Category Archives: BCN

Making A Start. 18th October

London / Sheepcote Street Bridge to Lister Street Bridge, Birmingham and Fazeley Digbeth Branch.

**Today’s M&S brunch had a Christmasy feel to it**

Another early start, a cuppa, a brief chat with Andrew and Jac and time for a cuddle with Finn their cat before we headed to catch a bus making our way back to Marylebone Station and then on to Birmingham. Another morning for an M&S sandwich brunch. I did pretty well with my knitting, however I discovered that I was about to run out of one of the colours, so I had to stop with only a few rows to go. More yarn was required from the big drawer under our bed on the boat.

Back on board Oleanna we heard what Tilly had been up to, something to do with Westlife coming round for some Dreamies, but I’m not too sure about that! A change of clothes and we were ready to push off, our four days mooring about to elapse, plus we also wanted to start our departure from Bumingham.

**Going down the top lock of Farmers Bridge**

No news had come through about Lock 17 on the Lapworth flight, next update due tomorrow. If we set off in the direction of King’s Norton Junction it would be sods law that the lock wouldn’t be mended for another week. So instead we committed ourselves to the longer way round to reach the South Stratford Canal via the Birmingham and Fazeley, Framers Bridge, Ashted Locks, Ashted Tunnel! Then onto the Grand Union and Camp Hill Locks, Knowle down to meet the South Stratford at Kingswood Junction.

**Looking up the flight from the second one down**

I walked ahead to get the top locks set for us whilst Mick paused to dispose of rubbish. Two CRT fundraisers were chatting to people at the top of Farmers Bridge, they’d signed four people up today, a reasonable day for them and so long as the sun shone it was fine. With the top lock full and the gate open I headed on down to set the next lock. Apparently there had been a boat a couple of hours earlier going down, the flight was to be their first flight, their first lock ever.

Soon into our routine for the flight, me walking down to the next but one lock to lift a paddle to fill it, on the way back the next lock was already full so the top gate could be opened, back to the lock above where Mick had brought Oleanna in, closed the top gate, lowered the off side paddle, then he lifts the one bottom paddle before stepping back on board. It’s quite a good division of labour, means I get lots of steps in and means you tend to make use of the water you are bringing down with you.

A lady stopped and opened a top gate for me then she walked up to give us a hand with gates. Her boat was round on Oozels Street Loop and she’d just been to the Pen Museum, one we’ve yet to visit. Thank you for your help and nice to have a chat for a while.

**And from the other side, but dark though**

Obligatory photos were taken with the BT tower and Oleanna in her new livery.

The flats that had to have their cladding replaced are no longer covered in scaffolding. They now have a fake wood cladding, a section of which had already broken off.

At a couple of locks the boat ahead had left a paddle up, easily rectified. Another lock had a yellow CRT Aware label saying that the paddle was out of action. As I walked down past the lock under the building to the one below I could see there were three such yellow lables. One on the paddle, which was up, another two on the bottom gate beam and handrail. To me that meant the paddle even though up was out of action. The pound above was really low, by at least 3ft a sign saying to leave the lock empty at all times on the top lock beam. We’d need to fill the lock quickly and move down swiftly I thought, no setting ahead, well we were nearly down the majority of the flight anyway.

I set the lock filling and went back up to explain to Mick about the levels. I emptied the lock Oleanna was in. There was a shout from Mick, Oleanna was starting to list, sat on something! I closed the paddles, then gently let water back into the lock from above. I closed the top lock gate on the lock below. Then Mick suggested seeing if I could close the paddle with the yellow label on it.

Derrrr! Of course it closed, it had been left up by the boat ahead, possibly to help keep the lock empty or maybe just by mistake. If it hadn’t had the yellow label on it I’d have done it before now! We started to let water run down through the lock above to try to improve the level in the pound. I could now see another boat coming up towards us, best stop them from using the lock ahead of us. I went down to explain and suggested they wait in the lock they were coming up. One chap went up the locks to run more water down from above. Then a lady arrived, learnt what was happening, there was now another boat sat below the lock one boat was in, they’d be able to get both their boats in the pound for us to get passed. Hmm, maybe not such a good idea three boats in one pound!

**Safely across and going down the troublesome lock that has a leak on the quadrant wall**

The levels were starting to look better. I refilled the lock below, and opened the gate, then we gently emptied the lock Oleanna was in, me stood ready to close a paddle should she ground again. Thankfully no such problem this time, Mick moved her from one lock to the next. Phew! Now we just had to get past the other two boats. The one in the lock was brought out into the pound, their boat too long to pull into the towpath, but Mick managed to pull out of the lock and slightly across the way to then give them enough room to go into the lock above. The boat that had been sat below the lock gates, apparently in a narrow bit so it would have to come up (?) was actually pulled back out of the bridge hole to make room for us.

Both of the boats were Canal Time boats, far shallower draft than Oleanna. They’d be fine going up once the levels had been sorted a bit more. I reassured one lady who thought they’d be stuck mid flight overnight. It might take them a couple of hours to get to the top with both boats, but their pub meal and pints would be extra deserved this evening.

We worked our way down the remaining locks without incident. Another paddle having a yellow label as it was out of action. As we rounded the bend at Aston Junction we could see the narrowboat we’d been following down the flight. They’d just entered the top lock, 7 more to go before they’d find moorings by Rocky Lane Bridge. Not much further for us, we pulled in in front of Aston University Buildings, this would do us for the night.

Some lock crew baking was required, followed by a chicken going in the oven to roast, after all it had been quite a long time since our M&S brunch!

**2 not 3 faulty paddles on the flight**

13 locks, 1.6 miles, 1 bus, 2 tubes, 1 train, 1 exited cat, 2 boaters eager to get on, 1 seriously low pound, 3 yellow labelled paddles, 2 uphill boats, 1 very tight squeeze past, 2 boy racers, 1 cake, 1 roast chicken, 2 boaters wanting a lie in please!

https://what3words.com/drips.salt.smoke

Oh, BUM! 14th October

21 with 4. 13th October

Post In A Boot. 8th August

Boughton Road Bridge to Barley Mow Moorings

An earlier train to Rugby today. I got to the station in very good time, I might even have been able to catch the train before the one I’d planned, but that was running very late and still hadn’t arrived by the time my train was wending it’s way in towards Birmingham.

HS2 has sections of viaduct now visible from the train. Four structures sit high heading to pass the old Curzon Street Station building which currently sits surrounded by fencing with dumper trucks moving shades of brown stuff around it. The tram obliged and arrived a minute after I had and whisked me to Brindley Place.

Athletics on the big screen and billowing deck chairs. Boats were departing the moorings, 2 for Farmers Bridge and one heading off towards the Soho Loop. A couple untied their boat, bow hauled it away from Sheepcote Street Bridge. They moved a boats length then stopped two bollards between themselves and the next boat. I counted paces as I passed, 16! I almost made a comment that ‘My boat wouldn’t fit in that git gap’, but refrained as I know they’d have replied that there was plenty of space elsewhere, which there was, but come late afternoon there might not be for a late arriving boat.

Today at the dentists I saw Tom the hygienist. It’s the third or fourth time I’ve seen him. On our first meeting his rocking from foot to foot and scrumishing his hands together whilst he talked slightly worried me, now he makes me think of a Hamster waiting for a fresh toilet roll or some nice sunflower seeds to come his way.

A peek from Liberty Place Footbridge before heading for the train. NB Waterway Routes was at home, the back doors open. I knew I’d be told off by Paul if I didn’t say hello, but it was just a touch too far to shout. Mick was slow to respond with a phone number and it was starting to rain. I waved even though I knew I’d not be seen and headed back to New Street Station before getting too wet.

**It’s going to have an empty life as it was out of service!**

After lunch and with Tilly home it was raining properly, but we really wanted to move. Up to the water point to fill up, dispose of yellow water and watch a chap walk across to the car park with one of those big chunky C&RT posts with mooring signs on it. He then popped it in the boot of his car. It did look like it had a rotten base and had fallen over, wonder where he took it?

Not far to travel today, just another mileish to the Newbold moorings near the Barley Mow, plenty of room there. Tilly was given shore leave and we rang the pub to reserve a table. Maybe we needn’t have done so as there was no competition for seats, once Lizzie had arrived there were four punters in the pub. Maybe it was good that we had booked as they didn’t close their kitchen early.

A Barley Burger and two rump Steaks. Just as good as two years ago, the plates just as cold too! We had a lovely evening with Lizzie, more time to be able to chat than at her birthday party a few weeks ago. She’s promised to come out and see us somewhere as we head northwards.

***And me! Happy International Cats Day!!***

0 locks, 1.4 miles, 2 trains, 2 trams, 1 hamster, 0 Darth Vader, 1 wave, 1 huge loop missed, 1 slightly wobbly head, 2 pills, 3rd visit to Tescos,1 burger, 2 steaks, 6 onion rings, 1 boat free to carry on northwards, 1 boater enjoying walking again.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/5SgnXSMDQSdDxd9FA

A Hive Of Activity. 7th August

Boughton Road Bridge

Up early and walking to the station, walking pole in hand for support. It was my turn for the dentist today and we’d decided instead of going into Bumingham we’d skirt round the city.

**Who knew spark plugs were pink? I didn’t**

I managed the 0.6 miles walk to the station reasonably well, it took longer than normal, but I was happy. Train then tram to Brindley Place. I had quite a bit of time on my hands, so instead of heading straight to the surgery I opted to see how busy the canals were.

A large screen was in Brindley Place showing the Olympics to rows of empty billowing deckchairs. Four five boats opposite Lego, others may have moved off this morning. Through Sheepcote Bridge looked a touch busier, but round Oozells street loop was empty.

Ten volunteers were busy weeding and digging around the wooden bee sculpture, a hive of activity!

Then up to the dentists to sit and wait for my check up. I had a couple of things for Colin, they were checked over made note of, but no action required. Then he told me that he was moving to the West Country, family things, this would be my last appointment with him. Oh blimey, I’ve just got my trust back with dentists after a very long period of avoiding them at all costs, now I’m going to have to build up a relationship with someone else. I wish him well, family life seems to take over when you reach a certain age.

**That octagonal building’s coming along**

My hygiene appointment had been booked for Saturday, the nearest the could give me ten days ago, but a cancellation was available tomorrow morning. I checked I’d not be spending huge amounts on train fares and accepted it, this would give us two more days cruising rather than sitting around Rugby.

**Bit hard when your dentist is leaving**

Back to New Street. I’d actually managed to get in and out of the station this time without getting lost, quite important as I didn’t want to use too many steps. Ozzy still towers over the station, looked like a touch of theatrical oil might help with his mechanical knee.

The train back was followed by trying to sus out the buses. But there was only one within half an hour that would leave me with a big walk back to the canal anyway, so I opted to take it steady and walked.

Whilst I was in Bumingham Mick had been busy. Our house insurance runs out soon. Having lodgers the last few years has slightly complicated our policy and each year there have been different things we have had to abide by. For the first few years one night out of sixty one of us had to sleep in the house. Then we were made aware last year that we couldn’t have three lodgers at a time. This only comes up occasionally, but would be handy if we could accommodate a third person as there are three bedrooms. Mick tried last year to resolve this and ended up getting a quote from a broker, an extra £600! We opted to stay with just two. Today he found the right person to talk to at LV, the policy is £200 more, but it includes plumbing and drain insurance which we have elsewhere for £200!

**More painkillers and another drug to counter act the side effects**

He’d also been to Tescos to collect the click and collect order and a prescription of more pain killers for me. Just need a prescription for him and then we’ll be all drugged up and ready to go.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2nd visit to Tescos, 2 trains, 2 trams, 7000+ steps, 1 pole for support, £6, 10 volunteers, £600 insurance, 3 lodger possibility, 84 more pills, 1 tiresome towpath.

Is This REALLY BUMingham? 6th May

St Vincents Street Bridge Moorings

Hang on! I thought they said they’d tied up that BUMingham outside!?! Too few bricks to be BUMingham. Maybe She can’t navigate so well anymore.

Our neighbours were due to depart around 9, so we needed to be up and dressed. Tilly was given the rules and the back door opened up for her to explore. There may be trees here and quite a lot of friendly cover, but the towpaths of Birmingham are busy with runners, cyclists and woofers. NO chance of a stamp of approval here!

We had a cuppa onboard Oleanna and pointed out moorings to Clare and Graeme in their Pearsons guide. They are headed towards Crick and had been concerned about how long it would take to get there. A look on Canal plan last night suggested they’d need to do under 2 hours of cruising a day to arrive in time for the show. They could take it easy and hopefully we’ll be able to catch them up too.

As NB Lottie Jane moved away Tilly was encouraged back on board, we untied and pulled Oleanna up onto the last rings on the moorings. A space large enough for a boat infront of us, so no git gap. The doors were opened again, Well this outside isn’t as good as the last one! A slow morning, catching up on blog writing, this was at first slightly problematical as Oleanna’s router seemed to have died last night, Mick occasionally resets the router and last night it didn’t power up again. Time to teather to a phone.

**Taking it to bits, but would it go back together again?**

The theory was that the switch was maybe faulty, so he took it to bits to see if a piece of wire could be used to get it working again, but it was deemed too complicated to try, turning circuit boards over, disconnecting everything and then it still may not have worked. Time for a new router, the last one had served us for seven years after all.

Not just a simple case of buying one off the shelf, it needed to work on 12 volts, which doesn’t tend to be noted on the Argos website or the outside of the box. Would they allow him to open the box to see? We both went for a walk into the city, I had some secret mission to do myself, it being May!

I left Mick to it and headed off towards the Bull Ring. Here there were so many people! Just what were people queueing for? Wing Stop had a controlled queue that zigzagged round, the store full. Chicken wings must be a favourite round here.

Another queue was outside a new cafe EL & N, it has only been open for three weeks. Billed as the most Instagrammable cafe in the world it is very pink! Flowers cover the walls. I peeked in through the window at the wonderful looking cakes. No I didn’t go in, no lables for anything glutenfree. A later look on their website and despite a huge menu with the usual thing about allergens, there were only two items on the whole menu marked as gluten free, plus they automatically add a 12.5% service charge to your bill! But should you want a cubed croissant and can cope with gluten this looks like the place to go, certainly many thought it was worth queueing for.

**Cambrian Wharf used to be filled with boats**

I picked a few items and several birthday cards, May is very busy for birthdays, then dropped into Tescos for a few bits before heading back to Oleanna. My route took me around Cambrian Wharf. The mooring durations have changed in Birmingham this year. The pontoons used to be half longterm moorings and half visitors. Today only three boats were moored up, it’s now all longterm mooring, although the space alongside the top Farmers Bridge Lock is 4 days. Most of the central moorings are now 4 days during the main season (April to October) and 14 during the winter months. Where we are moored is 14 days all year. Double check the signage, a quick glance may have you thinking you could stay for 14 days as 4 day moorings are not often seen on the network. The new mooring times will be reviewed again next January.

Mick had been shown a router at Argos, but not been allowed to open the box to check if it was suitable for our needs. So there was nothing for it but to get on a bus to a Currys. Here the shop assistant took the wrapper off and opened up the box. Marvellous it ran on 12volts, SOLD! However when back onboard Oleanna it required a a different power plug which fortunatly Mick was able to sort. £85 and slightly quicker and still able to use the same external aerial. He had considered a 5G router, but they are still a touch too expensive.

This evening yarn has been selected for sock pair 19. I’m hoping to create something Joyous and musical with this pair, maybe adding a little bit of embroidery ontop.

0 locks, 40ft pulled up, 1 puzzled cat, 1 farrrr too busy outside, 1 rendez vous planned, 1 dead router, 1 supermarket order altered for collection, 2 buses, 1 alive router, 4 birthday cards, 1 bag of secret things, 0 treats to eat, 3 leeks, 1 pot humous, 2 rows or 3? 2.

Sign Posts Everywhere. 5th May

Urban Moorings to St Vincent Street Moorings, BCN Main Line

Two boats came past at 7:15 both hire boats obviously travelling together, we suspect they’d picked them up yesterday and made it up the flight before setting off early early this morning, maybe they were hoping to complete the Curley Wurley by lunchtime! As we had breakfast another hire boat came past, I suspect that is the quota for this canal for a week.

The Geraghty zoom subjects included Atlanta versus New York, Swedish Butter, Posse of Thrushes and checking the football fixture lists. One subject did make us concider extending our cruising this year, it would most probably mean we’d end up stoppage dodging, we’ll see.

Originally we’d planned on taking our time heading into Birmingham, a stop here another there for a supermarket delivery, but last night that changed, we’d be heading into the city today. A quick goodbye to Jennie and the others at Urban Moorings before we reversed back to the junction. Three years ago we’d only just managed to wind at the basin, today Jennie warned us it would be a lot harder now due to increased silt, so back we went passing the first Canadian Goose creshes we’ve seen this year.

Back on the Old Main Line we cruised southwards, the sun was out gradually warming up the world. Now which way to go? To reach Birmingham we’d need to descend through three locks, but which three locks should we choose today?

Factory Locks. The first option, then we’d have a long run on the New Main Line, straight, 3/4 mile shorter than the other options, a kind of motorway of it’s time.

Brades Locks. Further along the Old Main Line which would have us cross over the top of Netherton Tunnel Branch before dropping down a staircase of two and a single lock. Then the New Main Line would see us into Birmingham.

Smethick Locks. All the way along the Old Main Line, travelling under the M5, crossing over the New Main Line before dropping down onto the New at Smethick Locks.

As we’d usually split the journey somewhere we decided to go for the quickest route today, it would still be getting on for 5.5 hours. Thankfully the pounds between the locks were full, so were the locks making for an easy quick passage down. A young girl and her dad helped with the gates meaning I could hop on without closing the bottom gate.

The number of junctions we passed today. So many sign posts. I remember thinking the first time we came through on NB Winding Down that it was all so confusing. Loops to here and from there, arms going off, bridges that now led to nowhere. Now it all makes sence and as we approach Spon Junction we immediatly call out SPONNNNNNNNN!!!!!

The gauging islands slowed our progress greatly, especially at one where a boat was moored blocking one side. The stern was tied to a tree, bow pointed towards the middle island, possessions and three dogs sunned themselves whilst the owner was sanding things down for painting on the boat. I supose their possessions were safe where they were being guarded by the woofers.

Up ahead two trip boats crossed by the Soho and Icknield Loops. More buildings have gone up since last year. We were getting closer, almost there.

The end of the St Vincent Street moorings came into view. I checked my phone to check we’d be pulling in behind NB Lottie Jane. The colours were right from the photo I had, then up popped a head, yep it was the right boat. We pulled in just off the moorings at the stern and were greeted by Graeme and Clare with big New Zealand hugs.

Back in 2019 we had shared the locks down into Manchester with Graeme and Clare who had borrowed a friends boat for a couple of months, NB Mr Blue Sky. We have kept in touch ever since and this year they are back over from New Zealand, borrowing another friends boat for a couple of months. Our speeding up into Birmingham was so we could meet up with them. Long chats over a cuppa, discusions of their planned route and maybe meeting up again.

There was still far more to chat about so we headed into town to Barajee for some food. Blimey Birmingham was LOUD!!!! All the bars were heaving, DJ’s blasting out from open windows, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was playing at the Arena. We’ve never heard Birmingham so loud, not even during the World Cup a few years ago. Clare and Graeme had chosen their mooring wisely for the Bank Holiday Weekend. It was a lovely evening with good food as ever at Barajee, so glad we’d managed to catch our friends up.

3 locks, 12.3 miles, 1 reverse, 1 wind, 9 striaght ons, 2 rights (or was it 1 right and 1 left?), 2 tunnels, 2 unders, 1 lunch on the go, 1 island workshop, 1 lime, 1 coconut, 2 New Zealanders back on a boat, 4 for curry, 1 very very noisy city, 1 bored loney cat!

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gSCcCrbrtCYgT1jj9

All Bar Two. 4th May

Between Bridges 7 and 8 Shropie to Urban Moorings, Wyrley and Essington Canal, BCN

A short distance further on there was a winding hole, time to turn around. Through Bridge 8 is the first cutting of the Shroppie. All of the cuttings have large trees clinging on to the banks either side, landslips quite a common occurance. For a while the towpath along this stretch has been closed, not that you’d know it with the number of walkers bypassing the fences! A tree had come down and then a very large crack in the towpath were taped off. Nothing the size of the landslip on the north Oxford or further along the Shroppie, but still another section for C&RT to mend.

We winded and then headed back to Autherley. The stop lock was busy, one boat coming onto the Shroppie and another winding on the Staffordshire and Worcester. When it was our turn for the lock we dropped off some rubbish at the bins then turned right back onto the Staffordshire and Worcester, then left to start our ascent of the Wolverhampton 21.

The first two locks were full. Did these locks leak on the top gates, or were we following someone up the flight? At the third lock I noticed that as I wound the bottom gate paddles up, accumilated rain water from last night that had been gathered in the cogs. I looked on ahead there was a boat. After zooming in on them I worked out that they were also climbing the locks, they were also the first boat through this morning. They’d had the advantage of most if not all the locks being empty. Oh well I’d be emptying them all for us.

I used to stand on the bottom gates and push one side open with a kick, but my knees this year have already told me this would be unwise. Not many of the bottom gates actually have a handrail anyway, so today there was a lot of walking round locks to be done.

**Stepping off to close the offside gate**

The sun was out, it started to warm up. On locks where Mick could step off below and bring a rope up with him, we adopted this to save me walking round the lock to close the bottom gates. Oleanna obliged by entering the locks on most occasions, but on two the depth over the bottom cill must have been very slight as she stopped part way into the lock.

At lock 17 we met a downhill boat, 16 would be empty for us. I spotted the remaining palm trees mentioned in NB Bonjour’s blog from a week ago. At lock 15 a lady stood and watched, she then had a go opening and closing the bottom lock gate. We made her day.

Maybe breakfast should have been suplimented this morning as by half way up I was starting to feel a touch peckish, the galley slave hadn’t thought ahead either so there was no handy flapjack to keep us going, just a sip of water was all that was on offer!

All the anti-vandle locks seemed to work, the boat still two locks ahead of us dutifully resetting them. Lock 3 was about a third full when I walked up. A boat could be seen entering Lock 2, only one paddle would unlock on the bottom gates so it took a while to finish emptying.

A phone call to Mick to leave the top gates on the next lock was just in time to stop him. We swapped with NB Ferrous in the next pound, quite a distinctive boat that we’ve seen before. More details about her can be found here.

Only two out of the 21 locks had been set in our favour today. The climb up to the Wolverhampton level had taken us just under 4 hours. Time was ticking away we had a rendez vous and a deposit to make, no time to stop for a late lunch, the only thing on offer an M&S gf millionaires shortbread which was halved for us to share.

Not far to go to Horseley Fields Junction where we turned onto the Wyrley and Essington Canal, very slowly through the stop lock. I checked our instructions from Jennie at Urban Moorings, we were to pull up alongside one of the moored boats on the main channel. We got the bow in and I passed a rope around the grab rail of the moored boat, Mick then put power on to bring the stern round, just at the moment of something spinning round and attaching itself to our prop! Reverse didn’t help, Mick had to resort to the propmate to clear it. Then the stern was brought round and we tied up alongside Urban Moorings.

A trolley was brought to aid the transport of buckets. Two buckets were trundled round to the huge compost bins made from sleepers, the lid of the current bin left open for our deposits to be deposited in the correct section where they will b eleft for around 14 months before being used on flower beds.

As always we had a very warm welcome from the moorers. Here they accept contents from separating toilets from passing boaters and I believe they now also have a club which local boaters can join. A guided tour of the moorings is always on the cards, improvements, more sheds, a community room, flower beds, fruit and veg, an abundance of greenery everywhere.

C&RT offered them some funding a little while ago to help provide C&RT services, a bin store, elsan etc. They have got so far in sorting the area, but not recieved the funding to finish it yet. They also hope to expand the moorings on the other side of Lycetts Basin which would free up a space to become a service mooring. Then they would be able to sell diesel, gas and coal more easily to passing boaters. The council has also given them premission to take over two more buildings by the site. One they hope will become a bigger community room, the other a cafe in the old toll house by the stop lock. Hopefully our donation will go towards something new for us to see the next time we pass.

**Stop for a brew, they’ve plenty of kettles**

Whilst I got the tour Mick chatted away about the big fire that had happened at the junction. Apparently the moorings weren’t known about, so they weren’t evacuated, but thankfully all the smoke was being blown away from them.

If we wanted we could stay the night, moored up as we were. This was appealing as we were a little bit pooped from the flight, we also really wanted our lunch! Back onboard we broke the news to Tilly that there’d be no shore leave today, too many woofers and a couple of resident cats on the moorings. They were welcomed, but I wouldn’t be!

A slow afternoon for us followed by a nice roast chicken dinner. Very well deserved.

22 locks, 7.2 miles, 1 right, 2 lefts, 2 empty, 19 full, 3 junctions, 1 warm sunny day, 2 buckets deposited, 1 donation made, 1 very warm welcome, 1 miffed off cat.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wFx8Kbxa5y6q7HiGA

But Which Way! 1st May

Above Longford Lock to Penkridge 48hr mooring

Only half a mile to travel today as we needed to be in Penkridge for a couple of reasons. Pootleing in towards Penkridge Lock we were surprised at there only being one boat moored here. The mooring directly below the lock can be a bit bumpy when the paddles are lifted, but it’s handy for town.

We passed another house for sale, only over 55s can purchase this one, a bit different from yesterdays house by the M6.

**Not much foot space on the back today**

With not much space available at the stern due to the bully boy battery I was glad to get off and get the lock ready for us. No-one on the water point! Are we really in Penkridge? Where is everyone?

Once up the lock we pulled in at the services. Set the water filling, emptied the yellow water, disposed of rubbish etc. A chap came along from the moorings with a wheelbarrow to empty his cassettes, he was very chatty. We chatted away and lifted the bully boy battery box off the stern of Oleanna. That was one task achieved, now to get the battery to a UPS access point in town. That wheelbarrow looked handy! But we didn’t ask as we had another solution in mind.

By the time the water tank was full there was a boat waiting in the lock and another had just pulled up below. We were in Penkridge! A queue forming for the services, it’s just we were at the front of it for once. Mick pushed Oleanna off and over to the moorings opposite whilst I stayed to guard the battery, it may not be working and be exceptionally heavy but we still didn’t want anyone to struggle away with it. Once Oleanna was secure Mick came back and called for a taxi, £5 to the access point, I left to have an early lunch and get myself ready for an afternoon in Birmingham.

The station is a bit of a walk away, but nice to walk through town. The Co-op has moved, there are two now at opposite ends of town. I walked up through the church yard filled with graves and blossom. The 12:45 had me passing alongside the Wolverhampton flight, no boats in view. In to Birmingham New Street, I just needed to find my way out now! Easier said than done!! I thought of following directions on the bright sign post, but the direction of Brindley Place was blocked by red and blue lounges! I ended up walking out of the wrong exit and taking quite a while to get to somewhere familiar, thank goodness I had an hour to spare.

**Is this just art or a useful sign post?**

Not one boat on the Oozles Street loop and only five moored by Lego, loads of room. I walked the now regular route up onto Sheepcote Street to my dentist, a regular check overdue. After my emergency visits to a dentist in Leeds six weeks ago I’ve known I still had a problem. Colin started with his friendly chat asking about our travels, but I knew time was short and this wouldn’t just be a see you in six months visit.

5 xrays later, I had a choice to make, keep a tooth and spend money on it, or loose it. It’s one of my main chewers so at the moment I’ve opted to keep it, just could do with a set design fee to pay for the work! Three new appoitments in the diary, hopefully coinciding with us being in Birmingham or an easy train journey back. I suspect there will be more once the first stage of treatment is done.

It’s easy finding your way into New Street Station, I just wish it was simple coming out of it. I was soon back alongside the Wolverhampton 21, one boat spyed going down. Recent reports from NB Alchemy and NB Bonjour have been that the majority of the locks were empty as they came down the flight, which will be good for us when we go up.

Mick had moved a touch further on, not very far but away from where he felt we were on the end of the lock landing. I’d noticed he’d been on the move with messages coming from our Nebo link, even if it didn’t show an actual journey as he’d only moved 50 yards or so.

A catch up between ourselves. A chat about possible places for me to return to the dentist from and did we need to have a trip to Scarborough to fill up our compost bins. An email was sent to somewhere we’ve made deposits before to see if they still take them. After finishing off the chilli I’d made last night, we settled down to watch the next episode of Narrow Escapes. No need for the stove today as the temperature had risen. Infact we had the side hatch open until after 8pm listening to the moorers enjoying their first evening sitting out this year.

1 lock, 0.4 miles, 2 budges up along the way, 1 full water tank, 1 load washing, 1st in the queue, 1 empty yellow water tank, 1 bully boy on its way, 2 trains, 1 expensive tooth, 1 membership signed up to, 15% discount not to be missed, 7 more lemon biscuits, 1 broken down boat heading to Ireland? 1 miffed off cat.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tFXgHbWvbBmwXc3o6

2,000!

This is our 2,000th post on the Oleanna blog. I remember the days when I used to get excited for the 100th or 200th post on the NB Lillyanne blog!

Back in 2014 we started our life afloat on Lillian (NB Lillyanne for new followers) a temporary boat whilst we waited for NB Oleanna to be built, we’d already waited quite a while! Lillian was bought with the previso that once we finally moved on board NB Oleanna we would have the year afloat that we’d been looking forward to for so long.

The original build didn’t go as it should have and we started to look for a new boat builder. Jonathan Wilson was the man to build us our boat, the delay had been handy as living on Lillian gave us some better ideas for the build, and some things we knew we’d not be wanting!

It took us until 7th April 2017 to move Tilly and a third of our possessions on board. That is when our year afloat started. The life suited us, so we just kept on going, an end date never entering our minds. Then covid came along. If it hadn’t been for our troublesome tenants during the first lockdown in 2020 I’m fairly sure we’d still be full time live aboards. But our house needed to be reclaimed. Would we prefer life on land to life on the water? Would we be able to afford both house and boat? We knew one thing, we wouldn’t be letting it out to long term tenants again!

So now, we spend as much of our time afloat as we can, actors lodging in the house for much of the year whilst we cruise the network. Time in the house is spent doing jobs, reclaiming and improving things for both us and those who stay there. The house just about pays for itself all year round, fingers crossed. Time on the boat has always been about travelling, more so now to make up for being static for a few months a year.

Some jobs on board have slipped in the last few years. The gunnels haven’t been touched since Oleanna was out for blacking in 2021. The grab rails have been patched but not finished. The roof is still in need of a very good wash, we’ve either been moving or it’s been raining so far this year, well that’s my excuse! The cabin sides really need a polish. But these things all take time and we’d rather be moving than doing chores. We’ve never been shiney boaters at heart.

We’ve had some questions recently regarding our new Bully Boy Batteries and how they are doing. Paul said we’d left our readers on tenterhooks after mentioning that they seemed to be charging at different rates, or something along those lines. Well I think Mick’s answer was that he’s stopped wondering why they are doing this and has just accepted it. With our new batteries we certainly don’t have the concerns over capacity as we used to, especially at the end of last year when we were down to just two of our original batteries. Because they have so much more capacity they take longer to charge, so if we are staying put for the day and want to run the dishwasher the engine goes on. This does mean we also get a full tank of hot water. But some days we’ve had enough capacity to use our immersion heater to heat the water using electricity therefore the engine is not required. We expect this to happen more and more in the summer when the solar panels provide a lot more power.

USB rechargeable lights in cupboards. These are proving to be pretty good, so far. The one that is in The Shed has had to be charged, mainly because it is used several times a day. The others in the pull out corner galley cupboard light up every time I go in there and have made me realise that at some point I’ve taken the square baking tin to the house, hence a round batch of flapjack the other day.

I’ve also had a few people ask me if I’ll be designing Chippy Panto this year. Well, no I’m not. Before I arrived in Chippy for rehearsals last year I’d already decided that this year I wanted to boat through the summer and be able to enjoy it. Last summer we’d cruise in the mornings and just about every afternoon I would work. Over the last six years I’ve designed the last five pantos in Chippy which I have really enjoyed. Designing and painting my designs is what I really love doing, being part of a building with a family feel is very special. But last year I started to miss boating, not being able to return home to Oleanna at weekends is hard too. So in January I got in touch with John before he got in touch with me about this years Panto. I shall miss it, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to go and see Jack and the Beanstalk later this year, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas with out Chippy panto.

This of course will free up my afternoons so hopefully this year Oleanna will get some much needed touching up, if it ever stops raining! I do still need to feed my creative soul and I’m hoping that doing some paintings of places on our travels will do this for me.

So along with this being our 2000th post, we’ve had 3,068 comments, 17,431 photographs, 172 subscribers, on 16th June 2021 we had the most views, Friday is the most popular day at 9am, views from 96 countries, Thwaite Mills on 31st March the most viewed post, 733 likes (I suspect this is actually higher and mostly from Ade), hang on he’s just liked another! 1,845,360 words written, not including this post!

*Some of these figures may be inaccurate as I’ve had to collect the info from various places

This last Christmas I had an old friend ask what we would do with Oleanna when can no longer boat, whether that be through our physical ability to boat or should the waterways start closing around us due to lack of funding. I said we’d still keep her, find somewhere for her to be, maybe on land if needs be, where we could still stay on board. But here’s hoping our floating days will continue for many years more. We’ll keep writing the blog and sharing it with those who want to read it and hopefully we’ll get to meet a few more of you along the way.

For those of you who have followed Oleanna from the beginning in 2015, a BIG BIG Thank You for reading all our ramblings through the years. I doubt if anyone other than ourselves has read every single post. For what started off as a diary for us to look back on in years to come, for family and friends to keep up with our travels, we now have a lot of new friends, some we’ve yet to actually meet. We find looking back on posts interesting, after all there is useful information in amongst the breakfasts, socks and stamps of approval. Thank you for coming along with us.

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Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna