Moving weekend - Day 1

We came up to Brinklow last night, arriving at around 7pm.  It had been a really warm day, and the boat was sweltering so we didn't light the fire.  It got quite cold overnight, though.

This morning started with a car shuffle.  We're moving marinas this weekend, so I took a car down to our destination.  I was met there by our friends Brian and Mike, who are joining us for the trip, and they brought me back to Brinklow.  We got the boat ready to cruise, and set off at just before 10am, in convoy with Doug and James on Chance.

It was an uneventful journey through Rugby, and a boat was just coming out of Hillmorton bottom lock when we got there so Chance went straight up.  There were other boats coming down, so it was a case of one up one down right up to the top lock.

We stopped above the locks for lunch, eaten on Chance's back deck, in glorious sunshine.

We set off again after lunch, and continued for a couple of hours.  The popular mooring places are beginning to fill up, so where in the winter we'd have been on our own, there were already quite a few boats.  Our two boats eventually stopped just through Bridge 87, with a view of Braunston Church over the hedge.

Tonight, we're all getting together for dinner, with responsibilities for each course taken by a different couple.  In the meantime, we've got the chairs out on the towpath, James is cleaning Chance, and I might even get the Brasso out again.

12 miles, 3 locks.

Project "Good Night's Sleep"

I came up to Brinklow last night after work, arriving a couple of minutes before midnight.  It was about 5 Celsius, and I considered not lighting the fire.  But the forecast was for a cold night, so I got it going.  I was glad I did, because this morning there was a thick layer of frost on the roof.

I was up at 7, and after a quick shower I put the ropes and the tiller on, unplugged the shore power and set of.  After about 100 yards in reverse, I moored up by the car park.  I was expecting a delivery of a new mattress any time between 8 and 1, and this would be a much easier place for it to be dropped off.  I took the long walk round the marina to get the car.

Handling a mattress on your own isn't easy, even when it's only a 4ft one.  I managed to get the old one out the back of the boat, then I folded it in half and put it in the boot of my car.  Surprisingly, it fitted quite easily.

Then it was just a matter of waiting.  At 10.15, I had a call from the driver to say he was a couple of minutes away, so I went and unlocked the marina gate.  Five minutes later, I had a huge cardboard box on the wharf.

Handling a mattress on your own isn't easy, even when it's only a 4ft one.  And especially when it's a new one.  I found that the replacement mattress was much too stiff to go in the stern doors: it just wouldn't flex in the same way the old one did.  So I walked it along to the bow, opened up the cratch completely, and took it in the front doors.  Then it was off with the polythene wrapping, and onto the bed base.

The most difficult job was still to come, though: folding up the cardboard box and fitting it in the car.  Anyone watching from a distance must have wondered what on earth was going on, as I jumped up and down to try to flatten the folded box.

While I was over that side of the marina, I walked the boat back and did a pump out.  A token gives plenty of time, and I was able to give the tank several good flushes.  I've got some brewer's yeast frothing in some warm water, and I'll flush that down before I go.  Next, it's off to the tip, and back home.  We'll be back on board Briar Rose on Wednesday evening, for our last night at Brinklow.

The Macc

After blogging last night, I decided to make the most of the sunshine and clean the brasses.  So I got up on the roof to tackle the mushrooms, which haven't been cleaned since October.  Brasso made no impression to start with, so I had to get the Bar Keeper's Friend out.  Once that had got the worst off, I went back to the Brasso to give a better shine.

This morning was lovely and sunny, and I set off up the M6 heading for the Macclesfield Canal.  Near Birmingham, the sky changed from blue to thick cloud and stayed that way for most of the day -- right up until the time we were leaving.

There were quite a few boats on the move, and many more moored up.  Some people might recognise the first boat through the bridge.

