Wood Lock to Radford Smelly Christmas 2019 mooring
Waterway Routes suggested it would take us under a couple of hours to reach our rendez vous, we also wanted to fill with water on the way and try to drop in to the Geraghty zoom. The water point didn’t stand out in our minds as being a slow tap, but we still added an hour to our cruise just in case.
A boat!
We pushed off a little later than planned meeting our first boat a short distance on. After dropping down Fosse Top Lock we pulled over at the elsan and water point. For a while this elsan was out of use but today it boasts a blue C&RT sign and we used it to empty our yellow water. Tucked behind the elsan wall someone, most probably a boater, has left several bags of rubbish. There are no bins here, in both directions there are ample bins all within a couple of hours cruise. But if you tuck it away out of view it becomes someone else’s problem and not yours! Grrrr!
The tap had very good pressure so we were topped up in no time and back heading to Fosse Middle Lock. Mick signed into the Geraghty Zoom whilst we went through the lock, the internet signal only just able to keep us connected. Subjects today were Sheila Hancock and Giles Brandreth and us going through the lock. Numbers of attendees were down today, children’s Saturday morning activities and adult orchestras are all starting back up now, so it may be that the time of the family zoom gets changed to fit better with life no longer on hold.
Enough for breakfast
Fosse Bottom Lock provided us with enough blackberries for breakfast tomorrow as Oleanna dropped down to the next pound.
A handy occasional table
We passed our locking partner from a couple of days ago, moored up by woods where normally a collection of boats sit. I like his little table.
Former Railway Bridge
Then the big arch of the former railway bridge 33A dominates the scenery as you pull in for Radford Bottom Lock. We took our time, no need to rush, we were an hour ahead of our schedule. The back pumps pumped water up from the bottom pound as we added water into it. Then we pulled up on the end bollard to wait for Lizzie, leaving plenty of room by the lock.
Empty Bins
The bin store had recently been emptied, a shame the padlock was broken as it’s in one of those locations where people are likely to arrive with a car load of rubbish to dispose of rather than taking it to a tip.
The black boat and figures are no longer by the bridge
Lizzie arrived a little after her estimate, only to be expected as she’d just driven to collect her Dad from a weeks holiday with her brother in Lancashire, there and back in the morning! On the back seat of her car were the two packages I’d been waiting for, what a shame we’d not been able to hand them over last weekend which had been the original plan. Thank you so much Lizzie for delivering them to me, I now have to do some work!
Felt on the roof
Not far for us now, just a pootle back out of the trees to find a mooring space below Radford Semele. Quite a few boats were moored up, we found a length of armco which wasn’t quite long enough, but as soon as a hire boat moved off we backed down the line so that we could be on chains rather than pins.
The pound felt very sludgy and going was slow backwards, it all felt quite silted up. We’ve been hearing such comments about parts of the system after the lockdowns, but today is our first experience of a silty bottom.
Busy as people had stopped for lunch
Tilly had been given shore leave at our first mooring, luckily she came back when called so we could move the outside without her in it. I think we are almost in the space we occupied for Christmas 2019, the weather is somewhat warmer than it was then.
4 locks, 2.23 miles, 1 hour ahead of ourselves, 15 minute zoom, 27 blackberries, 1 full water tank, 1 empty wee tank, 0 figures, 1 felt handover, 4 greens, 1 sludgy bottom, 2 outsides, 3 annoying swans, 1 long list, 1 boat on an intermittent list.
A slightly damp morning meant that the campers would be packing up their tents today to then have to dry them off when they got home. Messages came through from 1km away as they prepared to head back to London. It has been a lovely weekend with them, but now the calm of the waterways can return.
Floating on by
Tilly was given free reign coming and going again today as she liked. She certainly keeps herself busy for hours on end before returning home to check we’re still here. This mooring in Thrupp is far better than alongside the road with only walkers to dodge and not the occasional car to run away from!
Despite it being Sunday I sat down to do some work. The budget for #unit21 needed a bit of pruning. On Friday I’d had a long chat with Graham who will be building the set for me to see if we could get down the price of materials. He had quoted for a set to withstand the rigours of touring to a couple of venues a week and I had designed it to fit plywood sizes. Making the whole set lighter (less robust in the long term, but with some care it will be fine) and adjusting some dimensions to fit other materials better we managed to trim nearly £400 off the build. A couple of pointers from him to cheaper flooring may also save £300, so the budget is just about back on track.
I miss working with people like Graham.
Colours
Next up was a paint list for panto. I worked my way through the model deciding what colours I’d be needing and in roughly what quantities. Next week I’m paying a visit to Chippy so will see if there are any paints still usable from previous years to help reduce the long list I have. My biggest dilemma is on the glitter front.
Panto sets are known for their sparkle, mine not so much. Stage glitter tends to be bigger than that kids glue onto their cards for Granny and Granddad, sharp 5mm squares of plastic that get glued onto scenery, then when dry the excess tapped off. But glitter is not good for the environment it being made from plastic. So far Eco-glitter has reached the makeup world, but not reached the scenery world and some theatres (The National) are locking away their old stocks so no-one can use it anymore.
The Commodore from St Pancras
There is one scene that really needs a sprinkle of panto glimmering glitter. I’ve found one product that may do the job but it still doesn’t tick the box environmentally. I need to look harder!
Cats don’t need special gates
With Tilly out being a thug and Mick listening to the cricket all day I took myself off for a walk. My route heading towards the campsite in Hampton Gay. Here there is a church and the ruins of a big house that I wanted to explore.
Keep Out!
Hampton Gay was once far busier than it is now, excluding campers of course! There was a Mansion House, a mill, church and cottages with a population of around 86. Now the ruins of the Mansion House stand behind fencing and warning signs. The church opens around once a month and the cottages have vanished unlike the occasional train that runs right past the grave yard.
Fire, bankruptcy and even a curse at the end of the nineteenth century brought about the abandonment of the settlement. In medieval times the mill ground grain. In the 17th Century the mill was converted to produce paper and the population grew. But two separate fires struck the mill, each time it was rebuilt the last time it went bankrupt. In 1887 a huge fire overwhelmed the Manor House, without this or the mill people moved away and the population shrank.
The ruins
Some stories say the manor was set on fire deliberately for the insurance. Others believe it was the result of a curse. On Christmas Eve 1874, a Great Western Train from Paddington derailed just a few hundreds yards away. Despite calls for assistance, the residents of the manor house refused to offer help and shelter to the victims. Thirty-four people died that day and sixty-nine were injured and according to legend a curse was placed on the house.
Not able to get into the church or a closer look at the mansion I decided to walk across the fields towards Hampton Poyle. From the meadows you can see across to London Oxford Airport where a plane had just landed.
Plane
Looking back towards St Gile’s Church I could just see Holy Cross Church which stands on the other side of the Cherwell and canal. Both churches less than half a kilometre apart
Holy Cross just visible on the left, St Giles on the right
Over styles, through fields with grazed grass, numerous horses everywhere. My straight line brought me to St Mary’s Church just over a mile away, just how many churches does one area need? There’s even St Mary’s Field Church only another half mile away, it’s spire visible from quite a distance.
Starting to ripen
Hampton Poyle’s St Mary’s has a 13th Century chapel, it’s north and south isles were added a century later and the double bellcote was an 18th century addition.
St Mary’s Hampton Poyle
In the16th-century, priest Richard Thomason, was allegedly condemned to hang in chains from Duns Tew steeple (near Bicester) for his opposition to the first prayer book of Edward VI. The 17th-century rector Edward Fulham was forced to resign and flee abroad on account of his strong Royalist views and his opposition to Puritanism.
The other St Mary’s spire
Across another field with more horses to White Bridge which crosses the Cherwell, not the prettiest of bridges but it’s concrete serves the purpose. On the south bank of the river I now turned westwards across the fields following the course of the river until it reached Thrupp Community Forest.
Serving it’s purpose
Here paths weave themselves through the trees, some more muddy routes have been bypassed. I was glad I’d got long trousers on as the nettles were rampant and my arms had to keep being lifted aloft. The river remained shy behind the not-so-friendly cover.
Trees!
Soon I popped out to where the railway crosses, just that little bit too close to Thrupp, the path now bringing me back to Annies Tea Room. We still haven’t visited here, one day hopefully on a weekend when the Ice Cream Parlour is open!
Railway
With small amounts of food left over from the weekend I made us some fried rice, one chicken thigh and a couple of inches of salmon were added along with a good scattering of frozen peas. From a very full fridge on Friday morning to an almost empty one.
The lane leading to Annies
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 quiet day, 3 campers back to London, 2 boaters pottering, 1 test, 9 hours, 1 very pooped cat, 1 shade of glitter, 10 litres emulsion, 10 litres bona mega silk matt, 12 colours, 1 panto paint list complete, 3 miles, 3 nearly 4 churches, 1 feast of leftovers.
The Geraghty Zoom subjects consisted of tales of family get togethers. The London Leckenbys, Anna over from Germany and the imminent arrival of the young Evans’s to Scotland where fish fingers, waffles and bananas were being stocked up on. Fran, Mick’s niece, is preparing to fly out to Tokyo for the Paralympics as she is the physio for the English Boccia team. We wish them good luck.
Trinity College
One of the reasons for meeting up near Oxford is that Josh soon will be choosing his A levels and thinking about where he wants to go to University. He’s a brainy lad having just achieved an A* in GCSE Religious Studies taken a year early. Oxford most probably didn’t feature on his list of possibles, but it was worth having a look round.
The Turf
Mick stayed at Oleanna to replace the stern gland greaser whilst the rest of us drove into Oxford for a nosy about. Andrew is very much of the opinion that the course you do at university is important but the city you go to should also appeal. Oxford is an odd one, trying to explain about colleges and faculties, the city being very much built around the University.
Sigh!
We walked down Broad Street past Trinity College, not many colleges open to visitors today, in fact we only saw one and it would have been £8 each to go in. We just peeked through the gate instead.
Punts
A walk through the back lanes to The Turf, the Bridge of Sighs. Down to the Cherwell where numerous people were heading off for a punt.
Merton College
We walked around the outside of the Botanical Gardens and down to the Thames where a couple of familiar boats were just mooring up.
Christ Church with some people
Back into town to see some of the shopping area and we stopped for a cuppa and a slice of cake in the Covered Market. By now our parking was just about up so we headed back out of town to Thrupp.
Drinks!
This evening we wandered down to The Boat Inn, thankfully they had some beer today, we’d been hearing rumours of lack of supplies.
A group of Morris Dancers were congregating outside, jingling their bells and wearing cheese on their heads!
Tarragon chicken with roast new potatoes and salad
A chicken tarragon casserole had been cooking away whilst we were out. Very tasty it was, one to do on the stove top when the weather gets cooler.
Pudding was a Dorset Apple Cake made this afternoon. We’d just had a slice each when I remembered that I was going to put candles in it as it’s Josh’s birthday on Monday! The amount of wine I’d had had quite a lot to do with my memory lapse! We turned the cake round, added candles and Josh blew them out.
Leckenbys
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 stern greaser replaced, 1 day of cricket commentary, 4 wandering around Oxford, 1 Josh underwhelmed, 1 excuse for a weekend away, 1 lump of cheese, 2 pints, 1 G&T, 1 wine, 1 apple juice, 1 very full casserole, 1 birthday cake just remembered, 2 much wine, 1 lovely weekend,15! how on earth is Josh 15!?!
Up early to beat the hire boats back into College Cruisers. Late yesterday afternoon NB Hannah May had arrived and arranged for a diesel top up this morning. Movement could be heard across the way at 8:20 so we made sure we were ready to push over once they had been filled up. We did a do-ci-do and took on 40 litres, at £1 a litre we didn’t fill the tank, just enough to keep us going until further up the Oxford.
Fish fish fish!
We pushed back over to the towpath just as the first of the holiday makers were arriving back. Next job was to pick up the things missing from our shopping trip yesterday. I headed off to Waitrose which was kind of on route to Aldens Fish Market.
I chose to walk along the Thames, the patched pipe under Osney Bridge not really doing it’s job as loads of water was pouring out into the Thames. Glad it’s not on our water meter! The temporary pipe over the bridge is quite colossal.
Mind your fingers!
At the fish market I was good, I had a look around dreaming of filling the freezer but only bought what I’d come for, a side of salmon. The lobsters would remain safe under their board for a while longer.
Back at Oleanna it was time to push off as we had a rendez vous to make. The moorings had filled up yesterday maybe people only come into Oxford for the weekend. We met a few boats as we headed out of town, either at locks or along narrow sections which necessitated us pulling in and hoping to not end up in the offside vegetation.
Contended snooze
The cruiser with the cats is still along the Agenda 21 moorings, only two felines on the roof today and no sign of the old chap.
Speed bumps have been added to the towpath on several stretches.
Sitting on the beam to hold it open
Now for the bridges. Bridge 234 still wants to be open as soon as you unlock it. I braced myself for Wolvercote Lift Bridge 233. Here the bridge quite often requires an extra pair of hands to get it lifted and out of the way and the bridge landing has an overhang which has scarred many a hire boats cabin side. Well today the problem simply wasn’t there.
The bridge lies in several parts on the offside under the A34. No bridge beams to struggle with pulling them down and then keep the bridge raised whilst your boat goes through. A couple of cyclists appeared on the offside a touch puzzled as to what they were going to do.
Drinkwaters Lift Bridge
A boat was coming down Dukes Lock so we swapped with them and rose up to meet the next lift bridge. Drinkwaters Lift Bridge 231 was about to close for major rebuilding work when last we passed. During the works the approach walls collapsed and had to be rebuilt. It is now operated by windlass from the towpath side. No longer a fight to unlock it with your key of power, just 30 turns to lift and 14 to drop it.
How did that get there?
Our usual stop on the way out of Oxford had a couple of boats moored up. A solitary sunflower stood high in the field alongside the lock. We swapped with a boat as we arrived and another came into view as we left, perfect timing all round.
New wood at Roundham Lock
Next Roundham Lock, where through the last few years the bottom gate beam has been shored up to last that bit longer a section of armco was the last bodge job we’d seen. But today there are new beams at both ends of the lock.
Boat!!!
Approaching Thrupp we had to stop quickly as the bow of a boat suddenly came into view past a large bush on the off side. We pulled in, trying to avoid the worst effects of the overhanging brambles on the cabin sides.
Thrupp
The visitor moorings in the village were quite empty, we considered pulling in, but we carried on to the lift bridge. I did the honours, stopping a very new boat from coming through as Mick was in the bridge hole. They then did their best to negotiate the bridge themselves without loosing any paint. A touch more use of power may have assisted them, but give them a few more months and they’ll be a touch more bold with their manoeuvres.
Meanwhile on the other side of the River Cherwell, just over a kilometer as the crow flies, the London Leckenbys were pulling up at Willowbrook Farm campsite and setting up their tents for the weekend. Once they’d settled in they then drove round the 9km to join us and walked up to the boat with a rusk sack full of contraband, before returning the car to the site and walking the 1.8km on well marked paths back.
Footpaths across the meadows
When we’d first come up with the idea of trying to find a campsite close to Oxford and the canal, Thrupp came up as a possibility. A newish eco campsite on a working farm that produces halal meat. Then about a week ago Jac noticed the not so fine print ‘Strictly No Alcohol Allowed On Site!’ Not quite the right place to have a relaxing beer in front of your tent, but you have to respect other cultures. So bottles of gin and wine were brought round to ours and we wouldn’t go to the campsite for a bbq, instead both evenings would be spent on Oleanna.
Mooo!
We’d considered going for a little pootle to find a suitable bit of towpath not too far away for the evening, returning before it got too dark, but just off the side of the TCCC moorings was an area with a bbq and picnic bench. This would do us.
Cooking
Family were set with jobs of chopping. The other week they had made a tabbouleh not realising I wouldn’t be able to eat the buckwheat, today we made one using Quinoa which was very tasty. Veg and haloumi kebabs were skewered, a potato salad made up. The side of salmon required cutting in half to fit on the barbecue, a grating of ginger, pinch of sugar, soy sauce and lemon juice added then a good wrapping of foil.
Tucking in
Our usual barbecue stove was lit along with two disposable ones that had come from London. The salmon cooked quickly so was nudged to the sides for the veg kebabs to cook in the middle meaning the disposable bbq’s were only really just getting going when we’d just about finished eating!
The latest Thrupp yarn bomb
A lovely if a touch blowy evening sat outside. Cheese was enjoyed back onboard after we’d tidied up outside. Then the head torches were brought out to aid the walk back to the campsite, hopefully the London Leckenby’s weren’t too noisy on their return!
4 locks, 6.51 miles, 2 lift bridges, 1 bridge in bits, 40 litres, 1 side salmon, 1 mooring, 1 campsite, 0 alcohol, 1 happy cat, £646 saved, 1 family get together, 1 yummy meal, 2 beers, 2 G&T’s, 2 bottles wine, 5 head torches for 3, 1km, 9km, 1.8km, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.
Mick was off with a shopping list to keep us going for the next few days until we can get a click and collect somewhere. Then it was time to sit down with the Geraghtys. Todays topics, Olympics, Toddler stage school and Trampolines.
Time for us to head off. We unplugged (once the dishwasher had finished), turned on our tunnel light and followed the trip boats through Islington Tunnel. On the other side a boat was showing off it’s tyre sculptures. A curvy lady and a lizard, all very clever, have to say I preferred the lizard.
Below St Pancras Lock
Many of the same boats were moored up in the same spots as when we first came past a month ago, tyre fenders touching the water an ideal place for a moorhen or coot to build a nest. Have to say one boat almost certainly had done a diy nest on their back deck, the predominance of organic material a sheer give away, London coots and moorhens like a bit of plastic bling added to their nests!
Back up at St Pancras
St Pancras Lock sat full, full of duck weed, in the last two weeks the bloom has taken over.
NB Chance
As we worked our way up Richard and Victoria from NB Chance stopped for a bit of a chat, they are currently staying at the Cruising Club before heading onwards, we also spotted NB Misty Blue pulled in against NB Flora Dora. Today we wouldn’t be stopping, not even for water as planned, someone else had got to the tap before us.
Under the railway tracks
We waved goodbye to the gas holders as we ducked under the railway bridges and carried on our way westwards.
Safe behind the railings
Below Kentish Town Lock Christine was waiting behind the railings to watch our ascent up the three locks, the last on the Regents Canal. She stayed a good distance away from the waters edge at all times, just as well as she still had her shopping to do.
Moondance and Oleanna swap
The pretty NB Moondance was coming down in the middle lock, so we swapped over in the pound below and carried on upwards. The boat that had been on the water point at St Pancras appeared below the locks, but we were well on our way up and there was plenty of water coming down.
Keeping the tourists happy
Hampstead Road Lock was full and needed the gates closing so we had a pause whilst I set the lock, no volunteers on duty today, although Mick said an off duty lockie stopped to say hello.
Hampstead Road Lock, gongoozler central
Now which gate was the b**ger to close? I called Mick to see if he could remember, he couldn’t, don’t know why I asked really! Foolishly I chose to open the gate on the island which opens over the steps, this was the wrong gate and did take quite a lot of effort to close. A lady appeared at the other gate and said as much, wound down a paddle then stood keeping an eye on the bottom gate. I half expected the lock to immediately be emptied as soon as I closed the top gate, but it wasn’t.
Bye bye Christine
Christine had headed up onto the bridge above for one final wave goodbye. It’s been lovely to be able to catch up with family whilst we’ve been in London, spending some quality time with them. There were plenty more people we could have seen, but family were the most important for this visit.
Now back into the mayhem that is trip boats, paddle boarders and Goboats. The paddle boarders held back as we passed following NB Black Pearl who stayed in tick over for most of the way through Regents Park.
Piling going on
Big piling has been going in where we’d seen the sunken workboats two weeks ago. All boats now above water, a busy site.
By the time we reached Park Road Bridge we had another trip boat behind us, three Goboats at least coming through the not quite tunnel ahead. Then came another trip boat. With three boats waiting to go through, Goboats dawdling, some having pulled in right where the new trip boat had to go as there was nowhere else for it, it slammed into reverse! Quite surprised there wasn’t an incident!
Once through Maida Hill Tunnel we were away from any possible collisions. Rembrandt Garden moorings were awaiting it’s next lot of moorers and luckily for us the water point through Westbourne Terrace Bridge was empty, we pulled in, hooked up the hose and started to fill up. The tap being slow we knew we’d have chance to have something to eat before carrying on.
Blimey those fish down there blow big bubbles!I waited to see if one would surface in amongst the grass but it didn’t.
Slowly we cruised out west, we passed the widebeam we’d rescued a few weeks ago. Where scaffolding has been used to tie up to forever the hording boards have been removed, maybe the scaff will follow and people will have to drive mooring spikes in again. A wall we’d seen being cleaned of graffit tags as we came in last time already has a collection forming again.
Just where we’d rescued the widebeam a couple of weeks ago
Our progress slowed to the point where we needed to stop to clear the prop. Urban Jellyfish, as Tom used to call them, had been caught on our prop.
In Alperton we noticed a mural under a bridge. Had this been here before? A plaque at the end mentioned the artists name Gianpaolo Buccheri and that the piece was a commission from C&RT. It turns out it was created only a couple of weeks ago.
I also like the cat and sofa that must have been there longer.
Might have to start carrying a container with me soon
Soon we arrived at our destination, now our usual stop in and out of London, Ballot Box Bridge. We pulled in where there was plenty of space and despite it being very nearly Tilly’s dingding time she was given an hour of shore leave. I put a chicken in the oven to roast and Mick cleared the prop again.
4 locks, 1 tunnel, 11.63 miles, 1 right, 1 full water tank, 1 dry Christine, 1 empty wee tank, 2 trips down the weed hatch, 1 near miss, 2 many Goboats, 2 boaters and 1 cat waving goodbye to London.
Tom Adam brought me gifts so I managed to drag myself away from the big furry friends outside to say hello. She and Tom made cups of tea and they all chatted away for ages about boaty things and different outsides that they’ve tied up. It was good to see you Tom Adam, thank you for the chin rubs and the rainbow Dreamies.
It was great to see Adam from NB Briar Rose this morning. He’s working the Breakfast Show at the moment so we’d arranged for a catch up after he’d finished work today. Maybe next time we meet up it won’t be raining!
The day was full of showers, light ones and some down right heavy ones too! Each interspersed with glowing sunshine. The sunshine was tempting, I really wanted to have a wander about the streets to see what could be seen, but as soon as I got myself ready to stir my stumps the heavens would open again, the side hatch was shut, so we settled down to do some more nothing importantness.
The majority of boat traffic has been from the Hidden Depths boats. Parties going back and forth, in and out of the tunnel. The poor ladies on the back deciding that autumn has arrived early this year as they were both damp and cold.
No-one mentioned chilled medication two boats away!
Sadly our rendez vous with Nick, Kerry and Harry their dog was called off. Harry has a limping problem which moves from paw to paw and he’d seen the vet last night. So it was decided to take a rain check on our meeting this evening.
New alarm
We eventually managed a short trip out to collect a fire and CO alarm. The one we have in the bedroom had started to chirp the other day, with a new battery in it it didn’t test correctly, so we’ve bought a new one from Argos. £30 is cheap compared to a life and if we can find the receipt then we should get our money back as they come with a ten year warranty.
A Jools Holland type band were busy jollying up the world by Argos, plenty of toe tapping. We then went to look at Chapel Market, only the stalls that we weren’t interested in were left as it was quite late in the day by now.
We walked back admiring the houses on Duncan Terrace. Every house looked to have it’s original window shutters. There were some bold colour choices for front doors. The fanlights above the front doors wonderfully ornate. A few of them had lamps in them, I’ve never seen this before. What a lovely feature. If you happen to have a spare £3million you could buy one of these five storey grade 2 listed, Georgian town houses, well this one is under offer.
St Pancras
We’d just decided that for our last night in London we’d treat ourselves to a take away curry when Mick noticed a message from Christine, his sister, inviting us to join her and Paul for some Tapas this evening in Camden. What a lovely idea.
A half eaten tapas feast
The 214 bus took us round Kings Cross and onto Camden where we made our way to Jamon Jamon for a meal. Numerous dishes kept arriving to be put on our dinky table, some careful plate logistics was needed to make space for the next dish and then the next. All the food was very nice, thank you so much for the invite Christine.
Lovely lit up
Walking back along Duncan Terrace past the lovely houses we were pleased that one house had it’s fanlight light illuminated. If we had one of these houses the fanlight would be lit up every night!
We were up early again, a shopping list for provisions to get us back to London was made and Mick headed out after breakfast to Waitrose for a free newspaper. Rain had been forecast for today, Mick managed to avoid the worst of it, but still came back wet.
Says Snap to me
It’s been a few weeks since we have sat down and been a full part of the Geraghty zoom on a Saturday morning, so today we made sure we wouldn’t be moving. Todays topics, chicken pox, ankle biting sisters, it was lovely to see everyone again.
The winding hole that used to stretch to Sainsburys
Time to make our move, we pushed off backwards at around 11am, reversing to the winding hole and then pulled in at the services. With the water tank filling we emptied the yellow water tank, Tilly got a clean pooh box and we disposed of rubbish.
There was one other gap in the moorings this morning, NB Small World had pulled away, we’d be following them back down the locks. Back past all the warehousey apartments. I think one boat really could do with a new chimney before winter, at least his bathroom door was in place today! No gongoozlers to keep us company at the locks as we made our way out of Bishop Stortford.
Bridge 47 is exceptionally narrow, made from what should be called a ‘T’ beam, the top being a touch wider than the bottom.
Hold on tight!
Approaching Spellbrook Lock a Dad was paddle boarding with his son clinging on for dear life, we made sure we drifted past them the little lads knuckles already white!
A group were fishing from the lock landing, so we slowly came in, nowhere else to drop me off, they moved to let us pull up and chatted away. Someone has added cable ties to the pawls, quite a good solution to be able to lift them without getting very greasy fingers.
Flying in
Saturday is obviously a busy day at Stanstead Airport at the moment. Those heading back with Ryan Air from a week in the sun kept the sky full of planes coming in to land. Then once we were meandering our way towards Tednambury Lock they started to take off in our direction.
Weighted down
All the boats were still on the meadows. The one moored quite a long way out is tied to the bank but also has a couple of mud weights out to stop them moving too much.
Waiting at Tednambury Lock
At Tednambury Lock we caught up with NB Small World again, apparently the river had been quite busy this morning, most probably boats coming out from Hallingbury Marina close by. My friend Mike had been on a friends boat earlier in the year and sent me a photo of NB Dorcas pulled in on the lock landing above. Today I recreated the photo, except mine had grey skies not blue.
Mick pulled electric cables and weed off the prop as the lock filled and just managed to pull away off the landing before a wide beam arrived. However the prop soon got fouled again, our progress downstream slower than upstream, but we hoped there would be space for us above Sawbridgeworth Lock.
Thankfully there was plenty of room, a hand from a chap on the bank helped to pull Oleanna into the side as by now there was almost no steering due to weed on the prop, something to clear before we move onwards tomorrow.
Wonder how many litres of white paint that takes
A very late lunch whilst Tilly explored the area and some quinoa cooked for a salad later.
I headed out for a walk crossing the lock and walking down Mill Lane, aptly named as it starts on the lock island, the weir behind it used for power at what look to be couple of old mills. The buildings are now pristine white with white flowering hanging baskets, a stopped clock and a mechanism that must have powered machinery in one of the mills. Ransomes and Rapier were known for their railway and crane equipment, but in early days they made saw-milling machinery.
I walked past thatched cottages and through 1920’s estates many of the houses displaying sunbeams on their walls. At Sheering Mill bridge I thought I’d walk through the apartments to reach the Maltings, but big signs suggested I’d not be welcome and that I’d need a key fob to exit at the far end. So I turned round and walked along the river bank instead, I could look at the gated community from the other bank where NB Small World was nestled for the remainder of the day.
Nestled in amongst the nettles
I had a quick walk around the Maltings, numerous antique shops to look at tomorrow and what smelt like a very good Indian Take Away. I was tempted but we ate out yesterday and the quinoa would be cool enough to make into a salad back at the boat, it didn’t stop me looking at their menu though!
Glad of a clean window to look out of
Meanwhile in Scarborough and along the North Yorkshire Coast, Animated Objects Theatre Company are touring their ‘A Thousand Ships’ exhibition. This weekend they are in the Brunswick Centre in Scarborough, tables filled with the origami boats all made by people from the Yorkshire Coast. This is part of a much bigger project The Odyssey which is running over the next few years.
My design for ‘A Thousand Ships’
4 locks, 4.53 miles, 1 wind, 1st Saturday paper in a while, 1st full zoom for a while, 1 empty wee tank, 1 full water tank, 1 clean pooh box, 2 boaters staying dry, 25 planes, 1000 ships, 2 mills, 2 moustaches, 1 tall aerial, 1 maine coon, 1 Tilly stood down and brought inside, 1 fisty paws avoided.
It may have started before midnight, we can’t quite remember, but it certainly continued all the way through the night and at around 7:45am the volume was turned up! The consensus between the Oleanna and Billy crew was that a rave had been going on in the Marshes behind our mooring and that they’d only got one LP! The rhythm was monotonous only broken up by cyclists with built in stereos speeding past us. So not the most restful nights sleep ever!
Bye bye Billy
By the time Clare and Pete were ready to push off the music had finally stopped. Yesterday had been our anniversary, a year since we shared our first locks together through Blackburn. We wished them well and thanked them for getting us a mooring in a handy spot. Maybe our paths will cross later in the year, they will somewhere, sometime.
Scrambled eggs, hash brown and tomatoes
Scrambled eggs on toast for breakie as we have a few too many eggs on board.
Tilly was given four hours shore leave whilst we pottered about enjoying what shade we were getting from the trees behind us. But as the hours passed the sun of course moved. Both sides of the cabin started to warm up, this wasn’t too bad until we had to start closing doors.
We made ourselves presentable, packed the big holdall on wheels with dirty laundry. Spread out the cool mat for Tilly, then closed all the doors. Back in April I’d seen cool mats for pets for sale so had bought one. So far we’ve tried it a couple of times and it has totally been ignored by our feline companion. Today however shortly before we bade her goodbye for the afternoon, she did have all four legs stretched out across it. However she soon moved off it and onto a pile of cushions, a very cool place!
Standing at the edge of shade
The sun was far too hot for us to drag our washing almost a mile to get it clean. So just before 3pm we stood at the edge of the shade where a cycle path meets Homerton Road and waited for a lift from my brother Andrew.
Window art in their temporary home
A late Sunday lunch with had been planned whilst we were close by. Three loads of washing would keep us going until the circuit board arrives and hopefully the washing machine on board will then be mended.
A3 scanner, too big to have on a boat
A visit to the building site to use my brothers A3 scanner for my drawings and then we had a site visit up into the roof.
Josh checking out his new window, not much of a view yet.
All the roof timbers are in place now and chip board flooring is down. You can see where the roof lights are going to be along with a dormer window. All very exciting especially for Josh who’s room it will be. Their house was lovely and cool, Ziggy and Finn having a much easier time of the heat wave than Tilly on the boat.
Back at the temporary house Andrew had prepared a joint of lamb that had been cooking for five hours marinated in a sumac and lime rub. Served with some roasted new potatoes and salads. To follow we had a Somerset Apple Cake that Jac had made. All very nice.
Leckenbys and washing
By the time we were ready to head back to Oleanna our washing was almost dry. The coolness of the evening thankfully made it easier to return with our washing. Thankfully Tilly had survived the afternoon and evening without cooking too much. It took a good couple of hours before we could feel the benefit of having the doors open again.
Here’s hoping there isn’t another rave tonight!
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 year anniversary, 1 busy rave, 1 stern gland picker loan, 4 hours used well, 3 doors open, 1 ignored cool mat, 1 cooking cat, 1 big bag washing, 1 light in the drum, 20 minutes added when not looking, 9 scans, 1 roofless room, 1 ladder, 1 joint lamb nicely cooked, 1 cat still raw thankfully!
A day of work for me today. Time to tot up everything I’ve been spending on panto and #unit 21. Mick was on a mission to finish washing anything and everything he could get his hands on, so the rugs round the multi fuel stove and Tilly’s bed got a wash along with trying to get the laundry drawer empty. When you are paying £2 an night for electric you want to make the most of it, however we did stop short of washing the curtains!
A Sainsburys order arrived to help restock the wine cellar and replenish the wooden cat litter.
When will they move the outside again?
I had a couple of things to return to Primark, I’d considered doing this in Huddersfield but the queue there was sooo long I decided to do so at Tottenham Court Road. Then I headed back to MacCulloch and Wallis as I was wanting to buy myself a darning mushroom so that I can mend some tops that have developed holes. But unfortunately the shop that sells everything sewing wise failed me. They sell everything sewing wise other than darning mushrooms or eggs! The lady apologised and suggested John Lewis or just finding a door knob.
Some wonderful tiling on Russell Square Underground Station
My route back to St Pancras brought me to Heals. I’ve not been inside Heals for years so decided to go and have a nosy. There was a sale on, but I still couldn’t justify spending £650 on a wibbly glass bubble of a pendant light, we’d just end up hitting our heads on it on Oleanna anyway!
The staircase
I did however find the Cecil Brewers staircase which was completed in 1916. Pillars stand proud at each landing, the curve is beautiful and a light fitting cascades down through the centre. It is a lovely thing.
One very sleek cat
The main reason for visiting was sitting on the window cill facing the front of the store. The Heal’s cat is a tall sleek bronze creature, designed by the French sculptor Chassagne. It quickly became the shop mascot and when Dodie Smith worked in the store (prior to writing 101 Dalmatians) she passed around the rumour that the cat would grant wishes. So today I touched the cat’s paws and made a wish myself.
Mary Ward House
My walk back involved walking past Mary Ward House built in 1898 which is now a conference and exhibition centre. Mass industrialisation in England had created an overworked, undereducated, and unvalued lower class. Mary Ward campaigned against the injustices and her work went on to define her life. She became the figurehead for the settlement movement which sought to alleviate poverty by getting the rich and poor to live more closely with each other, breaking down the physical and educational boundaries between classes. Education, day care and healthcare were provided for those living below the poverty line. Amazing what you find out when a building catches your eye.
As I put together a macaroni cheese for our evening meal we could see a boat winding and then reversing into the basin. Anyone who has followed boat blogs for a while will know this boat, NB Chance, they were to be our neighbours for the night.
A Chance meeting
It took a lot of effort to get in beside us the amount of weed has certainly increased in the week since we arrived, but in the end Richard and Victoria were breasted up with us.
Looking through Chance
This evening we were joined by Mick’s nephew Richard for a drink in the garden. Richard has been working for BBC Media in Action in Bangladesh for about ten years, so we have only really seen him on big family occasions over the last decade. But late last year he returned to London and will now be based here. We had a lovely couple of hours with him before he decided he should head home. Hopefully we’ll get chance to meet up again in a couple of weeks time.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 t-shirts returned, 0 mushrooms, 30%, 1 cat, 1 chance encounter, 1 nephew, 1 last night in the basin.
Our booked seven days at Rembrandt Gardens were up today. After a leisurely start we pushed off at 11am, waving our new neighbours goodbye. The moorings under the trees are not so good for solar, but in warmer weather the shade would be welcome. One thing however that I’m not going to miss is the almost constant smell of weed. It seems as if nobody smokes cigarettes anymore, they just roll joints and find a boat to smoke them by!
Maida Hill Tunnel all of 249m
We rounded the island and turned onto the Regents Canal. NB Muddy Waters a Finesse boat is still moored along the stretch before Maida Hill Tunnel, it looks like their tunnel light is as rusty as ours after four years. The tunnel was clear so no need to wait, popping out the other side where there are permanent moorings.
At the far end work is being done, it looks like new jetties are going in. Mick’s tug being put to work.
The stretch through Regents Park is always interesting. The big expensive houses with immaculate lawns, there will be a good crop of brambles on the other sides of their railings in a few weeks time! The towpath was busier than we’ve seen it before, so was the canal. Paddleboarders, trip boats and narrowboats all managing to be in the same place at once.
The Snowden Aviary at the Zoo is empty of birds, instead scaffolding was being erected and a chap stood on tip toes angle grinding another hole in the mesh. The aviary a Grade 2* listed building is being transformed by the architects Foster + Partners. It will become a walkthrough exhibit with colobus monkeys overhead, red duiker on the forest floor and African grey parrots will fly up to the top of the structure. More information can be found here.
Chocka block
As we rounded the bend by the Chinese floating restaurant we are still amazed that four years ago on Oleanna’s first trip to the capital we managed to get one of the 7 day moorings in Camden. Today it was crammed full, just like every other time we’ve been along this stretch. Good job we weren’t wanting a mooring today.
Just under the railway bridges we could see Christine walking towards us. She’d come to watch us go through Hampstead Road, Hawley and Kentish Town Locks as she only lives a few minutes walk away. Mick slowed Oleanna down and prepared to pick Christine up, however she decided to walk along the towpath.
A few minutes of us pootling along and chatting was brought to a very sudden stop!
How does time know when to slow down? It always manages it on such occasions.
I saw Christine put her right foot down, expecting there to be a solid surface below to meet it. Her foot just clipping the edge of the towpath, then there was nowhere else for it to go but into the canal, very closely followed by the rest of Christine!
Engine out of gear straight away. Oh blimey!!!
We still had momentum going forward getting further away from Christine. Mick shouted to a lady on the bank to help, ‘Please could you just hold her hand’. At least we hoped that would help until we could get off Oleanna to help her out.
The incident already evaporating away
In the meantime other people came running, we didn’t quite see what happened as we tried to get close to the bank without the prop becoming a danger. As soon as we looked again Christine had been helped up onto the towpath and was proceeding to empty her bag of water. Thank you’s all round and the samaritans who’d helped just seemed to vanish.
A sit down on Oleanna to assess any damage and to recover from the shock. Poor Christine, thankfully apart from a wet none functioning mobile she only seemed to have gained a grazed knee, which may have happened when she was pulled out of the water. We offered her a shower, but she decided as she was close to home she’d walk back an have one there. A short rather wet visit.
Canoes
Up at the lock two canoes were coming up, then we were waved in. I hopped off to help the volunteer and take photos.
Camden
With volunteers at the next two locks we were a touch mob handed. The help was welcome, but when one of them commented that I was doing his job, I just carried on doing mine, I at least wait for confirmation from the helm before I start emptying a lock!
Four years ago there were cranes overhead, the general area a big building site. Today the railway arches are being converted into a cinema, a screen for each arch by the sounds of it.
Old and new
I love that these two little blue houses have been allowed to keep an eye on the canal, with a gap between the modern boat like apartments.
Our next stop
Then as we ducked under the railway bridges and the repurposed gasometers came into view we knew we had reached our destination. St Pancras Cruising Club. We slowed and then started to back in towards NB Floradora who was to be our neighbour.
St Pancras Cruising Club
There had already been a discussion onboard as to whether it would be frowned upon to use our bow thruster to assist in mooring, but the amount of weed in the basin prohibited it’s use anyway. Terry from NB Floradora popped out to lend a hand, our centre rope passed over a t stud on the roof, this meant Oleanna could be brought into the gap almost sideways.
The weed made this a slow job, but after a while we were close enough for Mick to be able to catch the bow line and help pull her in to nestle up in the 60ft space below the HS1 line. Terry very kindly gave us a tour round, elsan, bins, garden, toilet etc, during which we met various people who all seemed to know who we were, well Marty did anyway!
Tucked in under the railway
We’d originally booked in for a few more days in Paddington Basin, but had been given the heads up by Heather Bleasdale that one of the longer boats at the cruising club was out at the moment, meaning that we might be able to use their mooring. We got in touch with the Harbour Master and booked our stay here instead, cancelling Paddington Basin as soon as we had confirmation.
Once we’d settled the first thing was to check if Christine was okay. She’d made it home safely, had a shower and was in the mobile phone shop trying to sort a replacement. Thank goodness she was okay.
The basin
Not long after we’d arrived there was a knock on the roof. Heather is down in London for a few days and staying on a boat in the basin. We made plans to meet later in the garden for food and then headed off to explore the area.
The new development around Kings Cross goes on for miles. It is a nice mixture of old warehouses mixed with modern architecture. Retail units, bars, restaurants, Central St Martins art college, plus exhibition spaces and gardens.
The gasometers now have flats built inside them, if you have a spare £825,000 you could buy one too! The old structure surrounds the new and gave a very vocal Blackbird a good perch to sing it’s heart out. Plenty to see and explore, we’ll have to come back to see more.
Once our evening meal was cooked, we loaded a bag with wine, crockery and cutlery and carried our two pans all the way round the basin to the garden. Heather joined us as did others to chat away the evening, a selection of gin and tonics spread across the table. It was dark by the time we decided to call it a day. After three glasses of wine each we made sure we walked carefully back round the basin to Oleanna with our dirty pots.
Gasholders at night
3 locks, 3.25 miles, 1 empty wee tank, 1 wind, 0 birds, 1 true none boating boater, 1 drip dry Christine, 1 reverse, 60ft under the railway lines, 1 visitation, 1 blackbird, 1 Tilly eyeing up the wall! 1 Tilly grounded, 2 spag bols in the garden, 3 glasses of wine, 4 gins, 1 very pleasant evening.
