Into Coventry

Time was, when you were at Hawkesbury and suggested cruising down to Coventry basin, people would look at you as if you were mad or at least heroically foolish. "You'll be picking your way through floating sofas, supermarket trolleys and rubbish bags or pestered by winos and attacked by gangs of yoofs" they would warn.   

Well we came in today seeing barely four or five floating coke cans in the five and a half miles and no floating furniture, litter or rubbish bags at all.  What locals we saw gave use polite waves and the bankside vegetation was bursting with flowers in lots of places. Honeysuckle, elderflowers and roses wafted their scents at us as we passed, and overall we had a lovely cruise.   The big disused industrial sites that used to sit by the side of the canal how now been replaced by retail centres and tidy new housing estates.  I'm tempted to use the word 'gentrified'.

Arriving at the basin there was plenty of space and a couple of locals on the bank helped us moor up.  Normally you can moor here for 7 days, but this weekend they have a floating market so we have to be off by Thursday morning, so that the traders can move in.  Fair enough.  We could stay on longer just outside the basin if we wanted.

The little cafe at the basin has changed hands since we were last here, but the current incumbents were welcoming and did us some nice toasted sandwiches for lunch.  We may well investigate their breakfast in the morning.

For those who don't know the basin here are some of the photos I took today.

So the moral is Don't listen to the nay sayers - give it a go, you might be surprised.

Yesterday we lunched at the Greyhound at Hawkesbury junction, and people who know it won't be surprised when I say it was very good as was the beer.  

That's what I call a ploughman's - Pork pie, thick cut ham, cheddar, stilton, sliced apple, bread and butter, pickled onions ,chutney, piccalilli and a dressed salad.

(No I didn't have chips with a ploughman's, the chips are with Kath's meal)

I wish we could get beer at midlands prices where we live, it's at least a pound a pint cheaper up here.

Tomorrow we do the Coventry tourist bit. Stay tuned.