Retirement with No Problem

Pea souper delays us leaving for Market Drayton

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Knighton to Market Drayton, Shropshire Union Canal, 5.25 miles 5 locks

Gosh it was dank and foggy as I went on deck this morning, the visibility was around 30yards.. “I’m not moving in this!”.. “But two boats have passed” said itchy feet Vic.. Heh, he wouldn’t be the one on the tiller would he!..

Over the weekend I finished the last of the varnishing.. it was slow going on Saturday, I think my body had had enough of working above my shoulders. Each brush stroke on the ceiling was killing me.. but I did it!! I kept promising myself that I would have the most laziest day ever the following day…

So Sunday came.. and I did absolutely nothing!.. well that isnt exactly true, I finished putting the 4700 odd picture album back on the server. It had been hacked in the spring, well my whole website had, from the inside of the server people would you believe.. I know there are a lot of you who have asked when I would be putting it back.. well here it is ——> Picture Albums

I found myself another web server in the United States this time, but it has taken me all this time to get all my pages uploaded.

Well we did move eventually today…

After lunch dropping down the very picturesque Tyrley Locks. These locks drop the canal through a cutting of stone.. gawd knows how they managed to get the canal through this place.. but it is the same all the way along this canal, the earth and stone from the cuttings was transported to make the huge embankments.. if it wasn’t for both of those there would have been scores of locks..

Mooring spots are wonderful on this canal too especially on the top of some of the embankments, but special equipment is recommended..

Where there is an embankment there is always protective concrete along the edge.. a shelf in fact below the water line, but not below the bottom of boats.. these wheels keep the boat from knocking against the shelf.. I got these from screwfix.. handiest bit of kit especially on the Shroppie!

I see they emptied the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.. There is a great pic on my blog from 2007, which I took from the valley below, of NP actually going over the aqueduct!

The water falling out of the bottom into the River Dee (pic from the beeb).. there is a lovely article about it on the BBC website here. A young lad won the chance to “Pull the plug” by winning a competition, in fact there is a lot of information in the article plus a video of the event.

We have moored just outside Market Drayton on yet another embankment, it’s very quite here indeed although we are less than a mile away from the town. We might stay tomorrow and visit the market on Wednesday, apparently it is a very good one..

Grubb Street Cutting memories as we cruise to Knighton

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Norbury Junction to Knighton, Shropshire Union Canal, 4 miles 0 locks

Animal (AKA Dyson) did a magnificent job this morning. I took the opportunity to use the power plug in from the boatyard before leaving to save the batteries later. There was enough dog hairs in it by the time I had finished to knit a couple of jumpers!

I could see NP’s floors again and the taste of sawdust was gone. Now we just need to get rid of the varnish fumes…

One loaf of bread from the shop at the Junction and away to find somewhere extremely quiet for the weekend. I was delighted that the visitor moorings at Knighton were empty, delighted and surprised.. I thought there would be a lot of boats moored, but not one..

But before that we enjoyed a short cruise which took us through the wonderful Grubb Street Cutting..

And past the home of Trevor who did the signwriting on our boat a couple of years ago.. he did one side from his own boat and the other in a little row boat.. There is a super picture of him doing the actual signwriting on a blog of mine in August 2007

I don’t know how he manages to live in this cutting, it is completely sunken from the land above and covered in trees.. but he seems so happy there..

The Anchor Inn is one of the more unusual pubs on the waterways, just up from Grubb Street cutting.. It’s an early 19^th century pub that a previous landlady ran for over 70 years before new owners took it over. I believe it is open each day now, I remember some years ago it was only open at weekends.. In 2007 we enjoyed watching the Mikron Theatre Company perform one evening on the field just to the side.. blimey the queue for the beer was down on to the towpath!

Shebdon Embankment has been recently opened after a ‘hole’ was bunged up by British Waterways.. it took since August to do the job.. but all quiet there today in the misty gloom..

In fact we never passed a boat today.. mind, we didn’t go very far. It is so very quiet here, just what we needed after a hectic couple of weeks at the boatyard.. and no fireworks will be heard from this spot, it’s too remote!

Ah well… just the one coat of varnish to put on the roof panels tomorrow then….. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Refit is complete by Norbury Wharf

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

Well the final bit of the fit out of the back half of No Problem was completed today..

I’m nearly there with all the varnishing, the walls have had their three coats and look a treat, and today I managed to put a second coat on the ceilings.. I say managed, I have had the most dreadful cold this last week, I really don’t know how I have managed to do all this. I was going to Stafford today to pick up a picture frame that I ordered last week and also to meet my friend Annie from NB Moore2Life currently moored at Great Haywood. I was up early this morning intending to catch the once a week bus from the Junction here at 9.15, but it was going to be impossible, I was feeling so poorly..

By lunch time I felt an awful lot better, so thought I would tackle the ceilings.. well they really do need doing quickly you see because with two very hairy dogs and a wood burning fire it wouldn’t take long to ruin the wood if it wasn’t protected..

One of the panels that was fitted when we were here last in the Spring has had to be refitted as a snag item, and that also got the treatment today.. Wendie, notice the difference? We had one or two snag items over from the Spring refit, and they were all fixed by the fitters yesterday. We have replaced all the hire boat strip lights with LEDs, including one in our utility room and two in the bathroom, one in the centre and one under the new bathroom cupboard… hooray let their be light!!

But there is a lot of debris around, it has been difficult to keep the dust and dog hairs down, so there has been no sweeping allowed during the last few days… one more coat then major clear up time for sure!

Engine room has had some tlc, oil change, starter batteries top ups and general engine and stern gland checks all done by Vic.. out of my way while I sneezed and sniffed into the varnish can!

I have been very pleased indeed with the work carried out here at Norbury Wharf Boatyard. Their staff are always cheerful and helpful and busy as they are, they always have time for their customers. The work has been carried out to a high standard, and any snagging has been put right without any hesitation. I would totally recommend them to any boater who wants quality work done…. Heh, and I got no discount for saying that either, give them their due, they are good!!

Varnish day aboard and 2005 memories of NP being towed by a 4x4

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

A full day of varnishing today for me as the fitter had his day off. I found the ceilings really hard to do as I find it really difficult to work above my shoulders. But it was a mind over matter situation, trying to block out that I would have to do it all over again…. twice!

With everything really quite here boating wise I have been having a look back over the years at what we have been doing, and this blog looks back to 2005..

The beginning of the year was spent in Milton Keynes on the Grand Union Canal before moving south dodging the winter stoppages to take a look at London. The pic above is of Paddington Basin, the nearest to the centre of London that we cruised to.

It was decided that we would go to East Anglia and the Fens for the spring and summer, our first of four visits to that area in the following five years. We were very nervous once we had gone through the last of the Rothersthorpe locks that drop the canal from Gayton Junction to the River Nene, we had no idea really what to expect….

