Narrowboat Escapology

Shugborough to Great Haywood Marina

2011-10-03T20:07:00.001+01:00

Saturday 24th September 2011.

A rather rushed early morning cruise back into the marina as I unfortunately needed to get back to work today as one of the building projects I was involved with was struggling to complete on time and my guys on site, I guessed, could use some moral support.
We were back home in sunny Teesside before lunch!

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Whittington to Shugborough.

2011-10-03T20:01:00.001+01:00

Friday 23rd September 2011

A clear sky this morning. Arrived at Fradley at around 11.30am where we topped up the water tank. We didn't really need water but I wanted an opportunity, as suggested on Wednesday, to stop and check on the selfish moorers who had now outstayed their welcome on the 48hr (maximum stay) visitor moorings.
As predicted while everyone else struggled to find space to moor for lunch, or even an overnight stop, the following boats had been here for in excess of 96hrs!!! They were showing no inclination of moving soon and are possibly still there now!

The Candy Boat!

Holly (SR & ME Lord) and the boat in front!

The Saltire (Ian & Sue)!

Escargo

All the above boats had been moored for a minimum of 96hrs (made worse by the fact they were directly opposite the British Waterways Office!).

Just as it was getting dark we finally moored for the evening near Shugborough. A great days cruising!

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Hopwas to Drayton Bassett and back to Whittington.

2011-10-03T19:44:00.001+01:00

Thursday 22nd September 2011.

Left Hopwas under a clear sunny sky although this soon became a windy trip but thankfully without rain!
By lunchtime we had reached a very quiet Fazeley Junction where we turned towards Birmingham; winding just before the Curdworth Bottom Lock; and mooring at Drayton Manor Footbridge.
We then had a walk into the village of Drayton Bassett; not sure what I was expecting; but a village without a pub, or a shop, or even a footpath is not a village at all! Apart from a glimpse at handful of fancy houses on the outskirts it has nothing to offer the visitor!
After lunch inboard we cruised back to Fazeley for fridge top-up!
The junction was strangely quiet, with few moored craft. We pushed on out of Fazeley and moored for the evening at Whittington in warm sunshine (& wind!).

Elaine in the doorway of one of the turrets on Drayton Manor Footbridge.

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Alrewas to Hopwas

2011-10-03T19:30:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 21st September 2011

Woke up to a clear blue sky. Reversed into the winding hole and turned to return back up to cruise back up to Fradley where we would turn towards Fazeley.
We were surprised to see a long line of boats still moored on the 48hr mooring! I have made a conscious effort not to publish the names of the offending moorers until I have given them the benefit of the doubt and will check the moorings again later in the week. (watch this space to see who gets named and shamed!)
We spent over an hour and a half stopping for water and the wind was now picking up!
Stopped for lunch in strong winds near Huddlesford Junction.
After lunch we cruised down to Hopwas. During the cruise we realised mooring under a tree the night before had covered the boat in a layer of sticky sap that was attracting hundreds of unwelcome wasps! A problem we would have to cope with until we could clean the boat, back at the marina, at the weekend.

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Fradley to Alrewas

2011-10-03T19:15:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 20th September 2011
Woke up to a very warm but sadly very wet morning!
Moved off our mooring down towards Alrewas at about 10.30am.
It's always a bad sign when cars are driving around with headlights on in the middle of the day! By 11.40 we were mooring up in Alrewas. Our cruising patterns had not changed; our cruising distance wasn't even enough to charge the batteries up; 6 lock/miles. We then read the remainder of the Sunday Times supplements before wandering along to the co-op for the essential fresh stuff.
On our travels I could help noticing the job advert outside the butchers for "a young man 16 to 17 years old!" which made me realise how Alrewas was refreshingly out of date and clearly unaffected by modern political correctness.

An honest and refreshing advert!

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Handsacre to Fradley

2011-09-19T20:40:00.001+01:00

Monday 19th September 2011

After breakfast we set away in good time and within a short time we were soon locking down Woodend Lock. After leaving the lock we felt honoured to be passing steamboat President and the butty Kildare. A blast of the whistle as it approached affermed it's right to the middle of the canal! We duly pulled over to give them the deeper water and enjoyed the spectacle of them passing. Just a shame none of the crew (dressed in period style) could bring themselves to thank us for our efforts! However a nice sight all the same. They had no doubt been to the Huddlesford Gathering over the weekend and were probably making their way to the next public appearance.
After locking past Fradley Junction we topped up the water and moored opposite in the pound, when a space became available just as we passed.
After lunch it became clear to me that narrowboat 'Labour of Love' was trying to get in the gap in front of the boat. Unfortunately the space (even with our very economic mooring) wasn't long enough to accommodate her. I offered my front bow to tie up against. The crew were also carrying three dogs (one of which only had three legs!) and they needed to moor their bow, hard against the side, as the dogs would otherwise struggle to jump ashore.
I therefore conversely offered to push out our bow and tie up against them. This we did. The dogs were delighted!
Elaine and I then had a gimble up to the Swan and en-route bought a couple of packets of bonbons from the candy boat. The first bag unfortunately only lasted the duration of the walk as we were clearly consuming calories way faster than we were burning them!
The internet connection at Fradley is 'fair' so uploaded the blogs from the last three days.

A rear view of the butty (Kildare) towed by nb President as they approached Woodend Lock.

The Candy Boat at Fradley.

Our mooring at Fradley Junction.

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Shugborough to Handsacre

2011-09-19T19:23:00.001+01:00

Sunday 18th September 2011

After breakfast we walked to both the shops in Gt Haywood to get Sunday papers and two pints of milk.
Elaine baked some rock buns while the usual Shakespeare Line 'bullet boats' passed in both directions attempting to wash moored boats out of the cut!
Finally slipped our mooring at around 11.00am and moved up to Rugeley for lunch and then finally mooring at Handsacre where we moored for the day just beyond the Crown pub.
During an excellent meal we were jolted by what turned out to be a rather incompetent boater who crashed into the back of the boat (using our boat as a buffer) as he moved into his mooring place!!!! It turned out to be narrowboat "Hull 25" crewed by "WB & MA Griffiths" although they didn't introduce themselves!
While reading the Sunday Times I discovered a new iPhone App called 'imail' which was recommended in the travel section as an app that enabled you to send postcards home without the need to find a postbox or a stamp! I've tried it out on my parents and Elaine's daughter (will update on our findings). It looks pretty promising and easy to use as you simply take a photo and add a message and imail print it out and post it for you. (Cost 98p per card).

Elaine's rock buns - delicious!

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2011-09-19T18:26:00.001+01:00

Great Haywood to Shugborough
Saturday 17th September 2011

As we both finished work later than anticipated on Friday and the A1 was closed at Wetherby with a car accident we opted to set away this morning. Left home at a leisurely time and arrived at the Marina at around 11.00am just as narrowboat 'Agagio' was pulling onto the diesel jetty. (Adagio is about that tweets - that we have recently been following see #narrowboatsthattweet on twitter!)
After a coffee and a biscuit we finally got launched about 1.00pm from the berth in the marina - not without an inpromtue foray around previously uncharted territory in the marina by virtue of the prevailing wind and my lack of concentration, (rather preferring to chat to other moorers that concentrate on the job in hand!).
We cruised (possibly our shortest cruise on record) down to the Shugborough straight where we moored for the day. The weather was typically changeable so the hood wasn't collapsed completely.
We are this week concentrating on 'chillaxing' rather than pushing on cruising a ring of some sort. Took the opportunity, for the first time, despite mooring in Great Haywood for the last 4 years, to walk through the woods on the off side of the canal. A pleasant 'gimble' around the woods and the pack-horse bridge which gave me a great opportunity to try out my new Canon camera.
An early night after a great meal on board washed down with a bottle or red.

Boat - 'Cruise Ready'!

2011-09-12T20:34:00.001+01:00

Sunday 11th September 2011

A late start - well deserved after yesterday's busy day!

Finished cleaning the remaining brasswork while the wind started to pick up. A decision to leave the boat the wrong way around in the mooring was easy to make looking into the teeth of a gale! Deploying the longer electric lead was an easier option than risking a manoeuvre in high winds!
It was soon time to watch the Italian Grand Prix from Monza. Although the satellite dish held out during the strong wind we were sure at any time during the race we were going to loose our signal.
After lunch we locked up and headed back north for a tough week at work; safe in the knowledge the boat was 'cruise ready' for next weekend.
I'll let you know how we get on next weekend.

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Cleaning!

2011-09-10T19:58:00.001+01:00

Saturday 10th September

Travelled down to the boat last night after work, arriving just before sunset. The boat had been invaded by spiders! Thankfully all outside but non the less disgusting. Today we spent the full day cleaning the boat internally and externally. Not much fun but quite rewarding; knowing the boat is now clean for our week away next weekend.
About to sit down to a well deserved fillet steak and I have just noticed a very large spider has already built a web between out boat and 'Auntie Wainwrights' the boat next door!!
Removing that is my first job tomorrow!
Turned the boat around on her moorings today (to wash both sides) and am struggling with my orientation! Hopefully I won't step off the wrong side of the boat in the morning!

One side washed!

It had to rain - just after I had polished the brasswork!!!

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Sandon to Great Haywood.

2011-07-09T10:37:00.001+01:00

A very wet morning delayed our departure for an hour or so. Then down through Sandon Lock, past Salt and down through Hoo Mill Lock and into the Marina - Hood up all the way!
It's amazing how the wind always builds as you approach the challenge of manoeuvring a 58' boat in a tight marina! Thankfully we kept it all together and reversed into our mooring perfectly, (probably attributable to luck more than skill).
We then had lunch and made the boat ready to be left for a few weeks. I booked the taxi back to Tattenhall and our intention was to transfere back to the car and go directly home from there. Sadly it was only when we were halfway to Tattenhall that we realised we had left the water pump switched on and our trip home would have to go back via Great Haywood. Oops a 160 minute delay to our journey home!!!
Anyway we were back home by 10.30pm and hoping the forecast weather over the weekend supports our decision to abandon our holiday two days early.

Moored back at Great Haywood - typically the sun comes out after we stop.

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Aston Lock to Sandon

2011-07-08T11:22:00.001+01:00

In the afternoon, once the weather had faired up again, we pushed on down the lock and moored above Sandon Lock.
We decided to try out the restaurant at the Dog & Doublet. It has recently been taken over and refurbished by the Lewis Partnership (the people who have The Moat House at Acton Trussell) and it made sense to end our cruise here as we had started our cruise at the Moat House with our wedding in May. The food did not disappoint; it was first class! As was the service. Even Elaine's beer battered coley was excellent and had unusual presentation. After a bottle of red with the meal and a few drinks in the bar we thought it safer to make our way back to the boat in daylight, as their is no footway along the narrow road between the canal and the pub.
We turned in early ready to cruise back to Great Haywood in the morning.

Elaine's beer battered coley and chips!

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Barlaston to Aston Lock

2011-07-07T14:31:00.001+01:00

No sooner had we set away from our moorings at the Wedgwood Factory it was time to stop in Barlaston Village as we wanted to buy some milk and post a letter. We moored temporarily at the Plume of Feathers Pub and resisted the temptation to look around 'big boyz toys' which sells all kinds on radio controlled toys that I usually enjoy perusing.
Set away again with the intention of mooring in Stone. Stone was very busy coupled with some really selfish mooring by narrowboat 'Ramsden' who was moored right in the centre of a double mooring. Although the crew were more than happy to peer at us out of their portholes as we measured our boat up against the gap at the rear of their boat, and then at the front, they were unwilling to move forward or aft to make space for another boat.
Typically we had no sooner moved off than the crew decided they would now follow us down the next lock!!!
We moved on to moor just above Aston Lock where I took the photo below of narrowboat 'Ramsden' to help warn others of a boat with bad attitude!!

'Narrowboat Ramsden' - a crew without etiquette!

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Westport Lake to Burleston (Wedgwood Factory)

2011-07-06T17:24:00.001+01:00

Today has been a very changeable day with hot sunny spells and heavy rain/thunderstorms changing every 20 mins from one extreme to another.
Topped up the water etc. at Etruria and winded on the Caldon Branch before queueing once again to drop down through the Etruria flight.
Elaine increased her confidence in boat control and took the boat through 3 locks; with me on the windless. Can't think why I am encouraging her in this direction as this just means more graft for me; with less leaning on the tiller!!
Anyway, trip on the boat wouldn't be complete without standing in dog shit; and today, an inconsiderate dog owner made it possible once more! Somewhere in Trentham during a thunderstorm I picked up a nice quantity on my shoe before walking it liberally over the fore and aft decks only realising my error once my nose picked up the aroma 10 mins later. Luckily on this occasion I didn't walk it through the boat as well!!
Moored up for the day, early afternoon, near the Wedgwood factory at Burleston for a quiet country mooring with good satellite signal.

Moored at the Wedgwood Factory at Burleston.

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Wheelock to Westport Lake

2011-07-05T17:13:00.001+01:00

Awake early and pulling away from our moorings at 7.25am after breakfast. We were the first boat to start the climb up heartbreak hill. Along the way up to Kidsgrove we helped another boat by readying the locks for them (just in case we didn't have enough to do!) but the crew said we had restored their faith in boating (they had some bad experiences the day before with boaters who don't know the etiquette or just were plain selfish).
Although the sun shone all morning it began to rain as we approached the summit of the climb; (Kidsgrove). Finally mooring up to wait for the tunnel at 1.30pm in, by now, heavy rain.
We travelled through the tunnel and were not surprised, after only 40 minutes underground, that it was raining at the other side of the hill as well.
By the time we reached Westport lake, circa 3.00pm, the weather dried up and we moored up for the night.
We are hoping that this mooring is the last 'safe haven' before we tackle Stoke-on-Trent tomorrow.

Waiting in the rain at the north tunnel portal

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Church Minshull to Wheelock

2011-07-04T21:37:00.001+01:00

Left our mooring (again in fantastic sunshine) and again played the waiting game for each and every lock along the way. Normally, early morning cruising is a quiet time on the canal, but as the weather is so hot, more people are making use of the cooler cruising times.
It does seem as though everyone is very red! I guess, they too have the same ineffective brand of suncream!
After turning onto the Trent and Mersey at Middlewich we moored on the wider water south of Kings Lock.
We then went on a recce of the local area in search of a Tesco! With the help of "google places" on the iPhone we picked one out in half a mile! The iphone is an excellent tool for boaters!
After lunch we had a gimble down to Kings Lock Chandlery as you cannot believe how much kit a business could have in such a small space.
It was quite busy and the only thing we could see we might want was an ice-cream so we thought better of it and returned empty handed. That must be a first for a chandlery visit!!
After lunch we pushed on to Wheelock and pulled onto the back of a long line of moored boats all poised ready for the climb up "heart-break hill" in the morning.
Had a chinese takeaway for dinner followed by some 'lemon meringue' ice-cream. All washed down with a couple of Budweisers! Delicious!
The weather is forecast to change tomorrow so we are planning for an early dash in the morning before it breaks. If possible we would like to get up the hill and through Harecastle Tunnel by close of play. Only time will tell!

Waiting for a lock again; on the Middlewich Branch!!!

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Tattenhall to Church Minshull

2011-07-03T21:02:00.001+01:00

Just after setting off we met up with a flotilla of canoes all manned by budding 'Duke of Edinburgh Award hopefulls who were canoeing from Chester to Bunbury over the weekend. They seemed to be almost keeping up with us despite our 40hp diesel and they were carrying their canoes around the locks! Another fantastic day with sun feeling very hot - even at 9.00am. Travelled up through the locks with the only notable issue was at Bunbury Locks where an 'experienced' boater didn't want to pass in the locks and reversed out of the top lock after we pulled into the bottom lock?? Maybe he just didn't want to pass US in the lock!
By 2.00pm we were fully cooked! The factor 50+ suncream showed to give little protection! While the day cooled we moored for a siesta above the lock at Venetian Marina; before moving up to Church Minshull where we had a great mooring looking over the Weaver Valley.
A bonus for the day - I found a hammer on the towpath; if you have lost a 4lb lump hammer with a yellow handle - I've got it!!!

Traffic jam at Venetian Marina Lock - us with the sunshade up!

Sunset over the Weaver Valley

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Tattenhall to Chester & Back!

2011-07-02T21:52:00.001+01:00

Woke up to a fantastic sunny day with no wind; a complete contrast to any weather we have witnessed at Tattenhall during our 6 week stay.
Today would be our first day on our trip back to our 'home' at Great Haywood. However, we decided to turn completely the opposite direction and travel down to Chester. This was something we had intended to do during our 6 week stay but crap weather at the weekends had prevented. Despite the wide locks it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip; winding in Chester City Centre just after lunch. Quickly bagged a great mooring directly outside of the Old Harkers Arms and enjoyed a couple of pints of Cheshire Cat (a delicious blond beer).
Lunch on board before setting off to in a hurry in order to pair-up with narrowboat 'Louisiana II' that was passing our boat just as we were finishing our meal. Pairing-up through the wide locks made our journey back to Tattenhall easy. Tony and Chris (the owners) from Lincoln were great company for the afternoon.
As night fell under a great red sunset we were moored beyond Tattenhall near to The Shady Oak at Bridge 109.
A cracking day and hope to reach Middlewich tomorrow.

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Beeston Locks to Tattenhall Marina

2011-05-21T20:38:00.001+01:00

Today we were up early for a prompt departure because although we didn't have many lock miles to do we had to check-in and moor-up in our new marina; and then find a way of getting back to our car in Great Haywood.
Tattenhall Marina will be our short term mooring until our next annual leave when we will return to Great Haywood picking up the top end of the Trent and Mersey enroute.
Aries Cars came at 2.00pm just after grand prix qualifying to transfer us back to our car! I had a range of companies to pick from but showed my allegiance to Volvo (picking the card with a V70) on the picture - sad I know!!
By 8.30 pm we had been back to the marina to pack the car; visited Ellesmere Port and I am standing waiting for fish and chips in Northallerton.

Our new berth for the summer.

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Wrenbury to Beeston Locks

2011-05-20T17:37:00.001+01:00

Friday 20th May 2011

At 15mins past midnight we were disturbed by an alcohol fuelled low life from Wrenbury who was walking along the line of moored boats banging on the roof and shouting "f**k off! You shouldn't be here! I live here" which was nice. I have my fingers crossed that he fell in and we will find him floating face down on the canal later today.
Sadly we didn't find him but suspect he lives on a boat east of the manual lift bridge!
By lunchtime we were decending the Hurleston Locks down to the Shroppie main line. We stopped and moored on the beer garden of The Barbridge Inn and we were unimpressed by the Pub. The menu, the table and the sticky toffee puddings were all of similar stickiness. The speckled hen was sadly undrinkable, and I suspect the beers are as badly cared for as the pub itself. The scampi and chips were edible but I will not be stopping there again to try anything else.
We travelled further north and west on the Shroppie on parts of the canal we have never travelled. The wide locks and heavy gates are an unwelcome challenge at this end of the day! Finally mooring just above Beeston Stone Lock where we must appear invisible to the passing 'ownerships flyboats' and 'Anglowelsh hirers' who all seem intent on washing us out of the cut!!

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Whitchurch to Wrenbury

2011-05-20T11:57:00.005+01:00

Thursday 19th May 2011

Left our moorings in Whitchurch and worked through the Grindley Brook Locks. The locks were busy but we seemed to strike lucky as the whole flight only took a little over 1 hour.
Arrived at Wrenbury lift bridge at 1.30pm. And moored up for the evening.
We were booked into the Dusty Miller for 7.00pm.
We enjoyed a fantastic meal again although they fore-fitted their tip when they continued to charge me for a bottle of still water that was 23 months beyond it's best before date! (£4) Even though this was pointed out to the proprietor.
Then back to the boat for last orders and bed!

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Frankton Junction to Whitchurch

2011-05-20T11:57:00.003+01:00

Wednesday 18th May 2011

Set away in good time as we intended to travel down the Prees Branch and the Whitchurch Branch on our return along the canal.
Stopped at Ellesmere once more travelling down the Ellesmere Arm so that Elaine could get her Tesco 'fix'. The journey wouldn't be deemed a success without gathering some Clubcard Points en- route.
However it also gave us the opportunity to try the pork pies from Vermeulen's Deli - as recommend in the Pearson Guide. They were fantastic!! Great recommendation.
Had lunch along the Prees Branch after winding at the Marina.
Finally mooring just beyond the Whitchurch after finding there was no mooring space down the Arm. However we travelling the full length of the Arm so can tick that one off!
Although it was a very wet morning; the afternoon was reasonably dry and sunny and the day ended with a lovely evening sunset.

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Llangollen to Frankton Junction

2011-05-20T11:57:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 17th May 2011

Pulled out of the basin at circa 10.00am after a fantastic meal the night before in The Cornmill it was unlikely to be an early start.
Seemed to take an age to get to Trevor with hire-boaters reluctant to deploy crew members at blind corners and narrow sections leading to much delay and confusion!!!
Finally moored at Frankton Junction for the evening. Darkness settled with a peacock squawking in the trees nearby!

Elaine again holding the tiller on the return across the Ponty!

Back across Chirk Aqueduct.

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Chirk to Llangollen

2011-05-20T11:52:00.001+01:00

Monday 16th May 2011

Today we negotiated Chirk Aqueduct and Tunnel and travelled across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and down the very narrow section from Trevor to Llangollen Basin.
Although we arrived in Llangollen in good time for lunch at a tea-shop we had struggled all day to make reasonable pace as the current on the canal was quite strong and shallow.
We moored in the canal basin which was a great novelty with water and electric for each boat. Although there was a £6 charge it was well worth the investment to be so central to Llangollen. Last time Elaine & I travelled down to Llangollen was 10 years ago and the marina basin had not been created; a great improvement!

Chirk Aqueduct.

Elaine at the helm across the Pontcysyllte - not nervous much!!

The Flinstones Range of furniture next to the canal in Llangollen

Elaine and I walked up to the Horseshoe Falls beyond the limit of navigation. About a two mile walk from the basin and the falls are pretty unimpressive.

Horseshoe Falls Llangollen.

Spotted this Mandarin Duck on the walk up to the Horseshoe Falls.

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Ellesmere to Chirk

2011-05-19T12:40:00.001+01:00

Sunday 15th May 2011

Left moorings by the Mere and at Ellesmere travelled down the arm and moored for shopping at Tesco. A brief gimble around the town before setting down to Sunday paper reading with a cup of coffee. Soon we were underway once more; and after topping up the water we were heading towards Chirk. A duck hitched a ride; although it's stowaway status didn't last long as the galley girl evicted it as she had concerns that it may crap on the boat!
Moored for lunch just beyond Frankton Locks for lunch.
The weather was changeable with showers and high winds at New Martin locks provided some entertainment with boats blown onto the offside bank. We joined the back of a queue of 6 boats and encountered a delay of circa 90mins!
By 7.00pm we reached Chirk and moored half a mile before the aqueduct.

The view from our mooring next to the Mere at Ellesmere

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Wrenbury to Blake Mere

2011-05-17T21:26:00.001+01:00

Saturday 14th May 2011

Full cooked breakfast to start the day - making the most of our farm shop purchases from the Adderley Flight earlier.
Updated some of the blog although still 4 days behind (struggled for adequate signal).
Set away at 10.30am through the Wrenbury lift bridge and enjoyed a thoroughly pleasant days cruising despite the heavy rain showers in the afternoon. I had forgotten how nice this canal actually is.
Negotiated Grindley Brook assisted by the lock keeper who, although possibly not as jolly as the Nicholson Guide suggested, was very helpful all the same.
Finally mooring on the edge of picturesque Blake Mere.

Grindley Brook - locking through under a threatening sky!

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Nantwich to Wrenbury.

2011-05-17T21:11:00.001+01:00

Friday 13th May 2011

Up early as it was my 45th birthday! By 7.30am I had opened my cards and presents from family and friends. We were then soon underway and climbing the locks onto the Llangollen. Topped up the water tanks at the top of the flight and pushed on to Wrenbury - mooring before the lift bridge for a lunchtime pint in the Dusty Miller before walking into the village and cutting back through the church yard on our return to the canal.
Staying in Wrenbury for the afternoon to recharge our batteries and had a wonderful birthday meal in the Dusty Miller in the evening. The bar had been recently refurbished and the food and wine was fantastic. We hope to stop off here again on our return back down the canal.

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Audlem to Nantwich

2011-05-17T21:00:00.001+01:00

Thursday 12th May
Generally an uneventful day with much of the same on the long straight lengths with the Shroppie.
Finally mooring outside the Nantwich Marina. After a wander around the marina we cooked some fantastic burgers and average sausages obtained along the canal on a disposable BBQ. Generally the meal was a success although the weather prevented us enjoying the full outdoor experience (eating in the boat).

BBQ at Nantwich.

On the way to Nantwich we did pass a Secret bunker that was well signposted from the canal. Not sure how much of a secret it really was!!!

Signpost for the secret bunker!!

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Goldstone Wharf to Audlem

2011-05-14T09:51:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 11th May 2011

Pulling from our moorings at 7.30am I enjoyed an early morning cruise up to the first lock with the smell of bacon sandwiches being prepared in the galley.
Tyrley Locks were very busy and full of the usual busy bodies who couldn't organise their own negotiation of the flight but had plenty of advice to give to others.
As we negotiated the pound of the penultimate lock we became grounded as the lock below was emptied. It was a problem soon solved once the lock above was emptied, but embarrassing all the same - attracting the usual gaggle of gongoozlers! I think the ice cream van was the only thing missing from the canal side scene!!
We were soon through the lock and mooring in Market Drayton for lunch. We walked into town.
Although we had an enjoyable lunch at a cafe in the Market Place; the town is otherwise dreadful! 50% of the retail property is vacant and the other 50% is occupied by businesses that survive off the last pickings of a dying civilisation! (Wilkinsons, Lidl, Aldi, charity shops, etc.) However, it must be a good place to have your hair cut as I noticed no fewer than 8 hairdressers on my brief sweep of the town.
After lunch we filled up with water and pushed on to Audlem; mooring outside the Shroppie Fly. I managed to sneak on the end of a mooring big enough for five boats but otherwise occupied by two badly moored hire boats who I am sure that I was being indignant for sharing their mooring ring!
On our way down to Audlem we bought some bacon, sausage and scones from the farm shop at Lock 1 on the Adderley Flight. Alison, the female part of the farm shop business, had adopted a lamb that followed her around like a dog! Elaine thought it was lovely!

