Category Archives: Historic Boats

Filling The Roof. 18th December

Napton to nearly Gibraltar Bridge 20, Grand Union

Even though my sour dough starter seems to have faultered again I had a big jar of discard ready to be used, so this morning I had a go at some sour dough pancakes. These can either be started the night before or a little while before you want to cook them. Leaving them over night develops the flavour, but as my discard is a touch dubious I just mixed the mixture this morning.

With a plate on top of the stove I cooked a half portion of the the recipe and kept them warm under a t towel until I’d finished the batter up. Verdict, very nice. Just wonder what they’d be like with proper discarded starter.

Tilly had been allowed out this morning, she was being kept busy. I was just about to go out and do my mad cat woman shouting when she appeared, Mick opened the hatch and we were three again. Time to move on.

Down the last narrow lock we pulled in and disposed of all the rubbish we’d been accumulating. With no recycling bins until the new year everything ended up in the big skip at the service block. People say where there are no recycling bins the rubbish still gets sorted rather than going to landfill, I hope so.

We then pushed across to the water point and topped the tank up, the washing machine had been run this morning, so it took a little bit of time to fill. With the boat moored on the port side we emptied the yellow water into our container for disposal, the towpath won’t be on the right side for a while so best to make use of it now.

Last year we did these chores on Christmas Eve along with quite a few other boats, but today we had everything to ourselves. The sun was out and we pushed on to Napton Junction. The original plan had us continuing straight on here, but today we turned right for the first time, into Wigrams Turn Marina.

There were plenty of people about, maybe live aboards or just folks preparing for a Christmas cruise. The service mooring was empty so we filled it. We’d guessed that it being run by the same company as at Cropredy the diesel price would be the same, but sadly no, 97p a litre, 11p more! Good job we only wanted a top up and four more bags of coal went on the roof. We are now stocked up for Christmas and hopefully into the New Year, the roof is a touch full and hard to see over!

We winded and then back at the junction we went straight on, onto the Grand Union. First thought was to stop above Calcutt Locks, but then we decided to go down them, the top one almost full.

Back onto wide locks with their candlestick/bomb shaped paddle gears. Winding winding winding. Then that hard to describe fluttering noise, as the water lowers around the large openings of the paddle gear on the chamber sides, almost like Hannibal Lecter’s noise when he meets Clarice,

Down the three locks, then we sought out a length of Armco where Tilly could go out. On the off side a group of old boats are clustered, many with memorable names, Adamant the last one not in steam today. We pulled in and gave Tilly half an hour, she returned in good time, then was a touch miffed at the doors staying closed.

As the evening progressed the wind built up along with torrential rain, this of course coincided with the gas bottle running out. We knew it would as it always does just after you’ve been somewhere you could get a new one. We’re hoping for a lull in the rain tomorrow to get down the Stockton flight without getting too wet.

Payment to my brother for our postal service for the year. Lots of smoked fish from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse.

4 locks, 1 narrow, 3 wide, 3.98 miles, 1 right, 1 wind, 1 straight on, 4 bags coal, 26.78 litres, 20 minutes, 1 sock finished, 1 toe.

https://goo.gl/maps/T9mxMfTYn6yREK8y6

Moving! 18th October

Newbury to Greenham Lock

Hunting round for a printers to do copies of my plans I noticed a group of possibles behind the marina opposite. I chose one to aim for and set off with my tracing paper roll under my arm. After I’d crossed the canal the roll had to be tucked inside my fleece as it had started to rain. They were wrapped in a plastic bag, but all the same I didn’t want to end up with a wrinkly set.

In what seemed to be someones garage I opened the door and enquired if they did A2 copies. No came the answer from a chap hidden behind numerous toner cartridges, but there was a place in Aldermaston. That was no good to me, they’d be closed on Sunday when we might just pass through. They could however do me a couple of copies that covered the whole drawing, that would do me.

Modern printers are like old TV sets they take forever to warm up and get going. A test copy was done, which took forever to appear at the far end of the garage. This was fine and he set about doing my copies for me. once this machine got going it didn’t hang around! They charged a minimum of £7.50, was that okay? Just over 30p a sheet that was great, an A2 would have been around £2 a go!

Ambient! My lasagne the other day was ambient too

Now with a bigger roll I looked like I was hiding a shot gun under my fleece. I met Mick at Sainsburys where we stocked up on perishables. Back at the boat we had lunch and then pushed off.

Dante modelling a new woofer life jacket

Okay so we didn’t go far, just around the corner to wait for the marina service mooring to become free. Then we pushed over doing ‘an Andy’ to get the stern in against the strong wind. Newbury has no C&RT water points, but here you can top up your tank for £2, if you spend enough on other things it’s free. We managed 50 litres diesel and a bag of coal, so we got the H2O for free. I put a load of washing on to make the most of it.

When the new rulings come in for Diesel the chap said they wouldn’t sell to passing boats anymore. How many other places will go the same way?

This all took time and it was nearly four by the time our tank gave it’s boom to tell us it was full. So we pushed back over, mooring just before Greenham Lock. All was good, with empty and full tanks as required and a clean pooh bucket, happy boaters.

Whilst Tilly explored this stretch of narrow land between canal and river I drew up a template for the pattern in the Boozer for Panto. This recurs on several bits of set, so being able to draw it out quickly will be a great help. With this then cut out I could start putting things away.

