Category Archives: Floods

Happy 8th Baseplate Day! 14th February

Well today marks the 8th anniversary of Oleanna’s baseplate being laid in Tim Tylers workshop in Newcastle under Lyme. It was another year and a bit before we finally moved on board to cruise her down to Crick to meet with Lillian and fully move onboard.

Mick stood at the stern 58ft 6 inches away, 8 years ago

If you want to look back and see Oleanna’s build this is a post from our first visit. Her story starts much earlier so here’s a link to the first Oleanna blog post, 1948 blog posts ago!

Currently we are gradually getting ourselves ready to move back on board, the date still a little bit up in the air.

Sunday in the Park with Mick

Mick went down to check on Oleanna on Monday. A chat with the bully boy batteries went well, the newly oiled floor had cured so the back steps could go back in. I’ve been busy covering new and old dinette cushions and today we should receive new cartridges for our life jackets, which are currently still inflated in a closed room well away from cat claws.

The world of canals and rivers is keeping us on our toes as regards to stoppages at the moment. There is a silt build up on the River Trent which needs dredging between Beeston and Cranfleet locks. The coal boat had serious difficulty passing that way a week ago and was having to wait for levels to rise again before attempting to return to base. Since then the Trent has gone back into flood.

Can we start packing yet?

The Don Doors on the New Junction are having issues with their gearbox so are closed to the canal currently. Even if we got past them Vazon Sliding Bridge is closed to boat traffic until mid March whilst strengthening works are carried out to the north canal wall.

However we’d planned on crossing the Pennines. The Rochdale, Lock 67 is suffering from subsidence which will be worked on next week. Lock 65 is also showing similar signs and will be looked at next week to see what should be done.

Round 1

The Leeds Liverpool has a navigation restriction near Burnley, Embankment 39, so it is still navigable. Works at Wigan have been slowed by the weather so the closure there has been extended by a week so that concrete has more time to go off, the concrete has as yet to be laid. Problems near Foulridge Tunnel seem to have been sorted.

Round 2

Then the Huddersfield Narrow and Broad. There are bridge works and a lock closure on the Broad along with repairs to a wash wall which should be finished mid March. On the Narrow locks on the east side are closed until the end of February, then there is a closure in Stalybridge which should open mid March.

Round 3

So at the moment the Leeds Liverpool is looking the most promising, followed by the Huddersfield canals. Further south there has been a substantial landslip on the North Oxford near Brinklow. We’d planned on heading southwards this way, but we strongly suspect it will take a while for this to be sorted so will have to head southwards through Birmingham. Or do we wait for the Trent to be sorted and out of flood then high tail it south along the Leicester Section?

Who knows! We’ll wait and see what is open when we set off.

Thank you Beth

In Sockathon News I now have sponsors for 29 pairs of socks and have raised £655 for Dementia UK. Pair 7 will soon be finished. I now have a very large box of yarn donations sent in from all over, details of which are on the Yarn Donations page. There are still a few more people who have pledged yarn donations so they will be added as yarn arrives. I think I may be knitting for a few years to use it all up! If you fancy a pair here’s a link to my JustGiving page

  • Thank you Debby for becoming pair 30!
My friend Morag looking across the harbour

0 locks, 0 miles, 8 years old! 4 routes from the north closed, 1 bathroom delayed, 1 best mate visit, 2 lodgers, 1 fair weather cat, 2 opticians appointments, 2 doctors appointments, 1 vets appointment, 1 gathering, 1 leg of lamb, 2 boaters nearly ready.

What’s In The Box? 20th January

That’s far enough I think!

Deliveries have been arriving along with snow.

Get off my land!!!

Tillys occasional check on her estate has become even shorter, I can see everything I need from the back door just fine, Thanks! Although an intruder did cause her to forget about there being a window in the way. Once a door was opened she shot up the road and just about into the park, the furthest she’s been in months!

Sheep measuring

Measurements have been taken for the dinette cushion covers, prices worked out for the samples I already have, a visit to Dewsbury is on the cards incase Fabworks comes up trumps with anything better. I’ve got calculations for several widths of fabric so that should save time.

More donated yarns have arrived. A wonderous red yarn from Trudie at Posh Yarns in Pembroke and a Green Goddess of Bionic yarn from Steph at Perran Yarn in Truro. I have several other pledges of yarn to come including from people who are raiding their own yarn stashes at home. Thank you all for your wooly donations and your monetary ones. The first pair of socks will be in the post very soon heading to a boat in Thorne and as soon as my needles have finished the third pair the second one will be wending their way to Crick.

At the end of the year I’m hoping you’ll see why I’m hanging onto socks for a little while. An updated certificate arrived from Dementia Uk so I can properly boast about my fund raising last year.

Lots of cooking, trying out new recipes. Gluten free Focaccia and this morning my first attempt at gf crumpets. Verdict they needed a little bit more heat to start off with, but tasty all the same, especially with some Frank made jam.

Painty Pip has been busy too touching up paint around the house. There’ll be more to do in a week or two in a bathroom that we have plans for, just to accomodate a mirror!

Boat on it’s side just about blocking the bridge hole

We’ve watched our friend Chris on NB Elektra squeeze past the sunk boat in Barrow-upon-Soar. Then onwards to south of Leicester where he had a booked passage between Kings Lock and Blue Bank Lock where the floods before Christmas had affected the bank. We couldn’t make out any damage to the bank as he crunched his way through the ice, passing a boat coming the other way and a C&RT chap hopping between boats.

Tilly decided to hitch a virtual ride on NB Elektra’s bow for a while. Well She and Tom have only changed the outside a couple of times since we’ve been in the house. They don’t fool me, all they did was turn it white each time! Our planned route for when we leave Goole may have to change due to substantial subsidence at Lock 67 on the Rochdale. We’d rather head over the Pennines than use the Trent to head south this year. Time to keep a very watchful eye on the stoppage notices.

What’s in those?!

Yesterday a UPS delivery van arrived. The driver braved our snowy front steps to deliver two pretty heavy boxes. We’ve checked their contents and Mick has even been found stood in the dark hallway supposidly talking to what’s inside the boxes. There’s nowt so queer as folk!

Sunrise in Scarborough

0 locks, 0 miles, only virtual ones, 2 skeins, 2 more pledges, 1 hobbly leg slowly improving, 2.5 coats not enough, 1 ceiling and loo touched up, 2 big boxes, 1 hire car arranged, 1 trespasser seen off, 2 x 6m not 4 x 3m, 1 nutty man in the dark, 1 cat changing the outside by herself!

2.5 pairs knitted

22 Pairs spoken for

49.5 Pairs to go

£540 raised

Watching. January Floods 2024

Most boaters think that being on a canal is safer than a river in times of high rainfall. This normally is true, rivers rise, break their banks. Flooding in York happens several times a year, we were rafted up at Naburn in August a few years ago for several days waiting for the level to drop. Having grown up over looking the Ouse in York I am very aware at how it reacts to rainfall in the Dales. Watching the Farsons Webcam for years we know when it is a really bad flood or just a run of the mill flood. We keep an eye on Oleanna’s webcam too, knowing she is where she should be.

Farsons Webcam York today

Levels on the Oxford Canal have been so high, bywashes unable to cope. The car park behind Annie’s tearooms in Thrupp well under water, The Mill in Banbury flooded. Locks are being left with paddles up at both ends by C&RT to help relieve the canal of the mass of water. Roads around Oxford are closed, we wonder if there are any boats clinging on for dear life at Osney Bridge as the conditions will be worse than in 2019 when we observed boats ropes straining.

The Avon, Severn, Trent, Nene, Ouzel, Great Ouse, Cherwell, Thames and Soar are all in flood. Many more all breaking previous record highs. I mention the Soar last as our friend Chris has been stuck there since before Christmas, experiencing two floods so far on the river.

Pillings Flood Lock levels over the last few days

Moored on the Loughborough side of Pilling’s Flood Lock, the canal section, we all assumed he’d be safe. But as levels rose on the river the flood lock was over topped and the canal became fast flowing and rose a few days ago.

Chris without plank or poles had to be creative to stop the bow of his boat from ending up on the towpath. We watched his webcam as he waded to cut branches off a nearby tree. These slotted down the side of his boat to help it stay off the towpath. Thankfully his Heath Robinson solution worked and now the river has dropped by about 4ft he can sleep again after a very worrying 36 hours.

Many other boats have not been so lucky. Chris’s nearest neighbour has sunk. In Barrow upon Soar a boat that got loose from it’s moorings ended up side on to the bridge. When the levels started to drop it tilted as it was sat on part of the bridge. A very sad sight indeed and there are more tales from around the country. Lots of drone footage on social media.

What can you do in such situations? Be able to adjust your ropes from the boat. Keep aware of the developing situation. Do your best to keep off the bank. Is there too much interest now in solar power and the panels on your roof taking up the room where handy poles and planks used to live? But sadly, there are times when all that can be done is to stay safe and let what’s going to happen, happen.

Living on a boat isn’t always as easy as Noah had it!

Our thoughts are with those who’s homes have been affected by the floods, whether they be floating or bricks and mortar. I so hope the forecast drier weather means that the rivers will calm and levels drop soon.