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Brewood to Goldstone

2011-05-14T09:24:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 10th May 2011

A light breakfast and an early start in order to arrive at Gnosall for lunch. At Gnosall we moored up below a crows nest which had it's problems but after a fantastic pint of Ruddles County at The Oak and delicious fish and chips from the take-away we weren't bothered about a bit of guano on the boat roof.
We pushed on after lunch arriving at Goldstone Wharf for good moorings.
To summarise the day it had been slow progress as we seemed to have spent hours and hours on tick-over passing long rows of permanently moored boats.

Young ducklings - eagerly awaiting food!

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Penkridge to Brewood

2011-05-14T09:09:00.001+01:00

Monday 9th May
Left Penkridge and as we locked up through Gailey, Elaine presented me with a 'duck call' that she had bought from the craft shop (a strange gift; but something I always fancied); also it sounds nothing like a duck when blown!
As we passed Calf Heath Marina I looked out for narrowboat 'bramble'; a colleagues boat but I guess they were out or I was looking in the wrong place; as I couldn't spot them.
After negotiating Autherley Junction like a real amateur we progressed up the Shroppie. As we passed under the M54 we spotted Ian & Linda from Doncaster who were making use of the shelter from the showers as they painted their boat in the relative gloom of the bridge. Although gloomy it makes for a cheap wet-dock I guess.
We finally moored in Brewood and went shopping for a few essentials.
The evening came to a close with an amazing thunder and lightening show; made more dramatic by our location in a deep cutting.

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Sunday 8th May 2011 Acton Trussell to Penkridge

2011-05-12T20:16:00.000+01:00

Waking and having breakfast in the hotel seemed strange with the boat moored outside. However it was a last chance to chat to family and friends before they all departed back to the working week.
We then spent the majority of the day in and around the hotel with lunch in the bar. It was soon 4.00pm and we promised Robert and Suzanne a trip along the canal so they travelled with us up to Teddesley Boats at which point they turned to walk back to the hotel while we moved on to Penkridge for the evening. It had been a busy weekend - if not a little stressful - although we were now looking forward to a fortnight on the boat for our honeymoon.

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Saturday 7th May 2011 Wedding Day!

2011-05-12T20:05:00.000+01:00

After showing a few of our friends and family around the boat who were staying in the hotel across the canal, we settled down to watch the grand prix qualifiers Turkey.
We then left the boat and took our wedding attire across to the hotel where we would take up occupation for 24 hrs. After our wedding and reception we wondered over to the boat (about 1.30am!) to lock up and found that several of our guests had decorated our boat further with balloons. Although we were staying in the hotel in a fantastic room (suite) I was still very tempted to sleep on the boat! However it was late and by now all our clothes were in the hotel so we headed back to the suite.

A sign displayed on the rear hatch!

The wedding cake.

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A Cruise to the Wedding Venue

2011-05-07T10:09:00.001+01:00

Friday 6th May 2011
After viewing the wedding cake at Amerton Farm we decorated the boat with bows and ribbons and set off for Acton Trussell.
A really enjoyable journey with passing boaters wishing us well! Although one guy did shout 'don't do it' much to the
annoyance of his other half!
Moored at Acton Trussell opposite the Moat House at about 3.00pm and enjoyed an excellent evening meal with friends and family.
Returned to the boat in torchlight with light drizzle spoiling an otherwise fantastic day.

The Mooring.

The cake - amazing skill!

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What Fantastic Weather!

2011-04-09T20:01:00.002+01:00

Elaine and I had intended travelling down to the boat last weekend but made some last minute rescheduling due to the weather and opted for this weekend instead. Good choice. Travelled down from the north east this morning stopping at Sheffield to collect some cushions we had left templates for the last time we passed. Although all the cushions we collected we wrong in one way or another the weather has more than made up for our disappointment. We again installed the new log chest that we took home to varnish at the end of our last visit and the cushions although not strictly as our specification were comfortable. I fitted some new brass replacement door stays to the rear doors as the door stays that were fitted had white plastic components that didn't meet Elaine's exacting standards so were bound to be replaced sooner or later. I also tried out the 'dremel' at polishing the fair-leads - I can confirm I still haven't found a proper use for the dremel - jury is still out on that bit of kit! Visited the Dog and Doublet at Sandon; it has now been bought and is now run by the owners of the Moat House at Acton Trussell (Lewis Partnership) so we were keen to try it out. Very good is our review. Look forward to visiting next time. Booking is essential! Back to the boat for dinner.

Back Home Today

2011-03-22T19:59:00.001Z

Up early as lots to do today. We had breakfast, loaded the car and locked up the boat with tracker activated and we were away from the marina by 9.30.
First appointment with Patricia (the wedding flower lady) in Penkridge. Next appointment with Amerton Cakes (you guessed!). Thankfully by 1.00pm the stops on the way home got more interesting; Midland Chandlers and Kuranda. I am planning solar panels soon so thought I had better study the kit!
Stopped in Sheffield to order the new cushions for on top of the new log chest.
Back home by 5.00pm to long grass and the usual chores.

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A Monday Cruise! Yes Monday!

2011-03-21T16:34:00.001Z

Cruised down from the marina to Rugeley to wind and return to Shugborough Hall.
On our way we spotted the crew of narrowboat Beeston Castle who we had met last in the summer of 2008 as we were both cruising the 4 counties (clockwise). They are still enjoying their time share of their boat and are out for a short chill-out week in the local area. It was good to catch up!
Returning via Colwich Lock where we had to queue as usual!! Rather surprising that we had to queue in March - who knows how bad this 'slow-filler' is going to be in July!
The weather today was again excellent.

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Location:Shugborough Hall, Kingdom

A Diamond for Elaine

2011-03-20T20:06:00.001Z

Yes - Elaine always wanted a diamond! Today I painted one on the back hatch! I guess my joke was wasted on her! I could only have got away with it; as she already has a ring!

This blog update is a bit of an experiment using my iPhone.

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Location:Stafford,United Kingdom

Log chest and table installed!

2011-03-20T10:06:00.003Z

Elaine & I travelled down to the boat in good time; arriving circa 11.00am. The previous evening I had collected the new log box and table from the joiners shop made to my design and sizes. It was quite a relief when the log box actually fit snugly into the bow deck. We then spent the remainder of the afternoon fitting the table leg base and pole into the steel deck. Although the steel was 5mm thick it was cut through quite quickly with my steel hole cutter. I'm thinking - money well spent on the hole cutter!
Anyway by 4.30pm all was installed and the front deck was looking quite a good place to hangout on the boat. I am typing this update from the new facility! The seat is a little hard; as I still need to make a template to take to the upholsterers to have a loose seat cushion made.

New Log Chest/Seat and Table Installed.

It seems to have been a long winter!

2011-03-16T21:54:00.003Z

Well - it's mid March and we are planning to spend our first long weekend on the boat. Previously we have stayed at the boat in all weathers. It seems to have been a long winter and although we have visited the boat several times we have failed to stay longer than a few hours. We have either; got much older and less tolerant of the cold; or, wiser, choosing to maximise our weekends during the winter period doing more pressing chores at home.

This was the image from the Marina Webcam during the majority of the winter period!

This year is a big year for Elaine and I; we are getting married in May at the Moat House at Acton Trussell so there has been lots to sort out. We will therefore be making up for lost time on the boat; spending more time this summer on the boat and we intend to honeymoon up the Shroppie, Llangollen and Montgomery before taking up short-term moorings at Tattenhall Marina during the summer. This will allow us to explore some further reaches from our base at Great Haywood and return later in the year.

Improvements on the boat this year will, all being well, include the addition of solar panels to our battery system (for less reliance on shore power and engine running) and the provision of better seating/storage and a table in the bow (a quiet place to update the blog with good broadband signal while the 'galley girl' slaves in the kitchen!). I will keep the blog updated with improvements as they materialise.

Final Weeks Cruise of 2010 - Part 6

2010-09-27T19:16:00.002+01:00

Saturday 25th September 2010 - Fradley Junction to Great Haywood

Up early and ready to set away at 7.30am. A clear blue sky with sunshine but a biting cold wind! Negotiated Fradley Junction without incident although we guessed it would 'heat-up' later as there were boats moored overnight on all the white bollards at the top and bottom of the swan lock leaving no space for waiting boats.
Bacon sandwiches en route after Woodend Lock and then we stopped briefly at Rugeley to visit Morrisons. We then continued up to Great Haywood to watch the Grand Prix Qualifiers.
The only three locations near Shugbrough Hall where I know I can obtain a satellite reception were unfortunately all taken so we moved up to the marina to watch the Grand Prix.
The end of an excellent week. Looking forward to going back to work - Not!

Sunday 26th September 2010 - Set away back home.

Final Week Cruise of 2010 - Part 5

2010-09-24T15:58:00.006+01:00

Moored outside the Clock Warehouse

Wednesday 22^nd September 2010 – Shardlow to Branston Water Park

Before we set away we thought we would have a walk around the village as we have been here several times before but never wandered further than the canal side pubs. A nice place – nothing further to report.

By 10.30am we returned to the boat (avoiding an over aggressive pair of swans) and quickly backed out of our mooring to take the opportunity of joining narrowboat Better Than Ever (a canaltime boat) in the first lock.

We travelled up through all the wide locks with this boat and stopped outside Mercia Marina for lunch and a wander into the marina where a white chocolate Magnum took toll on my waistline! After lunch decided to push on through to Barton Water Park. Arrived just before dark and passed Linda and Ian who were moored and still making a very gentle pace towards the Trent. We wished them well and look forward to seeing them again next year.

When you are moored below the wide locks on the Trent and Mersey while the lock is emptied you can suffer a savage surge. Therefore when you are only loosely tied by your middle rope the boat can quickly get out of shape in the canal. Yes – you guessed. The boat did get out of shape; once; and we have suffered damage to one of the zips on the cratch cover on the starboard side when the zip was jammed between the boat shell and an unforgiving concrete lock structure! The zip lost. We will have to sort this out tomorrow in better light together with clearing the weed hatch as we have picked up some kind of debris in the last 4 miles before mooring.

Thursday 23^rd September 2010 – Branston Water Park to Alrewas

During breakfast we were passed by a very fast moving canaltime boat – aptly named “naughty Natalie”! They had a bow wave and a rooster tale that many a powerboat racer would be proud of. Surprisingly the skipper managed to travel along the whole line of moored craft without being reprimanded by a single moored boater.

After removing a couple of miles of nylon rope from around the propeller and a large spider from the weed hatch we set away at 9.30am.

It was again a lovely sunny day although within 30 seconds of Elaine stepping off the boat to open Barton Turns Lock it turned into a monsoon! She was completely soaked. With sodden clothing and straggly hair with her mascara running down her face see looked a real treat! However her sense of humour did not wane. Before we reached the next lock, (Wychnor Lock), she had been showered and changed and the weather had changed back into a lovely sunny day as quick as it had changed into a monsoon.

At Alrewas we moored up for the day. Visited Coates’s Butchers for a Pork Pie for lunch. (We had hoped to get some of their pork and black pudding speciality sausages but none had been made this week).

In the afternoon Elaine set about repairing the zip to the cratch-cover and made a first class job with limited equipment. The stitching is very neat. I painted a white square on the rear hatch in readiness for a red diamond pattern (part of the original intended livery that the boat builder didn’t get done two and half years ago!). I also painted the small ‘dams’ that I have fitted to the rear gutters to prevent rainwater over shooting the side outlets and soaking the rear seat cushions. Apart from encountering heavy rain halfway through he job it was a success – well hopefully; it’s still drying and it’s still raining – so will see the result in the morning.We are again moored below that oak tree with occasional falling acorns to keep us on our toes!

Friday 24th September 2010 - Alrewas to Fradley Junction

Woke to the sound of rain on the boat roof. After breakfast I checked the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast to find it was scheduled to clear up by lunchtime. A plan to set off late was hatched. Elaine baked some rock buns to accompany our 11 o'clock coffee break while I inspected yesterdays paint job and removed the masking tape. It was quite a smell sensation; Cellulose Paint on the rear deck with the wafted smell of fresh baking from the galley! The paintwork turned out well considering the weather we had endured during the last 12 hours and better still the rock buns were delicious!

Not a little dragonfly! (In the wildlife park next to Fradley Junction).

Once we set away the weather was dry; but colder than it had been so far this week. At Fradley it was surprisingly quiet; with mooring space! We found it hard to resist the empty moorings opposite the British Waterways Shop; so after topping up the water tank we moored up for the day. We had only travelled 6 lock/miles but we had all morning tomorrow to get to our intended Saturday mooring at Shugborough Hall to watch the Grand Prix Qualifiers. Ran the engine for an hour to top up the batteries as we hadn't travelled far enough to reach 100% charge. Had a wonder around the junction before an early night ready for an early start in the morning.

Mooring just south of Fradley Junction

Final Weeks Cruise of 2010 - Part 4

2010-09-21T21:18:00.009+01:00

A misty start at Barton Water Park

Waiting for the Stenson Lock

Tuesday 21st September 2010 - Branston Water Park to Shardlow

Woke to a very foggy day but it wasn't long before the bright sunrise burnt off the mist to reveal a beautiful blue cloudless sky with not a breath of wind.
Set away, Elaine walking to prepare the first lock on a heavily dewed towpath. Passed Shobnall Fields in Burton-upon-Trent and into Dallow Lock where an old lady riding a battery powered scooter offered to help Elaine with the lock gates! Elaine thought about it for quite a while before declining her services!
When filling up the water tank etc. at Horninglow Basin Sanitary Station we were plagued by a young kid on a bike who had far more questions than answers. However when questioned he was allegedly missing school as it was a teacher training day. He said "It's all about the teachers these days isn't it!"
After a late lunch at Swarkestone we finally arrived in Shardlow at around 6.00pm. It seemed like a long days cruising; perhaps because the wide lock gates were a nightmare to close; particularly when you are travelling down as a single boat. On many occasions I was having to tie up and go back and assist Elaine with the heavy gates.
At Shardlow however a mooring outside the historic 'clock warehouse' was rewarding enough as we could only guess which historic boats had moored here before us! An excellent mooring and a good meal (although Elaine now stinks of garlic!). Having winded in the basin we are now orientated for starting our journey back tomorrow.

Final Weeks Cruise of 2010 - Part 3

2010-09-20T17:41:00.006+01:00

RNLI Memorial
Fleet Air Arm Memorial

A Sculpture in the Main Memorial

Monday 20th September 2010 - Alrewas to Branston Water Park

Although we woke to a very dark and threatening sky it soon faired up and by the end of the day was spectacular for this time of year.
We walked from our overnight mooring to the National Memorial Arboretum which is only about 1 mile outside of Alrewas although it did mean crossing the busy A38. The speed on the A38 was quite a contrast to the canal pace of life! Although it was a little windy it was very interesting to explore the site and view the many memorials. Well recommended to anyone who wants to break their journey.
Returned to the boat for lunch before setting away down onto the river. By 4.00pm we had passed Barton Turns Marina and had reached our overnight mooring at Branston Water Park. An excellent mooring at the edge of the Water Park; I was wishing we had some folding bikes on board to explore the area further but there was brass and windows to clean so we weren't short of stuff to do. We need to get a reasonably prompt start in the morning as we are hoping to reach Shardlow by tomorrow night.

Final Weeks Cruise of 2010 - Part 2

2010-09-20T07:51:00.003+01:00

Sunday 19th September - Rugeley to Alrewas

Rain showers appeared to be the order of the day as it had rained on and off most of the night. In between showers we walked to Morrisons for a Sunday paper and came back with the usual accompliment of provisions; nothing we particularly needed but they took our fancy in the shop and sadly, it appears from the packaging they all have calories.
After breakfast that featured scrambled eggs (not just any scambled eggs; these are scrambled eggs made from eggs that were laid by my mothers chickens that she keeps in the garden at home - very nice they were too).
After a late departure we travelled down through Armitage and Handsacre arriving at Fradley Junction about 4.30pm just in time for a bus load of welsh choir-men to be offloaded to add a further 55 faces to the crowds of gongoozlers. The junction was very busy as everyone seemed to be going the same direction as us - meaning much juggling and queueing of boats was necessary outside the Swan (where the male voice choir congregated with pints in hand). Thankfully we didn't provide a spectacle and in fact I was complemented on my boat handling ability by another skipper! (I however have no witnesses to this as Elaine was at the lock at the time).
Finally arrived at Alrewas; mooring near the winding hole at around 6.00pm under a very dark threatening sky. We had clearly travelled during the best part of the day. Only problem is we are parked under an oak tree which means every now and again an acorn falls onto the boat roof to keep you on your toes!

Final Weeks Cruise of 2010 - Part 1

2010-09-18T18:25:00.005+01:00

Saturday 18th September 2010 - Great Haywood to Rugeley

Although we broke up from work yesterday for a week we had intended travelling down to Great Haywood last night. The delayed start to the holiday was as a result of my Volvo experiencing some kind of electronic fault on the Thursday evening, whereby the car went into "Full Guard Mode" thinking for itself that it was being stolen. This involved a very difficult recovery on the Friday, as all the wheels were locked in gear; made slightly worse by an over exuberant recovery driver who clearly underestimated the cars determination not to be stolen which in the end involved the back axle being pulled off by his winch! This making the repair much more prolonged than anticipated and probably much more expensive (although the recovery company are footing the bulk of the bill).
However it was nice to be driven in Elaine's car for a change. As I had no control of the vehicle (from the passenger seat) this meant that when we were passing Amerton Farm Shop; Elaine was able to pull in and I ended up buying a wedding cake for our wedding in May next year! Well at least ordering a cake (I guess a fresh one would go mouldy by May). Non the less it will be a very fine cake; made by the same people who prepared a cake for the last royal visit to Staffordshire. By Appointment to the Queen no less!
Once at the Marina we unloaded the car. While Elaine found a home for the contents of this latest food drop I applied the name plate to the 2nd spare toilet cassette. This tank is now called 'Hobbs' after our neighbours back home. This completes the set of three tanks. The others being 'Maynard' and 'Dickson' who are my parents neighbours with whom they have had many years of legal wranglings. No doubt by the end of this week; like their namesakes; they will also be full of s**t!
Finally setting sail down the Trent and Mersey at about 1.30pm we moored just beyond Bridge 66 in Rugeley. On the way we passed Linda and Ian who were now heading home for the winter and had overnight mooring near the Christian Boaters Fellowship. They introduced us to their new crew member - a 9 month old black Springer Spaniel. We will no doubt meet up again this week as we are sharing the same canal for the next 3 days.

August Bank Holiday Weekend

2010-09-18T17:52:00.002+01:00

(Sorry this update is even later than usual - I misplaced my notes.)

Thursday 26th August 2010
Arrived at the boat in the evening in drizzle and wind. Loaded up; and after dinner battened down the hatches for an early night.

Friday 27th August 2010
After topping up the water tank and a quick trip to Argos at Stafford to purchase a replacement set of bathroom scales we set away up the Trent & Mersey towards Stone. We always anticipate that Bank Holiday weekends are going to be busy and after 1 full hour of cruising we had only travelled up through Hoo Mill Lock (about 1 mile away) as we encountered a queue of 4 boats at the lock. Not to worry we had no preconception as to how far we were intending to travel. Finally we couldn't resist an excellent mooring in Burston and stopped for a relaxing evening on the boat with dinner on the boat with a bottle of red.

Saturday 28th August 2010
Up and away in good time in order to 'wind' in Stone and moor up to watch the Grand Prix qualifiers. After lunch we visited the chandlers and purchased an updated Nicholson Guide (four counties) as the existing was getting a little out of date. On the way back to the boat we couldn't resist calling in the Star. A very old pub that was built prior to the canal and over the years has suffered massive subsidence. The bar floor level is now approx 18inches lower than the outside ground level and I almost fell into the pub as I opened the door. I know people fall out of pubs but falling into a pub is ridiculous. Stayed the evening moored in Stone. We anticipated Stone to be full of boats over the Bank Holiday but most people had stayed away and we had acres of space!

Sunday 29th August 2010
Very heavy rain prevented any cruising through the morning but after a short dash to the Sunday paper shop we spent the rest of the day chill-axing! (We did of course see the Grand Prix). In the late afternoon, in better conditions we cruised back to Burston where we had moored on the Friday night.

Monday 30th August 2010
Excellent weather, (as is always the case for Mondays - but this was a Bank Holiday Monday), provided for some very pleasant cruising back to the Marina. Only snag was; we then had to travel home in Bank Holiday traffic.
Overall we had enjoyed a very relaxing weekend.

Elaine's Birthday Weekend

2010-09-13T19:30:00.006+01:00

Wednesday 21st July 2010 - Great Haywood to Tixall Lock

Left home just after 1.00pm as I had to go into work in the morning. It was a very hot and humid day although arrived at the marina in good time and in perfect conditions for boating; sunny, dry and without any wind. Loaded the boat and pulled out of moorings. Literally the minute we pulled out of the marina the heavens opened. Although the hood saved our skins it was a very heavy rainstorm that thankfully quickly ended allowing us to moor up in the dry below Tixall Lock.

Thursday 22nd July 2010 - Tixall Lock to Acton Trussell

A slow start safe in the knowledge that we only intended cruising up to Acton Trussell today. A lovely morning, sunny blue skies and only a slight breeze. However within 10 minutes of setting away, up through the lock we endured the heaviest rainstorm I had ever been cruising in. The water was rushing backwards along the gutters of the barrelled boat roof with such volume and speed that the outlets forward of the rear cabin seemed pointless. Water poured with huge momentum into the rear deck area so that despite the adequate systems for displacement it appeared that I was stood in three inches of water for a period of several minutes until the rain subsided. This wasn't too problematic as this area of the boat is designed to cope with wet conditions. However, Elaine then remembered we had earlier opened the side doors during the sunny conditions that had prevailed 10 minutes earlier. There was now a river of water inside the boat making it's way from mid-ship to the rear cabin that Elaine was now battling with while I steered the boat to a temporary mooring against the towpath avoiding the need to drop the hood at the next bridge! Once it fared up we continued on to Stafford Boat Club Marina for lunch, then on to Acton Trussell; mooring opposite The Moat House Hotel.

A view of The Moat House Hotel from the side door

Friday 23rd July 2010

Elaine's birthday. After birthday present opening I asked Elaine to marry me! (After almost 11 years I thought now was about right!). She agreed; and after a champagne breakfast and a celebration lunch in the hotel it wasn't safe to cruise any further today.

The Ring!

Saturday 24th July 2010 - Acton Trussell to Great Haywood.

Slowly cruised back toward Great Haywood, stopping again as Stafford Boat Club Marina to watch the Grand Prix Qualifiers and stock up on some provisions from the Co-op in Baswich. Finally arrived back at the Marina at 5.00pm.

The crew from nb. Kaspra (our next door but 1 neighbours) were just pulling the boat out of her berth and intend to cruise until October. They announced they had both just retired and were going to make the best of the Summer: Elaine & I were not jealous in any way!! At least I hope it didn't show; as we wished them well on their journey through gritted teeth.

Leicester Ring - Post No 4

2010-08-01T19:20:00.013+01:00

Monday 24th May 2010 - Long Itchington to Warwick

Another very very hot day; the sun was feeling warm at 7.15am when we set away heading for Warwick.

We travelled through the next few lock with Narrowbaot Solstice. A boat that the owners ordered on midsummer day in 2009, and were intending taking delivery of on the shortest day of 2009 in December. However boat builders being boat builders it was slightly late; although the narrowboat name still remained. We stopped at "The Mooring Pub" just outside of Warwick and enjoyed an excellent lunch outside on the terrace. Even after only two quick pints I must admit I was feeling the effects of the beer - an effect I put down to dehydration!

Although we prefer to buy fuel from our marina the diesel levels were now very low, so we bought just £110 worth at Kate Boats (a cash only facility), before resting up for the night opposite their yard.

We then walked back down to Tesco to top up the larder before dinner and an early night.

Tuesday 25th May 2010 - Warwick to Catherine De Barnes

Left our moorings in Warwick under overcast skies anticipating a wet day for the longest lock flight on our travels (the Hatton Flight). However when we reached Lock No3 of 24 locks Narrowboat Comfrey from Calcutt had seen us behind and were waiting for us to catch up. It is a lot easier in wide locks to travel up as a pair (the same amount of work with twice the crew!).

After a few locks we tied the boats together to free up the crew of Comfrey completely, enabling us to climb the rest of the flight in record time. It was a little embarrassing as the most strenuous thing I did all morning was squint into the sun while resting my arm on the tiller, while all the crew from Comfrey and Elaine worked the locks.

As we emerged from Shrewley Tunnel we experienced what appeared to be our first disaster on board. Smoke was billowing out of the electric cupboard and the thick smoke suggested an electrical fire. We immediately isolated all the electrics (Elaine was pulling quite a lot of power at the time with the galley appliances; washer etc.), and the smoke subsided as we drifted around the canal before making an emergency unscheduled stop to identify the problem.

It was impossible to identify the source of the problem even after some 'mayday' calls to the builder (Tony Walker) we were unable to put our finger on the problem. Everything seemed to be working perfectly although a side effect of the problem was that the navigation lights were now on continuously (even when switched off). Despite Tony's genuine keenness to call out for us we opted to remove the nav light bulbs and wait until we got back to the Marina on Saturday before asking him to visit. The problem later was identified as a loose connection on the main isolator that after 700hrs had rattled loose and when we were calling for a lot of power the spade connection was heating up and had in fact melted the coating on the navigation cabling that was passing close by!

After the unscheduled lunchtime stop we continued past Kingswood Junction and up through Knowle Locks to find that the canal water level at the top was very, very low, (approx. 10 inches lower than normal).

We finally reached Catherine De Barnes and moored behind Narrowbaot Midnight who's crew had gone into the village for a drink. When they returned to their boat they had found that the canal was very low (it was official) and because of this it was first come first served in the morning at the next lock. If water levels dropped further there was nothing that British Waterways was able to do to help the situation. We therefore decided an early start in the mooring was essential.

Wednesday 26th May 2010 - Catherine De Barnes to The Dog & Doublet
Up early and underway by 6.45am although Narrowboat Midnight had already set away at about 5.30am! The cooler weather was a shock to the system and progress in the shallow canal was very slow; averaging about 2.5miles per hour. It was a relief to reach the first lock where we could drop down off this top pound into deeper water. We knew that this next section through the backwaters of 'down town' Birmingham would be challenging and catching up with nb. Midnight again was very comforting. We spent the rest of the morning dredging along a rubbish filled canal lined in graffiti clad walls. Elaine had a rare stint on the tiller negotiating 3 locks on the Camphill Flight and later 3 locks on the Curdworth Flight. However, I was the skipper who managed to disable the bow thruster after sucking in a rubbish filled black poly bag. Turned East at the canal junction beneath spaghetti junction on the M6. Today had not been a cherished summer cruise but a necessity if you want to take the shortcut back to the marina. Despite our expectations we didn't once see a vagrant, vagabond or vandal! Finally mooring back in the countryside about 8 locks north of Curdworth Tunnel at a pub called the Dog & Doublet; (The Speckled Hen was delicious!).

Elaine working a lock against a backdrop of graffiti!

Thursday 27th May 2010 - Dog & Doublet to Hopwas

A very lazy start after a long day yesterday. I fixed the new well earned bridge plates to the cratch before we set off about 10.30am. Travelled down through the rest of the Curdworth Flight (3 locks) and past Drayton Bassett (& the Theme Park) noting the strange medieval looking footbridge before mooring at lunchtime in a strong breeze (without a bow thruster) in Fazeley. We had lunch on board before visiting the shop and moving on up the Coventry Canal to moor in our favorite spot in Hopwas. Had a walk up Hopwas main street before spending some time pulling black plastic out of the bow thruster tube without very much success. Turned the telly on for the first time in a fortnight - to find BP were still polluting the world and people were still killing each other - no change there!

Passing Drayton Bassatt

Friday 28th May 2010 - Hopwas to Shugborough Hall

Elaine on the tiller just North of Fradley Junction.

It had rained through the night for the first time in a while. Travelled up through Fradley Junction where boats were rafted two abreast off both sides leaving a very challenging gap just wide enough for a single boat! The busiest we had ever seen it! When the bow thruster is inoperable I wouldn't have expected anything different!

Moored for lunch above Woodend Lock before stopping again for cheese and biscuits north of Rugeley opposite the smallholding. Then in the evening sun we moved up through Colwich Lock to moor for the evening at Shugborough Hall - just in time to see the hot air balloons take flight from the Shugborough Hall grounds.

Saturday 29th May 2010 - Shugborough Hall to Marina

Got ready to set away in something of a rush to beat the forecast rain and strong wind. Within 5 minutes of dropping the hood it started to rain so the hood was quickly erected once more before we launched. Setting sail in what was, by then, heavy rain; as only strong winds were forecast to follow and pulling into the marina in strong winds without the benefit of a bow thruster was the last situation I wanted to find myself in.

I slowed under the footbridge to allow Elaine to disembark, to ready Great Haywood Lock. I immediately realised I had made a major error!! Yes - the hood was still up and now in direct contact with the bridge; collapsing the cover and frame with a loud tearing sound and pulling the the brackets out of the boat roof with a ricochet sound! A DISASTER! Arrived into the marina a great style with a canvas hood collapsed around my head in strong winds without a bow thruster! Our only saving grace was it was still too early for most boaters to notice and thankfully avoided contact with any other boat in the marina.

Spent the rest of the day acquiring the necessary parts and fixing the hood framework and brackets. Only the hood canvas was still to repair.

Sunday 30th May 2010 - Returning Home

Got up to the usual 5-star breakfast, laid on by the galley girl; and we spent the day cleaning the boat inside and out before heading back home.

Leicester Ring - Post No 3

2010-06-21T18:24:00.007+01:00

Friday 21st May 2010 - Market Harbrough to the Welford Arm

Today was so warm at 7.00am that even Elaine opted for the 'factor 50' (on her nose & ears at least). Set away back down the Arm towards Foxton Locks to be greeted at the bottom of the locks with more of a 'log-jam' of boats than a organised queue.
We had a long wait at the bottom in baking sun before beginning the climb as we had timed our arrival with all the "canaltime" boats that had left the basin the day before.
We were soon up through the locks and on our way through Husband's Bosworth Tunnel (1100 yards). The cool air in the tunnel was very refreshing, although for Elaine maybe too refreshing as she did suffer an ice-cold dribble of running water down her neck despite it being a largely dry trip. In the centre of the tunnel we did encounter thick fog despite it being a very hot clear sunny day outside.
We reached and turned down the Welford arm by mid afternoon and after first winding at the last winding point marked in the Nicholson Guide and exploring on foot the last mile we discovered there was winding space at the end of the Arm so winded again to navigate the extent of the Arm by boat. Only then would we feel we could mount our Welford Arm bridge plate! Moored on the Arm overnight.

Foxton Locks (viewed from above the bottom lock)

Foxton Locks (viewed from the top lock).

Saturday 22nd May 2010 - Welford Arm to Braunston

Set away early on another day with 'factor 50' at 8.00am!
Shortly after bacon sandwiches en route we encountered a calf in the canal just before Yelvertoft! I left Elaine holding the boat while I went in search of the farmer; as the calf was clearly unable to rescue itself. It turned out the farmer was in fact one of the owners of the new Yelvertoft Marina. After the calf was recovered we cruised around the corner where GJP were making a great job of the finishing touches to the landscaping around the marina. The marina, now with several berths already filled looks like a quality setup!

Travelled down Watford Locks and passing Watford Gap motorway services proved to remind us of the speed of alternative transport.

Top Lock in the Watford flight

The sun was still burning up the grass as we turned at Norton Junction onto the Grand Union and headed for the cool of Braunston Tunnel. We passing another boat in the middle of the tunnel without suffering any damage despite the tight squeeze before emerging into bright sunshine again and mooring for the evening above the top lock.

Sunday 23rd may 2010 - Braunston to Long Itchington

Another very very hot day as we travelled down the locks with Narrowboat 'Mrs Mickfee' (from Milton Keynes). A boat that was famous, and much photographed, for taking the waterways minister for a cruise up the canal earlier in the year. Sun still high in the sky as we continued down through Stockton Locks before finally mooring at Long Itchington.
After a quick call home; we realised, yet again, that you can't leave kids home alone! Even if they are 22 years old. Danielle, after only 24hours in the house, had managed to burn out the pond pumps by turning them on despite the motors being choked with weeds!. I guess that this is a cheap repair compared to other damage that could have been caused during her end of year house party!

Leicester Ring - Post No 2

2010-06-15T17:26:00.008+01:00

Tuesday 18th May 2010 - Zouch to Blue Bank Lock.

Woke up to fantastic weather.

Our mooring at Zouch

After an early breakfast we pushed on up the Soar passing Normanton-on-Soar where we were able to admire the amazing houses with gardens that slopped down to the river. The houses were substituted with elaborate timber chalets as we ran out of the village centre; each chalet built on stilts to save it from flooding!
At Loughbrough, contrary to reports we had read, we were quite surprised by the pleasant 'canal scene' and I was even very tempted to make the short journey in reverse down the arm. Although now regretting not completing this part of the navigation, I guess I have probably avoided a trip down the weed-hatch as well!

Passing Leicester City Football Club

Continued up through Leicester and as the Castle Moorings were full (the only safe refuge in the city); and by choosing to avoid the local Leicester 'chavs'; we travelled further than we had initially intended. However as the weather was great it was a very enjoyable cruise.
We finally moored beyond the city limits with another narrowboat 'Theseus' below Blue Bank Lock.
The only downer on the day was finally standing in what a local dog owner had allowed his dog to leave by the canal and then walking it all over the rear deck and gunwales.

Wednesday 19th May 2010 - Blue Bank Lock to Wistow

A lazy start working up through the locks alone to moor for lunch opposite the British Waterways maintenance yard at Kilby Bridge. We couldn't help noticing that the BW workboat "Little John" was displaying an out of date license. (Expiring 19 days earlier!) Was very tempted to make a 'patrol notice' and stick it on the rear hatch!
Pushed on after lunch through many more locks; all with gates that refused to close when you wanted them to close. Stopping at 6.00pm for the evening near the medieval village of Wistow.

Thursday 20th May 2010 - Wistow to Market Harbrough

After breakfast we walked across the canal and visited Wistow Garden Centre and Model Village. A visit well worth the walk. (Yes - even I can walk that far!). Setting away about 10.30am we soon paired up with narrowboat 'Theseus' to travel up the next few locks (they must have passed the boat while we were visiting Wistow).
Next; Saddington Tunnel (880 yards long) proved to be an experience; although the tunnel had the usual number of dribbles of water to keep you on your toes in the dark; it was the bats that provided the bulk of the entertainment. They could be clearly seen as they flew around in the beam of the tunnel lamp at the front of the boat and it was quite unnerving to think they were also flying around our heads at the back of the boat; thankfully undetectable in the darkness at this end of the operation!
The canal today was again very quiet passing only one boat all day. It makes you feel your waterways license is quite cheap when you don't seem to be sharing the system with anyone!
Travelled past the bottom of Foxton Locks. Though there were no boats waiting to climb the flight, we opted to travel down the Market Harbrough Arm for the evening as planned.
The basin at the end of the Arm is pretty much like the town; very quaint and classy with evidence of affluence all around.
Bought a pair of go-cart tyres (fenders) from the crew of narrowboat 'Tranquility' who were moored behind us on the Arm.

Leicester Ring - Post No 1

2010-05-17T17:40:00.010+01:00

Friday 14th May 2010 - Great Haywood to Colwich
A busy journey down to the boat (what with the schools being back), having left home circa 3.00pm we arrived at Great Haywood around 6.00pm.
Waster no time loading up (as we had readied the boat the fortnight earlier) and we were out of the marina by 6.45pm and locked through Great Haywood and passed the moorings along the 'Shugborough straight' to moor at Colwich where we were more sure of a satellite TV signal. Although we had been cruising at 4mph for an hour my mind was still running at 100mph after a very busy week. It will take a little longer to get into the narrowboat mood.

Saturday 15th May 2010 - Colwich to Alrewas
A reasonably early start with bacon sandwiches on route. The smell of bacon wafting out of the rooftop Houdini hatch an a still morning with the blended smell of the log burning stove is priceless. Walkers crisps are clearly missing a trick if they don't bring out a grilled bacon and log burning stove flavour this year!
Stopped just above Woodend Lock to watch the Grand Prix qualifying before heading on through Fradley.
'Frantic' Fradley Junction lived up to it's name; it seemed to take an age to negotiate all the locks and the junction - all the time being watched by hundreds of gongoozlers!
Travelled down to Alrewas and moored 50 yards from the place we had moored two years previously (to the day). We discovered the fantastic character of this beautiful little village on our first trip down from Sheffield when the boat was brand new. If only I could afford to live here.
After dinner we had a gimble around the village to burn off some calories. We discovered an indian restaurant called Jaipur (the same name as an Indian restaurant we enjoy visiting near Easingwold when we are back home). Although we didn't try it it did look more 'E.coli' than 'Egon Ronay'.

Sunday 16th May 2010 - Alrewas to Swarkstone
Slipped our mooring just after 8.00am. Stopping for lunch at Stretton (between bridge 28 & 29) to watch the Monacco Grand Prix. Mark Webber (Red Bull) won. Another good result for the Milton Keynes team. Jenson Buttons chances were thwarted by his own 'pit lane buffoons' who left a bung in his side pud that overheated his engine on the way to the grid. (I think the bung was a fibreglass stopper not a rolled up wad of tenners - although we didn't get to see it on the telly!).
During the race the excitement in the boat peaked when a can of diet coke exploded in the fridge. This was partly a result of me turning the fridge up to full power last night (for no good reason) and partly due to the fact Elaine had packed the fridge solid with everything M&S had to offer in the chilled isle! This forced the drinks to be pushed onto the back wall of the fridge freezing them on contact. Anyway I am sure Elaine would agree - it took some cleaning up!

A Quiet Mooring Outside Swarkstone

The 18th Century Swarkstone Bridge

After a fantastic fillet steak on the boat we walked into Swarkstone and viewed the 18th Century five arch stone bridge and the elevated causeway that carries traffic over the Trent flood plain, before returning via Swarkstone Lock.

Monday 17th May 2010 - Swarkstone to Zouch
Travelled down through Swarkstone Lock alone but soon paired up with 'narrowboat Waimaru' who travelled with us down onto the Trent and up the River Soar before we both moored next to the lower flood lock pound at Kegworth for lunch. The journey, paired up with the crew of nb.Waimaru was very rewarding and we very much enjoyed the company of the other boat.
After a walk into Kegworth to visit the local co-operative store we pushed on the Zouch leaving them to relax in the sun.

Lunchtime mooring at Kegworth

The weather today has been fantastic. A typical Monday; you might say; but today we have been off work to enjoy it.
Mooring for the evening, just as it begins to spit-on with rain, opposite the Rose & Crown rounds off a great day.

An April Weekend

2010-05-14T07:26:00.004+01:00

Apologies to followers - it has been a while since I updated.

This is an update I drafted at the time but failed to publish earlier.

Friday 9th April 2010

Arrived reasonably early evening after a good run down the motorway from the North East and skirting around Derby with minimum delay. What a difference - travelling during the school holidays.

Wasted no time at the Marina topping up the water tank and pulling out of the marina with adequate time to cruise up to Tixall Wide and moor just beyond the Broad Water before dark. The nights are getting lighter again! Hip-hip-hurray!

Moorer just west of the wide water at Tixall

Saturday 10th April 2010

After an early start we fired up the engine to here that the domestic battery alternator belt to be squealing on the pulley. Very annoying. I guessed as it hadn't been called up to do any work for some time (this was the first time the belt was under load since before the winter break) it was groaning a bit. Although the noise could only be detected at tick-over it soon subsided.
Cruised up through Tixall Lock and Deptmore Lock to wind and moor outside the Moat House at Acton Trussell. After a walk around the village to admire the area we returned to the boat to firstly update our Nicholson Guide with the fact there is no longer a village store, and then set off back down the canal to moor opposite Stafford Boat Club Marina for the evening.
Elaine & I walked up into Wildwood to explore the local supermarket and drinking establishment - both worth the walk if not a little too far.

Sunday 11th April 2010

During breakfast the boat club provided plenty of entertainment with boats being winched back into the water and boats being pulled back up the slope of their dry dock. Obviously a great community as all hands were on the winders!

On the return back to the Marina, in the vicinity of the aqueduct, we spotted a buzzard that was soaring high on the thermals - an amazing bird that we had seen the day before but we were unable to identify it.

After a brief exchange of greetings with Ned from Cabincare, we arrived back at the Marina in time for lunch.

Escapology Stamps!

2010-02-19T17:15:00.005Z

Thursday 18th January 2010

Today we received a set of 10 First Class Stamps from the post office. Not normally an event of significance; however these are not just any first class stamps they are "Narrowboat Escapology First Class Stamps"! I ordered them from the Royal Mail website as a novelty! We intend to use the stamps when we post letters and cards back home when we are out cruising. Although we like them; they are unlikely to be sort after or collected by philatelists around the world!!

A sheet of Narrowboat Escapology stamps!

A Cold End To January!

2010-01-31T18:50:00.013Z

Saturday 30th January 2010

We had initially planned to travel down to the Marina tomorrow (Sunday), for the day only. However, we took the opportunity to spend a full weekend at the marina as our plans for lunch 'back home' with friends (Joan and Bob) today was unfortunately postponed. Joan has been struck with shingles which is causing her some acute discomfort - get well Joan. We will reconvene for her birthday celebration once she is feeling better.

Left home at approximately 8.20am following a covering of snow during the night. Arriving at a sunny (but cold) Great Haywood at 10.45am. The marina was still frozen over but thawing fast in the sunshine. We lit the fire and clicked on the central heating and decided a trip by car to Trentham would give the boat time to warm up while we had a wonder along the shops.

Immediately on our return, Elaine reheated some homemade soup and this was delicious; going nicely with the crusty loaf we had bought from the farm shop. After lunch I decided today was a good opportunity to swap over the gas bottles. The boat only uses gas for cooking; so a 13kg bottle lasts about 6 months at current usage rates. I had switched the last bottle over in October and was therefore acutely aware we didn't have a spare ready for use when the current bottle expires. I had been putting off the purchase as the empty bottle we had was one of the original bottles supplied by Jonathan Wilson when the boat was new and was not of Calor origin but supplied by some obtuse welding supplies company from Sheffield, and therefore a new bottle agreement on top of the cost of the gas would not be cheap (£29.99 plus the gas). Anyway; a trip across the marina for a top up of 3 of the boats 'fuels' was required. (£10 Electric top-up; £10.oo bag of coal; and a £67.69 for gas.) Soon the bottle was fitted and we are now in the comfortable position of having a spare to rely on (because you can bet your boots it will be cold and raining when the bottle runs out); so a quick switch over is now available.

Watched a DVD and a bit of TV before stocking up the fire and going to bed. Although it was toasty in the boat it was clear to see that the weather was very cold outside as the ice on the surface of the marina was glistening in the crisp moonlight!

Sunday 31st January 2010

Woke today to find a covering of snow across the marina. Spent the morning testing out a 3G extension aerial on Elaine's laptop with an 02 card. It noticeably boosted the reception on her 3G card but still fails to deliver the signal strength she was receiving from the standard Vodafone card she had previously. No surprise there then I here you say!

A Covering of Snow on the Frozen Marina!

Travelled back up North during the afternoon; stopping briefly at Sheffield to drop off the empty propane bottle (at least Jonathan can get his deposit back on the bottle) and have a wander around a cold Victoria Basin. We did feel a little out of place as we weren't wearing our hoodies and had failed to bring our aerosols with us! An environment that was a stark contrast to that, that we had left behind at Great Haywood.

Frozen In

2009-12-28T21:53:00.004Z

Sunday 27th December 2009

Left Teesside under snow at around 9.30am. The traffic was much busier than we had anticipated. We guessed this was as a result of travellers returning home on mass after Christmas visiting friends and family.

We arrived at the marina around 12 noon and were surprised to see that our neighbouring boat, ‘Bovett’s Harvest Too’, was occupied. Before Christmas the owners had mentioned they would not be at the boat over Christmas as they were visiting their son and his family in York. However, it soon became apparent that the boat had actually been sold just before Christmas, and the new owner had arrived to take it to her new mooring at Tewksbury.

This was the new owner’s first boat and although she had received a quick walk-around by the previous owners it was very much a new experience as her previous knowledge was only from time spent aboard hire boats, that are in many ways quite simplistic, and not half as complicated as a purpose built bespoke boat. I assisted in filling the gaps in her knowledge where possible. Her itinerary to get the boat to the Tewksbury mooring would be quite challenging as she would need to make good progress to beat the planned start of stoppages on the Staffs and Worcester. Her first unscheduled delay was that she would not be able to leave the Marina until the temperatures rise as we were all frozen in! Her plan was therefore to return tomorrow in the hope of some warmer weather conditions.

Elaine and I also intended to ‘go out’ but instead opted to buy the Sunday papers and chillax for the rest of the day on the boat.

The weather forecast confirmed that it would only get colder towards the end of the week – not the prediction our new neighbour was hoping for.

Monday 28th December 2009

I ventured out early, from the warmth of the boat, onto the jetty to get a feel for how cold it really was. I can confirm it was BL***Y COLD. In the search for a photograph for next years Christmas card I had a walk around the marina in freezing fog to take a few shots. Although we don’t have images of a snow covered boat the photos hopefully look cold and wintry enough! The white frost on the ropes and fairleads, against a backdrop of a frozen marina was proof-positive of subzero temperatures.

Frosty Pole, Plank and Boat Hook!

The frosty bow - very cold ropes!

White hoar-frost built up around the fairleads.

After breakfast Elaine and I then walked over to the Marina Office and asked Mike (the marina manager) if there was an opportunity for us to move berth to the neighbouring berth that would soon be vacated. This mooring has the advantage of being the other side of the jetty, on the side of the prevailing wind. Although there are no other advantages over the position we already occupy, it is hoped this will make mooring a little easier in strong winds. Mike confirmed he was happy for us to move across after ‘Bovett’s Harvest Too’ had vacated.

As it now looked unlikely we would get an opportunity to ‘go out’ we opted to head back home at around 3.30pm, arriving back home to the same snow covered ground.

We will need to return to the marina soon to move berth.

A Crisp Weekend Cruise

2009-12-13T21:53:00.000Z

Friday 11th December 2009.
We arrived at the boat well after dark in temperatures hovering just above zero. It took about 90minutes to get the boat up to normal cosy winter temperature employing the services of both the central heating and the solid fuel stove. I guess a steel boat gets cold it takes a little longer to warm up than a house made of bricks and mortar – however the boat floats an lot better than the house ever would.

Saturday 12th December 2009.
It was our intention this weekend (as a minimum) to at least turn the boat on its moorings in order to re-orientate ourselves with the marina. The boat was opposite way round from our normal orientation (a necessity brought on by strong winds last time we moored up) and Elaine & I were struggling to come to terms with this 180 degree disorientation (particularly after a bottle of wine).
However, it was a lovely crisp winter morning with clear blue skies and no wind; an opportunity to go for a short cruise that we couldn’t miss.
I wasn’t sure what winter hours would be worked by the marina staff so before we departed I thought it prudent to get a new bag of smokeless coal from the shop as I had just emptied the last bag into the coal scuttle. Pulling out of the marina at about 11.00am we travelled down to Wolseley Bridge for lunch; (The Wolseley Arms looked busy so had lunch on the boat). Then we cruised a little further toward Rugeley before winding above Bridge 68 and mooring just before the ‘Boaters Christian Fellowship’ near Bridge 69. An excellent rural mooring that we had not stopped at since October when we joined narrowboat ‘Tramper’. Elaine prepared a wonderful meal while I…………..er……..…read the paper; (A very important task)!
Across the canal a family recently bought a field and have been busily spending weekends creating a smallholding, rearing alpacas, pigs, chickens, etc. The young lad from the family crossed the bridge and walked along the towpath past the boats shouting “eggs for sale” swinging a basket. We couldn’t resist giving him some business (despite the fact we had just bought eggs that morning from the farm shop) and bought a dozen eggs from the young man. He acknowledged they had only owned the land since June or July and he said the worst thing about the winter was travelling down to the smallholding in a morning to unfreeze the livestock feeders. The eggs were only small but that didn’t spoil the transaction – we vowed we would ‘taste-test’ them in the morning.

Sunday 13th December 2009
A slow start on another fantastic clear sunny day (although it was very cold). Elaine prepared scrambled egg and bacon. The eggs were delicious. We travelled up through Colwich Lock (finding it difficult to spot any improvements after the recent stoppage – in fact the gate paddle ratchet was jammed open and the bottom gate wouldn’t stay shut). Then we slowly dawdled along the canal past Shugborough Hall exchanging the usual greetings with moored boaters, and up through Haywood Lock.
Just before arriving back at the marina, we approached a line of maybe eight fishermen, so after passing an oncoming boat, I opted to take the middle line between moored boats and the towpath. At tick-over, this would hopefully create least disturbance between the fishing areas they had chosen to fish (i.e. both against the towpath side and against the moored boats on the opposite bank). To no avail – although some fishermen exchanged pleasant greetings one guy who shouldn’t go fishing if he can’t cope with the cold and was clearly too annoyed at his own poor performance shouted, from behind a massive brolly. Suggesting we drive down the middle – a position I was already in (if only he used his eyes). It is therefore now quite clear to me that you can never keep all fishermen happy. It is therefore now no longer my intention to try! If it wasn’t for the canal boat they wouldn’t have a canal to fish in. Why do fishermen feel canal boaters should exercise such caution and observe such etiquette when passing them? When in fact the majority of fishermen fish on white bollards, fish opposite moored boats, fish near locks and bridges and their licence is chicken feed compared to the charges we pay in order to maintain the canal.
Overall a great weekend.

Robert & Suzanne visit the boat.

2009-12-13T21:51:00.001Z

Monday 23rd November 2009.
We booked a days holiday from work to travel down to Great Haywood with Robert (Elaine’s son) and his fiancée, Suzanne. This was the first opportunity they had had to see the boat. The weather was dreadful! Lashing down with rain from the minute we passed Leeds on the A1 and strong winds only worsened the experience as we got closer to Great Haywood. Never the less they seemed impressed with the boat and its facilities.
Robert already had first hand experience of the local canals around Great Haywood as he had spent many a holiday with us on Anglo Welsh boats in the past; (before it became un-cool for teenagers to go on holiday with their parents)! So, instead of going on a ‘cruise’ we went for a ‘booze’ (well something like that) to one of our favourite local pubs: The Holly Bush at Salt. (Great meals and an excellent atmosphere). We then called at Trentham and visited the garden centre and retail outlets on our way back home.

A Windy Weekend!

2009-11-16T18:10:00.008Z

Sunday 15th November 2009

Although it had been our intention to spend a long weekend on the boat the met office weather warnings of flooding and high winds in the Midlands had put us off travelling down until Sunday morning.

A clear journey down; left home at 9.30am and by 1.30pm we had eaten on the boat and were pulling out of the marina. The storm force winds that had apparently caused chaos the day before had dropped and the sky was pure blue. We enjoyed a lovely quiet trip up through Hoo Mill Lock and winded just through Ingestre Bridge (No78) and later moored just south of the bridge. We had only passed one boat - I guess most people had written off the weekend and gone home.

Locking up through Hoo Mill Lock

Immediately after winding, and as the canal was quiet, I thought I would practice some reversing as 'Escapology' has got to be the most uncontrollable boat to reverse in history not responding to any of the 'text book' techniques the magazines and manuals promote! Although the exercise was completely inconclusive and seemingly pointless to any 'gongoozler', I managed to reverse all the way to Brinepit Bridge (No79), and it was great fun. The 'galley girl' however was most uncomfortable with this pointless display and did what she normally does in this situation - vanished from the rear deck to sit out of sight in the saloon to avoid embarrassment until forward gear was selected and normal service resumed.

Mooring just south of Ingestre Bridge (No78)

We had both booked Monday off work because firstly we both dislike Mondays and secondly we were under the impression that the weather was always good on a Monday! A theory born from repeatedly witnessing great conditions on the day you go back to work after a wet weekend on the canal. After dark I checked the weather forecast on my hand-held gadget; to my disappointment the met office were predicting heavy rain and strong winds for Monday. Great.

The weather forecast we didn't want for Monday!

Monday 16th November 2009

Woke at 6.30am to a howling gale and heavy rain. Although the weather had deteriorated we waited for a dry spell, around 11.15am, to push on back to the marina. By the time we arrived the wind had returned and the rain was falling. The only option for birthing was to pull in front first at a reasonable lick and only apply the break once we were well into the mooring. That we did quite successfully. Although we dislike mooring this way around as everything seems back-to-front and with added complications as we are further from the power socket, any attempt to reverse into the mooring would, I am sure, have been futile in these conditions.

Despite the desperate weather it had been a good day; for a Monday!

A Wet Weekend!

2009-10-27T08:11:00.002Z

Friday 23rd October 2009
Arrived at the marina at 7.30pm after a reasonable drive in what was reported to be the busiest day on the roads this year.

Saturday 24th October 2009
Heavy rain and strong winds dissuaded us from venturing out in the boat. Instead we had a ride in the car over the M6 to Wolverhampton to pick up a rechargeable lantern from Go Outdoors that will make a suitable lamp for the rear deck when arriving in the dark. We paid a visit to the marina office on the way out to pay for the next 12 months moorings – not a cheap weekend; although we have benefited from the lower rate of VAT.
The intention to have an evening walk down to Great Haywood Junction was thwarted again by the weather so instead we opted to have a steak on the boat and watch a DVD in front of the stove.

Sunday 25th October 2009
Up early (assisted by the clocks going back) and after breakfast we took a drive up to Aston Marina (just south of Stone) and unsurprisingly the marina is still far from finished (although 50% of it is in water) – despite the press notifications that is was ready to receive boats. The marina, when finished, looks to have a lot of potential with a creative design and good facilities. I also observed the new opportunity for travelling boats to wind below Aston Lock, by using one of the new marina entrances. This should prove to be an excellent facility for boats not wanting to go right into Stone before turning. En-route home we chose to travel up the M6 and call in at Middlewich as there was to be a boat rally on 23rd-25th October. We parked up in Middlewich and walked the canal from the junction down to “The Big Lock” and it was clear the poor weather on the Friday and Saturday had taken its toll on boat numbers. Apart from the Fudge Boat and Ivan with his working pair there were few notable moorers. We then continued home.

A Short Weekend

2009-10-14T21:00:00.004+01:00

Friday 9th October

Arrived at the marina late as a result of a late finish from work.
Despite it being cold and drizzly, and travelling down from the North East in busy traffic conditions. it was, as usual, a trip that is easy to enjoy as it always results in a rewarding outcome. (The journey back on a Sunday evening is a completely different feeling however!).

Saturday 10th October

A lovely day, sunny and mild for this time of year. After a lazy start, followed by bacon sandwiches, we moved the boat across the marina to the diesel filler and topped up the tank (160ltrs). Made the usual ‘finger-in-the air’ guess at what percentage of the fuel was to be liable to tax – settling on 50-50 – a more than generous offering to Gordon. After parting with some hard earned we couldn't resist burning off some of the ‘tax-liable stuff’ by cruising down to Tixall. We winded at the wide and travelled back to the marina.
The crew of Kaspra our neighbouring boat, a boat with whom we share a 15ft gap on the jetty, had arrived for the weekend and were about to depart. We commented on how better co-ordinated our respective arrival and departure could have been, (as it is obviously so much easier to get in and out of the berth when the neighbouring boat is absent), and vowed to co-ordinate better in the future.
We then set about the intended improvement for this weekend and applied a coat of yacht varnish to the ten internal porthole reveals. During last winter, when temperatures outside were drastically different from inside we noticed a misting of condensation could form on the oak lining around in the porthole reveal; presumably as a result of the reduced insulation at this point. In this situation we thought it would be prudent to improve the protection to the oak. Despite the job being fiddly it only took a couple of hours. We also took the opportunity to varnish the oak lining on the underside of the rear hatch as the original spray applied varnish doesn’t hold up as well as brush applied in vulnerable areas.
Just before dark, Brian and Bridgett, the crew of out other neighbouring boat (nb. Bovett’s Harvest Too), arrived back into the marina. They had been missing from the Marina since May and confirmed they had enjoyed a great trip around the network and really didn’t want to return home.

Sunday 11th October

The weather was drizzly first thing; and as we both had work to do before Monday we left the marina at around 11.00am in order to give us adequate time at home on the desktop PCs - very sad but we have to pay the bills somehow! Hope to be back soon without the same distractions.

Weekend at Weston

2009-09-28T19:56:00.003+01:00

Friday 25th September
Arrived at the Marina fairly late after travelling in the usual Friday night traffic. John and John at Great Haywood Marine Services had not let us down - they had finished the blacking and returned the boat to the water and moored her back in our berth (even the electric was plugged in!) - Great job.

Saturday 26th September
Although we were up early; by the time we had eaten breakfast and fiddled about with our ropes and removed offending spiders from the fenders; it was after 10.00am before we were pulling out of the Marina heading North on the Trent and Mersey towards Weston. The weather was very good; buying the hood was still proving successful in warning off the rain clouds! A very enjoyable cruise up through Hoo Mill Lock and Weston Lock despite short queues at each, presumably as a result of the Shroppie closure. Moored at Weston in time to take a short walk round the village, visit the post office and return to the boat in time for the Grand Prix Qualifiers (Singapore). It is clear from this brief walk that 'the chaps' live in Weston; judging by the type and average size of house in the village. A very tidy and classy spot. We were joined at the mooring by nb. Silver Croner that had been moored in our marina for the last 4 weeks while they were breaking the journey back to Nantwich (their permanent base). At 4.00pm we decided to push on a bit further and winded above Sandon Lock before returning to Weston (North of the road bridge) just before sunset.

Sunday 27th September
After breakfast Elaine washed the starboard side of the boat while I polished the brasswork and chatted to a fisherman that had been fishing just off the bow of the boat since 6.00am. I think he had had more successful fishing trips; as a deep draughted coal boat, quickly followed by two fast hire boats disturbed his 'bated area' irreparably. This was only made worse by our soapy water! I thought it best to leave before he invested any more time attracting fish to his line just to be inevitably ruined again by our churning of the canal on our departure. We left on speaking terms - quite a result with a fisherman! Only a light breeze at the marina flattered my maneuvering backwards into our mooring! After lunch watching the Grand Prix we departed for home.

Getting Escapology out of the water.

2009-09-24T20:38:00.003+01:00

Monday 21st September

Up early and ready for lifting the boat out of the water. It was strangely satisfying watching people commuting on the packed passing trains on a Monday morning when we were on holiday. After a short cruise across the marina we were soon (approx 10.00am) being lifted out of the water by John (Bazzi) and John (Sharpe) using their tractor hauled narrowboat skid. This was the first opportunity we had to inspect the hull since the boat went into the water 18 months earlier. The existing comastic paint finish had stood up well against the threat of corrosion and the anodes were working well. Although this was early (as a scheduled inspection) it gave us much peace-of-mind and we thought it wise to check all was well before it was too late. The guys then set about pressure washing the hull and applying the first coat of comastic. The guys prefer to apply bitumen. It was soon clear that this wasn't just because it was cheaper; the stuff stinks and eats foam rollers for fun! My apologies to everyone on the marina who had to suffer the smell.

After lunch at the The Holly Bush at Salt (reached via road; not canal!) we returned to the marina to make use of the dry dock facility and repaint the tunnel bands and tiller as it will be several years before we get another opportunity.

We spent the night on the boat - a very strange experience on land!

Tuesday 22nd September

Up early again as I had jobs to do and didn't want to get in the guys way. Cleaned the weed hatch steelwork and the weed hatch cover (before the chaps arrived for work) and painted with two coats of comastic. Packed the car and set off for home; we are both at work Wednesday. We intend to return on Friday when the boat is being returned to the water.

The last long cruise of the year! Part 3

2009-09-24T19:20:00.005+01:00

Thursday 17th September

Another dry day with only light wind!

On our return journey down the Ashby Canal we spotted narrowboat 'Speckled Hen' from Skipton moored outside the Brewers Fayne (originally called The Marina!). It was still quite early and the crew were only just waking so we thought it best, not to give them a knock. Particularly as we know they named their boat after the beer and they may have been recovering from the night before! The last time we saw them was on the Staffs & Worcester down near Kinver approx. 12 months ago. I can only guess this was another trip otherwise it had taken them an inordinate length of time to reach here; even by narrowboat standards. We pressed on and after a brief stop for lunch opposite Valley Cruisers Marina we followed a working boat through the first six locks of the Atherstone Flight. We moored briefly in the pound in order to visit the supermarket for provisions before navigating the next two locks, past Baddesley Basin before finding quite moorings for the evening away from the town.

Friday 18th September

After leaving Atherstone Locks we had a very uneventful journey down to Fazeley apart from passing narrowboat 'Tramper' at Glascote Locks and exchanging greetings. John and Moira (the crew) had been moored up for a week (while they attended a wedding) since we saw them last. At Fazeley we stopped for lunch and set away again behind a pair of old working boats that were immaculately prepared for the working boat gathering at Huddlesford Junction.

As we approached the junction the cruising speed dropped considerably as there were lots of shiney working boats moored both sides of the canal (many rafted out two deep) leaving only a narrowboat width between. Thankfully, we only met one boat coming in the other direction, and with a lot of luck and some anxiety we managed to pass in a gap between rafted-out boats without incident. As we crawled through the train of moored craft, we still managed to speak to Linda (crew of JP2) on the towpath who we had seen earlier in the week. It was unusual not to have the added complication of strong wind in these situations; I guess the blog may have been reporting a different experience had the wind blown! After the gathering boats petered out we moored for the evening just before Streethay Wharf.

The evening entertainment was supplied by a local microlight pilot who was practising his landing in a grassed airstrip next to the canal, passing only feet above the boat roof before touching down in the field on the opposite bank.

Saturday 19th September

Set away at around 9.30am and moored at Fradley outside the Swan to pick a copy of Towpath Talk and buy a newspaper. It appears people in Fradley only read the Daily Mail; as that is all that is stocked! However, we stopped for a while and had morning coffee and read the papers. The weather was fantastic again which made for a very enjoyable cruise up to Great Haywood; stopping briefly at Armitage for lunch.

We moored in our favourite mooring next to Shugbrough Hall below Haywood Lock. This is a popular spot for many boaters; and we noticed narrowboat 'Chelsea' at the head of the line of moored boats. (This was a boat that was featured on an early series of Waterworld that Anthony M had fitted-out in the late 1990s that actual won the best boat award at Crick).

As is often the case on a Friday and Saturday evening when the weather allows; Hot Air Balloons take off from the grounds of Shugbrough Hall, and on this occasion drifted over head (see Photos).

Moored next to Shugbrough Hall

Sunday 20th September

Navigated the last mile or so through through Haywood Lock and into the Marina. Moored up at 10.00am. The weather was again fantastic and we wanted to use the rest of the day to touch up some of the battle-scars before she was lifted out of the water the next day for blacking. The first job (unexpectedly) was to clean down our jetty as geese (or as it seemed a herd of elephants) had roosted overnight leaving lots of 'calling cards' that we didn't want paddled into the boat! It wasn't until after obtaining and reading the Sunday papers that work could commence on cleaning the boat and starting the paintwork touch-ups. This marked the end of a great weeks cruise when the weather had been amazing.

The last long cruise of the year! Part 2

2009-09-16T19:27:00.006+01:00

Monday 14th September 2009

After a slow start we set away in cooler weather than we had experienced over the weekend. At Fazeley we spoke to the crew of Lilipad at length about the pros and cons of pumpout versus cassette toilet; whilst filling the fresh water tank of Escapology. We moored for lunch at Polesworth before tackling the Atherstone lock flight.

We passed narrowboat 'Nannierex' at Bradley Green Bridge (another Anthony M, No1 boat) and finally moored at 6.30pm just south of Mancetter Bridge.

It wasn't long before the customary local Tamworth tear-away passed on a mini-moto bike. (Don't know why we have only experienced the motorbike nut-case on the towpath near Tamworth!). I am sure a mooring line tied at hedge height would solve any future problems! Anyway, we had other priorities, as darkness fell it was inevitably time for the gas bottle to expire - requiring me to reach into the spider filled gas locker to turn the gas bottle changeover tap.

Tuesday 15th September 2009

Weather was again dry and mild but quite windy. Apart from meeting Ian & Linda (n.b 'JP1') who were travelling back to Great Haywood, the journey was quite uneventful. We travelled up the Ashby and moored at Bridge 37 before Market Bosworth. Elaine & I have never been any further up the Ashby Canal than the Bosworth Battlefield Moorings (the furthest extent of a journey in an Anglo Welsh hire boat in 2002). We are therefore cruising in new territory.

Wednesday 16th September 2009

Set away at 8.30am and travelled up through Snarestone Tunnel and on to the current terminus of the canal. It had always been the plan (as Elaine's itinerary) to wind at the terminus at midday today as this was exactly the middle of our holiday. We actually winded at 11.50am (timing with almost military precision). We stopped for lunch on the return at Shackerstone before finally pushing on to moor for the evening between Dadlington and Stoke Golding.

Just leaving the winding point at the current navigable extent of the Ashby Canal.

The south portal at Snarestone Tunnel

Inside Snarestone Tunnel - about to emerge from the south portal

The last long cruise of the year! Part 1

2009-09-13T20:23:00.006+01:00

Friday 11th September 2009

Arrived at Marina at 6.00pm and unpacked the car in time to appreciate a wonderful sunset and more importantly, in time to align the satellite dish in order to receive Emmerdale! During the adverts I fitted the first two premeasured pieces of sound insulation around the vacuflush pump unit. A first phase of a grand scheme that will eventually (& hopefully) result in a quieter flush! This went too well; and it would only be a matter of minutes before a problem manifested itself. Like clockwork; within five minutes it became apparent, after Elaine emptied and refilled the sink, that the overflow connection on the galley sink had in fact become disconnected from the overflow on the sink itself. The cupboard below the sink was flooded resulting in all the contents at both floor and shelf level being soaked. Although this problem was clearly a result of forcing too much gear onto the shelf below the sink (i.e. Elaine's fault) it wasn't long before I had to take full responsibility by acknowledging I may have too much Boddingtons and Budweiser stored on the boat leaving inadequate space for sensible stuff. Thankfully the problem was easily and soon rectified without throwing any drinks overboard.

Saturday 12th September 2009

Up early; and after breakfast were ready to set off (circa 8.30am) on our cruise down to the Ashby Canal. As is normally the case, when you haven't been to the boat for a couple of weeks, there were many stow-aways on board of the eight legged variety. The photo below shows one such spider that had created a web between our boat and that of our neighbouring boat, nb. Kaspra.

A spider - unsure of which boat to stowaway on.

By lunchtime we had reached 'The Plum Pudding' just before Armitage and moored to watch the Italian F1 Grand Prix Qualifiers. Judging by the speed of passing boats it was clear that there wasn't only Lewis Hamilton with 'KERS'. After 'Quali 3' we set-away again heading for Fradley Junction. On the way we passed narrowboat 'Danby Dale' that although this boat didn't mean anything to me I was soon advise by my eagle eyed galley girl that this boat was in fact bearing British Waterways Registered Number 516807. This was chronologically the number immediately prior to ours! (516808). Quite a coincidence and a coincidence that was sadly missed by the crew of 'Danby Dale' that by now were diminishing into the distance behind us.

Lunchtime mooring just beyond the Plum Pudding

At Fradley Junction we turned south onto the Coventry Canal and were lucky to find a perfect mooring just beyond the water point. After dinner on board we walked down to the Swan for a drink.

Sunday 13th September 2009

Today, as yesterday, the weather was fantastic for this time of the year. (Most unusual for our cruising experience!). The new pram hood is clearly keeping the rain clouds away. Moored for lunch at 12.30pm near Whittington and watched the Grand Prix before continuing down to Fazeley Junction where we were again lucky in finding a perfect mooring opposite Peels Wharf at around 5.00pm. A short walk to Tesco Express to top up the stocks of Bread and Milk rounded off a very enjoyable day.

Typical Bank Holiday Weather

2009-08-31T18:26:00.005+01:00

Saturday 29th August

We didn't set off from home until Saturday morning to avoid Friday night Bank Holiday traffic (& festival traffic around Leeds). We called in at Barton Marina at Barton Under Needwood for a 'nosey-around' as we had not visited this marina since it first opened. The marina is now more of a base for retail therapy than a traditional narrowboat centre but well worth a look. Arrived at Gt Haywood around 12.00 Noon just in time for the Belgian Grand Prix qualifyers. The wind was gathering speed and it began to rain. After the qualifiers we therefore decided to have a ride down to Trentham in the car for a walk around the shops as the weather was not very conducive to cruising. A trip to B&Q at Stafford on the way back also prompted me to make a start on altering the rear electric cupboard door. The original door was full length which meant that, in order to open the door completely, the rear steps needed to be lifted out . A situation that quickly becomes frustrating. By teatime I had already removed and altered the door to make two independent doors of the original single full height door. After tea they were swinging and ready for magnetic catches and brass knobs.

Sunday 30th August

Although a bright morning it was still quite breezy and we had already decided Saturday night that we were going to visit Lichfield in the morning. We hadn't been to Lichfield before and were well impressed - a lovely city with real character. Made better by the bank holiday as most shops were closed and there were very few people around. Called at Ammerton Farm Shop for some more retail therapy on our return to the marina and despite my regular rants about shops selling Christmas gifts in August I bought Christmas presents for my two nephews! That has got to be a first - me buying Christmas gifts ahead of Elaine. Watched the Belgian Grand Prix and chilled out in the afternoon reading the Saturday and Sunday papers and Elaine started to plan out next cruise (up the Ashby), as we have another 10 day holiday in a fortnight's time.

Monday 31st August

A lazy start - had cooked breakfast, killed a few wasps and packed the car. Filled up the fresh water tank, and dipped the diesel, ready for a quick Friday night departure next time. Set off for home about 1.30pm.

A Quiet Weekend on a Busy Canal

2009-08-23T19:01:00.007+01:00

Travelled down to Great Haywood on Friday evening for a weekend on the boat. The roads seemed quiet for a Friday night in the holiday period - we soon realised why! Everyone was on the canals. The Trent and Mersey was extra busy as a result of the breach on the Shroppie which has temporarily closed the canal forcing everyone to use the T & M.

We opted to stay in the Marina on Friday night and I used the time to fit the runners to the under dinette freezer that I had fabricated in my garage the previous week. The easier access to the freezer is a huge improvement (according to the galley girl - Elaine).

Freezer runners now installed!

Saturday morning was an early departure from the marina and we opted to keep off the "four counties ring" and travelled South from Great Haywood towards Rugeley. Although we had initially intended travelling a little further we actually chose to moor before the winding hole north of Rugeley, almost as an 'emergency-stop' manoeuvre, as we passed narrowboat Tramper. Tramper was the next boat to be fitted out by Anthony M after ours and we were keen to meet John and Moira and see how they were enjoying the boat. It was great to chat with John and generally 'chew the fat' on the towpath comparing boating bits and sharing experiences. Naturally, It wasn't long, walking up and down the same length of towpath, before we realised I had stood in dog s***! This was shortly followed by John discovering he had stood in it as well. Despite thorough searching of the grass I still couldn't identify where the offending parcel lay! Later (to Elaine's joy), I discovered (by sense of smell) that I had transferred it to most of the boat's accessible areas; gunwales, fore deck, aft deck, bow, saloon, galley, etc, etc. This resulted in almost a full internal and external valet - how popular I was!!!

Narrowboat Tramper

Sunday morning started with a beautiful sunrise and almost still condititions. We took off early, winded north of Rugeley, by the time we returned to Great Haywood in true 'Sods Law' fashion the wind had picked up making for a more interesting arrival at the Marina. Thankfully our berthing was made easy by the fact that our neighbouring narrowboat Kaspra was still out cruising resulting in a full 15ft gap to hit with a 6ft10inch boat - even I could do that in the wind. We watched the Grand Prix and had lunch before heading home for the week.

Early Morning - North of Rugeley

Looking forward to the bank holiday weekend.

Weekend Entertainment Courtesy of Victron Energy!

2009-08-16T19:03:00.005+01:00

Friday

Arrived at the boat Friday evening to find the domestic batteries were flat despite a landine connection to the marina. Fridge and freezer both fully defrosted and any remaining 12volt power was weak. A great start to a relaxing weekend. Soon identified the cause as being a faulty connection on the battery thermostat that in turn was falsely registering high battery temperatures (when in fact they were stone cold) which was then preventing the inverter from charging the batteries. The kit is far too clever for it's own good.

Although the electrical equipment on board was soon operational, (just in time for Coronation Street) the process of fully recharging the batteries would take a little longer and re-synchronisation of the battery monitor and inverter would not be done until Saturday.

Saturday

Up early to check on charging progress and to make a call to our boat fitter - Tony Walker (Anthony M). Who needs River Canal Rescue when you can rely on a boat fitter like Tony! He was more than happy to take our 'may-day' call and talk us through the re-synchronisation process over the phone. (Thanks Tony - who needs enemies when you have customers like us).

As we still needed to remain connected to the marina shoreline power to complete the battery charging process, a trip along the canal was off the agenda this weekend. As the freezer was now empty (all contents in the skip) I decided to use the time to begin the installation of a sliding runner system for the under dinette freezer. The first job in this installation was extending the wiring. This was soon completed following a quick trip to Midland Chandlery at Penkridge for the correct connectors and wire. All measurements were taken for the joinery alterations that I will be fabricating at home and fitting next weekend. By 8.00pm we were all charged up and set off for a short walk around Gt Haywood. We walked over to Shugbrough Hall via Essex Bridge (the longest packhorse bridge in Great Britain) and decided to see if we could circumnavigate the Shugrough Estate returning down the Staffs and Worcester Canal. This turned out to be an easily achievable acomplishment on a nice day in the Summer but not so easy at night in the Summer! The walk took us via woodland tracks, over railway bridges, past a reservoir and along narrow and busy country roads before we reached the Staffs & Worcester Canal; all without a torch and appropriate reflective clothing - very unprofessional! Finally we arrived back at Great Haywood at 10.15pm (having travelled 5.5miles), for a well deserved Boddingtons!

Essex Bridge - Great Haywood

Sunday

A quiet morning doing a few DIY jobs around the boat before packing to head home.

Base Camp - Accommodation

2009-08-02T21:16:00.001+01:00

This weekend we arrived at the Marina Friday night using Escapology to break our journey to South London to visit Family.
An early Saturday morning departure from the quiet and idilic marina (despite the drizzle) was a stark contrast with the crazy 'nose-to-tail' traffic of the M25 that we encountered within a couple of hours of our departure. Nobody needed to remind us where we would rather be!
If it wasn't for the fact I was making a visit to see my newly born nephew and his brother I would surely have turned back. Although the journey was difficult (even for a car buff) the visit was priceless. The boys are marvellous and I am naturally very proud of them both.
However difficult it was leaving them behind (at circa 5.30pm) the journey up the M40, M42 etc. was rewarded by a glorious sunset over Tixall on our arrival back at the marina.
Priceless accommodation! - better than any hotel!
Sadly, this was only going to be a flying visit as we are both back at work tomorrow and therefore left for home late this afternoon.

Blog Catchup

2009-07-30T20:23:00.001+01:00

In this posting I hope to summarise all that has happened over the last year up to the creation of the blog and include a few of the photographs of our cruises before we take a more regular approach to our new blogging.

Sheffield to Great Haywood

Our first trip on the boat was quite exciting and I think our ignorance to the dangers of tidal waters made for a less stressful approach to our foray from Sheffield and onto the Trent at Keadby stopping at West Stockwith, and Torksey on the way to Cromwell. We travelled the tidal section on very high spring tide.

Sat in Keadby Lock waiting for the tide on the Trent

The Trent - Travelling on a spring tide.

Our boatbuilder, in the true sense of the word had been working up until our departure from Sheffield. (And continued to meet up along the way with finishing touches etc.) . It was the last minute 'fast track' construction that resulted in the lack of an official paper licence arriving in the post before our departure bringing about questioning, and cross questioning, by every lock keeper between Keadby and Newark! Something Elaine and I were getting really aggrieved about. Really - would someone who has just spent a fortune on a boat really deliberately skimp on the cost of licence! Other than this the trip was a real pleasure. We met many new friends on the way - notably Bernard and Diane on 'Arthur Crossland' from Skipton who we paired up with on many sections of the journey.

Joined by our parents for the naming ceremony just outside Lincoln.

The trip took 12 days and although it was early May 2008 the weather was fantastic - (yes in the UK!)

Four Counties Ring

Later in the year we did the 4 counties ring (clockwise). A trip we had made previously (anticlockwise) in hire boats.

Tixall Lock

Rescued Field Mouse - getting it's breath back!

The cruise went without any notable incidents apart from our first canal rescue - a whole family of field mice who had fallen into the canal. Some needed rescuing twice as they seemed to have a strange fascination for falling off the bank into the cut.

The weather was kind for the majority of the week which made for a pleasant trip.

A Trip Down to Kinver.

This was a week when the weather fought back! Rain, rain and more rain! (Rather like our British Summer)

A Trip Down to Coventry.

Another week of mixed weather and great cruising. Unfortunately unable to moor in Coventry basin the day (or evening) we arrived and were forced to moor outside the perceived security of the basin. Nevertheless we didn't encounter any problems other than a poly bag or two around the prop and a 'scum-line' around the gunwales where the mucky and oily water of the Coventry Arm stuck to the boat blacking.

On the way down to Coventry we couldn't avoid the photo opportunity provided by one of BWs new bollards. This photo was later published in Waterways World under the 'golden bollard section'.

The Severn and Avon Trip

This year we took a fortnight off work to explore further afield. Travelling down to Stourport onto the Severn down to Tewksbury and up the Avon to Stratford. Returning to Great Haywood via Braunston and the Oxford Canal. For this trip we recognised that a 'pram hood' was our only chance of beating the weather so we had Wilsons of Kinver fit the hood before we left. Although the hood rather spoils the look of the boat it is a real pleasure to cruise on a wet day and it seems to have the opposite effect on the prevailing weather than that of lighting a of a BBQ on a sunny day; and has so far kept the majority of the rain clouds away. It also provides an extra usable space on the boat.

Escapology on the Caldon Canal with new hood in position!

The Caldon Canal (incl. Leek Branch)

Our most recent cruise was up the Caldon to Froghall (at least this side of the tunnel) and up the Leek Branch. Again, a great trip greatly assisted by the hood.

Introductions

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A brief introduction to our boat;
'Escapology' is a 58foot semi-trad narrowboat, custom built in 2008 by Jonathan Wilson and Tim Tyler and fitted out in oak by Anthony M (Tony Walker) in Sheffield.
(See http://www.wilsontylerboatbuilders.com/).
She has now been in the water since 1st May 2008 and after her maiden cruise down from Sheffield she has been moored at Great Haywood Marina except when we are out enjoying the canals.
(See http://www.greathaywoodmarina.co.uk/)
The boat is primarily designed as a comfortable two birth (the clue to the theory behind this is in the boat name) however she is capable of being easily converted to accommodate 4 with a quick dinette shuffle if required.

We hope to be able to keep the blog up to date with the latest cruises and activities to keep friends, family and fellow boaters entertained.