Today we woke again to a lovely sunny day, before setting off we decided to go and look at the Abbey where Egbert the first Saxon King of England built a nunnery in the 10th- C also the remains of a splendid gatehouse.
Gatehouse
After another bit of shopping we set of and started to tackle our first lock one of eleven today,starting one side of Atherstone and finishing on he other side of it, we didn't stop her but we did spot our first batch of little baby ducklings.
Atherstone has a long history dating back to Roman times. An important defended Roman settlement named Mandeusseum existed at Mancetter near the site of modern day Atherstone, and the Roman road, the Watling street (now known as the A5) ran through the town. It is believed by some historians that the rebel Queen of the Britons Boudecia wasdefeated at the Battle of Watling street by the Romans in her final battle near Manduessedum.
Atherstone is also famous for it Shrove Tuesday ball game, the main road are closed to traffic, shops are boarded up, the start of they game is when the ball is thrown out of the banks window and then it a free for all, like rugby but without any rules the one rule is that you are not allowed to kill your opponents. The ball is made if heavy leather, with ribbons attached and if you manage to get a ribbon then this can be exchanged for money, the winner is the person that retains the ball at the end of the game.
PTo the west of Atherstone is Merevale hall an early 19th- C mock Tudor mansion, we then carry on for a few miles before stopping for the night before Hartshill, here are the attractive building of British Waterways.Hartshill is notable because of the writer Michael Drayton who knew William Shakespeare. Drayton was born at Chapel Cottage in Hartshill Green in 1563. A school in Hartshill bears his name.
So after eleven locks we will sleep tonight, but on the bonus side no locks for a while, as tomorrow once pass Nuneaton we turn up the lock free Ashby Canal.
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