I won’t dwell on Crick Boat Show, it was exactly as previous shows (even down to the Abba tribute band back again). I picked up a few boaty bits and hastily moved on. In 2020 (the Summer of Covid) I had travelled up the Ashby Canal but was unable to visit any of the villages or sights due to the lockdowns. So that’s where I decided to go this year. First, a bit of history…

This is a lovely, lock-free, 30 mile dead-end side canal that is famous for it’s beauty, ease of access, and that it traverses the infamous Bosworth Field. This, for those that have forgotten their classic education of needless British history, is the location of the penultimate but deciding battle of the Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrians had been fighting off and on for 30 years against the Yorkists for the right to put their leader on the throne of England. Without going into further detail (and believe me, there’s a lot of detail), it eventually came down to August 22, 1485 near Bosworth in central England. Henry Tudor, having just returned from exile in France, approached from the west (or south, or something), while King Richard III was encamped on higher ground to the east (or north). Lord Stanley couldn’t decide who to support (who was likely to win, in other words) so he sat on the sidelines with his thousands of troops.

To make an incredibly long story a tiny bit shorter, they fought and many died. Including Richard. The legend is that Henry was crowned on the battlefield with the crown that Richard had worn into battle. Richard’s somewhat mangled body was stripped and paraded through Leicester before being buried quietly and nearly secretly in Greyfriars Church. So began the Tudor dynasty, most notable for Henry’s son, Henry VIII and his penchant for killing his wives, and for Elizabeth I (his granddaughter).

Fast forward to 2012 and some very fine research (and luck) and the location of Richard’s grave was ‘calculated’ using old floorplans and city drawings, eventually coming down to a spot in a car park. He was dug up on the very first day of excavations (and DNA and other analysis proved conclusively that it was him).

On top of this amazing discovery, it has been pretty conclusively determined that the actual Battle of Bosworth Field took place a couple of miles away! Metal detecting and excavations have shown the ‘proper’ location, within sight of the original ‘location’. Interestingly, they had built the Bosworth Heritage Centre in the wrong place! However, it’s a great place to visit, a very interesting museum and lovely hiking around the famous locations.

So, there you are now up to date with what is a fascinating and important bit of English history. If you cared.

The cruising itself has been pretty good, quite cool and occasionally wet but very quiet and easy. I had an extraordinary meeting, several couples on a hire boat moored next to me. Turns out they were from Duncan (on Vancouver Island for my UK friends), and we had mutual friends on Mt. Washington. Such a small world.

I also had another (!) ‘breakdown’. Well, not really but a pain in the buttocks anyway. A couple of my batteries decided to call it quits, so the entire bank wouldn’t hold any charge for more than a couple of hours. My luck was again with me however, it turns out I was moored just outside a small marina that did repairs. They were able to source and acquire new ones and we installed them the same day! They were also very inexpensive, both the batteries and labour. Can’t thank you enough Andy (of The Ashby Canal Centre).