Category Archives: Canal and River Trust

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.

The 47 Steps. 1st August

Weeden Bec

Another early start, but today it wouldn’t be accompanied by a sunrise, today we’d be joining the M1 to head northwards again to Scarborough. Tilly’s magic food bowl was primed with two meals, we hoped we’d be back before the second compartment opened but there was a chance we’d be late. A promise was made that it would only be one BIG sleep and not two before we’d be back inside.

With bags packed, Mick lifted the bow tyre fender and pulled Oleanna closer to the bank for me to get off, Blimey it’s s big step. Then it was time to slowly make my way down the 47 steps to the graveyard, sideways. There’s a handy village car park under one of the arches of the viaduct. Weeden Bec is handily close to the M1 so it wasn’t too long before we joined the northbound traffic.

Our plans for the rest of the summer were discussed and those leading into winter. It all depends a touch on my knee and what the outcome will be. We could make our way back to Yorkshire sooner rather than later. We have lodgers in the house for quite some time and may have more for the Christmas show, but being closer to Scarborough for appointments would make things cheaper. But that would have us hanging around, waiting! At the moment we don’t know what we’d be waiting for or how long. After discussions we decided to continue with our planned route, but to have a back up plan on hand should we need one.

The north west will be our destination. When the time comes to head back to Scarborough we decided that the only sensible route would be to return via the Trent. Currently two out of the three Pennine crossings are closed leaving only the Leeds Liverpool open, at the moment! The Trent is a quick route north even if we’d have to do a big loop to the south to get to it.

A comfort break at Doncaster services, then over the top of the Wolds. Ten years ago we cruised into York on NB Lillyanne, today we crossed the border into North Yorkshire in a car, both journeys apt on Yorkshire Day.

Our lodgers last week had left the house very clean and tidy, our current lodger was already at work, very busy teching ‘Brassed Off’ that has come from Keswick. The washing machine went straight on, the ironing board set up.

Finally today we were going to be getting smart meters for gas and electric. In the past we’ve been told that this wouldn’t be possible as we have two gas meters on the same account. The engineer arrived and set about his work. Electric first with a double hub, one for each side of the house, the chap hadn’t fitted one of these before. As soon as the power was back on another load of washing went in the machine, tumble dryer drying bed linen ready for ironing.

**All ready for Sundays arrivals, well nearly**

Mick sorted out our deposits into the compost bins and then had a hack away at the overgrown back garden, some of which was added to the compost bins to help keep the mixture right. Grass was cut, a small attempt to make the gardens look better, we really must get someone to keep them in check!

A letter had arrived with a date for my knee x-ray at Scarborough Hospital, in 5 weeks time. I’d noticed on my NHS app that there was a possibility of being able to walk into York Hospital without an appointment. A call to the GP, Scarborough Hospital then the GP again, I had the referral emailed to me. Next job was to get it printed out, a mission for the IT department with our antiquated hardware in the house.

During the afternoon a C&RT stoppage notice came in.

Network Rail has advised that the Vazon swing bridge at Keadby is not currently operational due to a malfunction. A new part is required and this has to be manufactured. It is anticipated that this will take at least seven days and that the structure will remain in the closed (to boat traffic) position during this time.

Blimey! Even the Trent route can have problems.

This week we’d arrived by the seaside in good time, an order was placed for two Haddock and a large chips, one side of mushy peas. Whilst Mick headed off to pick it up I made use of the living room floor to do my exercises. Having loads more room meant they took a good five minutes less than on the boat. It also meant I noticed one of the tiebacks on the curtains was upside down.

Next time we have fish and chips we must remember we only need a regular portion of chips between us!

Bed linen ironing was finished, a bed made up, some light dusting and a long shower for each of us. A good turn around day.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 blue hire car, M1, M18, M62, A614, A64, 2 lawns cut, 3 sets bed linen washed and ironed, 1 bed made, 1 attempt to fast track the NHS, 3 smart meters, 2 of each, 1 cat left in charge, 1 Happy Yorkshire Day.

When Do Swans Balls Drop? 26th July

Wyvern Shipping to the bend near Burnt Oak Bridge 109

Mick headed off to collect a click and collect from Tescos. Maybe it would have been easier to have reversed back to Tescos to collect it but we hadn’t thought of that when placing the order. Once he’d off loaded the shopping it was time to return the van to the other side of Leighton Buzzard. I spent the time stowing the shopping and repackaging mince, sausages, salmon for the freezer. Tilly hopped on the feed me shelf to help point out that I’d forgotten to order some onions! Too late for Mick to pick any up, hey ho!

