Heading north: Day 5

We were up a bit later today, and untied about 8.30.  A boat was coming through the lock, who Adrian went to help, so we could go straight in, and then a boat arrived behind us.  The tiny lock takes no time, then I did the about turn through the bridge.

I confess I needed a blast of reverse to get round, but that was still a lot better than the boat behind, which seemed to take several minutes to make the turn!  We stopped at the water point to fill the tank and get some washing on.  It’s not a very fast tap.  We set off again at nearly 9.30.  Charity Dock is as mad as ever, and I think has some new displays.

The huge warehouse on the edge of Nuneaton now looks fully operational.  There’s even a roof garden on top of the office section, which has a five storey tall atrium at the front.

At this point we started meeting boats, first the Hargreaves trip boat — but for once they were all at fairly sensible places, such as just after Boot Wharf rather than in the middle of it, because it’s always a tight squeeze.

We had lunch on the move after Hartshill, and got to the top of Atherstone Locks right behind another boat.  However, with lock keepers going down with us, and boats coming up, we made good progress down the first five.  It’s always a pretty flight, which helps.

By the time we got to Lock 6 another boat had set off from the moorings there, so we were following them down.  It was a boat we recognised from the Crick towpath moorings, as they volunteered at the show every year.  They only did four locks before stopping.  At the last pair, a boat had just come up the first, but the other still needed filling.

We carried on to moor just beyond bridge 50, past Grendon Dock, and treated ourselves to an afternoon hot cross bun.

14 miles, 12 locks.  (63 miles, 35 locks)

Stargazer on test

The May edition of Canal Boat is out, and included my boat test on Stargazer, a 70ft widebeam by Bespoke Boats.

Heading north: Day 4

We were awake early for some reason, so set off at about 7.30.  It was a stunning morning.

These waters are very familiar, from when we used to moor at Brinklow.  It’s still very pretty though, and we seemed to have the canal very much to ourselves.

In a couple of hours, we reached Hillmorton Locks.  Adrian topped up one so we could go in, and opened the gates to the paired lock for a boat heading up.

We swapped with a boat at the middle lock, and at the bottom one, so the flight hardly took any time at all. 

We needed shopping, so were hoping for a space at Rugby.  There were several to choose from including one that was on a straight section and close to the footpath to Tesco, so we moored up.  While we were shopping, I also got the battery in my watch replaced.  It was around 11.30 when we set off again, and were soon at the short Newbold Tunnel.

Just before All Oaks Wood, I saw my first ducklings of the year.  You may have to squint to see them.

The main point of interest was the cutting beyond All Oaks Wood, where landslips closed the canal for a while last year (or was it the year before).  The two sites still don’t look all that stable.

We passed through Stratton Stop without having to swing the bridge as there was a boat in front and one coming the other way.  The boat ahead stopped on the permanent farm moorings further along.  We went under the M6, through Ansty, and under the M69.  We were aiming for Hawkesbury Junction, in a repeat of a day we did back in 2020, on the trip which was curtailed by Covid.  We arrived about 3.45, and got a rare space with straight edge, just before the lock.

23 miles, 3 locks.  (49 miles, 23 locks)

Heading north: Day 3

We didn’t light the fire last night, and slightly regretted it this morning!  We were up in good time, and moved across the canal to the marina, where Boating Leisure Services were to fit a new Eberspache diesel boiler.  The old one, which must be more than 20 years old, has been patched up a number of times, but now too many things have gone wrong.  Josh swapped the old and new, overseen by Dave, and we were good to go.  We had a quiet heater and warm radiators!

We got going just before 10, heading along the familiar waters to Buckby locks.  There, a boat had just gone up the bottom lock but would wait for us.  There were a dozen volunteer lock keepers between the two locks, as they were having a training day.  One of the trainers said that for the past couple of years there have only been about four volunteers on the flight, but now there are 16.  The ones at the second lock thought a boat above was ‘loitering’, so waited for it.  It was obvious to that it was moored, so some additional training might be needed.  Once we were under way we made decent progress together.

We got to the top lock at about 1.30, with just a few people enjoying the sunshine at the New Inn.

We turned left at the junction, where the hedge behind the nice towpath mooring there has been radically reduced.  We hardly recognised the place.

We had lunch on the move, before heading through Braunston Tunnel.  We had it to ourselves, which is always a relief, because there are so many places we’re passing a boat coming the other way is tricky.

At the locks, a boat had gone down the top lock but was then waiting for a boat to come up the next one, so we went down to join them.  It was a couple moving from the Nene, where the whole winter had been on red boards, to Dunchurch Pools, where they should have more cruising options.  We moved between each lock together, and had the assistance of a lock keeper so we flew down.

We got to the bottom a little after 3.30, so decided we’d head out into the countryside to moor.  But we spotted Derwent6 opposite the Boathouse pub, gave them a toot, and they popped their heads out the side hatch.  We changed our plans and moored up in a space between the junction and the road bridge.  Walking back, it turned out there were lots of boats waiting after the turn in the Napton direction, because the canal had been closed by the police, after a man was found in the water.

We spent a lovely couple of hours with Del and Al, with a lot to catch up on.  Then later in the evening, just as we were finishing our dinner, we had a visit from my cousin-in-law, Nigel, who came to find us while out for a walk.

13 miles, 13 locks.  (26 miles, 20 locks)

Heading north: Day 2

It was cloudy, chilly, and a bit blustery when we set off this morning, a little after 8.30.  At the locks, the bottom lock was empty, and there was a lock keeper about who said he’d set the next one for us.

It turned out there were four volunteer lockies on duty — it’s the first week of their new season — so we had every lock ready and waiting for us.  One of them asked how long we were out for, and I said possibly the rest of our lives — which he seemed to like the sound of!

There was only one boat moored in the long pound, and a swan there started to take off, then thought better of it and splashed down again.

CRT made another attempt to stop the penultimate lock leaking so much, but it seems it hasn’t really worked.  There’s now a sign on the top lock to warn people that there might not be much water below it.

We moored up above the top lock and went to see in Kathryn was in.  She was, so we all went to the cafe for tea and coffee, and most importantly a chat.  By now the sun had come out.  Then we headed through the tunnel, which we had to ourselves.  I always like the bridges in Blisworth — Candle Bridge, then the rail bridge with the blue iron framework.

At Gayton Junction we thought we’d stop for water and get some washing going.  There was a chap already on the water point, so we waited over the other side and it wasn’t long before he was done and we could move over.  We weren’t there long either, and the wind helped us get back on the move.  We have moored just before Heyford Fields Marina, as Dave will be replacing our Eberspacher tomorrow.  It’s been playing up for years, and has had various parts replaced with reconditioned ones.  Now it’s too far gone, so a new one has been ordered.

10 miles, 7 locks.  (13 miles, 7 locks)

Heading north: Day 1

We were awake fairly early, because it was a big day.  Firstly, it was my 55th birthday so there were cards and presents over breakfast (including a harmonica, after I mentioned at the Country2Country festival earlier this month that I fancied learning it!).  Then we set off in the car for Stoke, where we visited Tim Tyler’s workshop to see our new boat, Kingley Vale, in build.

There are lots more pictures over on the Kingley Vale blog.

After spending an hour or so there, we headed to the Middleport Pottery, where we like the cafe.  We sat in the sunshine talking about our options for a base for the next few weeks.  We’d intended to be at Victoria Pit, opposite Braidbar, but a big breach on the Macclesfield Canal probably means it’ll be closed for a while.  We phoned a few marinas in the area of Cheshire we’d find most convenient, but none have spaces at the moment.  We had an early lunch, of Staffordshire oatcakes with a portion of chips.

We then thought about Stoke as a possible base, and as we couldn’t find a phone number for Festival Park Marina, we thought we’d drive down there, as it’s only a few minutes away.  We spoke to a chap there, found they had spaces, and liked the price.  So we have booked in for an initial month from next month, and we’ll see what happens.

Next we made a quick visit to the huge Tesco for some things we forgot yesterday, and then got on the A50 and the M1 back to the boat.  It was a lovely sunny warm afternoon, and only just 3pm, so we had already decided we’d be starting out on the trip that will never end.  We attached some centre lines, did the engine checks, said goodbye to our neighbours, and pulled out of the marina for the final time.  We’ve been here a long time, and it’s been a good base.

We headed north, carrying on for about an hour to a favourite spot at Grafton Regis.  It might be a noisy choice though, as the sheep are making a real racket!

3 miles, 0 locks.

Moving out and moving on board

The past few days have been quite hectic.  Friday was my last day at work.  There were lots of nice words said, there was a cake that was quickly demolished, and I was applauded out of the newsroom as I left.

Yesterday we moved out of our house.  In the morning, our next door neighbour and his sons came round to take our remaining furniture, as one of the lads was moving into a new flat with his girlfriend and needed stuff.  We did a final charity shop run, a last tip run, and then loaded the pile of stuff we were bringing with us into the car.

It was quite emotional leaving the house we’ve lived in for more than 20 years.  We took the keys to the rental agent, and a tenant moves in next week.  Then we went to stay with some friends for the night.  This morning we were on the road about 8.30 and arrived at the marine just after 11.  We unloaded the car, nd set about trying to find a space for everything.  To our surprise, it wasn’t too bad; we still have too many clothes, and we’ll probably end up having a few more turn outs as we go.  This afternoon we went to Tesco in Wolverton to have lunch and stock up on fresh food, and also popped along to B&Q for some coal and logs in case we need an evening fire.  We’ve also filled the water tank, which must have been pretty empty, and continued putting things away.

One thing we wanted to get rid of was an oil-filled radiator we intended to use in the winter but never have.  We put it outside the boat with a ‘free’ sign on it — and much to our relief, when we got back from shopping it had gone!

We’ll have a celebratory roast this evening, our first night as liveaboards.  Tomorrow, we’re going to Stoke to see the new boat in build.