Not the day planned

I was due to be going to the Warwick area this afternoon for a boat test.  But both Adrian and I have had Covid in the later part of last week, and when I took a test this morning I was still positive.  We thought about Andy the photographer still going to at least get the photos done, but the weather wasn’t looking very nice so we have switched to a plan B.  Strangely, Adrian has felt worse than me throughout, and still does — but he did a test this morning which was clear.

I had to make a quick dash into civilisation for some food and a couple more tests, and managed to do so without having contact with anyone.  Back at the boat, I set about washing the roof, which was in a bit of a state, particularly where the plank and pole stand is.  I’d been partly inspired by Oleanna’s blog today in which Pip washed the roof; I was also inspired by the passages through Froghall Tunnel, but the means of recreating that were limited!

At least by washing the roof in the marina I could use the hosepipe to rinse it off, because getting the dirt off the roof and not just drying in a different place is actually the hardest part.  I also rubbed down and primed a couple of handrail scuffs from the Ashted Tunnel last year.

I’m supposed to be at work tomorrow, but phoned and said I was still testing positive and should probably stay away; they certainly don’t want everyone getting it.  With that decision made, I thought I would head out of the marina to avoid going stir crazy.  I got the boat ready to cruise, set off, and between the marina entrance and the first corner passed three boats going the other way, with another one just round the bend.  It was good to be out; note the clean roof.

My spot by the footpath through the hedge was free, but I went first to turn around.  A bit of extra time charging the batteries and making some hot water was needed for one thing.  The space was still free when I got back, so I tied up with the galley window lined up with the gap.  Right by the boat were fantastic blackberries, so I spent a while picking them, although some were guarded by thistles and very tall stinging nettles.

There’s a good lot, so I’ll be putting some in the freezer.  Tomorrow I’ll need to make a decision about work on Thursday.  Right now the sun has come out and it’s like a completely different day.

3 miles, 0 locks.

Pre-Crick: Day 3

Gayton Junction continued to provide entertainment yesterday evening.  Another hire boat went the wrong  way — this time turning towards Weedon when they wanted Stoke Bruerne.  However, their reversing and getting the right direction was really good.  Later on, Catherine and Nigel came for a drink or three; we haven’t seen them since Christmas Eve, so we had quite a lot to catch up on.

This morning, we did our own turn in the junction.  I gave the stern a good shove off, and we spun round very neatly, heading back under the junction bridge.

Back through Blisworth Tunnel, it was just as wet as yesterday.  At the locks, a Gayton hire boat was setting the top lock — and it turned out to be the one mentioned above: a boat-load of people from Stockholm, who were also sailors, which might explain why they had some idea what they were doing.  This was their first lock ever, though, so they had lots of advice from many quarters.  A volunteer lock keeper also joined us, so I ended up going down to set the next lock.  In fact, I worked ahead the whole way down.  In the main part of the flight, Adrian suggested some synchronised boating, which worked well.

We caught up with a single boat towards the bottom of the flight, so I set the bottom lock for them.  All in all, we had a very quick passage through the locks.  At the bottom, we carried on, then moored up at a favourite spot before Bridge 63, where we lined up the dinette window with the footpath through the hedge.  We had lunch, as the sun finally came out.  We have had a busy afternoon.  I decided the bow needed some attention, with the red paint on the nose and the bow flashes having faded a lot.

I rubbed down the red sections, then masked it all up.  The curves took quite a time, and kneeling on the bow to do it was murder on the knees!

Then out came the paint and the roller.  At the same time, Adrian had washed the towpath side of the boat, and while the paint dried we put some polish on.  Then it was time to take the masking tap off and put the button back on.  It’s not perfect, but it looks a lot better.

8 miles, 7 locks.  (17 miles, 14 locks)

Kent

A second morning when I walked along the towpath at a relatively early hour back to the marina and the car.  I’d made fairly last minute arrangements to go and see my dad in Kent, to deal with some paperwork.  On the way, I stopped at Curry’s at Lakeside just north of the Dartford crossing, to pick up a cheap printer, as some of the paperwork needed printing out and scanning, which I could then do from my phone.  By lunchtime I was heading back.

I have removed the masking tape from the handrails, and I’m pretty pleased with how they look.  They are certainly better than they were before.

This afternoon, to finish off my steps, I went for a walk along the towpath.  I’d planned to use the offside path between bridges 62 and 61, and the start of the path even has a nice new gate.

Unfortunately beyond the gate, the stinging nettles were just too thick.  I got through the first few metres unscathed, but round the corner there was no way of getting through, not in shorts anyway.

During all the driving today I had an idea for the intro for yesterday’s boat test, so I really should get on and start writing it, before I forget what the idea was.

Oundle

To Oundle for a boat test today, so I was up fairly early and making the 25 minute walk along the towpath back to the marina and my car.  The boat test included a trip up (and then down) Upper Barnwell Lock, which has Oundle Mill alongside.  These days it’s an upmarket kitchen and bathroom design centre.

Although there was some sunshine when we arrived, it quickly clouded over.  It was still dull when I got back to the boat at about 2.30.  I was in two minds about whether to get a second coat of paint on the handrails, but I decided I’d go for it.  Dull, warm, and dry conditions are actually quite good for painting.  

Handrails

I came up to the boat after a night shift, mostly because I was due to have two boats tests tomorrow, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.  I also wanted to spend a few days repainting the handrails, which I last did almost five years ago.  I’d thought about doing them in the week before Crick, but as so often happens, we went boating instead.

Anyway, I called in at Tesco on the way, and still arrived at the boat at 9am.  I unloaded the car, did the loo, and filled the water tank.  Then I got ready to set off, at a little before 10.  There was a stiff breeze making the turn out of the marina tricky, and I had to put the nose on the towpath and swing round.  I only went as far as the nice mooring through Bridge 63, less than half an hour away.  Once tied up, I quickly got to work prepping the handrails.  Last time, the paint had completely failed, there were big rusty patches, and I needed to do fertan, primer, undercoat, and top coats.  This time, the paint is actually still pretty good, it’s just that it’s faded and lost its shine.  I cleaned them, gave them a bit of a sand, and then a really good dust, and got the masking tape out.  I started with the existing reel of blue tape by Duck, which no longer seems to be made; when that ran out, I switched to the red Craftmaster tape.  Low tack doesn’t even begin to describe how non sticky it is, and it’s also translucent.  Anyway, it meant I had blue and red tape in use, which looked a bit odd.

When I’d masked up the towpath side, I set off down to Baxter’s to turn around.  Here the wind helped, and I spun round very easily.  There was a breasted up pair heading towards me, going very slowly, but I easily got round before they were too near, then I retraced my steps.

When I got back to the same stretch, I lined up the galley window with the hole in the hedge, for the view.

I masked up the other side (you really need to be on solid ground to get it right, which is why I turned), then got all the paint out.  I was reminded about the saying that there are only about two days a year in the UK suitable for painting outside — and they often turn out to be yesterday and the day before.  But actually it would have been too hot recently, whereas today was warm but not hot, and with a nice breeze. The painting has to be done fairly quickly, and I really wanted to get it on before lunch, to give it a good chance of drying.  I did the towpath side first, then worked my way back on the offside.  They already look so much better.

Last time, the inside of the handrails only got one coat of paint as I ran out, and I fear the same might happen this time.  And the forecast has deteriorated for the next few days, so it might be a little while before any more painting gets done.  Boat tests have also been rearranged — the afternoon one is now in the morning, and the evening one will be some other time.

3 miles, 0 locks.

Higher Poynton

I spent Sunday night in a hotel as I was going from a late shift to a much earlier one.  But last night I was back on the boat.  I arrived about 9.30 and immediately got the fire going.  This morning I was up early and found that the forecast cold night had materialised.  There was frost on the boat and the car, but the marina looked lovely in the clear light.

It was a boat test day, so I met Andy the photographer in Towcester and we went up to Higher Poynton in Cheshire in one car.  The bridge over the arm where the yard is has some lovely old cobbles.

The sun shone and there was no wind so conditions were ideal.  By early afternoon we were heading home, and I was back at the boat at about 5.30.  The evening was too good to stay in the marina, so I quickly made preparations and set off.  One of the moorers on the outside of the marina complemented me on simply leaving the berth and getting to the exit, which is basically just driving forwards and steering a bit, so I hope she was even more impressed by my left turn onto the cut.  It was a lovely time to be out.

One of my favourite spots was free, about half an hour from base, so I pulled up.  I’m hoping the engine was on long enough to heat some water for the morning.  It’s the place where I line up a window with the view down the footpath through the towpath hedge.

I might go home tomorrow, but Adrian has had to go down to Weymouth again, so if he’s staying there I might stay up here.

1 mile, 0 locks.

A mile

I have been at work today, and didn’t get to the marina until after 6pm, having stopped at Tesco in Wolverton for some shopping on the drive up from London.  I had brought with me a load of things that we’d borrowed from the boat to take to the Black Deer music festival last weekend.  Once I was unpacked, I put a centre line on, did the engine checks and pulled out of the marina, turning towards Stoke Bruerne.

I wasn’t planning to go far, just past Bridge 63.  When I got through the bridge I could see that someone was already occupying my favourite spot, where you can line up a window with the gap in the towpath hedge, so I stopped at a bit of piling before there.  Someone has obviously moored here in the not to distant past, as the very long towpath grass is trampled down for about 60ft.  Tomorrow I’ll be walking back to the marina to get the car, to head to Braunston for the historic boat rally with my second cousin, Catherine.

1 mile, 0 locks.

Castlethorpe

I came up to the boat after work as I have a boat test to do tomorrow, leaving behind a rather dull and drizzly London and arriving in warm sunshine.  It was far too nice to stay in the marina, so I headed out and turned left.

The space I like through Bridge 63 was free, so I carried on to Baxter’s where I turned around, and returned to it.  I moored so I can see through the gap in the hedge from the galley and the dinette.

After lunch I did a few jobs, firstly sweeping the stove chimney, then blacking the stove itself.  Both of them are rather messy jobs.

I needed to get some steps under my belt, so headed through the gap in the hedge and across the field, which has been harvested and ploughed.

Across the next field is a bridge over the River Tove, meaning I was into Buckinghamshire.

The path goes through woods, then a field of sheep.

I turned through a farm yard and across another field of sheep, up to Castlethorpe.  The railway goes through the village in a cutting.  It used to have a station, but it closed in 1964; you can still see the platforms, although the central one is very overgrown with trees.

The village has a nice sign, and there’s a little shop.  I retraced my steps back to the boat, covering almost 5km.

I spend the next little while carefully scraping old adhesive from our licence holders from the windows, before sticking new ones up.  I’ll do another post in a couple of days about how ridiculous they are.  I lit the fire, because I know from experience that the blacking makes fumes if you haven’t polished off every last trace — so I wanted to get it going while it was still warm enough to have windows and doors open.

3 miles, 0 locks.

Fastest ever exit

I have a boat test to do tomorrow, so we came up to Briar Rose this afternoon.  The journey was slower than usual, but not as bad as Google Maps had suggested when we set off.  It was around 6.30 when we arrived at the marina, and within minutes we were untied and setting off.  Adrian reckons it was certainly among our fastest exits from the marina, if not the fastest.  There was a stiff breeze, but we turned left and headed for a mile down the cut, in nice sunshine.

We moored in the same spot I used last month, but facing the other way.  I’ve lined up the dinette window with the gap in the hedge.

1 mile, 0 locks.

Lancashire and Yorkshire

It has been a very long day.  It started at 6am with a 20 minute walk along the towpath to the marina, where the car was.  I drove to Bicester, filled up with fuel, and picked up Andy and all his photographic clobber.  It was then a three hour drive up the M6 to Reedley Marina in Lancashire for a boat test.

Once that was done, we headed east, across the border first into North Yorkshire and then West Yorkshire to Apperley Bridge Marina for a second boat test.  En route we passed the Damart factory chimney which is right beside the canal, and saw signs for the Bingley 5 Rise locks, and Saltaire.

It was 5.30 by the time that one was done, and another three hour drive down the M1 to Bicester, to drop Andy at his car.  I filled up with petrol again, then went to get some chips from the chippy in one of the new developments there.  Then it was back to the marina, and another 20 minute walk back to the boat.  There was a spectacular sunset to look at as I walked, which looked best from the cornfield alongside the boat.

In total, I’ve driven about 430 miles, which is more than 8 hours at the wheel.  Plus a few boat miles along two sections of the Leeds and Liverpool canal about 40 miles apart.

Through the hedge

I have some boat tests tomorrow, so came up to the boat this afternoon.  It was too nice to stay in the marina with boats either side, so I set off at 4pm and turned left.  I justified the trip because I need a tank of hot water, so I might as well make it by going for a jaunt.

I turned around at Baxter’s Boatyard and retraced my steps.  The place I have often stopped between Bridge 61 and 62 was quite busy, so I’ve come through Bridge 62, past a couple of boats, and moored at a spot I’d taken note of on the way past.  I have lined up the galley window with a gap in the hedge, where a public footpath goes off the towpath.

The wheat and barley round here is well on the way to ripening, as you can see.  I’d been intending to have my dinner and then return to the marina, but Google tells me is’t just over 20 minutes walk, so I’ll just get up a little bit earlier in the morning and walk back to the car.

3 miles, 0 locks.

New Year’s Cruise: Day 1

It’s Adrian here. I drove up to the boat this morning for our New Year cruise. We’re meeting Adam’s cousin Catherine and family on their boat, NB Rowington, at the bottom of Stoke Bruerne for New Year’s celebrations. Adam is working, and will hopefully be able to join us just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. He’s also working on New Year’s Day, and then we’ll have a few days on board.

Worked through the usual list of tasks on getting to the boat: de-winterising the boat; emptying the compost loo; getting the fire alight; and an emergency trip to the supermarket when I realised we didn’t have any wine or tonic water on board! Disaster averted!

I’ve travelled half an hour from the marina, and am moored in the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside.

2 miles, 0 locks.