Bartimaeus

The day after our cycle ride to Henley-in-Arden. Shane proposed setting off and after lunch we would be a similar distance away. He went out like he was about to drive, so I went to cast off the front, but then couldn't  see him. Was he ready? Then I  saw the engine cover which is most of the back deck, was propped up. That didn't sound like an imminent start then. I walked to the back to find him bent down over the stuffing box and some innards on the rear deck.

Right enough, if you are going to crouch in the engine bay then it's best done before it has been running. When he emerged his hands were very oily. He said the spanners had got black grease on them and he kept forgetting to take kitchen roll with him. Once in position you just want to get going with the job, but he realised this was a good time to do it or at least put some kitchen roll there. I grabbed some and climbed down to sit astride the engine, and found once in position you might as well do the job so I gave the spanners a thorough rub over.

Then we could set off. Many people had been mentioning the apple trees nearby and the lock cottage had a garden full of apples. Someone seemed to be in the house. It is rented out for holidays and the apples aren't getting eaten fast enough.

We have been down all these before and the locks are similar to each other and there are a number of the barrel roofed lock cottages a long side. The bridges are all criss cross metal side walls with a metal plate to walk over but they are made of two sides that don't meet to allow the horse rope through. There was one turnover bridge too.

One lock cottage after the turnover was looking spruce with flowers outside and they had decorated the bridge too.

I didn't remember the artwork from our last trip. I spotted it as I approached a lock to work it. It depicted things to see on the way, and we had certainly seen them all: bats, barrel topped cottages., numbered bridges, lock crossing bridges and aqueducts.

The first aqueduct is very small and was at that very spot. This lock has the unusual feature of being approached by a iron walled passage with an iron aqueduct beside it.

We were warned by a chaplain boat that there was a fallen tree that was 'passable with care' and shallow as you pass. They also told us they had already informed Canal and River Trust. When we reached there I went to the front, in case it helped.  It looked like it covered a good bit but it was mainly complicated by a bush just before it making things harder to see and steer round. As Shane went round the bush, I could see that there was plenty water left, but it was likely shallow as the edge, as they had warned so we didn't really have the luxury of the full width so Shane stayed close to the tree. 

The weather stayed fair for our bike ride and we once again headed for Henley-in-Arden. From a different starting point the route was different again. The heritage centre had been closed the day before, so Shane thought it worth a visit and had checked the opening hours. What he didn't know was how much there was to see there, and it took us until it's closing time to visit each room, and even so, we had to rush the last rooms. There was a great deal of medieval, and earlier history in the first room and a realistic replica of the top of the market cross. The day before we had seen the bottom half, which is considerably plainer.

Another room was termed the kitchen and as well as many kitchen items: mincers, a knife grinder it had other domestic comforts, foot warmers, smoothing irons, curling irons and something for squeezing or pressing but we aren't sure what. They were not labelled but most were from 18th to early nineteenth century.

As well as a stove with pots and cooking equipment, there was the story of a maid, who had gone into service aged 14 and got one day off per month. I liked the way they made an effort to make things come to life rather than just being in cases. It seemed touching was allowed.

A bookshelf of cookery and domestic books were below the housemaid's story. Outside were laundry equipment and some war time items, an air raid shelter and items belonging to local servicemen and women, baby gas protection a hand operated air raid siren, which we were asked not to operate.

Upstairs was a technology corner, a school class room and many other local stories, such as the history of the ice cream shop and of one of the local engineers and a room full of women's costumes.

The museum even had a reading room for further research though we had no time to spend there. We were able to round off the day at the celebrated ice cream shop for a second time to have similar flavours to yesterday's choices, gingerbread for me and chocolate chip for Shane.

I felt it was a town that merits more than one visit. It isn't everywhere that has a bus stop that is a tourist map, a place that looks like a bridal shop, called Ivory, but is a dentist, and a place that advertises it is a bridal shop, that is in a Tudor building - though the bridal shop seems to be closed. Unfortunately so was the bakers, and all that onion loaf had already been polished off.

On the return trip Shane diverted slightly so that we went back on a short bit of the route we had done the day before. As we hadn't taken us back that way then, I had missed a photo opportunity of a sign he had wanted me to see. Now he brought me back to it.  The road is liable to flooding, but had extra signs some distance each side of a dip. Though dry today, it obviously catches people out. We turned back anyway.