A day of activity ahead - SUC Main Line, b85

Just wanted to get the blog going again. Today we will be going through the two locks at Hack Green. We'll then moor up beside Marsh Lane Bridge. Getting nearer to Nantwich, but not quite there yet. Because the dogs are old, we are trying to move the boat as little as possible each time. The dogs can get a bit stressed if we do too much. We have run out of water and will fill up tomorrow when we do part two of our move to a new mooring. Before we move off then, I'll need to take some water bottles to be filled and oh yes, there's a toilet to empty. After our overnight stop st Marsh Lane Bridge, we'll go to the water point st Nantwich, then cruise to mooring just after Hurleston Junction. There's a good place to park the car, it looks like a nice spot for the dogs and, oh yes, there's a nice pub there too! We'll stay there for a couple of weeks and then decide where to stop next. We're heading in the general direction of Middlewich. I'll try and update with some pictures next time.

Wrenbury

Yesterday we went as far as Wrenbury. Just before the lift bridge beside the boat hire company. Its a perfect spot here. Close to two pubs, a five minute walk to the Spar shop and the bus stop is just 2 mins away. The bus goes to whitchurch in one direction and Nantwich in the other. £2 one way in either direction. Tomorrow we are off to do 5 locks and hopefully moor up beside Sudbury's Ice Cream Farm. Lynne has been looking forward to stopping here.

A random picture of Rory.

No room at the Inn

Yesterday we heard back from Julie at Great Haywood Marina and they do not have any space for us. Well, I think we'll now go onto Overwater Marina. It's not too far from here. We spent some time there last year and it was really nice. Lynne liked it there. The people were nice and it was very good for bird spotting. I'm not tied by my job as I was last year. Although I'd like something for over the winter. Nantwich is not too far from Overwater Marina. Must be some work there. Anyway, we'll stay for a few days then decide what to do.

Again we just toodled along yesterday.  Done three locks, under a bridge then moored up.  Nice spot here.  We might move onto Wrenbury today. See how Lynne feels when she gets up.

Louis view from his cabin today.

Grindley Locks

Yesterday we needed the services. So we filled up, emptied and got rid of rubbish before decending the locks at Grindley Brook. As we came out of the last lock I spotted a green woodpecker. I'm not really a bird spotter, but Lynne is and I had seen this bird in one of her magazines, so knew what it looked like. Green body, red head and a certain kind of "woodpecker" beak. Lynne got some pics, but I was steering the boat and couldn't take one :-(

After the locks there are quiet moorings. We'd done 2 hours, that was enough. Dogs were getting flustered. Just as we had tied up, Lynne had a call from Val. Paul had bought the stickers for the side of their boat and wanted me to fit them. They were five miles further up, but as we had done enough for the day and Val only had one side of their boat painted, we decided to meet up next week. Fitting stickers is something I used to do in my former life. It will br good to be able to do Paul and Val a favour after all the help they gave us.

Got a few things done

Well I got a few things done today. Main thing was to collect a new controller for the solar panels. Found out they weren't working!  Fitted the said thing. Just need some sun tomorrow to test it. It will be interesting to see how much difference it makes as it must have been on the blink for a while.  At the moment we run the engine for about 4 hours a day. Maybe we can reduce this to three? Well see. Anyway, for Paul thats another one ticked off the list!

Tomorrow I'm fixing the loo. A part snapped but trying to get a replacement has proven difficult.  Out of stock everywhere. I'll try glueing it and see if that works.

Dogs much more settled now. Rory has improved his walking thank goodness. He's a little star. Keeps making these comebacks.  So, with that I think we'll move down the locks on Wednesday morning. We'll  then find another quiet spot.

A little further on...

We have only moved about 1-2 miles to the moorings before Grindley Brook locks. Water point, Elsan and Rubbish points are here as we need these services now. There's a nice big shower here too! There's also a garage shop as we will need milk soon. They also sell gas bottles and we need a spare.

Also Rory has hurt his back leg and is struggling to walk properly. He was in a bit of pain so we gave him his pain relief tablet last night and this seemed to do the trick. A good nights sleep for all (eventually)

This morning Rory been outside for toilets and has recovered some use in his right back leg. Just needs patients and time and he will hopefully be ok.

We also have a broken loo I'm trying to fix. Need a replacement part really. Mmm today's challenge then, getting this part. (Added to the list Paul) I will glue the broken part for today and see where we go from there. We'll stay here for a few days, get some jobs done and rest the dogs.

Whitchurch

We seemed to have taken root here in Whitchurch.  We're quite happy toodling along. No need to get anywhere in a hurry. Dave from Tattenhall is here.  Nice man Dave. He blacked our boat for us and is moored the other side if the lift bridge here at the junction to the Whitchurch arm.

Also Louis is struggling with too much travel as he has tablets for his heart we have to be careful with him. We are thinking we might go back to Great Haywood and into the marina there. Nice and peaceful for Louis. Plus we'll all be amongst friends there. Just waiting for a call back from Julie to confirm if they have a space for us. But we'll see.

           

We are on our way

We left Great Haywood last Sunday and with overnight stops at Salt (bridge 82), Stone, Barlaston and Longport, we are now rested at Kidsgrove.

Longport is most noted for Westport Lake. This is a lovely nature reserve and Lynne was in her element bird spotting. Beyond the lake and the town itself was, well not very pretty shall we say. Time to move on.

Next up was the Harecastle tunnel.  It takes 45 minutes to get through the tunnel. As you enter the tunnel, the doors bang closed behind you. The extractor fan then booms into life.  The sound of the fan slowly fades behind you, then a small spec of light in front slowly gets larger. Water drips now and again and the cold air fells eerily chilly. They say the tunnel has ghosts...The small spec of light becomes a large opening and as you exit the tunnel, you can feel the warmth of the sun again.

Ready for the Summer

The car has now been sold at Stafford Car Auction,  and we can finally set sail on Sunday! I am going to see if I can get the bowthruster working tomorrow with the help of Mick. He's really good with electrics. Hopefully the fault is something simple and we can have this useful piece of kit working before we leave.

We also need to charge everything up first, lap tops, kindles, cameras etc and I want to sort my music player out.  I also need to check how much diesel we have in the tank!. Then we'll be off for the summer.

I will be posting regular updates, so if you are interested in what we get up to,  keep checking the blog.

To Stone and back

After leaving Weston, we found a nice spot to moor at bridge 82. it's nice and quiet here and there's a good spot to park the car nearby. I say it's quiet, for the most part that's true, but the trainline is just the other side of the canal. But their occasional passing does not bother us.

After leaving this spot, we moved on to the outside of Stone, before the water point. From here to the other side of Stone at Barlaston there is a continuous bike track. Not good for the dogs, having to make sure they are moved out of the way every five minutes or so. It was really nice moorings, but difficult to relax with almost non stop bikers!

After Tixal

Today we slowly made our way from Tixal towards Weston on Trent. A lovely village with a village pub with a village football pitch right outside the pub! I had a lovely meal and a couple of pints before heading back to the boat. Although Weston is a large village, it has no shop! I asked one of the locals about this who said the lady who ran the local shop and post office, retired and she refused to sell the business to either one of two locals who wanted to buy the it from her. So, no shop in Weston.

Last of the summer wine

Our time at Great Haywood is over for now, so it's off again to enjoy the last of the summer wine. We received some great news from Steve, he has found us a spot at Great Haywood Marina for our winter mooring. It's great news as we will be amongst friends for the cold winter months. I managed to get my deposit back from Kings Bromley Marina, £200 thank you very much.

So, we have six weeks left to enjoy, before we tie up for the winter. First stop, Tixal Wide. Where else...

Back at Great Haywood

Well we're back. Yes back at Great Haywood marina amongst friends.  It's really nice to see everyone here.

As I arrived at the main office Tony and Dave were sat there,  resident as usual. Poppy spread out asleep on the the floor! They were all pleased to see me as was Julie. She was busy with some other people,  so after telling us our berth position, we went off to settle in and we agreed I would come back later to sort out the paperwork (and pay the bill of course!)

We've been given a lovely end mooring, right opposite Mick and Jackie who were thrilled to see us. Chats accross the water me thinks.....

After sorting the electric and water, I spotted Rob accross the marina. After some lovely banter back and forth will be great to see him and catch up.

Louis is settled in his usual "parlour" and his view for tonight is....not bad eh?

Only Denise to see now. She returns tomorrow. It will be SO nice to see her. We are all looking forward to that. A nice thought to end on.

After Penkridge

We have a nice quiet spot for tonight And everyone is happy with this.

Today I was at Kings Bromley marina looking things over before paying a deposit for a winter mooring. It seems really nice, our spot is at the back of the marina which is nice and quiet.

Called in to see my friend Tom who is moored here. Had a cup of coffee and a chat. Also met his lovely dog Bonnie. So, we are really looking forward to arriving here in October. We need to be in a marina during the winter. Plenty of electric for the TV and our electric heaters!

We are off to Great Haywood marina tomorrow. As we are passing, it will be good to call in to see our friends there. We'll stay for a few days so we can also re-charge our batteries!

On the move again

Well it's holiday time and we're on the move, hurrah!

We are heading south in the general direction of the Coventry canal. As we did not set off until 11am, we did not get as far as we had hoped, but hey, there's no hurry. I mean the first lock at Great Haywood there were four boats in front of us, so by the time we got through that, it was into the afternoon. 

Also, we stopped at Rugeley for a few supplies, but mainly dog food (got to keep the dogs happy)

Our intended destination for the day was Fradley Junction, but by 5pm we still had a way to go, so we stopped at some nice moorings at Handsacre. This is a small village with a general store shop, a chip shop and a pub. Now, of these three eatablishments, I visited one, but I'm not saying which though!

Off to Fradley Junction tomorrow, not far to go, we'll have a nice quiet day there.

To Rugby next

The Oxford Canal (North), no tunnels, lots of locks, lots of miles

Well, it's been a while I know, but we will hopefully now be updating the blog on a regular basis again, either myself or Lynne.




Brumpoolie moored at the water point in Thrupp.


After going down the Oxford canal, and passing through the lovely Banbury and Thrupp on the way, we now head north. We want to cruise the Shropshire Union Canal, which is a really pretty and lovely canal. Our route could have taken us through Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but we felt there would be limited opportunities for the dogs to have nice walks there, so we have gone a different way. Plus we were not too keen on going through a lot of urban canal areas. We will maybe when we are more experienced, but we'll take the quiter route for now thank you! So we are heading north back onto the Oxford canal, but this time the nothern section, then onto the Coventry canal. Which way we go after that, we will decide when we arrive (whenever that is) We do not move about in any kind of hurry these days, we like to take our time.

This wonderful new lifestyle that we are both enjoying, is very peacful and quite. You realise there is no need to hurry anywhere, plus there are always some jobs to do. An oil change was the latest job. I mean it's years since I done anything like that, but you have to look after the boat, it's your life support system, as well as your home. Now in the normal world an oil change is simple enough, but on the boat it provides extra challenges. Simply buying the oil and the filter makes you think. It's not as straight forward as ordering online and waiting for a delivery to your house. Our post box moves around all the time with us, and the address changes. Also, I can't just jump in a car and drive to the nearest shop, I don't have a car anymore. Plenty of buses though! How I sorted my oil and filter out was, we moored beside a boatyard and I asked them to order what I needed. And Kate Boats of Warwick were spot on. The said items came later the same day!! So the oil change is done and the engine is purring again.

Well since the last update I have been getting into a few scrapes. In one incident, we moored in the small Marina at Aynho (North of Oxford) It was raining in the evening and I had just finished the dogs walks. Well Louis had not quite finished his! He sat down on the path and was having a look around, in the rain! This meant he was not going to move. I would have to pick him up and carry him back into the boat. Well I can make him go in, but well he's so cute you can't resist him. So I climbed onto the boat to return some things I had been carrying, when I slipped and, ploosh I went into the canal! After some flapping about under the water, I ralised the water was only about five foot deep, so I was able to stand up with my head just above the water. There was a tyre between our boat and the boat next door, so I grabbed this and pulled myself out. Lynne had come outside wondering what all the commotion was about. Louis was sitting sniffing the air wondering where his carry back to the boat had got to!! After a clothes change everything was fine and we both had a good laugh about it. I always wondered what it would be like to fall into the canal, well now I know. I will tell of the other things that have happened in future blogs, there are a few to tell! Plus I will upload some pictures the next time.

no civilisation, no signal !

Hello, we have a signal at last! We have been around the Braunston area, where it seems electronic telephone signals do not work, or at least only fleetingly. We have now moved closer to civilisation (Banbury to be precise) where we now seem to get a signal. I will update the blog in the next few days.

Blisworth Tunnel

Grand Union Canal, Norton Junction, 1 tunnel, 7 locks,  15 miles

The Blisworth Tunnel, Wednesday.

Well that was an experience! The Blisworth tunnel takes about 30 minutes to go through, it is dark and at times there is water pouring down through various vents and gaps. Lynne spent most of the time inside making sure the dogs were ok. We had the curtains closed and the lights switched on. I had the boat’s headlight on so I could see where we were going, just! There is room in the tunnel for two boats to pass each other, with only a few inches to spare. This was a test for my helmsman skills indeed. We passed one boat perfectly, then just before the end of the tunnel another boat appeared. I had our boat perfectly positioned a few inches from the right hand side of the tunnel, but “thump” the other boat clipped the side of ours. Their skipper shouted “your headlight is too bright! I think he was just covering his own embarrassment.

Checking out the tunnel with some of the crew of Brumpoolie before setting off.

Off we go into the unknown!

We made it!

After the tunnel, we had decided to moor at a small place called Weedon Bec. As we made our way there, I spotted a yard selling cheap diesel. So I managed to stop the boat in time and moor up. Lynne took Minnie off here and walked her along the towpath. I would catch her up later in the boat. The diesel was only 88p a litre and the boat took 30 litres to top up. There was also cheap coal and wood, so we got 2 bags each of wood, kindling and coal (smokeless of course) After paying, we set off again to head for Weedon Bec. We arrived at about 4pm and moored up for the night. This spot was beside a Onestop convenience store, so I went off to get some provisions. We were also beside a main rail line, and although the trains were frequent, we quickly got used to the sound. It was only for one night anyway.

Thursday, and we set off for Norton Junction and our next overnight stop. To get there we had to go up seven locks in total.  The weather was still pretty bad with the rain constantly starting and stopping. When it rained it was either persistent drizzle a heavy downpour. Again Lynne was doing the locks while I steered the boat. As  the locks are wide locks, it is best to share with another Narrowboat. This saves on water so it is important to share if at all possible.  Lynne had walked the short distance ahead to set the lock, while I untied the boat ready for the off. As I was doing this another boat passed and asked if we were doing the locks. Perfect,  we had someone to share with. It also meant of course the work is shared between more people,  and it makes it easier for Lynne. Seven locks later, we had reached our destination. The mooring spots are just after these locks, we tied up for the night. At the top lock Lynne spotted the craft shop she wanted to see. And I spotted a nice pub. Sorted.

On Friday we are off to Braunston, up some more locks. Braunston is one of the oldest established canal villages on the network. Lot's of boaty things happening here. We intend on staying here for a few days while we get a new inverter fitted.

We finally move off

Grand Union Canal, Stoke Bruerne, 7 locks,  9 miles

Before we set off to cruise the canals, we said our farewell to Paul and Val. They have been very good to us and have become good friends. The help, advice, support and friendship they have given to us in the short time we have known them, has given us the confidence to enter the world of living on a boat. They are both finishing their own jobs soon as their contracts have ended. So they will give us a call in a couple of weeks to see where we are. Maybe we will meet up again soon.

Paul and Val with me and the three doggies

On Saturday, we headed off to Wolverton. This is our first short stop. We took on water first as we passed the water point at Cosgrove.

After staying a second night at Wolverton because of the heavy rain, we then moved on nearer to Stoke Bruerne, the bottom locks. Although the weather was gloriously sunny,  the rain from the day before meant that their was lots of water overflowing from the nearby river Ouse. This was causing problems in steering the boat, in particulay when passing weirs. The water flows beside the weirs, pushing the boat firmly in a certain direction. Along with the wind, the boat took some determined steering and concentration to keep us on course. I also seeked to loose some power after about an hour. I suspected that something had caught around the propeller to cause this. And sure enough we had a plastic bag wrapped around! This was removed once we stopped by sticking my arm done the weed hatch to remove the offending article. A boat moored next to us that night had a similar problem. But they had some ladies underwear round their propeller. Washing can fall in the canal if you are not careful.

Tuesday morning and we are off to Stoke Bruerne. There are seven locks altogether to take you to the top of the hill. Each lock raising the boat in height until we were 56 foot higher at the top. The overnight rain had stopped at first, but by the time we got to the top lock it was pouring down from the heavens. Because of water shortages (yes I know it's hard to believe with the rain we are having) some of the locks are only open between 10am and 3pm each day. So we set off at 10am today, first boat into the locks. Lynne does the locks while I steer the boat, The locks are hard work, but Lynne prefers to do things this way, she will not touch the steering. Ah well! There are always other people to help at the locks, plus many of the flights of locks have volunteers or lock keepers working the locks each day. We had one helpful chap who done all seven locks with Lynne.  

Stoke Bruerne is one of the oldest and longest established canal villages and it attracts many visitors each year. People who come and look at the boats are known as “Gongoozlers”. We were Gongoozlers once. The area around the top lock is certainly very picturesque, with two lovely pubs, nice gift shops, and the National Canal Museum.

Tomorrow we are off through Blisworth tunnel. The tunnel is wide enough for two boats, has a bend in it, is in complete darkness,has water coming down in places and is 3075 yards long. It takes half an hour to go through. Should be interesting!

PS I'll try and upload more pictures,but the internet connection is poor here.

The Auction, The Result

Grand Union Canal, Willen Park, 0 miles, 0 locks

Well how did the car get on?

That's my car (the black one at the top of the picture) waiting for it's fate to be decided. This picture was taken before the auction. Our car was given the best spot where everyone could see it, right beside the entrance to the Auction. 

The crowds gather, waiting for the proceedings to begin.

As the first car appeared, the auction commenced.

The chap on the podium with the microphone is the auctioneer.  He reminded me of Fred Elliott. Everything he said had to be repeated about three times, I said about three times!

Then it was the turn of my car. As I had to stand next to the auctioneer in case he needed to consult me on the vehicle, I did not get a picture. But as the bidding got close to the reserve figure, the bidding slowed right down and....fell short of the reserve, not sold. Ah well I thought, it wasn't meant to be this time. So I queued to get my keys and log book back from the auction office, ready to drive the car back to the boat. Then my phone rang. It was a number I did not recognise, when I answared it,  the call was from the car auction. And I was in their queue at the same office! Basically the person who put the last bid in wanted to buy the car. We agreed a figure (this was a little more than the final auction bid, but less than my reserve) The car was sold after all - Phew! We did not get as much as we wanted, but at least it is sold now and we can get on our way.

So, we will be on the move in the next few days. Two tunnels, one aquaduct, lots of locks, one National Waterways Museam, plus lots of surprises await us as we head off towards Oxford. We can't wait!