NarrowBoat Quidditch

Ahoy!

2011-01-14T09:17:00.007Z

Happy New Year...

Yes I know I never quite got around to publishing the second part of our Canada trip but to be quite honest, having said I'd keep this blog updated I'm really struggling to do so!

I find that all my blogging energies are now going into our sister blog 'Birding Afloat' and all our exploits in Canada can be found there anyway. Also the Brandon Marsh Report 2010, a place where I find myself spending endless hours, is also due out and I'm also privileged to be part of the compilation of this with responsibility for Amphibians and Reptile reports. So in a nutshell, at least for the time being, 'Narrowboat Quidditch' will be on hold.

Don't forget you can still follow us on 'Birding Afloat' and we look forward to seeing you there.

In addition you can also find us on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/boatbirder

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Canadream Week 1

2010-10-07T19:44:00.002+01:00

Our RV Unit

Travelling around Canada in a Recreational Vehicle is something that we can highly recommend to anyone of any age and is something that we are already planning to do again next year. With an RV, you don't just get a vehicle - you get access to an entire lifestyle, which Dee and I can fully appreciate living aboard a traditional narrowboat as we do.

During our trip Dave, my long standing best mate, Dee and I completed just short of 1900Kms in 14 days and in 2 RV's, staying in some amazingly stunning places. Like the U.S, Canada is fully geared up for the RV way of life. There are campgrounds across Canada to suit everyone's taste. From large RV parks with every kind of luxury and amenity, to beautiful and remote wilderness camp sites, you can guess which ones we chose?

Colours of Fall

We began our trip at Calgary on September 17th with a planned route that would take us to Vancouver some 14 days later. Having picked up our RV on the Saturday afternoon our first stop was the local supermarket, where we fully stocked up our on board fridge and freezer, not forgetting the nearby Liquor Store!

After taking on provisions we made the relatively short journey, 50Kms to Ghost Lake, where we spent our first night in the wilderness. I say the wilderness as the campground had obviously closed for the winter and although the surrounding sights were wonderful there was no facilities on hand, having said that we enjoyed an excellent evening and were already getting into the swing of things.

Lake Louise

Our first full day on the road took us from Calgary to Banff where we were married last year, and having spent a few hours sightseeing and reminiscing we moved on in the early afternoon. A short while later we crossed from Alberta into British Columbia at the Atlantic/Pacific divide to our next overnight stop of Radium Springs. Here we stayed at Canyon RV Resort a really delightful place with very friendly staff and a cracking spot too, the local Creek running directly behind us where we had the pleasure of watching two American Dippers as they foraged for food.

Moraine Lake

The following day we had a dip in the famous hot springs at Radium before moving off to our next stop of Golden. Golden, bracketed by Glacier National Park to the west and Yoho National Park to the east, is right in the heart of some of the most pristine wilderness to be found in the Canadian Rockies and during our drive down we came across our first Bald Eagle perched high in one of the many Pine's. Upon arrival we stayed at the fantastic Eco-Adventure Ranch, one of our favourite stops.

A walk around the ranch and down towards the Kicking Horse River produced some interesting birds including another Bald Eagle and Osprey. However, the most intriguing part of the walk was the discovery of Black Bear and Coyote pooh found near the river, the Bear Pooh a big black mound full of berries!

Moving on from Golden we passed once again back into Alberta and stopped at Canada Parks Lake Louise RV site for the following two days. Here we spent our time visiting the famous Lake where we spent our honeymoon last year, plus the nearby Emerald Lake and Moraine Lake, which we were unable to visit last year because of snow blocking the route. We also took Dave to see the amazing Spiral Tunnels which takes the Canadian Pacific trains up a steep gradient and a place both Dee and I passed through last year on the Rocky Mountaineer.

Bow Summit

The longest day of our tour was from Lake Louise to Jasper (aprox. 236Km) where we passed over the Columbian Ice Fields and out of Banff National Park and through into Jasper National Park at the Saskatchewan Crossing. During the journey we stopped at Bow Summit and took the short walk to the top, ending up around 7,000ft.

Bow Summit is the height of land between the Bow River system, flowing southeast to Banff, and the Mistaya River flowing northwest. The view was simply awesome and is of a glacial-fed and brilliantly turquoise Peyto Lake. We were also delighted to make contact with a large flock of around 100 Cedar Waxwing swirling from tree to tree and showing beautifully in the brilliant sunshine. A few snow flurries at the higher levels of the Ice Fields to hinder us but we arrived safely in Jasper just before sunset, stopping over at another Canada Parks RV site on the outskirts of Town.

A visit to the town of Jasper before setting off once more, this time turning southwest towards Valemount and re-entering British Columbia.

To be continued.....................

France - August

2010-09-06T08:16:00.001+01:00

Chateau Glen, Ste Radegonde

We arrived at Poitiers (August 22nd) in the pouring rain for 3-days with Dee's parents, this time arriving from Stansted, Ryanair having now inconveniently stopped flying from the nearby Birmingham Airport.

The flight across was an interesting one having at one time skirted the outer edge of what looked to be a pretty large thunderstorm. Only lasting a short time but the turbulence was probably the worst I've experienced on a short haul flight.

The good thing about visiting Chateau Glen is not just the outstanding cuisine that we have the pleasure of sampling but the conversation and wine that always seems to flow and last until the early hours. I won't mention the constant beating I seem to suffer every time I meet Graham on the pool table.

This year the early summer rain torrents experienced in the area wiped out the cherry crop, so bang went my pre dinner walk munching cherries through the orchard. Mind you I still had an excellent choice of other crops such as plum, sweetcorn, pumpkin, courgettes and not to mention several varieties of tomato. Susan and Graham have also left a good part of the garden wild and so I spent some considerable time investigating what Butterflies I could find and came up with some gems, like this Silver-washed Fritillary.

Dee's parents are always good enough to lend us their second car and so getting around the locality is made an awful lot easier. On the Monday we decided to take the drive out to La Pinail, a nearby nature reserve we'd discovered on our last visit. The weather forecast for the day wasn't looking too good with prolonged periods of rain and quite a strong wind but we had a lovely visit with lots of Butterflies, the odd Lizard and some good bird species, we even managed to stay dry. After Pinail we took a drive around the locality and stopped at La Roche-Posay for a coffee and lunch. On the return journey to the house we managed to spot a Stone-Curlew, quite a bird rarity and only a few miles from the house, plus an almost white Common Buzzard, something I've never seen before!

Tuesday we set off mid-morning to Parc naturel regional de la Brenne. The Brenne is a patchwork of fishponds, heaths and red sandstone outcrops. Looking very natural, it's landscape has however been transformed by man, as early as the Middle Ages. Today with more than 2000 man made lakes, traditionally used for farm-fishing, the Brenne is of international importance for it's rich wildlife. The area has many hides and natural trails all waiting to be explored and we spent the remainder of the day visiting the hides and lakes.

We also enjoyed a glass of wine and lunch overlooking Etang (man-made lake) de la Gabriere in lovely sunshine before returning in the early evening.

Our flight back to the UK was uneventful but before leaving France we stopped off at Intermarche, a large supermarket at Poitiers to purchase a bottle of Pineau, one of Dee's favourites, which will go nicely with the various preserves her mum and dad had kindly provided us with. In fact were enjoying some marmalade (lemon & Lime) right now with our morning toast as I write this entry, delicious.

Were Back!

2010-08-13T22:05:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone and welcome to the re-designed 'Narrowboat Quidditch'. Yes were back blogging after quite an absence and after completing new templates for this and our sister blog 'Birding Afloat' were once again raring to go.

The canal at present is at it's busiest but we've managed to get out on numerous occasions and spent last night watching the Perseid Meteor Shower at our favourite mooring spot near Flecknoe, about a 90-minute cruise. You can check out the results by visiting 'Birding Afloat'. Dee has now settled into her new job at E-Global Drilling Corporation and has the title of Procurement and Travel Administrator, very sophisticated indeed. Of course with the new job comes the inevitable new car and so tomorrow we become a family of two Peugeot's when Dee takes delivery of her new 207.

As for myself, as well as being a boat husband, I'm still into my conservation work at Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve and still spend several days a week on site. In fact the other members of the team are getting a little worried as I'll soon be taking over chain saw duties at the reserve, In order to qualify Ill be attending a five day course in October so hopefully that will abate thier fears.

Soon we will set off for a four day visit to France to visit Dee's mum and dad, and I'm personally looking forward to the fantastic cuisine over the period, shame the Cherry crop was ruined this year by the rains, I'll miss my pre dinner wander down the orchard. I also look forward to the birding and hopefully a bit of warmth as this month in the UK has been dreadful.

Looming fast is our trip to Canada at the back end of September, leaving from Heathrow for 2-weeks touring in a RV. The plan is to set off from Calgary, heading into the Rockies and from Banff, where we got married last year, the plan is to end up in Vancouver a fortnight later, taking in several National and Provincial Parks.

1st Anniversary

2010-05-31T21:19:00.016+01:00

Well it's been a considerable time since our last post and I did say that if there was anything worth posting about we would. Our trip to Spain and Portugal recently went exceptionally well, considering that the day before we were due to fly to Faro the airport was closed due to the ash cloud, and even during our weeks stay in Spain UK airports were also disrupted, including a closure at Birmingham.

Having arrived at Faro on May 13th we picked up our hire car for the week and headed across the border into Spain, then on to our destination at Isla Canela, about an hour later. We were booked into the Riu Atlantico Hotel a nice 4* hotel located next to the beach in this very idyllic part of Spain. On arrival the weather was decidedly chilly and as we explored the locality on our first evening fleece's were worn, by the time we left a week later temperatures were in the high 20s.

The holiday itself was mainly to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary, yes it's been a year, but Dee and I managed to establish a happy medium with lots of birding and various sightseeing. For our birding exploits you can visit my birding blog linked here. On our first day we visited Donana National Park, a huge expanse of natural lagoons and forests, ideal for birding. On the Saturday we stayed local with a walk around the marina and then took a short drive to nearby Isla Christina, apparently Spain's busiest fishing port. The weather had begun to improve with the fair weather cloud dissipating to produce a cloudless sky, fortunately it stayed that way for the rest of the holiday.

Sunday 16th was our anniversary and we took a lovely, if not long and tiring walk near the town of Castro Marim, having driven back across the border into Portugal. The evening was spent back at the hotel and a lovely dinner to celebrate in the restaurant, followed by more drinks in the bar later.

Monday we made our own pilgrimage to what has be to one of the most amazing towns in Spain called El Rocio. The El Rocío pilgrimage is the most famous in the region, attracting nearly a million people from across Andalucia and the entire country, and beyond. Every Andalucian city, town and village has its own pilgrimages, for its patron saint, virgin or other much-loved local figure. But the El Rocio has cult status, and is the most important and most colourful.
The town of El Rocío is a sprawling, pretty Wild-West-style place (you tie your horse to a wooden rail with a sign saying "Reservado Caballos" - reserved for horses - while you have a drink or a meal), with sandy, unpaved roads (easier on the hooves). For a few days in late May or early June, Catholic hermandades (brotherhoods) and countless others flock from all over Andalucia, Spain, and beyond, to the town, to pay tribute to the Virgin del Roció, housed in her own church in the town (pictured above).

A 2-hour drive to Seville (pictured top right) for sightseeing on the Tuesday with temperatures in the low 30s. A provincial capital, seat of the government and parliament of the Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía (Regional Government). It has more than 700,000 inhabitants, nearly half the population of the whole province. The city is located on the plain of the Guadalquivir river which crosses the city from North to South and there are a large number of churches, cathedrals and religious buildings to be found in this historic city, well worth a visit.
So a fantastic weeks holiday with some excellent birding and cultural visits, plus no problems whatsoever with our flights, sometimes I think were just blessed.

Blog on hold?

2010-03-29T09:39:00.004+01:00

Over dinner yesterday evening Dee and I had a quick conversation regarding our blog and the reasons why I hadn't updated it for a good while. Well to be honest I said, one of the main reasons was that the blog had originally been designed to keep our relatives and friends up to speed with our travels while moving around the waterways.

Although 'Quidditch' is our home we haven't had the opportunity to take her out for the past 2 summers, except for holidays and weekends, and so therefore there hasn't been much to report in that area. Trying to find material to blog about on everyday life issues such as work etc can be challenging, and boring too for our reader.

Currently I'm very heavily into my conservation work at Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve and Dee, who I'm proud to say has recently been head-hunted, is just about to start her new venture in the oil and diamond drilling industry, phew, that sounds impressive! Those who know me can see that all of my blogging time is now dedicated to my birding and conservation work, a blog which I call Birding Afloat and thoroughly enjoy producing and which surprisingly enough has many subscribers, including the RSPB and Wildfowl Trust.

So to the reader of this blog I can only apologise that the updates have been thin on the ground of late, but I can promise you that if anything of interest is worth blogging about, such as our next trip to Portugal and Spain and our tour of Canada in the autumn, I'll certainly let you know. This blog is not completely dead yet!

Another Year

2009-12-22T08:48:00.008Z

So here we are, almost at the end of another year and due to other commitments, not the very least getting married, I suddenly realise we've had very little time out on the cut this year.

Our travels have taken us to France several times to visit Dee's parents, which also included a visit aboard Narrowboat-Hoddydod with our dear friends Pat & John, where we cruised the Canal De Bourgogne and the River Soane. We also visited Dee's dad in Spain where we had an excellent time and Dee had a fantastic trip to Lapland earlier this month. Our close friend Dave has now returned from Dubai and positioned back to the Hague in Holland and while Dee was visiting her gran in Aberdeen on a couple of occasions I took the opportunity to visit him twice, dragging him around all the good birding sites of Holland!!
However, the highlight of the year was getting married in Banff, Canada, a wonderful experience, especially our trip aboard The Rocky Mountaineer and a real thanks must go to everyone for their gifts and best wishes, especially my best man Dave who flew out for a week to join us.

As far as Quidditch is concerned she had her regular bi-yearly hull blacking in April at Welford but now over 5 years old I'm sad to say that her beautiful paintwork is now beginning to bloom and lose that well polished shine. Having said that she's still immaculate inside and this spring it's my intention to bring her back to life externally with a good pampering and try and restore some of her original beauty. She still remains our home and we wouldn't change that for the world, living on the water was the dream and still remains so!

We're now settled into our Christmas cottage, mum @ 90 this year can't really manage hoping on and off the boat, and with more plans to visit France, Portugal and Canada once more in 2010 it only remains to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From Spain to France

2009-09-27T14:09:00.018+01:00

Over the past couple of weeks Dee and I have had an excellent time visiting relatives in Spain and friends in France!
Firstly we spent a week in Spain with Dee's dad Gordon (pictured with Dee) and his wife Jane in Torrevieja, a 45 minute drive from Alicante. We flew out to Alicante with Monarch from Birmingham on September 13th, returning the following week.

It was a good job we didn't visit Spain for the weather as we were treated to some spectacular thunderstorms on most evenings but the temperature remained comfortable throughout our stay and at least one of us (me!) took the option of a swim in the pool during our stay!

Early in the week we visited Gordon and Jane's new flat, which is on the 17th floor of an apartment block right in the centre of Alicante. A beautiful outlook (Pictured top-left with a good view of the bull-ring) but not something that really appealed to me as I'm terrified of heights!!

Having hired a car for the week we were able to spend some time at La Mata Natural Park Nature Reserve on a couple of occasions, a full report available on my Birding Blog. Midweek we went bowling with Gordon, Jane, Miranda, Dee's sister and her boyfriend Carlos. Both Dee and I played appallingly, however we did get our own back on the pool table later in the evening.
On our final night we were treated to an outstanding meal at The Budepest, a fantastic Hungarian restaurant on the outskirts of Torreveija. Disappointingly for me, due to horrible man-flu which I'd picked up earlier in the week I couldn't taste a damn thing!!
Thank you to Gordon, Jane and Miranda for a fantastic week and for looking after us so well.

After a few days back aboard Quidditch in the UK we took the Eurostar from the new International Terminal at Ebbsfleet on the 20th and picked up with our dear friends Pat & John in Dijon, after a further 2 hour rail journey. (pictured below) J & P have been our boating friends for over 4 years and in 2006 transported their narrowboat across the channel to Calais and have cruised the French system each summer ever since.

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After joining we cruised from Dijon aboard Hoddydod (pictured left) along the Canal De Bourgogne through to St Jean De Losne where we joined the River Saone and headed north. Unlike Spain the weather was absolutely outstanding with cloudless skies and temperatures in the mid 20's, which meant we could BBQ on two occasions. It's amazing how different the French system is in relation to our own with the French canals and rivers still being used commercially, there also a lot wider and therefore so are the boats! Having said that we encountered more narrowboats on the system since our last visit 2 years ago but as ever the narrowboats always get the attention! Our journey ended when we put in at St Jean De Losne on Friday afternoon, which is also HoddyDods home port. Yet another excellent week on the French system!