But it was wonderful, and we really did enjoy the summer… oh apart from one incident when we cruised up Burwell Lode and tried to cruise back!.. No chance…

It was so weedy that we would travel no more than a few feet then have to dive down the weed hatch to clear the prop.. the place was totally un-navigable.. and guess what, we would never return here again! But the EA were brilliant and towed us out of there…

It was late summer when we returned back to the canal system at Gayton Junction.. we had an appointment at Great Haywood in October with Tim and Lisa Salt of Staffordshire Canopies who were to make a pram cover for No Problem1. Lisa makes all the canopies on their boat, there isn’t much room to live…

October was also the month I first met fellow blogger Andrew Denny of NB Grannybuttons. There were very few blogs in 2005, I think you could count them on one hand!..

The Ashby Canal was our destination at the end of the year to winter over the Christmas period.

Our spring/summer cruise took us to waters that we have never been to even in our hire boat days, we were certainly hooked.. we would return the following year..

Party time at Norbury and more reflections on 2004

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:27:00 +0000

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

Well the refit of the bedroom and bunkroom walls and ceiling has gone really well over the weekend. All the tongue and groove is on the walls and the wood panels on the ceiling. It’s looking good! My job of varnishing is going well, and my efforts are looking about right.

But it’s not been all work, there was plenty of play on Saturday night when we partied at the invitation of Simon and his team here at the boatyard. A delicious supper of roast hog warmed us on a cool evening and in the marquees many guests enjoyed the barn dancing… I decided to give that a miss, anyway the beer was just as enjoyable!

The atmosphere was great with the floodlights playing on the working boats who had visited for the weekend..

Sunday lunch at the Junction Inn was superb. A carvery meant very full plates for us both.. gosh we were stuffed, and not enough room for a pud either! If you are passing Norbury on a Sunday then that is definitely worth stopping for.

A couple of bits some of you boaters might be interested in, and with thanks to John Slee from NB Epiphany who pointed out to me that the NABO consultation that is linked to in the left hand column has now come to an end, but there is another that closes in a couple of weeks.. link to that is ———> here! It’s about half way down the page

Also British Waterways have announced a consultation about moorings.. visitor as well as residential and general long term.. that is linked ——-> here.. So that will give you something to do while the weather turns a bit wet!

Continuing back to my recollections of 2004, our return to the canals from Ripon was very exciting.. our trip back along the River Ouse was like dodgems, dodge the tree trunks and huge gas canisters.. there was so much debris due to heavy flooding in the Humber area, and battling against the tide at one point we were very lucky not to have something hit us.. then the most amazing entry to Selby Lock, having to turn No Problem right round to come down with the now turned tide backwards!

Once past the lock entrance backwards it was then full throttle against the flow to try to turn into the lock.. I was really shaking.. but managed it with some help from the locky shouting from above me.. No Problem slid in beautifully.. a double lock, so you might think that it would be a piece of doddle, but there was already one boat in there, so I only had 7ft to aim at!

I was delighted to say the least, moreso because there were a lot of gongoozlers all clapping as I settled inside the lock.. Vic disappeared for a moment once we were in and fetched me up a treble b&c! I needed that!

Plenty of larger craft around this area too..

But our fun wasn’t over yet.. returning included the River Trent on the tidal section on a spring tide.. through Gainsborough was really hairy.. I guess we were doing a good 15–20mph with the tide.. going round the corners felt as if we could do with a huge camber literally ‘bending’ round the bends.. not for the faint hearted I’ll tell you!

But much later in the year, October it was, saw us well back on the canals and enjoying a quiet weekend on the Oxford Canal when we were treated to a wonderful spectacle as working boats passed us one after another..

It was the re-enactment of the Jam ‘ole Run.. 7 days to do some 240 miles and almost 200 locks.. I have written a page all about that, with some wonderful pictures that I took as they passed, do have a look ——> linky

Ho hum, more varnishing for me tomorrow..

Norbury's bus to Stafford is cosy and I reflect on early 2004

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

The refit of the back half of No Problem is going well despite Norbury Wharf Boatyard’s staff having to get ready for a big Open Day on Saturday. There is a beer tent open from noon onwards and lots of boaty things going on including a canal art demonstration. I will do both those two for a start! I have always fancied doing a bit of canal art but doubt I would be any good as I was always bottom of the art class at school!

I remember getting a detention once for not being able to draw.. Very demoralising that was, so the next time we had art homework I asked my Dad to help me.. guess what, I got a detention for that too because it was too good!!

Anyway I will look in at the demonstration on Saturday and see if I can have a go..

In the meantime we have been doing some maintenance aboard No Problem. Vic doing a balancing trick on the front deck renewing the tyre around our front fender..

I am rather hard on the front fender inside the locks tending to sit NP on the gates.. we gonna have to renew that fender too at some stage, but it is good enough for now.

Today we caught the little mini bus from the pub here to Stafford to fetch some fresh groceries.. it went through loads of little villages picking up people along the route. This bus only runs on a Thursday would you believe, and the passengers all knew one another.. oh apart from us. I think it is the same passengers every week!

On the way back one old fella got off the bus and complained to the driver that the bus was too crowded, not only with people but with all the bags full of goodies from the town.. “The bus is too crowded now, it is suppose to be for us country folk!” I guess we were the strangers.. but hey it is a proper bus route albeit in a tranny mini bus!

Some pictures for you from 2004, it was at the beginning of the year that I retired fully and we would be really brave and go north to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal..

Leaving the Kennet & Avon Canal we travelled up the Thames.. my first time on the river. I remember being very nervous, but once I settled down I really enjoyed.. Here is one moment that I will always remember…

Two rowing boat eights passing me, one on each side. We had a great trip along the Thames in glorious weather during March, and we made our way north during the spring via a trip on the Caldon Canal, which we really must visit again.. We joined the Leeds & Liverpool at Wigan..

This was an exciting time because it is where my family on my Mother’s side comes from. There are none left that I know of now though. I would love to have visited the town again, but we were quite unsure about leaving the boat.. not very experienced at that time, this was our first cruise..

In Blackburn we picked up what is still the largest object every caught around the prop by us..

It actually stopped us mid channel, and we drifted for a while before another narrowboat came along and nudged us into the side. It took Vic over an hour of cutting and hacking at this before it finally emerged…

And with the help of another boater we managed to drag it out and on to the towpath, a 4ft interior sprung mattress no less. I guess it was probably pushed back into the canal at some stage later, but it was far too heavy to carry it anywhere.

We really enjoyed the canal travelling through some spectacular countryside, and it was at Gargrave on the 1^st July 2004 that the first No Problem Blog appeared. I had been to see Elton John at Wembley and my first nervous short post was about that.. well I had to start somewhere!

The pictures are somewhat smaller on the earlier blogs, I think that was down to the fact that mobile internet was not good in those days and anything larger would not upload to the servers.

Through York and Leeds and on up.. to the furthest place that we could cruise to.. and time for thought of our first spring and early summer…

This is Ripon Canal Basin.. I was just sitting there with Lucy thinking what a wonderful life living on a narrowboat was. But a hairy, exciting return to the canals would be in the future, more of which tomorrow..

Busy with the brush at Norbury and a look back at 2003

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

It’s down to me to do the varnishing of the new woodwork on the walls. Varnishing has been one of Vic’s trades all his life, and he just hates doing it. I don’t mind, although I don’t have much experience, but with plenty of encouragement and advice from him I had my first coat on today after spending more time preparing the wood than brandishing a brush!