***Oh No! There’s only one onion left! And That’s red!!!!!***

Finally it was time for breakfast, a top up of water then we were ready to move on.

Alongside Leighton Lock a group watched as Oleanna lowered in the lock. Along side the towpath was filled with Himalayan Balsam, the smell familiar from my childhood suggested the seed pods would just about be ready for a good shake, flinging them far and wide. I stopped doing this when I became aware of how invasive it is.

Quite a lot of room by The Globe, we carried on round a few bends hoping for a space where the railway is that bit further away from the canal. We were in luck and quickly grabbed the length of armco. Another short move but one that would give Tilly some quality shore leave.

**You are far too big to be making that baby noise!**

As we tied up a family of swans came over with their entitled ways. Mum, Dad and two cygnets. Little fluffy powder grey cygnets fit the high pitched noise they make, but when they get to just about the same size as their parents it really is odd! Just when do swans voices break? When do they take up smoking 20 woodbines a day to get that husky voice?

Yesterday we’d had a request from the SJT in Scarborough, a last minute room for an understudy this coming week. This was possible except we’d not be able to do a turn around between lodgers. Thankfully wonderful Fleur the Company Stage Manager was willing to go and check things over for us and make up a bed. We had quite a chat whilst I imparted knowledge of bedding and towels, bins and keys at the house. No cheese left this time requiring Frank to empty the fridge.

This evening a C&RT stoppage notice came through. A large fire has occurred at Leighton Pump Station immediately adjacent to Lock 27. Police and the fire brigade are on site and navigation is closed until the site can be made safe. This was the only lock we went through today, it was fine when we left it, honest!

Where to do my knee exercises? In front of the bed wasn’t wide enough for my yoga mat. Between the sofa and the TV was wider. I wrapped the foam around the cardboard tube and secured it with some gaffa tape. Time to have a go. The instructions were good mostly, some moves I could feel my muscles working. One made my knee scream at me, hopefully that will get better the more I do them. They took quite a bit longer than I’d thought, here’s hoping they help.

Knitting in front of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Well the whole concept of using the Seine was one I thought was great and I was keen to see how it was going to be executed. We tuned in shortly before the Can Can dancers kicked their legs out of time with each other. Gosh that would have looked so fantastic if they’d got their choreography in time, but instead it was just a bit of a damp skirt swirling mess.

**You should come out here, it’s great!**

The majority of the audience would be watching on TV, but it all felt a touch disjointed, Eurovision like where you get taken to the next competing countrys video before hearing their song. I loved the slow motion horse, for the first couple of minutes, but soon got bored. Some great shots of Paris, tiny figures singing from up on high only visible to drones, I’m glad I wasn’t watching it from the banks of the river. Was the venue just too big for the event? It certainly was Gene Kelly wet for the cat walk section. Then the flag being raised upside down! Stage Managers across the world must have been wondering had the flag been folded the wrong way? Had it been put on the props table the wrong way up? Had someone been handed it upside down? Or had the four flag unfurling people turned it by accident? We soon were more interested in the holes on the flag pole that ensure there’s a breeze to keep the flag fluttering.

The hot air balloon caldron for the Olympic flame made me think of the Wizard of Oz and Jules Verne, it is a rather nice different look. What was important was all the smiling faces of the athletes, soggy but smiling and waving on their boats. Good luck everyone!

1 lock, 2.1 miles, 4 boxes wine, 2 boxes 7+ cat food, 1 van returned, 4 hours shore leave, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval, 1 blue god, 1 slow slow horse, 1 giant balloon, 1 heel increase gone wrong, 1 upside down flag.

The Guano Effect. 20th July

Broughton Lock 14 to Halls Agricultural Bridge 129, Grand Union

Last night as the hatch was waterside we’d left it open with the mesh infill in it, to keep Tilly in but let some cooling air in hopefully. I’d also lifted the lid on one of the bow lockers with the hope that this would encourage cool air through the pipe which is part of the low level ventilation on Oleanna, this would come round the water tank and then in through the mesh on the treads. In the early hours I could feel a slight draft, but I’m not sure if this was coming from the port hole above our heads, the side hatch or from the treads. It was very pleasant no mater where it came from.

After breakfast Mick made a phone call, another mooring found for our medical trip to Scarborough, this was guaranteed and 2/3rds the price we’d been quoted yesterday. Tilly doesn’t need many facilities when she’s left in charge so long as she doesn’t surf the internet all day and night she won’t even need to be hooked up. With two of us heading to Scarborough a hire car would be cheaper than train fares, Mick set about sorting that out too, a van being £60 cheaper than a car, we’ll see what we end up with.

Time to move onwards and upwards. It was a couple of miles to reach the next lock, slow going even though the prop had been checked before moving off. Mick worked the locks and I took Oleanna through them. My pain killers seem to be doing a good job as I’m only getting the occasional twinge, I was however glad of a sit down between locks.

The number of dragonflies today was less than there had been in the sunshine yesterday. They still made their presence known with their clicking darting flight, many seemed to be laying eggs, maybe. Butterflies flitted about too, one taking a break on a lock gate, glad it moved off before the lock filled as the water tends to flow over the top.

There’s an ex-hire boat that we’d seen on our way down. The rail round the stern a good vantage point for a cormorant. It sat there as we passed right along side before it decided to move. We wondered how long this boat had been sat there. The stern deck splashed white with guano, eergh!

At the boat yard Carp is for sale £6k +vat and I spotted that the wooden boat high up on the bank had unusual windows. I wonder of they originally opened?

Above Puttenham Bottom Lock there is a large white tarpaulin draped over the bank, obviously helping to keep the water in the canal. What ever was holding it in place on the bottom is no longer doing the job so great care was taken to avoid catching it with the prop, Oleanna glided past.

As we approached Wilstone Lock 9 a Lock Keeper appeared round the bridge then went up to the lock to open it for us. He was there clearing reeds and bits and bobs from the lock with a keb and chatted away to Mick as Oleanna rose. We pulled in for lunch where we’d moored a few nights ago, Tilly allowed an hours exploration, well we hoped it would only be an hour.

Thankfully Tilly’s time keeping is good 30 minutes later she returned and we could carry on up the locks. The lock keeper must have started at Bridge 2 and been working his way down as all the locks had a bottom paddle raised on them. The road bridge was now open and all the scaffolding is removed.

**Mick closing Black Jacks Lock behind us**

A boat had some interesting planters hanging from their grabrail and we passed through Black Jacks Lock without incident again. Now for the staircase, upperty up back to the Grand Union.

The Lock Keeper and a lady who walked by had both made sure we knew we’d not be able to go anywhere if we turned right, the way we’d come the other day, as the Marsworth Flight was closed due to a lock gate coming apart. We turned left and found ourselves an Oleanna sized gap to pull into. Another hours shore leave for Tilly, another two outsides days.

A little bit ahead on my socks and not really wanting to weave ends in I decided to select yarn for pair 30, just so I’d have something to do in front of the TV tonight. The next pair I’d been given instructions of Any Colour, well I decided to change this a touch to Every Colour! The next pair will be what is known as a scrappy pair, helping to use up odds and ends of all sorts of yarn. I’ve selected around thirty small balls of yarn and it will be a lucky dip as I knit them up.

13 locks, 4.8 miles, 2 outsides, 2 hours, 1 hour taken, 1 hour on account, 1 left, 0 right, 1 guitar playing neighbour, 1 Paul Weller, pair 30 cast on, 6 colours, 54 miles to Braunston.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3zfxTXpgjw1QjA7m8

Watching The Radar. 7th July

Iron Bridge Lock to The Grove Bridge

Bacon Butties before zoom. Subjects included, who has sat in Pauls chair, Jet 2 Man, The Pigeon Society and plastic free Beetle Drives. Everyone was present and in jolly mood.

Time to make a move, cruising plans altered to only two hours a day instead of three. I was just closing the side hatch when the heavens opened! How long would it last for? We checked the weather radar. There would be a gap in the rain after 12:30.

Tilly was offered some more shore leave, she reluctantly took it.

More rain, more checking the radar. It kept changing! Gaps of quarter of an hour weren’t going to get us very far. During one downpour a coal boat came past. They rang their bell, we didn’t want anything. The lady at the bow said ‘No-one will come out because of the rain!’ ‘Ring the bell!’ said the chap. She had, we just didn’t want anything.

A window of opportunity possibly from 2:15. We waited, the radar still seemed hopeful and around 2:10 the rain stopped. We quickly got ourselves ready, rolled up the covers, donned waterproofs. The section of canal we were on had risen with yesterdays rain and at one point we’d been floating, but today we’d come to rest again on the bottom, just closer to the bank than when we’d arrived. It didn’t take too much to push out and we were on our way, hooray!

**Not sure if you can make out the steam rising**

Cassiobury Park Bottom Lock is left empty, a paddle left up. As we worked our way up the sun shone, steam rose from the lock beams and towpath, it felt like being in a sauna.

**Are these stop planks for somewhere? Currently moored between the locks**

A chap walked by with his two dogs. He asked if we could leave the lock open at both ends, Mick asked why. Apparently the bywash was blocked, this chap wasn’t a boater, but the level was up and with so few boats moving the canal was becoming stagnant. I’m not sure if he was asking us to leave the top gates open ‘just a bit’ and a paddle at the bottom up. We said we were to leave the lock empty which we did, a chap from the lock cottage came out to check.

The next lock was full, it should have also been left empty according to the signs. The dog walker asked us to leave this one open too. We considered his request, but decided that maybe he wasn’t too ofay with water management. We left the lock how we were meant to with a paddle up at the bottom to empty it.

**The mill buildings, most probably flats now**

The level was up, the weirs by the mills rushing water down to the river. No moorings available along the first section. Round the bend there was a gap, but had we gone far enough yet? Not really. A look at the map, ahead few cat friendly moorings for a while, roads too close for comfort. Through The Grove Bridge was a space we pulled in and hammered spikes into the soft ground, not much further but just enough for today and anyhow the storm clouds were massing again overhead.

Tilly was given two more hours as rain showers came and went, I did a bit more painting and Mick watched cycling and tennis.

The Bream I’d bought back in Oxford with mind to have them on the bbq were defrosted. Some Jersey royals , tomatoes, red peppers, garlic added and roasted for a while before adding the fish. A Rick Stein recipe, which after doing all the prep I realised was meant to go with Seabass. However they were very very tasty with the saffrony potatoes, think I’ll be doing them again, I do like Bream. But it was just as well we’d not had them on a bbq, dissecting them would have been a pain with our plates on our knees.

2 locks, 1 mile, 1 very rainy day, 4 claps of thunder, 2 outsides, 2 Bream, 1 painting with mid tones, 4 stitches too many, 1 sock frogged, 1 Traitors reunion, now what to watch?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/iQrsoCDDbvaQV7xs9

A Right Soaking. 5th July

Below Black Jack’s Lock 85 to above Iron Bridge Lock 77

Waking up on the hour just about every hour last night, phone checked, seats racking up for Labour all the time. So it was a slow start this morning. The first boat to pass us was NB Tyseley, the Mikron boat heading for the Thames with volunteer crew whilst the actors have a few days touring further north in the van. I’m not sure we’ll be able to catch one of their shows this year, depends how quickly we move.

Before setting off today Mick turned the TV so that we could watch Rishi Sunak heading to Buckingham Palace to resign as PM. Last night Mick had managed to sort the TV to work via the internet, today it was being obstinate, so we got broken up signal. I did find that Akshata Murty’s dress reminded me of Razzle Dazzle camouflage that boats were painted in WW1, only her head was really visible.

**Black Jack’s Lock not as pretty as it used to be**

A light spattering of rain meant we had our waterproofs close when we set off. No crocodile on the bank below Black Jack’s anymore, lots of walkers setting off up the canal and a big wooden fence around what used to be the café alongside the lock, I wonder when it closed?

As we progressed, new things caught the eye. A pair of underpants, a lotus sitting frog and NB Watt Way whom we’d met on the Great Ouse two years ago and saw at Cropredy last year. Mick logged onto the BBC with the tablet at the stern so that we could keep up with the days goings on back in London. Watching wasn’t really an option as the sun glinted on the fingerprinted screen, but at least we could listen.

Two years ago we were heading towards London on this stretch of the GU, on the day of the Queens Funeral. Today we were watching Keir Starmer heading to the palace, then to Downing Street. What will we watch next time we cruise between Uxbridge and Watford?

Rubbish was added to the C&RT bins below Copper Mill Lock. The monkey hanging high above the canal seems to have had a brain explosion, maybe it’s days are now numbered, good job there’s a bear in a canoe to keep boaters looking upwards.

We paused for lunch above Stockers Lock and with the towpath on the port side emptied the yellow water tank ready for disposal at the elsan at Batchworth Lock.

Whilst Mick did the necessary I headed to open the lock. The steps up to the lock on the services side were closed, so I walked over the road bridge to reach the other side. I could already see why as the steps up to the lock were buckling and subsiding. From the other side you could see that the arc where you push the gate open and closed had dropped by quite a few inches. I avoided that side of the lock as much as I could. Then one of the top ground paddles had nothing to lift on the end of it, so I had to swap sides.

Coming out of Lot Mead was a wide beam so the gates were left for us. I take extra care to lower paddles on this lock, we know how far away Watford A&E is by cab! It started to rain as we approached Common Moor Lock, this was to continue for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

The car/boat has settled onto a mooring. NB Bargus was spotted now a Jules Fuel boat. A. Evans’ boat glowed bright red in the rain. Should we pull up now or carry on as we were already quite wet? We opted to carry on.

Cassio Bridge Lock was taking a while to fill. We were just starting to wonder why when a lady appeared at the bottom gates peering over the gates. I went to see what she was looking at, Oh blimey! Water boiling up majorly from under the bottom gates. Was something on the cill? Or had the cill blown? The lock was nearly full, but just wouldn’t go any further, the lady offered to lend her bum to the beam. Thankfully the three of us managed to nudge the gate open just that little bit, bringing the level up to meet the pound above. We wouldn’t have to drop back down and find somewhere to moor.

Dripping wet now we carried on to Iron Bridge Lock, the aim to get off a pound that could drop should the lock be used again. I lifted a ground paddle, it was quite easy, it did nothing. I crossed the gates and did the same on the other side, only to have the same result. Gate paddles were lifted and very slowly the level rose. Something wasn’t right below the lock, a gentle boiling. It took forever for the lock to get near to full and then took a big umph from the two of us to open the top gate. At least this next pound gets topped up from the River Gade and it wouldn’t be running out of water with the amount of rain today!

We pulled in as soon as we could, suggested Tilly could have a quarter of an hour, knowing she wouldn’t be keen. Then we peeled off our wet layers and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening listening to the rain hammering down on Oleanna.

9 locks, 6.5 miles, 1 new PM, 1 brain explosion, 1 cat in charge for an hour, 1 cat asleep on the job, 1 collapsing lock surround, 2 stubbornly filling locks, 2 very wet boaters, 1 dry second mate.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XcQywbMzZpFBVzWx9

Not A Day For A Thumbs Down! 4th July

River Colne Aqueducts to below Black Jack’s Lock 85, Grand Union

**Goodbye Slough Arm, maybe we’ll give you another go sometime**

A boat whizzed past us this morning, they were aiming for the end of the arm. They apparently made it….. but did they make it back?!

We pushed off just before 11am, things to do today and a minimum three hour cruise. Left at the junction and we were heading northwards again. Another stretch of moorings where there was plenty of space. Where have all the boats gone? If we’d wanted we could have moored up below Cowley Lock, however Puss Puss’s boat was moored there so we’d have chosen to move on anyway. Puss Puss is now quite an old cat a stray who adopted some humans. He quite often used to head to the pub with them giving woofers little leeway!

A volunteer at the lock saw us coming and set it for us, bunting zigzagging above. He said how quiet the canal was, a lady had walked down to see if there was room below the lock, room for at least twelve boats today. The cafe here now seems to be gone and the pub is having a serious makeover, Mick wondered if it will still be a pub or a private house.

Rubbish dealt with and the water tank refilled we were on our way again. Slow going to start with past all the moored boats. One of the Uxbridge boys was on their mooring, we’d played leapfrog with them and another boat early in 2015 as they made their way up to the Lancaster Canal.

A long length of towpath is being worked on, all the permanent boats moved elsewhere. Now when I say all the boats moved elsewhere, there were still a couple tied up, one most definitely sat on the bottom not capable of moving anywhere. We turned onto the service mooring at Denham Marina, time to fill up with diesel. 138 Litres later at £1.04 we reversed back out onto the cut and headed up the lock.

Mick climbed up to help with the gates, these have short beams and are weighted to help, but they are rather heavy for a painful knee to do both. The lock cottage is for sale again, or is it still for sale?

It felt apt to take a photo of our Larry for PM banner with Uxbridge in the background, we’d once been in town when the ex PM was buying himself a pasty from Greggs!

We pulled in for lunch a short distance on from NB Old Nick, waving as we passed. We’ve never met but read their blog. A short break as more miles needed to be ticked off today.

Denham Deep was set against us so required the top gates to be closed and then emptied. Caution required as the lock is so deep, but keeping Oleanna back and adopting out GU paddle routine worked and brought her up quite quickly. A couple sat and watched, aghast, it was their first lock as Gongoozlers.

Now I had to be ready for photos. The HS2 viaduct could be seen stretching off into the distance across the lakes, but only glimpses could be seen from the canal between trees. Then high above us we were dwarfed by concrete overhead. A glance to the west revealed a rather pleasing curve, plenty of air around the structure.

We wondered for a while what the extra bits were and why there were only two of them. Now looking at my photos closer it is obvious that they were the next concrete sections heading along the viaduct to be positioned.

**Another section making it’s way to be added**

A chap waved from above, his tiny size emphasising how big the hole thing is. I wondered who the engineer was who designed it.

The Bear in the Barge is now called The River Garden, a shame as I used to like their pub sign, the new one is easily forgettable, in fact I forgot to take it’s photo! Wide Water Lock was set ready for us, new paint work just about dry! Up we came deliberating on a return trip to London, sadly not to be.

Now we wanted a mooring, one suitable for Tilly, TV signal and the internet. We should have checked the blog for thumbs up or down at our planned for mooring today. Plenty of room below Black Jack’s Lock we pulled in to a gap between trees. Tilly was given a couple of hours, which she used pretty well. Mick set about tuning in the TV.

I now checked the blog, on one occasion there was a upward thumb, good tv, another a downward thumb, no tv signal. Oh blimey what a day to be without live tv! Mick worked his way round things, thankfully we had good internet coverage and it was a relief when we got more than just ITV. Sometimes our tv won’t even use the internet if there is no terrestrial signal!

We settled down to watch an episode of Traitors. Then turned over for the election coverage. The family whatsap group constantly pinging with anticipation. I decided to turn the heel of a sock just at the wrong moment as the exit pole results were announced. Once turned I realised I’d knitted it in the wrong colour! Out it came and was redone whilst watching Blyth and Sunderland rushing to be the first to declare. Once nine or ten seats had been declared we headed to bed, Tilly had already given up and realised the fishing rod game would not be happening until much later today.

4 locks, 6.4 miles, 1 left, 1 right, 138 Litres, 1 full tank water, 1 very long curvy concrete line, 1 high up wave, 2 hours shore leave, 0 live tv, 1 cat outdoors, 1 internet, 1 traitor, 9 seats, 1 late night but not as late as others.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/VUV2o3WHAB5xYmF46

Free The Paddington One! 2nd July

Ballot Box Bridge to River Colne Aqueducts, Slough Arm, Grand Union Canal

The diesel tank hasn’t been filled since Pyrford Marina, the gauge showing quarter full. Mick doesn’t like the tank to be so low, in fact it may only have been so low once and that was when we picked her up from Finesse in Sheffield, just enough diesel put in her tank for test cruises. The question was, how accurate is the tank gauge? Did we need to seek out diesel today or could it wait for another day or two. The tank was dipped, 10 inches, plenty to keep us going.

**Serious clearing up by Ealing volunteers**

We made our way back to Bulls Bridge, the moorings by Tesco empty today, well apart from the sunken boat! We pulled in, had lunch, made a shopping list, moved the Larry banner to the cratch for it to be seen better and then went shopping.

With everything stowed it was time to get Mick away from chatting to a chap doing his best to avoid polishing his boat, leaving it to his wife. We winded at the junction and started to head northwards. In the last two years quite a lot has changed. Today numerous cranes sat to the east, the start of some buildings. Tower blocks that were going up are now full of people and the landscaping we saw being put in is now tall with plants.

Three miles or so on is Murderers Bridge (Colham Bridge) where in 2015 we said our final goodbye to our first second mate Houdini. Today Tilly was shouting on the top step Free the Paddington One! Tree filled outsides for boat cats!! Friendly cover for all!!! This election has really gone to her head!

At Cowley Peachy Junction we turned westwards onto the Slough Arm. We only cruised the first stretch back in 2015 when we couldn’t get further due to ice. I’m not sure where we moored for the night back then, today we tried pulling in just after the entrance into Packet Boat Marina, Mick managed to get off with a rope, but that was it, Oleanna wasn’t going to come in any more.

The moorings further along looked busy, we chanced it, hoping for a space. Several boats moored up, most looked like they were busy doing jobs. One space between boats might have been long enough, we carried on, a space at the end, better for Tilly. A chap chatted and helped with ropes. A fellow came over from his campsite on the offside for a cuppa. Akeem, I think that was his name, was very chatty, he was busy doing up a boat ready for sale, a coat of red oxide going on the exterior today.

When asked where we’d come from he said, ‘Oh you can’t moor in Paddington anymore!’ We explained that we’d paid and were quite grateful to know we had a mooring waiting for us. Through the years we’ve taken our chances in London like everyone else, reserved moorings when they were free, squeezed onto the Eco moorings when people have overstayed and paid to tie up in Paddington. I suspect we’d still visit London no matter what the mooring situation was, as we’ve both lived there and have friends and family we want to see. But now it’s reassuring to know we’ll have somewhere to tie up on arrival. Time will tell if there are now too many bookable moorings. Many visiting boaters won’t flock to London until they know the system is working, hearing tales of booked moorings being occupied on arrival doesn’t help the situation. London boaters choose to look when the moorings are empty. Yes they are not as full as they were when they were cheaper and the locations fewer. Only C&RT will know the true figures as they can see the bookings and get feed back from their mooring rangers.

We settled in and Tilly was given a hours shore leave, at least it stopped her charging back and forth shouting about her rights and how once Larry was PM things would change, Salmon and real real chicken for dingding every day!

0 locks, 9.9 miles, 2 lefts, 1 wind, 2 boxes wine, 1 hour shore leave, 26.5 pairs knitted, 1 very political cat, 1 card returned, 1 knee improving, not much walking being done though.

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Bramble Birthday Bakewell. 28th June

Paddington Basin

Mick headed off this morning to get himself an Oyster card to which he’s added his senior railcard. When we were living full time on Oleanna our correspondence address was at my brothers, so he was able to have a Freedom Pass, but that has now expired, so whilst in London it’s worth being able to get some discount.

I busied myself with some baking. A batch of sweet pastry had been made yesterday, today it needed rolling out and blind baking. Then some bramble jam spread out with a bakewell topping added and baked until golden. My standard recipe but using dairy free butter, well Stork block margarine. The smell as the pastry cooked was different than from butter pastry, it whisked me back to my GCSE Home Economics and making pastry with margarine and lard.

**Adding eggs to creamed marg and sugar**

During the day the boats on the moorings changed a bit. One boat swapping with another and the boat on the hospital side left quite early to be replaced later in the day. Mick spotted a C&RT chap chatting to one of the other boats. We’d wondered if we might be able to move over to the hospital side as there’d be less footfall, but we decided against it. Apparently lots of people have suggested there should be electric hook ups on the pontoons here in Paddington, Mick also suggested that a water point would be a good addition. The chap said he’d put forward our suggestion and they were looking into electric hook ups.

The Bakewell Tart took some time to cool down, a box was found for it’s safe transportation across London to Hackney. We headed to catch one bus, but it was seriously delayed, so we ended up walking for ten minutes to catch the next bus, No 30 which would take us all the way to Hackney. Road works, delays, general Friday afternoon traffic meant the journey took us 2 hours.

**Pip, Mick, Andrew, Gabrielle, Josh and Jac**

Time to wish my brother a happy birthday. His present was a walking pole, he’s recently had problems with a knee and is soon to go on a walking holiday, so he’d requested a second pole. Drinks and nibbles with lots of conversation. We were joined for the evening by Gabrielle, the daughter of one of Jac’s best friends from Melbourne. Gabrielle now lives in London and has become an extra member of the London Leckenby family.

Josh is now a free young man, having finished his A Levels a week ago. His music selection very very similar to mine at his age, in fact I don’t think I’ve heard so many Doors songs in years! Good taste.

Lots to drink, a big joint of crackling pork with salads and roasted new potatoes, followed by my Bakewell Tart with birthday candles. A very lovely evening.

We picked up items of post and then headed for a bus to catch the last Elizabeth line train back to Paddington. Maybe I should have borrowed Andrews walking pole to help with my knee problem!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 bakewell, 1 bored cat, 2 buses, 1 lizzie line, 1 half pig, 2 many glasses of wine, 2 much food, 1 lovely evening.

Would You Like A Bigger Table? 27th June

Ballot Box Bridge to Pontoon 6, Paddington Basin

A lie in, wonderful! First boat went past at about 7am then it was quite a while before anyone else was on the move. The boat behind us spent some time in setting up their sun shade over their bow, this involved lots of banging of metal locker lids and a touch of swearing.

Just round the bend on the other side of the bridge we found all the moored boats, closer to transport links, that is unless you have an e-bike or scooter as then your location doesn’t matter as you can zip along the towpath at great speed!

Bright blue skies to start with warranted sun cream, but after half an hour cloud covered the sky, a wind whipped up and we even considered putting jumpers on.

At Alperton we considered pulling in to deal with our yellow water, but the railings around the elsan point would make this a really hard job, so we just hoped we’d be fortunate to be able to do it later. The Keep Out sign did amuse us, has someone tried to get in the Elsan?

The narrowboat up on the bank surrounded by new office blocks now sells crepes, more building work continues further along. Today long stretches of the towpath were being dug up. The concrete topping lifted which covers cables. Temporary pontoon towpaths carried pedestrians and cyclists around the works.

The aroma of Buddleia filled the air, almost totally masking out the spices from the food factories along the canal bank. One lady on a work boat trimmed sections of it away so she could tie her boat up on the off side.

The number of moored boats along Ladbroke Grove seem to have reduced, but then the towpath being worked on is making it difficult. The area that for some reason says No Mooring had been taken over by boats.

We’ve been here at roughly the same time of year before. Today we were surprised at the reduced amount of weed in the canal, we only had to clear the prop once and that was due to urban jelly fish near Little Venice. Also the type of London boater seems to have altered, there are far more cruisers than we remembered. Where the Westway hovers above the towpath, where once there have been cafes, art spaces, there now seems to be something like a carpentry shop, one cruiser had a rooftop extension made of sterling board and was that chap gaining access to his wood store via a canoe? There do seem to be more and more boats reusing house windows in their extensions, I quite like some of the effects.

This year C&RT have increased their pre- bookable moorings in London. Some which were once free are now chargeable, others that you’ve paid for for a few years have increased in price. The London boaters have been up in arms as more places have been designated for pre-bookable moorings and often you see photos of areas empty of boats. The idea is to be able to open London up to cruising boats and make the capital more accessible to all licence payers. We’ve done the turn up and with fingers crossed and hope to find a mooring, remembering where there was a gap to breast up should there be nowhere else. The last few times we’ve been into London we’ve made use of the bookable moorings and are very glad they exist for peace of mind. Booking this week had been a touch hard and I think we were only left with one option at the cheaper price which we booked. There seems to be lots more availability of the £35 a night moorings, not hard to guess why. A shame that many of these are the old Eco-moorings with electric. Maybe C&RT have priced these too high, or is there not enough demand yet for so many spaces? Only time will tell.

A boat was on the service mooring at Little Venice. We wanted to fill with water so chanced being moved on and pulled up at the water point just through the bridge, tucking in as close as we could to the cafe boat. The tap is very slow, but before we could be in the way to anyone, we’d topped up and made our way across the pool towards Paddington.

**There’s our mooring, ready and waiting for us**

We’ve heard tales of pre-booked moorings being occupied when boats arrive and mooring rangers having to be called. But none of that for us today as we sailed straight into our space on the pontoons. Having the hatch face the bank means we get a lot of ankles walking past and snippets of phone conversations ‘Well the aorta is 85 years old!’ a particular favourite from today. We joined two other boats on the moorings, another had gone for a cruise around and returned later on. Paddington Visitor Moorings, also pre-bookable, stretch from the pedestrian entrance into the station to the basin on the hospital side. By the station was chocka, only one boat made use of the hospital side today.

Tilly was shown the outside, filled with lunch break workers. A wheelie suitcase put her off getting off the boat, hopefully she’ll accept we’re in Longbum and spend her time watching through the windows or asleep.

**Paul’s got his eye on the ham, egg and chips!**

Late afternoon we headed to catch the No 27 bus to Camden to meet up with Christine and Paul. For the first time in many years we have managed to catch up with all of our siblings within a few months. This evening we met up at Jamon Jamon a Spanish Tapas restaurant in Camden.

Plenty to choose from even if it was a little bit confusing for me at times with the allergens menu. Once our order was taken the waitress asked if we’d like to move to the far end where there was a larger table. We ended up needing this for the number of dishes we’d ordered. The Gambas were very fine and the Spanish version of Ham Eggs and Chips looked like it had come from a glossy comic. Very nice food and very good company as always, thank you both.

When eventually our No 27 bus arrived and brought us back to Paddington we decided to see if we could walk back to the boat a slightly different route. A large white tower block that was being built last time we were here now appears to be complete. Outside the front door was a very large orange stone with a small yellow one on top. Human? Who was the artist? Nothing to inform us of anything. A hunt round on the internet later and the artist is Ugo Rondinone. It’s certainly big and bold! On the wall of the hospital there was a rather pleasing painting/photograph mural of diving swimmers which I think is by Catherine Yass. More can be found out here.

0 locks, 7.7 miles, 1 snub, 1 bag on prop, 0 weed, 1 straight on, 1 full water tank, 27 twice, 1 disappointed cat, 1 little girl at 11pm peering in, 1 sister, 12 dishes, 1 big table, 1 olive doggy bag, 1 lovely evening, 5G less frustrating.

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Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna