Cosgrove

With nothing particular to do today apart from keeping myself generally to myself, I was in no hurry to get going.  It was a much nicer day than the forecast had suggested, though, so I set off at about 10.15.  I chugged along past the entrance to the marina and into Cosgrove, where I turned around above the lock and returned to a mooring in the sunshine in the village.

I put some black undercoat over the primer on the handrails, and then went for a walk along the towpath and down to the Ouse Valley Park.  I did the big loop along the river to the railway viaduct and back.

At lunchtime I did another Covid test which was yet again positive, so I let work know I wouldn’t be in tomorrow either.  I’ve spent the afternoon pottering about not doing much.  Adrian is on his way; I was originally going to take the boat back into the marina, but he’s going to come to Cosgrove instead.  Fortunately I’m right by the steps to the horse tunnel, so fairly convenient for unloading all the stuff he’s bringing in the car.

2 miles, 0 locks.  (5 miles, 0 locks)

Back to Cheshire

I was up early this morning and driving to Bicester to meet Andy the photographer.  I’d moved the car to the village yesterday afternoon.  We went in one car to Aqueduct Marina at Church Minshull for a boat test.  The weather was ok, no sunshine but light cloud and dry.  We had lunch at the cafe there, and then on the way home the rain arrived.  I stopped at Bicester library to have some documents printed, rather than trying to figure out whether I could do some sort of Wi-Fi thing with phone and iPad on the boat.  My walk back from the marina to the boat at Cosgrove was mostly in the dry, so I was lucky because the rain really came down after I got back.

Wending to Wales: Day 35

We had just a short distance to go back to our marina today, and set off about 8.30.  Adrian packed as we went along.  At Yardley Gobion, outside Kingfisher marina, we passed our old share boat, Debdale, and had a quick chat with Charlie, who was one of the owners back when we had our share.

When we got to Thrupp Wharf, there were three fishermen opposite the marina entrance, which is also a winding hole.  I don’t think they’d have been very pleased had I done my usual turn in, which would certainly have stirred up their water.  Because of what was happening next, I got the boat close to the entrance and then reversed the stern in.  Adrian got all the stuff he was taking home off the boat while I stood there with a rope, trying to stop the boat blowing over to the other side!

Adrian packed the car, checked he had house keys, and set off back home.  So that really marks the end of our trip — 35 days in total, plus three days when we were moored in Rugby having to work.  It’s one of our longest trips (I must check back to see whether it takes the title as the longest!)

5 miles, 0 locks.  (385 miles, 314 locks)

I jumped back on the boat (and it almost did require a jump, because the wind had already blown the stern away from the side in the few seconds it took me to get there), and headed for Cosgrove.  I passed four boats on the way, so I was pretty use there’d be space, plus two more as I tried to get over to the moorings.  I chose a relatively straight section, with no overhanging trees.

Once I was secure, I got the bucket out and washed, rinsed, and dried that side of the boat.  Then I thought I’d put some black paint on the gunwales; when we had them changed from blacking to paint last year, Steve let me have half a tin of leftover paint.  I got the fat tyre fenders out and tied them to the intermediate rings on the towpath, to keep the boat away from the side.  There are a few bits that really need a bit of proper work, but the paint has certainly covered up the surface scuffs and scratches.

Then I got the polish out and did that side of the boat.  Once all that was done, I thought I’d turn the boat around before having some lunch, so headed off to the lock where I spun around and returned to the same spot.

I’d only just finished tying up again when Free Spirit came past, so I walked down to the lock to explain what I was doing here rather than heading for home, and to help Ian and Irene through.

Back at the boat I had lunch, then did the whole cleaning process on the other side.  I have to say the novelty wore off some time before the boat was finished, and being stooped over for hours putting polish on and then off again is not much fun.  However there were plenty of people passing to say hello to, including a big group of kids on some sort of trip, who had lots of questions.  It was only when I went back inside I realised I should also have cleaned the windows, so I did that too — including standing on the gunwales to do the offside ones.