So a bit static to say the least here on No Problem, and tonight I have been enjoying looking back to 2003 when I first started taking digital pictures. A few of them I will share with you this evening and a few memories to go with them.. Firstly I need to introduce new regular readers of the blog to our first boat ‘No Problem’…

This is October 2003 at Kintbury on the Kennet & Avon Canal.. 6 years ago in fact.. We bought this boat from Longport Brokerage in Stoke on Trent back in December 2002 after having looked at what seemed hundreds of boats. The thing was to try and remember which ones we like the best after travelling the length of the country. But the way we got round it was to find one we really liked and see if we could better it by looking.. so No Problem was purchased with the original name. I was going to change it, but in the end No Problem stuck!

Although we lived aboard from the start, I was still working part days in my business in Portsmouth, so for the first year we kept as local as we could by cruising the Kennet & Avon Canal.. cruising Tuesday to Thursdays and working the others..

It was a very cold November that year…

We got stuck near Pewsey in ice for a while, and captured a glimpse of mink scurrying along on top of the water. We watched in despair one day when a mink caught a rabbit dragging it down to the icy water and drowning it before taking it back up the bank for a feast…

I didn’t have a washing machine in those days, and used to go into Hungerford on my fold up bike ladened with the weeks wash.. ho hum so very different now with the handy Candy machine tucked away in the utility room..

Our first winter on the Kennet & Avon was great, we so enjoyed our first year of Retirement, and we knew it was the best decision we had ever made. I mean, how on earth can you beat that on a November day.

This is a wonderful canal, but some of the locks are very hard to do, and a lot of people think that British Waterways are not spending enough on keeping the canal maintained properly. Here another scene from there, this is the lovely named Coblers Lock..

I used to love the farm shop just across the fields from here.. ah fond memories.. almost tempting me back to revisit it is.

I have no doubt as I continue to look at the past pictures I shall remember every single one of them as I have these few.. hey Vic even had a beard then.. I showed him tonight, “That isn’t me” “Oh yes it is” said I as I creased up laughing.. He has even threatened now to grow one again!

If you would like to look back at the photos on the web, then click on these links.. October 2003, November 2003 and December 2003.. enjoy

Traditional pumpkins at Norbury

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

It must have been like walking into bedlam for Mick when he arrived this morning to continue his work on the refit of No Problem… But before all that it was yesterday that our family tradition of Halloween pumpkin cutting took place..

Vic is not good with pumpkins.. I think it is the smell of them that keeps him well away the first stages of cutting. Seems everyone is having a social time including the two visiting dogs Tilly and Buddy, although Lucy remains her usual ‘don’t associate ME with that lot’ attitude!

It took just over three hours for Wendie, Dan and granddaughters Kiera and Niamh to arrive from the south coast, but this was one weekend that is never missed. In fact it was two years ago that we did the very same thing just a couple of hundred yards away on the visitor moorings here..

Now the hard bit, scraping it all out into a bucket.. I know, what a waste, but there is no way I would be allowed to take this aboard for a quick soup dish.. I think Vic would file for divorce!.. But wait a minute I think it is now getting a bit harder to scrape out…

Hey, where have those kids gone!!.. more pressing things that are a bit easier.. Mum’s happy enough to finish off so kids go for Nintendos and a bit of feet up time me thinks!

It was only a short weekend with the family this time, work commitments dominated just a one night stay, but we take whatever time together as rather precious.. Buddy always makes himself at home..

One of his favourite places.. a full view of everyone from aloof. Of course there are other things going on too..

Mick from Norbury Wharf Ltd is doing our refit, and during the last couple of days has put the pine tongue and groove on the walls of the back half of No Problem having done the front section last spring..

Completely unvarnished as yet, and this looking from the stern doors.. this is the scene in the bunk room tonight..

But it wasn’t like this at 9am this morning! Poor Mick.. the bunks were still up, the grandchildren at the table waiting for breakfast, clothes and duvets all over the place, you know what it is like when you have visitors.. but Mick was patient and after we all sat round the table enjoying a full English it was all hands to clear the decks and within half an hour Mick was away with drills and pins again..

Oh and the pumpkins, of course… here they are enjoying a starlight night aboard No Problem..

Start stop at Gnosall then on to Norbury Junction

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Gnosall to Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal, 2.25 miles 0 locks

Engine on, ropes on, dogs on, throttle on… ooops.. throttle off engine off ropes off….

Great start to the morning yesterday. A carpet must have come down with the flow of the canal and settled at the back of the boat.. once the prop turned it ate it up for breakfast!

I think that was our shortest ever cruise all of 10 yards! It took quite a bit of cutting off too, and looked as if it had already been around many props during it’s time. Well it won’t happen to another boat as I rolled it up and put it in the bin once we had got to the BW yard at Norbury..

It’s very quiet here although the boat fleet is in as you can see.. hey Adam there is Debdale.. But Shebdon Embankment is open, it opened yesterday, there will be more boats on the move through here now no doubt. The towpath telegraph say that there is still a leak.. not information from British Waterways but from the contractors who managed to finish the job on time. It remains to be seen if it is going to have to be shut again..

Tomorrow morning Norbury Boatyard will start to refit the back half of No Problem, starting with pine tongue and groove going on the walls instead of the drab washable vinyl wall paper.. ideal for a hireboat but not for me…

We will be here for a couple of weeks, so I though during that time I would go back over the years of this blog and perhaps take you back in time to some of my fondest and favourite moments as well as memories of some of the canals and places we have visited..

Just relaxing at Gnosall for a couple of days

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Moored Gnosall, Shropshire Union Canal

Just a quiet couple of days moored here while we wait to go to Norbury Junction for a refit of the back half of No Problem..

I can’t believe how quiet it is in this particular spot, the road over the bridge is just a lane with very few cars, and there are no railways or main roads within earshot!

We need to move tomorrow though.. our 48hrs will be over..

The delights of the Shropshire Union Canal...

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Calf Heath to Gnosall, Staffs & Worcs and Shropshire Union Canals, 20 miles 2 locks

One last day of sunshine me thinks, so lets make hay as the saying goes..

A couple of hours cruising this morning brought us to Autherely Junction, a difficult turn right from the Staffs & Worcs Canal, and here another of those stop locks..

Then better progress as the Shroppie is much deeper than the canal we had come from.. plenty of cuttings and embankments as usual, a pure delight to cruise..

The bridges are probably the best to be seen on the waterways system, built high as the canal ducks down into cuttings. This is a particularly nice one, it is difficult to see in the pic, but it is horseshoe shape instead of straight across..

There were very few boats on the move probably due to the fact that the canal is shut the other side of Norbury Junction, further on at Shebdon Embankment, there is a hole in it.. and has been since August making this very popular cruising route of the Four Counties Ring impossible. Businesses along the route do well with both hire and private boats ‘doing the ring’, they have really suffered and are thinking about claiming some compensation from British Waterways for the unacceptable delay in repairing the hole in the canal..

A full fill of our diesel tank today, stopping at Turners, Weaton Aston.. as usual a tremendous price at the pump at just 51.9p a litre.. Looking in my log book, the last time we stopped here was mid February when the price was exactly the same.. I thanked them for holding that price…”I was going to put it up today too, but I forgot”… Ah well… Good O!!

Leaves are not only a problem for train lines but for narrowboat props too..

Many very picturesque scenes today, but also plenty of clearing of the prop of them by a reverse thrust on the gears to shoot them off. I read one of the bloggers.. can’t think who it was now.. cleared the leaves in a different way by going into neutral then swinging the tiller.. that worked too!

We arrived at Gnosall by late afternoon just as the cloud started to roll in.. just an hours cruise to Norbury Junction from here, so a couple of days off while the forecasted storm blows over..

What a palaver at Filance Lock Penkridge, so we do a Basil...

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Great Haywood to Calf Heath, Staffs & Worcs Canal, 14 miles 13 locks

My newly painted Buckby Can! Painted by Carol Kirby of NB High Calypso and butty Fox. Carol has done all the roses and castle artwork on board No Problem, I had left the can with her last June, but we were unlikely to meet during this year so she kindly left it at the Cafe at the Gt Haywood Lock for me to collect.. wonderful job Carol, thankyou so much!

A late morning start today, not only was there a Buckby Can to pick up but pumpkins as well from the Farm Shop at the junction ready for the grandchildren to decorate next weekend when they will visit.. Plenty of pics of that later..

Tixhall Lock in the pleasant sunshine.. and Vic looks forward to a boat arriving.. hey hey hey I spy….

Bloggers Pip and Roger with NB Windsong.

You would have had a huge laugh if you had been with us at Filance Lock at Penkridge.. It has a long tunnel like bridge just before the lock, and as per usual going uphill I stepped off the back to join Vic at lockside as No Problem let herself into the lock, but I didn’t give enough Umph on the throttle and she stopped half in and half out! It’s not that I could get on the back, the boat had gone under the ‘tunnel’ and I couldn’t get down the ladder either as the boat stopped just short of it at the front of the lock.. we waited and waited.. she went forward a bit.. “Yes she is going in” “No she isn’t, now she is now going back”!

There was nothing for it but to find a branch of a tree to reach down the 8ft or so to try hook one of our ropes.. I was so pleased nobody was about, but Vic and I were laughing and laughing looking around for a branch.. it reminded me of the sketch on Fawlty Towers when John Cleese did just the same thing to look for a branch to smack his broken down car with..

After much searching we found one and carefully hooked it under one of the ropes balancing it on the branch hoping it would hold till it got to hand.. easy peasy after that to bow haul the narrowboat into the lock!

I think we were worn out with laughing more than anything else.. I am so pleased that will not be on Youtube!!

I wonder how many of these pictures I have in my collection now.. tis the classic picture of Gailey Lock that every narrowboater takes as they pass.. I did leave the camera on board thinking that I had enough of this scene, but it is definitely compulsory not to pass without doing the deed!

Then look at this!!…..

‘Tis our old boat No Problem1 with Denis and his mate making their way to Stoke on Trent.. gosh she looked so small.. I thought as the boat came towards me that it looked familiar! We stopped mid canal for a brief chat before going our opposite ways..

Not so many locks tomorrow.. good… I am a bit stiff tonight!

No Problem pushing through on the way to Great Haywood

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Hopwas to Great Haywood, Birmingham & Fazeley and Trent & Mersey Canals, 20 miles 4 locks

We enjoyed yesterday’s longer cruise so decided to do the same today.. we need to be at Norbury Junction at the end of next week you see, for Simon to complete the interior refit to No Problem having done the front half earlier in the spring..

We were doing fine until Streethay when we caught up with an extremely slow narrowboat who’s crew seemed to enjoy us being close behind.. the lady aboard never stopped staring at us would you believe! I asked with my arm to come by, but they decided to go even slower at just over 1.75mph.. passing moored boats in neutral. They seemed to enjoy making me keep having to go into reverse.. About a mile before Fradley Junction I decided there was nothing for it but to make a move past, pulling out and once again signalling my intention.

They pulled their narrowboat over to the side I was passing on, but I just kept going even though the skipper decided to go faster.. so I went faster which drew his bow over towards No Problem.. heh! That sent their stern into the mud… I tried not to smile, and said “Thankyou” as I passed the stranded boat just about missing touching them as I whipped by.. They were most unpleased…Why oh why did they have to behave like that.. It is normally people coming up behind me.. I always pull over to let a quicker boat through..

Very busy as usual at Fradley Junction not only with people but with boats too. Turning left from the Coventry Canal onto the Trent & Mersey Canal there is only just enough room to get a single boat through to the locks with moored boats stretching across the canal leaving just 8ft of channel.. but it always seems to work, and is easy enough to navigate.. well it was today there was no wind!

Armitage Shanks still going strong.. but not so many loos and bidets outside in the yard. I suppose with builders easing up on house building their production is probably not as high as usual.. but they were working in the old factory as we passed even though it was a Saturday..

Last lock of the day was at Little Haywood..

The very attractive Colwich Lock. Last time we were here I think we were in a queue of seven narrowboats, but late in the evening not a boat in sight which gave us a chance to dive into the weed hatch to check the prop. No Problem had been struggling to steer round the big bends I just thought something had got caught round the prop causing the problem.. Nothing there, so maybe it dislodged as I used the gears back and forth waiting for the lock to be ready..

Some bits and bobs to do in Great Haywood tomorrow before we make our way up the Staffs and Worcs Canal.. that will be 4 different canals in 3 days!

Worms, a Sad Boater and a Kazi as we head north through Tamworth

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:33:00 +0000

Today – Springwood Haven, Nuneaton to Hopwas, Coventry and Birmingham & Fazeley Canals, 16.5 miles 13 locks
Tues to Thurs – Moored Springwood Haven

On the move again at last after spending three days stuck at Springwood Haven Marina with a broken alternator..

We had been in trouble for about a week with the battery bank only being charged by the starter battery alternator, and that was only after the dedicated alternator had done it’s first in line job of keeping that starter turning over..

We were really pleased with the work and service at Onboard Energy, who are based at the Marina. They really know what they are doing and their staff are very friendly and helpful.. On another note, the marina does actually sell their diesel at boaters declaration although I had it as a no no on my diesel list.. I’ll change that later. By the way, I have updated that page having had a comment that it was a bit difficult to read.. hopefully you will find it easier now with a list of canals to click on..

On the way again this morning past one of my favourite BW buildings at Hartshill..

I simply love this old building, and the place always looks neat and tidy.. It was very quiet there today, but no doubt in a couple of weeks time it will be a hive of activity preparing for the winter program of stoppages and improvements. Most of the work to repair and maintain locks will probably be farmed out to contractors, but we have found British Waterways tend to do all the trimming and dredging along the canals

This made us chuckle for a few minutes….

I must remember to hold my nose when I pass this boat next time!

I have had to reinstall windows over the last couple of days.. so it’s all be happening at the moment. I wanted some templates for picasa, the picture software from google, so I had a click around as you do and found just what I wanted. It was on a nice well written web page “6 templates for you to download”. I saw the thumbnail pictures of them and thought one of them would be ideal for what I wanted.. but they didn’t download, then suddenly all hell was let loose on my computer, I had downloaded a trojan of some sort which was quickly gobbling up my files and corrupting them very quickly one by one.

I disconnected from the internet as soon as I realised hoping that none of my email contacts had been infected, but even though I had disconnected, the ‘worm’ was causing havoc.

I don’t keep ‘My Documents’ on the computer, I have a external hard drive which I use for all my files.. that was whipped out before damage was done there thank goodness.. So I had no actual data to lose, but it takes forever to reinstall, update and put all the programs back on again. My backup windows for this computer is quite old now, so the updates from Microsoft took all of yesterday afternoon to download and install!

A lone boater in front of us at Atherstone meant that we had a very slow trip down the eleven locks.. the guy was very miserable and had no words to say even though I had opened and closed gates and paddles for him.. I even asked him if he was OK to which he just said “Yes, fine” There was no thanks for helping him along, so we stopped for a half hour or so to let him get ahead of us, but low and behold it was only two locks later that we caught up with him again!

Still it gave Vic time to test out those new bollards that British Waterways have kindly put in for use while waiting for the lock to empty!

And on a beautiful Autumn evening we stopped at Hopwas still having a chuckle about the boat we saw earlier and the sad boater we met at Atherstone..

A long weekend at Ansty, then away up the Coventry Canal

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Ansty to Springwood Haven, Oxford and Coventry Canals, 10.25 miles 1 lock

A very long weekend at Ansty while we boat watched NB Moore2Life and dog sat Molly for friends Chas and Ann, but visitors arrived. Daughter Wendie, hubby Dan and grandchildren Kiera and Niamh took time out from their trip to the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham to pop over to see us. The NEC is only 20 minutes away by car… A brief but very enjoyable moment in time..

Ansty bridge is in a right state…

It still has a 2 ton limit over the top.. I know that isn’t a lot, but I wonder if that is kept to? These broken bridges do worry me.. is someone going to get hurt when they fall. For sure that will happen if nothing is done about the numerous bridges on this canal that are in an awful state of repair.

Late morning saw bloggers Chris and Debbie with NB Ubique come by..

Time enough for a greeting before they and us were on the way. And what a lovely afternoon it was too as we bade a fond farewell to Chas and Ann before making our way towards Hawkesbury Junction..

Not only is this a canal junction, but also an electric junction where tons of overhead wires make their way from all directions to this sub station..

Hawkesbury Junction or Sutton Stop as it is known as is the junction of the Coventry and Oxford Canal..

It was called Sutton Stop after a family of lock keepers here who, during most of the nineteenth century, looked after the ‘stop lock’ that you can see on the right of the picture, just a 4” difference in the levels so that boats just had to stop and pay the tolls of the canal company. The Coventry Canal continues into the city through a route going off to the bottom left of the pic, while our route would be to come through that lock on the Oxford Canal, under the bridge I am standing on and round on to the Coventry Canal through that white footbridge on the left..

This is also the home of The Greyhound pub.. in the old days you could moor outside, that is not encouraged now though..

No Problem in the stop lock, and oh dear me.. look at those bollards, one at the front of the lock and one at the back, put in by British Waterways.. a 4” drop.. ho hum do we really need those? Wonder how much they cost to put in.. so under the bridge and sharp right, very sharp through another small gap where tolls were collected for the Coventry Canal.. and yet again more new bollards…

I wonder if BW have set these in place for us to tie to while they collect tolls from us in the future!!

Now this is one place I simply love, it never changes, well it gets added too, but these two working boats have been here for as long as I can ever remember, and that goes back 30 years…

Then just a little further along…

I wonder how many people are caught out by this dummy as they approach, she is placed right near the old diesel pump!! … And next…

A boat junk yard, and I mean that in a nice way, what a fabulous place, I bet you would be able to obtain any odd bit you wanted from here. This is a busy boatyard, so many boats in for renovations and repair.. wonderful!

I had already prepared tea along the way, it was ready to eat by the time we had tied up just before Springwood Haven Marina.. tis quiet here, very quiet..

Brinklow to Ansty in the slow lane

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Brinklow to Ansty, Oxford Canal, 5 miles 0 locks

A quiet couple of days at Brinklow with plenty of walking for Lucy and Meg…

So today on the move again but not before a top up delivery from Mr Tesco. We moored just a little further up near a layby on a quiet lane.. I put up a Tesco sign so he wouldn’t go flying past..

There you can see the sign, and look how handy that is! Our own drive in to No Problem.. The windows on this boat lift completely out, so all the groceries can be passed straight into the galley, much better than living in a house..

So our short cruise today took us past Rose Narrowboats..

They have been going an awful long time, I remember back in the 70’s when we hired narrowboats for our holidays we always wished we could have one of the boats from this yard. They were really posh, top of the range boats.. too expensive for us to hire.. and while other hire boatyards have sprung up over the years with ultra modern interiors, Rose have still the same boats cruising up and down the waterways and they still look just as good as then.

I watched a new crew today, obviously their first time afloat.. they very nearly bumped another boat while they tried to work out which way to point the tiller. This seems to be one of the most difficult things for the newbies to master when they first get going.. It’s worse when panic sets in when they see another boat coming through the bridgehole the other way as happened to us the other day.. But it doesn’t take too long to get the hang of it..

And who wouldn’t want to spend time on the canal system, I am so lucky that I can do it every day, go where I want when I want.. down the slow lane..

Ansty tonight will do for us. We haven’t stopped here since our hireboat days, so some new walks to explore tomorrow..

Our first crash just outside Rugby and Super Lucy...

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Hillmorton to Brinklow, Oxford Canal, 6 miles 0 locks

We had planned to be at Hillmorton this Sunday.. planned way back on the River Nene…

Sunday lunch was what we were aiming for at the Lock Stock Bistro, just about the best Sunday roast on the canal system, and yesterday was no exception sharing a table with Chas and Ann of NB Moore2Life. Of course a pint first as you can see!

Today onward making for Brinklow, but on the way an unfortunate error by the crew of a hire boat put us right in the bushes just after a bridge. The crew coming in the other direction had waited for us to come through quite happily, then as the skipper opened the throttle to pass us he suddenly forgot which way to put the tiller arm.. and chose the wrong way sending his stern straight into our path. We had no chance and well struck their boat throwing No Problem into the bushes.. so a few more scratches… Vic was furious and the swear pot filled up with 50p bits!

Newbold tunnel is only short….

About 250 yards I think, but it is very different from other tunnels with a towpath on each side, but not only that it is very pretty, and demands the action of the camera from every boat that passes through..

It is amazing to think that Lucy is really only a dog… The other day we went through Braunston Tunnel, the dogs were running the towpath as usual, and Vic wanted to get the dogs aboard two bridges away from the tunnel entrance, but Lucy ran on past… I said to him it was the next bridge to get them on after consulting the map. Lucy has such good memories of the canals we decided not to say one word to each other at the next bridge and see what happens, would she remember there was a tunnel coming up..

Sure enough, and without me changing speed or saying one word she stood at the bridgehole and as NP passed she hopped on.. Meg did the same, well she always does the same as Lucy, she finds she doesn’t get into trouble that way..