It was an easy drive back to Brinklow.  At the boat, I walked round to the bins to get rid of the old glass from the stove (fire glass can't be recycled).  Then I got the hosepipe out and topped up the water tank.  It was sunny and warm, and the fire was still alive, so I had the front doors and the side hatch open.  Tomorrow, I'll be retracing most of today's journey for another boat test.

Odd jobs

I drove up to Briar Rose this morning, at the end of a night shift, because I've got two boat tests to do in the next two days.  The day night shifts finish is always a strange one: I try to stay awake all day, to reset my body clock.  As long as I keep reasonably busy, I usually don't feel too tired, and then I sleep really well at night.

It was a lovely spring day (in fact it's the spring equinox, which is a day early this year), and the daffodils around the marina have come out since I was last here.

I had a few jobs to do around the boat.  The first was to sort out the shower, which has been dripping like mad since the winter.  I think one of the ceramic fittings inside the thermostatic control has been damaged by the cold.  I'd bought a second hand replacement bar for a very reasonable price on eBay, and it was a simple matter to swap one for the other.  I'll take the old one home, because I think the part can be replaced, and then we'll have a spare.

The next job was the fix the bulkhead connection for the tunnel light.  We hadn't been able to do it before because it needed a tiny screwdriver, and I'd brought a set with me.

Then I moved onto the stove, which got a thorough clean out.  I noticed a few weeks ago that the glass had a small crack in the corner, which was likely only to get bigger.  I took the door off, and tried to work out how to get the glass out.  The screws on the clips holding it in were seized, so I had a look on the internet and found some good advice.  I sprayed each screw with WD40 and left it to soak in.  Then I used a pair of pliers to twist the clips and release the glass.  I phoned the chandlers at the bottom lock in Braunston to check they had a replacement glass in stock, then after lunch drove over to get it.  I parked in the village and walked across the field to the lock.

I knew Doug and James on Chance were likely to be in the area, so sent a text to find out.  They were moored down opposite the Boat House pub, so I walked down and had a nice cup of tea and a chat.  They wanted to turn around and head off along the shared Oxford/Grand Union section, so I had a little ride up to the marina entrance, and back to Braunston turn, where I got off and said my goodbyes.

Back at the boat, I fitted the new glass to the stove door.  I was more fiddly than I'd expected, and I was quite worried about cracking it in the process.  But it was soon done, and no doubt the fire will be lit later this evening when the temperature starts to drop.  I've now been up for almost 24 hours, so it'll be an early night tonight, and a fairly early start tomorrow morning.

Working and visiting

I was up at a ridiculous time this morning, and was very conscious of how noisy the water pump and the shower pump were.  I crept out to the car, tried to shut the door quietly, and at 4.30 was driving out of the marina gate.  The M1 was busy with lorries, but London was very quiet and I was at work in good time.

At lunchtime I went out to get a sandwich and was surprised to find barriers holding back a crowd outside Western House, the home of Radio 2 and 6music.  It wasn't exactly threatening -- they turned out to be fans of Joan Collins, who was on Graham Norton's R2 show.  Just round the corner, outside Broadcasting House, there was a small but vocal protest by republicans who are opposed to coverage of the Queen's jubilee.

I got away from work at 2pm, and headed north again.  I'd realised this morning that Jill and Graham from Matilda Rose were moored just a short distance from where I'd been yesterday, so I took a slight detour off the M1 to pay them a visit.  We spent a good hour catching up on the news -- and as the last time was actually saw each other was when we took Debdale into Birmingham in November 2010, there was quite a lot to catch up on.  It was good to see them, and have a look at MR, which I'd not been on board before.

Back at Briar Rose, I was amazed to find that the fire still had some life in it, and didn't take much effort to get it going again.  I thought I should top up the water tank (having been here since Wednesday night), so got the hose pipe out and let it fill while I made dinner.  Tomorrow, another (very slightly earlier) early start, then back home.

Decision made

Having mentioned yesteday how different places look when you see them from the road as opposed to the water, today I've driven past a whole host of canal landmarks: Buckby Wharf, Weedon, and Stoke Bruerne locks for example.  The only one that was convenient to stop by was the mill at Blisworth.

Not far away was a field of sheep, where one of the ewes had given birth just a few moments before.  One of her two lambs seemed very eager to get to its feet; the other looked unimpressed by its entry to the world, in spite of mum's encouragement.

The purpose of all the driving about was to arrange a new mooring for this year.  After a lot of consideration, we have booked a berth at Thrupp Wharf Marina at Cosgrove on the Grand Union.  We're moving purely for a change of scenery.  There's nothing wrong with Brinklow, and we've been very happy here since we bought Briar Rose nearly a year ago.  But we have spent a lot of time in this area: Debdale was based a Stockton Top for the first couple of years we had a share, and before that we'd hired twice from Kate Boats in Warwick.  All that means that we've done the North Oxford and Braunston many many times and could do with a change.

Back at Briar Rose this afternoon, I've washed the floor of the cratch and hoovered through the boat.  It's turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon, although it's been very windy - there have been waves on the marina.  I'll need an early night tonight, because I've got a very early shift in London tomorrow morning.

Stoke on Trent

A visit to Stoke on Trent today for a boat test.  It was a lovely sunny day, and not too cold.  Once the test was done, I made a short detour on the way back, to Etruria Junction.  It was lunchtime, and I wondered whether there might be a cafe at the Etruria Industrial Museum; in fact, the museum is closed until next month.  Still, I had a wonder round the junction, at the top of the Stoke locks.

Back at Rugby, I went to Tesco for food and fuel, then called in to Lime Farm Marina for a couple of bags of coal.  I always find it strange going by car to a place that I've previously only visited by boat: in this case, the driveway to the marina was on the opposite side of the road from what I was expecting, and much longer.  The canal seems fairly busy, with a few boats going by.  Back at Briar Rose, the fire was almost out, but didn't take much effort to get it going again.

Another late night arrival

I came up to Briar Rose last night after work.  The 15 miles of 50mph on the M1 was even more frustrating than usual, as a couple of sections were down to one lane.  I got here just before midnight, on a cold, clear night.  The car said it was just a couple of degrees above freezing, and the marina was illuminated by the moon.

First priority was to get the fire going, and I also moved the oil filled radiator into the cabin and put the kettle on to fill a couple of hot water bottles.  I stayed up for about an hour, to make sure the fire was going enough to stay in all night.

By this morning, the fire was still going, and boat was much warmer.  I'll be off further north in a few minutes, for a boat test.

March weekend - Day 1

We came up to the boat yesterday afternoon.  I met Adrian at his work at 3pm, and we had a remarkably good journey, considering it was Friday afternoon.  We were at Brinklow at 5.30pm.  Having this weekend on board was a late decision; we'd been due to go to some friends for dinner, and as their plans for Saturday included driving to Hull, we asked if they'd like to come to the boat for dinner and stay the night.  They arrived at 7pm, and we were soon having a chili I'd made in the morning and brought with us.

This morning was very murkey, and the forecast wasn't very promising (especially for tomorrow).  Brian and Mike left after breakfast, and we prepared Briar Rose for the off.  By the time we got to Newbold, the mist had turned to rain.  There was another shower as we passed through Rugby.  The moorings by the park had only one boat on them; I've never seen them so empty.  At the golf course, we passed Derwent6, and waved at Del.  Below Hillmorton Locks, we passed Oakfield and Piston Broke moored up.

At the locks, there was a boat going up in front of us, so we had to turn the lock.  At the middle lock, we waited for a boat which was just coming down the top, which gave us a chance to look at the work going on at the neighbouring lock.  It's all fenced off and completely empty, so you can see the paddle culverts.

At the top lock, there was another boat coming down, so we could go straight in, and another waiting.  By now the sun was trying to come out, so we had another look at the forecast to see whether it had improved.  Tomorrow is still due to be heavy rain, so we decided to stop above the locks rather than leave outselves a lot to do in the wet tomorrow.  We went along to the winding hole by Bridge 74, where I made a very efficient turn.  Then we came back and moored before Bridge 72, in more or less the same place we used in January.  Since then, the willow trees by the bridge have had a rather drastic haircut.

After lunch, with the sun now fully out in a blue sky with white fluffy clouds, we walked into Hillmorton to see what's there.  Not much is the answer, apart from rather non-descript housing.  We did find a paper shop, though, and came back to the boat a different way.  Since then, I've checked and topped up the batteries, and I've started dinner: lamb shanks which are slow cooking on top of the stove.  There have been a few boats coming past, making the most of a lovely sunny afternoon.

8.5 miles, 3 locks.

Boat check

I came up to Briar Rose last night, as I have a boat test to do later today.  I left work at 10, and arrived just before midnight, slightly apprehensive in case there'd been any frost damage.

Within a few minutes of arrival I'd unpacked the car, put the chimney on and lit the fire, turned the gas on, turned the water and the water pump on, put a couple of hot water bottles in the bed, and made a cup of tea.  I continue to be impressed by the Squirrel stove: it always lights first time and is soon going well -- and it easily stays in all night.

The boat was cold, but we seem to have survived the cold snap.  The shower is drippping a bit -- the "flow control knob", to quote the manual, is a bit loose.  This could have been caused by freezing, I suppose.  I'll take it off later, have a look at the "flow control cartridge" and see whether putting it back together again solves the problem.

The boat was much warmer by this morning.  Visible signs of this included the eco fan spinning fast, and the bottle of olive oil in the galley, which had turned back into liquid.  The main thing is that it's a beautiful sunny day -- ideal boat test weather.

January weekend - Day 1

Never let it be said that we don't make enough use of Briar Rose.  The forecast for this weekend was good (cold but sunny), and Adrian's been working very hard the past few weeks, so we thought we'd have a short trip.

We came up to the boat last night.  I was on an early shift, so got home at 8.15pm; we set off ten minutes later and arrived at Brinklow at 10.45pm.  The car said the temperature was -3C, and inside the boat it didn't feel much warmer.  We got the fire alight, moved the oil filled radiator (which is fine for use on shore power) to the cabin, and put the kettle on for tea and hot water bottles.

This morning we woke to a very hard frost, crisp clear blue skies, and not a breath of wind.

After breakfast, we walked round to the other side of the marina to see Doug and James on Chance, where we had tea and coffee, and a full briefing on their January cruise.

Back at Briar Rose we got the boat ready to go, and reversed off the pontoon at 10.45.  Out on the cut, there were patches of thin ice, but nothing to get concerned about.  At Rugby we passed Oakfield and Piston Broke, then a bit further along at the golf course moorings we saw Derwent6, with its highly polished portholes gleaming in the sunshine.  There were no signs of life on any of them.

At Hillmorton, all the locks were in our favour.  At the middle lock, the open one has changed to the offside of the pair, from where you get a much better view of the church.

BW are clearly going to do some work on the other lock, with a workboat and pumping gear moored in front.  This gate leaks like a sieve, but there was no sign of a new one; the flat contained a new balance beam for one of the top locks, No7.

The sky was a perfect blue as we headed for the top of the flight.

The top of the locks was our target for this unambitious day's cruise.  In any case, we were cold and it was lunchtime.  We moored up just though Bridge 72, opposite the masts of the old Rugby Radio Station, which are soon likely to be demolished and replaced by 6000 houses.

We've never stopped here before (it's too close to base for most trips out), but it's a nice spot.  We have the trains as neighbours, but we've already stopped noticing them.  In fact, at this point the Virgin trains are behind the embankment; it's only the London Midland services which are visible.  As befits somewhere with a huge mobile phone mast a couple of hundred metres away, we've got a great mobile and internet signal.  We briefly talked about going for a little walk to have a look at Hillmorton itself, but in fact we've just enjoyed being on board and relaxing.