The main reason I’m still here is that I have a boat test to do tomorrow in Cheshire, so there was very little point in going home when this is halfway there.

1 mile, 0 locks.

Two boat tests

I was up fairly early this morning, and put a third coat of Danish oil on the window cills and corner pieces.  Then I took a walk along to the aqueduct and back.  It was a lovely sunny morning.  I’d moved the car to the village yesterday, and a 8.30 I set off to meet Andy the photographer at Bicester.  Using one car, we made for our first appointment at Hawne Basin, somewhere I’ve been to by boat, but never by car.

The weather was sunny enough and pretty warm, and we were done by lunchtime.  Then it was back on the motorway heading further north to Aston Marina.

We got back to Bicester at about 6.30, and I went to get some fish and chips from the nearby chippy, then drove back to the marina and walked along the towpath to the boat.

Cosgrove

It rained quite heavily early this morning, and having had three days of getting up at 4am I quite enjoyed staying in bed listening to it.  It rained again through breakfast time.  But it was dry after that and I decided to set off around 10am.  I wanted to turn at Kingfisher Marina, and as I approached the preceding bridge a boat pulled out and looked as it if was also turning, so I held back.

In fact it was going into the dry dock, so I went ahead and turned.  There was a boat moored on the no mooring bit opposite the marina entrance which didn’t help; it turned out it was also going into the dock.  I retraced my steps, carried on past my mooring, then past our marina, and on to Cosgrove.  I wanted to turn again above the lock, and it was quite busy there.  The trip boat was there as usual, but it had one of the day boats behind it, and a boar was on the lock landing.  The Buckingham Canal work boat was moored on the other side too, which limited my choice of places to stick the bow.  I got round ok though, and completed the turn before a boat coming up the lock had got to the top.

I moored up in a nice open spot in the village, by the house next to the horse tunnel.  This afternoon I have done various jobs.  The hole in the engine room wall that suffered water damage needed filling, and I’ve also tackled the window cills.  The windows all had wooded corner trims, most of which have come unstuck and dropped off over the years.  Some of them were water damaged too.  I finally got round to sanding them all down, and have applied a coat of Danish oil.

I’ve also sanded all the window cills themselves, removing all the old flaking varnish.  There’s not much you can do bout the discolouration caused by water, but they all looked better just sanded back.  They’ve all also had a coat of Danish oil.  They all need three coats, 6 hours apart — so another will go on this evening, and hopefully I’ll have time to do another tomorrow.  Then all the missing corners can be stuck back on.  No individual job takes very long, but there are quite a few of them, and there’s quite a bit of waiting time in between.

I have also set up a second boat test for tomorrow, so it’ll be a busy day.

4 miles, 0 locks.  (5 miles, 0 locks)

Pre-Crick: Day 2

We woke to sunshine, and first went for a walk round the Ouse Valley Park.  We did the route I did yesterday afternoon, but in reverse.  The ponies were keeping a distance today, but we heard a cuckoo, which was either moving about or there was more than one.  We had realised we’d forgotten a few things on our shopping trip yesterday, so at 10am set off towards Wolverton.

At Galleon Wharf, a new building is going up, with curved wooden roof beams.  We need to look up the planning, but Adrian’s guess is that it might be an upside down down, with bedrooms on the ground floor and living above.

Immediately before the bridge, a duck landed on the roof and came for a short ride.

A bit further on, a boat is displaying a sign saying ‘bird’s nest’, and sure enough, there’s a moorhen nesting in one of its tyre fenders.

At Wolverton I dropped Adrian off to go to Tesco, and carried on to turn around at New Bradwell.  It’s not a favourite winding hole as there are so many dangly trees; I was a bit concerned about the chimney, which I should have taken off beforehand.  Adrian jumped back on at Wolverton, and we continued to Cosgrove Lock.  A boat was coming down and closed the gates behind them, but the steerer couldn’t get his boat into the landing so sent his crew back to open the gates so we could go in.  They’d also left the paddles up, which wasn’t ideal.  We moored in a nice sunny spot in the village, and had lunch.  Then we walked back to the marina and I moved my car to the village — I have a night shift to do tonight, so will be driving to Milton Keynes central.  We came back to the boat via the shop at the caravan park, so we could have an ice cream.

