North Kilworth

Up to North Kilworth today for a boat test.  The weather was kind, and the ducks were tame.

Calopteryx on test

The October Canal Boat came out while we were away, and includes my boat test on Calopteryx by Forton Boat Fitters.

West Mids Meander: Day 24

We were a bit later setting off this morning, probably due to a General Reluctance to end our trip.  It was 8.45 when we left our mooring and headed for the lock.

A single hander was going down ahead, so he waited for us at the third lock.  At the next one, the pound was so full of water there was no chance of getting the top gates open, so we had to run some water off to lower the whole pound.  A CRT man turned up and did the same at the bottom lock.  Once we were down we made a brief stop at the services to use the Elsan and top up the water tank — it’s easier to do it here than at the marina.  It had begun to rain at the bottom of the flight, so I put my waterproof trousers on, at which point it promptly stopped.  It stayed pretty much dry for the whole journey back to the marina.  We were tied up on our pontoon by 11.45.  Adrian had been packing as we came along, so after some lunch we’ll be loading up the car and heading home.

5 miles, 5 locks.  (283 miles, 270 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 23

We had a nice evening with the Provincetown boys, including a look at their boat, which is beautiful.  It was very misty this morning when we set off at around 8.  None of the other boats pointing our way showed any signs of life, so we set off down the locks on our own.

As usual on this flight, some locks were full and others empty.  We completed the flight by 9.30.

At the bottom, there was a lovely boat moored up.

We hadn’t seen any boats at all on the flight, but then they came thick and fast.  Similarly, the sun had also burnt off the mist and it had turned into a lovely day.  At Weedon a site on the offside is being cleared — not sure what will be going in here.

We made a diesel stop at Rugby Boats, where the price has gone up to 84.9p per litre basic.  Just after Heyford Fields Marina, a hire boat coming the other way had got stuck on a rock, and we waited while a boat behind them helped pull them off.  Towards Gayton Junction I spotted a heron which had just caught a fish.

At Blisworth, the widebeam trip boat from The marina was moored right in front of the bridge so you couldn’t see anything.  The boat in front of us had had to take avoiding action when a boat came through the other way and ended up aground close to the mill building.  It all took a while to sort out. How the trip boat thinks this is a suitable mooring, I have no idea.

We passed one boat in Blisworth Tunnel, then did the two locks down to the long pound where we moored.  We walked back to the village and called in to see Kathryn, then on to see Jenny and Pete on Momentous, which was moored above the locks.  Back at the boat, we washed and polished the other side which was no on the towpath, and then Jenny and Pete joined us for a drink.  We all ended up going to The Navigation for dinner together — one of those great evenings that’s all the better for being unplanned.  On the way back to the long pound, the moon looked great above the lock, and a boat was coming down in the dark, it’s headlight lighting up the gate. 

16 miles, 8 locks.  (278 miles, 265 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 22

Some days everything seems to take a long time, and some days things seem to happen quicker than usual.  Today was one of the latter sort.  We started with a plan, having heard how busy Hillmorton Locks can be, especially since the hours were limited: they open at 8, so we’d aim to be there about then.  So we set off at 7.45, and arrived at the bottom of the locks at about the same time.  One boat we passed was just about to set off, and another was already going into one of the bottom pair of locks.  The other was empty and we could go straight in.

As we rose in the middle locks, boats were coming down, so the top locks were also ready — by when a volunteer lock keeper had arrived.

The other boat, an ex-Viking Afloat, stopped at the top for breakfast while we carried on towards Braunston.  It had been quite chilly, but the sun came out and the temperature went up, and before long the spire of Braunston church came into view.

We made two brief stops in Braunston, the first at Midland Chandlers for boat was and polish.  We stopped on their mooring right opposite the junction.

Then we pulled in outside the marina for a quick trip into the village.  We had an early lunch before setting off again.  A boat expecting visitors had tucked in behind us, right by the marina entrance, but was quite a long way out from the edge, so we’re pleased that they could move forward into our space.  Earlier on, I’d sent a message to Mark from the hotel boat, Ellis, as we’d noticed he was in Braunston Marina with alternator problems.  As I walked up to the lock he replied, so came along to say hello.

We were joined up the locks by a nice couple on a boat which they moor at Norton Junction, and who have been boating since the 1980s.  We met no-one coming through Braunston Tunnel, and when we got to the junction there were no boat movements either.  A boat had just gone down the lock but the volunteer lock keepers helped set it for us.  This evening, we are going to the New Inn with Peter and Stu from Provincetown, and I was surprised to find Stu already having a pint outside the pub, many hours too early!  We moored immediately below the lock, and washed and polished the towpath side of the boat, something we have neglected to do the whole trip.  I even polished the tiller arm and pin.

13 miles, 10 locks.  (262 miles, 257 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 21

Last night, I had a great evening at a Radio 2 presenters’ event in London, and didn’t get back to the boat until well after midnight.  Adrian went out for a meal at an Indian restaurant.  Also last night he discovered that the fridge had been off for a while, and things in the freezer had defrosted and needed to be replaced.  This morning, after an early trip to the little Tesco just down from the basin, we set off at 8am.  Going this way, you get a much better view of the Cash’s Hundreds, the houses which used to have weaving looms on the top floor.

At one blind bridge we came face to face with a hire boat, prompting lots of reverse from both of us.  We ended up with something round the prop, which turned out to be the fabric from an umbrella.  At Longford, volunteers were out in force litter picking and tidying up, including removing a huge amount of bushes from in front of a wall.

We got to Hawkesbury Junction after a couple of hours and stopped on the water point before the turn.  We filled the tank, got rid of rubbish, and started some washing.  Numerous boats from the opposite direction arrived and made the turn, making the pool beyond the junction bridge rather busy.

It was soon our turn to go under the bridge, and then through the stop lock onto the North Oxford Canal.

The next section is not that interesting.  We managed to get past a couple of slow boats, and just pushed on in the sunshine.  When we got to Brinklow Marina, where we used to moor when we first had the boat, we turned in — in order to catch up with Mark who’s now the harbour master there, and Del and Al from Derwent6.  We spend a good hour swapping news from the last couple of years, which seem to have been quite eventful.  It was really great to see them.

The locks at Hillmorton currently close early, with the last entry at 4.30.  We knew we wouldn’t get there in time, so went through Newbold and Rugby and moored at the golf course.

20 miles, 1 lock. (249 miles, 247 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 20

It was dry and a bit brighter this morning, but quite chilly when the cloud was at its thickest.  We set off at 8, and made our way past the allotments and back gardens of Nuneaton.  We past a fuel boat going the other way.

At Marston Junction, a boat seemed to have just come off the Ashby Canal, but was over at the far side of the winding hole, so we slipped past.  Charity Dock seemed to have more boats, now double moored most of the way along, and more comedy, with a load of new characters in the gardens.

We planned to stop for water at Hawkesbury Junction, but two of the taps we could have used were in use, and another was broken.  The two boats ahead of us turned under the bridge onto the Oxford Canal.

We carried on straight towards Coventry Basin, where we haven’t been since 2015.  Then I commented on new housing, and now there is even more.  Some, down by the basin, has Coventry Canal Company on it, and I wonder what the actual company would have made of it.

The bridge into the basin always looks impossibly small.

At the moment you have to book a mooring in the basin, because of Coventry being UK City of Culture.We booked online at the end of last week, and the only space available was on C mooring.  I had no idea which one that was, but by fluke we seem to have pretty much the best mooring in the whole place.  There is a floating library/reading room behind us.

We went for lunch at the cafe in the basin — passable toasted sandwiches, but nothing special — and then went for a walk into the city centre, which seems much improved since the last time we were here.  We visited the old and new Cathedrals, where the tapestry and stained glass always impress.

This evening, I am making use of being reasonably close to a station by getting a train into London for a work event.

13 miles, 0 locks.  (229 miles, 246 locks)