Narrowboat Adagio

Mobile Comms Issues Again!

2012-01-20T19:18:00.000Z

I know our posts have been a little thin on the ground recently. That has been entirely due to the cabin refit I have been working on. I intend to write a post about that whole experience once the project is complete. But for now a mini rant - after all, I haven't had one for a while!

Yes, it's the thorny problem of mobile comms again. Regular readers will know of my feelings towards Vodafone UK and their patchy (at best) coverage around the waterways network. However, on this occasion Vodafone is not my target for tonight, rather it is Three. Swayed by the general response from readers on Twitter, through this Blog and chatting with boaters around the network, I purchased a Three Pay As You Go broadband SIM card to use in our shiny new Android Tablet. I was looking forward to excellent comms based on the feedback; after all, there is a Three mast close to the marina near the A38/A50 junction.

For the most part the Three signal has been fair getting us 3G and HSPUA whereas the best Vodafone can do here is EDGE but more usually GPRS. The problem is that despite usually enjoying a good, fast signal the Internet (Web, email, etc) has become quite flaky of late. So we can be connected with good signal strength in excess of 3G, but have zero Internet access, which is very frustrating (especially when it happens when you have planned a Skype session with your granddaughter!). However, my annoyance stems from the claims by all mobile telcos' in this country that they provide the best coverage, best broadband access, etc, etc. As I have posted previously our friends were able to Skype with us from the Himalayas and my niece was able to contact home by mobile phone from the Indonesian jungle. So what has happened to the mobile comms dream of the UK? It seems to me despite the hyperbole our country is way behind much of the rest of the world and looks unlikely to catch up! Hardly first divison in the high tech league!

Here's a thought. One thing the new Canals and Rivers Trust (aka BW) could do which would benefit boaters, rural communities and the like, and bring some much needed money into their coffers would be to offer all the telcos more mast sites on Trust property and at strategic points around the network. That would help spread coverage to those of the nation who do not live in cities, conurbations or along major routes, such as the M4 corridor. As for us, well I have just reactivated the O2 broadband dongle so we shall have a choice of 4 telcos in future: Vodafone, Orange/T-mobile, O2 and Three. Surely, between the four of them they can gives us good mobile comms? Can't they?

Lurcher Letter

2012-01-03T19:33:00.000Z

Hey, everyone! Something called 'Krissmas and Noo Yere' just happened. It seemed to mean my people ate a lot and I got 'samples' of their food. It also meant family and stuff so Hairy Person came to stay. He brought me a cool present.

My Krissmas present

I also got to go on my furry holidays for a couple of days staying with Sarah and her dogs. We did running and stuff. I had lots of fun and Sarah told my people I was very good so I can go again sometime.

What I call 'being on the computer'

There was fireworks on Noo Yere which I didn't like. I growled and whoofed but everything was OK.

Now things are getting back to normal but we ain't cruising yet as there's work to do.

Later!

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-02T17:32:00.000Z

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you enjoyed a peaceful Christmas in what ever way floats your boat. For us that entailed Matt driving down to Mercia Marina from Gateshead on Christmas Eve to join us for Christmas Day. On Boxing Day we all piled into Matt's car and drove to Bristol to visit Alix, Ian and Ruth for a couple of days. My goodness Ruth has grown even since we saw her last in November. She is very mobile now so it will not be long before she is crawling, then life will get truly busy for Alix and Ian. After a lovely time together it was all too soon time to head back home to the boat and for Matt to travel on to Gateshead.

Back on the boat and on our own again Sue and I toasted in the New Year quietly (second year running without hooking up with our friends the Macs). Now the dust from the feasting season has settled and 2012 is underway what's in store for nb Adagio and her crew?

Firstly, we have agreed to extend our mooring to an annual contract so making Mercia Marina our base for future cruises. This makes sense as the location is fairly central for our kids and there is a good choice of cruising routes. Furthermore, staying here gives us more time to complete the refit work we need to do on Adagio. On that subject, I have to complete the cabin refit post-installation of the pump-out holding tank. Then I have to schedule the hull modification work (repositioning through-hull drainage, new fender anchor points, steering gear) and blacking, with the yard. The 'battle damage' from our 2011 cruising needs repairing/repainting as well. Finally, Adagio needs ballast re-trimming after the pump-out fit which I shall do once all other major work is completed. (I specified a large tank - 400 litres stainless steel - which has a significant effect on trim once it starts to fill.) Once that task list is completed I can relax back into routine maintenance as we are not planning any more major changes to the boat. Sue has plenty of knitting projects to complete as well as The Quilt (separate post about that in due course).

Second, we are planning our cruising routes for 2012. We have promised ourselves we shall take it easier this year after 2011's hectic schedule. Our general idea is to head North to Manchester via the Macclesfield, Peak Forest and Rochdale canals. The Macs are collecting a friend's boat from Chester sometime in June and taking it to Stratford, so we aim to try to hook up with them for a bit of 2-boat cruising. But, the overriding aim this year is to take it easy! Hopefully, we shall catch up with some of our new canal friends again as they have said they plan to head North too.

Whatever your plans and ambitions for 2012 we wish you success and look forward to hearing from, or meeting, some of you out on the cut. (You won't miss us, we will be the boat with the pretty blonde lurcher sitting on the roof!)

Barry and Sue do The Amazing thing!

2011-12-11T22:25:00.000Z

After we had visited Alix, Ian and Ruth in Bristol we caught the train to Newcastle to visit Matt and Joanne. Again the train journey went without a hitch although being a Friday it was busy. Thankfully, Sue had reserved seats so we travelled in relative comfort. (All train travel this week was with Crosscountry Trains whose service was reliable and comfortable.) We arrived quite late in the evening so Matt collected us from the station in his new car and drove us to the Jurys Inn hotel on Gateshead Quayside, just down the road from the Sage. At check-in there was a slight confusion over rooms which resulted in an upgrade to a Superior room with a river view. Billy bargain! (We learned a new term 'huffy bed' during check-in. The term means a single bed the 'huffy' bit referring to when a marital partner retires there rather than in the marital double. That was the problem with the first room allocated to us - it had two 'huffy beds' and no double. Even though we have been married for 38 years now we have no need of a 'huffy beds'!) After a catch up chat with Matt over a drink in the hotel bar we retired to bed looking forward to an exciting weekend.

The hotel breakfast on Saturday morning was pretty good with plenty of choice. Replete, having stocked up on breakfast calories, we made our way to the Amazing Radio studios for our first engagement of the weekend. Matt co-hosts the Saturday Show on Amazing Radio between 0900 and 1200 every Saturday. It is a live show broadcast over DAB and the Internet and comprises a mix of music linked by Colin and Matt's brand of comedy. Well, we were appearing as VIP guests on the show and were both excited and a little nervous as Amazing is a national station. In the end, the team (Colin, Matt and producer Mark) made us feel very welcome and at ease so the two hours where we took part passed very quickly. Apart from revealing some embarrassing facts about Matt's childhood and talking a little bit about living on the boat, our main contribution was in providing answers to listeners' questions about parenting. We all laughed a lot and there was some pleasing live feedback from listeners. It was fascinating to see how a radio show works, is put together and then broadcast live. After the show was over we enjoyed a tour of the station then, in the finest tradition of the media industry we retired to the Central pub for a lunchtime sherbet. You can download and listen to the podcast of the show from here .

Producer Mark keeps the egos in order

The Saturday Show crew - Matt, Mark and Colin

All smiles after the show

For Saturday evening we were to meet Joanne's parents for the first time. The plan was to all meet up at the Central before moving onto the restaurant. Sue and I were first there and had just bought our drinks when another similar aged couple arrived looking a little lost like us. Sue thought they might be Joanne's parents which proved to be the case when I asked them. So we broke the ice with Val and Tony while we waited for the 'kids' to show up. Tony is the Head Teacher of a primary school and Val works in community centre management To prove just how small a world we live in Val called her brother to ask where his boat is moored, (We knew already that Joanne's uncle was a liveaboard with his partner), to find he has a berth in the same marina as us! Tapas was the food choice that evening and what a feast we enjoyed. We ate at the el Torrero restaurant where the fab food just seemed to keep coming. Tapas is an excellent social meal Eventually, having eaten our fill we moved on to the Bridge Hotel for nightcaps before we said our goodbyes after a really enjoyable evening.

After Sunday breakfast we met up with Matt & Joanne for a stroll through the park at Jesmond followed by lunch in town. Back at Matt's flat we planned to have a catch up over a board game. But for us two oldies all the excitement and hectic activity of the past week caught up with us and we had to take our leave before we lost any capability of movement. Back at the hotel we crashed early into bed to sleep well before our journey home in the morning. How wonderful it was to catch up with our fab kids and lovely granddaughter - we really look forward to seeing them again at Christmas.

Grandma and Pops Visit

2011-12-02T23:36:00.000Z

Last week we took a break, left Adagio and Duffy in the capable hands of our friends John and Karen, and let the train take the strain. We travelled down to Bristol to visit Alix, Ian and Ruth for four days followed by a long weekend visit to Matt in Newcastle.

Wrapped up for a walk on a cold day

It was great to see how Ruth has developed over the months since we saw her last. Always ready with a smile she is such a happy little girl. Now seven months old she is developing new skills and capabilities all of the time. Ruth is very vocal chatting away in that little baby way featuring many different sounds and is becoming more mobile being able to roll over. Her eye and hand coordination is coming along well which she demonstrated through reaching for and picking up toys and attempting to clap her hands. It won't be very much longer before she gets truly mobile and her parents will have to develop that 'eyes in the back of your head' skill we have all acquired with small children.

Proud Grandma plays with Ruth

Doting Pops bounces Ruth on his knee

During our visit we were treated to a trip to Kindermusik, to which Alix takes Ruth every week. This group is aimed at newborn to 7 year olds and stimulates them through music and movement. We were a little dubious at first but soon understood how their approach would work. With a wide variety of tones and rhythms from Africa, South America and other parts of the world including classical music and childrens' classics, mixed with some dancing to tango and waltz rhythms and even some square dancing, this was a fun session for both babies and adults. By the end of the 45 minute session Sue and I were both in need of a lie down to recuperate. However, Ruth and the other little ones seemed to have a great deal of fun.

The few days we spent with her reminded us of how hard work it is raising a small child. Alix and Ian are always on the go and although Ruth sleeps through the night it's a full on day every day looking after her and keeping her occupied. Great fun for us grandparents though as we seemed to enjoy all the benefits with little of the downside. We did take turns feeding Ruth and Sue changed three nappies, something I managed to avoid. After a fabulous few days we look forward to our next visit at Christmas.

Isn't she lovely?

Remembrance

2011-11-11T08:00:00.001Z

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941 aged 19 years

The National Health Service

2011-11-10T17:18:00.001Z

Dear NHS

We believe in the basic principle of the National Health Service, namely free health care for all at the point of delivery. The small amount of treatment Sue and I have received from the NHS during our lives has mostly been of the highest quality. We have great admiration for NHS staff, the work they do and their dedication. However, our new lifestyle has cast a new, harsh spotlight on our NHS. Let me explain.

After working since the age of 18 and paying our taxes, including National Insurance, we took early retirement last year, sold up and moved onto a narrowboat. We pain stakingly worked through all aspects of our lives that would be affected by this major change, or so we thought. We did not take into account the bureaucratic behemoth that is the NHS. When we left Malvern, our last 'normal' home our GP practice manager told us we could no longer remain registered with them because we would no longer fall within their catchment. Now fully into our peripatetic lifestyle we are frequently encountering problems with gaining access to a doctor (and dentist, come to that).

Currently, we are registered with a practice at Great Haywood because they were happy to deal with boaters and accepted the post restante address in the village. Wintering here at Mercia Marina, Willington our initial contact with the local surgery has been rather disappointing. Having innocently let slip we plan to be here for four months I was told by the receptionist I had to register as a permanent patient not a temporary resident. Apparently the time limit for a temporary resident is three months. This rule can only be about the practice's funding from the Primary Care Trust. Clearly, as a temporary resident the practice would not get as much funding for our 'custom' as they would should we be registered full time.

OK, so apart from filling in all the forms, what would be wrong about registering as a full patient? Well, we know from experience (we are an ex-RAF family with plenty of moves under our belt) it takes months for our medical records to catch up with us so they would most likely arrive here just as we were about to move onto our next destination. And so on and so on. So what's to be done?

Sue requires repeat prescriptions for medication so she must have proper, regular access to a doctor. Neither of us is getting younger so our need to have access to a doctor is likely to increase as the years pass. However, if we have to register at each practice nearest to our location then there is every chance our medical records will never catch up with us, or even get lost at some point. It seems to us we shall have to register with a GP somewhere we have a connection. That means register with our daughter's GP as she very kindly agreed to our using her address as an accommodation address for important matters. That way we at least know we have a regular doctor. The downside? For anything important we would have to travel to Bristol from where ever we are located. Luckily, we could afford the cost that would incur but our question is, "Why should we?".

So, dear NHS our question is this, what is so difficult about delivering health care free at the point of delivery to we boaters? We have NHS numbers, we pay our taxes, we are British borne and bred. Why can we not just pitch up at a GP's surgery, present our credentials and receive treatment? If I can find someone in the NHS to address this question to I shall, otherwise I guess this is an entirely rhetorical question.

Ready for Winter

2011-11-03T21:34:00.000Z

We found ourselves moored in Willington well ahead of schedule for checking into our Winter mooring. Having hung around for a few days we had to decide whether to continue onto Shardlow and Sawley, simply to use up some days, or negotiate an early start to our time in the marina. The fact that we were both really tired after our hectic six months cruising (I shall post a review of our cruise soon) coupled with the increasing to do list of jobs on Adagio, we agreed to enter Mercia Marina early. The good folks at Mercia happily obliged and so here we are tied up for the Winter.

Mercia is a large marina boasting 585 berths. However, it is cleverly laid out as a series of small bays separated by islands and peninsulas which creates a water-borne village atmosphere in a collection of small communities. Unlike our previous marina, and others we have heard of, there are no irrational rules about storage on boat roofs or a ban on burning wood on the stove. The marina is also pretty relaxed about work carried out on boats in their berths. Consequently, moorers appear to respond to this mature approach in a responsible manner.

Wasting no time we have begun the refit work: I am building a work station/study and we have agreed a plan with Aqua Narrowboats to fit a pump out loo. Once that work is complete we shall complete a refit of the cabin. By the time our planned works are completed early in 2012 Adagio will be quite a different boat internally. (I intend to post details of the actual work and progress over the Winter months.)

There have been a few familiar faces here at Mercia and the majority of people we have met have been very friendly. Duffy has made herself at home and has acquired some new friends as well as renewing old acquaintances. We have been here for almost two weeks and have found the services and facilities are excellent and the staff very friendly - we anticipate a pleasant stay.

Burton on Trent via a slight showdown with a wannabe working boat

2011-10-18T20:21:00.000+01:00

While moored at Willington we conducted a test run of the train journey into Derby, the nearest big city. The journey time was around six minutes and there is only a short walk from Derby station to the big shopping mall. We left Duffy on Adagio to reintroduce her to spending time on her own again. The cooler weather encouraged us to buy some new warm clothes, which was the main reason for the trip. We ate lunch at the Book Cafe which did not disappoint and helped us recuperate for the second half of our retail session. But, we learned that our tolerance to noisy cities and busy shopping malls had lowered yet further since we adopted this quieter lifestyle of ours. Five hours later we returned to Adagio, dropped off the shopping, collected Duffy and immediately adjourned to the recently refurbished Dragon pub, canalside Willington, for a much needed refresher enjoyed in the late afternoon sunshine. Nonetheless, it was a good test of the journey in preparation for our winter stay near to Willington.

We left Willington the next morning after watching Wales lose to France in the Rugby World Cup semifinals despite putting in a magnificent performance. Even with Wales one man down through a debatable referee decision France had to fight hard to the bitter end to maintain their one point lead to win the game. On the up side today was a brilliant October Saturday with sunshine and blue sky; one of those special Autumn days that make you glad be alive and cruising the cut.

Our short journey did not take too long and for the most part was very chilled. Chilled that is until an unladen old working boat (well, an ex working boat now owned by an 'enthusiast', rather than a true working boat) appeared behind us apparently going like the clappers. He kept on gaining on us especially when we slowed down to pass moored craft as he seemed to maintain constant speed as he passed them. At some points he was only a few yards behind our stern and I have to admit succumbing to the pressure to open up and accelerate as much as I could. Eventually I found myself creating a breaking wash and Adagio's engine began to get hot. Not overheating by a long way but the temperature guage was creeping up as she was working hard in the available water. (Many folk do not realise a narrowboat will only go as fast as the depth of water will allow due to the drag forces. There is no keel so a narrowboat is somewhat of a blunt instrument in marine terms. So thrashing your engine when in shallow water does not add to your vessel's speed but the energy has to go somewhere. Therefore, things get warm!) Enough is enough I thought and eased right back on the throttle until we reached Dallow Lane lock. The working boat didn't take the hint and kept coming up close to our stern until he had to slow down to join the queue for the lock. He then stayed back while everyone else worked the lock, not assisting in any way. Judging by his appearance I would hazard a guess he and his lady crew member were 'shiny boaters' who were wannabe working boat people. I hasten to add we have never experienced this type of behaviour from real working boats and their crews.

We moored at Shobnall Fields visitor moorings in the brewing town of Burton on Trent which turned out to be a reasonably peaceful spot. Unfortunately in this part of England you are never very far from the major trunk route that is the A38, so there is a continuous background of traffic noise. The town is dominated by the massive Molson Coors brewery that produces popular beers (Coors, Caffrey's to name but two) on an industrial scale. Towards the other end of town stands the Marstons brewery, still large but brewing cask ales such as Pedigree. We ventured into the town centre a couple of times the one and a quarter mile walk taking us through some of the old narrow streets now taken up with rented homes in various states of repair. Suffice to say Burton is not exactly a prime destination but it possess all the facilities the casual visitor requires. Shobnall Fields, however, is a gem of a green space covered in football and rugby pitches, a fine looking running track and sports complex. Moreover, unlike some towns we have visited on our cruise the good people appear to respect this space with litter being minimal and graffiti absent from structures and sculptures. The only litter we did see was the detritus left behind by some of the football teams and their supporters after a game.

To the West of Shobnall Fields, a footbridge crosses the A38 and a footpath takes you into Oaks Woods where a beautiful woodland walk awaits exploration. We took Duffy up there for a long walk where she enjoyed hunting through the undergrowth and galloping around the oak and beech trees. It was such a comforting feeling strolling past those archetypal English deciduous trees on a crisp, Autumn day.

Today the time came to move on and we moved down to Shobnall Basin where there is a winding hole and Shobnall Boat Services. It was rather gusty so I had to be sharpish with letting go the ropes and getting on board before Adagio drifted all the way across the canal at the mercy of the wind. We turned at the basin and moored up at the yard to buy some propane. A note to our fellow boaters who might cruise this way. Shobnall is one of those rare yards that does not charge for the use of Elsan disposal, nor did they charge us for drinking water although I believe there is usually a nominal charge of 50p. After doing the loos and taking on water we meandered down to Bridge 25 where we had noticed a reasonable looking mooring space along the towpath when we passed on the way to Burton. A little bit noisy from that blasted A38 but it will do for a couple of nights.

And so we are all chilled out around the saloon: Sue knitting, me writing this and Duffy snoozing after some serious running and hunting along the towpath. The forecast is for ground and air frosts but the stove is lit and we shall be toasty.

A Personal View of Last BW AGM

2011-10-17T18:25:00.000+01:00

BW will become a charity early in 2012 so recently held their final AGM. One of our fellow continuous cruisers, Peter MacDonald, was able to attend and kept many of us updated throughout the meeting via Twitter. I invited Peter to write a guest post for this Blog giving us his personal thoughts on the proceedings. Our thanks to Peter for the following article:

British Waterways is scheduled to become a Charitable Trust in April 2012, and, as such, this year's AGM was the last for British Waterways in its current form.

Living on a boat that continuously cruises the waterways, I have my reservations about whether the move from a government-controlled body to a charity is the right one for an organisation that impacts on so many people's lives, and whose decisions will be so widely felt. Quite by accident I found out that I could attend the AGM, and applied for a invitation, which, a few days before the meeting, I received.

I was unsure what to expect at the AGM – but given the furore over bonus payments paid to executives who have healthy 6-figure incomes already, I did expect something akin to a meeting in a posh boardroom with everyone wearing expensive suits and gold cuff links. For the first time in many months, I put on a tie before leaving the boat on the morning of the meeting!

Outside the meeting, members of the UNITE union were handing out letters of protest over the decision to award bonuses of £15K to BW Directors while their members had had a pay freeze – or even a pay cut in real terms – in the same financial year.

The group that attended the meeting was more mixed than I expected. There were plenty of expensive suits – particularly at the head table, but also people in the audience of over 100 who 'looked like me' - ordinary folk passionate about their waterway. I found this reassuring.

The issue of bonuses – sorry - 'Performance Related Pay' - was raised a few times, but was, I felt, addressed in a way that did not really reflect the strength of feeling about the issue. The chair of the Remuneration Committee offered various technical and procedural explanations about why the bonuses had been made but it was clear that many in the meeting thought that it was inappropriate for there to have been bonuses made. The chair of the Remuneration Committee did note that paying bonuses when BW becomes a charity will be more difficult – perhaps an unspoken reason why bonuses were offered this year?

The bonus debate (or lack of it) and the, what I felt was underwhelming summary of the year and the future delivered by the Chair of the Board, were certainly the low points of the meeting – but there were some glimmers of hope.

BW's Technical Director explained 'Steady State' - the name of the process by which BW decides what infrastructure to repair and maintain – a sort of 'ranking system' of what work gets prioritised from BW's limited budget. Of all the BW staff who spoke, he seemed to be the most straightforward - despite speaking about quite a complicated subject. He was also quite blunt, saying what we all know – that there's not enough money to maintain the waterways. Unlike others at the top table, he didn't try to 'spin' a difficult situation, and called a spade a spade!

As part of the change from government body to charity, 'Transition Trustees' have been appointed – and Lynne Berry, one of the Trustees, spoke with conviction and passion about her vision for the waterways. While I remain unconvinced that our waterways- a public amenity – should be handed over to a charity, I did at least feel that if the other trustees shared Ms. Berry's commitment, there may be a slim chance of success.

The afternoon's sessions were devoted to speakers addressing such as volunteers and their role – (sorry – but it still sounded to me like 'free labour') - and fund raising for the new charity. This left me feeling a bit uneasy as it further confirms my belief that much of the drive to make BW a charity is really about money – the government not wanting to pay for the waterways, so hiving the cost off to the private/charitable sector. A focus of the fund raising strategy will be to encourage 'individual giving' - i.e. convincing people to give to the charity by standing order in much the same way people give to other charities. If people on the tow path are happy to do this, fine – but as I give quite a lot to BW every year through my licence fee, I wouldn't feel obligated to contribute further.

I'm glad I went to the AGM. I went into the meeting thinking “the waterways are going to go to hell in a hand basket”. I left thinking “the waterways MIGHT go to hell in a hand basket”. I spoke to Lynne Berry after the meeting, as I had raised a question about Freedom of Information during the Question and Answer session in the morning. The new charity is asking not to be subject to the Freedom of Information Act – one of the reasons given being that other charities are not (i.e. The National Trust, the Kennet and Avon Trust, etc.) and so they feel that it is unfair that some of their commercial or other information might be available. Ms Berry said, essentially, that she understood why people were concerned about the new trust not being subject to Freedom of Information Act requests – and she understood that some people were nervous about the future – but that she was certain that the move to charitable status presented great opportunities for the waterways. She also said that she knew that the new Trustees were having to ask people to 'trust them' - and that that trust had not yet been earned.

On leaving the meeting, my feeling was that Ms. Berry was right. The new charity, the Canal and River Trust, is asking for our trust. The past performance of British Waterways certainly doesn't inspire my confidence or trust – nor, after hearing from members of the Board of British Waterways, am I moved to trust them further. Some of the new Trustees? Maybe. In a nutshell – I left thinking “the move to a charity is going to happen, like it or not. Too much money has been invested in making it happen, and plans are too advanced. So, as a boater, the best I can do is to keep on top of the new Trustees to make sure they do what they've promised to do.” My hope now? That the new Trustees will have the courage and conviction to push aside the old 'Top Brass' at BW. If the new charity is really going to win over those of us disillusioned with BW, they will have to establish a new culture at the Canal and River Trust. If they call themselves a charity, but, in their decision making and engagement with their stakeholders, continue to behave as a Quango or, worse still, a corporation, this experiment will not work. A positive move to changing this culture would be to hire a new executive team. Tony Hales, current BW Chairman, has been appointed the chair of the Transition Trustees. I'll believe that real change is happening when he stands aside – or is pushed aside – for a new Chair, and when Robin Evans is no longer CEO. If 'we're a charity now' there is no point in having an Executive team or Board with no skills running Third Sector organisations.

By Peter MacDonald

(For the Inland Waterways Association report on the AGM and their meetings with MPs click here.)

Brief Update - where did the time go?

2011-10-15T17:03:00.000+01:00

Wow! I didn't realise it has been 10 days since our last post. Time is flying by as we descend into Winter. However, it is a pleasant sunny, though chilly, October evening here at Willington as I write this very brief update. We enjoyed a pleasant cruise down the T&M via Fradley and Alrewas. The Swan (affectionately known as the Mucky Duck), Fradley, was looking a little down at heel and the bar staff were not as welcoming as usual. We wondered whether there had been a change of landlord. The canalside buildings are undergoing refurbishment so we hope the Swan gets a revamp in the process; it deserves it.

Alrewas charmed us as ever - we love that little village. On this visit we managed to get a spot in the excellent visitor moorings just before the lock leading down onto the Trent. Very quiet and close to the waterpoint - billy bargain! The Crown Inn, which is a very old pub, had reopened so we tried their lunch menu. This proved a good decision so the George & Dragon has some real competition at last.

After a couple of days at Alrewas we wended our way to Willington via Horninglow Basin. I mention Horninglow because it is supposed to be a 70 foot winding place with services. However, the basin is used for private moorings that end just one narrowboat beam width from the services wharf. Consequently, there is not enough room to turn a 65 foot boat such as Adagio. Rather than mess around we continued on to Willington where there are services and good moorings. As we are in the area of our Winter moorings rather earlier than we planned we shall retrace our route a short way and visit Burton on Trent for a couple of days. Cruised through the brewing town before but never stopped off.

Duffy is just about back to normal after her operation although we have had a few days of tricky behaviour probably due to the trauma of the surgery unsettling her. She is getting better as the old routines become re-established but we need to keep up with her training. Another job on the to do list!

Lurcher Letter

2011-10-04T18:20:00.000+01:00

I had my operation 2 weeks ago but I am now fixed though I am not allowed to run much yet. I have been kept on my lead since and I got very, very, very bored! So I have tried all the usual stuff - running away with a slipper, digging in the cushions, licking, but my people have not given in. But I did get a bone when the butcher at some food thing sold my people the wrong cut. So that was good then!

Wild boar bone treat

I feel the cold a lot - well I am of noble descent so need my creature comforts. Well, my Lady has made me a sweater to keep me warm. It will also work as an undercoat for my shower proof jacket. It's a baggy sweater so very chic and fashionable.

Does my bum look big in this sweater?

The vet has removed my stitches so I can start running again soon.

PS I suspect my people have another dog they keep in their cabin. I saw it the other day when I went in to say good morning. This dog had the nerve to copy everything I did at exactly the same time as me. It has been hiding since but I keep looking and I shall find it! Oh, yes, I surely will!

Doggy Surgical Procedure and Food Festival - Yes, it's Stone!

2011-10-04T18:03:00.000+01:00

Just before we moor up for the winter we cruised to Stone so that Duffy could be spayed. As this is major surgery we wanted to stay in Stone for her convalescence period so ended up here for 14 days. Luckily there are some good 14 day moorings at Stone and, as we have reported several times through the pages of this Blog, the town is one of our favourite spots on the network. So, apart from Duffy's operation stopping here for 2 weeks was no hardship.

Post-op pup

Look at the stupid collar they made me wear!

Our stay coincided with some excellent weather and the Stone Food and Drink Festival. Duffy underwent the procedure on 22 September and was under the weather for a couple of days after but soon began her recovery to Duffy normality. We had to keep her quiet - fat chance of that - mainly due to her stitches and to give her insides the opportunity to heal. Being restrained on her lead and forbidden from running around, Duffy became very frustrated and rather naughty. So once she has the all clear from the vet we shall embark on some retraining and exercise.

Stone was buzzing throughout the week leading up to the festival over the weekend 30 September - 02 October. The towpath moorings were full most of the time and the town was full of visitors. Any boats passing through the town's locks had big audiences! All the pubs and restaurants were running special offers and the farmers' market was bigger than ever with all manner of fresh produce on offer.

The Canal Cruising Company - the original canal boat hire company - held an open day on Saturday so we went along to take a peek. It was a little bizarre that none of the staff seemed to realise there was an open day so we were left to show ourselves around. The wharf and yard date from the beginnings of the Trent & Mersey Canal meaning some of the buildings are some 200 years old. Sadly a large part of the original wharf is now a car park but enough of the original structure remains to give an impression of what it was like in the heyday of the canal.

Dry dock - roof supported by iron pillars

Only remaining wharf crane

Open air dry dock with brick dry dock in rear

We visited the festival on Sunday and have to say we thought the entrance fee was rather steep at £6 per adult. There were plenty of stalls offering food, fresh produce and local wines and beers - not much in the way of tastings, though. Local celebrity chefs demonstrated their culinary expertise although the one I sat in, Simon Smith (no, never heard of him, either!) was rather chaotic and the video production team let him down by poor camera work.

Sampling some black tea at the food festival

Sue stayed to watch a couple of other demonstrations. I did sample some Titanic Brewery beer which was very refreshing and strangely relaxing at the same time! Overall the festival was not a bad day out but we would probably not go again.

And so Duffy's stitches came out Monday morning and we departed Stone to begin our cruise to winter moorings at Mercia Marina, Willington. The sun came out to play again so we moored up between Bridges 85 and 84 outside Sandon. Relaxed and on the move again.

Marinas - the Marmite of the Canals

2011-10-01T17:29:00.000+01:00

In a popular advertising campaign the yeast extract spread 'Marmite' is described as something you either love or hate. Similar could be said of boaters' views of marinas. Hardcore liveaboards will often talk of marina-based boaters in derogatory terms implying that to be a true boater you must spend all of your time aboard out on the cut come rain or shine. They see marinas as businesses that exist to rip off boaters and where wimps keep their shiny boats for 50 weeks of the year. Moreover, marinas impose strict rules that intrude on one's freedom to chose how one lives so contradicting the ethos of the waterways liveaboard. Others may simply look at marina-based boaters with a hint of sadness in their eyes believing that those folks are missing out on the complete experience of living aboard a narrowboat. On the other hand probably just as many boaters prefer the added security a marina berth can bring and the convenience of facilities on hand. No walking miles along the towpath to collect water and empty the loo for them. To them, living out on the cut is for the fanatical liveaboard boater who is willing to sacrifice creature comforts for the sake of an arguably cheaper lifestyle.

We stand with a foot in each camp, paradoxically, neither loving nor hating marinas. Through necessity of jobs and owning a house we were marina-based boaters for several years. The marina gave us a relatively secure berth where our boat could lie for those weeks in between trips and visits. We gave up on trying to find any kind of online mooring as being in the 'too difficult pile'. However, when looking for a marina berth we were struck by the wide disparity between different establishments. Some would charge for 'extras' such as electrical hookup or use of Elsan disposal facilities, while others would not allow liveaboards. Many charged an all inclusive mooring fee, which is what attracted us to the marinas we used. We have noticed how marina 'mafias' can develop whereby a clique of long term moorers can become a de facto council of elders. In some cases this is not necessarily a bad thing as they can keep the management on their toes by 'looking after marina users' interests'. But sometimes it can spill over into a patriarchal (sometimes matriarchal) society where a few drive the rules for the many and some take it upon themselves to know everybody else's business. Marinas do sometimes impose daft rules such as no solid fuel storage on the roof of a boat, or no log burning on fires. Such rules are often driven by the afore mentioned 'mafias'. Toleration is the key to survival in these circumstances.

Once we had decided to cruise continuously it became clear that holding a marina berth for 12 months of the year when the boat would not be on it for up to 9 months just did not make economic sense. So our strategy now is to find winter moorings for at least November through to start of February each year. This gives us a 3 month window in which to complete any essential maintenance in the relatively easy environment of the marina. You do have to find a marina that does not ban boaters from working on their boats. Yes, that is another crazy rule some marinas impose on moorers. So we are happy to eschew a marina during the good cruising months but choose to find a safe haven to lie up for the depths of winter to use as a base to catch up on family friends. This approach paid dividends over last winter as we were frozen in solid in the marina and life was quite tough. Those folks who stayed out on the cut were hit much harder.

During this year's cruising we have seen many marinas and marina developments around the network and the variety in terms of size, location, fees and attitude to boaters is amazing. Our advice to any boater contemplating taking a berth in a marina is to do your research thoroughly including a visit in person. You will soon gain a sense of how the place is managed. Furthermore, as reported in October's Towpath Talk there are some 3000 vacant berths in marinas around the network. So there is scope for negotiating the fee for your berth. Meanwhile, we shall continue to enjoy the best of both worlds while we can, cruising throughout the year and find a berth in a marina somewhere on the network for the winter. And why not?

Liveaboards and Continuous Cruisers

2011-09-16T18:42:00.000+01:00

On telling people we meet along the cut that we are 'liveaboards' they are often intrigued by our choice of lifestyle and ask us how we came to do this and why. Sometimes, though, we get a distinct 'down the nose look' and a strong sense we are people to avoid. A clue to this negative response lies in a comment one lady made when Sue told her we lived aboard Adagio in which she said at least we did not have piles of junk on the boat's roof. If we also tell people we are continuous cruisers then we experience a similar polarisation of views. Some will express envy of our freedom to move almost anywhere in the country. Others will see us as 'bridge hoppers' who must be flouting the BW terms of continuous navigation because, as they know, no one really continuously cruises the network, do they? It is at the group of people who look down on liveaboards and continuous cruisers, that this brief post is aimed.

We did not take lightly our decision to liveaboard. Having enjoyed canal holidays when the children were young, and having owned a 57 foot cruiser stern narrowboat SusieQ for 5 years, we have been in love with the inland waterways for over 25 years. Our narrowboat holidays were naturally constrained by only having one week at a time so we crammed in as much as we could cruising the Shroppie, Llangollen and ranging as far as Manchester. On SusieQ we managed rather more because we could take two weeks at a time and get out at every other opportunity we could manage. Almost since our very first cruise we promised ourselves we would retire to live on the water when the time was right.

I must admit I was the one who dragged his feet on this decision the longest as Sue had been raring to go for some time. A chance discussion with a chap called Gerald, whom we met on one of our longer cruises on SusieQ, got me thinking seriously about making the jump. Then a combination of personal events nudged me into agreeing the time was right. Not least of these was my father's death after a sudden short illness before he got around to retiring, he was 79 and still working, and a particularly stressful time at work that made me realise there is more to life than being a company wage slave. I woke up and smelled the coffee as our American friends used to say. Having previously served 29 years in the RAF I had a small pension and by selling our house and almost everything we owned we managed to get into a position to retire early, buy Adagio and move aboard. So here we are continuous cruisers who liveaboard a rather nice narrowboat living as free a life as you can without breaking the law or flouting BW rules.

So what has moved me to write this piece? Let's return to the lady's comment I mentioned in my first paragraph. To me her comment summed up the prejudice against folks who liveaboard that exists among boaters of all persuasions. Yes, indeed there are folk who are liveaboards who allow their boats to deteriorate into floating slums and collect a vast array of junk on their roofs as they go. Adagio's roof has quite a bit of stuff on it including an anchor and cable, various ropes neatly coiled, a couple of top boxes with neat tarp covers, the usual boat safety gear, some flowers and, at this time of year a couple of bags of solid fuel and a some logs for the fire. So, yes we have stuff on the roof but we try to keep it as tidy as we can and everything we carry on Adagio is essential and has a stowage place somewhere. (We are still shedding stuff even now after more than a year of living aboard.) In our travels this year we have seen a vast variety of boats from the super luxurious to the downright scrapyard challenge. The one thing they have in common is they are all homes to someone. Some might be an eyesore but then we see plenty of houses in that category while we are cruising.

Let's now turn to the more serious issue of the continuous cruiser. There has been much debate and even legal proceedings to establish exactly what is continuous cruising within BW rules. To us it is quite simple. A continuous cruiser is someone who moves around the network never staying in one place longer than the BW mooring rules specify. Since 01 May this year we have been to Chester, Llangollen, Oxford and Bristol and all points between. We do not see the point in being a continuous cruiser unless that is what you do otherwise you might as well stick your boat on a mooring somewhere and not move. Now there's the rub where some continuous cruisers are concerned. Some people want their cake and eat it! They want the freedom continuous cruising implies but without the inconvenience of actually moving around the network. Unfortunately, it is this latter group of people who give the rest of us a bad name. In our view, if you do not actually want to continuously cruise the network then you should get an online mooring, or a marina mooring, and accept the fact you are really a houseboat person who needs a fixed location that consequently has a price attached. Even so that price will be considerably less than bricks and mortar. However, for some even that is not enough so they obtain a boat, declare themselves continuous cruisers but stay in one spot perhaps moving a short distance every now and then (bridge hopping) in an attempt to avoid the BW inspector and manipulate their rules. (Some might say, 'What inspector' but there lies another story.) What makes matters worse is that very often these 'bridge hoppers' take up short term mooring spaces, 24, 48 hour and 7 day moorings, denying space to legitimate cruisers. This is simply selfish behaviour completely out of tune with the ethos of living afloat and it is this which really annoys and saddens us.

So please, when we tell you we are liveaboard continuous cruisers please do not sneer or look down on us. We chose to liveaboard a narrowboat because we love the lifestyle and downsizing to the extent we did was a cathartic experience. We continuous cruise because we want to see as much of our beautiful country as we can before, well, before we are unable to do this any more. Finally, make no mistake, this is not a cheap nor is it an easy option. Running a boat can be expensive and living aboard can be tough - remember last winter!

The Kennet & Avon - A Personal Review

2011-09-11T18:40:00.000+01:00

So having completed the Kennet and Avon Navigation (K&A) in both directions what are our impressions?

Everyone warned us the Kennet and Avon would be very hard work. They were correct! The K&A passes through some pretty countryside and lovely towns and villages but often we could not admire the view due to overgrown banks and us having to concentrate on staying afloat. Most of the 107 locks were in poor condition often with inadequate locking waiting areas. Decent mooring places were few and far between with some official visitor moorings being nothing more than eroded bankside. We encountered low water levels and much silt deposits at many points along the navigation. In a couple of areas the channel was so overgrown by reeds on both sides there was barely enough width of water for a narrowboat to pass. The Dundas to Avoncliffe stretch was very low on water and lived up to its old boaters' name of 'the dry stretch'. On the other hand there were great places to visit along the way and there was the caen Hill Flight, of course.

So what did we consider to be the highlights of our K&A trip?

We met some lovely people along the way. There were the two couples from London who were cruising to Bristol who kindly let us breast up with them on several ocassions when mooring space was sparse. Angela, nb Lizzie Dripping, who we met at Thatcham and who became our travelling companion and lock buddy for a few days. Roger and Barbara, nb Megan, who we met at Hilperton while taking on diesel. They joined us for the majority of the return trip to the Thames. Steve and Diane, who were returning to their mooring at Newbury. Steve gave me a lot of background information about the K&A's recent history which put a lot of our experiences into perspective. Of course, I could not write about the K&A without mentioning Steamboat Tony with his Thrush steamer and rock'n'roll crew. Read about him here. Those boaters we met who were based on the K&A were very loyal to their home waterway. Steve, especially, exuded confidence about its future while acknowledging its current shortfalls and problems.

There are some great places to visit along the navigation. Our favourites included Devizes, Bradford on Avon, Bath, Hungerford, Woolhampton, Kintbury, Pewsey village, Newbury and, of course, the fab city of Bristol. Caen Hill Flight was not as horrendous as everyone had warned us and now represents another tick on our list of historic lock flights completed. There was some spectacularly pretty scenery along the route, without a doubt.

The lowlights for us were Pewsey Wharf, if ever there was a missed opportunity for a little gem on the K&A this was it. For such a great little village as Pewsey the wharf was a real disappointment. Hopefully, someone will take up the challenge of making it an attractive place to stop over. As the opening paragraph suggests silt, reeds, lack of water, dodgy locks, lack of decent or difficult moorings, eroded banks along the canal let alone river sections, all detracted from the enjoyment of this waterway.

