Back in the marina

So we made it back to the marina yesterday having had a pleasant last couple of weeks. When we left Warwick the intention had been to come directly back to the marina but the weather was at last looking as though it was improving so we took a bit of a detour and turned south on to the Oxford canal and went down to Napton and on to Fenny Compton. The south Oxford canal is very rural and meanders tremendously (I think it may have been a side line for Slartibartfast after his success with the Norwegian Fiord's- see Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy for explanation!)

We stayed a night at Napton on the way out and two nights on the way back; a very pleasant mooring and delightful village not to mention the very characterful pub "The Folly" with exceptional helpings of food - think Desperate Dan size pies.

We had arranged to meet Ben and Jenny (our son and Daughter in law) for the final leg back from Braunston to Yelvertoft so moored at Braunston on  Friday. We collected the anchor we had ordered ready for next years trip which will include some river work and then had a meal at The Boathouse with B & J ready to set off the next day to the marina. Saturday dawned a beautiful crisp Autumn day and we soon decided that we should enjoy it to the full so moored up above Watford staircase locks rather than go all the way home. It was one of the few occasions through out the summer where we have been able to sit out on the towpath and proved a great way to end our trip.

Sunday dawned grey but dry in the morning so we set off fairly early to get back to the marina and made it by 11.30 about an hour before the rain commenced so good timing for once. We then had lunch in the marina and I took B & J  back to their car in Braunston. I was amazed to find that our car started on the first turn of the key having been standing outside all this time - at least the first turn after I remembered that I had to have my foot on the brake to let the ignition work. It then took a while to find the light switch but I found I could still remember how to drive!

So ends our first summer on the cut. We plan to spend the rest of this week (weather permitting) tiding up the boat - its inevitable with narrow boating that you sustain scratches and marks below the gunnel's going through locks etc - and then back to Bungay.

We are already planing next year with the Kennet and Avon being the starting point and a visit to Bath.

See you all soon.

Gatehouse from 1613 at Wormleighton

Napton on the Hill

Napton church

Methinks I took a wrong turn somewhere!

Napton on the Hill

A super break in Warwick

The weather was really kind to us at last and we have just had a super 5 night break in Warwick moored on the Saltisford Arm which takes you to within a 15 minute walk of the town centre.

On our first day there we had a general walk around the town and went to see if the castle was worth a visit. When we saw the entry fee we weren't quite so sure at £22.80 per head. It was a bit cheaper for us oldies but even so we were considering whether to bother when a couple came up to us and gave us a spare voucher they had for half price entry - we must have looked needy - so although we couldn't also take advantage of the OAP rate we did think a look would be worthwhile, so the following day we had a look around. Its fascinating how much of it is left - Bungay eat your heart out- but it has been modernised in the main areas being what I would describe as more stately home than castle and also its very "theme park" like, guys demonstrating shooting bows and arrows, a tower for "Princes and Princess ages 3 - 8" etc. Worth half price entry but I don't think I would go again.

In our walk around the town Sarah found a quilting shop and whist browsing in it discovered that they had a workshop of some description on the Saturday so she signed up for that and had a great time whilst I wandered around town taking a few photographs.

At the weekend it was the Saltisford Arm Canal Trusts open days and so they had  a number of stalls there and that was an interesting diversion.

We then left this morning Monday to be met by a return to our normal weather - rain and wind - and started to wend our way back to Yelvertoft.

This evening we received notification from BW/CRT that the flight of locks at Watford had been closed today until further notice for emergency repairs and that they were having to drain the canal so whether we will be able to get back when we expected we don't known. Watch this space.

Misty morning on Warwick racecourse

Time for a holiday

 I know I have only been posting once a week (and sometimes less) but I have now had my knuckles wrapped for not keeping the blog up to date twice so thought I'd try to do better. Funnily enough both parties chiding me have had police connections so perhaps I'd better do as I'm told!

We have completed our journey to Warwick and arrived here today (Wednesday) around lunchtime. We have had a great couple of days coming down the Grand Union and through all the locks and have met some great boaters.

Yesterday we came down 15 Stockton locks with NB Lysander, Cathy, Nigel and their daughter Helen. It was great to have the help especially as Helen was a very fit young lady who was running between locks to get them set up for us. It was also quite a coincidence as Cathy and Nigel had recently purchased their boat, an Aqualine (the same make as our old boat) from New and Used Boat Co (where we bought ours) and are mooring it at Blisworth (where our old boat was moored). We said goodbye to them after these 15 locks as they were travelling on but caught up with them again at the moorings outside Tesco today and then again when they had stopped for water at the Cape of Good Hope - (not that one!)

They were then going to attack the Hatton flight so we wished them well and we are now moored on the Saltisford Arm in Warwick. This arm has been restored by volunteers over the last 25 years and is now run by a trust. We are about 10 minutes walk from the centre of Warwick so plan to spend 5 or 6 nights here to explore the town and stay for the weekend celebrations they have planned. A bit of a holiday before we set off back to our home marina.

At last - some good weather

Today (Monday) has been the most beautiful day, sunny not too hot but hot enough to sit out on the towpath, and the last couple of days have been good too.

We are now on the Grand Union canal on our way to Warwick. Last week we spent wandering down towards Braunston as we were meeting up again with John and Louise for a meal there over the weekend. Nothing of great import happened during the week other than the day we came up the lock flight (11 locks) at Atherstone it poured so hard that we were both soaked even through our waterproofs.

We arrived at Braunston late morning on Saturday and went and did some shopping for the boat and ordered an anchor which we will need next year when we finally find our way on to some rivers. We also spoilt ourselves by sitting by a lock eating ice creams and watching others struggle with the lock gates at Braunston locks.

That evening John and Louise arrived on their way back towards their base on the Trent and Mersey and we had another fun meal with them and then on the Sunday morning set off down the south Oxford on our way to Warwick. Its the first time we had been on this stretch of the Oxford and it has a very different feel to it and lovely views of rolling Northamptonshire countryside. I really think Northamptonshire is a very underrated county, its just a shame that it is crisscrossed by so many major roads and railway lines.

We set off this morning with the intention of doing half of the locks on the way to Warwick which would have been 12 but we met another couple to share the locks with (who also happened to be Border owners) and as they were breaking their journey after the first three to take on water and a pump out and as the temperature was rising we decided to call it a day after 3 locks and adjourn to the pub for a swift half instead.

Tomorrow is forecast to be warm but not sunny so we might well try to get through all remaining 20 locks but we'll see.

Only one photo this week - seems I have been a bit remiss on that front.

Braunston Church about 10.30pm after returning from our meal. The line across the photo is a vapour trail

Time flies

Its amazing to think its only 5 weeks now and we will be back home and its 2 weeks since I last posted so here's a potted summary of the last 14 days or so.

As I mentioned in the last post we went as planned down the other arm of the Caldon towards Froghall. We spent the first night at Cheddleton where there is an old flint works, in fact two together, both water powered although unfortunately they only open at the weekends but some good picture opportunities. The following day we moved on to see if we could go down to Froghall but the weather was so atrocious and the pub we had wanted to stop at for lunch had no available moorings so in disgust we turned round and went back to Cheddleton. Its a shame because the pub at Consall Forge is supposed to be very rustic - spit and sawdust and the steam railway station there is very well preserved - a point of interest being the waiting room which is cantilevered over the canal.  We had thought also about taking the train to Froghall but the day we were there was a special "Pepper Pig" day and we didn't really fancy sharing the train with loads of screaming kids - and I don't think T & T would have appreciated it either. One way and another the Caldon was proving a real pain!

We then retraced our steps back to Stoke and the Trent and Mersey without too much of significance happening and made our way towards Stone through yet another drenching. Not only was it wet but cold too and I ended up in anorak, woolly hat and gloves and we put the heating on in the boat for the evening. This was after hearing that the following day was promising temperatures in the 30's for East Anglia. Huh! Hope you all enjoyed roasting!

Stone is a pleasant town and we set off the next day for a few days R & R on Tixall Wide, an area at the start of the Staff and Worcestershire canal which we passed through earlier in our journey but didn't stop. We were lucky to find a mooring there and spent 3 nights with what we regarded as good weather. I managed to get the chair out and sit on the towpath on one day and we only had the occasional thunderstorm to contend with.

From there we continued our journey down the Trent and Mersey and on to Fradley Junction and down the Coventry canal. Friday night we stopped at Whittington and then on a couple of miles on Saturday to meet friends John and Louise (nb Bluemoon) for lunch and a couple of jars. The day had not been forcast to be good weather wise but as we spent a good part of it in the pub it wasn't a problem but we did actually miss the worst of the weather anyway.

Sunday saw us come on to Alvecote where there is an historic narrowboat gathering and we moored there at lunchtime for a look around. Its great to see so many old boats in such good condition. Its just a shame that the owners don't bother to dress the part. We were going to spend the night there but when the band started we decided it might be a good idea to move on so came another mile or so and will spend a couple of nights here whilst the bank holiday traffic goes by.

Bank holiday Monday and the skies are overcast and the odd drop of rain falling. We went this morning to look around the Pooley Field Centre but there was very little of interest there, not really sure what it was meant to be displaying although we had thought it was going to be about the mining history of the area.

Cheddleston Mill

Joules brewery building Stone (no longer a brewery unfortunately)

Stern lookouts!

Sunset on Tixall Wide

The old gatehouse Tixall

Historic Narrowboats Alvecote

A relaxing time?

As I mentioned in the last post we moved on to the mooring where we had walked up to Mow Cop and were really lucky with the weather as it was glorious and we had a couple of days there doing very little.

We then moved on to go onto the Caldon which meant a long day as we had no wish to moor up in Stoke and also we had to go through the Harecastle tunnel. This tunnel has controlled traffic so at least one is not faced with something coming the other way but never the less I find tunnels very stressful. You are in complete darkness except for the headlight and have very little room for manuvour so have to concentrate the whole time and not let the boat go off the straight line. Headroom is limited and its very wet with water dripping from the roof. I think the tunnel is nearly 3000 yards long and takes about 45 minutes to get through. A very welcome relief to get out into the sunshine at the other end.

We then headed down through Stoke and up the Caldon not a journey I'd want to make on a dull wet day - it was depressing enough in the sun. We had planned to visit the Industrial museum at Etruria (always sounds like an African third world country to me rather than an area of Stoke) but found that it was permanently closed so we headed up to spend the night at Milton. Not a bad mooring but for some reason I couldn't get our mooring hooks to fit and had to end up tying up on some old rope we had, just kept my fingers crossed that it would not fray overnight and to add to that concern whilst I was walking the dogs Sarah had a strange teenager stick his head in through the duck hatch and ask for a conducted tour of the boat! We made sure everything was securely locked that night! We woke up safe and secure so no harm done. We went and did the shopping in town but found it to be a rather depressing place and hoped that things would look up as we continued on.

The next night was fine and then we moved on to the Leek arm. Although only a short arm and supposedly very underused we had probably the most fraught couple of hours cruising of the whole summer. We had just turned on to the arm when a day boat pulled out from the bank right in front of using making me apply reverse quite severely and then they continued at a snails pace. Then at one point they found themselves in a narrow part of the canal opposite a moored boat with another coming towards them and panicked and pulled into the side giving the approaching boat very little room to get through and me to apply reverse again. Then about a mile further on rounding a bend at little more than tick over I found another boat approaching me on my side. I pulled over as far as possible and we missed each other by inches but it left me grounded and it took a fair few minutes to extricate ourselves. So much for a quiet peaceful arm!

 We eventually and moored at what one of the guidebooks describes as "one of the most charming moorings on the  system" Well, it was pleasant enough but I think that was a bit over the top. The following day, Monday, we carried on to the end of the arm at Leek and went in to this charming town although its a bit of a hike and through a large industrial area at first.

 Tomorrow we start to retrace our steps and then try the other arm and head towards Froghall. There is a very low tunnel at the end of that arm to get into the basin and given our experience of this canal so far I don't think I'm going to attempt it.

The "Snake" bridge I mentioned in the last post

  

A sunset at last!

Entrance to Harecastle tunnel

A rather unexpected sight in the middle of the canal

Moored at "the most idylic site on the system"

The neighbours pop round for an evening drink

There and back again

We are now back on the Maccesfield working our way down to the Trent and Mersey and then to go on to the Caldon.

The weather on the Monday I mentioned in the last post was good and I took the dogs for a walk into the hills and had some great views across into the Peak district.

The rest of the week has been mixed to say the least although we have been luckier than some with our timing and were usually moored before the deluges began.

We stopped near Lymes Marina for a couple of nights and on arrival had a great meal at a little cafe just by the canal and can highly recommend it. The following day we walked to Lyme Hall about 2 miles or so from the canal. A bit of a barn of a place but if it looks familiar think of Mr Darcy and a wet shirt as this is where they filmed "that scene" for Pride and Prejudice.

The following Day we stopped off at Clarence Mill at Bollington as we had thought it housed a selection of shops etc but on getting there found it was only a cafe that was open but a latte and a gooey cake was most welcome. In its heyday there were something like 30 similar mills around the town, the mind boggles as to the noise and pollution they caused.

We carried on in the sunshine and moored at Gurnett just before the heavens opened. Luckily it didn't last too long and we were able to walk to the pub for a meal and a glass (or two) without getting soaked. The snake bridge pictured below (sometimes called turnover bridges) are designed so that the horses could change to the towpath on the other side of the canal with having to be unhitched. There is a super example near where we are moored at the moment and if I remember I'll get a shot tomorrow before we leave.

On the next day and through the 12 locks on this canal and we moored at the bottom for a couple of nights. I had intended to polish the other side of the boat but only got a couple of sections done due to the rain.

On today to Congleton a fair sized town, a bit larger than Diss I should think and some interesting architecture and tomorrow we plan to revisit the mooring we stopped at on our way up when we climbed to the top of Mow Cop but don't think we will repeat that excursion!

Views to the Peaks from above Bugsworth Basin

Lyme Hall

Clarence Mill Bollington

Snake bridge approaching Gurnett

Not so lucky with his timing

No polishing today!

Busy doing nothing....

.....working the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do.

My excuse anyway for not posting. I'm sure lots of you have been unable to get to sleep at night awaiting the next exciting instalment so my apologies for the delay but here it is:

We are currently at Marple on the outskirts of Stockton/Manchester. Not where we had originally planned to be but with all the rain we have been covering more ground (or water) than we had thought likely so have diverted up the Macclesfield canal and are in our way to the end of the Peak Forest. We have had a great week of weather although it is pouring with rain at the time of writing this (Saturday evening).

Before coming up the Mac we went almost to the end of the Trent and Mersey to visit the Anderton Boat lift, a huge structure which was renovated with Lottery money and now lifts boats from the River Weaver up to the canal. On the way back we did our good Samaritan act and rescued a hire boat that had managed to run aground.

We then went down "Heartbreak Hill"  a set of 26 locks in fairly close proximity but we took our time and did it over 3 days and it wasn't too bad - at least for me (David) as I was steering. Found a really good restaurant at Lock 57 on the T & M which we would thoroughly recommend.

A visit to Little Morton Hall last weekend was interesting a very ornate black and white building in the ownership of the National Trust - see below.

Little Morton Hall

Little Morton Hall

The following day we walked up to Mow Cop a local landmark topped by a 18th century folly and the site of the first primitive Methodist church meeting which lasted 14hours!. Quite a climb but the views were stunning as you can see.

View from the top of Mow Cop

The Folly at Mow Cop (thats the building not Sarah!)

The Summit Mow Cop

The rest has been a leisurely and stress free trip - Oh, apart from the day when we were moored up and it being good weather we decided to clean the boat, so whilst I was doing the outside Sarah was cleaning the portholes and I suddenly saw the glass from one doing a graceful ark past me and straight into the canal (we were moored on a slight curve and of course the glass found the gap. We poked around for about half an hour without any success in finding it so the following a day a call to the boatbuilder and then a call to the manufacturer and they arranged to send out a replacement. It's really strange because looking at all the other portholes it looks impossible for the glass to come out  that way, but then it was Sarah cleaning the windows!

The Hovis Building on the Maccelsfield Canal

Tomorrow we plan to move on to Bugsworth Basin and hopefully stop there for a few days and get some walking in.

Having written the above but not got round to posting it a further update:

We are now at Bugsworth Basin a really interesting historical site. Arrived yesterday (Sunday) and managed to avoid being out in most of the thunder storms and got moored up just before more torrential rain. It cleared later and we walked the dogs and then had a drink at the Navigation Pub on the basin, great bear and more like Crufts than a pub as I've never seen so many dogs in a pub!

Woke this morning (Monday) to more torrential rain but it has actually eased now and the sun is peeping through, best get out and make the most of it.

Part of Posset Bridge at Marple

Moored on the Peak Forest

Man overboard!

It had to happen some time. The only real question was when and who. Well it fell to Teasle to be the first to fall in whilst we were on the move. It happened today - Friday 13th appropriately - all's well but it was a bit of an adrenalin pump for a bit especially as it happened just after we had gone round a sharp bend and I knew we had a boat following us. Good old Teasle though, although she is reputed to be not the sharpest tool in the box swam gamely to the towpath side and tried to scramble out. She couldn't make it as the edge was quite high and concrete but I had dropped Sarah off and she managed to lift her out. What we would have done if she had gone the other way I'm not sure as there were very thick reed beds on that side and I would have had great trouble in getting the boat in there. Anyway apart from the initial fright everything was OK.

We are currently heading up towards the Anderton Lift although not going down onto the River Weaver. We will have a look round and then retrace our steps passed Middlewich and probably onto the Caldon.

Middlewich is a small pleasant town in the middle of Cheshire and we went in to do some shopping, got talking to the butcher who just happened to have spent a lot of his childhood holidays staying with family in Bungay! What a small world.

Yesterday - Thursday was glorious; such a welcome break from the cloud and rain. We were moored up a few miles north of Middlewich in a very rural quiet location and enjoyed a day of sitting in the sun and a bit of boat cleaning and polishing. Its still a new toy so I actually enjoyed the polishing! Not sure how long that will last.

Today the weather has returned to being foul. We had planned to visit a salt museum (historically this area was a great producer of salt and there are large lagoons called Flashes where the earth has subsided and they have filled with water but are very shallow) However having got there and moored up in the pouring rain we discovered that it is closed for renovation till 2014 - a bit long to wait.

We are currently moored next to the Marbury Country Park and it looks as though it could be a delightful area to explore but at the moment we have lit the fire and closed the hatches and are trying not to look out of the windows at the incessant rain.

BLUE SKIES!

One of the numerous "flashes" caused by subsidence due to the salt mines

A week around Chester

Arriving at Chester on the Monday we found a mooring right in the city centre literally yards from the shops and spent a couple of nights there. The dogs weren't frightfully impressed as there were no rabbits around and very little grass but they did perk up when we found some squirrels in one of the parks. Chester is a really lovely city with a history that reaches back to the Romans and has a city wall which is virtually intact and you can walk right round the city on it. The dogs were not impressed by this either!

We then went on to the end of the Shropshire Union canal where it meets the Manchester Ship canal and spent a night there and had a wander around the Canal museum which was interesting, not least because whilst there the fire alarm went off and we had to be evacuated. It turned out to be a false alarm but trust the Ruddles to get caught in the middle of it! We then returned to Chester with the idea of stocking up and moving on the following morning (Friday) but this was such an appalling day that we sat tight. It was so bad that I said to Sarah in the morning that I would put the satellite dish up during a break in the rain so that we could watch Wimbledon but that beak never came so the ariel didn't go up.

We moved on on the Saturday, a quite pleasant day; came through the locks with another boat with a Gardner engine chugging away and stopped for the night at The Shady Oak at Beeston and had a few jars with the couple from the other boat. Sunday then saw us visiting Beeston Castle and although its a bit of a steep climb the views from the top are magnificent, you can see all the way to Liverpool, Joderall Bank and a total of 8 counties. It was a sunny morning which was good but by the afternoon the rain had returned so we depressed ourselves by watching Andy Murray lose at Wimbledon.

Approaching Chester

Steam Mill at Chester

Black and White buildings everywhere!

River Dee at Chester

More Black and White buildings!

Magnificent Organ in the Cathedral

Teazle and Tansies favourite bit of the day

The canal next to the City wall

An early morning visitor

From Beeston Castle

and again

and again - masses of rabbits here so they enjoyed the walk!

Beady eye on our Banana's