Post Crick: Day 4

It was another day which started off with brilliant sunshine, but quickly clouded over.  I set off at 8.45, creeping past all the boats which had completely filled the length of piling in front of me.  There’s a lot of work going on at Clifton Cruisers, where the outside of the workshop has been removed, but everything inside it is still there.

When I got to Rugby, the water point was free so I stopped, got a load of washing going, topped up the tank, and made a cup of tea.  None of this took long, and I was soon on my way again.  At Newbold Tunnel, a squirrel ran across the portal brickwork as I went in.  None of the coloured lights in there are working any more.

I’d seen very few boats on the move, but as I came onto the long straight past Brinklow Marina, I could see one in the distance.  I caught up with it at Bridge 35, so they were going very slowly.  It was a Black Prince hire boat, and they let me pass at the big corner just through the bridge.  It wasn’t particularly sunny, but All Oaks Wood still looked lovely with the light through the trees.

At the moorings before Bridge 34, I made a mental note of all the gaps in the moorings — essentially one space quite early on, and then a long gap which could take two boats in a much better position further on.  I carried on through the cutting towards Stretton Stop.  Just before the bridge there, the towpath is being worked on with boats narrowing the channel.  There’s also a new stretch of piling where the Rose hire boats moor, which will be much better for them but I think has taken a foot or two off the width of the canal.  I turned around in the arm at Stretton Stop, which wasn’t easy because of the number of moored boats, and the wind direction.  Going back past the work, the guys signalled for me to come through and two boats approaching from the other way to wait.  The first one turned out to be the hire boat I’d passed earlier, but they were on the wrong side of the canal.  I passed them on the wrong side, and then switched to the correct side to pass the boat following them.  There were now also two more boats behind me, so things were a bit messy for a while.

When I got back through Bridge 34 the nicer mooring was still available — I’d been worried that some of the boats I’d passed might have taken it — and I pulled in, followed by one of the boats behind me.  I had some lunch and then went on a Zoom staff meeting.  Later I washed and rinsed the towpath side of the boat, and then it rained for a bit; I managed to get some polish on there once it had cheered up a bit.  We used this mooring a lot when we were based at Brinklow, and it’s nice to be back here.

8 miles, 0 locks.  (60 miles, 37 locks)

Alvechurch and All Oaks

To Alvechurch today for a boat test.  For some reason, the sat nav took me there via the M6 and M42, and back using the M42, the M40, and the A46.  Either way, it's a drive of about 45 minutes.  It was beautifully sunny as I left Brinklow with hardly a cloud in the sky.  But as I approached Alvechurch there were signs that it had been snowing.  It was also a bit more cloudy, although we still had enough sunny spells for the photos.

I don't usually say anything about the boats tested until they appear in the magazine, but someone has already let the cat out of the bag!

After Sunday lunch at The Weighbridge, I headed back to Briar Rose.  It was still lovely and sunny, so I made a quick decision to head out of the marina for the night.  I got some ropes out, disconnected the shoreline, did the engine checks, and was soon reversing off the pontoon.  I felt I was getting a few strange looks from other moorers -- after all, who heads out at 4.15 on a Sunday afternoon?

I wasn't sure which way to go right up until I got out to the canal, when I decided to turn left aiming for All Oaks Wood.  The sun was low in the sky and it was chilly, but it was nice to be out of the marina.  I went past the moorings, turned around at the former Brinklow Arm, and returned to this favourite spot of ours.  There was a nice sunset while I moored up.

I put the dish up and eventually got a satellite signal.  The other good news is that the shower seems to have stopped dripping.  Maybe now the water system is full again, it's sorted itself out.  Whatever's happened, I'm leaving well alone.

2 miles, 0 locks.

Christmas Cruise - Day 4

I had to go to work today, so I was up at 5am and shortly afterwards walked down the dark towpath to the car park at All Oaks Corner.  I'd moved the car there from the marina yesterday.  While I was in London, Adrian turned Briar Rose around in the entrance to the old Brinklow Arm, and moored back in almost the same place (but facing the other way).

I got back to the boat at around 3.30, having left the car at the marina and walked along the towpath.  A little while later, there was a knock on the boat from the owner of one of the fibreglass boats moored behind.  He wanted to know if we'd seen any patrol officers, as the other boat had a patrol notice on it.  He said he was new to boating, and that he was still trying to work out where the water from his sink went.  He seemed amazed when I suggested it probably went straight into the canal!

1 mile, 0 locks.  (29 miles, 6 locks)

Christmas Cruise - Day 3

This morning dawned a lot brighter than the forecast had suggested.  We had a cooked breakfast with bucks fizz (well, it is Christmas!) and set off just after 9.30.  At Hillmorton, the pound below the top lock was very short of water so we ran some down, then went down the lock.  All three were against us.

After the locks, we saw our first moving boat of the day, Bisous.  Shortly afterwards we passed two canoeists, then the only other moving boat, Snipe, which used to be part of a hotel pair; not sure if it's still a hotel boat.  The tow path was quite busy, though, with plenty of cheerful dog walkers.  We had some mulled wine, and were soon heading past Brinklow Marina, heading for All Oaks Wood.

We moored up just after 1pm, and were surprised at how few boats are here.  In the summer, it's often difficult to get a space.  We started cooking our turkey, and ate our meal at around half past three, washed down with champagne.  We've also spoken to our families, and all seem to be having a good day.  Currently, a Christmas pudding is steaming in a pan on top of the stove.  By the time it's done, we might just be ready for something else to eat.  As far as presents go, one that Adrian got me was the biggest tin of Brasso you've ever seen -- a whole litre!

9 miles, 3 locks.  (28 miles, 6 locks)

Crick Marina and singlehanding

I had to go to Crick Marina this morning for a boat test.  Because the boat builder had quite a distance to travel, we agreed to start a bit later than usual.  This meant I ended up with some time to kill, so routed through Braunston, where I made a visit to the chandlery at the bottom lock, and had a cup of tea at the Gongoozler's Rest floating cafe.

When we got to the marina, the boat in question was hemmed in, with another boat right in front.  All the staff qualified to move it were apparently out shopping, but eventually, thanks to a bright idea from the marina manager, we managed to extract the boat from its mooring and get going.  Fortunately, the weather was far far better than the forecast, with blue skies and warm sunshine.

We seemed to be very efficient today, so were all done by lunchtime.  I headed off to Rugby, where I stopped at Tesco for some provisions, then made my way to Brinklow and Briar Rose.  As it was such a nice afternoon, I couldn't resist taking a little trip.  Surprisingly, this is the first time I've been out on the boat on my own, although Adrian has single handed a couple of times (first on Debdale, then on BR).

I turned left out of the marina and was soon going through the dappled sunshine in All Oaks Wood.  There were quite a few boats on the move.  At Stretton Stop, I turned in the arm just as a boat was about to come through the little swing bridge.  I moored up just after Bridge 34 at the All Oaks Wood moorings that we've used a few times.  The guy who'd come through the swing bridge also moored here; he just managed to fit into the gap behind me.  Shortly afterwards a heavy shower came through, but now it's sunny again.  Heavy rain is forecast for tonight, which is probably just as well given that British Waterways has just imposed even more restrictions because the reservoirs are so low.  Now Foxton Locks will be all but closed from this weekend, and there are restricted opening times at Atherstone and Calcutt Locks.

4 miles, 0 locks.

July Weekend - Day 2

Yesterday afternoon, we walked back to the marina and moved the car to the little car park at All Oaks Corner, so that it was ready for this morning.  After breakfast, we picked up the car and drove up to Cheshire to spend the day with my sister, her husband, and their two girls, Rachel and Emily.  We were meeting Emily for the first time.

We had a lovely day with them, taking the dogs for a walk, having lunch, and going for a look round Stonyford Cottage Gardens, where there's a nice place for tea and cake.

Rachel, who's two and a bit, is talking amazingly well;  Emily is the spitting image of her, and while we were having tea this afternoon rolled herself over for the first time.

We drove back, and while Adrian came to open up the boat and run the engine for a bit to charge the batteries, I took the car back to the marina and walked back along the tow path.  Just after I arrived back, there's was a meeting of day boats next to where we're moored, which provided a few minutes entertainment.

0 miles, 0 locks.

July Weekend - Day 1

Adrian drove up to Brinklow Marina last night after work;  I worked a night shift, then got the train to Rugby this morning.  There's lots of canal spotting to be done on the way, particularly towards the end of the journey when the railway line passes close to various marinas, including Whilton, over the Buckby locks, and over the bridge at Hillmorton.  Amazingly, along one stretch of canal I spotted the boat of a Canal World Forum member, who moors at Napton Junction.  The chances of that must be pretty slim.

Adrian suggested that rather than going direct to the boat, we go and have a look at the new Barby Moorings -- as we've booked to move there after our long trip in September.  The basin is in water, and the first paying boats are moving in this weekend.  There's still some work to do, not least installing the pontoons.  The owner was telling us that they've been pre-fabricated and will be floated into place, which is apparently much cheaper.  We went to find our berth, which is off the central island.  The most fascinating thing was the bridge which is being built to connect the island to the mainland; it's being done in a very traditional fashion.  It was good to see the place in more detail, and we're quite exciting about moving there in the autumn.

Back at the boat, after a reviving shower and a cup of tea, we set off at 11.30 and turned left out of the marina.  It was immediately very busy and we met boats at every bridge hole.  At one narrow section, the crew of a little plastic boat jumped off -- and the harder the woman pulled on the bow rope, the further out across the canal the back end went.

We were pleased to see a few spaces at the moorings just past All Oaks Wood, where we stopped on the final night of our June trip, but we carried on towards Easenhall Bridge, where there's a double width work boat moored, which splits in half to get through narrow locks.  There was a long line of boats coming through the subsequent cutting, where there have been a number of landslips which reduce the width of the cut.  Among them, was the Muddy Waters hire boat from Oxfordshire Narrowboats.  The helmsman asked if we were going to a Braidbar convention, as we were the sixth Braidbar Boat he'd seen.

Just before Rose Narrowboats was the coal and diesel boat Callisto, moored alongside its butty.  Naturally, a boat was coming the other way.  At Rose Narrowbaots, we turned in the arm and headed back to the moorings we'd spotted earlier.  Of course, some of the many boats we'd passed had stopped for lunch, but we still managed to fit into a gap, although it was on a bit of a bend.  An hour later, when one of the boats left, we moved back a couple of spaces onto a straighter length.

During the afternoon, we went for a walk, and I polished the mushroom vents and portholes.  One passing boater said it was looking good; I said I'd be happy as long as he could tell which mushrooms I'd already done.

It's been very busy all afternoon, with boats coming past the whole time.  We're getting a taste of the canals on a summer weekend in the school holidays.

 4 miles, 0 locks.

June Cruise - Day Fifteen

While the rain was coming down yesterday evening and last night, the water level in the pound where we were moored was also dropping.  It was down by around eight inches by this morning.  We were awake when a boat went past at 6am, and decided that as the Atherstone flight can be slow at the best of times, we'd beat the crowds by getting up and going early.  We set off just before 7 -- noticing that the boat which had been moored behind us (and going the same way) had gone.  This meant all the locks were full and had to be emptied before we could go up.

The Atherstone locks fill painfully slowly.  But halfway up the flight there's a lock with a working paddle on the side pond (all the rest have been taken away).  I used it to speed up the filling process, but of course you have to lower the paddle when the lock is half full, or you start losing water to the side pond.

We met a boat coming down at lock five, so the next few were in our favour.  But the top lock was full -- not just of water, but of the result of someone's gardening.  I managed to fish out quite a lot of the rubbish, but we still ended up with yards of rose cuttings trailing behind us, which had to be extracted from around the rudder.

We passed Bendigedig moored at Bridge 34 just before Hartshill (and noted the mooring for future reference!).  The Hartshill yard is looking a bit unloved, although the buildings are still impressive.

 At Nuneaton it rained, although even this couldn't make this stretch of canal look any worse.  There's rubbish in the water, graffiti on every bridge, and the towpath (which looks as though money was spent on it at one point) is overgrown along the edges.  I like the description of Nuneaton in the Pearson's Guide, where it's given a whole two lines:  "Oddly nebulous town of some size which holds itself at arms length from the canal.  Nice fountain in the middle of a roundabout on the ring road."

As we passed Marston Junction, where the Ashby Canal starts, a woman was arriving by car to the little car park there, apparently to walk her dog.  She was paying so much attention to us going past that she drove straight into on of the wooden posts on the waters edge, cracking he bumper and grille.  The noise gave the ducks a fright, too.

Charity Dock looked, to my eyes, much tidier than usual.  The mannequins appear to be arranged in proper vignettes now.  Here's the obligatory photo of today's entertainment.

We stopped for lunch at Hawkesbury Juntion, then set off again round onto the Oxford.  A boat was just coming through the stop lock, so it was ready for us, and Adrian did a great 180 degree turn through the bridge.  I thought, yet again, though, that I really don't get the appeal of Hawkesbury.  The junction itself is fine, with the bridge and the engine house; but the noise from the M6 is loud, the moorings are next to a bit of scrub land, and there's a huge electricity sub station right there.

The northern Oxford canal was straightened in the 1830s, so there are several long straight sections without much interest.  We went through the recently demolished bridge at Ansty, then onto the embankment where Vigin trains fly by right next to the canal.

At Stretton Stop, lots of Rose Narrowboats were waiting for their hirers to arrive.  Adrian got off to swing the little bridge which connects the shop to the sheds on the other side.  We moored up for the night in a lovely and popular spot past Bridge 34, just before All Oaks Wood, less than two miles from the marina.

20 miles, 10 locks.  (204 miles, 209 locks)