How on earth did she remember? Bearing in mind that it must be two years since we have approached the tunnel from that direction..

And just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, she did exactly the same at the bridge before Newbold tunnel today… So Lucy’s memory of canals is better than me and Vic!

The rest of the trip to Brinklow was uneventful although there were an awful lot of boats about.. wonderful bridges …

This is just a short arm going off the canal, the bridges link the towpath. When first built this canal used to snake around the countryside, but another engineer decided that he could make a much straighter route which left these little short arms some now taken up with boatyards and marinas. Most of the loops have been dewatered and gone back to farmland, but these superb bridges serve to give us memories of the past.

Mind you the bridges that actually go over the canal are all very different and very attractive in their own way..

A lot of them need maintenance like the one you saw in the last blog, this one seems OK for now..

Meg has got big hasn’t she!.. She simply adores running the towpath..

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Note

The blog has now moved back to it’s home at www.choiceforum.co.uk/blog/noproblem.html. If you have arrived here via the blogspot url then you would have been redirected, so you need to rebookmark your page to the choiceforum url. My webspace was hacked back in May of this year and it has taken me all this time to put things right, so I used the blogspot as a temporary home for the blog. The redirect will continue for a while though.

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We actually overtake someone outside Braunston!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:47:00 +0000

Braunston to Hillmorton, Grand Union Canal, 7.25 miles 3 locks

A pint and a pie at the Plume of Feathers in Daventry was the order of the late morning.. very nice it was too, I really recommend this good ol’ traditional pub. The food was great..

We were back early afternoon and made our way out of Braunston..

A left turn here would take us towards Oxford or Warwick, we had come from that way earlier in the year, but today we would take the North Oxford Canal route. These wonderful bridges in Braunston are a landmark for sure on the canal system..

Loads of boats moored along the canal in this village, but soon we were out in the open countryside and soon to follow a very slow boat who’s skipper seemed oblivious of our presence.. I went to the front cratch and shouted across to let us by when it was safe to do so.. well we were doing just 1.7 mph, I thought NP was a slow boat, but this one was even slower and we certainly needed to do a bit better than that to reach Hillmorton before dark!!

Not a happy person let us by.. I can’t understand why they didn’t let us through earlier, we had been on their tail on just over tickover for some 2 miles.. I am always letting boats pass when they are obviously quicker than me..

Passing bloggers in the other direction today.. firstly NB Skyy, Jacquie and Mac we had first met at Napton on their maiden voyage then later Paul with NB Piston Broke moored above Hillmorton Locks.. I was aware they were all around and thought we might see them..

On past Bridge 80, one of the most photographed bridges on the system at the moment.. I wonder why!

Oh dear, when are they going to fix this one.. bridge 79 is not much better with a huge crack across the whole of the archway.. that will come down soon if nothing is done.. hope it doesn’t damage a boat let alone a person when it does..

We reached Hillmorton in just over 2 hours, NP seemingly wanting to ping along today quite happily..

Locks side by side here.. but oh joy, all narrow ones, and the gates are as light as a feather! It was very quiet at the top of the locks with no boats on the visitor moorings, so we thought we would go to the bottom.. Different story down there as it was very busy with boats. But we snuck No Problem into the only available mooring.. lucky or what..

That gap ahead is a concrete edge, nobody is able to moor there.. Lucy and Meg have had a good day, they have run the towpath all the way from Braunston.. and still they demanded a walk this evening!

Gosh Lock Duty is tough but Braunston Tunnel is easy

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:54:00 +0000

Whilton to Braunston, Grand Union Canal, 5.5 miles 11 locks

No spare part yesterday for our kerstan sky dish so we stayed put, and this morning still nothing had arrived at Whilton Chandlers. I had ordered the part from RoadPro who kindly said they would deliver it to the chandlery for me to pick up on the way through..

With that news this morning I was disappointed, I didn’t want to spend another evening between the railway and the M1, so asked if they would post it back.. but Richard at Whilton Chandlers went out the back and produced the bits I needed.. he will replace those with my bits when they arrive.. brilliant stuff, thanks Richard.

With me on lock duty today I was out and about with the camera, so I have lots of pictures for you today on the blog..

These first two are of the top lock at Buckby… nice pub that, The New Inn. We have spent many an evening here in the past, but for today we would pass without a pint. Norton Junction, apart from the numerous pans and barges of British Waterways, is a very picturesque spot..

And this is the junction where the Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal goes off..

We went that way last year hoping to cruise to Great Haywood via the River Soar for a change. But we got caught in the floods and never made it having to put No Problem into Sawley Marina for the Christmas break.. this year we would go the safe way…

So it was under the bridge and onward to Braunston Tunnel.. I wasn’t feeling nervous at all today about going through the tunnel. It was ever since I had been taken through the fantastic tunnels at Dudley that my fear of tunnels seems to have disappeared, and I just met the one boat, as you do on the only bendy bit in there. Just touching the side as the hire boat had gone for complete safety, or so he thought, but stopping completely waiting for me to pass.. little did he know that I would draw his stern into my path.. no harm done, and I would rather that than for someone coming past me at full throttle!

So next to Braunston Locks.. I thought these would be a bit easier than the Whilton and Buckby flights earlier.. gawd gimme the Nene Guillotines any day..

This pic is just above the top lock. We had to follow one down today, nothing coming up through the flight at all, so it was a good workout for me..

Vic enjoyed his break from doing locks, and he was getting more and more confident with each lock he had to steer into.. I bet when we get to the single locks again he will be refusing to let me be lockie! Gosh these gates are so heavy, I am aching tonight for sure..

But is was nice to be out on the towpath with the camera picking up some shots I don’t normally get..

The Admiral Nelson pub is one place I have never visited, although I must admit I nearly did today.. Looking at people having a pint on the benches outside was nearly too much.. but I would be missed for sure..

Lots of interest on the way down.. I think I have always visited this shop when passing, today was no exception, and out I came with a couple of pints of milk.. it could have been a lot more, but I only took a couple of quid in with me on purpose!!

And so out of the bottom lock…

It was quite late in the day, well we didn’t set off from Whilton ‘till after lunch.. waiting for the post you see. Would it be too late to get a mooring in Braunston.. probably.. We were lucky, one space just after the Stop House, and what a lovely mooring this is…

This from the window this evening.. There used to be trees and bushes on that side of the canal, but the new hotel owner, the hotel you can just about make out, wanted all the vegetation chopped down to give views to his guests.. good O! Gives me nice views too..

I see the British Waterways Winter Stoppage list is now online and downloadable.. click here for the pdf file which can be printed on normal A4 paper, or if you prefer it on excel click here

Bedazzled and odd sights on the way to Whilton

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:32:00 +0000

Bugbrooke to Whilton, Grand Union Canal, 7.25 miles 3 locks

A busy day today with a call at Fred Tarry’s for the first of our winter coal. 6 bags of ‘cosy nuts’ which in the past has always burned well on our stove costing just under £48. I was pleased with that, the price of coal has gone through the roof the last couple of years, I was expecting to pay a bit more..

This caught my eye as we left Nether Heyford…

It was quite a long way away, I thought at first it might be a parachute got stuck in the tree, but a quick look in the binoculars revealed something else! I hope my picture helps you to work out what it is..

I called in to Bedazzled who have moved now from Whilton Locks to a smallholding at Bridge 21 at Brockhall to pick up some LED lights. Friend Kevin pointed me in the direction of a Hong Kong seller on Ebay who’s prices were extremely good, but as I had already bought some from Richard before, the trust was there.

It was great to see how well they are doing at Bedazzled, Richard and his wife have spread themselves out and are now running a tidy smallholding with chickens running around giving free range eggs which are on the shelves, plus loads of homemade jams including port and plum jam.. I noticed that you see because I had made rum and plum jam myself this year. There was also fruit and veg all from the farm.

I love Richard’s showroom, all those lovely LED lights which go under the gunnel to give some really fantastic light.. Vic is not keen on them, so I saved a bit in my purse today at least!

Well worth a stop there if only to browse and pick up some eggs..

This was good to see further along..

On the way past here in the other direction last June this place was deserted, now it is in full flow again. What was Stowe Marine is now Rugbyboats. Full boatyard facilities including diesel.. but nobody about to ask if they accepted boaters declarations.. for those not in the know, we now have to declare what diesel we will use for propulsion and what we will use for heat and light.. with only one diesel tank we have to make a good guess. The propulsion part is taxed higher.. some boatyards will let boaters decide for themselves.. self declaration.. but some will only sell at a split of 60% for propulsion and 40% for heating.. we don’t won’t stop at those yards.. they are obviously too lazy to work out the maths!!

Anyway, it’s good to see this popular place up and running again in these difficult time for businesses..

But this is one business that is doing well..

Whilton Chandlers. I have a packet coming here for me to collect with a spare part for our kerstan sky dish.. Unfortunately it hadn’t arrived today, so we will have to wait until tomorrow.. Hopefully it will come then. It was busy on the 48 hour visitor moorings with no room to be had, so we decided to climb a few locks…

Sharing them with Moore2Life, there is Vic on the tiller for a change! I was on lock duty. Vic had a hard day yesterday, I think the final three river locks on the River Nene took the stuffing out of him, and he was very stiff this morning, so I super glued him to the tiller with strict instructions to stay there!

We moored after about three of the locks in the flight.. loose ropes tonight in case the pound (stretch of water between two locks) drops.

Gosh it is noisy here.. the M1 is about 200 yards away to my right, and the trains are belting by at 120 mph about 300 yards on my left.. I really do hope that spare part arrives tomorrow!!

Goodbye Nene, we climb the valley to Gayton

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:13:00 +0000

Today – Weston Favell to Bugbrooke, River Nene and Grand Union Canal, 11.5 miles 20 locks
Weekend – Earls Barton to Weston Favell, River Nene, 4.5 miles 3 locks

Over the weekend we moved from Earls Barton after picking up a Tesco Delivery by the lock there. Our first stop was Cogenhoe where we met Annie of NB Moore2Life who would be joining us for the two day trip to Bugbrooke.

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday as you can see and the river was quiet with not a ripple.. above is the view behind us and this is the view in front…

And look at this below our mooring….

That is the bottom of the Nene some 10 feet below No Problem, it’s like looking into an aquarium!

Sunday saw us move further upstream to the open waters of Weston Favell our last mooring before rejoining British Waterways canals..

This is the Northampton Washlands where flood water can be caught and stored. When the river is in real flood boats are not allowed into this place, there are barrage gates at each end of the area that will close when flood water needs to be diverted from Northampton Town, here is one of them as we passed through today after leaving our pontoon mooring of last night..

The main river goes from left to right by that tree on the other side of the gate and that is the area the flood water is held..

Our last ‘free’ pump out on the river at Northampton…

The Environment Agency do not charge for this service, British Waterways do charge, and boatyards charge even more!! With water refilled we moved to the Town Quay for a shop at Morrisons before meeting Paul Balmer of Waterway Routes who joined us for the climb of the 17 locks of the Rothersthorpe flight of locks to Gayton Junction.

So off the Nene for this year….

Bottom lock of the Rothersthorpe flight means we are now on British Waterways canals.. oh by the way, that is Molly, the little jack russel of Annie, who also had a couple of days with us.. Lucy and Meg have already noticed that there is a towpath… they are gone!! Back in their element of towpath running!

Along the flight there are some wonderful sculptures, this one pointing the way…

With a big crew today, we made light work climbing to Gayton, and by early evening we reached the top..

Many thanks to Paul and Annie for your help, always very much appreciated..

I managed to pick up some eggs from the farm by Gayton Junction at last. The previous couple of visits to the farm found the owners out, this time I got lucky.. A quiet cruise then to Bugbrooke, much slower than on the river.. saw more boats moored up in that short trip than we had seen on the move all summer in East Anglia! I need to get used to this again!

I have so enjoyed the rivers of the east this year, and although I got somewhat fed up with the constant wind in the valleys, I have almost forgotten that now, and can only remember my enjoyment. But I am glad too to be back on the canals once again… life in the slow lane once more..

River levels are low as we cruise through Doddington

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Rushden to Earls Barton, River Nene, 10 miles 8 locks

We weren’t the first away this morning, nor the second as boats are now moving off the Nene and back on to the system. We have been leap frogging each other over the last few days, and it has been nice to meet new crews…

Mind you once we were on the river about an hour behind them we had the place to ourselves cruising the 10 miles we only saw one other boat on the move.. I am going to get a shock no doubt when back on the system and having to queue queue again…

There are a number of these lovely pack bridges along the Nene, this one just as we were leaving Wellingborough this morning, but getting through the correct arch sometimes is difficult, this one moreso than any other… the arch I need is right over on the left.

There is no stream on the river at the moment, in fact the Nene is well down on summer levels.. look at the flow over this weir..

A dribble!

This has made it much harder work for us going up the locks.. normally there is so much water flowing over the top of the upper gates that once the guillotine is closed we just sit back and have a cuppa and wait for the lock to fill naturally. So it was up with the paddles at each of them today…

This is Doddington Lock, normally the water is cascading over those gates..

We stopped at Wellingborough embankment to put on water, and while Vic did that I wandered over to Homebase for some contact adhesive to stick down some cushion flooring under the dinette table. There was some oak flooring there, but when we had the refit done in May I took it out as the dinette was going to be altered and it them on the roof when we stripped that bit down.. I then forgot to put the planks INSIDE No Problem.. when we arrived back on the boat after our break away they had warped… DOH!!

Anyway, at last I have found exactly the cushion flooring pattern I wanted, so that will go down this weekend sometime..

There are a lot of horses and ponies grazing around the Nene at Wellingborough, some, in my opinion, not very well looked after.. we saw one with a rope round its neck it wasn’t that tight, but someone needs to deal with it.. Another I snapped with the camera as we went by with a ton of those sticky things in it’s tail…

I guess the whole of the tail will have to be cut to get rid of them.. there are some really nice ones out there..

The owners of the cottage by Doddington Lock are very friendly.. there used to be a visitor book inside the control box for the guillotine where you could sign in to say you have passed, but unfortunately it is gone.. but this isn’t…

Over there on the grass is a hose on a reel.. the owner is quite happy for you to help yourself to water if needed. To get close enough you need to moor on the downstream pontoon for the hose to reach.. very handy if you want to stay a while in this lovely area..

We will pick up a Tesco Delivery here at White Mills Lock before moving off to Cogenhoe tomorrow morning..

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What a load of rubbish as we cruise to Rushden

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Denford to Rushden and Diamonds, River Nene, 6 miles 4 locks

We were sorry to leave our lovely mooring this morning…

So quiet here and lots of areas to walk across, but hey look at that gorgeous sky! And hardly any breeze today to go with it.

As soon as we set off, and looking back, a boat appeared from the bridge behind making the four locks today much easier with two crews.. Woodford..

Some lovely moorings here, but all private, yet another village which has turned it’s back on the revenue of the river.. the ‘official’ visitor moorings are by the church…

But as you can see they are not ideal. The pic shows the best bit to try, but it would mean a long plank due to the shallow edge.. pity, ‘tis a lovely village which has a Post Office, shop and pub among other little shops.. Maybe one day they might realise the potential of the river tourists to their village..

One of the biggest problems along this part of the river is refuse and trying to dispose of it. There are no Environment Agency rubbish disposal bins between Peterborough and Northampton, that is 57 miles and 37 locks between being able to officially dump rubbish.

The disposal point where we are now has been closed by the Rushden and Diamonds Football Club as they are not prepared to fund that any more, and EA have said that they won’t either as it was put in by the Club for the use of boaters…

So something needs to be done.. Putting rubbish into village litter bins is not allowed, if caught it can be a £250 fine…

Longer cruise day tomorrow as we make for close to Cogenhoe some 10 miles upstream.. Hope the skies are as good as today..

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Sunshine to Denford, and ooops..

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Wadenhoe to Denford, River Nene, 5.5 miles 3 locks

The errors of my ways were pointed out to me today, but not before we filled with water before setting off in the surprising sunshine.. I say surprising because Mr Weatherman said we would be under cloudy skies today… wrong.. as you can see from the approach to Titchmarsh Lock…

Friendly boatyard this with a huge sign on the Middle Nene Cruising Club who occupy the building.. “We welcome all boaters”.. and a welcome on the lockside from Mike..

“You have errors on your blog Sue” he greeted me! Well I know I have been making some changes to the blog, and sometimes someone points out something I missed but… “It’s UPPER Barnwell Lock where the mill is not Lower”…. Ooops.. my blog last night gave the wrong information! Thanks Mike!.. we chatted a while, then left the lock leaving it to the volunteer on the lockside to empty the lock and raise the guillotine.. now that is a friendly boat club for sure!

Cruising through the nature reserve between the lock and Thrapston we spied many herons in one area, I believe there is a heronry within the reserve, then we were treated to a wonderful site of a kite hunting low across the valley.. no pictures though as the sun was in front of us and making the bird look totally black, pity..

On through Islip Lock and under Thrapston pack bridge..

We are now on the ‘Nen’ this side of the bridge, it’s only pronounced the ‘Neen’ on the other… I suppose if you chatted on the bridge then you would have to use the right pronounciation depending on which pavement you walked on!!

Denford Lock, one of the few now with a DIY wheel, but we have a little tool for them that cleverly bolts through a tiny hole in the wheel giving us a handle.. it still takes many spins to get this up and down. All the locks on the Nene with guillotines have to be left with the guillotine in the up position.. so once through the lock has to be reversed..

We have moored on farmland just upstream from here.. we always do and the farmer knows us well enough, infact he was around while we moored up and we called greetings to one another..

I hope it will be a bit quieter than when we moored on the way down when a drunken thug decided to show off to his giggling girlfriends and jump on the roof toppling my plants.. I demanded he got off which he did in the end having picked up the long barge pole.. he then continued to taunt me with it while the girls took a movie on their phone.. Vic was standing by just out of sight keeping an eye on the situation and Meg was at my side pretending to be a vicious dog.. he dropped it in the end and wobbled off.. I must try and find that on youtube.. Probably entitled Drunken Yob with Bargepole taunting little old lady!

Fotheringhay in the sunshine, and it got away!

noreply@blogger.com (Sue) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Elton to Wadenhoe, River Nene, 13.5 miles 8 locks

A brilliant night with Debbie and Kevin on Saturday, although when we walked over to the Crown we were disappointed that the kitchen was shut for refurbishment.. Normally I phone to book a table whenever we eat out, but I wasn’t quite sure what time our friends would arrive.

We bought the beer and a selection of nuts and crisps and sat outside.. we would have a sandwich later…

Back on board after a couple of pints and the No Problem bar was open, that is never shut for refurbishment!

So on Sunday morning after our heads had cleared we pulled the pins on Elton for this year and cruised in some glorious weather towards Fotheringhay..

We didn’t stop at Fotherinhay this time, preferring to cruise on as it was such a lovely day. Passing through Cotterstock Lock this sign is in your face as it is with all the locks on the Nene..

Soon we will all have to wear lifejackets travelling on the river, I can see it coming.. and talking about bureaucracy, I read a piece in the news.scotsman about graffiti on the bridges.. it is going to stay there for a long time apparently because cleaning it would be too damaging to the bricks and wildlife.. these bridges are on the Union Canal…

“The stonework on the historic bridges has become covered in graffiti tags in recent months, but the operator, British Waterways, says it is unable to do anything about it.”

"Using chemicals may contaminate the canal and be harmful to aquatic life. Abrasive and chemical systems also have the potential to damage the surface and may leave it more vulnerable to the elements. Our conservation specialists have offered to visit the site with British Waterways staff to look at the best way forward."

Well I never…

Aston backwater was our overnight mooring last night.. it seemed really spooky there for some reason and Lucy and Meg growled every time they stuck their heads out. I was pleased to get away this morning!

Lower Barncroft lock is another very attractive part of the river, the mill house is now a restaurant, but it is well up market. I am sure the food must be very good in there, but they have no moorings although they do have some river frontage. A lot of these riverside pubs and restaurants are much the same, I am surprised to be honest, they would get a lot of trade from the river in the summer if they did…

We had almost got to Wadenhoe when narrowboat Sammy past, and a late hello from the crew shouting across that they enjoyed the blog.. I did manage to shout back.. It’s always nice to meet blog readers..

A boat caught us up at the lock at Lilford going upstream, so we waited for them to appear at Wadenhoe lock before dropping the guillotine, and once the lock was full we both pulled over onto the lawns of the Kings Head pub. Now here is one place where there is plenty of moorings for the boats.

Out for lunch we met and chatted to the narrowboat crew we had shared the lock with earlier. Malcolm and Sandra are interested in purchasing an electric boat. So to you both, firstly it was nice to meet you and secondly, here is the website of Paul Balmer of Waterway Routes who has an electric narrowboat. I am sure Paul would give you the answers to your many questions.. I sure Paul’s site would also be of interest to others thinking about going green on the canals!..

I had better tell you… Vic caught a huge pike at Elton, I was on catch net duty.. and although I got him, I checked to see where the dogs were so I could land it and while doing so he kicked and spun and went straight out of the net and plopped back into the river.. That sure was one that got away.. it was that big too!

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