Bartimaeus

We moved on from Hopwas on a day that was largely warm and dry, but with a few very dark clouds in the sky. We've continued to leave the diesel engine off, trying to make as much use as we can of the sunny weather to provide our power.  By travelling very slowly, we can get more miles out of the battery, which also makes for gentle peaceful boating.

Just as we cast off, I noticed someone on a boat behind us.  Once we were through the moored boats in the village, I pulled over and waved him past. As he came by he warned us that he wasn't going fast. We assured him we weren't either. By the next bend he had disappeared from sight. We didn't see his boat again until we passed it moored up in Tamworth.

In the meantime, we'd met an odd-shaped boat. It might have been a floating bar or picnic table. The driver must have been pleased that the heavy clouds were passing over, he didn't seem to have any form of shelter. This was definitely a good-weather boat.

As I was opening the curtains yesterday, the day was already hot and sunny. I noticed that since launch, the solar panels on Bartimaeus have now generated over 3 MWh of electricity.

A shirtless man on the towpath saw me and knocked on the window. He asked if we had some water for a cup of tea. It was soon obvious that he was hoping for a cup of tea, not just water. We were happy to give him that, though we noticed that we were quite low on water, milk and teabags. He wanted three sugars in his tea - we had plenty of that. Clare gave him some food and he also took a second cuppa away in a jar.

We moved on to the water point marked on the map, but soon discovered it was disconnected. A man sitting nearby told us it had been like that for years and that there used to be a notice. We found the notice - now so faded it is illegible. The water point is marked on the Canal and River Trust map, so I have reported the error on the map to them.

It was only a few boat lengths to the working water point at Fazeley Junction, but in the meantime someone had overtaken us and started using it. They were soon away again and we were able to fill our tank. By the time we'd done that, there were two other boats waiting their turn. We set off, turning left to stay on the Coventry Canal. This is a new section for us on Bartimaeus. Three years ago, we winded here and headed back in the direction of Burton.

It wasn't very far to the Glascote Locks. The first one was set our way, and by the time I had worked Clare through, there was a boat coming out of the other one, so we went through about as smoothly as we could hope.

We moored up just above the locks. It was lunch time and a handy shop supplied us with bread. In the afternoon we walked along the canal to Amington. This was once a separate village but has now been swamped by Tamworth. The family of our friend Paul come from there.  We eventually found a family gravestone in the churchyard. In common with many of the graves, it seems to be disappearing in to the ground.

Walking back in the heat we were attracted by a pub with a canal-side garden. We had an enjoyable chat with a friendly woman at the next table. She regularly walks to work along the canal with a friend's dog.  The dog apparently likes to swim some of the way (she showed us a video) which can cause concern to boaters.

This morning we set off again, still on electric. There seemed to be a steady stream of boats coming the other way, about a dozen, but almost nothing going our way. The second time I pulled over to let someone overtake, we were amused to see the boat was called No Rush. The driver thanked us for letting him pass, and sheepishly admitted that actually he was in a rush today as he had an appointment to get to.

We moored up opposite Alvecote Marine at lunchtime, and then explored nearby Pooley Country Park in the afternoon. We were grateful for the shade of the trees as we wound our way to the top of the hill. At the top we found a massive artwork.  A description nearby suggested it could be considered as the gnomon of a sundial. There were no markings to tell the time, but its shadow was a welcome barrier to the sun's heat on the tree-less hill top.