Heading back to reality

Yesterday evening turned out to be lovely.  Once the drizzle had stopped I opened the side hatch as it was quite warm, and as I sat writing my article all I could hear was birdsong from the hedgerow.

This morning the sky was leaden, but it was bright.  I did some more writing, then at about 1.30 set off the short distance to Baxter's at Kingfisher marina for diesel and a pump out.  Briar Rose is booked in here for repainting in October, and Jon the painter was telling me that he's taken the decision to stop using Mason's paints, as the quality has gone down, leading to a less glossy finish and colours that aren't right.  He's currently carrying out experiments with other paints, and should have sorted out what he's using well before we're due in the paint dock.

Once the tanks were full and empty I winded in the marina entrance and returned to almost the same spot I'd been in overnight, just facing the other way.  After lunch I went and had a sleep for a few hours, in preparation for night shifts which begin tonight.

When I got up at about 5pm, it was sunny and warm -- nothing like the forecast.  I decided I've have dinner before going back to the marina.  It meant that I was setting off at about 6.40pm, which seems a strange time to start a journey.  It may have been only a short trip, but it was a very pleasant one.

The turn into the marina from this direction is extremely tight, almost right back on yourself, and I always approach with a little trepidation.  In addition, once you're in the marina, there's the spin right round to reverse into the berth.  I could see that I had a substantial audience on the deck of the Navigation Inn -- I could tell they were all watching, because they were shielding their eyes from the sun.  Fortunately, all went extremely well, and I was alongside and tied up at 7.15pm.

Now it's just a question of packing up, getting the car, and heading to work for another set of night shifts.  It really is back to reality -- although it does also feel as though I've been on holiday for the past few days!

2.5 miles, 0 locks.  (16 miles, 2 locks)

Thrupp Wharf and Whilton

It was sunny and bright this morning, which I was pleased about as I had a boat test lined up.  I'd ddecided to move nearer the marina and the car, so had to go up Cosgrove lock.  I wasn't ready when the first boat went past, but when another came by at 9 o'clock I dropped everything and set off behind them.

It's much easier sharing a lock when you're single handed.  I still got off and worked paddles and gates though.  A single boat arrived to go down, so I even closed the gate my side and pushed Briar Rose over to the other side to leave the lock, so the downhill crew didn't have to walk all the way round.

When I got to Thrupp Wharf, I was delighted to see a mooring space opposite the marina - I don't recall seeing a space at these moorings before.  It was just long enough (there was at least a foot between my bow and the buoy marking the no mooring area opposite the marina entrance) and meant I didn't have to go into the marina and get into our berth.

Once moored up, I popped back to the boat club just the other side of the bridge where I talked to a man about his boat, which will eventually make a nice little feature article.  At mid-morning I walked round to the marina to the car.  It was strange seeing Briar Rose moored on the other side of the canal.

I drove to Whilton Marina, which is about 15 miles up the A5 for the boat test.  It had clouded over quite considerably which was annoying, but during the external photographs it was a least bright, even if it was trying to rain at the same time.

Once to test was done I drove back to Thrupp Wharf and parked the car.  I needed to run the boat engine to charge the batteries, so rather than staying opposite the pub and marina I decided to move on a bit.  Shortly after I set off there was a shower of rain, but it didn't amount to much.  My aim was to moor in a nice spot between Bridges 62 and 61.  In the spring, the towpath here was well cut, even looking reasonably manicured.  It's grown a bit since then, although I was able to find a gap in the vegetation to line up with the stern.

There's nothing on the tv again tonight, so I'll try to make a start on writing up today's boat test.  Fortunately, there's plenty to say.

3 miles, 1 lock.  (13.5 miles, 2 locks)

Buckingham Arm

As there was nothing on the tv this evening, and it was still very pleasant out, I went for a walk along the Buckingham Arm of the canal, while leaves the mainline immediately above Cosgrove Lock.  It was abandoned in the 1960s, although it had been disused for several decades before that.  The Buckingham Canal Society is working on its restoration.

The first section is still in water, and has moorings for a fair number of boats.  In fact, this is the Old Stratford Arm, which made up the first mile and a bit; the Buckingham is the next 9 miles or so into Buckingham.

At what would have been the first bridge, the canal comes to an abrupt halt, with a large dam.

Beyond, the line of the canal is clearly visible.  The Buckingham Canal Society website suggests that this area was recently cleared of vegetation, which is probably why there's nothing more substantial than stinging nettles.

Alongside there's a field of cows, with their velvety calves.

Beyond the end of the field the canal continues through some woodland.  It's in a similar condition until the A5 trunk road cuts through the canal a little further on.  I gave up before this point, as the towpath in this section was very muddy.

Next month, the Bucking Canal Society is having its annual festival at Cosgrove, to raise funds for the restoration.

Back to Wolverton

The moorings at Bridge 75 near Great Linford are very pleasant.  They're quiet (you can just about hear trains if you really strain), and feel much more remote than they actually are.  There's a big new housing estate just a few hundred metres away on the other side of the canal.  Another boat arrived last night, and a third moored up mid-morning.

This morning was sunny and quite warm.  I made several phone calls, researching an article I'm writing, then managed to write most of it.  A fair few boats came by while I was sitting at the dinette working, and I made a mental note of which ones slowed down and which didn't.  No Wyvern hire boats slowed at all; of the private boats, about two thirds made no effort to slow down - and one that did put full revs on for the few yards between each of the moored boats.

During the morning, a family of ducklings and their mum made regular passes along the canal.

The moorings are so nice I could easily have stayed all day, but the reason I've stayed on board is because I've got a boat test to do either tomorrow or Wednesday, so I need to be within striking distance of the car.  I set off after lunch on what had turned into a very sunny afternoon - much better than forecast.  I stopped at Wolverton and made a quick dash to Tesco to get some Bran Flakes.  I also knew that Paul from Waterway Routes was moored there, so he came and had a look at Briar Rose, and we spent some time chatting in the sunshine.

Setting off again, I decided that if there was space along from Wolverton Aqueduct I'd stop there; otherwise, I'd go up the lock.  There was lots of space, so I pulled in behind a line of boats.  I'd tied up the stern when the boat in front, a day boat, decided to set off, so I pulled Briar Rose a little further forward.  There's still plenty of room here, and the only boats to pass have headed for the lock.

At almost 6pm, the boat test for tomorrow was confirmed.  It's not until lunchtime, so I should have got plenty of time in the morning.

3.5 miles, 0 locks.  (10.5 miles, 1 lock)

Braunston and Great Linford

There was a lot of rain in the early hours of the morning, and by the time I got up the towpath was full of puddles.  I left the boat at 9am, walking back along the muddy towpath to the marina where I got the car out of the car park and headed to Braunston for the Historic Boat Rally.  I arrived just before 10, as the show was opening.  The morning parade started shortly afterwards, so I walked the route: down to Braunston Turn, where the boats go through, then reverse through the other side of the triangle before heading back, then through the marina, and back to the start position.  In places, the parade was the picture of calm; in others, it was chaos.

Chertsey didn't take part in the morning parade because, as Sarah explained, it needed a new thingamy on the engine.  Chertsey had prime position in the arm, and on my way back Sarah furnished me with a cup of tea, so I stood chatting to her and Jim.  Also there were Amy and James from Lucky Duck, and before long Kath and Neil from Herbie turned up.  It struck me at I know all these people only through blogging.  I was also delighted to realise that one of the people who stopped to talk to Jim was a former colleague of mine, Rory Maclean, who owns Sudbury, and now steers Jason trip boats in London.

Standing chatting next to Chertsey, it was difficult to judge whether visitor were most interested in the boat, the engine, or Willow the cat, who liked to keep an eye on what was going on.

A look round the stalls didn't take long, but I did bump into a few other people I knew.  Then Kath, Neil and I went to the Gonzoozler's Rest for a hot turkey roll for lunch.  Shortly afterwards, we met Halfie, who'd just arrived.

After lunch, I headed back to the marina.  As I approached, I saw a red kite hovering over the hedgerow; when I got out of the car to open the gate, it flew overhead with a little mouse in its talons.

Once the car was parked, I walked along the towpath to Cosgrove and Briar Rose.  The weather had improved considerably, with sunny spells and white fluffy clouds.  I set off towards the lock, where a boat was coming up.  I took it slowly going down in the lock, as I was on my own, but just as I was leaving the lock a day boat arrived above with a crew of dozens, so they closed the gate for me.

At Wolverton, I passed Waterway Routes moored up (as expected, thanks to a comment on yesterday's blog), but no-one was on board.  At the park on the offside just after the bridge, an event was going on with gazebos, food, and music.  Shortly afterwards there was a brief but dramatic downpour.

The rain lasted just a couple of minutes, and it wasn't long before the roof was dry again.  One of my possible mooring places, by Bridge 75, was completely empty; there are usually quite a few boats here.  I decided to carry on, to see whether the park side moorings in Great Linford were free.  They weren't, so I turned at the winding hole before Bridge 77 and headed back through Bridge 75 where I moored up for the night, all on my own.  Passing traffic has included a little speed boat with an outboard, and a Wyvern hire boat which completely misjudged the slightly awkward approach to the bridge and hit it really hard.  It's turned into a lovely evening with a lovely view from the cratch.

6 miles, 1 locks.  (7  miles, 1 lock)

Cosgrove again

I came up to the boat after work this afternoon, stopping for some shopping at Wolverton on the way.  I arrived just after 4.30, and soon had the car unpacked and in the car park.  The weather seemed better than expected -- warm, dry, bright, and just a little breezy.  So because I prefer to be out of the marina rather than in it, I decided to unplug the shoreline and set off.  By 5pm I was pulling away from the pontoon and out onto the canal, heading for Cosgrove.

Once through Cosgrove Bridge, there was a man in the water, painting his boat.  He offered to do a bit on Briar Rose as I went past, but I wasn't sure the white would suit.

There were several spaces on the moorings, so I tied up opposite the long term moorers, where I know I can see the satellite and have decent internet.  I left the engine running for a little while, mainly so I'd have some hot water.  There's been a brief shower of rain so far, but there's heavy rain in the forecast for tonight.

1 mile, 0 locks.

Gayton Junction

A quick dash up to the midlands this morning for a boat test at Blisworth Marina, right next to Gayton Junction.  This is the bridge over the Grand Union mainline, with the start of the Northampton Arm beyond.  During the test, I did my first boat on the Northampton Arm (we've only ever gone past on the main line).  We went only as far as the winding hole above the locks, but it's a start!