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.

More sorting

More sorting out was done today.  We’d brought with us all our jars of herb and spices from home, so I combined them with the boat ones nd went through getting rid of all the out of date ones and the duplicates.

We still have a good range on the shelf.

I then did the same with all the roasting trays and bakeware, with the duplicates going in the charity shop pile.  Then we did a trip to the recycling centre in Towcester, and the Willen Hospice charity shop in Stony Stratford.  We parked up and went to find a cafe for lunch, stumbling across Miss Havisham’s in a little courtyard off the main street; their toasted sandwiches were pretty good.  At times (such as just after we parked) there were heavy showers which included little hail stones, but at other times the sun came out.

On the way back we stopped in Cosgrove and went for a walk down the canal and round a loop of the Ouse Valley Country Park to get some steps in.  It was pretty cold and windy in places, but you do get nice views of the Iron Trunk Aqueduct.

This afternoon, Adrian has been through the can cupboard weeding out more stuff that’s past its date, and we’ve also been cleaning things.  Tomorrow we’re going down to London for the Country2Country festival at the O2.

A moving process

We came up to the boat today, via the opticians where I was having my annual sight test, and with a stop at Tesco in Bicester for lunch and a quick shop.

The car was fully loaded as we’ve brought up loads of stuff from the house — because (and I don’t think we’ve actually said this before), we’ll be moving onto the boat at the end of the month.  Adrian has already stopped working and has spent the past few weeks clearing the house, which is being rented out.  I am taking voluntary redundancy, and will be leaving the BBC in a couple of weeks time.

For things like kitchen stuff, we brought a load with us, then got it all out, compared it with the stuff already on the boat, and decided which we wanted to keep.  We have more work to do in this area, but for some things we’ll take everything back with us and do the comparison at home.  We’ve also cleared lots of the storage areas under the bed and the dinette, so we have space to store seldom-used things, like our ski gear.

It soon became clear that the Eberspacher wasn’t going to start, so I called Dave at BLS, who’s an expert.  He came out, and basically declared it dead.  We’ll get some costs for replacement options.  We’d turned out some stools from under the bed and put them outside in case anyone wanted them — and Dave took a liking to them and took them off our hands, which was good!  And at least we’re on shoreline, so we could have the immersion heater on.

I also swept the chimney and put some blacking on the stove before lighting it.  Then we had a heavy rain shower, which included some distinctly sleety precipitation.  It didn’t last very long, though.

Tomorrow, we have planned an exciting trip to the tip and a local charity shop.

Mac on test

The April Canal Boat is out, and includes my boat test on Mac, by Stone Bespoke Boats.