Autumn Looms

2009-08-26T18:55:00.005+01:00

Well as we head towards the autumn the best way to sum up the British summer so far is that it was a marked improvement on last year! Although writing this post you wouldn't think so as the remnants of Hurricane Bill passes over the UK.

Typical really as Dee and I prepare for an extended Bank Holiday Weekend on the cut, not that were going that far from Wigram's due to other commitments!

We've been married now for just over 3 months and I still can't get used to seeing Mrs Yates on various documents that drop in. I keep thinking why on earth is my mother having her post sent here. Only kidding Dee!! Seriously though Dee and I would like to thank everyone for their cards and gifts, some of which were incredibly generous.

Anyway as an update for the family, this September is a busy month with a trip to Spain, Torrevieja to be precise, for a short visit to see Dee's dad. Then a few days after returning we're off to France to visit our adopted parents Johnny and Pat on their narrowboat Hoddydod, currently moored in Paris, something we always look forward to. We'll probably stay until they get fed up with us!

Plans are currently underway for our return trip to Canada next September, having fallen in love with the country when staying in Banff for our wedding. This time the plan is to hire a couple of RV Motor homes and to travel from Calgary to Vancouver across The Rockies, taking in the National and Provincial Parks. Amazingly we'll be accompanied by the third member of this marriage, my best man Dave! We've already chosen our motor home, pictured above, and await his choice, so get your skates on Holloway!!

From a boating perspective the area remains extremely busy and for probably the first time since opening, Wigram's Marina will be almost to capacity by the time everyone puts in for the winter.

Great Escape

2009-07-03T08:07:00.013+01:00

During the recent heatwave Dee and I decided to escape the full sunshine we normally encounter at the marina for the relative coolness that comes from mooring under a large willow tree! With temperatures on board reaching a staggering 37C we decided to take action on Tuesday evening, living aboard a steel narrowboat does have the occasional downfall!

We moored at our favourite bridge 101, about an hours cruise from the marina towards Braunston and only a 7-minute walk to the nearest road bridge. This allowed us to have transport at our disposal, having strategically positioned our cars prior to departing. With Dee not rostered off work until this weekend this is an ideal location and also enables me to attend my voluntary duties at Brandon Marsh.

As coincidence would have it, friends of ours who we met when moored at the Thames & Kennet marina several years ago, and who live aboard their narrowboat NB-Nesta, were also in the vicinity and so for the duration we've enjoyed their company alongside. It was great to see them once more and we literally spent the few days together just chilling out on the towpath in the shade of the willow and barbecuing on the Wednesday evening. As Dee pointed out, last year we only managed to barbecue the once due to the poor summer but this year year we're already up to three!

The plan was to return to the marina today, Friday 3rd, due to other commitments and as luck would have it the weather finally broke, producing cooler conditions after heavy rain in the early morning. Having said our goodbyes to Graham & Hazel I took the cruise back to the marina single handed as Dee had left for work in pouring rain around 8am. Leaving at around 1.15pm the weather cleared nicely and the cruise back was a pleasant one arriving back at Wigram's at about 3pm in lovely sunshine.

French Weekend

2009-06-19T10:26:00.010+01:00

We arrived back aboard Quidditch at around midnight on Tuesday after our Ryanair flight from Poitiers, unusually without complaint!

We've just spent an excellent long weekend with Dee's mum and dad who live near Chavigny, France. This was obviously our first visit since getting married in May and so for me a first visit to the in-laws, they'll thank me for that one! Having retired to France several years ago Susan and Graham have been converting their house, which is now in the final stages of completion and looks really stunning. The house is set in beautiful grounds with a good number of fruit trees and I'm missing already my stroll around eating those delicious cherries prior to dinner.

Having arrived on Saturday evening we were treated to Champagne in celebration of our nuptials and as per usual an excellent dinner. On the Sunday Dee and I drove the two hours to La Rochelle (pictured) and spent the day sightseeing. La Rochelle is situated in south-western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, looking out on to the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed excellent weather with a temperature around 25C and after a long walk along the quay we took the little ferry across the bay and enjoyed some good food and beer in a bistro overlooking the harbour. In the evening we barbecued.

After breakfast on Monday we had a drive out towards Archigny but because of my usual birdwatching exploits, a drive which should have taken 10 minutes took well over an hour! You can read my thoughts on this by clicking on my birding blog in the side-bar. We took a diversion from our initial destination when we noticed a sign to Pinail Nature Reserve and were delighted with our discovery. The reserve, a result of millstone quarrying, has given way to a mosaic of over 3,000 ponds which are surrounded by moor and heathland rich in rare flora and fauna. Although the birding was fantastic the highlight were the Common Green Frogs, which have an incredible mating call, indescribable in writing. We had a brilliant couple of hours in showery conditions touring the reserve before moving on to our original destination of Saint Cyr Lake, a magnificent natural environment over 300 hectares, which includes a 85 hectare lake you can walk around. In the evening we barbecued once more and after an excellent dinner retired inside to inaugurate the new pool table which had just been installed, well done Graham on your win!!

Tuesday, our final day, started with a walk around the local area where we heard Nightingale singing and came across great numbers of butterfly, including one of my favourites, the Marbled White. The remainder of the day (28C) was spent out and about once more and this time we took a drive out into the Brenne National Park and after stopping on many occasions to take in the wildlife came across Reserve Naruralle Cherine. The main entrance to the reserve incredibly appeared to be closed but we did discover 2 hides we managed to visit. The first was notable for the many European Pond Tortoise which Dee really enjoyed and the second hide appeared to be the main one, with great views of a number of excellent species such as Great White Egret and a colony of noisy Black Headed Gulls. After returning to the house and packing for the flight home we enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner with some excellent home-made ginger beer.

