behind our boat at Atherstone; the market square at Atherstone; Henk and Tomas steering and braving the weather.