So how would we sum up the K&A? Well, it was worth cruising as we had always listed the K&A as one of our 'musts'. Yes, it was very hard work and at times caused us to wonder what on earth we were thinking of taking up this itinerant lifestyle. We can only feel sad at the missed opportunity that is the K&A. The K&A Trust appears to have done a magnificent job in promoting and restoring this waterway but much of that effort seems to have been squandered by BW. K&A dwellers are very loyal to their cut and all seem to love it - well it does pass through some of England's prettiest countryside. But we detected some admission that this waterway was not at its best, maybe even deteriorating despite some significant investment, tempered with optimism that matters will improve over the next five years. Let us hope the move of BW into the charity sector will realise this ambition and not frustrate those fans of the K&A.

And Then There Were Five

2011-09-10T21:20:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in an earlier post John and Karen, our very close friends of some 35 years, joined us at Thrupp having recently returned from a year long round the world trip. They crewed with us for ten days during which time we did a lot of catching up and drank a little wine. Like us, they have loved the canals and narrowboats since we all used to take our kids on canal holidays together many years ago.

Taking on water at Thrupp

After a restful night at Thrupp we moved on to Aynho via The Heyfords. We enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Great Western Arms, Aynho. From canal side the pub does not look much but when we entered we were impressed by the welcome and surroundings. The food was extremely good, too. So if you find yourself at Aynho do pay a visit to the Great Western Arms.

After Aynho our next stop was Banbury - we rather like Banbury. There was a Town Cryer convention going on at the time and the Charter Market was also open, so there was lots to see in this lovely Oxfordshire town. We all enjoyed some retail therapy, even John, and I finally collected my new specs. I took John to Tooley's Boatyard where we had a good time reminiscing over some of the tools, which we recognised from both our fathers' tool boxes, as well as admiring the Bolinder they have on display. As per last visit I had to purchase a couple of items from the chandlery. For our evening meal John and I barbecued some local sausages.

Town Cryer in full, well, cry I suppose

The ladies wore period dress

BBQ in middle of Banbury

After Banbury we moved on to Cropredy where enjoyed a fab Sunday lunch at the Red Lion. The Summit then beckoned after we negotiated the restrictions at Claydon Locks. It was great having the extra hands to work locks and help handle Adagio. Once on the Summit John took Duffy for a walk cross country in search of blackberries. The Oxford Canal takes the 'long way' round on the Summit as it follows the contours. So in the time it took us to cruise from Bridge 133 to Bridge 125 John had completed his walk, tired out Duffy, made a fine collection of blackberries and was waiting patiently for us to arrive!

Duffy discovers the comfort of the duvet!

Duffy relaxes with her other man!

Now this relationship is getting a bit serious.

Humans make great beds, says Duffy.

Napton next after getting wet passing through Marston Doles and the Napton Flight. So it was lunch at the Folly Inn. Again we highly recommend this pub for its food, beer and welcome. The pub also has some slightly quirky decor involving hats. We would also recommend the village store in Napton as a useful place to take on provisions. From Napton we moved on to Braunston. John and Karen wanted to view a few boats at the brokerage just to see what was on offer. While at Braunston Marina we bumped into Angela - our new friend whom we met on the K&A. She had completed her trip down the Thames and up the GUC and was heading back down to the K&A. Her current boat was much better behaved than Lizzie had been!

A new playmate

Leaving Braunston we headed North up the Oxford to Rugby via Hillmorton Locks that were also subject to a restriction. John and Karen needed to catch a train from Rugby to South Wales but the vagaries of canal travel intervened forcing them to catch a later train than planned. And what were those vagaries? Apart from the restriction on the locks we did get stuck behind a very nervous hire boater who stopped or even reversed almost every time another boat approached him from ahead. He then became stuck on mud while moving too far to the offside when passing another boat. We stopped to try to pull him off but, as we were reversing we became in danger of going aground ourselves. When we did get him free he immediately drove his boat back onto the mud! Luckily another boat was passing in the opposite direction and took up the mantle of rescuer to pull him off the mud. All's well and all that.

And so we made Rugby and all too soon it was time to say a rushed farewell to John and Karen at Bridge 59 where they disembarked for the short walk to the train station. The plan is we shall see them again in November when they come to boat and dog sit for us while we visit our son and daughter at opposite ends of the country!

A Tale of Locked Locks and Little Water

2011-09-09T21:42:00.000+01:00

For those unaware there have been severe water shortages on parts of the network particularly the South Oxford Canal and the GUC around Leicester. The shortages were blamed on prolonged lack of rainfall resulting in extremely low reservoir levels with as few as four weeks' supply remaining. Consequently, BW implemented some restrictions in order to preserve their limited water supplies. The restrictions included limiting navigation through the Claydon and Marston Doles lock flights to between 1000 and 1400 daily and locking off the duplicate locks at Hillmorton. Both of these restrictions were on our route north.

We timed our journey from Cropredy to ensure we arrived at Claydon Bottom Lock in time for the daily opening at 1000 and found ourselves third in the queue. Once the lockie had opened up Bottom Lock our passage through the flight was quite quick and uneventful. Before we knew it we were on our way across the summit. This time around, however, there was much more water than when we passed this way heading South making navigating the summit a lot easier and quicker. We pressed on for Marston Doles Top Lock where we moored overnight to be ready for the 1000 opening the next morning finding ourselves second in line. The BW restriction at Marston Doles prohibited boats mooring in the pound between the two locks. A quick survey of the pound provided evidence of why this was so - there was but a shallow dribble of water at the bottom of a muddy ditch! Now that really was low water level. We settled down for the night wondering how the lockie would manage this situation in the morning.

Waiting at Claydon Bottom Lock

The answer to the water level conundrum came soon enough just before 1000 in the morning when the lockie pitched up. He unlocked the top gates, opened all the paddles allowing water to flow down from the top pound, then walked down to the bottom lock to unlock the gates and let the first boat up. We were surprised how quickly the empty pound filled again and once we were set to pass through the water levels were pretty good again. It seemed the BW restriction here had the desired effect with minimal impact on boaters. By the way, the lockie did not manage the passage of boats through the lock. He told us he was simply unlocking the gates, filling the pound and then we were all on our own. Oh, well, all seemed to work out in the end.

Marston Doles Top Lock....

....locked!

Marston Doles pound starts to fill

The next restriction to affect us was at Hillmorton locks where the duplicate chambers were locked restricting boats to single lock operations only. The water levels were fine when we passed through on our way South so we had no experience of the low levels recently experienced in this area. However, apart from a longer wait to pass through the locks our passage through the flight was easy with good levels of water.

It appeared the BW restrictions had the required effect in keeping water levels good enough for cruising albeit only at certain times of the day. There has been plenty of criticism from boaters about these restrictions but, as is always the case, nobody knows how serious the water shortage would have become if BW had taken no action. Let us hope everyone using and maintaining the waterways remembers this summer water shortage and its impact on navigation. BW should take appropriate actions sooner and all boaters should take seriously BW's advice on preserving water levels through sensible lock use.

And in the news - Sheep Rescue at Napton

2011-09-08T22:39:00.000+01:00

This latest story by your cruising reporter writing from Napton on the Hill.

0630, 07 September, and we were awoken by a commotion outside comprising lots of baaing sheep and lambs. There was a big splash then more sheep noise. We looked through our cabin portholes but could see nothing significant. Then Karen called out to us there was a sheep standing in the water at the offside bank of the canal. It appeared the stupid animal had fallen in and was now grazing on the overhanging vegetation. The creature did not seem in imminent danger but we could see it was tiring. Now, these days, sheep are quite valuable livestock so worth saving. Karen placed a call to the non-emergency police number where the operations staff called out the fire and rescue. Two fire engines (the fire service call them pumps) responded pretty quickly and we discussed with them the various options for rescue over a cup of tea. Their chief assessed a boat rescue crew was required to effect a safe recovery of the sheep. (Health & Safety legislation in the UK prevents fire fighters from wading into such a situation and dragging the animal to safety.) He placed the call for the boat crew who arrived at Napton locks from Rugby about 20 minutes later in another vehicle complete with boats and trained crew. Shortly after a small boat with 3 crew motored up the cut to our location and, after a short discussion on the best approach to effect a rescue, went into action. The sheep was quickly dragged into the boat then transported a few metres to a section of low bank where the animal was deposited to be reunited with the rest of the flock. It did try to return to the water but the firefighters encouraged it to climb up to rejoin the other animals. With the sheep taken to safety the fire crews returned to base.

Hapless creature needing rescue

Appliances assembled

Assessing the situation

Rescue boat launched..

...and powers down the cut

The crew survey the scene upon arrival

Cautious approach to the distressed animal

Sheep on board

Rescued sheep back on dry land

Rest of the crew observing from the towpath

Incident over and normality returns

Of course, the incident attracted much attention from other people moored near to us. One or two complained bitterly about what they saw to be a waste of tax payer's money. However, as I confirmed in discussion with one of the crew the incident would cover a lot of fire and rescue training requirements so was not considered a waste of time at all. Another boater told us she had pulled the distressed sheep from between the towpath and bow of our boat and could not believe we did not realise the animal was there. Why she did not feel moved to knock on our boat and seek assistance we do not understand. Also, we could not understand why she left the animal in distress without placing a call to the rescue people. Anyway, the hapless animal was rescued and taken to safety and we could all continue on our way.

Final thought on the incident. Some may feel that rescuing a sheep in this situation was a waste of resources. Remember though without this type of opportunity to exercise the command and control of various resources and effect the rescue of a live being from the canal, albeit a sheep on this occasion, the fire and rescue crews would not be able to hone their skills and procedures in readiness for the time when it could be you needing rescue!

Sojourn at Thrupp

2011-09-07T18:32:00.000+01:00

We took a well earned seven day R&R break at Thrupp taking time to catch up on a few boat chores; I even touched in some of the blacking! Poor Adagio is a little battle scarred after 4 months continuous cruising so the winter maintenance schedule is growing - it promises to be a busy 3 months. Having never stayed in one place longer than 3 days over the previous 4 months our sojourn at Thrupp was a real luxury. Add in a visit from our lovely granddaughter Ruthie accompanied by Alix and Ian and this was a wonderful week.

Ruthie giggling wearing Grandma's brooch

We all enjoyed Sunday lunch at The Boat Inn - a real treat especially as none of us had to prepare it! Ruthie was on top form, bright as a button she treated Grandma and Pops to some of her newly acquired vocabulary. Then our oldest and dearest friends John and Karen joined us from Gatwick having flown in from Gibraltar where they had visited their daughter and her partner. John and Karen had recently returned from a year's journey around the world so we had lots of catching up to do.

Duffy welcomes John and Karen to Adagio

They will be with us for a few days chilling as we continue making our way back to the Midlands. Some echoes of our narrowboat holidays all those years ago when our four children were very young but maybe minus the Blue Lagoons! (Well the four of us are older and wiser, after all!)

The Thames, the beautiful Thames

2011-08-25T22:54:00.000+01:00

Early morning start at the Cunning Man

Having made an early start we cruised the last few miles of the K&A and rejoined the Thames at Reading on Monday 22 Aug. Again we shared the leg with Barbara and Roger passing through Reading without incident.

Leaving Reading via Blake's Lock. Barbara at Megan's tiller

Goodbye K&A! Hello again Thames!

Back to encounters of the large boat kind.

We spent our first night back on the Thames at Wallingford. The moorings were quite full but we did manage to squeeze onto the end of those adjacent to the park. Many moorings on the Thames are really optimised for the plastic river cruisers, not narrowboats. Wallingford was no exception and Adagio stuck out from the end of the moorings slightly (not into the navigation, though). A plastic cruiser did squeeze into the odd space we left so a result for everyone. Sue nipped up into town to buy some supplies then we settled down to being rocked gently by the Thames. Gently, that was, until a thumping great plastic gin palace shot past creating a wash that lasted for a good many seconds bumping us around. That was something we became used to on the Thames - over powered boats moving at speed.

The more rural Thames

After a quiet night at Wallingford we set off early again heading for Abingdon and our second night on the Thames. In our last post from Abingdon we commented on what a smashing town it is and that the good burgers provide free moorings. Yes free moorings suitable for narrowboats! We found this to be a rare facility along this river so awarded Abingdon full marks. Our friend Jon Ody dropped by for a catch up. He had recently moved down from Oxford and set up his new base in Abingdon. Business seemed to be good but then, as one of the few genuine marine engineers on the water, it should be. See Ody Automation I gave Jon a guided tour of Adagio and I think he was particularly taken with her electrics and power management system - man after my own heart!

Wednesday 24 August was the last day of our Thames visitor's licence so we made another early start to strike out for Thrupp back on the Oxford Canal. We left Barbara and Roger at Abingdon where their friends had arrived on their narrowboat. As the weather had turned out to be fine Sue and I took Adagio along the Port Meadow stretch of the Thames which bypasses Oxford and its rather down at heel canal. What a revelation Port Meadow turned out to be. Absolutely beautiful. There was one notable hazard though and that was the treacherous shallows. There were no channel marker buoys so the only thing to be done was stick to the centre of the channel. This we did and avoided the fate of the recently 'stuck boat' that came a cropper on the shallows for some time before a rescue was effected.

One man and his boat, not to mention the dog. Wonder if he was called Montmorency?

Port Meadow

The dreaded shallows. The paddling cows were a clue!

We left the Thames via Dukes Cut having almost taken a wrong turn, whoops! Well, the cut is rather overgrown and the channel considerably narrower than the river. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

So back onto the Oxford Canal and on to Thrupp where we found a good spot in the visitor moorings. Here we plan to stay for a few days, meet with Alix, Ian and Ruth and then begin the next leg of our journey northwards. We shall visit the Thames again and spend more time exploring her many delights.

Almost at the end, or is it the beginning again?

2011-08-25T22:51:00.000+01:00

21 Aug Woolhampton to The Cunning Man

Again we shared this leg with Barbara and Roger on nb Megan. There is a swift current immediately below Woolhampton lock where the river flows into the Cut. Then there is a swing bridge just a few metres further downstream. The current doesn't look much but when your boat enters it you really notice the push. The technique here when travelling down through the lock is to empty the lock and hold the boats at the lock exit. Once the swing bridge is open you then make a dash for it around the bend and through the bridge. It is quite astonishing how fast the stream is as the bridge approaches you with alarming speed and how small the gap looks! However, from then on it was pleasant being carried downstream by the current.

Garston Lock

Sue and Roger - lock crew

Once we arrived safely at the Cunning Man pub all four of us agreed an afternoon drink in their garden was just reward for the day's endeavours. After a pleasant afternoon chatting with Barbara and Roger we all retired to prepare for the push through Reading and back onto the Thames.

A day in the life - Woolhampton 20 August

2011-08-25T19:40:00.000+01:00

So we stayed at Woolhampton for two nights. It was a good spot and we had time to walk into the village and explore.

Clock House - Why's it called that, then?

How Woolhampton commemorated the last Diamond Jubilee

Woolhampton has a mainline railway station but we noticed it is called Midgham which is another village nearby. A little research revealed the station was renamed Midgham to avoid confusion with Wolverhampton. Two so very different places you could not find but I suppose the poor sound quality of station announcements might have led to confusion. However, any hapless traveller arriving at Woolhampton rather than Wolverhampton might have considered it a lucky escape once they saw what a nice little place they had landed in. On the other hand, arriving in Wolverhampton by mistake might have prompted questions about who they had upset in a former life!

Lunch at the Rowbarge Inn, by the canal, got our vote so off we went. We got as far as Woolhampton lock to find two boats in the lock trying to fill it with one bottom paddle still fully open. We and another boater shouted to them to lower the bottom paddle only to find it had failed in the open position. Despite this knowledge the boat crews still attempted to fill the lock seemingly not realising it would never fill and they would drain the upper pound in the process. We finally got them to realise they were stuck in the lock. I called the BW Emergency line on their behalf. A maintenance chap had the paddle fixed within the hour so the boats could get on their way. An excellent response from the BW duty staff. By the way, lunch at the Rowbarge was very good albeit a bit expensive.

We meet many characters on our travels around the network but Steamboat Tony has to be one of the most notable so far. Tony owns the only wooden Thrush steamer narrowboat still working on the British waterways. He recovered her from a derelict wreck at Aynho, which took him two years to complete. The steam boiler burns wood so he has to feed her continuously the amount of wood he burns being phenomenal. He told me he cannot afford to miss any opportunity to collect firewood as he travels. Tony had a mottley crew when we saw him comprising friends he gathers along the way. He is an absolutely fascinating character and at 71 years old has led an exciting life. His full story can be seen in a documentary on YouTube here.

Steamboat Tony

Thrush Steamer

Another fascinating aspect of life on the water for us is to meet folk who make their living trading on the Cut. While at Woolhampton a working boat and butty passed through having been up to Newbury to deliver coal. It was pouring with rain when they came through but they remained fairly cheerful, for the most part. I have often daydreamed about running a working boat chugging around the network transporting some kind of cargo or people, even. But, all romantic notions aside, the working boatman's life is hard even in these modern times and seeing them at work negotiating locks and other obstacles brings me back to earth with a bump!

First get motor and butty into towpath.

Tie them together.

Move into lock.

Exit lock and before leaving couple up butty.

And on your way.

19 August Hungerford to Woolhampton

2011-08-20T19:08:00.000+01:00

Misty start at Hungerford

What a day it turned out to be today. We intended to cruise to Thatcham but as has been the case with this waterway since we started on it a month ago we could find nowhere to moor. So we had no choice but to keep going. Luckily for the first stage of today's journey we buddied up with Steve and Diane on nb Daisy Chain who were heading for their marina berth at Newbury. This fab couple had been around boats for a long time and proved great company.

Steve, who has been a convert to the K&A for a while now, helped me understand a bit of what has been happening with this navigation in recent years. Until March 2011 the K&A was classified as a 'Remainder' waterway which meant it was treated as being just above a derelict canal. The K&A Trust had worked hard to reclaim and improve the waterway and BW had claimed they maintained it as a cruiseway anyway. I am unsure about that last point because why would the K&A be so overgrown and heavily silted for so much of its length with many poorly maintained locks and facilities? Interestingly Steve told me the K&A had deteriorated markedly over the last couple of years negating the positive effects of the millions of pounds invested in it previously. However, he felt that in about 5 years time it should be up where it belongs as one of the network's premier waterways. We hope he is correct but the coming of the waterways charity next year, with all its attendant uncertainties, might have an unexpected impact on the K&A plans.

We parted company with Steve and Diane in Newbury and teamed with another couple who were taking their new boat up to Lancaster. Claiming to be boaters of some 30 years they did not instil much confidence in their abilities - rather hit and miss was their approach to boating. They didn't seem to know much about how the canal system works or about any of the major issues surrounding its management. The lady onboard even said she loved the overgrown stretches of the canal! Weird! We meet all sorts of people on our travels but the chap on this boat was the most camply dressed boater we have ever seen. An odd couple indeed.

When we reached Thatcham the visitor moorings were full so we continued on with our new travelling companions. As we approached the Woolhampton visitor moorings two familiar faces came into view - our new friends Roger and Barbara from nb Megan. I hailed them and asked if we could breast up with them once again as by this time we had been on the move for 10 hours without stopping and had just about had enough. Having tied up beside them and got everything secure the boat moored immediately in front of Megan moved on so we were able to shuffle up and settle down for the evening. Over a stiff V&T and cheeky beer we discussed our options and agreed we would not move on in the morning. We are getting too old for this heavy duty cruising although in some part long days are dictated by the shortage of reasonable moorings along the K&A. Hopefully this mooring issue will be addressed as part of the cruiseway status for this waterway.

Bath and Beyond - The return trip is underway!

2011-08-17T19:40:00.000+01:00

Way down in Deep Lock

Unusual mix of architecture in Bath

Ornate chimney from pumping station

Lock pound in Bath

Pultney Bridge

Advertising the American Museum, Bath

Boaters' refuse area in Bath. Wonder when they get around to clearing it

Sculpture in Bath

Sun dial monument K&A bicentenary

It would be fair to say we have not enjoyed the K&A (I shall post a full review of the K&A once we have completed the return trip) but there have been some highlights along the way Bath being one of them. We spent two quiet nights in the Bath centre visitor moorings and were able to take in some of the sights. We have visited Bath before but never by boat. It is a lovely city steeped in history so well worth a visit.