Thank you to Susan and Graham for looking after us so well (as usual) the great food, wine and conversation and as ever the use of the car.

Rocky Mountaineer

2009-05-26T04:54:00.009+01:00

Our return to the UK on Sunday as a married couple begins a new era in our lives but we leave Canada behind with some vivid memories and an immediate passion to return. As yet I've not posted anything on one of the highlights of our trip The Rocky Mountaineer. The problem lies in the amount of information needed to describe such an incredible journey, the sights we encountered were altogether breathtaking. Below is the most briefest of descriptions.

Having spent our first couple of days sightseeing in Vancouver we arrived at the Rocky Mountaineer Station at around 6.30am on the 10th to board the train for our dream journey. Having received the traditional call of “all aboard” we took our seats as Gold passengers in the observation deck and enjoying bucks-fizz left for our first stop of Kamloops, which was approximately 10 hours away. We could not have asked for better weather, 20C and cloudless skies.

The Kicking Horse Route named for the pass over which it crosses the Canadian Rockies takes you between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Banff, Alberta. This route traces the historic transcontinental rail line that united Canada's East and West and includes, amongst other highlights, the legendary Spiral Tunnels.

Leaving the outskirts of Vancouver it wasn’t long before the snow-capped Coast Mountains came into view, soaring majestically to heights of over 9,000ft. After a breakfast of salmon, scrambled eggs and caviar, served in the lower deck, we continued our journey alongside the fast running Fraser River with breathtaking views, passing the famous Fort Langley en route. Continuing on we had great views of Mount Baker (10,778ft) which lies across the border in the USA and by this time we had already had sightings of several Bald Eagle and Osprey.

After lunch we left the Fraser River and began to follow the Thomson River that would accompany us through to Kamloops. Indeed the name Kamloops is an old First Nation word meaning joining of the rivers. Here the landscape took a distinct change, being slightly more baron and filled with Ponderosa Pine. It was shortly after this we first sighted a Black Bear, who was foraging alongside the river, an astonishing site! We arrived in Kamloops at 5.14 pm with vivid memories of some breathtaking scenery, incredible wildlife and were taken by coach to the Thomson Hotel after what can only be described as a most incredible day.

We were picked up at 6.15am the following morning and returned to the Mountaineer for day 2 of this inspiring journey. A short while after leaving we bid farewell to the Thomson River and joined the Eagle River which would accompany us for a short while. Later we passed the stone cairn of Craigellachie where the last railroad spike was driven linking Canada’s railway from coast to coast. The landmark is named after a large rock in Banffshire County, Scotland where Donald Smith, who drove in the last spike, had grown up.

Still enjoying stunning scenery we crossed the Columbian River, the 3rd largest in Canada climbing a further 2500ft where we encountered two more Black Bear. Shortly after, we crossed into Rocky Mountain country and incredibly the scenery became even more stunning. We eventually arrived in Banff, our chosen wedding venue, at around 5.30pm having had one of the most amazing experiences of our lives and one which will live forever.

Our route is perhaps the most scenic & certainly the most historically-significant route to choose, as it travels over the famous Canadian Pacific Railway, Canada's first trans-continental line opened in 1885. It's the original 'Rocky Mountaineer' route on which the company first started in 1990, when the last regular passenger trains on the line were discontinued. You'll pass Castle Mountain, the pretty station at Lake Louise, the continental divide, the much-photographed Stoney Creek bridge, the site of the 1885 'Last Spike' and the wonderfully-scenic Thompson & Fraser river canyons.

First Photos

2009-05-20T05:45:00.007+01:00

Hi everyone, managed to get a few photos uploaded! More to follow on our return.

Back @ the Hotel and the Ceremony on Bow River.

Mr & Mrs Yates

2009-05-19T15:33:00.003+01:00

Just a quick update on things in Canada as posting from my IPhone is a real chore!

Well I'm delighted to report that the wedding day went off without any drama and we are now a happily married couple. The weather leading up to the day was certainly a worry with a major snow storm only two days prior and the locals telling us that it's the worst May for many a year.

However, someone up there must have been watching and as by magic the temperature on Saturday went up by an astonishing 18c from Friday to 20C for the day, with a beautiful sunny sky.

We were married at a secluded spot we had chosen some days earlier next to the Bow River with the amazing Mount Rundle as a backdrop. The ceremony was informal, just as we'd wanted, and was performed by the local marriage commissioner, Patricia Compton, who was an absolute star! During the ceremony we were joined by two White Tailed Deer who had come to the river for a drink, an incredible sight and one that will live on forever.

We'll post lots of pictures upon our return but would like to thank everyone for their cards, emails, flowers and even phone calls wishing us well on the day and for the future.
As I write this post from the Fairmont Hotel, Lake Louise, looking down from our bedroom window I can tell you that the lake is frozen, the snow is once again falling and the temperature is 0C, which makes Saturday even more astonishing!

Best Mans Blog

2009-05-15T17:49:00.003+01:00

Our Best-Man Dave has produced his own personal blog for our trip to canada which can be viewed Here

Banff T-Minus 3 days!

2009-05-13T15:51:00.007+01:00

Greetings from Banff, Alberta (pictured), T-minus 3 more days to the wedding!
Well where do I start, our 2 day trip on the Rocky Mountaineer exceeded all expectations. Leaving Vancouver on day 1 of the rail trip the weather could not have been better. Clear blue skies and a temperature of around 15C left us with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, but more on this later.

On arrival in Vancouver we were upgraded to a Premium Room which meant the 27th floor overlooking the Harbour, the nearby Seaplane jetty and the Cruise Line Terminal. Once we'd dealt with the jetlag we spent our 2 clear days sightseeing using the city tour bus, which your able to hop on and off. We toured the excellent Granville Island which is a large harbour area hosting the cities market.
During our 2 days in Vancouver we also spent a good deal of time within Stanley Park, a huge area of woodland and sea views which boasts over 22 miles of nature walks. We were lucky enough to see Black Squirrel, Belted Kingfisher and our first Bald Eagle.