6.5 miles, 3 locks.

January Day Out

I've got a boat test in the diary for tomorrow, so I came up to Briar Rose after work last night.  (Adrian had work to do today and was also on call, so it wasn't as if we could have done much if I'd been at home).  I left Television Centre at just after 10pm, and arrived at Brinklow at a quarter to midnight.  The M1 was the quietest I've known it; I guess everyone was scared off by the dire warnings of long delays because of the closure of the motorway immediately after the M6 junction.  Once I'd unpacked the car, the first job was to put the chimney on and get the fire going.  Then I turned on the gas and put the kettle on, for hot water bottles for the bed, and a tea while I waited for things to warm up a bit.

This morning the weather was much better than forecast.  Far from being dull and grey, there was a blue sky over the marina.

I topped up the water tank while I had breakfast, and decided that it would be daft to have a boat and not use it on a reasonable day.  So I got the ropes out, put the tiller on, disconnected the shore power, and reversed off the pontoon at 10.15.  There's no choice of which way to go to the moment as Bridge 34 is closed for repairs, so I turned right out of the marina.  In truth, it was rather cloudy up ahead, but before long the brighter weather from behind me won through, so that by the time I was approaching the aqueducts at Rugby there was some pleasant winter sunshine.

On the approach to Hillmorton, I noticed some unexpected bubbles on the water down the side of the boat.  A look towards the bow showed that I was pushing some branches along in front of me.  I wanted them out of the way before I did my turn, so brought the boat to a halt in mid channel, rushed through to the bow, and used the boat hook to remove three large branches, probably ten feel long, from in front of the boat.  At that stage I noticed there was a boat coming along behind (who probably wondered what on earth was going on), so I quickly went back to the helm and carried on.  At Hillmorton, I turned in the winding hole with no drama -- just as well as I had an audience of the following boat and a number of fishermen who were using the lock landing.  As the following boat came past, I realised it was Reckless, "The boat that Guy built" (or ruined, depending on your point of view).  Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to ask if they've removed all of Guy Martin's contributions, but I can't imagine the steam powered shower is still on board.

It was 12.15 when I turned, so I decided to stop for lunch after Bridge 68, on a long straight piece of piling which is normally full of regulars, but today was empty.  Mooring up when single handed always seems like a bit of a trial, and I could quite happily have stayed in that spot for the night.  But I didn't want to leave myself too much to do tomorrow morning, so set off again at 1.30.  It had clouded up a bit, but still wasn't very cold: I was glad of a hat, but didn't need my gloves.  The return trip was uneventful, and I passed just one moving boat.  I was surprised to see a Rose hire boat moored at Newbold -- it's the wrong side of the stoppage.  I'd spent the outward journey keeping an eye out for a likely mooring place, close to the marina, and preferably with a chance of a satellite signal.  The only one that fitted the bill was by Bridge 42A, which takes the railway over the canal.  There's one boat length of piling there (the modern type, which takes piling hooks -- a bit further along it's the older type where the hooks won't fit), so I pulled in and moored up.  The railway line is very close, but there haven't been too many trains so far (I waited ages to get a photo with one in), and I'd still rather be here than back in the marina.

Once moored, I had a great success with the satellite dish.  I stuck it on the roof in what I thought was approximately the right direction, and it worked straight away.  Then I checked the batteries, unscrewing the tops of all 24 cells to make sure they didn't need topping up.  Now all I need is for tomorrow's weather to be a repeat of today.

11.5 miles, 0 locks.

Christmas Cruise - Day 1

We came up to the Briar Rose yesterday, many hours apart.  Adrian set off from home very early, shopped at Tesco in Rugby on the way, and spent the day working from the boat.  In between calls and emails, he unpacked, got the fire going, and changed a gas bottle.  I had to go to work and was on a late shift, so I drove up once that was over, arriving about 12.45am.  Adrian was somewhat alarmed that I manged to get on board, zip up the cratch cover, and stumble my way down the boat to the bathroom before he even realised I was there!