For months now the corner of our dinette has had a model sitting in it along with boxes of paints and my model making box. It is normally tied away better than in this photo. I’d hoped that the Production Manager for Vienna might manage to pick the model up this weekend, but we are too far off his route, so it will be sent by courier instead, we’ll have to put up with it for a while longer. Everything else though could be packed away again and stowed under the seating until next year.

Tilly woke up just as I was putting the cushions back and made sure that she claimed them by rolling all over the place and running along the dinette sideways, those poor cushions!

Our forth and final meal from the left over pork this evening. Left over stew, just about anything that I could find went into this in my cast iron pot which was left to bubble for a couple of hours. With a large jacket potato each it was very tasty. The joint may have been large, but it did us five main meals so that’s just over £1 a go. Not bad.

Earlier than advertised the Michaelmas Fair firework display started. We tried looking out of the hatch but we were too far away with too many trees in the way to see anything. Oh well, we just listened instead.

0 locks, 0.24 miles, 52.4 litres, 1 bag Glow, 1 full tank water, 1 empty wee tank, 1 clean pooh bucket, 24 copies, 1 chicken, A1 template, 1 corner reclaimed, 1 set loaded ready for Monday, 3 yellow boards, the rest still red, 2 free days hooray!

https://goo.gl/maps/QFzkg7To1an5yLJp8

Eastward Bound. 23rd September

Brunels Quay to Ferris Railway Bridge 211

This morning I noticed a natty little thing on the ferry that crosses from our mooring to the SS Great Britain. On the bow of the boat is a metal hoop which pivots, controlled by a cable from the helm. As the ferry is brought in and lined up to the jetty the metal hoop is lowered over a post. The driver then walks to the bow flips down the ramp which covers the watery gap, passengers get off or on, she then flips the ramp back up returns to the helm and lifts the hoop off the post and away they go. This means that the ferry can be a one person operation as nobody is needed to tie ropes. Here’s a link to a video I took of it this morning (warning it’s 35MB!).

Two more loads of washing were put through the machine, hoping to use up some more electric before we left. This helped pass the time whilst I composed a long email to the theatre in Vienna with photos of the model for A Regular Little Houdini. With the final rinses happening we headed to the nearby Tesco for a few supplies and then we were ready for the off.

Once the ropes were carefully untied from the wobbliest wobblesome pontoon, the wind helping to push Oleanna away from it, we winded and set off for a little tour of the harbour before we left.

Down towards the Underfall Yard where we turned, mow eastward bound.

We headed back past the SS Great Britain, we then cruised down past the electric cranes and turned into Bordeaux Quay and The Waterfront winding at the far end before then passing under Prince Street Bridge, leaving the harbour.

A concrete boat having a house built on top

We would have liked to stay for longer but sadly time is limited before I start work and the cost of mooring here is a little off putting. A week would cost us around £160, cheaper than a hotel and we’d get all our washing done, but still a touch costly.

As we cruised our way out of town storm clouds gathered behind us. Waterproofs were gathered from inside. Straight through Netham Lock and we were back onto the river. Gradually more trees surrounded us, gradually the sky became darker. The forecast originally had been for rain at 4, then 2, but it got started at midday. We hoped for a mooring as soon as we got back onto C&RT waters.

Hanham Lock was in our favour so we rose the 15 inches or so. There was a space on the pontoon at The Chequers Pub, but we’d have had to shrink a touch to fit. Onwards in the rain, waterproof trousers were now required. Mick valiantly stood at the helm whilst I made tea and lunch to have on the go, but his sandwich stayed inside for fear it would get too soggy.

Keynsham Lock and some kind sole had left the top paddles open, so this very slow lock took even longer in the rain than it needed to. Mick hung back away from the lock whilst I emptied it, the flow from the lock would have necessitated mooring up fully on the lock landing. Then we rose slowly, very slowly. The last 2 foot taking a life time !

It still rained. Not even an inch spare on the pontoon here. Onwards to Ferris Railway Bridge where thank goodness there was space for two next to the one that had taken up residency. We settled down and started to dry off.

There was just enough phone signal for me to have a chat through the props list for Panto with Jo the prop maker. Good job I don’t really use my phone much as it took us a good hour and a half to work our way through the show. Jo will start work on collecting materials in the next week then she’ll start by making the prop car and mod scooters.

This morning I received photos from Australia of the knitting project I was busy with earlier in the year.

This is Billie at a week old with the blanket I knitted for her. Billie is the great niece of my bestest friend Emma. Nellie, Billies Mum, was very pleased with it, so was Chief their woofer.

3 locks, 1 straight through, 11.41 miles, 2 more loads washing, £3 left on the post, 1 tour of the harbour, 2 misleading forecasts, 2 soggy boaters, 3rd mooring lucky, 1.5 hours talking smash, pub stools and mod scooters, 0 shore leave for Tilly again! 1 sour dough woken, 1wk old Billie all wrapped up.

https://goo.gl/maps/H1mmsAZdNCCfG7Ho8

Like Giggling Teenagers. 22nd September

Bristol Floating Harbour

Torrential rain woke me at 3am hammering on the roof trying to get in. I checked all the windows were closed and climbed back into bed. By 3:30 the outside world had calmed down so sleeping could continue.

No alarm clock, we had a lie in and enjoyed a cuppa and the Saturday newspaper in bed. It’s been a while.