To sum up Vancouver it is a quite unremarkable city boasting the usual highrise office blocks and hotels but the harbour and surrounding mountains make it a wonderful place to spend a couple of days and the people are friendly too.
I'll post our experiences of the Rocky Mountaineer later as were now about to leave in our hired SUV for a tour of Banff, this will be to select the actual spot of our marriage on Saturday! Lets hope we dont get a similar days weather as yesterday when we had 3 inches of snow!!!

Our Big May Day

2009-05-01T10:12:00.015+01:00

May has finally arrived and what a month it's going to be for the Quidditch household! After almost 9 years this month will see Dee and I officially tie the knot in Banff Canada.

We fly out to Vancouver for 3 days before catching the Rocky Mountaineer for a 2 day rail trip to Banff, here we'll be married in the open air overlooking the Rocky Mountains. From Banff we set off to Lake Louise for our 4 day honeymoon, before driving up to Calgary for our return flight home!

April has been a more hectic month as you can imagine with both of us celebrating our final days of being single and completing the many tasks required to plan the trip. Dee spent an excellent weekend at a Hotel with friends enjoying food, wine and more wine, plus the usual facilities on offer at a spa hotel.

I on the other hand spent the weekend visiting my life long friend and best man in Holland (not Amsterdam!) enjoying some good food, conversation and plenty of cycling. Dee has made an amazing effort in planning the whole trip and wedding and I watched and listened in admiration as she went through a step by step itinerary yesterday evening.

April has also seen a continuation of my conservation work at Brandon Marsh. The fact that Dee has made things so painlessly easy over the month in the planning of the trip has meant that I was able to spend a considerable amount of time down there, as you may be aware if your a regular reader of my birding blog.

Finally thanks to P & D who'll be boat sitting for us while were away, watch my paintwork and keep an eye on the blog for updates while were in Canada, were very grateful to you both.

Done and Dusted

2009-04-07T22:33:00.012+01:00

Well we arrived back from our hull blacking this evening (April 7th) at around 5.30pm, having moored overnight at Bridge 100, in windy and tricky conditions. Fortunately we managed to back Quidditch on to our pontoon unscathed!

The return journey from Welford was uneventful, and we actually managed to complete both the Braunston and Crick tunnels without any oncoming traffic. Unfortunately, at the Watford Gap Flight we were held up, for what seemed an eternity, by a painstakingly slow hire boat coming up the locks! The hull blacking was completed according to schedule and as expected we also had to replace the tiller bearing, as it was absolutely shot.
As ever Les did an excellent all round job and when we arrived back from our hotel, having enjoyed excellent food, jacuzzi, sauna and swimming, Quidditch had already been re floated and was ready to go.

I also have to make comment on the cruising conditions of the Leicester Section of the Grand Union, which was literally a pig to navigate. With the water levels a good foot below what I believe to be the normal level, I found myself making constant tiller adjustments to stay in a straight line, on several occasions we were almost grounded. No one's fault, simply due I would imagine to the recent lack of rain.

Also a big hello to Del and Al, NB-Derwent6, who we passed coming through Braunston. Having had a brief hello in passing it appears they are both readers of our blog. Both Dee and I thought your boat was absolutely beautiful and good luck on your travels.

**Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday emails, cards and text messages, there very much appreciated.

Welford in a Day?

2009-04-01T19:21:00.007+01:00

With the dry dock booked for hull blacking this Thursday at the Welford Arm, we set off from Wigram’s yesterday evening and moored at our favoured bridge 100, this would give us a good start this morning.

Setting off at 9am under a cloudless blue sky we managed to complete the Braunston Flight of six locks in less than 90 minutes. Although the flight are double locks we went through alone as the canal was remarkably quiet. The next step of the journey was the Braunston Tunnel. Opened in 1796, to bore through the Northampton heights, the tunnel is 2042 yards long. Its construction was hindered by quicksands, and a mistake in direction whilst building has given it a slight S bend, so navigation is intersting. We almost managed to make it through without any oncoming traffic until literally 100 yards from the end, when two boats headed in.

We made a steady pace and took the turn at Norton Junction onto the Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal around 11.30am, and headed for Watford Gap Locks. Here we have to contact the lock keeper before proceeding as the six locks consist of a staircase of four, and the traffic either way is alternated.

We passed through without delay and then took the Crick Tunnel around 1.30pm, note to self: put a brolly up! 1528 yards long, this tunnel was opened in 1814. All tunnels built in this area suffered great problems in construction. As with the Braunston Tunnel, quicksand’s caused the route to be changed and greatly affected work. Stephenson also found similar difficulties when building the nearby Kilsby Tunnel for the London to Birmingham railway.

After emerging from Crick we made steady progress and finally moored for the day at Bridge 27, Mountain Barn Bridge, at 3.30pm. We may even have continued on, were it not for a lack of power, this due to the propeller having a substantial weed build up, probably due to this stretch being quite shallow at present. After mooring I took a nice walk through a local wood, and Dee had a nap, having worked most of the locks alone she deserved it too!
Anyway, only six miles to complete in the morning, and a great effort to get this far in such a short time!

Another Month!

2009-02-28T11:00:00.012Z

As another month passes by and the daffodils and crocus are starting to appear are we in for another cold spell to the beginning of March? The much milder second half of February that we are experiencing continues through to the end of the month before the new month brings a pattern change. Even some significant accumulations of snow are on the cards once more in a very unsettled start! In like a lion and hopefully out like a lamb so the saying goes.

Anyway for the first time this year we've been out onto the system having been unable to travel due to the icy conditions of previous weeks. I took the cruise out alone on Sunday as Dee was working but now she has her own set of wheels things are much simpler. Mooring up around bridge 101 enabled Dee to drive over afterwards, parking at a spot which is a 10 minute towpath walk to our 3 day mooring. We had an excellent 3 days with only about a dozen boats passing us during our stay. A pleasant change to the hoards of weekend traffic that now appear on this particular stretch. What was striking is the amount of work now being carried out by British Waterways (pictured) in relation to tow path repair. The banks looked in far better condition than on previous cruises and a lot of armco metal protection was being installed. However, no room for complacency as a lot more work is still required.

For me my conservation work is still continuing in earnest at Brandon Marsh and I find myself spending more and more time on the reserve. I'm now looking forward to the coming months as the other team members tell me that as Spring arrives, naturally so do our Summer resident birds. I look forward with great anticipation.
We made our annual jaunt to the National Boat and Caravan Outdoor Show at the Birmingham NEC on the 18th and were not really surprised to find a somewhat smaller show. Having said that the displays of narrowboats on offer seems to have increased, a sign of hard selling in difficult times maybe!

For those of you subscribers to our blog who are interested in how the heating is going (Johnny for one) I can report that a breakdown of 2 hours is the only hitch this winter. A choked up glow plug and wick being the downfall on this occasion. The Kabola however is another matter with regular cleaning required, even though I fully serviced it in October. A real fire installation draws ever closer.
A far as Red Diesel is concerned and the loss of our rebated price last November we are not suffering as yet. Currently we are using all purchased supplies for heating, with the exception of last weeks cruise and in fairness to our marina are getting a further 10p a litre discount as a moorer, 57P the current price for heating. To avoid any confusion and not having a second fuel tank I've safely rigged up a double jerry can system into the engine bay compartment and am using this solely to feed the Mikuni central heating system. It works perfectly with a weekly top up.

Well not much more to report for February, the wedding plans for Canada in May are on track and Dee is flying off to Scotland for the week so It will be birding all the way for me next week. That's the feathered kind of course!!! Talking of which I'm delighted to have completed my new birding blog which can be accessed here or from the side bar.

Time Well Spent

2009-01-29T19:16:00.014Z

Just prior to Christmas I was lucky enough to discover a group of individuals who give up there time every Thursday and spend the daylight hours maintaining the excellent Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve(pictured).

Located on the banks of the River Avon near Coventry the group are known as The Brandon Marsh Voluntary Conservation Team. I decided to give it a go and join up and I have not been disappointed! Every Thursday since mid December I've reported for duty and given up my time along with the other members to tend the woods & marshes of the reserve. I've met some wonderful people over the weeks and have been literally inspired by the commitment & enthusiasm of the members. I was shocked by one member today who informed me that he was just about to turn 70. Another of the long term members & founders of the team is an amazing 82 years young. Looking at the before and after photographs of the reserve and seeing it first hand its plain to see what an astonishing difference the team have made over the years. Quite literally extra land leased to the reserve by Warwickshire council known as Newlands has been turned from woodland into a thriving marshland. This has allowed species such as Bittern, Cetti's Warbler and Barn own, the latter of which bred last year in the newly placed Owl boxes, to flourish.
I joined with an open mind and with the intention of learning at least 3 new things every visit. I've already lost count. Being an enthusiastic birdwatcher I also join a number of the members every Tuesday for a trek around the reserve and have so far been lucky enough to see Bittern and Water Rail, two species not on my Life List. Over the weeks I've re-established my love of birdwatching and thanks to other members can now identify more species by call. This post is a thank you to the team for allowing me to be a part and being able to make a difference.
I'm now joined by another member of the boating fraternity who decided to accompany me last week and has also got the bug.

Big Freeze Continues

2009-01-06T17:28:00.004Z

Well we're now almost 7 days into the new year and still waiting for the temperature to struggle above freezing at night.

The ultimate was last night we're the on-board weather station recorded a temperature of -9.8C. As you can see from the picture the marina currently resembles a scene from the Arctic. The ice in the foreground was churned up by one of our 'Ice-Breaker' boats and I measured it at almost 2 inches thick!
Always one for a challenge I took the opportunity to break out myself and plough through the 250 yards to the marina office for water & diesel, the jetty water points are naturally frozen and currently switched off so we were getting desperately low on water. Probably just as well that Quidditch is due for hull blacking in the Spring as the hull took a total battering during the short voyage! I have to say that being literally frozen in is quite an experience and one we've encountered before but not for such a sustained period. Things literally do go bump in the night.
Around 4am this morning we we're woken by a loud bang that seemed to vibrate through the whole boat, almost as though someone had ploughed into us. I can only surmise that the ice has somehow compacted around us and then crushed under the pressure. It happened again around an hour later.
Anyway I'm delighted to report that our central heating is performing beyond expectations, last year the system literally failed once a week but since I completely rebuilt the thing in November it's not failed us once. Our Kabola Diesel fire literally runs 24/7 and sustains an on-board temperature of around 23C, dropping to about 18C in the early hours before the heating cuts in.

Wigram's Xmas Dinner 08

2008-12-12T10:40:00.007Z

A good time was had by all at the first Wigram's Turn Marina Xmas Dinner.

Is that 2 bottles of wine or 4 Michael?

Having now been part of marina communities for a little over 4 years Dee and I thought it was about time we sprang into action to arrange our first Wigram's Xmas dinner. Having had a successful BBQ at the marina this summer hosted by the management and the hope of possibly more events arranged by the moorers, things seemed to come to a grinding halt.
Wigram's is home to nearly 200 narrowboats and is split into 2 main sections, the 'East Side' and the 'West Side'. Located on the West Side it's normal for us to meet other's who are located nearby however, the East Side remains a mystery!! We often see mysterious figures silhouetted against the full moon shuffling down the East pontoons wondering "Who the hell is that" or "What are that lot up to over there". Of course we do class the West Side as the upper crust of the Marina!
But seriously though such is the build of the marina that you can literally go a whole year without meeting other moorers. What better way to get to know them than to arrange a little get together. So on Thursday December 11th the very first Wigram's Xmas Dinner was held at the Boat Inn, Stockton. A big thanks to Tina & Paul the landlords of the Boat and their hard-working staff and & big thanks to Brian our excellent marina manager for laying on the transport. Notable absentee's were James & Claire off NB-Radish who unfortunately were unable to join us. Get well soon chaps. I've put a montage of photographs, at least the one's that weren't blurred, into our album. You can get a bigger version of the photo's by clicking HERE. and then just click on the image you want to resize.

Quidditch First?

2008-11-15T08:56:00.007Z

Is Quidditch the first Narrowboat in the UK to be equipped with Radar?

Being a real flight enthusiast and if the truth be known a bit of a 'geek' I couldn't resist the purchase of the latest in new technology.
AirNav RadarBox is the closest you can be to real world aviation without leaving your chair thanks to next generation Radar decoding. By decoding *ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast) radar signals I'm able to see on my computer screen what real Air Traffic Controllers see on their screens and in Real-Time. Flight number, aircraft type, altitude, heading, speed are all updated each second. Included is the award winning software interface developed by the world's leader in flight tracking and monitoring solutions, Airnav Systems. If you click on the screen shot above you can see the information as it's displayed on my computer.
You'll notice in the centre of the screen a + sign denoting the exact position of Quidditch which I'm able to obtain from my on-board GPS. By coincidence our mooring appears to be almost in the exact centre of England! I's amazing how busy the skies are above us. The right hand screen shows all aircraft in 'real-time' who are equipped with *ADS-B that are within the range of my aerial, which quite frankly is astonishing considering where actually in a dip. Then again these aircraft are anything between 1,000 & 40,00ft.
The left hand screen has the information for each aircraft in more detail, this also includes all aircraft that are not equipped with *ADS-B but are within range. Uniquely too the program actually downloads a photograph of the specific aircraft and adds it to my database. In the example the highlighted aircraft is Continental Airlines which as you can see is travelling from Houston to Paris. I was actually able to locate and see this aircraft through my binoculars.
On to other matters and just a quick thanks to Johnny & Pat who joined us at Dee's holiday cottage last week to celebrate Dee's **th birthday. Great to see you guys as ever and were already looking forward to New Year Eve. By the way the pictures are on the way.

Red Diesel

2008-10-19T11:27:00.007+01:00

Well as November 1st looms ever closer and the world as we know it for us narrow boaters changes forever I thought it would be worth putting the official word on Red Diesel pricing!

The final announcement on red diesel has been greeted with confusion from some boaters but the authorities are hoping owners will act responsibly to ensure the new system runs without hitches.

The system requires private boat owners to declare, every time they fill up, what percentage of fuel they will be using for propulsion and what for domestic purposes, such as heating. The retailer will calculate the duty according to each declaration. The system is clearly open to abuse but confirming the new rules at the PSP Southampton Boat Show the British Marine Federation (BMF), RYA (Royal Yachting Association) and Inland Waterways Association (IWA) warned HM Customs & Excise do have powers of investigation if they hear of dubious claims. The authorities also said the system might be tweaked after the first few months if necessary.

The new system comes into being on 1 November 2008, after the European Commission decided last year that private leisure boaters in the UK could no longer use low-duty diesel. Ironically, since that decision was made, the price of waterside diesel has rocketed at many marinas to a point where the new full-duty prices will be barely noticeable for some. However the change in price could force some owners to seriously restrict or change their boating habits, as a litre of red diesel for propulsion purposes will now cost at least the same as a a litre of roadside diesel. Red diesel for non-propulsion purposes will be sold at the current lower-duty rate.

The statement released by the BMF, RYA and IWA reads as follows.

"Following extensive cooperation with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), private pleasure craft owners will be able to continue to use red diesel for propulsion use, but at a modified duty rate. Red diesel at a rebated rate will still be available for domestic purposes, such as heating and lighting. Recreational boaters will declare the percentage of fuel to be used for propulsion and domestic use respectively. HMRC have provided advice on calculating this percentage spilt which includes the following: 'It is for the purchaser to declare the percentage of fuel used for propulsion. However, analysis by both the industry and HMRC suggests that a split of 60% for propulsion and 40% for domestic use (heating, cooking etc) probably reflects most people's use and it is therefore likely that many users will declare such an apportionment. 'Registered Dealers in Controlled Oils (RCDO) will need to account to HMRC for any additional duty they receive from recreational boaters. RCDOs already owe a general duty of care to ensure that they only make supplies of controlled oil for legitimate uses. Howard Pridding, Executive Director of the BMF said: "While no-one is going to pretend that the duty increase on red diesel is a good thing, we are pleased that HMRC has provided a simple and user friendly framework for suppliers and boaters. Availability was a key concern so we are particularly pleased that recreational craft users and fuel suppliers can continue to use red diesel. "HMRC has listened to the concerns of industry and boaters and has produced a manageable solution to an unwelcome but unavoidable change in the law." Gus Lewis, Legal and Government Affairs Manager at the RYA added: "The UK Government and HMRC have consistently supported us on the red diesel issue, including seeking (albeit unsuccessfully) an extension of the UK's derogation for the use of red diesel that expired on 31 December 2006. "We hope the framework will reduce disruption for boaters and suppliers and help mitigate the impact of the change in duty."

Well there is is! We shall see as the months progress how the new system pans out.