10 Aug Bath to Bradford on Avon

The water levels were very low all along the way. Silt at many points exacerbated the problem causing us to rub Adagio's bottom much of way from Dundas to Avoncliff. This stretch was known as the Dry Section in the canal's heyday because it was always losing water. Even though extensive repairs and modern linings were applied during restoration this section remains prone to lack of water.

There is a canoe hire company at Bradford. Consequently, the busy approaches to Bradford have canoists dashing all over place. One such canoe with a crew of mum and two children pulled into the bank, as is the norm, when we approached. However, suddenly with no warning at all they pulled out across our bow immediately in front of us. We managed to avoid hitting them as we were moving very slowly and Sue shouted to them to get back to the bank. Although we love seeing folks enjoying the water it is no wonder there are the occassional tragedies when inexperienced or ill-prepared people venture onto canals and rivers.

Finally, before we could enter Bradford proper a continuous moorer's boat had gone adrift and was stuck across the cut. We helped a couple of chaps pull her back into the towpath by nudging her back in with our bow. Good old Ernest Shackled-on keeps on earning his place as Adagio's working figure head.

12 Aug Bradford on Avon to Caen Hill

At Hilperton we met and teamed up with Barbara and Roger on nb Megan agreeing to go through locks together and to press on to the foot of the Caen Hill 16. Alas another long day lay ahead.

We were again plagued by very low water levels at the start of this leg. There were rumours of breach but apparently the back pumping station was broken. So yet again we suffered problems with bottoming all the way until we passed Semington.

Boatgirl and Wannabestarbuck (Twitter friends) cheerfully hailed us at Semington where they were repainting their boat in the dock there. We managed to exchange a bit of chat as we passed but could not stop as we needed to get through the next few miles before the water ran out completely. We made it to the pound at Lock 29 ready for an early start up the flight in the morning.

View from the foot of the Caen Hill 16

Padlocked lock paddle

13 Aug Caen Hill

We awoke to damp, cool weather - ideal for hard work ahead of us going up the flight. Having got rythm going between the four of us we got to Devizes wharf in about 3 hours. Pairing up with Roger and Barbara helped pass the time with chat as well as eased the work load. Moored in Devizes Wharf we agreed to take a day off on the Sunday although I needed to change the fuel filter. We like Devizes - it is another highlight of the K&A.

Caen Hill flight

Lockie on his quad bike

Passing in restricted space between locks

View from the flight

Hotel boat and its butty......

......passage through locks in traditional manner

Sharing with nb Megan helps passage

14 Aug Rest day at Devizes and my birthday. Hoorah!

We took a walk down the flight to give Duffy a good run as there are lots of grass areas. We saw a lady struggling to open the top gates of one of the locks. She was attempting to prepare the lock for her boat while they were emptying the lock above ready to exit. This was a sensible plan except for one thing. She was trying to open the gates before the water levels had equalised on either side of the gate. She insisted they were ready but as anyone with experience of lock operation knows you seldom need to apply a huge physical effort to open the gates if the lock truly is ready. Sue mentioned this fact and the lady replied that she had just done hundreds of locks so she knew when they were ready. It was then I noticed she had not opened the top paddles and, as her crew had just emptied the lock above, the water level above her lock was a good inch higher than inside the chamber. So it might have been about ready when she started but it certainly was not any more! Once she opened the paddles the gates swung open of their own accord within seconds. So she might have worked hundreds of locks but did she learn anything from that experience? Apparently not!

Duffy enjoys running at Caen Hill

15 Aug Devizes to Wootton Rivers

Well, what can I say about today's leg? Summed up - lots of mud and narrows! At one point the cut got so narrow and overgrown I thought I had taken a wrong turn and ended up in dead end! The scenery was like something from the set of The African Queen movie. I suffered a major sense of humour failure! The Adagio spec states her draught is 24" but other 24" boats' crews told us they didn't have problems. Wonder if Adagio draught is greater than 24"?

K&A volunteers trim back trees. Shame they don't clear some of the towpath :(

Arrived at Wootton Rivers, which is near Cuckoo's Knob :-) We just squeezed in by breasting with Barbara and Roger nb Megan. K&A lack of good mooring again!

16 Aug Wootton Rivers to Crofton

A 0740 start through Lock 57 buddied with nb Petroc making passage through the locks was quite easy. There was lots of water across the summit unlike when we passed the other way 3 weeks ago. In fact it was almost like a normal canal to navigate! When we arrived at Lock 57 on the way down from the summit we found a lock brimming over with water at all edges. The bottom paddles were lowered contrary to BW instructions to leave the lock empty and bottom paddles up. The closed bottom paddles had resulted in the water backing up in the pound above the lock to the point where it overwhelmed the lock on all sides. At first I thought some idiot had ignored the instructions but then Sue noticed the paddle hydraulics had failed allowing the paddles to drop back to the closed position. Was this flooding lock the reason why there was so much water on the summit? It took us ages to empty the lock to pass down because the water was so high over the top gates!

Look carefully and you will see the water level is 2" above the top of the gate! When we arrived at this lock the water was level with the chamber walls!

The rest of the trip down to Crofton went without incident and we were able to moor easily this time round. So only 3 hours today and no grounding Adagio. This is a record for the K&A!

17 Aug Crofton to Hungerford

A 6 hour day today. Having started out at 0800 today turned in to a realy fun outing! Not! All was fine until we reached Little Bedwyn where we were warned the pound below Lock 67 was very low. Very low turned out to be an understatement as we could only make progress very slowly and only in the very centre of the channel. The water level was so low that even at tick over Adagio was creating a breaking wash on both sides. We later learned the loss of water was blamed on a hire boater who had left all paddles up at the locks thus draining the pound between Locks 67 and 68. Eventually we made it through although the water level remaned low until just before we reached Hungerford where everything seemed to be back to normal.

Empty pound.....

.....causing serious problems......

.....to boats!

With all the BW warnings of a serious lack of water to maintain levels on the Oxford canal our plan is to get back up the Oxford and to the relative water rich Coventry canal.

K&A Picture Post Update #2

2011-08-14T18:01:00.000+01:00

Here are some pictures taken over the past few days.

View of Bath from the K&A

Inside Bath Deep Lock

Cleveland House original HQ of K&A Canal company

'Continuous moorers' on K&A near Claverley

Who lives on the boat? Bilbo Baggins?

Look, no water!

Paddle narrowboat

Yes, that is real turf on this boat's roof

Bristol (at last!)

2011-08-09T18:45:00.000+01:00

Clearance from the Netham lockie came at about 1400 on 04 August so we were clear to continue on towards Bristol.

Hanham Lock proved to be very difficult to operate despite the difference in water level being only about 6 inches. The gates were suffering from a lot of rot and were very difficult to move. However, with much heaving and shoving we got through onto the tidal Avon. The tidal stretch was uneventful although some parts were very shallow despite the spring tides.

Tidal Avon heading towards Bristol

Upon our arrival at Netham lock we immediately became caught in some silt just as one of the Bristol Harbour pleasure boats was coming through lock. We managed to get out of his way but he still shouted out to 'remind' us he had right of way. Good point, well made, but we were a little preoccupied trying to get unstuck.

The Netham lockie was friendly but he did have a moan about the contractors working on the lock and the length of time it was taking them to complete the work. After paying our fee for 3 nights visitor mooring we got underway down the feeder canal.

The Feeder Canal and entrance to Bristol Floating Harbour were quite easy although Princes St Bridge was pretty low! Adagio made it under the bridge with a few inches to spare which was good news. If we had not had enough air draught we would have had to request the Harbour Master to swing open the bridge. There was a stiff westerly breeze that caused us some problems especially when trying to tie up at Harbour Inlet. There was a short boat tied up in longest berth which we needed to tie up at to be safe and clear of the navigation. The crew was ill (goodness knows what they had eaten) but they eventually moved their boat onto a shorter pontoon. Finally, we tied up and could relax.

Adagio safely, finally, in Harbour Inlet

I enjoyed the route into the harbour passing all the big boats and yachts, the docks and their cranes, imagining what it must have been like to arrive at this important port in its heyday. Sue found it less enjoyable as she isn't keen on rivers at the best of times but a big, wide and deep harbour was well outside her comfort zone! But once we were tied up things didn't seem so bad. Although no longer a commercial harbour, that business is now handled closer to the sea at Avonmouth, it does get a bit hectic when the harbour ferries and trip boats are running as they dart all over the place at a great rate of knots! It was exciting seeing all the big boats some of which have been converted into huge dwellings. What a fabulous way to live!

German tourists approached us as we tied up to ask if we were the cross-harbour ferry! Then some Italian tourists stood at the open hatch gawping in and discussing the galley in Italian. We seemed to become part of the harbour tourist attraction. Although it was fairly quiet tucked away in the Harbour Inlet there was plenty of pedestrian traffic as the moorings are on the Harbour Walk, which goes around the entire harbour area.

The Matthew 'sails' by

The sun came out on Friday and Saturday which meant we had lots of tourist visitors - Adagio and Duffy will be in many people's holiday snaps. It was great fun being part of the Bristol Harbour scene with all the ferries and trip boats whizzing around and the occasional yacht cruising past. The Harbour really is an excellent leisure facility and well worth the visit even if you have to approach from the K&A! There is lots to do and see and there are plenty of visitor moorings many with electrical hookup and water. You can moor right in the centre of things or further down towards the Cumberland Basin end where there are more quiet spots near harbour side houses.

Floating Harbour life

Harbouside living

Steam powered crane

Hotwells Public Baths - Women got warm baths only while men also had choice of swimming!

We spent Saturday with Alix, Ian and Ruth who came to visit us, which was lovely. Ruth is such a bundle of joy and we got to push her in her pram. We enjoyed lunch in the Hole in the Wall pub and went on a gorilla hunt. Bristol Zoo is holding an awareness campaign about the plight of gorillas in the wild that involved many gorilla sculptures scattered around the city. Each sculpture was sponsored by a Bristol business. We spotted quite a few.

Gorilla sculpture

A short walk from our mooring was Brandon Hill Park, a lovely green space that is home to the Cabot Tower (sadly closed during our stay). The park was an ideal location to take Duffy for a good run with her new mini space hopper toy. She had a ball! Saturday night was quiet although we were awoken by some noisy lads banging on the boat at 0430 Sunday morning. Nothing more sinister than being woken at stupid'o'clock!

On Sunday morning, 07 August, the lockie declared the spring tides over so Netham Lock was open and clear for exit. We spent the morning dodging showers and eventually made Avon Valley Country Park moorings before really heavy rain set in. Now we have to make the return trip along the K&A. At least there should be few surprises!

Lurcher Letter

Was getting bored cooped up on boat. Rivers are boring coz we can't get off easily or whenever we want. Something to do with steep banks and private land. Then we got to Brizzle where we stayed in a big, big pond called 'harbour'. Brizzle is a big city with lots of new cool scents.

We found a park where I could run. Cool! I played with my new bouncy-in-a-random-kinda-way squeaky toy. It squeaks when I run with it which makes everyone laugh.

Later!

02 Aug Bradford to Bath (Hanham actually!)

2011-08-04T11:49:00.000+01:00

Our target today was Bath. There were some pretty stretches of navigation along the way but also lots of 'continuous moorers' cluttering up the bank. Again there was little mooring space available otherwise due to eroded, or high banks and shallow water. In some spots Adagio only just cleared the bottom in the centre of the channel. Not good for a designated cruiseway!

Avoncliff and Dundas Aqueducts were only notable for their chicane effect and Bath stone design. I believe Dundas had to be extensively relined to make it usable again showing up Rennies poor engineering design, in my opinion. They look nice but didn't quite do the job at the time. This seems to be a feature of this navigation in that Rennie's engineering approach led to shortages of water requiring pumping stations and other measures to render it usable. Perhaps I am being over critical of Rennie considering this navigation was built in the late 18th century, but he certainly is not up there with Brindley, Telford and Brunel.

Passing along the Claverton stretch we noticed a long online community with some very iffy looking boats. No wonder local residents of the village get upset at the view.

On to Bath and next lesson learned - take the first visitor mooring you find! We ignored those at the very top and tried for one nearer to town but these were full, including some inconsiderate nitwit moored in the water point. As were any other visitor moorings through Bath. On the other side of the city there was space but only if we wanted to share the night with a bunch of drunks. So we moved on again.

The locks through Bath were OK. Bath Deep Lock (actually 2 locks combined into one) at 19' 5" sounds forbidding but as its gates did not leak spectacularly like others on the K&A it turned out to be a bit of a pussy cat. However, filling it does lower the upper pound considerably. Luckily I noticed Adagio beginning to list to port as Sue filled the lock and I just managed to push her off the concrete ledge she was settling on to refloat her before the situation became embarrassing. It's a good job we shall be blacking the hull this winter as the base plate has received several hard scrapes on this journey so I would like to inspect her out of the water.

So we carried on looking for somewhere half decent to moor. Newbridge was awful. Again there was nowhere suitable along the river bank. Consequently, we opted to plod onto Keynsham a day earlier than planned. There are supposed 24hr visitor moorings at Avon Valley Country Park, let's moor there we thought. When we arrived we found them to be a short pontoon with two boats already moored and a large section of about 50' (representing a third of the space) reserved for a trip boat! Onward again!

Keynsham visitor moorings also were just a pontoon with enough length for 2 narrowboats and were full. We had no option but to continue to Hanham Lock where we would have to stop as navigation beyond there onto the tidal Avon is strictly controlled. At Keynsham Sue spotted an otter kit swimming below the lock. Some lads who were congregating at the lock were calling it a stoat, weasel and then a minx (yup, minx!). But Sue and the other boat's lock crew were sure it was a young otter.

Hanham visitor moorings are simply a pontoon where again a very large chunk is reserved for a trip boat that did not appear. The rest of the space was taken up by a nice couple visiting from the River Stort invited us to breast up. So after 11 hours cruising today we finally managed to tie up somewhere safe.

The stretch of Avon between Hanham and Netham is tidal so passage is contolled at each end. There are no safe moorings between the locks. At our time of arrival Netham lock was having new gates fitted and there were spring tides. So passage was restricted to certain times outside of which Hanham lock was padlocked closed. As the day had been a particularly horrendous one we decided to stay at Hanham 2 nights before making the final leg to Bristol Harbour. So we are now at the end of the K&A Navigation. Only a short stretch of Avon navigation to complete and we shall be in the heart of Bristol where we shall meet up with Alix, Ian and Ruth again. We shall post a continuous cruisers view of the K&A in due course with our lessons learned and some advice for others who wish to come this way.

Bradford on Avon

2011-08-04T11:46:00.000+01:00

Bradford on Avon is a nice town, almost a mini-Bath in atmosphere, but spoilt somewhat by a busy road with heavy,noisy traffic which passes through its centre. There are many interesting local shops for those wishing quality retail therapy. There are a couple of good canalside pubs that seem to be very popular. As the weather was good the town and its canal and river had many visitors so all of we boaters were part of the tourist attraction again. The K&A Trust has yet another tea room by Bradford lock where we enjoyed a scone and clotted cream. I don't wish to sound rude or disparaging but what does the K&A Trust do apart from run tea rooms and boat trips? Do they have a similar relationship with BW as does the SUCS?

There is an interesting, well kept wharf run by Oxfordshire Narrowboats with a useful chandlery and all the usual boater's facilities. The wharf adds to the charm of the Bradford lock area. There was a queue at the waterpoint when we left so I had to hold Adagio in the channel until the backlog cleared. A chap from Oxfordshire Narrowboats kindly offered me waiting space on their private moorings because the waterpoint was busy. Compare that approach with that of Foxhangers Narrowboats as I reported in a previous post. Oxfordshire Narrowboats clearly customer focused.

31 July Seend to Bradford on Avon

2011-08-02T20:49:00.000+01:00

Today we planned a short cruise to Hilperton in recognition of yesterday's hard work. However, the K&A reverted to type with rough, overgrown banks and lots of reeds. The only decent moorings at or near Hilperton were taken and BW visitor moorings we expected to find there were now designated no mooring due to the marina and boat yard. So we plodded on looking unsuccessfuly for a decent spot to tie up. Just as we were becoming disheartened the outskirts of Bradford on Avon came into view and a stroke of luck. As we arrived at the 48 hour moorings a boat was preparing to move off. Result! We pulled in, tied up, breathed a sigh of relief and went to the pub! So moored just above Bradford Lock, we planned to take a day off and catch up on a few jobs around the boat.

Next post will cover Bradford on Avon.

Devizes to Seend via Caen Hill Flight plus a breakdown!

2011-08-02T20:46:00.000+01:00

Devizes proved to be a good stopover. The wharf area where we moored is well kept and there is plenty of space to moor. The town centre is only 10 mins walk where all the usual shops plus local businesses can be found. Even though so close to town the visitor moorings were very quiet.

Although the wharf these days is a pleasant environment despite the adjacent Wadworth brewery dominating the scene, the main canal attraction hereabouts is the Devizes Flight comprising 29 broad locks: 6 in town, 16 on Caen Hill and 7 at Foxhangers. The entire flight raises, or lowers in our case, the canal through 237 feet in 2 miles. The Caen Hill section of 16 closely positioned locks, each with its own side reservoir to ensure the water supply, is the real challenge.

Having completed the Hatton and Tardebigge flights, as well as Audlem and Wolverhampton 21, on previous cruises Caen Hill did not hold any major concerns for us but it still proved very hard work. Although the locks are reputed to be the best maintained on the K&A they were not that good! However, we were able to team up with an experienced hire boat crew at the Black Horse who were heading back to Hilperton so, with a locking crew of 3 - Sue, Richard and granddad - we made as close as you can to light work of Caen Hill. We completed the whole Devizes Flight in about 5 hours just steadily plodding through. There were only 3 boats coming up the flight so not much opportunity to practice the Caen Hill Shuffle where, when 2 boats are going up and pass 2 boats going down, a gentle quadrille takes place as you exchange lock positions in the restricted space between.

The locks were not too bad in operation although some were very leaky. BW has explained how they are employing the old canal technique of ashing the locks, where ash from steam engines is poured into the locks to seal up any gaps in the gates. This did not seem to be working too effectively although we have not seen the locks before the ashing took place. The unwary can still be caught out by the ferocity of these locks as Sue witnessed in one pound. An impatient boater exited a lock on his way up the flight before the lock above was emptied. His boat became caught in the strong flow of water leaving the upper lock which span his boat almost through 180 degrees. Understandably, he was rather shaken by the experience.

At the bottom of the flight I noticed we had a starter battery charging problem developing. The battery meter was showing a high charge and I could smell the battery getting hot. We needed to stop somewhere to so I could check what was happening. We made it down to Foxhangers where we expected to find some BW facilities so we could empty the loo and take on water. We started to pull up to the wharf when a chap from Foxhanger Narrowboats, a small hire fleet operating from the wahrf, started shouting at us that it was private moorings and we could not stop there. I asked him where the BW toilet disposal was because that was all we needed to do. He kept banging on about it being private and eventually told me there were no BW facilities. So, BW's own guide to the K&A was wrong if Mr Foxhangers was to be believed.

Note to Foxhanger Narrowboats:

Dear Mr Foxhanger Narrowboats,

Here is a top tip regarding business relations with customers. When a visiting boat pulls up at your wharf it would be a good idea to greet them warmly and ask if there is anything you could do for them. If they then ask after BW facilities a firm, but polite response, would be, "I'm sorry the facilities are no longer BW but private to our hire fleet. However, if you are desperate you can use them for a charge. (See, spot the selling opportunity?) I'm afraid you cannot moor here though as we need the space for our fleet. The next BW facilities are at The Barge Inn, Seend."

Do you see how that works? Break the bad news gently then offer the visitor a possible solution. Visitor leaves with a pleasant experience of Foxhangers Narrowboats, even having purchased use of facilities, may be.

Yours sincerely
nbAdagio Crew

So we plodded on to Sells Green where we had to stop before the battery problem got any worse. I checked the meters and they showed the starter battery was being charged at 15.8 volts which was far too high, the maximum should be 14.2 volts. Clearly there was an alternator regulation problem. I placed a call with RCR. I could smell the unmistakable aroma of cooking battery so quickly removed the washing machine to gain access to the battery compartment. Yes, I said remove the washing machine because that is where Aqualine positioned the starter battery - under the washing machine! Sure enough there were signs of the seals having ruptured but luckily not much acid had leaked out as far as I could see.

Bob, the local boat mechanic pitched up within the hour and after a short inspection confirmed my suspicions - the alternator was shot and so was the battery. He dashed off to Alvechurch Boats at Hilperton and managed to get a replacement alternator and battery. Within 3 hours after getting into some real contortions in the engine bay he had us underway again. (I shall take the old alternator to be refurbished once I find somewhere suitable.)

We continued on to Seend Cleeve where we were able to moor opposite the Barge Inn. However, we did have to negotiate with a couple of boats to move a few feet so we could fit in. One boat refused point blank to move but had a change of heart when the nice couple from Bristol at the end of the moorings agreed to move. And so we finally stopped at about 1830 after setting out at 0830 from Devizes. A long hard day with 32 broad locks; we were all very tired especially Sue who had worked the locks. We adopted the 'Never mind the expense, feed the cat another goldfish' attitude and ate at the pub. Then collapsed in an exhausted heap back on Adagio.

Caen Hill - done!

28 July Pewsey to Devizes

2011-07-29T22:02:00.000+01:00

Despite the lack of locks and only 2 swing bridges on this leg the K&A has yet to redeem itself in our eyes. Our hearts were lifted briefly by our first sighting of a Kingfisher this year anywhere on the network. Some of the countryside views were splendid. But the unremitting silting and invasion of reeds into the channel still made this an arduous trip.

Most bridge holes seemed to be silted; in one we picked up a clump of reeds around the prop. There were several stretches where reeds were taking over all but 7 feet of the channel - so just room for a single narrowboat to pass.

Channel overgrown with reeds. Just wide enough for a narrowboat but very shallow

Overgrown banks and towpath and heavily silted channel

Overgrown and eroded banks - no mooring here!

I have to admit to pressing Adagio's engine hard to try to make some progress against the suction of the silt but only managed to get her overheated. There is nothing for it but to go very slowly along here as it is shallow and silted. It was my fault but in mitigation I would say it was turning into a long day which we all wanted to end!

Leaky locks...

...lead to hard graft!

Buddying up with Angela and nb Lizzie Dripping...

...helped ease our progress

Some of the scenery along the way helped....

....like classic English countryside

Plus 'characters' on a steam boat. These were two 'old rockers' chugging along.

We stopped at Honey Street Wharf Services (formerly Gibson Boat Services) to refuel. They are very friendly people and had a chat with us. The diesel was a bit expensive compared to what we are used to further north but we put that down to the area we are cruising. Importantly, they allow you to make a self-declaration.

The swing bridges are 'locked' closed by a chain and bolt system. The bolt is designed to be tightened/loosened with a BW windlass. At one bridge someone had jammed the bolt so I went to Sue's assistance. The bolt was very stiff so I gave it a manly pull with the windlass at which the bolt suddenly freed. I felt backwards and the windlass, which would be Sue's favourite special one wouldn't it, flew out of my hand in a graceful arc and disappeared into the murky depths of the K&A. After a few expletives and curses to the name of Rennie, the engineer responsible for the K&A, I broke out the Sea Searcher magnet and after a few minutes fishing located and retrieved the precious windlass before it sank iretrievably into the mud. (The Sea Searcher is a must have piece of kit. I had been talking about buying for ages and Sue persuaded me to buy ours at Braunston. Just as well or I would have been in deep, deep trouble today!)

Man and his dog at end of the day

So here we are at Devizes just across from the wharf. It has been a hot, sunny day and all 3 of us are tired out. We plan a rest day to build up our reserves to tackle the Devizes Flight. We still hope the K&A will redeem itself in our eyes. As regular readers will know I am not a fan of the BCN but the K&A is fast vying for the position of worst waterway experience in my book, which says a lot about the experience so far. Let's hope things get better as we approach the Bristol end of the journey.

K&A Picture Post Update

2011-07-29T17:57:00.000+01:00

Bruce Tunnel on the summit. Land owners' largesse had to be recognised.

No towpath in the tunnel so chains thoughtfully provided for boatmen to haul boats through

Hungerford town visitor moorings.....

....rather shabby and overgrown. (There were good ones further out of town.)

Statue of King Alfred in Pewsey erected in approval of King George V

A Pewsey cottage

We found this old business sign

Ladies Bridge, Wilcot. Built to appease Lady Susannah Wroughton whose land the canal crossed

Horse drawn trip boat at Kintbury

The K&A - To the Summit

2011-07-27T21:50:00.000+01:00

No photos this post due to poor mobile Internet and laptop problems. Normal service will be resumed as soon as a technical fix is identified.

23 July Thatcham/Newbury

Our overnight stay at Thatcham was surprisingly quiet even though we were moored near to the station. The vistor moorings were very good. We ate at the Swan, a modern pub on a modern estate, but convenient to the canal and popular with locals. Unfortunately, the food and service were poor so we cannot recommend it.

We met Angela, nbLizzie Dripping, who was single handed and knows K&A and we agreed to team up for the remainder of the journey to Devizes where she is based. Teaming made the locks a bit easier but they were still bad!

On the approach to Newbury an idiot cut in front of us coming out of Reading Marine Newbury marina - he ignored my horn signal (mainline has right of way). He ended up at the next lock with Angela ahead of us. She had words with them and they 'offered' to let us go before them, which we accepted. He turned out to be a right numpty wanging up gate paddles until Sue told him to lower them again. Angela told me she was glad we were going through with her - the other bloke seemed oblivious to the dangers of these big locks. In our opinion the K&A, especially locks, is not a beginners canal/navigation. Boaters need to be patient and take time at locks and swing bridges. We were surprised at the number of complete novices about and it probably will get worse as summer holidays get going. Oh, well.

Newbury looked good on arrival and the canal appeared to be integral to town centre in a similar way to the Oxford at Banbury. This leg took about 4 hours which was much better than yesterday but still tiring! We ate lunch at the K&A Trust teashop which was very nice and good value. We moored near swing bridge 62 which seemed to be a good spot then some young drunks, man and two women, turned up. The bloke was quite stroppy he shouted to me to give Duffy a slap because she was being her usual playful self. We agreed to move on. Angela already had done so because she knew a quiet spot to moor out of town. After having done a little shopping in town we moved on and joined her. Some drunks had been rocking her boat and she told us a tale of drunks getting their Staffordshire Bull Terriers to fight in the park area. We have now recategorised Newbury as a place not to stay. Newbury is useful for shopping though.

Duffy cut both her stop pads running on towpath where we had moored. The wounds were not bad but sore and should heal quickly. We bathed them with salt water to help the healing process.

24 July Newbury to Kintbury

This was a nice day with lovely weather and more boats on the move meaning little less work at locks. We were still teamed with Angela who was proving an excellent cruising companion. She was, however, experiencing a few problems with her engine.

We decided to stop at Kintbury a very nice village. The visitor mooring was quiet despite the train station close by. This was a useful stop as we could moor near the water and other services. I visited the Blue Ball pub (the Dundas Arms, right next to the canal, being closed even on a sunny Sunday afternoon) with Duffy for a quiet pint in their garden.

Although this had been a shorter day we were all still all tired but content at making good progress without breaking our backs.

25 July Kintbury to Hungerford

Excellent weather again today and a short leg today with only 3 locks. We found good visitor moorings above Hungerford Lock. Hungerford is a nice little town with everything the visitor needs but we did find some shop keepers a bit sniffy! Perhaps they thought we were canal trash? Anyway, the cash we spent there went into their local economy so they had nothing to complain about.

We witnessed a slight altercation between an angler, who had set up in the visitor mooring area, and a boater who wanted to moor up. The angler called someone to complain, we assumed it was the licencing authority. Although we were unsure of the outcome we had to wonder about the policy in that situation. The angler pays a licence fee but should he set up in visitor moorings? Do boaters have right of way in such cases?

26 July Hungerford to Crofton

Yet another good weather day. We paused at Great Bedwyn on the way through to pick up some supplies. The moorings were not very good, we had to breast up with nbLizzy Dripping to fit in. So we all agreed to move on to Crofton to moor up for the night.

At one lock we had a slight altercation with a 12 ft widebeam boat at a lock. He was moored immediately at end of the lock waiting mooring with his stern sticking out into channel. We rubbed him as we entered lock waiting area and he went nuts making sarcastic comments about needing another 6 inches of canal. The moral here is don't moor in a place where other boats have to manoeuvre if you don't want to come into contact!

So far the K&A has been characterised by very slow and extremely leaky locks. Some of the gates barely retain the water. On top of that many locks have to be left empty and open as part of BW's water management scheme. This would make sense in the winter months when trying to avoid river flooding but during the summer, when water is in short supply anyway, it seems crazy. Can BW explain why we have to do this?

Angela decided she would wait at Crofton for the mechanic to arrive to look at her engine problem. I took a look at it but felt someone with a good knowledge of her particular engine should judge what was the best way to cure the problem. Hopefully, her mechanic will have the answer.

I found a good place to let Duffy off her lead and run free. She loved it! It truly is a wonderful sight to see her racing the breeze. She is an excellent little mover when in full flight and clearly enjoys the experience of running free. The bonus is it tires her nicely so all she wants to do afterwards is curl up in a cuddle and doze.

27 July Crofton to Pewsey

Angela made contact with her engine man who promised to attend at Crofton. So we parted company there while she waited for him to arrive. One of her cats had gone AWOL anyway so she had to wait for him to return.

We went through the first Crofton lock alone then joined up with Tony and Chris, nb Wild Jasmine, for the remaining locks to Wootton Rivers where they planned to stop. We decided to push on to Pewsey Wharf for our overnight stop. So we parted company with Tony and Chris for now.

The K&A summit was very low on water. I mean very low! This was no surprise as water conservation measures require many locks to be emptied on the way up, as mentioned above. This must draw vast quantities of water from the summit. It will be interesting to see if this scheme is repeated on the way down to the Avon end of the K&A.

We made it to Pewsey in good time. This is a fab village of Saxon origins with everything you would need: Supermarket, bank, local shops. But the wharf was a disappointment. The long term moorings were quite awful, not the worst we have witnessed but not a good sight. Why do so many long term permit holders allow their environment to deteriorate so? It's no wonder liveaboards get such a poor reputation. The visitor moorings were also appalling, even though there were mooring rings, because they were against the eroded bank side and very shallow at about 18 inches. Some boats had managed to tie up close to the bank, we were one of those that could not. We ended up mooring Adagio about a metre away from bank so we could stay afloat. We felt this was a great shame as Pewsey is such a great village and deserves better from its canal.

Tomorrow we plan to move on to Devizes where we shall take some R&R to prepare for the Devizes Flight.

K&A conclusion thus far? We really do not get what all the hyperbole is about. So far this waterway has been a chore, lightened only by the company we have kept along the way. The scenery has not been striking; we have seen better on the Llangollen and even the T&M! So far the K&A is down there with the BCN, as far as we are concerned. Our hope is things will improve as we approach the Avon end of the waterway.

K&A - First Impressions

2011-07-22T22:11:00.000+01:00

Well, what can we say about the Kennet & Avon Canal (K&A)? We overnighted at The Cunning Man moorings which were far enough away from Reading to give the illusion of being in the countryside. This morning we arose early, poor Duffy was bemused again at yet another different wake up time, and got underway about 0800. We planned to get to Woolhampton at least but if conditions were good to us then Thatcham was the destination.

Untethered BW workboat

Another alien species - Himalayan Balsam

The K&A is a mixture of river and canal so presents surprises all along the way. The locks are something else! The K&A is a broad canal so all the locks are broad. Some are quite deep, 9 feet plus, some are long, but all are different and difficult. Some have top gate paddles that when opened the water gushes into the lock like a geyser rising several feet in the air. Some have top ground paddles where the water suddenly erupts from below the boat's bow. Some have well balanced gates, most do not! All of them leak dreadfully! Then there are the swing bridges! Many are electro-hydraulically operated, others are hand operated. The former are a doddle except when they break, the latter can be stiff and heavy to operate.

Garston Lock - turf sided lock although it's more marsh sided these days!

Sheffield Lock - barrel sides

So far cruising the K&A, an ambition of ours for many years, has proved to be a challenge. Our planned six and a half hour leg took eight and a half plus a half hour delay at a broken swing bridge. The K&A definitely has its charms but the locks are not one of them. For continuous cruisers like us the K&A is a rite of passage, a challenge to rise to. So there's no turning back - we are on our way to Bristol!

The locks are big!

A genteel K&A lock fills with water

You need a sense of balance....

....nerves of steel....


...stamina and patience.

Lurcher Letter

Good start to day got to chase thumpers around a big field. Cool!

Later almost fell into big lock but my man caught me. Got mud and green slime in my fur. Ugh! My lady cleaned me up.

Long day. Tired. Crashed out. Zzzzzzz!

The Thames to Reading

2011-07-21T21:36:00.000+01:00

In parts wide, in others narrower like a small river, but always quite deep, with low banks so you can see all that's going on around you, this part of the Thames does not fail to impress. The only small criticism we would raise regards the limited opportunities to moor as there is so much private river bank, or stretches where Adagio cannot moor due to shallow banks. However, Abingdon proved to be a lovely surprise with free 5 day moorings next to a large green space and within 5 minutes walk of the town centre. We enjoyed a wonderful relaxing stay there and Duffy got some much needed exercise.

Abingdon in Pictures

The original junction between the Thames and the Wilts & Berks Canal

Site of the new junction between the Thames and the yet to be restored Wilts & Berks Canal

Another interesting and pleasant surprise was that the river locks are staffed all the way along here. The lockies were all friendly and helpful especially to Thames newbies like us. The locks were all electrically/hydraulically powered and worked very smoothly. It will be interesting to see how these will be managed if the Thames comes under the control of the new waterways charity due to replace BW next year.

On we cruised looking for a good spot to moor for the night. We did try to get into Goring as it looked very nice. Unfortunately, there was no space left on the designated moorings so we had to push on to Beale Park where our guide book and maps showed designated moorings. Well, of course, this is a river so what we are used to as designated moorings on canals look considerably different. There were a couple of signs in the bank indicating where the moorings were, which was useful otherwise all we would have seen would have been a muddy bank. We chose a spot carefully, mindful that the water can become very shallow at the bank and we did not want to go aground. It turned out to be an excellent mooring, very peaceful and dark over night. Early in the evening and again early in the morning we were treated to Pangbourne College rowers in training whizzing up and down the river by us. Rowers were a 'hazard' we quickly became used to as there are many rowing clubs along the river. Thankfully, none of the sailing clubs were operating otherwise things could have become quite hectic!

Duffy enjoys some freedom at Beale Park

Lovely steam boat 'Sabrina' was moored just down river from Adagio

Grebe chicks cadge a ride from mum

Suitably relaxed we set off towards Reading and the start of the Kennet & Avon Canal. We passed some incredible looking properties along the way. The following photos give some idea of what we saw:

Highly des res by Thames

This boathouse probably costs more than our last house!


The must have feature along the Thames is a boathouse...

...unless you prefer to travel by helicopter!

Evidence of how important the Thames was as defences during WWII. Bigger than the usual pill box emplacement.

But can be put to good use as secure storage if you have one in the garden. (Note steel shutters over gun port)

Even more highly des res. There is a grand staircase from the boathouse up into the courtyard!

How about a thatched boathouse?

A turret with a bell (and satellite TV dish discretely hidden)

A pleasant surprise at Whitchurch Lock. We met our friends Rob and Sue with their lurcher Murphy, on nbPatience, coming up through the lock. They left Great Haywood Marina a month before us and are on their return journey northwards. Just time at the lock for a quick catch up and exchange tips in the great tradition of the Cut!

We witnessed a quite spectacular sight approaching us at Poplar Island on our approach to Caversham. This was the colourful procession of boats carrying the Swan Uppers going about their ancient duties. The Swan Uppers represent the Monarch and the Vintners and Dyers Livery Companies. Although the original aim was to lay claim to swans for the Crown and the two livery companies, this activity now helps assess the condition of the swan population and acts as a census. The ceremony is another example of our grand national heritage surviving into modern times and serving a useful purpose.

The Monarch's swan uppers

The Uppers are towed by motor boats these days....

...whereas they used to row themselves all the way.

And so we reached Reading. The Thames approach to Reading was bounded by attractive houses and green space. We plan to overnight along there on our return journey. But what a contrast when we left the Thames at the junction with the Kennet. Although still a river the Kennet immediately took on the appearance of an industrial town's canal such as we have been used to in some parts of the Midlands. It was awful! For a brief period it emerges into the centre of the town's shopping district and we became part of the water borne backdrop to the people's retail therapy. Then we were plunged back into a dire weed infested waterway much in need of some TLC. Finally, we escaped the outskirts of Reading town and started to relax into the Kennet proper. One thing we will say is, the locks are big and take ages to fill so we shall need to take that into account when timing each leg from now on.

Lurcher Letter

At last, got off boat for running on grass at somewhere called Abingdon. There were thumpers, too, but they hid in holes in ground. Right bunch of sissies not wanting to play chase!

Hey, what's going on? Got off boat again for running on grass somehwere called Beale. Cool! My people have a new toy that throws a ball. Fab! Ran and ran and ran and ran and ..... lay down and went to sleep.

Thrupp to The Thames via Oxford

2011-07-19T22:01:00.000+01:00

Personal water transport seen at Thrupp

We woke to a dull morning on Monday. Our planned destination was Oxford which was only a couple of hours cruising time away. We opted to take the Oxford Canal route through the city to emerge onto the Thames through Osney Lock. The journey was uneventful but as we approached Oxford proper the pretty canal we had become used to started to deteriorate dramatically both regarding silting and the general appearance. The most depressing scenery was along the UN Agenda 21 stretch. Now, I do not know enough about the local politics but I understand UN Agenda 21 is associated with sustainable development. If this stretch is an example of what Agenda 21 means in the UK, and Oxford in particular, then it is a sad day for the environment, or someone is having a laugh. Rotting boats on moorings and rubbish on the towpath made this stretch a complete eyesore.

48 hour moorings near Oxford, BW style...

More unuseable 48 hour moorings near Oxford, grr!

BW workboat moored in useable 48 hour moorings, double grrr!!

Sue and I debated where we would moor for the night but everywhere we saw on the approach into Oxford only disuaded us from doing so. Then the heavens opened and we got drenched so the decision was made for us. We ended up mooring in Jericho opposite the old derelict boatyard. Now, on the face of it Jericho is not the most solubrious area of the city of Oxford. Where we moored was bordered by the derelict boatyard on one side, a small side stream occupied by derelict boats then a row of houses and then Oxford train station. However, we enjoyed a really peaceful night even though we were really close to the city centre. That said I don't think we would stay longer than one night.

Workboat Pug (Jon's floating workplace)

Tuesday morning we slipped away and through Isis Lock into Sheepwash Channel heading for the Thames (also known as the Isis in these parts). Turning left at the end of the channel we entered the Thames proper and a short while after arrived at Osney Lock. Here we met a very nice lockie who showed us the ropes as far as Thames locks are concerned and then took our visitor's licence fee. £72 lighter in the wallet for the privilege of spending 3 days cruising the Thames to Reading, we were soon on our way again. (For non-boating readers or boaters who, like us, have not cruised the Thames before, the river is managed by the Environment Agency (EA) and passage is not covered by our normal BW licence. So we have to pay to take Adagio onto EA waters. We purchased 3 days only because we planned to push ahead to Reading to make the Kennet & Avon. On the return passage we shall dally longer on the Thames.

Neat terraced houses by the Thames, Oxford

Many college...

...rowing clubs....

...along the Thames

We have cruised several non-tidal rivers in both of our boats, Adagio and the SusieQ before her, including the Severn, Trent, Avon and Soar. It is fair to say we are falling in love with the Thames. A lovely deep and wide channel, similar to the Trent, and pretty views, similar to the Avon. Adagio loves the Thames too. We were able to open her up and give the engine a good work out. The maximum permitted speed on the Thames is 6mph - heady stuff for a narrowboat!

Scenes from the Thames - Oxford to Abingdon

Boat house - great scene for an Agatha Christie novel

Floating hotel

Sue spotted this in a field - can you see what it is? (Answer below)

In no time at all we found ourselves at Abingdon. A couple of other narrowboats, including Final Flight who we have leap frogged several times on this cruise, moved up a tad so we could fit in to the visitor moorings. The sun shone; we lunched at the Broad Face pub; shopped at Waitrose; ah, back in civilisation! We moored by a huge expanse of grassland so Duffy finally got the sprint she so desperately needed after all these weeks in virtual purdah. Everything is good!

(It's a cat's eye road marker! What are they doing in the middle of a field on the Thames Path?)

Thrupp (via The Rock of Gibraltar)

2011-07-18T22:13:00.000+01:00

We departed Lower Heyford on the morning of 13 July having decided to head for Thrupp. Thrupp is a place we have heard of a lot but have never visited so this was quite exciting. The Oxford Canal kept up its fair appearance along this leg with only 5 locks and 3 lift bridges along the way. We also cruised past the Rock of Gibraltar, which we have added to our list of exotic places we have visited by narrowboat (The Cape of Good Hope is aleady on that list).

Cruising past The Rock of Gibraltar

We had a small drama at Bridge 212 when Sue ran aground avoiding a boat coming in opposite direction. He seemed to be avoiding scratching his precious paintwork on some overhanging shrubs. Sue pulled in close to the towpath side and ran aground on some rocks. She was quite alarmed because Adagio's stern rose out of the water and the boat listed sharply to port. Adagio was stuck fast! We tried all the usual remedies but to no avail, engine in reverse and pushing with the barge pole were not enough. After a while a little boat called Popalong came to our assistance. Although Popalong was not big enough to pull Adagio's 20 tons off the obstruction her crew's additional muscle power was a big help. Eventually, with judicious use of the bow thruster to push the bow into the towpath while we all pushed the stern away from it helped us gain enough clearance to refloat her. So the Oxford Canal, having lulled us into a sense of tranquil security turned around and bit us again.

After passing through Baker's Lock we entered the Cherwell River stretch to Hampton Gay. The Cherwell River stretch was good deep water which Adagio loves. I was able to open up the revs a bit and give the engine a brief river workout. It's important to exercise Adagio's engine when possible as she spends so much time on low rpm during normal canal cruising. The Thames should give us a better opportunity to run at higher revs for a longer time.

We arrived in Thrupp at about 1300 and found a spot in the 7 day moorings. What a fabulous place with excellent, well kept moorings and spotless services, all courtesy of the Thrupp Canal Cruising Club (TCCC).

Manicured 7 day moorings, Thrupp

The Boat Inn

However, the boat owner in front of us (another grumpy old git in a short boat!) where we tied up tried to use us as an excuse for not wanting to shift up to accommodate a new arrival. He actually told the other boat's crew we did not want to moor up close to him! We pointed out that we were moored with our stern up against the bow of the boat behind so it was he who was occupying 70 feet of space with a 30 foot boat. Sue gave him a piece of her mind and received a grudging apology. The look on his wife's face seem to say this was a regular occurence - must be awful living with a Victor Meldrew. These old miseries with their short boats are starting to become a right royal pain! Still, we enjoyed a rather nice light lunch in the Boat Inn where they serve a good range of beers, despite being a Greene King pub, good food in nice surroundings.

Thrupp Wide

Thrupp is setting for the Muddy Waters series of children's stories so you can find the books for sale everywhere - the pub and Annie's Tea Room. We met two of our Twitter friends while here - Maffi the writer and Jon the marine engineer. Jon called around with a gift for us. He has designed a bow fender based on a corn dolly model, which looks rather cool. His gift to us was a prototype to test and let other boaters see in action. Jon later suggetsed the name Ernest Shackled-on, which we have adopted for the fender. Jon had a chat over a cuppa and had a very interesting life story to tell - we exchanged our respective tales of engineering and our experiences of the Antarctic (Jon) and Arctic (me). Before we knew it 2 hours had passed and Jon had to return to work.

Thrupp canalside cottages

We noticed a couple of chaps setting what appeared to be small lobster pots along the canal. I later spotted them at the Thrupp lift bridge and asked them what they were hunting. They explained they were a commercial outfit fishing for American Signal crayfish which are an alien species to the UK's waterways. The Signal crayfish are destroying our water environment and driving out our indigenous species. He told me that in some areas of Suffolk riverside properties can lose as much as 3 feet of bank a year to these invaders. Consequently, it is open season on Signal crayfish which. apparently, are good to eat.

There is an area of woodland called Thrupp Community Woods with pleasant walks and a stream, which we believe comes from the Cherwell. It made a pleasant interlude to stroll through there and to investigate the stream where Duffy went for a paddle. We were finally able to let her off for a brief time while there were no other dogs around; a brief freedom she enjoyed immensely.

On returning from our walk we saw a Dachshund on wheels! The little dog was fitted with a small frame on his rear with two wheel to keep him mobile. We had heard of this remedy but had never before seen it in action.

On Thursday evening we went to see the Mikron Theatre Company production of Beer Street in the garden of the Boat Inn. Mikron is a travelling theatre company that cruises around the canals performing at various canal and non-canal venues. This is their 40th year touring but the first time we had been able to attend one of their performances. We were not disappointed and enjoyed an excellent evening of entertainment from this talented team.

Mikron Theatre Company performs Beer Street

We cannot leave Thrupp without mentioning the excellent work the TCCC does in maintaining the boating environment here. It was a real pleasure staying so we dallied for 5 days - almost like a short holiday. As with the Shropshire Union Canal Society the TCCC should be a model for other places on the canal network especially under new charitable status. It shows just what can be achieved with local engagement. Well done TCCC!

The highlight of our visit to Thrupp was Alix, Ian and Ruth's visit on Saturday. Ruth is now 3 months old and an absolute cutie! It was fantastic to see how she is developing and taking such an interest in everything around her. We loved her smiles and chuckles especially. It was great to see them all and we enjoyed a good lunch at the Boat Inn to round off their visit.

We have smart new fenders including Ernest Shackled-on!

Lurcher Letter

Went for walk in woods and paddled in stream.

Saw a dog with wheels! Cool! I knew it must be possible after I saw those humans on wheels in Banbury. I want some.

11 Jul Aynho and the Heyfords

2011-07-17T19:50:00.000+01:00

We made a normal start today as this leg to the Heyfords was fairly short . Duffy seemed very subdued which we assumed was to do with her season. There seemed to be plenty of good mooring spots at intervals all along canal and for the most part the water was deep.

Aynho Weir Lock - notice the 'diamond' shape allowing this shallow lock the capacity to cope with flashing from the Cherwell river

Modern world never far away - satellite ground station

It was about time to take on some diesel. I like to keep the tank topped up and seldom let it fall below approximately half full because I believe this reduces the chances of moisture build up in the tank and reduces the risk of sucking up any sediment from the bottom of the tank. So we called in to Aynho wharf to refuel. We found them to be very friendly and helpful and, for future reference, they have a useful little shop selling basic essentials. As a bonus, they let us use their Elsan disposal for free because we bought so much diesel and propane from them. At 85p per litre the diesel was reasonably priced for the area and they accept owner declaration of domestic/propulsion split, which is always a good thing. We refuse to purchase diesel from any source that only accepts a 60/40% split.

Somerton Deep Lock 12' and its pretty cottage

As we passed through Bridge 199 Sue spotted a commotion around a moorhen nest. The adult birds were making a lot of noise and scurrying around. The reason for this frantic activity became apparent when we then saw a weasel pop out of the long grass. It looked like the weasel had found the moorhen nest and was raiding it for eggs or chicks. We did not witness the outcome but hopefully the nest survived because the moorhens were putting up a brave fight fending off the attacker.

The lift bridges are very easy in these parts...

...and there are plenty of them!

Searching for a mooring spot we eventually found quiet deserted spot between Upper and Lower Heyford just before lift bridge 205 to moor. This was one of those little oases along the Oxford where the towpath is kept trim and the water deep enough to moor Adagio. We were able to let Duffy out for a good run and some exercise so she cheered up a bit.

We spent 2 nights at Lower Heyford. This is a classic English Oxfordshire village boasting some gorgeous cottages, some with thatched roofs. However, it appeared to be very much a dormitory village where people who can afford to buy there live but work elsewhere, such as in London. Lower Heyford is the home to Oxfordshire Narrowboats hire fleet so there is a small shop and Kizzies bistro. Lunch at Kizzies was quite good especially as they used real, thick sliced ham in a bun! We also took a look at the new Muddy Waters branded hire boat they have designed especially to attract families to holiday on the canal. Very smart she looked too, and looked very well appointed as a hire boat.

Muddy Waters themed hire boat

Neat thatched cottages

Unusual street names

Letter box conveniently situated at front door

Beautiful stone cottage

Traditional telephone box

Old stone carving in modern setting

Unusual gable end decoration

Duffy met a couple of male dogs while we were moored at Lower Heyford. One was a very chivalrous gentleman lurcher who, despite her 'interesting' condition, was very polite and did not press his suit. On the other hand, Ralph the Jack Russell, fell head over heels in 'lust' with Duffy. His owner told me, when we met a second time that Ralph had sat on their boat howling after he had met Duffy. A few minutes after we parted Ralph came running down the towpath to find Duffy having got away from his owner. I managed to keep him calm even though he was heavily enamoured with Duffy. A few minutes later his very apologetic owner arrived on the scene to recover him. Poor chap - unrequited love is such a sad thing to witness.

When we departed Lower Heyford Sue met Mortimer Bones walking Boots, her dog, on the towpath. Bones researches the human brain as her day job and writes a column in Canalboat Magazine. She is also on Twitter and a Blogger who we follow so it was a pleasure to meet her in person.

We tried the Bell Inn, Lower Heyford for a refreshment. This old pub overlooks what used to be the village square and from its looks promised to be a real treat. However, while we cannot put a finger on it the atmosphere in the pub just was not right. Despite the stone floors and exposed timbers the place seemed to lack soul. The slightly cool reception by the staff and serving beer in dirty glasses did not moderate this feeling. We do not plan to call in there again.

Heyford railway station is adjacent to the canal canal opposite Oxfordshire Narrowboats. The arrangement harks back to the early days of canal and steam railways but these days provides a convenient stepping off point for walkers tackling the Oxford Canal walk.

We are always doing some refit work of one kind or another on Adagio. Currently, I am attempting to development a cross-bench seat in the foredeck. Sue saw a boat with such an arrangement and we decided to try the idea ourselves. I have constructed the base of the bench seat and now need to devise an appropriate means of stowing the whole seat when not in use. Once we have a satisfactory solution I shall post pictures.

Banbury

2011-07-10T22:05:00.000+01:00

"Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross to see a fine lady upon a white horse. With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes."

In most people's minds the Oxfordshire market town Banbury is associated with the nursery rhyme. The cross referred to in the children's song was removed by the Puritans but the Victorians installed a replica which stands today. Nowadays Banbury is a commuter town serving London but there is evidence of its bustling country town past to be seen everywhere. There is even a market with stalls selling fresh produce although probably only a shadow of the original.

Banbury Cross

Cock horse in topiary

We moored in the visitor moorings by Tom Rolt Bridge opposite Spiceball Park which is a pleasant, well tended green space near the centre of the town. The canal here is bordered by a shopping centre on one side and the park on the other. The visitor moorings are well appointed and there is plenty of space as long as boaters do not arrive too late in the day. We took a stroll around town and were impressed by the mix of old and modern buildings although the main shopping area lacked any individual feel. Sue bought some Banbury cakes which went down a treat with a nice cuppa!

Moored by Tom Rolt Bridge

Despite being in the centre of town it was quite peaceful, except on the Saturday evening when noisy teenagers took over the park. Thankfully, they all left to go home about 2230 and peace returned. We were disappointed to see how much litter had been deposited on the manicured grass by these noisy kids. But it didn't take the town 'wombles' long to clear up the mess in the early hours and return the park to its pristine condition. It is such a pity that the young locals do not seem to appreciate what a lovely amenity they have in the park. They would soon be complaining of having nowhere nice to go if the park no longer existed.

Spiceball Park

I took Duffy for a walk around the park for her exercise. There are nice wooded areas as well as large flat grass areas for playing games. There is a skateboard park alongside the children's play area both of which are well used. A couple of lads were rollerblading on the skateboard park doing all manner of stunts. Duffy was quite phased by seeing humans whizzing around on wheels rather than the more usual walking and running she is used to. She became quite excited at one point wagging her tail furiously and barking at the boys. It was quite funny to see.

One of the few remaining boatyards from the first days of the Oxford Canal, Tooley's, is preserved as part of Banbury Museum and remains a working yard. Like Stone on the Trent & Mersey, Banbury clearly is a town that celebrates its long association with the canals so it is great to see the town centre lined with boats of all shapes and sizes.

Old corn merchants now housing estate agents

We slipped away from Banbury late this morning on the Oxford leg of our journey. Grants Lock was our first experience of a lock with a single bottom gate rather than the more familiar twin gates. Apparently this design was adopted on the Oxford to save money. The bottom gate is a lot heavier particularly as it houses two paddles; the lock crew has to hope the gates are well balanced and free moving. We passed several likely looking mooring spots and decided to stop between Bridges 176 and 177. The towpath is wide and well kept here. However, the area is blighted by noise from the nearby M40 motorway which forces its unwanted attention on the countryside around about in much the same way as the M6 in our more familiar cruising region of the Midlands. It is not until you reacquaint yourself with the peace of the country you realise just how much an intrusion into life the noise of the modern world is. I have much sympathy with the late Spike Milligan's views on the subject and understand why some people are moved to campaign against noise.

Grants Lock - single bottom gate

Lurcher Letter

Stopped at new place where ladies go around with bells on their toes apparently. I like licking human toes but not sure about the bells thing.

Saw humans dashing around without using their paws. They had wheel things on the ends of their legs instead of paws. They moved fast but not as fast as me. I wonder if I could go faster still with wheels instead of paws? Do they make wheelie paws for lurchers? Could this be my most favourite thing?

There's a thumper! Gotta go!

Later!

Braunston Photos

2011-07-10T19:08:00.000+01:00

Here are some photos from our visit to Braunston:

Vintage working boats - note gorgeous Ovaltine paintwork

Braunston church

Plaque commerating the Bray boating family

Oxford Canal Update

2011-07-08T22:20:00.000+01:00

Brinklow to Braunston

Hawkesbury Junction and onto the Oxford Canal

Newbold Tunnel

We spent 2 nights at Brinklow moored East of Bridge 34, which turned out to be a nice quiet spot, but popular. Met some nice people from K&A on their way to Preston Brook to black their boat. He was a very chatty bloke with plenty of advice but an unfortunate habit of starting a lengthy conversation just as my cup of tea was ready. I walked into Brinklow village but didn't think it was as pretty as Pearson's guide suggests. However, there is a useful village shop, and Rose Narrowboats chandlers near Bridge 30.
A lovely sunny morning on Saturday 02 July saw us make an 0630 start for cruising. The beautiful morning encouraged us to leap out of bed and get going! We wanted to get through Rugby and on to Braunston Junction. There were not many other boats moving at that time so it was nice to be able to cruise at a decent speed in some nice deep, wide water. Through Rugby a grey haired old idiot at Bridge 58 pulled out from a water point as we drew level with him so bumped into us. No apology offered, just a cheerful "Good morning!" as if nothing were amiss. Then there was an incident at Bridge 59 when we met a hire boat coming in opposite direction who panicked a little causing us to stop to let them sort themselves out. The grey haired old idiot, who was now behind us, kept powering on towards our stern until we shouted to him to stop, which he just managed to do before hitting us! What was his rush? He seemed oblivious to all other boat traffic around him. It turned out he was only going as far as Clifton Cruisers, another half mile or so to refuel!

The Oxford Canal ......

... mostly wide and deep!

We stopped at Hilmorton Services for water, rubbish and loos. It appears BW sold the land the services are sited on to a bistro who does not allow boaters anywhere near their land unless dining. So boaters now have to take on water in one place, do toilets in another near the bistro, dispose of rubbish in yet another and use BW loos elsewhere - a right dogs dinner of an arrangement. Don't know who dreamt that one up!

Another marina appearing at Barby.

Old arm - new life as moorings

We encountered several traditional working boats en route to Braunston Junction. Meeting a huge working boat at a blind bend is an experience! Especially if you are sat in the bow, as Sue was, when a working boat's bow suddenly towers over you seemingly coming from nowhere. Some of the young crews were really motoring and one was towing a butty. There no collisions or physical contact so all OK. It was nice to see so many old boats on the move. There was a working boat gathering at Braunston over the previous weekend and they were all departing for home as we were approaching Braunston.

Encounter with a working boat!

After a good 6 hours, or so, cruising in fab weather through lovely countryside we made Bridge 90 to tie up by 1300ish, hot, tired and ready for showers and a rest. We manfully struggled to the Boathouse, a Two for One chain pub, for a pleasant enough lunch made all the tastier because it was effectively half-price. After lunch a walk into Braunston village for provisions burnt off some of those lunch calories. Braunston is a lovely village with a couple of pubs, village convenience store and a small gift shop and tearoom. Well worth a visit whenever you pass through this way.

There is a branch of Midland Chandlers at the junction but they have a limited range of stock. Much better, in my opinion, is the Wharf House Narrowboats Chandlers on the Grand Union, Braunston. We took a stroll around Braunston Marina and noticed they only accept 60/40 split on diesel duty; naughty! So we won't refuel there! The brokerage had on sale nbDover, a lovely 1937 large Woolwich Class working boat, converted to a liveaboard in 2005. I convinced Sue we should look her over before we departed in the morning.

04 July Braunston to Napton

So we viewed nbDover and what a revelation she was. What was originally the cargo hold was now fitted out like a Docklands apartment the entire area roofed with smoked glass under the canvas covers. The engine was a Russell-Newbury and the boatman's cabin looked virtually original. However, the layout although inspiring was not suited to us being more for someone who wants a smart floating flat to be moored somewhere in a city.

nbDover

After agreeing Dover was not for us we returned to Adagio and started our next leg from Braunston to The Folly Inn, Napton. Even though this was a short leg because we had started out late in the morning by the time we arrived at the Folly the visitor moorings were full. Or were they? Sue scouted out a space that was about 3 feet too short to take Adagio. I noticed the 57 foot boat moored there had left a gap of about 9 feet between him and the next boat so was effectively occupying the space of a 70 foot vessel. This is a situation we often encounter on our travels where boaters refuse to moor sensibly (that is, as close as is reasonable) preferring to make their own space. Well, on the canals that is not the way. Boats have to make the most effective use of the limited space available and should moor close to each other in line. I tried my luck and asked him whether he would mind moving his boat a few feet so we could get Adagio tied up astern of him. In this case he agreed to do so although his wife was less than enthusiastic about it! But, hey, we fitted in, the wasted space was mostly occupied and everyone, except his missus, was happy. Result!

Lunch at the Folly Inn was excellent. This pub has a real old world charm about it. Recently under new management, we found the staff very welcoming and friendly. Sue and I ordered a ham sandwich to share as we fancied something light, and we were glad we did share. The sandwich was big and stuffed with real, thick cut farm type ham. None of that supermarket rubbish most pubs serve up. The sandwich was accompanied by a tasty salad, not just a garnish, and home made chips. This was a real treat and all for less than a fiver! The Folly Inn, near Napton, we highly recommend it.

Come to the meeting, God willing!

Water buffalo? Yes, water buffalo!

We noticed a couple of boats had moored for the night in the water point. For those non-boaters reading this post, mooring in a water point is poor behaviour inconveniencing other boaters who might want to use the point. As we were planning an early start we hoped they had moved on by morning.

Duffy is well into her first season so is in an 'interesting' condition as far as male dogs are concerned. While taking Duffy for an evening stroll we had to defend her honour from a large randy male who was very persistent. I had to hold Duffy up high while Sue called to the dog's owner to call off the dog. Eventually the dog responded to his owner's commands and we could continue our walk. We will be glad when everything gets back to normal and her hormones die down.

05 July The Summit

Another early start at 0645 and an attempt to make Cropredy today. The two boats were still in water point but at least their crews were up and about. The hire boat crew said they didn't know they shouldn't moor there, and the private boat said they had nowhere else to moor. The signs all over the place were a clue!

It was slow passing through Napton locks due to first timers and people who had moored in pounds over night joining in half way through the flight. One pair of newbies needed some hand holding as they were very nervous after only 24 hours on a narrowboat for the first time. They were taking things very seriously so hopefully they will be OK for the rest of their journey.

After Napton locks we reached The Summit. This is a pretty area of countryside that feels very remote. The canal becomes very bendy, often doubling back on its self and looking very river-like. We needed to beware of boats travelling from the opposite direction, particularly inexperienced boaters going too fast, due to the several blind bends that abound along here.

Views on The Summit


View on The Summit

Fenny Tunnel....

...yes, this is officially a tunnel....

...but they had to take off the top because it kept crumbling!

Well, The Summit, what can I say? Having read about it and heard about it from our Twitter friends we were still surprised by what we found. The canal twists and turns through very quiet rural settings and you feel like you are travelling through an area where time has stopped since Thomas Hardy wrote his novels. The Oxford Canal takes on the characteristics of a meandering river in this area because its builder, Brindley, followed the contours of the land. He seems to have taken the easier option - fewer tunnels and locks - and as he was allegedly paid by the mile this approach increased his revenue; the old boatmen's hearts must have sunk at the thought of shipping cargo through there! As an engineer by profession I much prefer Telford's more innovative and elegant approach to canal engineering (see earlier posts on Chirk Tunnel, for example).

The rain started falling heavily just before 1500 so we decided to moor up near bridge 129 for an early start in morning to complete the run into Cropredy.

06 July Cropredy

So what of Cropredy? What a lovely village with a good mix of really old classic thatched cottages and sympathetic modern housing. There are two village pubs - the Brasenose Inn and the Red Lion. The Red Lion was the pub where Tom Rolt planned his epic canal journey that led to the rebirth of the canal network. We were not overly impressed by the Brasenose so chose to eat dinner at the Red Lion. The menu was uninspiring but the food was OK. It was a shame both pubs were running out of beer and food mid-week.

Chocolate box cottage

Row of pretty cottages

Quaint street names

Thatcher's trade mark

Banbury next!

Hello Oxford Canal

2011-06-30T21:16:00.000+01:00

The weather today was OK, just not as fab as yesterday. The morning started sunny but the sky soon clouded over and we even had rain at one point. Today's objective was to reach Stretton Stop on the Oxford Canal which should have involved 4.5 hours cruising time, approximately. However, our progress was impeded by the onset of rain late morning, so we stopped for some early lunch. There were also many boats moored along the Coventry requiring us to slow down frequently. There was nothing much of interest along this stretch as it was mainly overlooked by the suburban sprawl of Nuneaton. When we did finally make Hawkesbury Junction we needed to take on water, etc, so more time was added to the journey.

We joined the Oxford Canal at the junction passing through the stop lock which raised us a nose bleed inducing 4 inches! This stop lock is similar to the one at the start of the Shropshire Union and was installed by the respective canal companies to stop each other 'stealing' water from their competitor. So we were now on the Oxford and what a difference! Right from the start it was noticeable how shallow the channel was being quite heavily silted especially on the towpath side. There were quite a few long term online moorings, one was right on a tight bend where we met a boat coming in the opposite direction. Not usually a problem but Adagio's stern gear found mud so we lost steering. Thankfully the other boat seemed to understand what was happening and reversed to give us room to manoeuvre out of the jam. This was the first of several 'sticky' stretches of the Oxford where silt and rocks reduced our clearance enough to slow us down. (The official dimensions of the Oxford call for a maximum draft of 3 feet 6 inches along its entire length. Adagio's draft is 2 feet so there should not be a problem at any point along this canal so I assume heavy silting was the root of the problem.) All of these incidents added delay to our cruising so that when we reached Stretton Stop we had already been on the move for about 7 hours. To make matters worse we couldn't find a mooring we could get into as Adagio kept grounding before we could near the towpath (refer back to silt and rocks comment above). We had to continue on past Bridge 34 after which we finally found a spot where we could approach the towpath close enough to tie up. Our 4.5 hour day had become 7.5 and the Oxford didn't endear itself to us with its lack of decent mooring space, silt and rocks. We can only hope this canal improves as we progress further South.

We had a frantic few seconds today when Duffy decided to launch herself off the roof of the boat to chase a rabbit whilst we were moving. As she was tethered at the time her impetuous act could have caused her an injury if it had not been for Sue's lightning reaction to grab her collar as she went over the side. Duffy seemed none the worse for the experience although a little subdued. She is starting to get a sense of what a lurcher should do when rabbits are about so we need to prepare for the inevitable chase that will happen one day soon.

For now, this crew is dog tired and ready for an early night!

Lurcher Letter

I have discovered a great thing - probably my most favourite thing after my other most favourite thing of racing the breeze. That most favourite thing is to chase thumpers, or what my people call rabbits. I call them thumpers coz that's what they do when they catch sight of me - they thump the ground. Anyway it's cool.

Top tip - don't launch an attack on a thumper from the top of the boat when your lead is on. Very embarrassing to be seen dangling from the boat by your lead, especially by thumpers!

PS Don't know what my people call it but I'm dog tired so crashing now. Later!

Alvecote to Hartshill (and we see a Grande Dame of the canal)

2011-06-29T20:26:00.000+01:00

What a fab day it was today for cruising the Coventry Canal in sunny Warwickshire!

Our mooring spot opposite the nature reserve proved to be quite peaceful although the trains did intrude on the quiet a little frequently. We took Duffy for an enjoyable evening walk through the reserve where she discovered the joy of rabbits. She seems to have realised what a lurcher's main business is - chasing small furry animals! So, a decent night's sleep set us up for a good start at 0830 to get through the Atherstone flight.

The Warwickshire countryside along this stretch of the Coventry Canal is really pretty. There weren't too many other boats on the move so it was a quiet enough for us to enjoy the view.There is also some interesting boat history in this area with the former sites of famous boatyards from the commercial heyday of the canals. At Bridge 49 there is a yard that has a fine selection of ex-working boats which, it appears, they convert to pleasure craft. One of these beauties was 113 years old and given a new lease of life as a domestic boat. Originally built in 1898, rebuilt 1938 and converted in 2008, this old lady is still going strong.

113 years old and still going strong!

By the time we reached Atherstone bottom lock the boat traffic was building. We have noticed all the locks on this canal are slow filling and fast emptying. Consequently, queues quickly build up. At one point we were leading a line of 5 boats waiting to enter the flight. It was at this point we were waiting for a boat to come down and we decided to wait for them in the interests of saving water. This didn't go down well with one particular 'gentleman' who, after Sue explained the situation to him, stormed off muttering, "I can't stand this woman!" Some people should really not come on the canal if they cannot let go of the hurly burly of modern life and chill. As ever, Sue took his comments to heart but was reassured when someone else told her they agreed with the decision to wait. Some people really just do not get it!

Whilst on the subject of preserving water supplies to the canals I should like to remind folk, and will do in person anytime someone complains as above, the canals are our home not just a holiday destination. We shall still be cruising the waterways once all the holiday makers have returned to their suburban lives and their holidays begin to fade in memory. The canals are not like roads or the railway - the water is not static and has to be continuously replenished from somewhere. The canal network competes with the cities, villages and farms for water resources so it is incumbent upon all waterways users to take care of the water and not waste it. If that means an additional 10 minutes wait at locks then so be it! On a day like today, kick back and enjoy conversation with fellow boaters, other users of the towpath, or simply enjoy the view. Chill and enjoy your holiday, for goodness sake!

Hartshill maintenance yard....

...always interesting places.....

....that hark back to a bygone era.....

....but I just love 'em.

We have moored at Hartshill near Bridge 33. There are quite a few other boats here so obviously a popular spot. If the weather holds an evening walk to the pub might be in order.

PS Today we met another of our online friends John and Rita on nbIzzyinntwo (Grannyboat). What a lovely couple. It's always a pleasure to meet folk and be able to put faces to names.

2011-06-28T18:08:00.000+01:00

After a good night's rest it was onward to Fazeley Junction we headed this morning. On the move by 0930 we set ourselves the goal of 4 hours cruising today then find somewhere good to moor. The weather was cloudy but mild and dry. We passed through the nice villages of Whittingdon and Hopwas where the towpaths are excellent and plenty of mooring space is available. Except, that is, in Hopwas which, as we have reported in earlier posts, has a No Mooring zone along the entire length of canal that passes through the village. Not sure if that is something to do with residents not wanting boats mooring there, but any mooring is restricted to the outskirts of the village. As we have passed this way several times before we did not linger, preferring to press onto Fazeley to take on water.

Fazeley Junction was almost unrecognisable from the last time we were here because there is a large waterside housing development in progress. Even the pub seems to be having a facelift. The BW services are located alongside the smart BW regional offices at Fazeley. I called into reception to buy an additional BW key. The price from BW was £6. The young woman on the desk seemed surprised to hear that BW keys can cost as much as £10 in some marinas and chandlers. After taking on water we took the Coventry arm at the junction and started heading South towards Coventry.

We intended to buy some milk on the way through Amington but found that Bridge 67 did not offer access to the village, despite our Pearson's guide assurance to the contrary. Access to all village facilities is via Bridge 68. So we ploughed on to end our day East of Bridge 59 moored in a quiet spot opposite a nature reserve. Well, relatively quiet as there is a 4 track railway line close by that carries passenger and freight trains. Several boats have passed us at high speed so I have beefed up the mooring by using spring lines - this boat ain't going anywhere unless we want it to!

Fine collection of vintage working boats at Alvecote

Those boats lying low in the water were fully laden with coal to be delivered

The view from here (corrected version)

2011-06-27T23:14:00.001+01:00

Headed for Fradley from Bridge 69 today on a lovely, sunny day. nbizzyinntwo, a Twitter buddy of ours, passed us and shouted hello! We bought some crochet porthole covers from Campanula yesterday. What a nice lady and product. If you see Campanula around the network and need some crochet stuff speak with her! We made a reasonable start with the intention of making Fradley by around midday. However, various episodes dictated against us achieving that aim.

We intended to take on water at Ash Tree but there was a queue. At the head of the queue was a hire boat patiently waiting for his water tank to fill. So we decided we would wait until Fradley to take on water and passed the waiting boats. As we passed the hire boat I noticed water gushing from the drain on the well deck. I called out this fact to the hire boater who clearly realised he had inadvertently been topping up the canal with drinking water not realising his tank was full! I don't know how long this had been going on but he really didn't seem to appreciate the need to look for the water overflowing when the water tank is full.

The next delay was at Plum Pudding Cutting. We have mentioned this location in the Blog before. Usually it has been quiet enough here for us to get through these short narrows without delay. Today, probably due to the lovely weather, the whole world and his wife were passing through. Sue got out the walkie talkies and went ahead to check our passage was clear. The hire boater (the one with the water issue) appeared behind us and continued towards Adagio. It was clear he did not appreciate I was waiting for the narrows to be clear so I signalled to him to pull in behind Adagio. He obviously did not understand my signal and carried on approaching until he saw there were boats approaching from the opposite direction. He called our, "Are there boats coming?", to which I replied, "Yes! Several!" although the stroppy side of me wanted to say "No, I always stand here holding my boat's centre line for the fun of it!"

Anyway, the hire boat crew were very nice, just inexperienced. It was just one of those days, which got worse. After Plum Pudding it was fairly plain sailing although Woodend Lock was subject to some ground paddle repairs requiring a stoppage between 0700-1100 each day. So we hit the end of the backlog of 3 boats waiting to pass through the lock. We later heard from one of our Twitter friends that the queue for the lock was 10 boats long! We eventually arrived in Fradley Junction to find it full. Well, let me qualify that statement. The places that are usually chocka block had space and where the junction usually has space was full. We could but not help notice that there were quite a few boats on the Coventry Canal that looked like they had been there much longer than the 48 hours allowed. How could we tell? Well the length of the grass around them was a clue! So no BW enforcement of mooring rules at Fradley - no surprise there then! (Oh, but then they closed the BW office at Fradley!)

When we arrived at the Coventry water point at Fradley we found a short boat moored there with water hose attached. I nosed Adagio in front of the boat and the owner offered Sue the use of his connected water hose to fill Adagio. Let's be frank here, this was no act of philanthropy as he explained there were no moorings he had decided to stay there to have his lunch and our taking on of water added to his lunch break. This reinforced our thoughts that it was a good excuse for staying in a place where you shouldn't while you eat lunch! We accepted his offer but were under no illusion as to his motive. The water pressure is low at Fradley so it took ages to fill Adagio's tank so the 'kind' boater got an extended lunch break. Sounds cynical? Read on.

We continued down the Coventry from Fradley in search of a mooring place. There was none to be had in the official moorings on the arm so we continued along the cut. Now BW, hear this! The towpath was in good condition throughout (good for cyclists and walkers, that is), (a change we have to say as we have noticed in many places that the tow path is being chewed up by cyclists and now is a quagmire for the humble walker), but the waterside edge was mostly overgrown so no mooring there. When we did find towpath that was clear it was silted up so we could not moor there anyway! So BW, what's going on? It is no wonder many boaters feel BW is not on their side at all. It seems the 'Open Air Gym' is good for bikers and walkers but not boaters - the people, incidentally, who pay to be on the network (unlike walkers and cyclists)! NB We are not against walkers and cyclists enjoying the canals but as paying users of the network it would be nice to know we are valued. The Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) has worked in association with BW to provide excellent mooring sites and facilities along its length. So why cannot the Trent & Mersey Canal Society achieve the same level of success? I am not sniping at the T&M Society but the SUCS model has to be the way forward, surely? So, BW, what's happening?

Finally, we ended up at Huddlesford Junction which was the first point we could tie up. Luckily, it is near The Plough pub which we have visited before. We ate dinner at The Plough and can confirm the food is still pretty good but the service was lacking, somewhat. So expect reasonable food but not much in the way of service at The Plough, Huddlesford.

I recently completed the BW 'Notification of Home Mooring' form on which I declared we are now continuous cruisers. You see, we are trying to play by the rules but there seems to be so many who flout the 'system' and get away with it, (Eg the boat moored just outside Fradley 48 hour moorings on the Coventry whose licence expired May 10 - Are you listening, BW?), and I have the awful feeling we will pay for this honesty. The reason I say this is because when I called BW Customer Services to check how I notified them of our status I was told, "If you don't complete the form we will get notified of sightings of you around the network." No irony was intended! Why else would you own a narrowboat but to cruise the network? Or does BW expect us to restrict our cruising to a limited geographic area around our 'home mooring'? (See earlier post about 'I am a continuous cruiser and I continuously cruise around the Lion Salt Works!') So does completing the form mean we shall now be treated by BW inspectors as an easy target because we have freely given them this information? You see, our problem is we just don't know. We do not condone boaters who flout the rules and, frankly, take the mick. But then BW is hardly effective in enforcing their own rules (and in many cases what is established law) so an ethos has grown where it is believed it just does not matter!

OK. That's been a bit of a rant and hopefully some of it made sense. Happy to take comments from any readers, boater or not. This post will be Tweeted to BW.

Hot Day to leave Stone

2011-06-26T21:13:00.001+01:00

As regular readers of our Blog will know the little canal town of Stone is one of our favourite places to moor. It is such a pretty, well kept town with everything the canal traveller needs. Unlike Stoke this town seems to really celebrate its long association with the canals and the Trent & Mersey in particular. We noted members of the Stone branch of The Lions cleaning signs and collecting litter - an example of a community helping itself. Anyway, we have written about Stone enough through the pages of our Blog so we thought we would focus briefly on what is probably the town's most well known pub - the Star Inn.

The Star Inn has been in existence since long before Brindley built his canal (opened 1771). The many different levels of floor and the ad hoc manner in which the inn has expanded over the past 400 years are evidence of its great age.

Star Inn about 100 years older than the T&M. Warning sign to mind your head and step due to all the different levels

A popular watering hole for canal travellers and locals alike, the Star offers a good selection of guest beers and good pub food. With Star Lock immediately outside the bar and restaurant, on busy days there is lots for pub patrons to watch while enjoying a pint and meal in the sun.

Don't fall in the lock outside licensing hours!

Star Inn pub sign - what's the connection with the Spitfire? (Answer below)

Graffiti - usual erudite comment

Evidence that locks do get maintenance - a new cill

We slipped away from our mooring in Stone just before 0700 this morning in warm temperatures and cloudy sun. We wanted to take advantage of fine weather and enjoy some peaceful cruising before the rest of the canal awoke. It was really most pleasant to be on the move before many people were out of bed. Having taken on water we slipped quietly past the many moored boats on the way out of Stone. Some folks were up and about and gave us a wave, some peeked at us through their portholes probably thinking "Who are these mad people?"

We called in at Great Haywood marina to refuel and take on water (Sue had done several loads of laundry on the way from Stone) and say hello to those who were about. We planned to make it all the way to Fradley today but, come early afternoon, just after we had passed Wolsely Bridge, we decided it was just too hot to continue and moored up. And here we are for the night - Fradley can wait until tomorrow.

(RJ Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire WWII fighter plane, was born in nearby Stoke on Trent, hence the association)

PS Fellow Blogger Bobcat passed us near Colwich today. Shouted "Hi!" but unsure whether she recognised us.

Blog Stats

2011-06-25T19:43:00.000+01:00

People sometimes ask why we keep this Blog. Mainly it is intended for family and friends to read about our adventures and keep in touch. It is also a useful medium through which to share experiences with fellow boaters and others who are interested in Britain's inland waterways and life on them. We do not claim this to be a masterpiece of social journalism or even a particularly comprehensive, exciting diary. Therefore, it is quite pleasing to find out how widely read is our Blog as the following Blogger stats illustrate.

Top 10 Browsers used to view our Blog:

Internet Explorer (49%)
Firefox (21%)
Safari (11%)
Chrome (9%)
Mobile (3%)
Opera (3%)
Java (<1%)
Jakarta Commons-HttpClient (<1%)
FirePHP (<1%)
RockMelt (<1%)

Top 10 Operating Systems used to view our Blog:

Windows (81%)
iPhone (7%)
Macintosh (3%)
Linux (3%)
Other Unix (1%)
iPad (1%)
iPod (<1%)
Android (<1%)
BlackBerry (<1%)
HTC (<1%)

Top 10 Audiences by nation who have viewed our Blog:

United Kingdom
United States
Germany
Russia
France
Ukraine
South Africa
Netherlands
Canada
Slovenia

Other readers have come from Australia, Philipines, Romania, Germany, Iran, China, Japan, and Bermuda to mention but a few. We hope all readers find something interesting to read but thank them anyway for dropping by.

Resting at Stone

2011-06-24T22:06:00.000+01:00

Well, here we are back at Stone taking a couple of rest days soaking up the pleasant atmosphere of this canal town. We squeezed in to the visitor moorings above Star Lock. It is a bit tight here between the two locks but very convenient for town. Last night we ate dinner in la Dolce Vita Italian restaurant by Star Lock. The food was excellent as was the service and the portions were huge! Thoroughly delightful and we highly recommend this restaurant.

Some Australian holiday makers moored up behind us today having checked carefully that their boat would fit. (Nice to see a crew, especially a foreign crew, take the mooring restrictions seriously.) We had a brief chat with the young chap from the boat and discovered they were taking the canal holiday route (Four Counties Ring in 2 weeks) to explore Britain on his mother-in-law's recommendation. He was amazed at what a brilliant system the canal network is (especially as Australia has nothing like it) and seemed genuinely envious of our liveaboard lifestyle. He also said he thought Stone was the best place they had visited so far. What a pleasure to hear such positive comments from a visitor to the canals. Mind you, we have met several holiday makers from Australia, Canada and South Africa cruising the canals and they have all been friendly and positive. What a great advertisement for Britain are our waterways!

Heart Break Hill Part Deux - To Stoke and Beyond

2011-06-22T19:06:00.007+01:00

21 June

This morning turned out to be fine after all so we leaped out of bed (well, what passes for leaping out of bed for us, anyway), walked Duffy, fired up the Isuzu and got underway at about 0800. Today, we planned to complete Heart Break Hill and get through Harecastle Tunnel, at least. We stopped for breakfast of sausage butties at Rode Heath after the first 2 locks of the day, then pressed on through the remaining 11 locks to complete Heart Break Hill. Red Bull duplicate Lock 44 was under repair when we passed through and it was interesting to see the huge pile of debris the contractors had dredged from the lock bottom. There were several rubble bags full of rubbish and a motorbike!

Look what can lurk at the bottom of locks

By the time we reached the North Portal of Harecastle Tunnel we had picked up a convoy of 4 boats, not to mention heavy showers. The water level had been low all the way along the Trent & Mersey since Pierpoint Locks and several bends were badly silted causing us a few minor delays due to the stern gear digging into the mud. It is quite disconcerting, in those circumstances, to be slowly passing moored boats to suddenly find the steering doesn't work at a bend and the boat heads directly towards a moored vessel even with the tiller hard over. Luckily there was just enough water (more like liquid mud at this point) for the prop to bite in reverse and get us out of trouble. The entrance to the tunnel continued this trend as the first boat in our convoy became stuck in the mud. I decided to take Adagio wide to avoid a similar situation but found myself hard up against the stone bank; not stuck but dragging. The tunnel keeper helped fend us off but it is worth noting that the approach to the Northern Portal is tight, involves a hard turn to port and is silted with mud!

Brindley's original tunnel portal can just be seen in the left background

Northern Portal to Telford's tunnel. Note the colour of the water!

Once inside the tunnel it was plain cruising, albeit in the dark. Our tunnel light illuminated the tunnel walls and roof a few yards ahead causing weird shadows and shapes. It was just as well the tunnel is straight as taking any bends would have been decidedly tricky. The tunnel keeper advised us to keep to normal cruising speed and look out for the low hanging sections of roof. Our passage through the one and three quarter miles of Telford's tunnel passed without incident and we emerged through the Southern Portal 30 minutes later into bright sunshine. The tunnel in use today was built by Telford between 1824 and 1827 to run parallel with Brindley's original built between 1761 and 1777. Advances in tunnelling engineering must account for the speedier completion of the work in Telford's time. As with Chirk, Telford included a towpath in his tunnel but this was removed in the 70s when the tunnel was renovated making it plenty wide enough for narrowboats to pass through. Brindley's tunnel has not been in use since early in the 20th century.

The Kidsgrove Bogart? Or just the tunnel light of the vessel behind?

Our initial thoughts were to moor for the night at Westport Lake just north of Stoke. However, we decided to press on and get through Stoke before stopping. No offence to the good folks of Stoke on Trent but the town is not an attractive place to stay. Steeped in the history of the potteries it may be but successive failed attempts at regeneration have left the town looking for the most part like a bomb site. At some points along the canal there are flattened areas of land strewn with demolition rubble as far as the eye can see. A very depressing sight. Let's hope one day the local politicians and central government will get their act together and help get this historic town back on its feet.

Remains of industry in Stoke....

....can be seen all along the canal.

And so we pressed on through the 5 locks in Stoke, through Etruria Junction, passed the pottery factories, some still in existence but many now derelict, and then through the pleasant suburb of Hem Heath to moor at Barlaston. This is a spot we know well. Today comprised 11 hours cruising, including the breakfast stop, a couple of weed hatch incidents and a couple of delays caused by silt. We passed through 20 locks and 1 3/4 miles of tunnel in the 15 miles we travelled today. All 3 of us are tired and intend to chill here for a couple of days.

22 June

It looks like Duffy has started her first season which would explain her recent mood swings and sometimes odd behaviour. The vet has advised us that she will be ready for her neutering operation in about 3 months. This fits with our schedule as we can book her in on our return to winter moorings. All we have to do for the next couple of weeks is defend her honour when males show an interest. I now carry my mountain walking stick when walking Duffy to fend off any amorous males. Today we took Duffy for a walk around Barlaston and found a field for her to run through. Unfortunately, it had recently hosted some cows so was liberally covered with cow pats. Not only did Duffy try to eat some cow manure but she ran right through several cow pats becoming covered in cow dung as a result. We had one smelly dog to walk back to the boat where I gave her a towpath tub! It was delightful watching her sprinting around the field though.

Towpath tub for Duffy after her run through a cow field

Sue and I were discussing the other day we have not seen a single Kingfisher since we left Great Haywood on 1 May. The last one we saw was resident at the marina. Cuckoos, however, have made their presence known just about everywhere we have travelled in the past 2 months. Swallows, too, have been around in large numbers. We even found a Swallow's nest, complete with chicks, tucked up under a lock bridge outside Rode Heath. Was it a bad winter for Kingfishers, hence their rarity this summer?

Swallow nest in entrance to a lock

We had a fish carcass mystery along the towpath where we moored above Lock 55. When I took Duffy for her evening stroll we came across 3 partially eaten fish carcasses. They looked like they had been caught then gnawed by some creature which might have been disturbed thus leaving the remains to rot. I don't think they would be abandoned Heron prey as they eat fish in one go. Could it be some kind of mammal? Or simply some fish left by an angler that have been picked at by carrion eaters? Any ideas?

Heart Break Hill - Part One - 'The Ascent Begins'

2011-06-20T22:05:00.000+01:00

It was more like June today! Blue sky, sunshine and temperatures to match. No wonder everyone was wearing a smile! We opted for a late departure so we could enjoy a fish and chip lunch from Liz's Plaice in the village. Liz's is unusual in that they only cook to order; there are no piles of fish or chips being kept warm as you find in most chippies. It means you do have to wait for your order to be prepared but then you get to enjoy freshly cooked, piping hot fish and chips. Highly recommended if this quintessential English fast food is your favourite.

Replete and after doing the laundry, taking on water and picking up a couple of items from the village we slipped away from Wheelock at about 1300 and headed for the start of Heart Break Hill. The highly apt nickname reflects this series of 25 locks in 7 miles which lift you (or lower you depending on your direction of travel) 250 feet. Many of the locks are duplicated which can speed passage although there were several that were out of order and one had been filled with concrete! Generally, the lock mechanisms were easy to operate although some ground paddles were pretty ferocious. The heat and physical effort took their toll on Sue, however, so we eventually swapped duties until we were both tired and decided enough was enough. Somewhere along the way today the chain securing the bow fender snapped so we have a drooping fender - not a pretty sight! I shall effect a repair in the morning - too hot and sticky right now.

So today we completed 12 locks over 2.5 miles (approx) in 2.5 hours. Day's job done and moored above Lock 55. Heart Break Hill Part Deux tomorrow, weather permitting.

Wheelock

2011-06-19T22:05:00.000+01:00

It was time to leave the lonely wreck at Bridge 181in its shallow watery grave and head on to Middlewich. We were awoken by the thrashing sound of a diesel engine being thrown between forward and reverse. The racket emanated from a boat whose captain had asked me where Broken Cross was. I had to tell him he had missed it and that he needed to turn around. He talked about turning his boat in the flash where we were all moored. I advised him that the charts warn boats to keep to the channel as the flash is very shallow and scattered with debris. To reinforce this advice I pointed him in the direction of the wreck which quite clearly demonstrates the dangers. However, it seems the captain decided to try to turn anyway and lo and behold got stuck in the mud! After much thrashing of his engine he clearly decided to continue in the direction of Middlewich where the nearest winding hole is to be found. Ah, well! Advice is free - take it or leave it!

We cruised on towards Middlewich with the intention of pausing on the southern outskirts for the night. However, the rain returned with a vengeance and, due to the Folk and Boat Festival, Middlewich was heaving with boats (not too many people because it was wet!) The Trent & Mersey Canal Society was operating Big Lock so passing through was quite easy. As the lock is quite benign there was plenty of time for a chat with society members, one of whom was a member of the group that campaigned to resurrect the Anderton Boat Lift. We did intend to fill up with water in Middlewich but the festival organisers had designated the water point as moorings for vintage working works - so no chance of water. Elsewhere, visitor moorings were either full or reserved for historic boats, so we pressed on through the Middlewich locks to the southern edge of town. There we bought some chips from the chippie, visited (and were disappointed by) the Kings Lock Chandlery, called in at the Kings Lock pub only to find food other than BBQ burgers (anyone who has eaten British pub BBQ burgers will understand our reticence to partake) was unavailable due to the festival, and decided despite the pouring rain to continue to Wheelock.

On the way we encountered a young policeman chasing a bullock that had absconded and was rampaging along the towpath. Guess that counts as major crime in these parts. By the way, when did policemen become so young and dress all in black without head wear?

Wheelock is a little village with its roots in the times of Domesday Book. However, despite a fast bypass the road through the village is very busy. It is also short on facilities - all rather sad and run down. We decided to eat out in the evening and eschewed a pub meal at the Cheshire Cheese in favour of a little Italian restaurant based in the old mill by the canal, called San Marco. What a good decision that turned out to be! We enjoyed a wonderful meal and it wasn't expensive either. The service was brilliant! So if you find yourself in Wheelock try San Marco's - you will not be disappointed.

Enjoyed a quiet day today and recce'd the duplicate locks on Heart Break Hill. More on that in our next blog.

Anderton Boat Lift

2011-06-17T17:36:00.000+01:00

16 Jun

Heavy rain delayed our start today neither of us being of a mind to start the day soaking wet! We finally departed for Anderton during a break in the rain with only Big Lock to look forward to before the canal snakes its way to Anderton. The name Big Lock is a bit of an exageration as it is quiet a shallow broad lock being only 5 feet deep and is genteel in the way it fills and empties. Once through the lock we soon left Middlewich behind and re-entered the Cheshire countryside. There were several 'flashes' along the way which were caused by subsidence. There are plenty of navigation warnings by these flashes because they look like wide stretches of water but can be very shallow and littered with obstructions.

Canal cottage

Canal stable block converted to highly des res

We took our lunch break by a boat 'graveyard' for lunch. Many BW boats were scuttled here at the end of the commercial canal era. Many have been lifted for restoration but one sad wreck remains to be seen poking above the surface of the water.

Boat wreck

On our way through Rudheath we spotted 2 chaps dressed in full Army NBC kit, complete with respirators, in the front garden of a house. We can only imagine they were TA checking their gear before going on exercise; or was it something to do with the nearby chemical works?

Anderton boat lift is a popular destination for tourists, boaters and canal fanatics alike. This impressive structure was opened in 1875 with the aim of raising and lowering boats through the 50 feet height difference between the Trent & Mersey and the Weaver. We did not use the lift because we were not travelling along Weaver; however, we did take a close look. The lift comprises 2 huge water filled containers, each capable of holding 2 narrowboats. Quite an engineering feat for its time.

Anderton Lift

The two containers that hold the boats

After viewing the lift we turned Adagio and moored near to Anderton Marina. Sue chatted with a 'bridge hopper' at the Anderton service block. He was very poshly spoken for a water gypsy and said he was continuously cruising around the Middlewich salt works - so doesn't go very far then, hence a bridge hopper. On the subject of salt, this area was founded on salt production and old derelict salt works can be seen. A modern salt works is still in operation, but of course none of the product is shipped by boat nowadays.

17 Jun

After a quiet night at Anderton the forecast heavy rain did not materialise. We didn't rush to get going though, as we were both tired after the exertions of the previous 2 days coupled with apalling weather. Sue did the laundry and cleaning while we were underway as there were no locks and not a great deal to see along the way. We agreed to stop at the flash south of Bridge 181 - the one with the wreck. It was very windy but otherwise peaceful. Torrential rain now forecast for tomorrow! There was surprisingly good Internet and mobile phone signal!

Sue has a thing about the north west - she really does not like it much. Especially strange as she comes from the region. I find the north west a strange mix of beautiful rural landscape broken by large patches of ugly industrial enterprise.

Our plan is now to start heading south west to go and see Ruth again. This is quite a trip which will take in several waterways new to us and will probably take 6-8 weeks to complete. The first part, however, is Trent & Mersey that we know quite well so apart from a couple of favourite places of ours we shall press on, weather permitting, and get into new territory.

Middlewich

2011-06-15T20:14:00.000+01:00

So here we are moored in Middlewich, probably the poor relation of all the three wiches. However, the very weekend we chose to pass this way is the one when the Folk and Boat Festival happens. That means Middlewich is very busy already so mooring space is at a premium. (Vintage boats I can take but blokes with weird facial hair and dress sense singing with one finger in their ear - noooo!) We managed to find a space big enough to accommodate Adagio. The heavens opened as we arrived here and then chucked it down intermittently for the remainder of the afternoon. In particular, it rained stair rods as we left the supermarket after buying some much needed provisions. By the time we arrived back at the boat we were drenched through as was the shopping. So much so that when I picked up the bag of flour is disintegrated and spilled its contents everywhere. Consequently, we had to wash every item to remove the flour and the canal looked like a batter mix where some had found its way into the water.

The trip down from Venetian Marina Village was uneventful even though there were quite a few other boats moving about. The weather stayed dry for the most part until we arrived at Middlewich (see paragraph above). We saw several people we had met over the past few days so a few pleasantries were exchanged. We also passed tug Nobby which was a neighbour of ours at Great Haywood this winter. Duffy jumped/fell into the canal today but demonstrated good swimming ability. She began to swim towards the middle of the canal but turned and swam to the towpath when Sue called her.

We were going to move on to the outskirts of Middlewich today but the wet weather changed our minds for us so we elected to stay where we are. As long as the weather improves we plan to move onto Anderton tomorrow.

Rainy stop over at Tattenhall Marina

2011-06-13T20:49:00.000+01:00

What great timing! Our decision to stop over at Tattenhall proved sound as the weather turned foul! Heavy rain whipped up by strong winds made us feel we had woken up in autumn having missed summer altogether. Rather than remain on the cut we agreed a one night visitor berth at Tattenhall Marina would be more comfortable and allow us to catch up on some jobs. I managed to complete the engine oil change while Sue caught up with the laundry - almost limitless water and mains electricity can be a real boon every now and then.

After 24 hours in safe harbour we departed this morning with the aim of making it on to the Middlewich Branch while the weather was good. Indeed, the weather was kind to us all day making for a pleasant cruise despite having to negotiate the broad locks as a singleton boat. However, there were enough boats moving along the Shroppie in both directions to ease Sue's lock operating duties. Once through Bunbury Staircase Sue took the tiller and brought us safely through Barbridge Junction to our mooring above Cholmondeston Lock. Boat traffic at Barbridge Junction is usually manic, and negotiating the junction turn can be challenging, so we were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was when we passed through. Once the holiday season really gets underway I am sure the junction will get back to its usual busy self.

Beeston Castle atop its hill overlooking Shady Oak

Former mill now a residence at Shady Oak. Mill race still passes through building.

Note 21st century take on a draw bridge

'Turnothworld' - boat of note at Bunbury

WWII underground oil storage tanks, Beeston

Beeston Castle and Tarporley signal box. Still operational despite Beeching closing the station in the 60s.

Beeston Iron Lock - Telford's solution to subsidence

Thrush enjoying a snail on the towpath

Our plan now is to enjoy an easy day here before striking out for Middlewich where we have some provisions and chandlery shopping to do.

11 June Wrenbury to Tattenhall

2011-06-12T20:28:00.000+01:00

After another pleasant over night stay at Wrenbury we headed on towards Hurlestone to re-enter the Shroppie. The couple whose boat was moored behind us had admired the mooring dampers and told me they had bought similar a couple of years ago but never tried them. That was the same as us so I told them how effective I thought they were. Within a few minutes theirs were out of storage and commissioned into use. Hopefully, they will be pleased with them also.

We decided we would strike out for Hurlestone junction and moor between Bridges 4 and 3 so we could visit the Snugbury's Ice Cream farm again; this time we would use the footpath across the fields rather than the busy road. There had been a few heavy rain showers during the day so it was no surprise that as we began the walk to the farm the heavens opened once again. That wasn't so bad except for when we found the so called footpath was heavily overgrown with grasses and weeds and the stiles were downright dangerous, being too high and often slippery. Goodness knows how a child is supposed to get over them without breaking a bone. We got sodden very quickly having to beat a way through the tall grasses. The '10 minute' walk as promised by the farm signs quickly became a half hour nightmare as it became clear the path had been rerouted for some reason. We got wetter! So, by the time we arrived at the ice cream parlour we were wet, cold and not very happy. We raised the matter of the footpath route to a member of staff who was very dismissive. The busy main road was our return route to the canal. Every driver's total disregard for pedestrians walking along the road, especially HGV drivers, was quite frightening. We felt sure most of them were driving on autopilot completely unaware of what was around them as they shot past us at very close quarters indeed. We do not miss driving at all!

Passage through Hurlestone Locks was easy as there was exactly the right amount of boat traffic to ensure a smooth change over between locks. There was one mildly amusing incident in the pound between the middle 2 locks. The pound is relatively short and I could see the boat about to exit the lower lock was considerably shorter than Adagio's 65 feet. The pilot of the other boat waved at me frantically to get across the offside of the pound to give him a straight run into the higher lock. I signalled back that he should manoeuvre to his starboard and proceeded to move straight ahead. Sue told me later that he had expressed concern at having to manoeuvre his boat in the pound until he realised that we are 65 feet and as he was a 30 foot tiddler was much more manoeuvrable than Adagio. The transit passed without problem. You see, size does matter!

Taking a left through Hurlestone Junction we set off North on the Shroppie once again leaving the Llangollen behind us, probably for the last time. Heading for Shady Oak the Shroppie took us past the Olde Barbridge Inn at Bridge 100, a place of relevance to us as that was where we had our end of cruise dinners when we holidayed with the Macs. With our recent experience of reprising the Willeymoor Lock Tavern we decided we would not call in at the Barbridge Inn and leave our fond memories unsullied by any changes that may have occured. (We had called in at the inn last year on our maiden cruise and were a little disappointed at the service.) And so we powered on through Barbridge Junction toward Shady Oak.

Bunbury Staircase Locks were the most significant feature of this leg. We arrived at the top of the staircase as a holiday boat arrived at its foot. An Australian couple were gongoozling and were debating whether the two boats could pass through the staircase. Now, this part of the Shroppie is a broad canal as it was built to accommodate widebeam barges. The locks are widebeam so can accommodate 2 narrowboats side by side. We agreed with the crew of the boat coming up to try passing through the staircase simultaneously. The top chamber had to be full for us to enter, and to fill the bottom chamber to raise the lower boat. The bottom chamber had to be empty to admit the lower boat and to take the water from the top chamber. Both boats entered the chambers and we emptied the top into the bottom. Canal lock magic happened! Adagio went down and the other boat went up until we were both at the same level and could pass through the centre gates and swap chambers. Now we emptied the bottom chamber to exit the staircase and the other crew filled the top chamber to exit the staircase - job done! Perfectly smooth, quick passage through the staircase with minimum use of water. So, broad staircase locks can be easy when there are two boats passing at a time!

The Shady Oak is a nice pub near a place called Brassey Green, within sight of Beeston Castle which looks out across the Cheshire countryside from its lofty crag. We tied up in the visitor moorings which turned out to be very quiet. An afternoon pint provided the perfect opportunity to recce the pub for an evening meal. The specials menu looked interesting so we booked a table. Later, showered, changed and looking like somebody owned us, we walked across the bridge to dinner. Sue ordered grilled pork steak with black pudding mash and I ordered pasta with a cray fish sauce. The food was really quite good. However, Sue ordered a side of vegetables with her meal which turned up a good 5 minutes after her main course and consisted of microwaved peas and carrots; most disppointing. Her pork steak, I felt, was slightly over cooked. The black pudding mash was good as was the pasta. We wouldn't rave about the Shady Oak but it is not a bad place to eat in our opinion. (All the meals are supposedly cooked with local ingredients.)

Our plan for the remainder of this particular leg was to cruise to Chester then on to Ellesmere Port. We would stop at Christleton, just outside Chester, and use the Park and Ride bus service to go into town then move on to Ellesmere Port. The Shroppie being broad now, and deep, meant we could exercise Adagio's engine and burn off some of that carbon that builds up in a diesel engine that operates at low revs for long periods. We eventually moored outside the Cheshire Cat at Christleton which turned out to be a very pleasant spot. Christleton looks like quite an upmarket area, almost a suburb of Chester, but has no facilities convenient for canal dwellers. The Park and Ride bus stop was about 20 minutes walk from our mooring and the bus ride into the centre of Chester took about 15 minutes. We know Chester of old having lived relatively close by so did none of the tourist stuff this time but rather concentrated on getting the Orange broadband dongle sorted and doing a little bit of shopping. Back to Adagio and a quiet night's rest.

We debated whether we should continue through Chester and on to Ellesemere Port, the northern terminus of the Shropshire Union canal. But, yet someone else told us the passage to Ellesmere Port was not worth the effort. So taking the over riding advice the last leg of the Shroppie was just not worth the effort we opted to turn around and begin retracing our route down to Barbridge Junction. The next engine service was rapidly creeping up on us and I wanted to be in a convenient place to carry out the work. Consequently, we headed for Tattenhall Marina to ride out the heavy rain and wind and to complete the essential maintenance on Adagio. What miserable weather we are experiencing for the time of year. It seems to us that June is England's monsoon season so please hurry up and get here July sunshine!

Pontcysyllte - The Movie

2011-06-10T19:54:00.000+01:00

Here are a couple of short videos of the Pontcysllte Aqueduct crossing. Hope your Internet access is fast enough to watch them.