It was very breezy last night, but seemed a bit calmer this morning.  We were both tired, so didn't get up until gone 8am.  After breakfast we readied the boat and set off at 9.20, Adrian steering and me being the lookout as we came out of the marina.  Then I stayed inside to make cups of tea, and knock together a batch of orange pastry.  It wasn't raining on the Brinklow side of Newbold Tunnel, but it was on the Rugby side -- and had been ever since.  We worked up the locks at Hillmorton in the wet, but at least all the locks were in our favour.

There were two boats coming down the top lock, so we were able to leave the middle one open, and the second boat left the gates of the top one open for us.

The intensity of the rain fluctuated, so sometimes it almost stopped, while at other times it was harder.  By 1pm, I was cold as well as wet as the wind had got up again, so we stopped after Bridge 80.  This stretch is very popular in the summer, and there's often no room here at all; today we joined just three other boats.  The spot by the bird table, that Hadar used the other day, was taken, so we're further along, just before Bridge 81.  We were glad we stopped when we did, as the rain has been lashing it down ever since.  Just one boat was gone by, the helmsman looking rather unimpressed.

The boat is looking reasonably Christmassy inside: we brought our cards with us, which have filled up the shelves.

I've also turned the pastry into a dozen mince pies.  I'd bought a tin and a rolling pin for the boat, but forgot pastry cutters, so I had to improvise with a couple of different sized glasses.

Adrian is now trying his hand at making a meat loaf.  It's always been one of his favourites, but making it is a first.

10 miles, 3 locks.

December weekend - Day 3

No frost this morning, and neither was there the forecast wind and rain.  We had a cooked breakfast (potato cakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon), and set off at 9.45.

A Kate hire boat passed us in the opposite direction before Hillmorton, so we had high hopes that the locks would be in our favour.  They weren't.  Not only were they empty, but the bottom gates had also been left open on the top two. At least the church bells were ringing.  At the bottom lock, we spotted a boat approaching as we decended the lock, so at least we could leave the gates open for them.

At Clifton Cruisers, they're currently fitting out a very unusual looking boat.  Not only is it a bright colour, it's also got a very distinctive stern and bow.

As we came through Newbold, we noticed a collection of flowers by Bridge 50, and wondered whether they'd been left for the man whose body we found on Friday.  There's been no update from the police yet.

We thought we'd better top up with diesel, so reversed into Lyme Farm onto the service point.  We also bought some bags of coal -- the same as the ones I got from Calcutt a few weeks ago, but much cheaper.

We arrived back to a somewhat breezy Brinklow Marina, and the wind helped us onto our pontoon.  We'd just about got tied up at around 1pm when the rain started, so the timing could hardly have been better.  We'll have dinner here, then I'll take Adrian to the railway station; he's got meetings in London tomorrow, and is staying there tonight.  I'll come back to the boat and head home tomorrow morning.

7 miles, 3 locks.  (24 miles, 6 locks)

December weekend - Day 1

It's been a surprisingly eventful and somewhat shocking day.

But first, we came up to the boat last night.  Adrian had meetings near Heathrow all day, and came to Television Centre in the evening.  We got away at the end of my shift at about 10pm.  The roadworks on the M1 were more tedious than usual, because a a couple of sections had lane closures.  We arrived at the marina at just after midnight, and Briar Rose was very cold.  We lit the fire, and also plugged in an oil filled radiator we'd brought up (we were on shore power, so why not?)  It'll stay on the boat on a thermostat for the winter, to try to keep the boat frost free.  Even so, the bed was very cold.

By this morning, the boat was really quite warm, and Thursday's storm had well and truly past.  It was lovely and sunny, and quite calm.  We had porridge for breakfast, then readied the boat for the off.  We reversed off the pontoon at 9.30, and turned right out of the marina.  Once we were under way, Adrian went inside to get some work done, while I was happy to steer.  It was cold, but I was wrapped up well.

As we approached Newbold Tunnel -- a stretch we've done numerous times before -- I was busy watching a raptor of some type circling above the cutting, when I also noticed something floating near the tunnel portal.  After an incident several years ago as we came through Birmingham on a hire boat, when we got a sports holdall round the prop, I always keep an eye on anything in the water, and try to keep a wide berth.  As I passed, though, I realised that what I was looking at was a man's body, floating face down in the water.

I sounded the horn to let Adrian know that I needed help, and as soon as we were through the tunnel he phoned 999 and reported the body to the police.  They took lots of details and said they'd be there within ten minutes.  And they were.  We were still tying up on the Newbold visitor moorings when two police officers walked down the towpath to find out where the body was.  I directed them to the far end of the tunnel, and they asked us to stay where we were.  While we were waiting, Adrian went to post a birthday card, and found that considerable reinforcements had arrived: a second police car, a paramedics car, an ambulance, and a community support officer.

We been there the best part of an hour when a police officer came along and took all our details.  He said they were waiting for a team to recover the body, and that they suspected it was someone who'd been living rough in the area.  He said the likelihood was that we wouldn't need to do anything else, although the coroner might need a statement, and we could carry on.  They've issued a news release.

As we were about to leave, a Willow Wren training boat came along, so I told them the canal was closed and the wouldn't be able to go through the tunnel.  They got lots of practice reversing!  We set off again, and the Willow Wren let us pass, as the winding hole was still some way off.

At Rugby, we passed Derwent6, instantly identifiable because Del was on the gunwales cleaning the brasses.  We had a quick chat as we passed.

At Hillmorton Locks, Adrian came out to steer while I worked the locks.  The first was two-thirds full, the second had about eight inches of water in it, and the third had just a couple of inches.  There's still only one of each pair of locks in operation, as the summer water-saving measures are still in force.  The boat yard above the bottom lock much be delighted, as they've completely colonised the lock moorings.  I can't help thinking that with the winter level of traffic, BW would be better off opening all the locks -- with two side by side, there's surely a good chance that you'll find one in your favour.

It had clouded over somewhat, so we decided to carry on to a bit of piling Adrian used once when single handing Debdale.  Just past the Old Royal Oak, I waved at a cyclist on the tow path, then had a moment of recognition -- at exactly the same time he did.  It was Paul from Waterway Routes, checking out the North Oxford for the latest of his online maps.  I threw the boat into reverse so we could have a quick chat.  He then headed off, trying to get to Rugby station before the rain.

We tied up on the short stretch of piling just before Bridge 75 at just before 2pm, had a late lunch, and called it a day.  Shortly afterwards, there was a downpour, then the sun came out again.  I started cooking a chili for dinner, which has been sitting on top of the Squirrel stove ever since.  There's been a lovely sunset, making a great show from the cratch.  It's quite clear now, so we could be in for a cold night.

7 miles, 3 locks.

Calcutt

I had a relaxed start to the day, with poridge for breakfast, before setting off on the short drive to Calcutt Marina for today's boat test.

It was a misty, murky morning, so we decided to do the interior shots and examination of the boat first, in the hope the weather would improve a bit.  After a couple of hours, the cloud was beginning to break a bit, with one or two small patches of blue sky.  We set off on a short cruise to get running shots of the boat.  The conditions weren't ideal -- but hopefully it'll mean the photos will look atmospheric rather than dull!  We went down to Stockton top lock.  There's not enough room to turn a full length boat above the lock, so we had to go down and turn in the pound below.

Back at the marina, when it was too late, the sky showed real signs of clearing.  Before leaving I bought a couple of bags of coal, as supplies on Briar Rose were running very low.  David the photographer came back to Brinklow on the way home, to have a quick look at BR.

Unexpectedly at Redhill

Sometimes you have have to sieze the moment, and today was one of those days.

The original plan had been to do two boat tests over two days -- one at Redhill Marina this afternoon and one at Calcutt tomorrow.  However, the weather forecast for today was pretty awful, so yesterday we made the decicion to postpone the test (which was a shame, because we'd already had to call it off a number of times last week); the forecast for tomorrow was good, so I decided to come up to the boat as planned.

So this morning, I finished my third night shift at 8am, had a meeting about pension changes at 9am, and by 10am was on the M1 heading north.  It was surprisingly sunny in London, and indeed all the way north.  I kept wondering when I'd reach the forecast heavy cloud. The fifteen miles of roadworks with a 50mph limit get more tedious each time, even in sunshine.

When I got to Rugby, I stopped as Tesco to get some food for a couple of days.  While I was there, I had a text from the boat builder's wife saying it was a shame we'd postponed today, as it was actually very sunny!  This seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, so once I got to Briar Rose, I started making phone calls.  I knew Andy the photographer wouldn't be able to get up here in time, but his predecessor David lives quite close to Redhill.  Within a few minutes, everything was in place; I made a quick sandwich for lunch, then set off up the M1.  It was still sunny, and we made the most of Redhill Lock (which is open at both ends under current conditions on the River Soar) and the bridge which goes over it, as a backdrop for the photos.

The whole area is dominated by the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, now probably best known for the attempted invasion by environmental activists.

By the time I got back to Brinklow it was almost dark, and was getting quite chilly.  I've got the fire going, and as I've now been up for 26 hours, will soon be off to bed.

Of course tomorrow's forecast has gone from good to bad, so I'm hoping it'll be as wrong as today's was.

Autumn Cruise - Day 1

Adrian picked me up from work just after 10pm last night, and we headed up the M1 to Rugby, arriving at Brinklow Marina just before midnight.  We unpacked the car and went to bed.

This morning was very murky looking, but we were up reasanably early, prepared the boat, moved the car round to the car park, and set off at 8am on the dot.  There were only a handful of boats on the move, but the pattern of moorings was unusual: Newbold was absolutely full, as were the moorings by the aqueducts at Rugby; the moorings by the park and Tesco's were almost empty.  At Hillmorton, the offside locks were closed and there was a lock keeper on duty.  We were slightly dismayed to see a boat going up in front of us, but the lockie said we should turn the lock and follow them, as there was no-one coming down.  It was a similar story at the middle lock, but by the time we got to the top lock, the downward traffic had started.

Between Hillmorton and Braunston, there were a couple of attempts at rain showers, but they never lasted more than a couple of minutes.  It was also quite warm, so it was a case of putting the waterproof jacket on, then almost immediately taking it off again.

We had lunch on the move on the approach to Braunston, where we stopped for a visit to Tradline Fenders.  We were hoping to get new bow and stern fenders, but apparently they make them in the winter and sell them in the summer -- and they've sold them all.  We set off for the locks, where there's a sign asking boaters to wait up to an hour for a locking partner.  We had to wait half an hour for another boat to turn up, time which was spent browsing round the chandlers at the bottom lock.  By the time Susie B had joined us, a boat was coming down the lock.  It seems people coming down weren't bothering to wait, because we met three single boats during the course of the flight.

Our locking partners were very competent, and we made it up the six locks in little more than an hour.  Again, we'd had rain showers and sunshine, so coats were on and off several times.  At the tunnel, we followed Susie B, and passed four boats coming the other way, including a tupperware.  On the far side of the tunnel, the weather seemed much better.  Boats coming the other way had relayed stories of seventeen boats waiting to go down the Buckby flight, so we thought we'd better stop before Norton Junction.  We found a nice spot, with mooring rings, just before Bridge 10, with great views across the Northants countryside and the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union.

I've got a chili on the go, and Kath and Neil from Herbie are on their way to share it with us.

16 miles, 9 locks