Some final stats

After a long cruise I normally do a post with some stats for the trip, so I thought it would be nice to do some stats for the whole of our ownership of Briar Rose.

We took ownership on 30 April 2011, and there were 1,770.3 hours on the engine.  When we handed her over yesterday there were 6,021.5 hours on the clock.  That means we’ve added 4,251.2 hours.  Over that time we’ve travelled 8576 miles and passed through 5538 locks.

We have spent a total of 1177 nights on board — that’s the equivalent of three years and almost three months.  Our longest trip before we moved on board was 36 days in September 2017, but we also had trips of 35 days in 2023 and 34 days in 2013.  Excluding the marinas we stayed at (where we spent lots of nights, usually just one or two at a time), our most used moorings included Crick (because of the boat show), Stoke Bruerne (if you add together the top, middle, and bottom moorings) and the ones between Cosgrove Lock and Wolverton Aqueduct.  This year we spent a lot of time in Stoke, Nantwich, and at Hurleston Junction.

In terms of range, we’ve been from Godalming in the south to Lincoln in the north east, north of Manchester in the north west, and sharpness in the south west.  Particular memories include the Manchester Ship Canal between the Weaver and Ellesmere Port, and the tidal Thames, which we did a couple of times.

This will be the last post on this blog.  But please follow our travels on our new boat over at the Kingley Vale blog.  Add it to your bookmarks and blog rolls!

Passing on Briar Rose to her new owners

We were up early this morning and drove down to Kings Orchard for a final visit to Briar Rose.  We arrived at about 9.30, and immediately set to loading our remaining possessions into the car.  Then we spent an hour cleaning the boat, polishing all the woodwork, and sweeping and hoovering through.

I think many people already know that the new owners of BR are Helen and Andy Tidy, formerly of Wand’ring Bark and the Jam Butty.  They arrived a little after 11, and we helped them load their things from their car onto the boat.  A bottle of bubbles was opened to mark the occasion.

We did a car shuffle to deposit their car where it needed to be, and then talked them through all the technical stuff.  What had been quite nice weather then took a dramatic turn.  As we all sat at the dinette with a cup of tea, the heavens opened, there were hailstones, and the wind made waves on the marina.  But as quickly as it started, the bad weather passed over and there was sunshine and still conditions again.

It was time for BR to make her first journey under her new owners.  Helen and Andy got ready to set off, while we walked round the marina to wait on the bridge over the entrance.  Soon, they came round the corner into view, and were soon under the bridge and turning out onto the canal towards Fradley.

It’s been an odd day emotionally.  Briar Rose has been a great boat which we’ve owned for more than fourteen years, and in one sense we were sad to see her go.  But we have our new boat, and we’re really pleased BR is going to friends who are clearly excited about owning her and who we know will look after her.  And it was much nicer to have a convivial handover day, rather than just dropping the boat at a brokerage and walking away.  We wish Helen and Andy many happy miles and locks ahead, and continued success selling their jams and chutneys through the side hatch.

We went back through the marina gate and settled our bill for the electricity we’ve used, then started heading for home.  First stop was Tesco in Lichfield for lunch and petrol, then we pointed ourselves north.  It really felt like the end of one era, just as another was starting.  As we drove, we got a message from the Braidbar crew inviting us to join them and some of the other recent owners who are still in the Poynton area at the pub for a drink, and then we all had a takeaway.

It’s been quite a long, emotional, and enjoyable day.

Kingley Vale handover day

Today was the day we took over our new boat, Kingley Vale.  There is a full report on the KV blog, so add that to your reading list!

A car full

Lots more heavy rain overnight, but fortunately it had stopped by this morning and was quite nice.  After breakfast we started packing proper — and began to realise that we had perhaps underestimated how much stuff was stashed away in the boat.  We knew we didn’t have to take everything in one go because we’ll be back on Friday to hand over Briar Rose to her next owners; but with the car filling up, we made the decision to prioritise what we need for tomorrow, and then come back on Tuesday for another load.

The car was pretty much full by about 11.45, so we walked down to Whittington for a toasted sandwich at the Main Street Cafe.  It meant we got a good walk in, and we’re still back to the boat before 2pm.  The boat itself looks a bit as though we’ve been burgled and ransacked, but we’ll sort the rest out on Tuesday.

This afternoon we’ve driven up to Cheshire.  Google brought us through some very dramatic scenery, taking in the Staffordshire Moorlands and the edge of the Peak District, but the route included some very narrow and winding roads.  We’re staying at Shrigley Hall Hotel for the night.

It’s only a few minutes drive to Braidbar in the morning, and we’ve been told not to be there before 10am!  Don’t forget to switch over to the Kingley Vale blog to follow us there.  

Packing

Heavy rain overnight and more this morning, but it’s quite a bit warmer.  I think I’d rather have it cold and clear (except that we still need rain…)  This morning we started pack and cleaning, so now the saloon shelves are empty and virtually all of our clothes are in suitcases.  I cleaned the shower and the oven, and was quite pleased with the way the shelves came up.

After lunch, we drove to Aldridge, where Helen and Andy were trading at a Christmas Fair at the parish church.  They said they’d had a pretty quiet day (who’d want to go out in such wet weather) so they’d had plenty of time to chat to people — including us.

Tonight will be our final night on board, before we head up to Cheshire tomorrow ready for handover day for Kingley Vale on Monday.

Frosty

As forecast, we had another cold night and it was very frosty this morning.

But it was also sunny, and as I wanted to do some research for a magazine article, we walked down the canal to Whittington.  Everything was beautiful in the crisp air, and there were sections of the canal that were frozen.

As we went through Whittington, a boat came along, crashing through the ice.  It wasn’t that thick but it still makes a tremendous noise.  When we got to Whittington Bridge, we walked up into the village where the Main Street cafe was very busy; we found a table and had coffee, tea, and a toasted tea cake.  We walked back through the village to the bridge by Whittington Wharf, and back up the canal.  At Huddlesford Junction, we saw Rowington, the share boat in which my cousin Catherine and family are part owners.

This afternoon I’ve written a couple of articles and sorted out lots of photos, and Adrian has done work in his charity role.  The latest episode of The Water Road podcast is also out.  This one is about the Montgomery Canal, and can be heard by clicking here.

Sutton Park and The Royal

We’re at the stage where we’re ready to pack — but don’t need to yet!  We haven’t got room for boxes of stuff, and if we can live normally rather than in chaos for a couple more days, then so much the better.

So we decided to visit Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield.  And talking of cold — it was.  Very.  The park is huge, and a quick half hour walk didn’t even scratch the surface.

We’d also booked to see The Choral at The Royal Cinema in Sutton Coldfield.  It’s a lovely art deco building.

The screen we were in was quite small, but had very fancy seating, most of them in pairs.

The film was good, but it was absolutely freezing in the cinema so if we’d gone specifically to warm up we’d have been disappointed.  It’s been a lovely sunny day, but the clear skies mean we’re expecting another cold night.