With a little under a quarter left in our water tank we decided to push off and have a top up this morning. We were fortunate to find the taps on both sides of Westbourne Terrace Bridge unoccupied so we didn’t have to share the water pressure with anyone else. Once the rubbish was disposed of and the tank full we reversed back through the bridge, winded and came back round the island to our mooring.
We tidied ourselves up and set off for our lunch date with Christine and Paul. We’ve passed the restaurants that run along the side of the canal numerous times, but never been inside, so today was going to be a treat as we were going to The Waterway.
Christine had booked an outside table. Outside is actually under two huge canopies and surrounded by large see through plastic walls, but there is still a lot of air circulating, heated by large electric heaters, one above our table.
As a meal out is now quite a treat we all had three courses. I had Squid with chilli sauce for starters. Followed by a very aromatic chicken in an basket enamel tray with fries and beetroot coleslaw. The chicken had been rubbed with cumin and was very tasty. My pudding was a scoop each of their sorbets, mango, lemon and raspberry, the first chilled medication I’ve had this year!
A very leisurely lunch with good company and wine. Again it was so good to be with family again after such a long time. Hopefully things will have improved sufficiently by Christmas for there to be a Geraghty Leckenby get together this year, well we can hope.
Much of the rest of the afternoon has been spent on the verge of snoozing. Mick has caught up with Mark Cavendish winning a stage of the Tour de France, I’ve got the blog up to date and done a little bit of work.
Tilly had some excitement when she came across a rat almost nose to nose with her. Tilly was far keener than the rat, who in the end after a stand off decided it would be best to run away, all be it closely followed by Tilly. I however decided that maybe it was dingding time for her and managed to encourage her back inside and closed the doors.
0 locks, 0.28 miles, 1 full water tank, 2 outsides, 1 confused Tilly, 2 boaters cleaned up, 3rd day in a row, 1 squid, 1 goats cheese croquets, 1 gravlax, 3 burgers, 1 chicken in a basket, 3 scoops, 1 cheese cake, 1 crème brulee, 1 brownie, 2 bottles wine, 1 lovely lunch, 3rd sister, how to get to see the 4th? 3rd neighbour, 1 snoozie afternoon, 1 long tailed friend.
The walk up to the breach site and cofferdam took us past fields of Alpacas.
At one end of the farm a huge log cabin is being constructed, some of the logs a couple of feet in diameter. Is this going to be a house, alpaca shelter or an activity centre of some sort? Whatever it looks interesting.
Passing the lines of fishermen we could see up to the cofferdam. The pumps working hard to keep the levels up towards the docks.
On the other side of New Bridge we could see more.
A digger was balancing on top of a mound of aggregate picking up twisted and rusted short lengths of piling which once used to hold the water in the canal. A standard pickup was being loaded with it to remove it from site.
Several high-vis people stood on the concrete section above the drain. A digger down in the cofferdam, from here we couldn’t see what it had been doing.
A section of piling has been removed over the drain revealing the concrete behind it. For a while it looked like old piling had been revealed along the north bank, but looking back at Mark’s photos this isn’t the case. The piling on this stretch looks dinted and old.
Has piling been removed from the south bank, there are a couple of lengths which are back to concrete and concrete sandbags making up the bank. Looking back at Mark’s photos from before the cofferdam was fully drained this section has always looked like this, no piling.
On the track leading to the site long lengths of new piling lie waiting to be used and more water pipes are stacked up.
We decided to walk over the bridge to see what we could see from the other side. Here numerous large generators were whirring away. Wonder how often the diesel needs topping up and how much that is costing just to keep the water flowing before you add into it the repair?
Looking back into the cofferdam we could now see where the digger had been working. The bank here has had the piling removed and from behind it earth has either fallen or is being dug out. This is roughly where the big hole has been in view for some time.
Our Final Trip Back, 6th May
Thursday was a very early start. Mick picked up yet another hire car. Companies in Goole hadn’t had any vehicles available so Mick was on a bus to be at the Enterprise Office in Selby for 8am. Back for breakfast, then we crossed back over the Wolds towards Scarborough.
Mick had a dentist appointment this morning. I sat waiting in the car managing to do a row on my crochet blanket. I’ve been managing a colour an evening in front of the TV and at the moment it’s not too big to have on a journey.
Next we headed for the house. It’s strange arriving at your home and ringing the door bell before going in. Bill was at rehearsals but Alex was at home. There were a couple of things we needed from inside, including some post. Our new National Trust cards had arrived a month ago and been put in the filing tray which had gone into the shed.
We stood on opposite sides of the living room, 3m between us and had a quick catch up with Alex, whom I think I last saw about 9 years ago. Rehearsals are going well and apparently our house and kitchen are ideal for the show. The set is two houses side to side, like ours. The kitchen layout very similar, so Alex was busy rehearsing the first scenes where there is a lot of kitchen business, trying to get the moves into muscle memory.
Whilst we were there the postman arrived with a new bank card for me. We found our National Trust cards and picked up the boat plants, Thyme parsley and the ailing Christmas tree, I’m hoping it will perk back up on the boat. A short visit at distance. If the NT cards are all we’d forgotten I’d be amazed.
Next, time to pick up a couple of things from Dunelm, a saute pan with lid required for boat life and a new lasagne dish as the old one split in two the other day. After a spot of lunch we drove up to Scarborough Hospital for my appointment of the day, a routine Mammogram.
As I checked in there were no temperature checks as there had been when I visited York Hospital in December, no questions regarding covid other than if I’d had a vaccine. To which the answer was yes, I gave the lady the date, then I was asked which arm I’d had it in. Interesting, would this have a baring on my photos?
My appointment was very swift and I was out waiting for Mick to pick me up in about fifteen minutes.
One last drive by the sea before we left. Poor Freddie sat on his bench, his body language matched the sleet falling from the big black clouds. On our last Sunday walk in Scarborough I’d intended for us to stop at the Harbour Bar and have some chilled medication, but as things have worked out we didn’t manage a last Sunday walk. We’ll just have to do it when we visit next time, maybe the weather then will have warmed up a touch.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 digger, 8 pumps? 1 fallen bank, 63 alpacas, 1 tree cabin, 1 more hire car, 1 row, 1 dentist, 3 plants, 1 rehearsal kitchen, 3 cards, 1 negative, 4 boob squashed photos, 1 pan, 1 lid, 1 dish, 1 last look at the sea for a while, 4 soggy donkeys, 1 bored cat, 1 knitting stash stashed away again.
Get yourself a cuppa and put your feet up, this is a long post.
Having seen New Year in on the North Stratford Canal we commenced the new year by cruising in to Birmingham or as Tilly would have it know, BUMingham, she’s not too keen!
A meeting with Amy from Dark Horse Theatre Company about a project in the summer set out our years cruising as I’d need to be in Huddersfield then York for the show. Then it was time to pack and get myself ready for ten days in Vienna. This would be the longest I’ve been away from boat life since we set out in 2014. Half of my clothes were packed up along with a basic scene painting kit and I jetted off to what was a mixed experience. Despite the problems I had a wonderful time working with a great team in the theatre, I hope one day to return.
Whilst I marvelled at the wonderful scenes in Vienna and pulled my hair out at work, trying to keep a calm exterior, Mick and Tilly headed back out into the countryside towards Tardebigge on the Worcester and Birmingham. Here they met up with a friend Chris who was planning a boat build.
Mick and Tilly came back into Birmingham to pick me up and then we set about exploring the BCN. There is plenty to explore and we didn’t quite manage to go everywhere, but we did our best.
We headed up Smethwick New Locks onto the Old Main line. Stopped at Dudley Port Basin, coconuts accompanied us down Brades Staircase, then through Netherton Tunnel where we’d planned on visiting Hawne Basin, but thick ice thwarted our first attempt. The following day we succeeded and had a bumpy ride along the Dudley No 2 to fill our diesel tank.
Factory Locks brought us back onto the Old Main Line, we visited Wolverhampton, turned onto the Wyrley and Essington Canal and wiggled our way through the rubbish to Pelsall Junction. Here we had a wonderful get together with my bestestest friend and her son Ted (my Godson) who were over from Sydney, an all but too short lunch with them before they headed onwards on their whistlestop tour of England.
The Cannock Extension and Anglesey Branch were ticked off followed by the Daw End Branch, The Rushall Canal, Tame Valley Canal and up the Ryders Green Locks back into the centre of BUMingham early February.
I designed costumes and made the white card model for The Garden for Dark Horse whilst we sat out storm Ciara which was to wipe out the Figure of Three Locks on the Calder Hebble. The damage to the locks looked great and not fixable quickly, a rethink to our cruising route was needed for me to get to work in the summer.
We went to the Symphony Hall and listened to Schubert and Berg spurred on by Dimitrios from NB Galene. Storm Dennis kept us from cruising to our next evening of entertainment at Titford Pump House, a bus replacement did the job so that we could see Alarum Theatre Company’s Acts of Abandonment. Little did we know at the time that this was to be our last live theatre until December.
A night out in the countryside for Tilly and a last night in the city to fill our bellies with curry. Then we were off again, up Smethwick Locks under the M5 where the scaffolding was being taken down. We turned up the Oldbury Locks following a boat that turned out to be NB Sola Gratia. A spin round the Titford Pools was in order before we returned for another diesel top up at Hawne Basin.
The Walsall Canal now beckoned us, that was a bumpy ride over trolleys, trees and all sorts! A fantastic fabric shop, the New Art Gallery right by our mooring and The Leather Museum kept our interest for a couple of days before we climbed up the Walsall Locks back up to Wyrley and Essington Canal.
The ladies at Urban Moorings welcomed us for an overnight visit, time to work the washing machine hard as we plugged into the electric. Then we kept our fingers crossed for a mooring at The Black Country Museum, which thankfully worked.
Marion and John came to meet us for an afternoon at the museum and we all enjoyed fish and chips with plenty of salt and vinegar in between visiting shops and watching chain links being made. The following day we took a boat trip into the Dudley Tunnel, had a second visit to the museum along with a portion of chips before heading out to moor in Tipton and have a visit from Heather from NB Bleasdale, followed by a pie at Mad O’Roukes Pie Factory.
The 7th of March saw us descend the Wolverhampton 21, leaving the Birmingham plateau behind us. Blimey we managed to pack a lot into the first ten weeks of the year! Just as well really. Onto the Shroppie where I had my first successes with gluten free sour dough bread, Tilly got to remember life in the countryside and we were treated to Shroppie Sunsets again.
The recent storms had brought down numerous trees and caused landslips so our progress was a touch slow heading northwards. We had a lovely lunch with Alison and Laura the Margees at Norbury Junction, they were to be our last visitors on board Oleanna for quite sometime.
Passing NB Bessie Surtees on the Tyrley Locks we actually got chance to chat for the first time. A stop to stock up in Market Drayton, we saw our first homemade mask (a pair of y fronts repurposed) and the start of empty shelves in supermarkets with people gleeful to have a twelve pack of toilet roll under their coat.
The Audlem flight was busy with plenty going down and NB Mountbatten coming up, delivering coal as they went. Theatres closed that day and we started to put into practice new ways of working locks hoping to keep ourselves safe. As we socially distanced around the shops in Nantwich people were joking about the virus. We shopped, adapting what we bought to what was available and then got ready for our first Zoom with family on the 21st March.
We stocked up with NB Halsall at Calverley then made our way onto the Middlewich Branch and down Cholmondeston Lock. The following morning (23rd March) we listened to our gut instincts. If lockdown was to happen we’d rather not have to negotiate locks to get to shops or services, so we winded and headed back up Cholmondeston Lock onto the Nantwich pound. Our gut instinct was correct.
The next few days we saw plenty of boats moving, finding places they wanted to spend the coming weeks, heading for home or temporary ones like NB Briar Rose. Jac my sister in law eventually managed to get a flight back from Melbourne where she’d been to celebrate her Mum’s birthday, at last everyone was where they should be.
We tried different moorings out for size as the need to fill with water or get shopping arose. It was also good to keep Tilly moving, both to stop her from getting bored and to help the local wildlife survive.
Our decision to be on the Nantwich pound turned out to be a good one, we ended up mooring at the bottom of Hurleston on the visitor moorings most, this became ‘Home’ for us where we watched spring turn into summer.
Watching the field behind the hedge be ploughed, planted and start to grow. Listening to the Lapwings enjoying the bounty in the potato fields. Getting to know our neighbours at a distance. The wheelie shoppers. The huskies out for their morning walk. The egg farm at the top of the locks. Weekly veg boxes from Nantwich Veg Boxes which we collected for ourselves and NB AreandAre. Supermarket deliveries were sought each week, sometimes only managing click and collect. The sun shone and Tilly had freedom. The coal boats kept us stocked up with fuel and our waterless (composting) toilet took one need to move out of the equation.
By mid-April my design for The Garden had been reimagined into an illustrated audio play. I was to do the illustrations, then they would have audio and some animation added to be available online. Chippy panto started to gear up with the hope that all would be back to normal-ish by the end of November for the show to be mounted.
We winded, went for walks, watched plays on the internet, winded, ate cheese scones, winded again! Tilly ventured further afield, across her field. We had barbeques, brownies and watched the reservoir banks get mown by remote control.
By Mid-May we were allowed to travel, so we hired a car for a day trip to Scarborough to see how our house was after the tenants had lost it during lockdown. In need of some tlc we now made plans for the rest of the year. We would be returning to life on land for a while, but planned on cruising as much as we could before then.
On the 23rd of May the suspension of the 14 day rule was lifted, our ‘home’ mooring was now 48 hours only so it was time to start moving again. Some boats around Hurleston headed off straight away, others remained a full 14 days before pushing off. We spent the next two weeks pootling to the far ends of the pound, Hack Green and Calvereley, the gunnels got a repaint and we said farewell to NB AreandAre who were heading up onto the Llangollen.
With a full boat of veg and fruit from Nantwich Veg boxes, a Sainsburys shop and a visit from NB Halsall we were ready and on the 10th June we pushed our ‘home’ mooring away for the last time this year, Calverely was visited for a top up of water a toilet refresh and then we were off, turning onto the Middlewich Branch and descending Cholmondeston Lock, our first lock in 80 days. New gardening gloves became my boaters PPE and worked well, better than sanitising every five minutes.
Across onto the Trent and Mersey where we headed for Bramble Cuttings for a couple of nights. We’d been hoping to be able to drop down onto the Weaver but the Anderton Boat lift was still closed. So instead we winded at Whatcroft flash and headed up the Cheshire Locks hoping to catch Bosley Locks being open for a day to make our way onto the summit pound of the Macclesfield.
It was nice being back on familiar ground again, although it took a little while to be able to do the Trent and Mersey hurdles over the lockgate beams with ease after sitting still for so long.
Our chairs were brought out onto the towpath to watch the setting sun at Tilly Railings and a barbeque was enjoyed on the Dane Aqueduct as we waited in line for Bosley Locks to open.
With a single hander in front and one behind everyone helped out where we could making our passage up the locks a very jolly if hot one that only took 2.5 hours. Over the next ten days or so we pootled our way along the Macclesfield Canal, such a lovely stretch of water and oh those bridges! Still our favourites.
Calling in at Bollington Wharf we had our gas locker lid mended and had a top up of diesel. Foxgloves filled the canal banks and woods, we stopped at favourite spots along the way turning under the snake bridge at Marple onto the Peak Forest Canal at the end of June, heading for Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth Basin.
Saturday 4th July the pubs could re-open, we however went for a walk and waited for our delivery from Sainsburys along with a diesel top up from NB Alton. A batch of cheese scones were made to help us down the Marple flight on the 7th, we were the second boat down and it felt like we were pioneering boats going where no one had gone for months.
A couple of nights at Droylesden Marina saw to the washing pile and to recharge our batteries before we descended into Manchester. Our last narrow lock of the year was to be Ancotes Bottom Lock 1 on the Ashton Flight where we paused for a night at Telford Basin before tackling the Rochdale 9 on our own the following day. Patience and sheer determination got us out of Lock 92 at the bottom and was rewarded with a cheese scone as we made our way out to the Bridgewater Canal and Worsely.
The 14th July saw us rising up the Wigan Flight. We’d made arrangements to share the locks with NB Billy but it was decided by the volunteer lock keepers that they might be over long to share with, so instead we teamed up with John and Lindsey on NB Merganser. With the help of the Wigan Flight crew setting ahead we made good time up the flight, we then slowed down leaving the others to head off ahead of us.
The next few days we found ourselves leapfrogging NB Billy, or should that be hopfrogging? But we finally caught them up at Blackburn to share the locks. Another spectacular sunset was enjoyed by all near Foster Swing Bridge.
We’d planned to take our time along this stretch, but with local lockdowns looking possible in the area we decided to push on. The Burnley Embankment was busy with walkers and not a place to stop so we continued on to the bottom of Barrowford Locks. The following day we were caught up again by NB Billy so we shared the final flight up to the summit with Clare and Pete.
Our sixth anniversary of being fulltime boaters happened to coincide with pulling up at our favourite mooring on the network, the curley wurlys above Bank Newton. The following day the clouds lifted and we got to see the view. A barbecue was just managed before it started to rain.
It wasn’t quite plain sailing down into Skipton as the skipper of NB Amelie ended up in the cut at the bottom of Bank Newton and then we had problems with lock gates and swing bridges. Mick and I had an overnight in Scarborough leaving Tilly in charge and with the magic food bowl primed. On our return to Skipton we were met by two octogenarians leaning out of the upstairs windows of their house waving. We joined Margaret and Robert for a lovely meal, good to see them even if we were a bit nervy being in their company inside.
Sunny weather accompanied us onwards and finally I managed to take the photo I’ve been after for four years, Oleanna coming towards me under Parson’s Bridge. Now we have the matching pair, Lillian going away from us, Oleanna towards.
At Bingley five rise we teamed up with NB Barley to descend with the help of Lock Keeper Clare, carrying on to Saltaire in the sunshine.
A pause in Rodley meant we could meet up with friends Graham and Tracy in their new garden room, very nice to have a good catch up with them. The following day we took the opportunity to have lunch with my cousins Julie and John, our first pub in months.
Meeting up with Jenny and Andy on NB Barley again we shared the locks down into Leeds with them early the next day. A lack of water meant it took an hour to do one pound as water was let down from above, but we made it in the end to Granary Wharf. Shame the lack of water followed us, in fact the basin did a good job of emptying itself overnight. It took quite a few hours before boats had enough water to be afloat again, we all made a hasty exit as soon as we could.
Back into the big locks of the Aire and Calder we motored on to Ferrybridge where now only three of the power station cooling towers remain, a very sad sight.
Down Bank Dole Lock, the slow filler and we headed to Selby. Our trip up the Tidal Ouse was an interesting one a there were SO many trees floating about, we had to try our best to loose them before passing through what few bridges there were. Kingfishers escorted us just about all the way to Naburn which was a real treat. Instead of pulling up in York we decided to head on up to Ripon, we’d spend time in York on our way back, or so we thought!
Above Boroughbridge a familiar boat came into view, NB Billy. This was the last time our bows would cross this year. At Oxclose Lock we had some time for Tilly to explore before heading up into Ripon Basin to meet up with Robert and Margaret again and for Tilly to show off her ability to spot otters.
On our way downstream the river was rising, we stopped off for a meal at The Dawney Arms making the most of the Eat out to Help out deal. Wonderful food and chance to meet up with Kerry the Landlady and hoped that the river level would ease overnight. Fortunately it did and we made our way in to York. We had hoped to meet up with old friends whilst we were in the area, it turned out the only people I got to see where Jaye and Duncan for lunch. Social distancing, rising rivers sadly put paid to seeing other people.
Over the next ten days the river rose twice. On one fall we made it back into York to pick up a supermarket delivery but very quickly headed back to Naburn where we ended up breasting up in a line of four boats tied to the floating pontoon by the water point. Levels didn’t rise so much as to necessitate wellies or waders, but it did put paid to the London Leckenbys joining us for a few days at the nearby campsite. A big disappointment all round.
But on the 31st August levels had dropped sufficiently for us to head back to Selby accompanied by Richard and Heather on NB Isabella, new boat owners. Naburn was their very first lock, Selby was to be their second! It was such a beautiful morning, we led the way but then let them go first when we reached Selby, we were likely to be able to stem the tide better, but they managed the lock with ease.
At West Haddelsey we had a visit from Bridget and Storm, so lovely to see them. We’d planned on being good and sitting out, they’d even brought their own chairs and the camper van for their own toilet. But as it started to rain we bent the rules taking shelter inside Oleanna. This was the day I gave a second phone to the god of the cut.
For a replacement we headed down to Goole, calling in at Viking Marina to check we would have a mooring later in the month. After filling up with cheap diesel we then headed off up toward Doncaster and Sprotbrough where we caught up with Mick’s niece Fran, before returning back onto the Aire and Calder to do maintenance jobs and enjoy our last days onboard.
On the 18th September we pulled into our berth at the marina, finished off the contents of the freezer and started to pack. Two trips in a hire car to Scarborough and we were moved, Tilly joining us the second time.
Back then we imagined we’d be down to Oleanna doing jobs on day trips and by now we’d have had a couple of weeks out on the cut, but this simply wasn’t to be.
Jobs in the house keep me busy, along with starting work on the postponed Chippy panto. Mick for a while applied for supermarket jobs, hoping to be a delivery driver. The only job he was offered was as a meet and greeter just before Novembers lockdown. We both decided that maybe we’d cope without the money.
Then before Christmas came the news of the Aire and Calder breach. Fortunately plenty of people are keeping an eye on all the boats including Oleanna.
Blimey what a year!
So our vital statistics for the year 2020 according to canal plan are
Total distance is 792 miles, 2 ½ furlong and 339 locks . There are 82 moveable bridges of which 5 are usually left open; 233 small aqueducts or underbridges and 41 tunnels – a total of 19 miles 6 ¾ furlongs underground and 8 major aqueducts.
This is made up of 365 miles, ¼ furlongs of narrow canals; 242 miles, 4 ¾ furlongs of broad canals; 81 miles, 3 ¾ furlongs of commercial waterways; 76 miles, 1 ¾furlongs of small rivers; 0 miles of large rivers; 27 miles of tidal rivers; 202 narrow locks; 118 broad locks; 18 large locks; 1 lock on major waterways.
Sadly with Oleanna’s log book where it should be, onboard, I’m not able to offer up the engine hours, litres of diesel, gas bottle or bags of coal. This year I can’t even work out how many boxes of wine we’ve gone through!
However I can tell you that from one page of journeys on our trip computer, missing out all the journeys in between the start of the page and the end, the total distance travelled would have been 2.25 furlongs. Instead it actually amounted to 56 miles 7.5 furlongs with 19 winds (turning around). This was of course in Lockdown 1. Grand total number of winds this year, 67.
Here’s hoping that the pandemic calms down, we all get vaccinated and the breach on the Aire and Calder gets sorted so that we can go boating again. After all we didn’t plan to move back on land permanently!
Since my last catch up we’ve been doing our best to get festive. Our Christmas lights went up earlier than normal, thankfully they have all survived our time away. We used to have two 6ft Christmas trees that we’d buy in Dalby Forest, but this year our £4 tree from Newark Market, back in 2015 sits on a table in a bay window. The lights that used to decorate the trees are now around the windows.
A week or so ago we had a half hour singing carols with neighbours at the top of the road with Scarborough’s Town Crier, he lives two doors up from us. Have to say I surprised myself at the number of carols I knew without a song sheet. The Town Crier may have been loud, but we were more tuneful shall we say!
A burst water main at the top of the street gave the Crier something else to shout about as Yorkshire Water turned the water off for a few hours one evening. No need to knock on doors just get the Town Crier to do his thing up and down the street.
Frank our bubble carpenter has helped sample Christmas biscuits, more ginger was required and my jar was deemed to be past it. There was a distinct shortage of ground ginger in town (apparently something to do with the pandemic) so I thought I’d have a go at making my own. I red up about it and a large root that had arrived a week earlier was peeled (with the aid of a spoon handle), sliced up in the Kenwood chef and then spread out on an oven tray. This went in a very low oven for three plus hours to dry out, it then got ground in the spice mill.
Whilst the ginger was doing it’s thing there was a popping noise from the main oven that I’d just turned on to cook our evening meal. It stopped warming up, it had stopped working. Top oven where the ginger was being quite fragrant still worked thankfully. The following day we pulled the oven out to see if there was anything we could do. One thing led to another and after admitting defeat we managed to push the oven doors onto the floor. This created a rather sparkly effect as the top oven door shattered and both doors ended up being rather dinted!
With less than two weeks to Christmas we hunted round for a good double oven, finding one at John Lewis that would arrive the following week, not quite as good as our old one, but at the very top of what we were willing to pay. Mick then remembered he’d ticked the accidental damage box when taking out house insurance. A claim was made and we waited to see if they would pay up. On Monday morning they rang us and by the end of the day they had agreed to pay for a new oven, if we hadn’t been under Christmas pressure we’d have ended up with the next model up too! This was delivered a week ago and has been fitted and works wonderfully, thank goodness we dropped those doors!
A trip to see The Snow Queen at the SJT was always on the cards and thankfully Scarborough has been in tier 2 so the show could go on. This was my first live theatre since seeing Alarum in Birmingham back in February and what a treat it was. The show was rewritten as a one woman show and blimey she had to work her socks off! Set designed by Helen who would have been doing costumes for Chippy panto this year. The front of house staff were very good and all covid measures made you feel safer than walking down the street. A great show and chilled medication thrown in as well, a lovely evening. Taking the C&RT line and changing it a touch ‘Life is better with live theatre’.
Parcels have been delivered, parcels posted. Cards sent and received, having an address does mean we’ve had more than the last few years, in fact we’re running out of space for them!
This year we could hand deliver cards to our friends around Scarborough, they were accompanied with a bag of homemade ginger biscuits, the new batch with extra homemade ginger! We had a lovely few hours walking from one side of Scarborough to the other delivering festive cheer and catching up with people on their doorsteps whom we’ve not seen for years.
I’ve knuckled down to do a bit of work. Chipping Norton panto next year, postponed from this year is forging ahead. A new version of the script and some time in my work room, assisted by Tilly of course. Sketches done and approved by the director David, a story board ready to be sent out, I’ll move on to making the model in the New Year.
Today is all about cooking, getting stuff done so as to be able to do less tomorrow. Bread sauce, stuffing, gravy, red cabbage and of course festive sausage rolls. For the last few years these have been enjoyed whilst cruising to our Christmas mooring, this year I half expect Franks nose to be twitching as they go in the oven and the door bell to ring as they come out!
Tomorrow we will be joined by Frank for dinner and birthday cake, hope we’ve enough food to go round! We’ve been warned, by his usual hosts, that he can always manage two puddings and then after a little nap he’ll quite easily fit in some cheese too! Maybe I should do Yorkshire Puddings, ‘The one who eats the most puddin’ gets the most beef’ as said by a farmer during harvest to their field hands.
This morning Lisa forwarded us a photo of Oleanna. The level has risen some more and the sun was breaking through the clouds. Here in Scarborough Mick has just ventured out to get some carrots as our veg box was lacking yesterday.
Scarborough pm
Well the prep is done and my prediction of Franks arrival was correct, well maybe he was just a few minutes early for the sausage rolls coming out of the oven!
The house now smells of Christmas, the fire is lit and I’ve managed to keep Frank far enough away from my birthday cake for it to last until tomorrow.
Stockings are out, so we are ready.
Are you?
Where Were We
2019 Radford Smelly, Grand Union
2018 Somewhere between Napton Junction and Braunston, Oxford/Grand Union Canal
Pollington Visitor Moorings to Nearish the Site of No 4 Swing Bridge
Firstly I got something wrong yesterday. The occasion where Oleanna’s engine decided to empty water all over the bilges was actually when we were moored at Eynsham and Mick noticed the large amount of water where it shouldn’t be before the alarm went off. We’ve just had a discussion as whether it matters that I got it wrong, who would notice? Well possibly Paul as on that occasion it was the thermostat. But more importantly when we look back to the blog in years to come to clarify our fading memories things should be correct.
Anyhow.
As soon as breakfast was done we rolled back the covers and pushed off, time to find better internet! With temperatures set to be high today we’d thought of seeking some shade. But on such wide waterways any trees tend to be set back from the waters edge, reducing their shade factor. Mick identified a possible location so we went to have a look.
The trees were tall enough to cast shade on the water but their location was not really one we’d want to be for too long. Between Crowcroft Bridge and Balne Croft Swing Bridge (which is no more) proved to be a touch too close to the Bridge cottage where the St Bernard woofer never runs out of puff! So we decided to aim for some solar power rather than shade and hopefully not too close to the shooting range.
About a quarter of a mile further on, on the north bank a stretch of bank looked quite appealing, we’d have to use spikes to moor as there was no beam to tie to. We pulled in almost halfway between the barking St Bernard and the shooting range, little footfall and plenty of friendly cover to keep Tilly amused for the rest of the day.
Time for jobs. The primer on the stern had dried fine overnight, so this now got a coat of primer filler and everyone was told to avoid the white bits on the stern. Luckily Tilly was too occupied elsewhere so it had more or less dried before she forgot!
The front poppers on the cratch cover were undone and the whole cover pulled back away from the cratch board. I think it was a couple of years ago when I gave the frame a fresh coat of woodskin and recently I’d noticed it getting a touch thin. Time for a freshen up.
If I was doing the cratch board I may as well give the stern locker lids a coat and the shelf above the morse control. Areas were masked off, washed down and then sanded. Another rinse down and they were left to dry whilst we had lunch.
A coat of woodskin was applied to everything in the afternoon, the masking tape removed. The stern was by now very dry so this got a sanding back. The filler hadn’t quite brought everything up to a smooth level so another coat was applied.
Mick took the bowthruster locker lid up so that he could check on the batteries that sit below. The endoscope came out to help check the levels in the cells and all was fine. The bow deck got a clean out, the rope and chain from the anchor stowed and the pins put back to keep the anchor held tight to the front bulk head. This did mean that Mick got to see the state of the rust on the underside of the locker lid. This is already a job on my to do list, but as it and the bow locker lids are sort of inside (under the cratch cover) they can wait for another opportune time, proper outside outside jobs first.
Still rather warm in the evening we sat for as long as we dared with the doors and windows open. But sadly the hand held hoover had to come out and we sat swatting at midges hopefully before they bit us!
0 locks, 1.09 miles, 1 wind, 0 trees of any use, 1 very sunny spot, 2 coats primer filler, 1st coat woodskin, 1 cratch board, 2 locker lids, 7 hours shore leave, 5, 100% internet, 1 shade seeking cat, 1 vat of chilli, 1 boat full of midges again, 2 bowls chilled medication.
Naburn Lock to Naburn visitor moorings to Scarborough Railway Bridge
Despite less of a view this morning we knew the sun was out. This also meant the level had dropped some overnight, a relief. We took our time having breakfast and when we heard the engine start up next door Mick headed out the back.
Sunniest of days. Richard and Heather were pulling away, time to learn how to reverse! They were then going to go for a pootle up river for some practice.
We put a load of washing on and waited for a dinghy to finish collecting water before we pushed over to the service moorings, the floating pontoon there still occupied by boats that had sought refuge. The bollards on the moorings had been submerged when we moved to the wall last night, but today I could step off onto dry land again.
The water tank was filled, rubbish disposed of we then reversed our way back to the Visitor Moorings to decide what to do. We knew the levels in York would still be over the path. We also knew we needed to stock up on supplies. Yesterday we’d booked a delivery to the moorings at the bottom of Marygate for tomorrow morning. We just needed the river to drop some more and this would be possible.
Tilly was granted shore leave again, this time the shore was not going to leave her. She did take care when she first stepped off the boat, being cautious of damp patches of mud was sensible. Then she was off and up the bank, heading towards the village where the friendly cover is especially good!
Jo was soon on the move too, filling with water, then reversing back behind us.
As the sun was out I decided to give the grabrail a coat of top coat. When we first got Oleanna I ordered a tin of each paint for touch ups, a tin of red would be ample to repaint the full grabrail. But somehow, the RAL number I’d given the chandlers didn’t correspond with the paint on the rails, it was darker. At first I thought that maybe the paint had faded, as red tends to. Then when we were in Sheffield at the beginning of last year the painter at Finesse gave me a quarter of a tin of the correct colour. This was not enough to redo the whole rail but sufficient for touch ups.
My plan has been to order a new tin of the correct colour but in the mean time touch up where needed and maybe wait until we’ve been through Standedge Tunnel before going the hole hog.
Undercoat was sanded then I first touched up a patch of cream. On opening up the tin of red paint from Finesse, I noticed it had a different smell to it, less enamel more car spray. I found a better brush and started to apply it.
Yes the day was sunny, but the grabrail was not hot. The paint acted like it was drying within 30 seconds. I wasn’t doing huge expanses, but yet couldn’t go back to smooth the finish. I toyed with stopping after the first bit as the paint just wasn’t acting how it should. But then (I may regret this) decided to continue to at least get some top coat on to protect the work already done.
The whole lot will need sanding back down when the time comes. I removed the masking tape, only a few minutes after I’d applied the paint and in a couple of areas the red came off with it along with the undercoat beneath! Oh blimey!! Have I been here before?!
Ages ago I was given the job to refurbish a drinks promotion set which was surrounded by a black shiny floor. The floor had been sanded and I’d applied a coat of black paint, then I was given a varnish to apply. The health and safety for this product required me to wear full breathing equipment and the rest of the workforce in the workshop had to have left, so the job was left for last thing one evening. I applied the varnish and left. In the morning a major reaction had occurred because I’d been given a cellulose varnish that had reacted with what had gone before. What should have been black and very hard wearing shiny floor looked like a tractor had run over it, blisters covered the surface.
Looking at Oleanna’s grabrail I could see a few air bubbles appearing. Oh, BUMingham!!! We’ll see what happens and hope for the best.
Mick got the tape measure out to see how much of the hard edge was above water, 22cm. When we’d arrived it had been 36cm, the visible edge at Museum Gardens had been at least 15cm if not 20 when we left. This meant that the moorings in York should just be above water or very soon would be as the levels were still falling.
I called for Tilly who came running, worried that the shore was on the move again.
All aboard we reversed out of the lock cut, winded and headed upstream back to York. Temperature checks were requested as Oleanna was pushing quite hard, all still fine, just where it should be.
With the sun out the water was bright blue, glinting in the sun. Kingfishers were making the most of it darting in front of us fishing. We slowed to see Dad’s house the ground floor windows almost visible at this height.
Both Chilled medication boats were moored up on their moorings out of town. The tree that had been partially blocking the river (nothing compared to what it would have done on a canal) has been cleared by Millennium Bridge.
Where one of the chilled medication boats usually moors here we could see a couple of lads on the edge, they’d been fishing. Were they paddling? Or was the ground just above the water level and dry? We could see their toes as we got nearer.
The scaffolding is mostly removed from the Blue Bridge and very bright blue it is.
The sun had brought everyone out onto Kings Staith the pubs and restaurants doing a roaring trade. We carried on now fairly confident that we wouldn’t be needing wellies to moor up.
Two boats were moored along the bottom of Museum Gardens, one taking advantage of the higher wall at the end of Marygate. We pulled in just past them, here there would be easy access for a delivery tomorrow. A big joint of lamb was added to our shopping as I don’t think we’ll be enjoying alfresco dining with the London Leckenbys later in the week! What a lovely evening, a big shame they are not here now.
The levels are due to start going back up tomorrow around lunchtime, our shopping due to arrive by midday. We’ll be pushing off as soon as it is all on board and heading back to Naburn.
0 locks, 0.12 miles in reverse, 5.64 miles to York, 1 wind, 4 kingfishers, 1 level dropped by 38cm in Naburn, 54cm in York, 1 beautiful evening, 1 horrid pot of paint, 6 claggy touch ups, 3 hours shore leave, 2 boats down, 3 boats up, 1 tentative meeting tomorrow, 1 batch garlic mustard crackers (recipe nearly perfected), 1 big joint of lamb ordered, if we are stranded due to flooding we’ll eat it all ourselves.
A quick check of levels, still in the green below Oxclose Lock time to make our move, we’ve got places to be!
The amount of water going over the top of the gates meant it was a two person job to get the lock open. Then we were off on our way downstream.
The day started grey and misty, Newby Hall soon passed, our progress a touch quicker heading downstream along with the recent rainfall. A chap stood waiting for the first people to arrive wanting a boat trip. We then turned into Westwick Lock cut. Six years ago I’d had to clamber over moored work boats to get to the lock, but today there were no boats in sight, infact we only saw three boats moving all day.
Where we rejoined the main channel of river frothy icebergs floated in to join us. Cows slid down the banks to the river, one a touch too far, it was up to it’s neck with it’s mates huddled round above mooing encouragement to get out.
Gradually as the miles ticked off the sun started to show it’s face, we knew this wouldn’t last all day and hoped we’d be moored up long before it started to rain.
No 9 was moored up in Boroughbridge opposite the red diesel pump. We didn’t stop carrying straight on to Milby Lock. Going down is far easier than going up, you just have to make sure you will miss the cill.
Oleanna descended on a diagonal, I open the other gate and Mick steers her out with a little bit of help of the bowthruster to get the bow past the closed gate. Extensions have been added to most lock gates round here. At Westwick there are metal bars that pull out and here at Milby extra wooden arms have been added, meaning all your effort on pushing and pulling is made easier, or just possible. I’d hate to think what they were like before the extensions were added.
Now we were down on the long reach to Linton. The River Swale came in to join the Ure from the north. Golfers crossed the river to reach their next hole, paddle boarders headed upstream, we slowed down for these guys.
Under Aldwark Bridge, only a couple of cyclists making the wooden planks rumble today. A gang of goats tasted the juiciest bits of grass on the river bank, far more nimble than cows or sheep.
Then where the almost unnoticeable Ouse Gill Beck joins the River Ure the river becomes the Ouse, a finger post pointing each way to mark the spot. Blink and you’d miss it, well we did on the way upstream!
A farmer was spreading muck in a field filling the air with a pungent aroma, we were glad to eventually get upwind of him. Then the moored boats of Linton came into view along with the spire of the church.
There was space on the visitor moorings even though the broken down cruiser was still moored in the middle. We pulled in decided to stay here for the night. Below the lock we would have a couple of choices, the hard edge costing us £6 or head on hoping that the pontoon mooring at the Dawnay Arms would be free. We decided to stay put, the level below the lock looking higher than we’d thought it would be.
Gaugemap had shown a rise of maybe 18 inches in York and we tried to work out where that would be compared to the moorings at the bottom of Museum Gardens, possibly nearly level. Had the river started to drop or was it staying on a level? Would the forecast rain mean it would rise more?
During our cruise I’d been keeping a look out for news from Chipping Norton regarding Panto. Sure enough this morning the postponement was announced on their website, the news gradually spread across their social media through the day.
A week ago John, their Artistic Director, had called to break the expected news to me. They had been holding on hoping that things would improve regarding the pandemic, that social distancing would be reduced, that guidance from the government would improve the possibility of mounting panto. But try as they might and I’m sure they have tried every single scenario of mounting panto, none would be viable and could end up being financial suicide. So Rapunzel is postponed to next year. They plan on doing a Christmas show on the back of a wagon in town, nowhere near their normal panto, but something to keep the locals amused. All very sad, but I had just been waiting for the phone call.
Then a ray of light for theatre came through the clouds regarding the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. They are planning an autumn season as well as starting to show films again. A new play by John Godber, the cast being his family who have all been in a bubble since day one of lockdown. The Round auditorium will be socially distanced, reducing the 400 + capacity to 85, if the 2m rule is reduced then they will be able to seat another 100. Their Christmas show has been rewritten as a one woman show. All good news and I’m so glad that some theatres are finding ways to produce work.
We had a walk around the lock, with no river level board below it is was hard to see how high the level has risen since we headed upstream a few days ago. We both made note of where it was sitting on lock gates and railings.
The widebeam that had been on the paid mooring had moved to the floating pontoon, both lock landing and water point. We watched as a narrowboat pulled up alongside. They breasted up and started filling with water, then the lady walked up to the lock and looked for space.
There was the space where we’d been before, but we’d already seen one boat use the slipway today. We offered for them to breast up to us.
Only one thing for it but to gongoozle and lend a bit of umph to open the top gates when the time came. NB Gandja pulled up alongside, gocart tyres between us, all settled for the night.
We still had somewhere to go. The Dawnay Arms. Kerry who runs the pub with her husband used to work at the Stephen Joseph Theatre restaurant in the early days, they have been running the pub for about ten years. I’d messaged ahead to see if their pontoon was empty, it turned out it was, but being on a bend of the river with the levels up I’d not fancied moving from the safety of the lock cut. This however meant we had a much longer walk to get there, in the rain!
I’d booked our table ten days ago and was glad I had as with the Eat Out To Help Out deal they are now fully booked for the remainder of the month on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the rest of the week is pretty healthy too. The pub has plenty of space although they have had to reduce the number of covers they do, but they can still accommodate 40 inside and plenty more in the garden if the weather is nice.
It was lovely to see Kerry again, six years since we last visited. Despite them being busy she still had time to catch up with us. During lockdown they had started doing takeaways, frozen meals and became a village shop with meat, fish, fresh fruit and veg. I suspect they looked after the village very well.
The menu was tempting and as expected the waiting staff knew exactly what I could eat without having to check in the kitchen, most things could be made gluten free. First thing was to check what puddings I could have, only one choice, but that sounded very tasty so we opted for main courses and puddings.
But was it to be a steak, they are very very good here, Yorkshire Dales Lamb or Beef Fillet. It had to be the beef fillet from the specials menu, with a side order of triple cooked chips to share between us. Normally we’d have shied away from the most expensive thing on the menu, but as Rishi would be paying £10 towards it we just had to. Another way of justifying it was that we’d not been able to go out for Mick’s birthday 3 months ago, so it was a belated Happy Birthday and we only come this way once every six years.
Wild mushrooms, spinach, red wine sauce and some exceptionally tasty smoked sweet potato puree accompanied the melt in your mouth fillet of beef. Yum.
Puddings, Mick had a white chocolate cheese cake with raspberry sorbet and I had double chocolate delice with raspberry ripple chilled medication. All exceptionally yummy. Well worth saving up over the next six years to visit again.
Our walk back to Oleanna was drier, just as well as our jeans had only just dried out. We checked the river level, but by now it was getting dark and a thick layer of froth covered the river below the lock. Here’s hoping things look better in the morning.
3 locks, 14.85 miles, 9 icebergs,15 goats, 1 possible otter, 1 speedy cruise, 1 rising river, 0 panto, 85 audience, 1 belated birthday treat, 2 fillets, 9 chips between 2, 2 puddings, £20 assistance from Rishi, 6 years, 2 boaters watching levels.
Rain overnight, at 2am it was beating down on the roof so hard that we were both woken up. But luckily it dried up during the morning.
The trip boat from the end of the basin started to do runs past us, a little bit quickly or maybe our ropes just needed tightening. We could hear him saying something about 5.30 yesterday and if we’re lucky we’ll see it today. He must have been mentioning the otter, but going at his speed I think the otter would be staying well away!
We still require a plumber to replace a boiler in the house, as the quote we got through seems a touch too pricey and one lead on someone to clear the gutters for us hasn’t come off. So sometime was spent this morning on housey things. Then it was time to have a wonder around.
We walked up to the end of the basin and then past a fish and chip shop who boasted that they do gluten free every day. A touch of a shame we were eating out tonight, maybe another time though.
The Cathedral sits up a hill, currently there is an exhibition in the nave where 10,000 origami angles have been suspended from a large net. These were all made during lockdown by volunteers in the community, each angle represents a dedication made during the pandemic to keyworkers and loved ones. We thought we’d have a look on our way back out of the city, but our ambling route took us another way.
Our route somehow managed to pass a pie shop, Mick simply had to taste their produce, so a pound pork pie was purchased to be eaten over the next few days. I ventured into Holland and Barrett to stock up on brown rice flour to make crackers with, then a couple of puzzle books were required from WH Smiths. A wander around the Yorkshire Trading Company, but we couldn’t remember what we’d said they would have that we wanted, so it can’t have been that important!
The market square today had something missing, the Cabman’s Shelter a grade 2, once movable hut where the drivers of horse drawn cabs would wait for their next fare. A hunt around on the internet suggests the council maybe have managed to get permission from Historic England for it to be taken for much needed restoration work. Here’s hoping so, sadly I didn’t take a photo of it 6 years ago, so here is one from the Historic England website.
We then meandered down Allhallowgate. Here the impressive building of the Workhouse sits, not open on Mondays so we could only look at the exterior.
The Jolly Fryer further down the hill has a yellow bike above it’s door, it’s rider seems to have been waiting quite sometime for his fish and chips. Yellow bicycles are a common sight around parts of Yorkshire since the Tour de Yorkshire was started, I think we spotted a couple more today, one perched on the ridge of a roof.
A sign pointed us away from the city centre and towards the Leper Church, St Mary Magdelenes. The original building dates from the 12th century, the Norman doorway on the south side dates from this period. Many modifications have been made to the building through the centuries. A low narrow window on the north wall is where the lepers could receive the sacrament. There is a 15th Century oak screen and a mosaic set in the floor before the alter, but sadly due to extra cleaning that would be required during the pandemic the church was firmly shut to visitors.
Lepers and blind priests were looked after here and in 1544 the hospital became alms-houses and survived the religious upheavals that followed. New alms-houses were built across the road with their own chapel in 1820, these buildings have wonderful chimneys.
We retraced our steps and walked round the back of the cathedral, passing High Saint Agnesgate and finding our way to a foot bridge across the River Skell with a lovely view back to the cathedral.
Tilly had been on lookout for the otter, but there had been no sightings. A trial batch of crackers, cheese mustard and garlic were made as the trip boat came back and forth, we were now part of the commentary and recieved numerous waves.
Late afternoon we walked back into the city to Prima to meet up with Robert and Margie whom we’d met in Skipton a few weeks ago. Ripon being only an hours drive for them we’d made plans to meet up again. Prima is their favourite restaurant in Ripon and with an earlybird menu it was going to be reasonably priced, even more so with the Chancellor chipping in a third of the final bill (alcohol not included in the Eat out to help out scheme).
A lovely evening with them both, two meetings in a month. We all enjoyed our food, garlic mushrooms and a goats cheese and spinach pizza each for Mick and myself, one with gluten the other without. We were too full for pudding, but the Halls had paced themselves better and both opted for Affogato con Ameretto, I know one master carpenter who’d have been chomping at the bit for one of these.
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 bags flour, 1lb pie, 2 puzzle books, 1 leper church, 1 cathedral, 2 octogenarians, 2 pizzas, 2 melting chilled medications, 4 glasses of wine, 0 otter sightings, 1 tray of crackers, 1 highlight on the tour, 1 green flagged canal.
Once breakfast was over it was time to make a move upstream. We have done the route into York on Lillian twice, however I know the river better from the banks on this side of the city. This is where I grew up, over looking the river which I was taught to respect from a very early age. Things change, but along this stretch only the trees seem to grow bigger and higher than in my childhood. The advantage of living beside a flood plain is no new chimneyless houses have popped up.
From Naburn the riverside moorings are full of white shiny cruisers all their pointy noses facing upsteam. Acaster Malbis has houses to match with big gardens stretching down to the river.
There were tents and gazebos at York Marina and they seemed to be doing a roaring trade, most probably in teas and coffees overlooking the river.
We tried checking the price for diesel on their pump, but as it serves both petrol and diesel I couldn’t tell which cost £1.65 a litre! We’ll hang on till Boroughbridge.
The west bank of the river now becomes more interesting, lots of different sorts of boats, all the moorings individual clinging onto the high bank. In some places it’s like a shanty town, it must take years, decades to collect the stuff some have piled high. Others have new swiss style sheds that have sprung up during lockdown, their fresh yellow wood waiting for the winter to be toned down by nature.
Archbishops Palace. We used to walk down the east bank with the dogs and stand and look at the Palace. At 7 or 8 I never thought about who lived there, but today neither of us knew who the new Archbishop of York was, I had to look it up! We knew John Sentamu had retired after 15 years, now Stephen Cottrell is the 98th Archbishop, I believe he took on the position early in the summer. Four years ago scarecrows stood in the riverside garden, today it just looked neat.
The A64 then crosses the river, I remember the days before this was built and then the gradual increase in traffic across it which could be heard from our house, it also supposedly blocked out the tiny view of the palace from my parents bedroom. A brave runner ran against the traffic high above us, then she popped up again on the east bank keeping pace with us as we headed upstream.
Fulford Hall, now apartments sits on the bend where the trip boats used to wind. Then I could just make out Landing Lane (Lovers Lane when I was a kid) between the trees. My Dad in his latter years felt he’d achieved a good walk if he reached the benches here for a rest, I think Bramble his dog was glad of the rest too, accompanied by a restorative square of liver cake Dad made especially for her. He was also very popular with all the other local woofers.
Today two chaps were magnet fishing off the little beach here. This is where the Battle of Fulford took place in 1066. King Harald III of Norway and Tostig Godwinson, his English ally, fought and defeated the Northern Earls Edwin and Morcar in September that year. It is estimated that 1650 died in the battle, so there may be interesting things to find on the river bed. Recently Fulford Parish Council had a crowdfunding attempt to buy some of the land for the community. But sadly even though they reached their target their funds were out bid at auction. I hope the new owner realises what they have.
Just a short distance on it was time to very gently coast upstream. We kept our eyes peeled for a house set back, peeking above the friendly cover on the banks. To either side of my family home are big houses, my Dad’s house much smaller, but somehow, my Dad’s is the only one you can get a clear view of from the river. The window visible is my parents bedroom, the room where I was born.
In the last year or so the current owner has added a bedroom to the back and altered the conservatory, as part of the building works new larch cladding has replaced the old original wood which had darkened with age. The house my Dad designed and built is still there.
Onwards to the Millenium Bridge a possible mooring that needed checking out. We’ll need to be a touch creative with our mooring as other than a chain there is nothing to tie to. We checked the depth and that was good too, the fact that we’d be moored close to a chilled medication boat has nothing what-so-ever to do with it!
Now we were joined on the river by trip boats and day hires doing circles. We managed to avoid them.
The Blue Bridge over the end of the River Foss has recently been away for restoration and it looks like a temporary bridge had been installed. The Foss Barrier behind is sadly closed due to work being carried out on it, we’d been toying with a little trip up as far as you can get, but that will have to wait for another time.
We spotted a weather vein on top of my best friend Emma’s house, sure this wasn’t there when the Snowdons were residence.
A rather lovely looking Dutch Barge sits on the Clementhorpe bank. If we were ever to win the Lottery we would love to own one of these for the large waterways. Their lines are just so lovely, of course we would keep Oleanna meaning we could still climb over the Pennines.
Skeldergate Bridge, which recently we found out that the northern most arch used to have a lifting section to it to allow taller boats access to the busy quaysides upstream, this last opened in 1975. Originally a toll bridge which replaced a busy ferry it opened in 1881 and was designed by Thomas Page, it was the third modern bridge in the city. The bridge became toll free in 1914, the citizens of York were so happy they held a regatta to celebrate.
Kings Staith was busy as always, well apart from when it’s flooded! All the trip boats and hire boats were out and plenty of people were sat out enjoying the sunshine. Here is another possible mooring, but with ladders to climb to get on and off Oleanna we are unlikely to use it.
Under Ouse Bridge the oldest of the bridges in York. This is where the first bridge across the Ouse stood in the ninth century. Several versions have followed including one that in 1367 had the first public toilets in the country installed. The current Ouse Bridge was built in 1821.
The back of Coney Street, the main shopping street from my youth follows along. The old printworks for the York Press and the Mansion House all back onto the river before Lendal Bridge, another crossing designed by Thomas Page.
This was the second bridge to cross the river, its original foundation stone was laid in 1860, during it’s construction disaster struck and it collapsed killing five men. The bridge was rebuilt to Thomas Page’s design and opened in 1863. The new bridge put the Lendal ferryman out of business, he was paid compensation of £15 and a horse and cart.
The moorings along the bottom of Museum Gardens is the most popular place to tie up in York, nothing to do with the other chilled medication boat being moored here. Today we’d have managed to squeeze in, but here was not our chosen mooring for the day, we still had quite a few miles to go.
A trip boat had pulled out ahead of us and now took it’s time to give it’s commentary on the Scarborough Railway Bridge, with it’s new footbridge that leads into the station platforms. Past the bridge the trip boat sped up and we followed until it reached Clifton Bridge where it winded, giving it’s horn signal mid manoeuvre!
The river is now surrounded by willow trees, many having shed large branches into the water, luckily most still attached to the bank so not a hazard to us today. Under Skelton Railway Bridge which takes the East Coast Main Line up towards Newcastle and Edinburgh, no trains obliged for a photo.
Kingfishers were about again today, darting across the rivers surface keeping us amused whilst nothing much else could be seen. Then a few trees other than willows showed on the banks of the river, a house and then a tight turn to the right where the River Nidd joins the Ouse and sandy banks encourage dogs and children to swim. Here is the boundary to Beningborough Park in which sits Beningborough Hall a National Trust property we visited in 2014 .
We were surprised to see the pontoon for The Dawnay Arms empty on a Friday afternoon, but then again they are closed during the afternoon. Here’s hoping it is empty on our return as we’ll be stopping to treat ourselves to a meal here.
Below Linton Lock the river widens out and is very shallow. Buoys mark the shallow water and fishermen were taking advantage to wade their way out to tempt the fish to their lines. I hopped off at the pontoon and walked up to set the lock.
The mechanism for the bottom gate paddles is an unusual one. Horizontal wheels on the gates need to be turned to raise the paddle below the water. This takes quite some time to do, then the lock takes quite a while to empty. Once I was certain it had levelled out it was time to open the gate. This is windlass operated so if your arms weren’t tired enough from turning the wheels they would be by the time you’d got the gate shifted. I’ve made a mental note to try the other gate when we come back as it may not rest on the ground quite as much, hopefully it will be easier.
Then there is everything to close up before you start filling the lock, those wheels to spin closed and the gate to wind shut. I looked longingly at the large cool glasses of beer sat in front of people by the lock, they looked so good!
The position of the ground paddles is quite a distance away from the lock, this makes it impossible to see what is happening as you raise the paddle. With no sight of Mick or Oleanna I wound the paddle several times then checked over the gate, a bit more, check again, a bit more and so on. I think it increased my steps for the day. Slowly Oleanna rose, still quite a distance down in the lock when the levels equalised.
We’d been hoping for a space on the visitor pontoon here. Two cruisers seemed to be taking up most of the space, but was there more room further on. Mick headed off whilst I closed up the lock. Just after the cruisers was a space big enough for us, even if the pontoon ran out and we’d be overhanging the slipway, it would do for us tonight.
1 lock, 15.71 miles, 1 palace, 9 bridges, 1 birth place, 1 Daddy Fatso house still there, 1 day reminiscing, 2 moorings checked out, 2 chilled medication boats, 1 sunny day, 1 home city, 1 table booked, 2 wheels, 0 view, 1 boat squeezed in, 1 very late lunch, 0 shore leave, 5 Kingfishers, 300+ photos today.
For some reason we’d stocked up on eggs even though we had plenty already. With the use by date just passed it was time we used some. Time for a cooked breakfast. Mick had a master class in making hash browns and we managed to get our pandemic stock pile of bacon down to the half way mark. Very tasty. Tilly also liked it as it meant she had a couple of hours still exploring. I bobbed back in for a quick snack still with another four holes to inspect and what did Tom do? Closed the blinking doors!!
Ahead of us lay more swing bridges, our aim to reach Bingley today.
Leache’s Swing Bridge was first the last of the manual bridges. Some chaps walking their dogs said that nobody could close the bridge properly and that it clatters all day. With this local information I expected to have difficulty swinging it back so that the latch engaged, so I kept the momentum going, only for it to clatter closed with ease. I wonder if the chap was referring to the bridge just clanking as people walked over it, nothing much anyone can do about that!
A sign regarding social distancing lay on the ground broken in half. The towpath was busy but thankfully wide enough for everyone to keep their space. I decided to walk from here.
From here on the bridges are automated requiring the key of power and a good strong index finger. At Bar Lane Swing Bridge we held up 3 cars, a couple had turned round when they saw the stop sign.
Graby Lane Swing bridge was busier, holding up 8.
I walked on from here, just after Swine Bridge Lane Bridge two cottages are for sale. Sadly I can’t find any details on them on line, but they looked compact and characterful.
Morton Swing Bridge is a busy one, I achieved 10 delays to the local traffic, my index finger starting to ache a touch by now.
On past the last place to moor before reaching the top of the Bingley Five Rise and round the bend to Micklethwaite Swing Bridge. Someone was already at the panel, the barriers to oncoming traffic closed, so my services wouldn’t be required. However!
The barriers may have been closed but the control panel had lost all of it’s lights. I asked the obvious questions that I knew Mick would also ask as soon as he’d tied Oleanna up. One barrier was locked in, the other you could move. This bridge is renowned to have problems, when we last came through it was being worked on. Extra pieces have been added to the barrier locks presumably to make sure they stay in place.
Mick had a go with the barriers too, this meant the one we could move then got stuck in the open position. A phone call had already been made to C&RT and we’d been told someone would be with us in half an hour, not bad for a Sunday. Cars arrived and as soon as you walked up to them they knew what you were going to say. They all turned round as soon as a half hour wait was muted.
But within about ten minutes a blue van arrived. The chap checked the panel, then crossed the bridge to open up the big box with all the workings inside. He did something and the barriers were released. They were opened then closed, then the buttons wouldn’t work. Time for him to operate it from the big box, we were told to get our boats ready, by now there were three of us waiting to go through.
The remote buttons worked thankfully, two boats came towards us and then we finally headed through, able to continue on our way towards Bingley. We paused at the water point by the ABC swing bridge to top up the tank before carrying on to see if we could find a space above the five rise for the night.
Several boats faced away from the locks, only one towards. There was space for a couple more boats so we pulled in, sitting a little bit out from the bank but we’d expected that.
Mick wanted to go and have a look at the five rise and see if any boats were heading up that we could watch. There were plenty of people about enjoying the sunshine.
At the locks hazard tape stopped anyone from walking up to them, in fact you could only stand on the swing bridge above or walk down the footpath alongside, not very good for gongoozling. Mick sulked!
Our timing meant that boats might be heading up the three rise so we walked down the footpath to have a look. Ahead blue t-shirts and life jackets could be seen and sure enough a boat was just rising up in the last chamber of the three rise. This was WB Little Duke a bearBoating hire boat.
Fortunately the view up the locks from the bottom is THE view of the five rise, so I managed to get a few photos of Little Duke entering the bottom, all the crew onboard and the Lockies working them up. Would it be the case that we wouldn’t be allowed to assist on the locks tomorrow?
Whilst we waited for the Lock Keepers to reach the top of the hill we decided it was time to partake in some chilled medication from the cafe. Double Chocolate Heaven was our choice and very tasty it was too. I think this is actually our first chilled medication of the year!
We checked in with Clare the Lock Keeper for the morning and returned to Oleanna. We had a new neighbour NB Tobias who were also planning on descending the locks in the morning. Tilly was let loose and she headed straight across the towpath for the big field, not to be seen for a couple of hours, returning just in time for dingding. I had a catch up with my brother and a plan has been hatched for us hopefully to meet up this month before my nephew Josh returns to school.
0 locks, 6 swing bridges, 1 left open, 1 stubborn one, 25 cars held up, 14 turned round, 2 outsides, 1 widebeam, 1 Lock Keeper, 2 volunteers, 1 cone, 1 tub, 27 crackers, 1 roast chicken, 1 plan coming together, 1 possible knitting commission, 1 hotel boat.