6 miles, 1 lock.  (7 miles, 2 locks)

March week: Day 4

Rain was forecast for this afternoon, so we wanted to try to get where we were going before it started.  So we set off from Campbell Park at about 8.30, under grey skies.  All the moored boats mean a lot of the journey has to be done on tickover.  But even on a dull day, I thought the houses at the old wharf at Great Linford looked nice.

The park beyond the bridge has had a lot of work done on it, in addition to the improved lake.  There are new benches, info boards, and sculptures.  A bit further on, past the Black Horse pub, a place on the offside where there used to be caravans is having houses built on it.  As we came along there was the odd spot of drizzle, then approaching the Wolverton Aqueduct it rained a bit more.  As we got to the aqueduct we caught up with the Jules Fuels pair, who were quite slow through the narrow trough.

The fuel boats had more customers between the aqueduct and the lock, so as I went past I asked if they could stop and top up our diesel tank when they came through the village.  When we got to the lock two boats had just come down, including the trip boat, and they helpfully left a gate open for us.  Once up the lock we were a bit dismayed to see a line of anglers all along the moorings.  We stopped on the water point as yesterday’s tap had been so hopeless, and while the tank filled I walked along to see how far the fishermen went.  Fortunately, they had left a gap round the corner, so we were able to tie up near the horse tunnel.  We had lunch, then the bows of the fuel boats appeared at the window.  We didn’t need much diesel, only 41 litres, but the price was £1.34 a litre — which is apparently slightly less than last week.

Adrian then headed off back to work, his car having been parked in the village.  Since he’s been gone, the rain has got heavier and heavier, so I’ve hidden indoors doing a few odd jobs and keeping the fire going.  This evening, I’m going to try cooking a baked potato in the stove, so we’ll see how that works out.

7 miles, 1 lock.  (28 miles, 4 locks)

March week: Day 1

I’ve had a couple of days at the Country2Country festival at the O2 in London, and came up to the boat from there this afternoon (lots of photos of C2C on Instagram — @adamporternews if you’re interested).  I did food shopping on the way.  Once on the boat, I got a bit of a shock when I rolled up the blind on the front doors to find a duck in the cratch!  She was trying to get out, so I went back out lift the cover from the outside.  This video isn’t great, because it’s difficult to hold a phone and lift a cratch cover, but it gives you an indication of how keen she was to escape.

I don’t  think she’d been there long, because the well deck wasn’t the mess it could have been, but I’m glad I was here today to let her out.

I topped up the water tank and generally got ready to leave the marina.  I only did a mile down to Cosgrove.  Adrian is on his way, so this is a reasonable place to come to.

1 miles, 0 locks.

Crick Boat Show: Day 2

I was up fairly early, and drove up to Crick arriving before 9.  My press pass got me in then, before the gates opened at 10 — and I met up with Andy the photographer.  We were able to look at a few boats before the crowds arrived.  With there being far fewer boats on show this year, we we all done by about 1.30, even allowing for a tea break and a pizza for lunch, so I headed back to Briar Rose.  It was raining, but not too heavily, so we left the marina and headed down to Cosgrove, turning round above the lock and mooring in the village — just so we had a better view.

I began writing up the mini boat reviews, then when the rain had stopped we went for a walk down past the lock to the aqueduct and beyond.

There will be more writing later, in an effort to get the whole thing done as soon as possible.

1 mile, 0 locks.

Rediscovery Cruise: Day 23

It’s been a very tiresome day’s boating today — and not just because we were going through Fenny, Milton Keynes, New Bradwell, and Wolverton.  It has been exceptionally windy, which always makes things difficult, and it’s been cold along with it; I started off with a coat on and swapped for a thicker one (but I have still be wearing shorts).  We set off at 9, with Adrian bringing the boat while I walked along to Stoke Hammond Lock.  I need not have bothered, as the lock was full and one gate had swung open.  Below the lock, in the open hold of an old boat, was a sculpture which I’d seen on my walk yesterday; it appears to be made from a huge tree root.

When we got to Fenny Stratford Lock a Wyvern hire boat was the other side of it.  They wanted water and we were now waiting on the water point, so they let us through first.  Adrian went to swing the bridge out of the way.

There seemed to be more boats moored up than ever, and many of them are widebeams.  It often makes passing boats coming the other way difficult.  We met several at bridges too, which is always the way.  We’ve seen at least a dozen Wyvern boats.  The new flats opposite the marina in Milton Keynes have progressed quite a bit since we were last down this way.

The wind only seemed to increase as the day went on.  There were waves on the wide bit of canal near the Galleon pub.

One boat on the permanent moorings by the Wolverton Aqueduct had a novel take on a beer garden.

Cosgrove Lock was the last of the whole trip, and a boat had just come down so it was in our favour.  We moored up in the village, near the horse tunnel, in a section that’s away from the trees.  Catherine and Matthew are coming to see us this evening; Grace has other commitments, and Nigel is acting as taxi driver.  Adrian has been making dinner as we’ve come along.

15 miles, 3 locks.  (302 miles, 193 locks)

Higher Poynton

I came up to the boat after work yesterday evening, arriving at 7.45.  This morning it was a fairly early start to go to Higher Poynton for a boat test.  Google maps took me right up the M6 to Manchester Airport, and then on to Poynton; apparently new link roads have made the journey quicker.  On the way back I went cross country to the M1.  I was back at the boat at 4.30, so headed out of the marina down to Cosgrove, where I turned above the lock and moored up.

1 mile.

New Year’s Cruise: Day 3

I had a lovely New Year’s Eve evening with Catherine, Nigel, Grace & Matthew on NB Rowington. We had fun playing Articulate, a game both Grace & Matthew are masters at! Adam arrived at 11:30pm, just in time for a game of Uno!, and to see the New Year in with us.

We watched the fireworks from London, and enjoyed a few drinks, before turning in around 1:30am.

Both boat crews were late to rise on New Year’s Day.  The Rowington gang joined us for breakfast on Briar Rose, well they brought their breakfast with them, and we provided the tea and coffee.  All too soon it was time for Rowington to head back up the Stoke Bruerne locks.  Adam helped them up the first couple of locks, before driving to Milton Keynes station to get his train into London.

I readied Briar Rose before setting off to Cosgrove.  As I approach the Navigation Inn I saw friends Thelma and Martin out on their New Year’s Day walk (they knew I’d be in the area, so seeing them wasn’t a total surprise!).  They came aboard at Cosgrove for a drink an a catch-up.

I spent a quiet evening on board, and was joined by Adam at 11pm when he got back from work. Adam is now off for the next few days, and we’ll be spending the next 4 days aboard.

6 miles, 0 locks (11 miles, 0 locks)

August weekend: Day 4

Another very hot and sunny day.  We had another relaxed start, only setting off at about 9.30.  Lots of the fields are now filled with big rolls of straw.

We went past our marina, through Cosgrove, and down the lock, mooring up before the aqueduct.  There was initially some shade alongside the boat, and we sat outside reading.  As the sun moved, so did we, with our chairs getting further and further along, and closer to path.  We had lunch outside, then a little while later the ice cream man cycled past, heading for his usual spot by the aqueduct.  We walked up and got a very welcome ice cream.

This afternoon, we set off along over the aqueduct and turned before the Galleon pub.  It was quite busy, with a couple of boats behind us (one of which had been in front but stopped for ice creams), and an old working pair coming the other way.  They also stopped for ice creams on the aqueduct, and when we came back last, the guy was doing a roaring trade.

When the pair got to the lock there were two Wyvern hire boats coming down, who initially shut the gates behind them.  It was only after considerable hooting by the pair that they opened them again.  The pair slipped into the lock and I pulled up on the lock landing.  A family with several children were trying to refill their water bottles from the water point there, so I unlocked it for them. As the pair needed to go up and another boat was waiting to come down, I thought I’d use the few minutes to put some water in our tank.

We were joined in the lock by another Wyvern hire boat.  We were hoping for the shady mooring n the other side of Solomon’s Bridge, but it was taken so we pulled in towards the end of the village mooring.  We walked through the horse tunnel under the canal to the Barley mow for a drink in the garden, with Briar Rose right opposite, across the canal.

A local cat came over the fence and visited several tables, including ours even though we had no food at all.

6 miles, 2 locks.  (35 miles, 16 locks)

Work

I had a late shift in London, so got up early and walked back to the marina to bring the car to Cosgrove.  While walking, I checked the trains from Wolverton and discovered that because of the predicted heatwave all trains after 10am were cancelled.  I decided that my best bet was to get a train from Milton Keynes Central instead; so rather than a fairly laid back morning I left for work much earlier than planned.  At MK I managed to get a space in the station multi-storey car park, and then got the first train my ticket would allow.  I meant I was in London much earlier than needed -- but at least I was there.  The trains back home later this evening look like a nightmare -- so whether I get back to the boat at a reasonable time is anyone's guess.

RCR and Cosgrove

I drove up to the marina this afternoon, as the technical director from RCR wanted to make some changes to the remote monitoring device he fitted back in March.  It’s still a work in progress, and there have been a few updates.  My drive seemed very slow; when I got to the boat it was hot and full of spiders.  Mr RCR had done his stuff within an hour or so, so I decided to head out of the marina.  The Taverners Cruising Club just the other side of the bridge are having piling put in.  It’s about a foot in front of the existing concrete edge, so there’s also a dredger there which is filling in the gap with dredgings.

When I got to Cosgrove I began to worry that the moorings would be full and I’d have to turn round and go back.  But although it appeared there were lots of boats, it was clear further on, and I got a mooring on the final straight bit of edge.  The good news is the side hatch is on the water side of the boat, and there’s also a bit of a breeze.

1 miles, 0 locks.

Long day

The alarm went off at 5.15 and by 6 I was walking through the horse tunnel to where I’d left my car.  I have to scrape the frost off it.  I met Andy the photographer at Towcester, and we travelled together up to Higher Poynton for a boat test.  The route took us through the Peak District, with glimpses of the Peak Forest Canal.  We arrived at 9 and were done by lunchtime, so we headed through the Peak District again heading for Sheffield.  The route included some spectacular scenery, including one very steep twisting road.

We’ve never arrived in Sheffield from this direction before, and we passed many University buildings, and then a tram line in the middle of the road.

We got away about 4.30, and the journey back was pretty quick.  I parked in the marina and walked down to the boat in Cosgrove.

Birthday Locks

I drove up to the boat after a night shift, dropped off my things, opened my birthday cards, got changed, and headed out again to Braunston.  My route took me along the new Flore Weedon bypass, which crosses the canal on a big new bridge that we’ve watched go up over the past couple of years.  I parked in the village and walked down to the locks.  I was meeting James and Amy from Willow who are heading to London with new Baby A.  We were pretty mob handed, as also helping out were Maffi from Milly M and Ann and Simon from Melaleuca.  We started off up the locks with one boat, but they soon decided to moor and were replaced by Water Jester who’d just set off.  We flew up the locks, and at the top we all went on board for tea (and to admire Baby A, who was very contented and cute).

We all agreed to go and help at Buckby too, so while Amy and James set off through the tunnel, the others drove to the top of Buckby Locks while I drove to the bottom.  I was starving so popped onto the marina cafe for a baguette to eat while walking up the locks.  As I got to the top lock Willow was just coming down.  With plenty of crew, we made rapid progress down the locks; the sun had also come out and it had warmed up considerably.

At the bottom, James and Amy set off to make some progress towards London.  Ann, Simon, and Maffi turned down the offer of a lift back to their car, so I headed off back to Briar Rose, via Tesco and Towcester for some food.  It was too nice an afternoon not to move, so I quickly prepared the boat and headed down to Cosgrove.  I turned around above the lock and moored in a nice open spot just by the horse tunnel under the canal.

I’ve lit the fire and will be having an early dinner and an early night — partly because I’ll soon have been up for 24 hours, and partly because of an early start tomorrow when we hope to get two boat tests done.

1 mile, 0 locks.

Handrails: Day 6

A couple of boats left this morning, and as I wanted to do another top coat on the handrails, I moved forward a couple of boat lengths to where there were no overhanging trees to drop bits onto them.  Because of yesterday’s rain, I had to dry them off before I could give them a light sand (it seems weird taking sand paper to newly shiny paintwork), and then start painting.  I had much less paint left than I would have liked, so decided I would prioritise the tops and outsides of the handrails, and leave the insides to another time.  It was just as well, because by the time I got to the end, I have virtually no paint left at all; at least the most visible bits, and those which had suffered worst, have two coats.  I left the paint to dry for a few hours, and then began the task of removing all the masking tape.  To my relief, it came off very easily and left a nice crisp line.

The handrails are by no means perfect — we’d have had to have done a lot more work to make them that good.  But I’m pleased with the overall look, which is much improved.  Hopefully the rust has been stopped and won’t come through again too quickly.  I do think I’ve been quite fortunate in having a week where the weather has been pretty conducive for painting, generally sunny, reasonably warm without being hot, and not to windy.

Handrails: Day 5

Nothing to report on the handrail front today as I had to go to work — the reason for being at Wolverton.  I caught the 0500 train, and got back to the boat at around 1600.  I made a quick visit to Tesco, and as I walked back it started to rain.  However, it didn’t last long so I decided to head off, to get away from the noise of the trains and the flats.  I did get wet for part of the journey, but then it dried up again.  The tree that I photographed across a boat yesterday has been cut down, so the canal is back to its normal width.

I should really have stopped on the moorings past the aqueduct, but as it wasn’t raining I decided to go up the lock.  Of course as I was going into the lock it started to rain again, and continued until just after I moored up.  I was pretty sure there’d be space in Cosgrove village, as it’s been quiet here all week — and while there were more boats than previously, there were several spaces available.  So no painting today, but I did like the way the rain formed water droplets on the new paint but didn’t on the old, as seen on the roof diamonds.

2 miles, 1 lock.  (6 miles, 2 locks)

Cosgrove Canal Festival

Yesterday, Adrian was on the boat at Cosgrove while I was still at work.  He looked round the festival and did some work, then entertained Helen and Andy from Wildside for dinner in the evening.  It seems they had a fine time sitting out on the towpath drinking partially frozen prosecco and eating Adrian’s speciality South African dish, boboti.

This morning, once my night shift was over, I came up one the train to Wolverton where Adrian was waiting to meet me.  We took the car back to the marina, then walked along to Cosgrove.  The Canal Festival has quite a few trading boats along the towpath below the lock.  Naturally we stoped by the Jam Butty for more chat with Helen and Andy,

We went back to the boat for lunch, then I washed and polished the towpath side of the boat, which badly needed attention.  We set off about half past two, aiming for the station at Wolverton so Adrian could get the train back to London.  The lock was worked for us because of the Buckingham Canal Society’s lock ransom, although it did cost us a donation.

We continued to the winding hole at New Bradwell, and I dropped Adrian off in time for the train at just after 4pm.  I then carried on back to the Aqueduct and moored up, on pins, just at the end of the reserved moorings.  I then went down to Andy and Helen for conversation, wine, and (it turned out) an improvised meal consisting of things Helen had to hand, supplemented by a few things from our fridge.  It was a really great evening, even though by that time I’d been up for more than 24 hours; it reminded me of another occasion when we’d improvised a meal when we met by accident at Upton on the River Severn.

Now, sleep.


5 miles, 1 lock.  (6 miles, 1 lock)