A quick tidy and brush up, another load of washing and we were ready.

Two giggling 52 year old teenagers walked down the side of the boat. I knew exactly who they were.

Charlotte and Rachael two of my old school friends from York. Charlotte is a teacher and lives in Bristol and Rachael runs a plant nursery near Malvern. These two ladies were Goths back in the 80’s. They wore black head to toe and had spiky hair, where as I wore all red and occasionally crimped my hair.

They had a good look round Oleanna and met Tilly, although she’d rather have gone out! Then we headed to Wetherspoons for some lunch and a drink. There was lots to catch up on, poor Mick coped very well.

I last saw Charlotte at my 40.5 birthday party. We used to keep in touch until we moved onto the boat, then Charlotte moved house several times around Bristol and we lost touch. I luckily found her on Whatsap a couple of weeks ago. Rachael on the other hand I hadn’t seen since we left school. She went off to train as a Stage Manager, performed in a circus act and lived on a coach in Sheffield for a while. She then worked at Askam Bryan, an agricultural college near York, and now designs gardens for people.

Several life times have passed, we caught up on gossip of friends all across the globe. It was a very lovely afternoon with them. We hope to all meet up again when we reach Birmingham at the beginning of next year.

THE Green boat that’s made the headlines recently

There was still enough daylight to go for a walk and help wear off the lunchtime drinking. So Mick and I decided to walk round the harbour to see what else there was to see.

By the 1760’s Bristol had become such a popular port for cargo ships it was struggling to accommodate all the ships. In 1765 the idea of a floating none tidal harbour was put forward by engineer John Smeaton. But no progress was made until 1790 and by 1802 William Jessop was engaged to come up a scheme. He put together various ideas from earlier proposals.

The River Avon was dammed at Rownham and at the bottom of Totterdown Hill, near Temple Meads, impounding all the water of the Avon and Frome between these points. A weir at Netham controlled the level of the Harbour water, channelling water along a Feeder Canal and allowing excess to spill back into the tidal river Avon. A half tide basin was constructed with locks to the river and the harbour.

We walked down to the River Avon past Junction Lock, Cumberland Basin (the half tide basin) to Entrance Lock which takes vessels down onto the tidal river.

Standing between the lock and the weir we could look down the valley towards the River Severn, Clifton Suspension Bridge sitting high above everything. Lines of coloured houses brightened up the greying skies.

A pool under the Plimsole Swing Bridge was playing host to teams playing Canoe Polo, highly energetic and wet.

At Underfall Yard there is a museum where models demonstrate how the level of the floating harbour is kept constant and how they scour out the silt that collects. Notice boards around the harbour warn you of days and times that this process takes place.

Plenty of boats are moored up, some with all the services and other with little other than a ladder to gain access to your boat. Past the Harbour Masters building and along the south side of the harbour.

A clock tower on a 1920’s building glowed in the late sunshine against the bright blue sky. Down the side of the building at the end of an alleyway an alarm box had been put to artistic purpose.

Banksy in 2014 painted his version of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earing. This is called the Girl with a Pierced Ear. The spatters and dribbles make this piece, we did wonder if the central heating flue had been added after the girl was painted or before.

Signs of the Bristol Old Vic Scenic Workshop and Aardman Animation. Theatre and Wallace and Gromit close neighbours.

We’d considered visiting the SS Great Britain, now it was too late in the day and the £17 entrance fee put us off. Instead we looked at the stern through the fence for free, not quite the same as going round, but considerably cheaper!

There is a bit of road in there somewhere

From here railway lines criss and cross what was the docks.

Four electric cranes still stand at the waters edge, the only remainers of the 40 that had existed in the 1950s. What a different place this would have been 70 years ago. No museums cafes and bars then.

We crossed back over to the north bank on Prince Street Bridge then over Peros Bridge and towards Millenium Square. Here cascading water sculptures reminded us of Sheffield station.

The biggest mirror ball gave me opportunities to take our photos before we looked at the electric generating tree. Below this you can charge your phone whilst enjoying the aroma of the rosemary bushes as a statue of Cary Grant watches you. Millenium Parade brought us back to the boat for some play time with Tilly.

The cruiser that had been moored near us had left, so we decided to give the other boat left on the moorings a bit more space. We pushed over to the next pontoon, which was one of the wobbliest I’ve ever tried walking on, more like a fairground ride than somewhere safe to tie up to. The wind blew Oleanna away as I clung onto the centre line, Mick waiting for me to pass it back to tie us up. I stayed put trying to keep my balance until we were tied up, reducing the number of sides I could fall off to one.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 old friends, 2 much to catch up on, 3 burgers, 1 quinoa salad, 1 portion of halloumi fries, 1 Punk IPA, 1 Swift 1, 1 wine, 1 coffee, 5 mile walk, 4 cranes, £17!! 1 tide out, 1 more day without friends, 1 boat almost blown away, 40ft of wobbliest wobblyness.

It’s Only Taken Us Four Years. 3rd September

Beale Park to Fobney Lock, Kennet and Avon Canal

Our Thames licence ran out today so we had to take one of three options. Seriously get a move on and catch the tide at Teddington (18 hours cruising so not possible), wind and head back up stream to Oxford to hop onto the canal there (10 hours, so possible) or carry on down stream and hang a right at Reading (3 hours, the preferred option).

We pushed off at 9am the sky and river bright blue behind us.

Ahead I managed to get pictures of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.

Each one unique, the one currently for sale the plainest.

Have to say I’d quite like one with towers and balconies, but the road and railway would still put me off. The fifth one along (Three) is really quite shy, the trees in front of it giving it good solid cover from the river.

At Whitchurch Lock we descended on our own a narrowboat arriving just a touch too late to join us. I bobbed below to get some alterations done to my model as we cruised towards Mapledurham Lock.

A hotel wide beam was coming up in the lock and we joined the queue to go down, the lock being on self service meant it filled slowly. In front of us was a rather beautiful Humber Keel, Daybreak. We’d passed them at Wallingford on Sunday, moored up with their mast upright and plenty of bunting about the place. Today her mast was horizontal with a long red ribbon dangling to the water.

Mapledurham being just over 200 ft long meant we’d fit in the lock behind them. They may be wide, 15ft 6″ but only 61ft 6″ long. So once she was in the lock we followed, being joined by the narrowboat that had been following us. There were three crew on board Daybreak so one chap operated the lock as the chap at the helm adjusted the stern rope and kicked the tiller arm and throttle.

It was with relief once the lock was empty to see a boat arrive wanting to come up, nobody would have to stay behind to close up.

Caversham Lock is that bit shorter. Would we fit with Daybreak? The lovely lady volunteer came to ask how long we were, ‘Sorry’ the lock’s only 110ft long, ten foot too short for the both of us. There were only a couple of feet spare width wise, the crew holding very fat fenders to keep the pristine paintwork away from the lock gates.

They gently nudged their way in, tiller a touch that way, then corrected, then the other way.

The same procedure was repeated as they exited the lock, fenders moved along to where they were needed most as they inched their way out. Once the boat was clear there were high fives from the crew, no touching up required!

Our last button operated Thames lock for a while

Some fresh supplies were needed, but the last big enough space at Tescos was just being taken by a narrowboat, they kindly offered for us to breast up to them. A quick shop and some lunch before we both wanted to be on our way. Their shop and lunch were a touch quicker than ours, but as they headed off the moorings were empty, so we just pulled along to let them out. By the time we’d finished our break the moorings were filling up again.

Not far until we turned right. New water again. Under the numerous bridges and along to Blake’s Lock, our last EA lock for a while. A match stick lock which works in the opposite direction to those I’d worked further up the Thames. It was full with the top paddles open! No poles to help open and close the other gate, so we opted to only open one, there was plenty of room.

We could have pulled in on the Jail Loop but wanted to get a touch further if we could today.

Ahead signs welcomed us to The Kennet and Avon Canal, back on C&RT water, along with telling us of a boat traffic light ahead. We’ve seen pictures and heard of this and at last we were here.

Mick brought us in towards the button, just like those on a pedestrian crossing. I wondered if it would light up the WAIT, but we got a green straight away. A newish shopping and restaurant complex surrounded us, one tightish bend but the rest of the controlled length of canal seemed far wider than a lot of places we’ve been. Were the lights put in when the new complex was built? Was the cut narrowed? Well it’s actually a length of river, so the levels and flow can vary, so one way traffic stops the possibility of coming across a boat that can’t stop coming down with the flow.

Plenty of people to say hello to, the schools in the area can’t have gone back today.

We soon arrived at County Lock, all of 1ft of it. All four top paddles were open, were we following a serial paddle leaver?

Now we were back onto the River Kennet, heading upstream. The houses totally different to those on the Thames. Here we’d need about four back gardens to have enough length to moor Oleanna, their width about 15ft wide, the houses the same.

One rowdy woofer came and woofed at us. Stupid thing! Maybe it thinks it’s managed to see us off, works every time, so just keeps on woofing at boats. A bit further along there was another woofer who’d been fitted with a lion silencing device. It worked very well.

One big deep lock, we’ve got deeper to come!

Fobney Lock 105, a touch different from County Lock with it’s 8ft 7″ drop and much longer. Luckily we’d just passed a couple of hire boats so the lock was more or less in our favour. We roped up using the centre line and Mick loitered towards the back of the lock. On each new canal you wonder what will be different. Here we only had gate paddles, would the water go down the side of the lock, or diagonally to hold the boat into the side. Luckily it was the latter. We rose up and then looked for a mooring.

Paddle gear, the break lifts the opposite way to other canals

Past the line of boats there was still armco, we pulled in. Now where did I put that nappy pin?

Four years ago we’d intended to come this way, not having managed it on our first year afloat. But things kept making us head northwards, new boat builders to chose, then boat builders to meet, the end of a finger to be lost, if only we’d headed south instead of up the Trent!

It’s a canal Tilly, do you remember them?

6 locks, 12.46 miles, 1 right, 1 big bummed boat, 2ft 5″ to spare, 0 wine bought, 1 licence expiring, 1 button to press, 1 lion silencer, 2 windlasses, 2 nappy pins, 0 river bank to pounce from.

https://goo.gl/maps/JjRDDWSx7XCTnn2L9

Otter Off The Port Bow! 7th January

Houdini’s Field to Morton’s Bridge 56

Alarm set, best intentions to get going. Failed again, the Saturday newspaper kept us busy and delayed our start today. We eventually got going at 10.44, better than yesterday, but we still could do better.

Several boats passed us as we had breakfast and by the time we pushed off we were on our own. Hopefully we’ll be back here in the summer and hope to meet up with NB Panda for an evening, so maybe Tilly will get to play in the field before it is harvested.

We’d wrapped up warm and hoped to be moored up before the wind grew. The cruise was a very grey one again. Only a couple of days ago an Instagram friend had posted a photo of blue skies and green fields at bridge 36. My version is nowhere near as appealing today.

At the junction with the Welford Branch there were no boats moored. If we’d been here with the sun I’d have been tempted to get the port side gunnel painted, but today this just wasn’t appealing so we carried on.

Oleanna turned to the left and pootled along. Just up ahead on the towpath was a long bodied creature. As we realised it was an otter Mick put the engine into neutral and the otter slid into the cut. We could just make out where it was heading to on the other side. It must have surfaced and then as we were still coming it dived again. Even though my camera was clicking away constantly I didn’t manage to get one photo of it, just the ripples it left in the canal. It’s appearance had brightened up the grey day for us.

North Kilworth Marina has more boats moored there now than the last time we’d passed. The first boat you cruise past is a widebeam, tucked away in a corner. They will have been put in the water somewhere on this pound as they are far too wide for the locks at both ends of the Summit. They will have 20.5 miles that they can cruise, however they will need to book passage through Crick and Husband Bosworth Tunnels, maybe that doesn’t bother them.

NB Paddington Bear was at home at North Kilworth Wharf. Several pontoons are now empty here and in dire need of some work, maybe it’s not worth it with the new marina across the way.

Not far to Husband Bosworths tunnel. Oleanna was put into tunnel mode and Tilly was warned it would be going dark. On Sunday she’d taken a big fancy to one of my jumpers so I got that out of the cupboard and hoped she’d get carried away with it and not notice that the outside had gone dark. No obvious shouting as we made our way through the tunnel, but she did come running to the back doors when I slid the hatch open.

We’d been wanting to try to reach the top of Foxton by the end of the day so it was lunch on the go. Over the last two days we’ve seen a lot of off side vegetation has been cut back, it’s been quite impressive. But as soon as we came through the tunnel it was obvious where they had stopped!

As we passed under the gravitationally challenged trees we held our breath and stayed quiet, not wanting to distract them from staying rooted on the off side. Opportunities came into view to moor, it was now nearly 3pm. With an hour of daylight and cat play time left we decided to call it a day and pulled in. Not quite as far as we’d wanted to get today, but not that far off.

Up ahead of us was NB Dane. When we’d last been at Houdini’s Field it was moored in front of us. At some point during the summer it had taken on water and slipped quite deeply into the water. She’s been pumped out now, does her engine still work or has she had to be towed. However in the last 20 weeks she’s only moved 11.5 miles! That does mean in a year she should manage almost 30 miles to keep C&RT happy.

0 locks, 11.57 miles, 1 straight on, 1 tunnel, 0 mysterons, 1 late start, 1 otter, 1 soggy pair of pants, 1 hour! 1 measly hour! 6 am start for them tomorrow.

https://goo.gl/maps/JxezQEBstrL2

Bobbing. 22nd September

Long Itchington to Stockton Road Bridge 110, Oxford Canal

Last night the forecast suggested that today would be a good day for cruising, the winds having died down and before the next band of rain was due to hit us on Sunday. So with this in mind we planned to climb back up to the Oxford Canal.

After breakfast was cleared away we made ready for the off. As soon as the pram cover was folded down onto the roof it started to rain! Waterproofs were sought, the rain wasn’t that heavy so we headed for the locks. All the boats we’d seen moving this morning had been heading down, nobody going up until we came to the first lock where two were sharing. We waited a short while but nobody had looked like they were making ready as we passed the moored boats, so we decided to start.

The first lock was full of crab apples all bobbing away as I emptied and then refilled the lock. The winds must have blown a lot off the trees as at times the towpath was a carpet of them, slightly treacherous under foot. The next pound was low, Mick crept along the bottom as I walked onwards to the next lock. There were two boats coming down, one a hire boat the other wanting to return to its mooring just below. Mick still crept along and managed to pass the hire boat making it into the lock. The crew of the other boat needed more water as they couldn’t get close enough to moor alongside another boat, so we helped by filling and rising in the lock. As I closed the gates I could see a windlass turning at the bottom end emptying it straight away.

As we got to the first of the Stockton flight I could see the two boats ahead, it looked like they were doing a lock, then loitering in the next pound for the next one to be emptied. This meant they were going slowly and the chap at the helm of the hire boat was having difficulty in keeping his boat pointing in the right direction. It looked like we’d catch them up. Then as I walked up to set the next lock for us I noticed a boat coming down hill, the locks were set in their favour so we waited for them to do them, meaning I wouldn’t have to reset them. A very nice family heading to the Cape Of Good Hope today. I chatted with the crew as we all stood in the constant drizzle that had set in for the day.

Sadly only two locks were set in our favour, but the lack of wind today meant that Mick was able to stop Oleanna and close up the locks behind him, me setting the one ahead, closing it and setting it to fill before heading on to the next one. Thankfully the numbers on the locks get lower as you rise up them, knowing how far off your goal is made the constant dampness easier.

Out of Lock 4 and we reached the long pound which takes you to Calcutt locks. We pulled in just after the permanent moorings for lunch and a dry off before carrying on. Even if we’d had enough of the rain the serious lack of internet meant we would move on no matter!

Just as we were about to pull out again a boat came past, Mick checked if we’d be able to share with them, but they were only heading back into one of the marinas before the locks. Oh well! We pootled onwards. At Nelson’s Wharf the arm was full to capacity, the steam boat Adamant sat outside the lift bridge with another just the other side. The towpath and in front of Willow Wren was filled with boats, several gazebos were filling up with people and a hog roast sat in it’s portable oven still cooking away. There was obviously a do of some sort going on. In the hold of an old work boat a couple sat presumably awaiting means to cross the canal to the do, but no one seemed to be coming for them.

Just before the slight bend at the bottom of Calcutt we saw the bow of a coal boat coming towards us. NB Calisto had just come down, we could do with coal and a top up of diesel but here wasn’t the right place. If we’d been a few minutes earlier we’d have been on the lock landing as he left the lock and all would have been possible. We rose in the lock on our own and swapped with another boat coming down. At the top lock there was a lot of people who didn’t have a boat, but did have windlasses, one in a high vis jacket, training was going on.

We were asked if we minded sharing, of course we didn’t and waited patiently for a hire boat to be brought round from it’s mooring to join us. The chap at the helm had driven a boat before whereas his crew were beginners. We all followed instructions and wound the paddles up half way, ten turns, then another few followed by the last five turns. Oleanna was brought out first so that we wouldn’t be held up, except there was chance for the crew to hop on board of the hire boat at the lock and the gate to be closed by someone else, so Mick had to pull in to pick me up meaning the hire boat was in front.

With the instructor happy with how things were going he hopped off shortly afterwards and left them to it. A new helmsman had a go, zigzagging began, the helm was handed back. At the junction they turned left and we paused for a Napton Hire boat to turn onto the Grand Union towards us. It’s funny seeing all the faces of people having just picked up their hire boats, excitedly checking everything out inside and out whilst the helmsperson gets the hang of steering, the over sized gestures from crew positioned at the front that nobody but themselves understands. We were once those people.

At the junction we turned right Oxford bound. This is new water for Oleanna, the three of us have been here only once before on Lillian so it’s not that familiar. We’ll be on the Oxford now until just before Christmas, as a lock on the Napton flight will be closing to be rebuilt. We are done with broad canals for some time. Passing Napton Hire base where a new boat is being fitted out, sticking well out into the cut. We decided we’d by now had enough of the rain and pulled in at the first mooring we came across, not knowing how much space there would be up ahead. Plenty of hire boats came past all heading for The Folly no doubt on their first night out.

Tilly enjoyed her shore leave as we sat and listened to the locals playing tunes on their car horns as they crossed the two bridges which book end the moorings. Maybe we should have gone that little bit further!

13 locks, 1 shared, 4.75 miles, 2 soggy boaters, 1 very low pound, 3462734 apples, 1 right, 2 honking bridges, 2 hours of soggy fun.

https://goo.gl/maps/839WxU6dBPA2

Mob Handed Or Too Many? 18th February

Ellesmere Port Basin

Sunday morning, a cooked breakfast with a difference. We’d spotted in Sainsburys some mushroom saugsages, Shroomdogs, and thought we’d give them a try. They were nice, low in fat (although you have to pan fry them), but we’d rather have proper sausages, or if being good, turkey ones, but they were nice for a change.

I got to have a bit of an explore, not that there is much on this island. Somehow she thought I was up to no good, no idea what made her think that!

Once I’d seared the outside of a joint of Silverside and sat it on top of some onions and carrots in the cast iron pot, given it a tipple of red wine, I sat it on the stove top to slowly cook whilst we had a look at the rest of the museum.

A narrowboat sat in the top lock ready to do a lock demonstration, smoke could be seen rising from one of the cottage chimneys and a couple of ladies were walking round in period dress. There was certainly more activity going on today than yesterday, the volunteers were out in numbers.

We took time to look around the boats moored outside. The amount of space you get in a Leeds Liverpool short boat is vast, if we ever upgraded to a fat boat I’d want one of these.

A group of volunteers were getting ready to move George, another short boat, out from under cover. George is one of the last horse drawn short boats, therefore has no engine so was going to have to be poled and pulled out from her position. Ropes were being attached to a pontoon bridge which connects the Island Warehouse to the Toll House. We decided to take a seat and watch what was going on.

Containers under the pontoon needed to be pumped out so that it could be floated out of the way, this was going to take time so we watched the lock demo for a bit. However having already done 721 locks with Oleanna there was nothing said that we didn’t know already.

The narrow locks were built with problems. The top chamber is getting on for 8/9 feet deep the second one maybe only 5 feet. This means that there is an excess of water and the bottom lock and pound above were prone to flooding, added to this that the bottom lock is around 8 inches lower than the pound above it most probably flooded every time it was used. A channel was added linking the intermediary pound to the one between the two broad locks. This meant that the water had a much larger area to level itself out. As we came down the locks I’d noticed water coming in from the broad side and the bottom narrow lock did look like it was going to flood the towpath and surrounding area, it didn’t due to the underwater channel.

Once the bridge was moveable it was pulled across and tied up to the side, then it was George’s turn to move. Ropes were flung across to waiting volunteers and a lady poled her from the stern. From where we were it was very obvious that the gap left was far too narrow to get such a broad boat through, but they carried on, realising the bridge would need to move some more. Juggling boats here must have been such a nightmare when there were still the sunken boats about, today it was hard enough.

We moved up onto a bridge and from our higher position we could see that more space was needed, but we refrained from calling out directions and left it to the volunteers. Eventually after nudging boats about they got George clear and to the top of the locks where they would need to turn her. There were already too many people helping so we decided we’d be better off inside the museum and left them to it.

George will be going out onto the Ship Canal on Wednesday, from where she will be taken onto the River Weaver and taken to Northwich where she will be getting a fresh coat of blacking on her wooden hull.

The upper floor of the Island Warehouse is filled with even more interesting things.

NB Friendship is the centre piece and she deserves to be.

Built by Sephtons at Hawksbury Junction for Joe and Rose Skinner in 1924 she was a horse drawn narrowboat. She cost £300 and the Skinners paid an initial £140 the remainder being gradually paid off by weekly 10 shilling instalments. NB Friendship became their home for over 50 years. Joe purchased Dolly their Mule from the US army at the end of WW1, she was a faithful worker giving 40 years of service. She fell into the Oxford Canal and then developed pneumonia which sadly led to her being put down. Without Dolly it wasn’t the same and with motor boats everywhere it was hard to compete, so they decided to retire at the end of 1959. Even though they had a house at Hawksbury Junction they continued to live on board NB Friendship using the house to store Joe’s scrap and occasionally cook Sunday dinner.

They would go to boat rallies and in 1973 they did their last long trip to Northampton, Joe was now in his 80’s. Joe died following a stroke in 1975 followed a year later by Rose. They had been married 56 years. Friendship was left to Rose’s niece, by 1978 enough money had been raised to bring the boat to Ellesmere Port. Much work was needed, but it was decided that it would be best to store her on dry land and retain the original boat as much as possible. To get her to her location in the museum she had to be cut in half and craned onto the first floor, rolled into position on scaffolding bars where she was put back together.

On this floor there is so much, you can rock an ice breaker, I managed to clear 5.3m of ice. You can look around a wooden cruiser, virtual tours of several other boats, watch footage of the Telford Warehouse burning to the ground in 1975. Listen to a navvie having a break, look at wooden patterns that were used for casting lock pieces, 1:24 scale models of hulls and try counting the number of granny squares it took to cover Rainbow.

A good information packed afternoon and we feel that we most definitely got our moneys worth. We could even have returned for some more as we found ourselves skipping over parts. Another £4 to moor another night and some chilled medication to walk back to Oleanna with. Tomorrow when we leave the museum will be closed, so no gongoozlers to help push gates.

Our pot roast beef was delicious, we’ll defiantly be doing that again.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 more night, 1 moor hen, 4 shroomdogs, 48 hours of lights, 8+ to move a bridge and boat, 2 more voices not needed, 94 years old, 1 special boat, 5.3m, £300, 5 boaty craft stalls, 283 squares, 1 super tasty joint of beef, 1 hearth rug finished.

Pregnancy Trekking. 17th February

Ellesmere Port Basin

Last night we realised that where we are moored is opposite the Holiday Inn’s function room and we wondered if we would be kept awake tonight with a noisy disco from a wedding or some such. Mick ventured out of the museum to find a Saturday paper, he succeeded at a petrol station, most probably having had to dice with death vaulting over barriers on the big roads around here. But he returned safely for breakfast.

Across in the function room we could see people milling around, a bit early for a wedding. Maybe it was a conference. I zoomed in with my camera to some things that were on a table at the end of the room, sadly I didn’t take a photo. Next to what looked like a raffle prize of a basket of fruit was a display board. There was a map of Africa, a photo of a group of people in football shirts and across the top it said Pregnancy Trekking. All the people in the room were women of various ages, but mostly ladies who had long passed the days of child bearing. Maybe it said Pregnancy Training! They spent the day in that room, had lunch and at one point the curtains were firmly closed, either a film or some group activity that required some privacy.

Anyhow, after breakfast we walked up to reception to finish checking in. Our mooring fee for two nights was the entrance fee for us both for the first day followed by £4 a night for Oleanna, £23.50. The entrance fee covers us for a full years admittance here and at The National Waterways Museum Gloucester too. This is very handy as we plan on heading to the Gloucester Sharpness Canal this year, just hope it reopens after a refurbishment before we get there.

The Ellesmere Canal was Thomas Telfords first canal building job, linking the Mersey to the Dee at Chester and then the Severn (this section was never achieved). Ellesmere Port was a holiday destination in the 1790’s, very hard to believe now. Golden sands, a modern bathing house and the tourists were brought here by packet boat from Liverpool and Chester. The first canal basin was small, with only a lock keepers cottage, an inn, stables and an engine to pump water from the upper basin.

The red dot is where we are moored

By 1843 a new dock was opened, updated with warehouses, offices and upgraded locks, it could now be a busy commercial port. New links with the Trent and Mersey, Birmingham and Liverpool Canals meant that the port grew quickly. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, bringing with it much industry. The Shropshire Union and Railway company advertised itself as the ‘first port on the Manchester Ship Canal’. Metal work, oil and chemicals all brought with it a growth in the population, no longer a holiday destination, just a mass of industry! A lack of housing and increase in pollution followed. The port expanded.

No warehouses around us today

Oleanna would just be through that archway

Moving goods on and off ships and canal boats took time, so hydraulic cranes were used around the docks to speed the process up all powered from a central Pump House. Later a dock railway did a similar job. They even produced their own gas on site, so work could continue through the night. Where Oleanna is moored at the moment there used to be warehouses spanning the islands, with archways below where boats could be loaded and unloaded. There are still signs of the supporting pillars as we walk to and from from Oleanna.

In 1956 the docks closed, the site decayed and buildings became derelict. In 1971 an enthusiastic group wanting to preserve boats and the traditions of the canals decided to take action. They created The North West Museum of Inland Navigation, with local support Ellesmere Port became their home. The Toll House was the first to be restored and in June 1976 it housed a small exhibition. In 1980 The Boat Museum Trust was formed and in 1999 it was renamed the National Waterways Museum.

Last year a project funded by the Arts Council England Resilience Fund meant that many decaying sunk boats could be lifted out from the water and put into storage off site so that restoration work can be carried out on them. The Victoria Arm has funding to help develop it into a dry dock to be used to help conserve the museums boats and possibly for commercial use. The largest of the museums boats Cuddington (our nearest neighbour) will be able to fit in the dock.

We spent the morning exploring the slipway, carpenters workshops, stables, power house.

Then having home on our doorstep we returned to Oleanna for lunch before visiting the four Porters cottages which have been laid out spanning from 1830’s to 1950’s. Then we moved on to the Island Warehouse, but only managed to do the ground floor. There is so much to read and look at, things we thought we knew about, but there is so much more. Originally we thought we’d spend a day doing the museum, but because we can, we’ll finish what we started tomorrow, we may even stay another night.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 private museum, 4 cottages, 52 pregnancy trekkers, 4mm needles, 2 much to read, 2 much to take in, 2nd day needed, 1 quiet night on board.

Taylor’s Boatyard. 11th February

Chester

Whilst we waited for paint to dry on Friday we were invited by Yvette to have a look around Taylor’s Boatyard.

Taylor’s Boatyard is the only remaining traditional boat building yard of it’s kind left in Great Britain. The facilities were originally built around 1845 by the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company who owned the canal and a large fleet of boats. At that time the yard provided a Blacksmith’s Shop, Sawmill, Offices, a Dry Dock and Slipways. These services were added to in the late 1800s by a Travelling Crane, Flat Shed, Carpenter’s & Painter’s Shop and a canopy for the Dry Dock.

In 1921 the Shropshire Union Canal Company finished canal carrying and the yard was taken over by the London & North Western Railway a year later. Then in 1926 J.H. Taylor leased the slipways and dry dock and by the 1930s had taken over all buildings that is now known as Taylor’s Boatyard. Taylor’s thrived, building wooden boats into the 70’s when the fashion for steel hulls took over.

When we first passed on our very first cruise on NB Winding Down in 2009 the yard looked in a sorry state. Unloved, the slipway area covered in rotting boats and more sat gunnel height in the water. At that time British Waterways ran the graving dock, but this was rarely used by anyone. To hire it you had to provide railings around the site to protect the public, this cost was on top of hiring the dock. So a few locals would club together and hire it out for a several months at a time to spread the additional cost of the railings.

By 2011, we noticed someone was on site at the boatyard as things were starting to look a touch more cared for. The sunken boats had been removed and the place had a tidier look to it. Pete and Yvette had taken over the yard after lengthy negotiations with BW and have returned it to a working yard. In between the usual work of a boat yard, restoration work has been taking place on the Grade 2 Listed site.

The first job was to paint the pillars and trellis iron work over the slipways. This has been done in London and North Western Railway colours. The roof lights of the main shed needed replacing and timber of the right period was used from an old mill in Manchester.

Work rebuilding the Carpenter’s Shop and the Blacksmiths Shop are on going.

The old wooden sawmill which originally housed a steam driven circular saw bench was my favourite and has had work done to stabilise it.

Three small wooden boats sit in the main shed. Here the Shropshire Union Canal boats would be built and launched into the canal sideways on sleds of greased timber. The canal has a sort of beach on the yards side creating a short slipway. The current boats were hauled out from the canal on metal rails, this doesn’t happen often and there are a lot of boats to move when it does. Pete works on fitting boats out and a grey primed cruiser stern narrowboat sat in the water nearby.

Pete and Yvette also look after the Graving Dock and Lock and the moorings below on the Dee Branch. They bought their own fencing to surround the Graving Dock which does the job and no more. The name comes from the verb ‘to grave’ a ship’s bottom by burning off accretions and applying tar to it, ‘blacking’. It was built in the 18th Century for wide boats and was open to the elements at the time, having it’s roof added in the late 1800s. The lock down into the Dee Branch is known as a graving lock. This could also be used to grave boats for short periods of time only as it closed the navigation to the Dee. Wooden planks were inserted into slots in the side of the lock which as the lock emptied the boat would rest on so that work could be done on the hull. By the 20th century there was a sliding roof on rails that could be used to protect boats being painted . Through 2017 this lock had a lockage count of 72 one of the least used locks on the system where as Locks 2 & 3 Hillmorton were counted 9552 times, the highest lockage count.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 interesting visit, 1 last historic working yard.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna