Both of us were awake around 6am, after trying to pretend we were still asleep for a little while we gave up and got up. A cuppa each then it was time for Mick to take the van back to Scarborough. I originally was to get a lift to Tescos for a few bits but when we got to the gate and noticed the lake on the approach road had grown overnight and I’d have to wade back through it, it was decided that Mick would pick things up on his return as he’d have a Brompton with him.
Across the marina
What a lovely morning. Blue blue skies as I tidied away more things in the boat.
By 9am there was much activity going on in the marina. The boat crane was being moved about. I headed out for a nosy and to keep an eye open for our Sainsburys delivery. The boat crane was heading for a cruiser out on the hard, a lorry sat waiting to transport it to the Broads for adventures new. All this would take time, but would it coincide with my delivery arriving?
Heading to waters new
The nice delivery lady pulled up as close as we dared and was happy to move should the lorry want to leave the marina. We were speedy with popping everything into bags and thankfully had plenty of time before the lorry wanted to leave.
Time to repack items headed for the freezer, a chicken to joint. Mick phoned, his mission to take things to the tip in Scarborough from the house before returning the van had failed, the tip being closed on Wednesdays! Then trains had been cancelled between Scarborough and Hull due to a goods train becoming separated from it’s engine. Thankfully Mick was allowed to change his route and return via York, normally a more costly route.
A bite to eat was needed then we went to check out of the marina, handing in our gate fob. Three months and two days Oleanna had been in residence. In that time we’d only managed to use 18 units of electric, far different than when we stayed a couple of years ago and the electric bill exceeded £300! We are wiser now than then.
Once the ropes and fenders we’d left tied to the pontoon were recovered, the cratch and pram hoods rolled and folded away, life jackets on we were ready. We reversed away from the pontoon, winded and headed out of the marina, turning left towards Goole docks.
Big ships in the docks
Time to fill our diesel tank. Mick had paced out the gap between the big gravel barges and the floating drydock, we might just fit. He reversed Oleanna into the diesel point the bow came round with a few inches to spare, made to measure. 50 litres, the domestic price now lower than £1. We paid our dues and then said our farewells. Thank you Laird.
Such a happy boat
The wind was starting to pick up, just as we were wanting to wind. It helped to a certain point then hindered the last part of the manoeuvre, but we got round in the end. Time to head along the very familiar straights, a cruiser just beating us to the way ahead.
Fishermen lined the banks a match in full flow meaning not many responded to our Hellos. We did see a few fish being reeled in. On we pootled, darkening skies threatening to soak us.
Drax, the only power station left in the area
Past the breach site. The cooling towers of Drax gradually getting further away, bye bye to the NORF.
Ducks, Herons, Swans, Grebes and the occasional Lapwing kazooing overhead. Oh it’s so nice to be back out in nature again.
Straight on please
At the end of the New Junction Canal we continued heading westwards, waving to our friend David who moors at the far end. The last few years we’ve taken the fast route southwards on the River Trent, but this year we’ve opted to cross the Pennines before making our way southwards.
How much further? The skies were really starting to turn dark. Patches of blue sky and low lying rainbows brightened our view. It was a touch later than we’d hoped and Tilly deserved some shore leave, so we pulled in on the visitor moorings below Pollington Lock.
Pollington ahead!
Once our location was noted from What3Words, Nebo stopped and cruising report on it’s way, I recited the rules to Tilly.
You have one hour. No Friends home dead or alive, or putting them on the roof for later. No jumping in, no bullying, no going on other peoples boats. She ran to the stern doors, once opened she shot out, towpath time!
Tail held high
I accompanied her for a little walk to the far bench, her tail held high as she followed me, then this was followed with thank you head nudges. There wasn’t really enough time for her to explore further as she required her quota of ‘Thank you for coming home!’ Dreamies.
She and me back where we belong
A touch more unpacking before we tucked into Toad in the Hole with some rather nice mushroom and onion gravy. That’s the sausages used up from the freezer in the house, the chicken stock was still solid so will be used tomorrow.
A Pollington sky
0 locks, 8.6 miles, 2 winds, 1 left, 1 van returned, 3 cancelled trains, 3 diversion trains, 2 boxes cereal, 6 bags, 4 boxes, 2 moving cruisers, 1 chicken jointed, 18 units, 50 litres, 1 mass fishing match, 1 hour, 1 walk, 6 sausages, 14782 compressed photos, 1 blogger trying to remember what to put at the end of the days list!
Last Fridays post was filled with woolly goodies. Two more Independent dyers had sent me some yarn for my sockathon. What kindness! The two parcels together most probably had enough yarn for 14 pairs of socks. Thank you so much to Jem (Under The Olive Tree) and Beth (Beehive Yarns) for your generous and wonderful support.
I had a day out to Leeds to visit the Hello Stranger Yorkshire exhibition. Lots of photos from shows over the last four years and how the pandemic was coped with and how the industry has changed since. Designers were invited to add their details to a map of Yorkshire. One colour string showed where Yorkshire designers lived, the other where people from outside Yorkshire have worked. As I fitted into both categories and neither I decided to have both colours of string on my label.
I made sure my return to the station included the wonderful markets and the Exchange. Must remember all that fish when we pass through Leeds in a few weeks time!
Saturday morning started with me casting on the first pair of socks. These were to be knitted in yarn that I had bought for the challenge, matching the logo colours of @dementia-uk. In the post that morning I received a card from their Fundraising Officer wishing me luck, what a lovely touch, especially hand written, my sister-in-law would approve.
So far I’ve managed to knit a sock a day, that’s an average of 8 hours clicking a day. I go to stretch my legs each day so that my natural posture doesn’t take to being a seated one. The occasional move from one chair to another also helps. Podcasts are listened to when I’m going round in circles and we’ve taken to watching an episode of Downton Abbey each day, starting from the very beginning. We may have to up to two episodes a day as there are 50 in total. Blimey some of those servants are really really horrible!
Mick has been seeking out new insurance quotes for Oleanna. For some reason our renewal quote from GJW had gone up whilst reports on social media suggest other peoples have gone down. Craftinsure are by far the cheapest for both contents and the boat, however some things are not covered such as laptops. Why are they so much cheaper? How are they so much cheaper? Do they pay out without hassle if you need to claim? All questions Mick is seeking the answers to before we commit ourselves to a new policy.
Oleanna on a sunny day
The days, weeks and months are ticking away. Time to visit Oleanna and give her engine a run, check her over and now that we have a date we need to be back on the boat for, give notice on our mooring. Mick took the train down to Goole an easy and familiar ride now, whilst I sat on the sofa knitting.
The daffodils at Oleanna’s stern are long past their best and the scraped paintwork turning orange on the gunnels shows that she hasn’t moved anywhere for sometime. Hopefully there will be time to give things a good rub down and repaint before too long.
Clear view to NB Ivy
Mick sent me a photo looking out through the new window in the pram cover. A vast improvement from the old one which not only had holes in it but had become a touch white making the view a bit foggy. The boat opposite our bow has had a change of name, a very wise change by Lisa.
Mick ran the engine and went to see Laird and also had a catch up with Alastair. Sadly Viking Marina are out of diesel at the moment, so the tank still hasn’t had a fill. Then it was time for Mick to plug the laptop into Oleanna’s brain and give the inverter a firmware update. This new version means we can control the charging of the lithium batteries more, especially when the temperatures are really low which lithium’s do not appreciate.
Daffodils and gunnels past their best!
With everything locked up, Mick headed back to the station with the intention of being back in Scarborough to eat with me before I headed out for the evening. Sadly there were problems on the tracks. A vehicle had run through both barriers of a level crossing at Gilberdyke. This meant all trains had to run slowly and that Mick’s train which normally would have continued on to Scarborough stopped in Hull.
The chandelier at The Bike and Boot
The next train northwards followed a slow train and by the time it had reached Bridlington it itself had been cancelled as the train behind had just about caught it up! In all it took Mick four hours to return to Scarborough by which time I’d cast on the toe of sock 5 and decided to give myself an evening off. Spent at the Bike and Boot with old female friends I used to work with at the SJT. It was very nice to see every one in the flesh, many I’ve only seen on zoom get togethers over the last few years and those have gradually petered out.
The Chippy model box waiting for me to be creative
Another parcel has arrived at the house. The empty model box for Chippy Panto, all ready for me to start designing. It made sense for it to come here, rather than us trying to guess where to get it sent to in a months time.
For those wanting to know what panto will be this year, I can now confirm it will be ‘Cinderella’. But not just any old Cinderella, this one will be set in Latin America! So the music will most certainly be toe tapping. Sadly the budget won’t stretch to a visit to South America for research purposes, the internet will have to do!
The Sockothan continues and if I continue at the current rate then I should manage to beat last years pairs by several! Thank you so much to those near and far (Hello Canada!) who have sponsored me. Thank you also to those who’ve requested socks. All socks on my list are guaranteed to be knitted in April so make sure you’ve made your donation on the JustGiving website. I may be opening the challenge up for more sock requests in a weeks time, so if you feel you missed out first time around you’d best keep an eye on the blog.
Last week Mick got a call from Sean at SPL Covers saying he’d finished repairing Oleanna’s pram and cratch cover, he’d returned to the marina and popped them back on. The only thing was that when the main part of the pram hood was taken away Mick had popped the sides inside Oleanna for safe keeping. With snow and possible high winds forecast we wanted to get the sides back on as soon as possible to keep the weather off.
Mick considered heading to Goole the same day, but he’d only get about 50 minutes before he’d need to be on a train heading back to Scarborough. Taking the bike would make this more possible, but should a ship be entering or leaving the docks at the wrong moment, he’d end up missing the train and have to spend the night on Oleanna. So instead he headed to Goole the following morning, a light dusting of snow having appeared overnight. We hoped that the Wolds wouldn’t get a major dumping so that the route would stay open. Thankfully the east coast only got sleet.
Cratch cover back on
Photos were the last thing on Mick’s mind as he put the sides back on the pram hood, it was far too cold! I’ll just have to wait to see the new window first hand. He was back safe and warming up in the house mid afternoon and Oleanna was now snow and wind proof once again.
A while ago I answered an online survey to do with C&RT. I can’t quite remember what it was about, but did remember ticking a box to say I’d be willing to take part in more market research. This led to a phone call inviting me to take part in a zoom focus group this evening. I had to answer some questions prior to the meeting all to do with my relationship to the waterways and how I felt about Canal and River Trust. Some of my answers were short, others far longer, especially the one about the Trust’s strengths and weaknesses.
The focus group this evening was made up of five liveaboard boaters. I was the only one sat in a house! We introduced ourselves, two boats were on the Grand Union, one on the Mon and Brec, the other I can’t remember where they said they were. Ages ranged from twenties to sixty five.
We were asked about many things to do with the waterways, what they meant to us, wellbeing, nature, the environment, history and our thoughts on C&RT. Tag lines were discussed. The drop in funding and reduction of maintenance. The big thing that came across from all was C&RT communication skills and at times how bad they are. Yes there were the comments regarding maintenance and facilities, but there was also very much a feeling of let us boaters help, involve the boating community, encourage us to respect what we have and to help keep it in good order. Looking after the waterways will then bring nature, wellbeing along with it.
Sunday walk at the seaside
The lady conducting the focus group said that there were other people being brought together from different user groups, presumably different types of boaters, paddleboarders, fishers, swimmers. All being asked to comment on the same tag lines. It would be interesting to hear how the different groups commented.
We then had a rushed evening meal before settling down infront of the laptop again. This time we were joining Kate Saffin for a talk about the Boaters Strike in 1923. On 13th August 1923 the canal in Braunston made the national headlines. The traffic on the canal was brought to a halt after Fellows Morton and Clayton had announced that the boaters were to have a pay cut of 6.5%.
Boats blocked the arm, an attempt to remove tons of tea and sugar cargo from the boats by FMC was thwarted on the first attempt. Police were drafted in for a second attempt, which was very noisy but three boats were finally unloaded.
Striking boaters
The strike continued for 14 weeks. Children got to attend the village school (now the village hall), the longest they’d ever be in class. Socialising was possible with friends and family they’d only normally get to see passing on the cut.
Fifty to Sixty boats blocked all routes into Braunston. The population of the village swelled from just over 1000 to 1300, putting great pressure on the local facilities. Back then the boaters didn’t use elsans or pumpouts, they normally emptied their potties behind their boats as they set off, the prop churning it into the water. With no boats moving for weeks, it must have been horrendous.
Alarum Productions have been awarded funding from the Arts Council to produce a ‘full-on’ community project in Braunston to mark the 100th anniversary of the strike. Braunston 1920s : 2020s. Telling stories from the 1920’s which has a lot of parallels with the 2020’s. Writing and drama workshops, local history research will all come together in June to produce promenade performances around the village, telling stories where they happened coinciding with Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally.
Decorating and other jobs continue in the house. I’ll be glad when I don’t have to climb up and down a ladder to sand, paint or paper. Next it’ll be curtains.
Another morning with the alarm clock going off, at least this morning there wasn’t much of a view to miss out on. One side of the cutting looked to be above freezing, our side was all frosted over. Brrrr, an extra layer required today. As I got up and started to move around my back felt remarkably improved from yesterday, thank goodness. I still refrained from leaning down or lifting anything heavy so as not to aggravate the improving situation.
Brrr!
Four years ago yesterday we did exactly the same journey. Then it had also been an early start and a very cold one too. We’d had to wait for the Stainforth and Keadby Canal to thaw and for the entrance to the lock to be dredged. I was ready to pull the balaclavas out today but thankfully even though the day had started off with a good layer of frost on Oleanna we didn’t need to keep our cheeks cosy.
Torksey Viaduct
We needed to push off a while after the tide had started to come in. Yes we were heading down stream, so we’d need to punch the tide for some time, but this was needed for us to reach Keadby when there would still be enough water to get into the lock. At 9am Mick reversed us out onto the main river, an EA rib had just come past us from Torksey Lock but it headed upstream.
The hazy Norf
We winded to face down stream and the tide. Engine revs increased and we were on our way.
Wow
Another wonderful day to be out on the river. Blue blue skies. Trails high above us in the sky, plenty of people jetting of on their holidays. Looking behind us the sun low glinted on the water and our wake. Gorgeous.
Taking off
I checked the charts, our course kept in the channel. This next stretch had been reported as being shallow last year.
Hawks just finishing their loop
A glimpse over Mick’s shoulder, a loop of vapour trail. The Red Arrows must have been out training. The V formation of planes scooped round and out of view. They were at such a distance to us to be silent, you had to scour the sky to hunt them out. One wave of vapour, then another loop the loop. Around this area and along the Fossdyke and Witham you quite often see them practicing. Your own private airshow. Time to concentrate on the charts again.
Busy with something
A man sat in a bright red rib coming towards us. His boat looked to be filled with equipment, maybe he was charting the river bed?
The Chateau at Gate Burton came into view. You can stay here with the Landmark Trust. It makes for a pretty view, I bet the view back towards the river today was a much warmer one. We waved in case anyone was watching as we passed.
Power ahead
West Burton Power Station came in and out of view. The large cooling towers dormant but the gas fired end churning steam out by the bucketful.
The tide had turned by the time we reached Gainsborough. The same revs were now giving us 2 to 3 more miles an hour heading down stream. The sharp bends speed the flow up through Gainsborough, not the fastest we’ve been under the bridge there though.
Earlier this year when we’d planned on doing this journey, we had to cancel our lock bookings due to being stuck in Shardlow as the river was in flood. When Mick called Keadby Lock to cancel our booking, the lock keeper said that we weren’t in the book! Yesterday afternoon Mick had tried calling the lock to check they knew we would be arriving today, he’d got no answer. He then tried calling a couple of times this morning. Thankfully he got through and Tracey was expecting us. Mick checked that the river level would be enough for us to get into the lock. It would be and she was expecting us from around 12:30.
The charts now dispense with the red line for stretches. My back wanted a sit down in the warm so I retired inside for a while, making sure I was watching as we passed West Stockwith Lock. Mick slowed us down and waved to a chap then picked up our pace again.
With a map suggesting we still had 2 hours to go before reaching Keadby we decided to up the revs a touch, it was now getting on towards midday and Tracey was expecting us pretty soon. We really didn’t want to run out of water. As we were now off C&RT waters there are few markers. Instead you rely on landmarks. Will the new build with big windows (still to be fitted) appear on new charts. Owston Ferry with it’s two pubs. Mooring Dolphins where owls are positioned to deter pigeons! Another mill.
The river now wide, sprawling out in front and to our sides. The M180 bridge. Time to call Tracey with our location, she’d expect us in twenty minutes, we were still good to get into the lock.
The span on the right used to open up
Keadby Bridge, under the bascule span. Up ahead Keadby Lock tower with it’s look out. The light was red. Would it be ready for us?
Keadby surrounded by wind turbines
Mick brought us over to the west side of the river as our red line suggested. Then as we were just about level with the lock he started to turn. Not into the lock, that would be foolish with the tide still heading out towards the Humber. He turned Oleanna round to face upstream, this enables you to have more control to enter the lock.
In we go!
On the downstream side of the lock we could see the start of the silt build up above the water. Mick faced Oleanna’s bow towards the upstream side of the lock forcing her against the tide. As we got closer, we both wondered if we’d have enough power to turn the stern away from the silt and enter the lock. An extra bit of umph at the right moment and into the lock Oleanna slid. Phew!! She’d made it. Always a relief.
Leaving the lock
I walked up to the bow to pass a rope around a chain as Tracey closed the lock gates behind us, then the outer lock gates got closed too. The amount of water coming over the top gates started to slowly rise us. Then a touch of a paddle was added, gently does it. Then a bit more which caught the bow a touch before I managed to pull her back in.
Stainforth and Keadby Canal ahead
Once at canal level the top gates opened and we waited for Tracey to open the swing bridge. We pulled in just past a couple of boats on the visitor moorings at the far end. Ahead of us is Vazon Sliding Bridge. This is operated by Network Rail and following the high temperatures last summer it is now only opened to boat traffic twice a day, we’d already missed the second opening. Time for lunch and a well deserved warm up.
1 lock, 27.8 miles, 2 winds, 1 reverse, 2 why nots, 1 cheeky pigeon, 2 ribs, 1 beautiful day on the river, 1 air show, 1 day adrift from 4 years ago, does this mean we’ll have another February heatwave?
No time for tea in bed this morning, there was the tide to catch. The sun rose opposite our mooring, what a beautiful sight, shame there wasn’t time to enjoy it.
I realised we’d not moved the hose and other bits and bobs out from the cratch, this makes access to the anchor easier should we need to lower it in an emergency. I picked up the hose and brought it into the boat. Then mooring spikes were popped away into a bow locker, as I did this my back gave a slight twinge. Lifting the bucket of other stuff gave me another twinge. The cratch was now a lot clearer but my back was a lot sorer! Stooping under the cratch cover was not a thing I wanted to do, so Mick rolled the covers up as I managed to walk up the ramp from the mooring to see if that would help.
Mick radioed the lock keeper, the lights at the lock turned green, he was ready for us. We untied, winded and headed for the lock. Our plans were checked with the lock keeper, time of departure tomorrow from Torksey. He’d call ahead to let the other locks know we were out on the river.
At 9am the paddles lifted to empty the massive lock, gradually Oleanna descended to the current level of the tidal River Trent. We were off, the fast route north, heading downstream with the tide.
Wiggly river navigation
We’ve done this route several times now. The Boating Association charts are always with us at the stern. The red line well worth following. If you stray from the marked channel you can end up grounding on sand banks. This could mean you having to wait for the next flood to float you again. If the tides are heading towards neap tides you may have to wait several days before you can move again, so it’s well worth following that red line, it’s easy.
Go before you fish!
New red signs stand high on the east bank. The camera zoomed in to take a photo so we could see what they said. Ahhh! Yes! There were rather a lot of fishermen out on the banks!
We joined the Geraghty zoom for a short while. Our reception not quite good enough on a phone to join in properly today. There was an update on sofa covers, sadly we couldn’t see the results as everyone was too small.
Us all wrapped up
What a beautiful day. Blue skies, high clouds of many varieties. But blimey it was chilly!
A runner making the most of a beautiful day
Navigational markers on the sides of the river help you to know where you are. Km markers noting the distance from Nottingham. Red and green markers, although quite a few now have lost their tops.
The charts show you what landmarks to line up to, old mills, pylons and white posts. Submerged islands to avoid. Notes on which span of bridges to pass under noted by the graffiti on them. Someone however does need to refresh the graffiti as on Fledborough Viaduct it is now just about rusted out of view.
Fledborough Viaduct
At around the 64km marker we were following the channel round a steep bend when the one and only other boat we’d see today came towards us. There was just enough time for the chap to warn us of a tree in the channel, somewhere! We’re not sure we got to see the tree, maybe that is something to look out for tomorrow.
A boat!
The cold was starting to penetrate the thermals. Hand warmers required. My back gradually making it harder and harder to move about.
Cottam Power Station, not at work today
Ahead Cottam Power Station could be seen, we were nearly there. A warm up inside might do me good, but we’d be in Torksey soon.
Cormorants
A flight of Cormorants sat in trees. The river side of the trees white, was this from a liberal spraying of cormorant guano?
Torksey Junction ahead
Round the next bend the familiar building just before Torksey Junction, then the large sign announced our arrival at todays destination. We turned into the cut, a boost of power to make the move was needed as the pull from the out going tide was still evident.
Mick pulled us up at the end of the pontoon. We’d not be heading up the lock onto the canal this time as we need to head off early in the morning a little before the tide turns. At least today we wouldn’t be shouted at by Tilly wanting to be out.
Coming in to moor
My back was now causing problems, I had to wait for Mick to moor up and then come to open the back doors, the steps at the stern a touch of a challenge. I really hope this improves as I’ve the #unit21 floor to finish painting at the end of next week!
An early lunch and then nothing much for the remainder of the day. Time spent sat down has been followed by time standing, trying to find comfortable positions to ease my lower back. Fingers crossed this is short lived.
1 lock, 16.3 miles, 1 right, 1 boat, 1 twinge that lasted all day, 5 layers to be increased tomorrow, 1 cosy boat, 1 quiet boat, 1 thumbs up thankfully, 2 boaters ready for 9pm.
The alarm was set this morning, no time for a cuppa in bed either! Breakfast was followed by emptying the yellow water tank, then we walked our rubbish down to the bins by the lock. There was no sign of a volunteer, just a cleaner in the loos and a chap clearing things away from the works that had been happening at the lock.
Stoke Lock very pretty
The lock has had an upgrade this winter, new LED lights and new boat operated pedestals. At the moment the pedestals are not working so someone from C&RT has to come out and work the lock for you from the cabin, booking required with 24hr notice. Cheryl from the Milton Keynes Office called us to say there had been problems at Holme Lock this morning and the person coming was on their way, they’d just be late. We decided to get Oleanna and move her down into the lock cut ready.
Heading inside for a bit of warmth brought the Lock Keeper, Simon, not a volunteer. He’d been trying to clear all the rubbish at Holme Lock this morning as it was stuck behind the gates. He asked us to wait where we were, Stoke Lock needed emptying to check the gates first before we could go in. He then asked us to pull in on the starboard side, he’d only be able to open the bottom gate that side as they were still having problems with the hydraulics.
One gate only
The gates were tested, then we got the green light to go in. As we descended Mick asked if it was possible to do a radio check with Simon, this was the first opportunity to check his Christmas present worked, thankfully it did. Simon was heading to Gunthorpe Lock next, would we like his assistance? Well it would save me having to jump back onto Oleanna from the pontoon below the lock in the full current from the weir. But it would also mean being in the lock, holding a rope round a blue riser! We accepted his offer and arranged to meet downstream in about an hour.
A perfect winters day
Out of the lock we came, blue skies surrounding us. What a beautiful day. We waved to the ladies who rescued Tilly when she was a kitten as we passed Burton Joyce, round the big sweeping bend. Geese flew overhead. Then a flock of birds, not sure what type swooped in murmuration high above the river, switching and changing direction, then settled again only to take off as we passed them by. What a wonderful sight.
The pontoon at Gunthorpe was empty, but we carried on towards the lock cut, pulling in at the water point. We were early for our rendez vous with Simon. Should we wait or operate the lock ourselves? Hmm, that would mean fighting to get back onboard below the lock. We opted to wait.
Gunthorpe Bridge and moorings
Waiting for the lights to change, which side of the lock to pull in on, the blue risers, the V channels behind them, all very familiar from seven years ago. Simon arrived at noon and worked the lock for us. We took it steady, no need to rush in any lock, especially one with blue risers! I took a deep breath, I still hate this lock with a passion.
Simon checked below and gave us information about rubbish that may lay in our way below. He needed to hang around at the lock so wouldn’t see us at Hazelford. The lock gates opened, we thanked him and sped off down stream again. All 9.75 digits still in tact.
This reach is particularly pretty and today it was just stunning. We were glad of our layers, but the blue sky with wispy clouds above was so beautiful. The last two years we’ve missed cruising in the winter. The views (when there’s no fog) are so different. People say there are 2000 miles of the network to explore, true, but there is there and back again and then all four seasons to enjoy. The river was ours and the birds. Wonderful.
Above Hazelford the lock cut was full of C&RT boats, a skip boat, the crane boat and Maid Marion the tug boat. I climbed a ladder on the island and headed to press buttons. It was hard to see Oleanna as the level dropped, but she reappeared on leaving the lock.
There was a Dutch Barge at the far end of the moorings, we pulled in to the lower section, only recently revealed from the flood waters. Tilly was allowed some shore leave and made the most of it once she’d got to the top of the big steps. She returned with a mouth full and was sent away again.
It’s a chunky outside this one!
A tap on our roof mid afternoon, a chap was here to help remove a rope from a prop. Not us, it must have been someone above the lock. An hour or so later we heard a boat engine, the boat from Stoke Lock.
News came through that the stretch above Town Lock in Newark was iced up from a member of the Trentlink facebook group. They had tried to get through yesterday but had no luck. Maybe we’ll have a sausage day tomorrow and hope it thaws.
Hello!
Much of the afternoon was spent sorting out future lodgers for the house. Another favourite actor had been in touch today. We’re now booked up for a third of the year ahead.
The canal banks were frosty even Oleanna’s eyes were frosty this morning. We decided to let things warm up a touch whilst we joined the Geraghty zoom. Subjects covered, being unique, the difference between English and Scottish NHS, advance packing, we felt slightly left out as we have no spare bed available to collate clothing.
Hello Woofer
Thankfully the flow along the Nottingham and Beeston Canal meant we didn’t have ice to contend with, just the odd bit crackling in the margins. There seem to be new areas that the local boaters moor, several groups have managed to pin themselves to the bank, one stretch with an ice rink for a towpath.
Moorings reduced at Castle Marina
Mick made a call through to Castle Marina, we were wanting a top up of diesel, the answer came back as expected the marina was frozen over, we’d be heading on straight past. There seems to be problems with the pontoons in the marina. As we passed numerous big signs line empty pontoons. Maybe they are getting replaced.
No stopping for a shop today, straight through a first for us. The towpath in parts needs work as it is undulating by the edge. This boat caught our eye NB Bird on a Wire, I like the addition of a squirrel.
Reaching the bend
Castle Lock was surrounded with crud, two life buoys by the weir and a blue fat fender by the lock gates, this was picked up, with a new bit of rope it may be useful. Plenty of the buildings now seemed empty, that may have been because it was Sunday, but dusty windows were not inviting.
Posh new restaurant
By the big bend the building work has been completed. Cleaver and Wake now sits alongside the canal, run by Masterchef Professional winner Laurence Henry, it offers an ‘elevated dining experience’. We cannot afford to eat there so our roast pork this evening would be enjoyed onboard at the fraction of the price for one of their starters.
Fishermen slowed our progress. A new mural along a wall suggests some regeneration money is being ploughed into the area, The Island Quarter, a new ‘destination’!
Meadow Lane Lock
Meadow Lane Lock required a couple of logs removing from behind the top gates then we took quite a bit of rubbish down with us to the river where only a couple of rowing boats were busy zooming past the lock. Two boats on County Hall steps, not surprising after the floods. The occupants of County Hall itself may be moving and the building sold off for a hotel.
Trent Bridge
Back on the river we zoomed along, it was in the green but the flow was quite strong, tick over to keep steerage required. The river was strangely quiet, we’d expected sailing boats and more rowers, but none were seen.
Rufford Hall or Southfork as we call it
Southfork looked dead as usual. A peer in through the first floor windows revealed some dodgy tromp l’oeil around some archways. From Rufford Hall on-line interior design courses are run!
As we approached Holme Lock mad people were climbing into canoes to launch themselves into the river and head down the white water course. The pull towards the hydroelectric plant was strong so more power was required on the lock cut to keep us going straight.
A chap walking his dog said he wasn’t sure what was happening with Stoke Lock, a boat had gone down there yesterday. Luckily we could fill him in that it requires booking.
Ice filled the lock along with more flood detritus. Holme Lock takes SOOOOoooooo long to empty or fill, you could add a half hour to your journey here. But we were soon out, the hydraulic rams on the gates cutting through the ice easily.
Radcliffe Viaduct
One last reach of the river gradually getting more and more rural. Numerous Herons and Egrets sat and watched or flew past. Only one Kingfisher spotted in amongst the trees. A train came with potential for a good photo of Radcliffe Viaduct, except it’s progress was very slow compared to ours, the view left for someone else to see as we headed round a bend.
Stoke Lock
Up ahead at Stoke Lock the low mooring was occupied, presumably the boat that had come down Holme Lock yesterday. This wasn’t good news for Tilly as she isn’t allowed out on pontoon moorings on rivers, especially ones just out of flood. We pulled in, the current wanting to pull the bow out from the pontoon, we’d not wanted to wind to face upstream due to the pull from the weir.
Time for the joint of pork to go in the oven.
3 locks, 9.6 miles, 1 left, 1 marina frozen over, 2 rowing boats, £40 for 2 courses, £10 for both of us onboard, 0 shore leave, 1 blue fat fender.
Time for the annual round, a long post so sit back, put your feet up and enjoy.
The New Year kicked off with winter maintenance in the house. Having two hallways proved time consuming refreshing the woodwork and patching up the worst of the wallpaper. But this was broken up with weekly walks to see the sea. I resumed work on the development showing of #unit21 for Dark Horse and a Christmas present of a cheese making kit proved very tasty in creating my first ever Yorkshire Curd Cheese Cake from scratch. I plan on having a second go at this soon!
In February work progressed in Huddersfield towards opening night, the floor painted, final costume fittings and then the set and lighting added. All while Mick serviced our life jackets and Tilly grew more and more bored of life in the house.
Once the show was opened we had a trip down to London to catch up with the London Leckenbys for a belated Christmas, on our way back we visited Oleanna. When ever we could we visited Blue Water Marina to do jobs and have a pack up lunch. The stove was reblacked, walls washed down and cupboards sorted through.
Then at the end of February, Mick and I left Tilly in charge of the house, we packed enough clothes and food for a couple of days boating and headed to Thorne to move Oleanna through Thorne Lock before a winter stoppage began. Blimey it was chilly out there, but wonderful to be back afloat and moving Oleanna to Goole. Now we were all set to move back onboard and have a few weeks of pootling about in Yorkshire.
Back at the house we made it ready for the first of this years lodgers. Our boat Christmas tree was retired into the back garden where we hoped it would thrive, this of course was before we knew a drought was on it’s way! Tilly said goodbye to the dragon that lives up the chimney, left Seville and Valencia to look after the house before having to endure the car trip back to boat life.
After a few days sorting ourselves, including having one of Joan’s gluten free Chinese takeaways, we unplugged Oleanna and backed out from our mooring at Goole Marina (Boat House). We spent the next three weeks bobbing about between Pollington Lock, Doncaster and Goole. Maintenance jobs were ticked off the list.
Alistair did engine and weedhatch jobs, Frank joined us a couple of times to do carpentry jobs, our galley drawers no longer have a life of their own, the covers had a good scrub and a spray of Wet and Forget to help them keep clean.
In March I’d set myself a charity challenge, to knit as many pairs of socks in the month as I could. Nine pairs knitted for people in return for sponsorship, I also got a very generous donation of yarn from Lisa on NB Summer Wind.
Our plans had had to change as Thorne Lock still hadn’t closed, but was about to! Plans to visit York and West Yorkshire were abandoned, we’d bought ourselves a Gold Licence for the year so wanted to make the most of it. So on March 24th with all the jobs done we turned our backs on Goole and set off into the sunset to see where 2022 would take us, all three of us grinning from ear to ear.
We made our way to Keadby ready for our booked passage on the tidal River Trent, the fast route south. A phone call from a boating friend in need of support meant we’d be doing our best to make use of the spring tide to reach Cromwell in one go despite the weather forecast. We spent a couple of days doing what we could to help in Newark before we needed to be on the move again.
On upstream to The Trent and Mersey keeping up our cruising hours and Tilly hoping we’d stop with enough time for her to explore each day before cat curfew.
Up to Fradley then onto the Coventry Canal, we played leapfrog with NB Free Spirit for a couple of days.
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, up the Curdworth Flight then a turn left onto a section of the Grand Union we’d not been on before at Star City. Up Garrison Locks, Typhoo Basin and then the Ashted Locks where we now have the measure of that Tunnel! A mooring space at the top of Farmers Bridge had our name on it. This was handy for a road trip to swap lodgers and for visits to the dentist. It also meant we were in shot when a group came to jump the top lock!
Fast forward to 6:15
Our route out of Buminghamsaw us through Edgbaston Tunnel, down Lapworth followed by Hatton. A pause was needed for Tilly’s annual visit to a new vet, the one here the closest to the canal we’ve visited so far, also handy for The Cape of Good Hope!
At Napton we joined the Oxford Canal and headed for Braunston, pausing to stock up on goodies from the butcher. On the Grand Union we made our way up over the hill and started our descent down The Long Buckby flight back towards tidal waters.
On the 1st of May we turned left at Gayton Junction onto the Northampton Arm dropping down the flight to the River Nene. We’d only been this way once before and that was when we’d just bought Lillian (NB Lillyanne) back in 2014. We bought ourselves a second Abloy key, showed our Gold Licence to the chap at Northampton Marina and started our journey down stream, time to explore.
A decision was made to head down to Peterborough taking note of places we’d want to visit on our return journey. We worked our way through the guillotine locks, many button operated and others with the wheel of cardiovascular overload.
Tilly loved many of the moorings apart from those in Peterborough where crowds surrounded the boat and meant returning from shore leave was impossible for several hours.
In two weeks we reached the end of the river at the Dog in a Doublet Lock. Here the river becomes tidal, we’d save that trip for another time and turned back upstream to head for the Middle Level.
Here we wanted to explore all the drainage channels, but decided we’d do that on our return too. So we took the direct route and crossed the low lying waters in three days arriving at Salters Lode on Mick’s birthday. The levels out on the tidal stretch of the Great Ouse needing to be just right to get through the lock, turn and head upstream to Denver Sluice.
A lovely GOBA mooring was found on the River Wissey and eventually the sun came out for a birthday barbeque, we’d made it to the Great Ouse.
The remainder of May was spent exploring the River Wissey, Ely and The Little Ouse. Brandon Lock sits at the most easterly point on the connected navigable network for boats Oleanna’s size. Sadly a build up of silt stopped us from getting her bow into the lock, but we did get her as far east as was possible, ticking off the fourth point of the compass.
There was a trip to Hull Truck to meet old friends at a gala evening followed by a meet up with Micks family back in the Fens. At the end of the month we got to know Neil the seal at Ten Mile Bank moorings as he basked in the sun and took sunset dips in the river.
The Jubilee was seen in at Denver, we lit our guiding lights as a Lancaster Bomber flew overhead heading to see the Queen. The Relief Channel gave us a good mooring to be able to have a trip away to celebrate Dawn and Lee’s 50th Birthdays in Scarborough, we went as Wallace and Gromit and won an Oscar!
Another visit to Ely to see the Cathedral, Farmers market and meet up with Heather from NB Bleasdale, the first of many this summer. The River Lark was explored, the end of navigation reached with a handy mooring outside a pub.
We headed for the Cam, our paths crossing for the first time with Ken and Sue from NB Cleddau. Then onwards in to Cambridge where we visited colleges, ate chilled medication and had a day trip to Duxford so that Mick could sit in the pilots seat of a Trident 2, a seat his Dad had sat in on many a flight.
Oleanna squeezed along each of the three Lodes, Wicken, Burwell and Reach. Wicken Lode a magical place and a day visit to Anglesey Abbey with it’s wonderful gardens.
Then we headed onto the Old West a river with a very different feel than the Ely Ouse. A pause was needed when we reached Earith for us to have a tour of Heathers new to her boat GT. Once off the tidal water we were on a different Great Ouse again. Here St Ives, St Neots and Hemingford gave us sunsets, D shaped locks, huge meadows and wonderful towns and villages to explore.
As the temperatures started to rise I needed to do some work. Cruising happened in the mornings, my Panto script and sketches were done in the shade of what trees we could find. White sheets were bought and we hoped for a mooring with shade for the really hot days that were to come. Tilly took to lying on the floor and we took to wearing wet t-shirts to help us to keep cool. Thankfully the hot blast only lasted a couple of days then the temperature dropped and we could continue to head upstream.
July 21st we reached the navigable limit of the River Great Ouse, having to reverse some distance to be able to turn round and return to Bedford for the River Festival.
Here we met up with Ken and Sue, Jennie and Chris from NB Tentatrice and Heather again. Plenty of things to see, do and hear. The boat parades, raft races, vintage cars, all sorts kept us busy for the two days.
Now at the end of July we alternated the days between cruising and my work. More beautiful days cruising and more wonderful sunsets, one day off to visit Cambridge for some more chilled medication and to see the Hockney exhibition.
August saw more hot days. Trips to London to celebrate birthdays, panto meetings, catch up with best friends and travellers over from Australia.
On the 15th August we crossed back from Denver Sluice to the Middle Level having really enjoyed our three months on the Great Ouse. Now water levels were a worry along with having enough time to reach Oxford for me to go to work in October. We made the decision to come back and explore the Middle Level another year, maybe we’ll cross The Wash to get there!
By the end of August our progress up stream on the River Nene slowed to a halt. First one lock broke then another two ahead of us. We’d recently been accepted to join the Reflections Flotilla on the Thames to mark the Queens Jubilee in a few weeks time, now that time was ticking away.
When we did get moving again we had to make up our cruising hours. With the news of the passing of the Queen we didn’t know if the flotilla would still be going ahead, we carried on at pace waiting for news. Back up the River Nene, turning onto the Grand Union, working our way southwards. The news came through that the flotilla would go ahead, but now in remembrance of the Queen.
With a couple of days to spare we squeezed into the Eco-Moorings by Islington Tunnel. Two days of catching up with family and more friends over from Australia before we joined boats heading along the Regents Canal towards Limehouse Basin. An afternoon of activity saw numerous narrowboats festooned with white lights.
On the 24th of September the Thames barrier was closed and we all headed out of Limehouse Lock up stream to Chelsea where we clung onto buoys until the early evening when the flotilla started to muster.
Getting on for 150 boats all displaying white lights got into formation and headed down stream. Crowds stood on the illuminated bridges and Tower Bridge opened up in a royal salute as we passed underneath. What a truly amazing day.
Now we had to head towards Banbury, back round the Regents Canal as a leak in the engine bay needed testing on the calm waters of the canal rather than the tideway. By the time we reached Brentford we were confident with Oleanna’s engine again. On the Thames Tilly got a birthday present of a night on a Cliveden Island. Sadly we got an unexpected present on our arrival in Oxford, a second red line on a covid test! Panto painting couldn’t be put off so we made our way gradually up the Oxford Canal keeping our distance from people at locks and taking maximum doses of paracetamol.
A week of painting in Banbury before I moved to Chipping Norton to stack up the hours over the next four weeks getting the 50th anniversary panto ready. Rendez Vousing with Oleanna at weekends in Banbury and Coventry kept me sane. Mick had to single hand across the summit of the Oxford Canal to avoid the first of the winter stoppages.
All three of us were back onboard by mid November, covid free and vaccinated. We took things slowly now, time to rest up, meet friends, gather family and pootle towards Christmas. Our 20th Anniversary was celebrated with a Chinese takeaway at Alvecote Marina, a planned stop which ended up being extended due to plummeting temperatures. The canal froze, there’d be no moving the outside for Tilly!
Temperatures lifted dramatically and the ice just about vanished in a couple of days, we could now be on our way to Christmas. Alrewas was a good place to spend the festive days, a very good butchers and a village with lots of character and humour.
Bookings in the New Year had been made for passage on the tidal River Trent for us to reach Yorkshire, but this would not be. The Trent had risen before Christmas, Cranfleet Flood Gates were shut ahead of us, so no New Year at Hazelford Lock. Instead our alternator played up and we sought out a mooring to hook up to and see in 2023.
This year we’d been wanting to explore again. This year we cruised miles of new water, made new friends, got too hot, got iced in, got stuck, got to be in the first illuminated flotilla on the Thames for 300 years. What a great year it has been.
So our vital statistics for 2022 according to Canalplan are
Total distance is 1249 miles, 6½ furlong and 555 locks . There were 88 moveable bridges of which 29 are usually left open; 156 small aqueducts or underbridges and 18 tunnels, a total of 7 miles 2 ¼ furlongs underground and 8 major aqueducts.
This was made up of 227 miles, 1 1/2furlongs of narrow canals; 363 miles, 2 furlongs of broad canals; 85 miles, 5 furlongs of commercial waterways; 269 miles, 1 furlong of small rivers; 234 miles, 7 1/4 furlongs of large rivers; 69 miles, 6 furlongs of tidal rivers; 176 narrow locks; 232 broad locks; 54 large locks; 2 locks on major waterways.
731.7 engine hours
1156.1 litres diesel, 5 (although we’ve got 1 empty now) gas bottles (used for central heating as well as cooking), 28.5 litres oil, 3 oil filters, 1 fuel filter, 2 air filters, 1 water pump, 2 new belts, 690kg coal, 1 overnight guest twice, 6 packs Dreamies (not enough!), 56 friends, a record breaking 41 Mrs Tilly stamps of approval (4 in one day!), 15 pairs socks, 2 shows designed, 9 lodgers, 2 lots gluten free puff pastry, 9 supermarket deliveries, 30 boxes of wine delivered, 2 lost unicorns.
Thank you all for joining us on our journey. Wonder where we’ll get to in 2023?
Levels on the rise. I don’t see us moving for some time. The flood gates at Cranfleet have been closed since the 23rd December and levels are higher now. The lowest recorded height in that time that we can find was 1.13m and the flood gates were closed then. So this mornings height of 1.76m is going to take a while to head on down stream.
Water Explorer
Yesterday I made note of all our journeys that have been recorded through the years on Water Explorer. The chap who has been running it said the site would be taken down at the end of 2022. It’s still there, Oleanna recorded as the last moving boat. When the site vanishes so will all our vital statistics for both Oleanna and NB Lillyanne.
Our last journeys
At the end of each year I sit down and put our years cruise through Canal plan with the aim of getting a slightly more accurate distance than Water Explorer gives. Water Explorer will cut corners if there have been no way points, it also sometimes counts locks twice or not at all. Beeston Lock on the Trent usually gets counted twice for some reason. This year I will do the same, working out our back and forths on canalplan, which also isn’t totally accurate.
But for now here are our vital statistics (according to Water Explorer) dating back to 1st January 2015.
NB Lillyanne, starting heading up stream on the River Lee from Enfield 1st Jan 2015 to when we moved her for the final time on 2nd May 2017 to brokerage at ABNB in Crick.
Total Journeys
505
Total hours recorded
1550
Total Miles
2565.76
Total Locks
1714
These figures are from trips recorded, some journeys in the early days were missed.
NB Oleanna, starting on 28th March 2017 from Finesse Boats in Sheffield to 31st December 2022 to Willowbrook Moorings.
Total Journeys
1279
Total Hours recorded
4164
Total Miles
6242.72
Total Locks
3694
So our Total statistics from Water Explorer
Total Journeys
1784
Total Hours
5714
Total Miles
8808.48
Total Locks
5408
At some point I will work out Oleanna’s statistics for the year as I normally do, but that will have to wait for tax returns and giant props to be made, along with zooming along the River Trent back to Yorkshire.
Final positions
Mick spent some time in the engine hole today. Trying to see what he might be able to find. Did we have a problem, or was it that something wasn’t pushed home properly? A new battery for his multimeter was needed, the power on board totally turned off for a half hour. The alternator was working. But can we trust it?
Boarded up
He got a phone call from the chap at JD Narrowboats who was wanting to check that we’d got plugged in somewhere and were we sorted. He also sent us a link to a new alternator he’d found on ebay. How very kind of him. Mick is thinking on what to do. We intended on buying a new alternator and when the current one failed we could swap them over and send the original one off to be mended if possible, then we’d have a spare. But should we do it now or wait until we’re back in Yorkshire? Should we go for the ebay one at half the price of a Beta one? Well you get what you pay for!
A lovely building
This afternoon we went for a walk to have a look at the river. We followed the muddy towpath through the old port of Shardlow. Since our very first visit nothing much has changed. Several of the old warehouses still stand boarded up, calling out to be refurbished into offices, housing or some other use. One of my favourite buildings has already been converted into a home, Soresby Warehouse built around 1820.
Derwent Mouth Lock 1 on the Trent and Mersey Canal
Derwent Mouth Lock, the last lock on the Trent and Mersey sat half empty today. In normal times this would have been only about a quarter empty, but with the river in flood! Below, the level at the lock landing today would mean stepping down off Oleanna, normal times it would be one very big step up to the bank.
The river level boards are well in the red as expected.
Lovely
We walked back on the other side of the canal, past the pubs, lovely houses and the not so lovely more modern buildings. What a busy place this must have once been.
Their TV is a projector onto the end wall of the house, huge!
A pause to look over the garden wall by the lock. The river, here unnavigable, rushed by faster than the River Ouse passes Selby Lock. The house here has spent quite a bit of money on their Christmas lights, multi coloured fairy lights in all the bushes and trees in the garden and then multicoloured bulbs along the eaves the excess gathered together inside their phone box.
In need of a lick of paint
Pork and apple stew tonight with dumplings. I chose to cook it mostly on top of the multifuel stove meaning the dumplings didn’t go crispy.
Pork and apple stew, click the photo for the recipe.
Our viewing of the new series of Happy Valley was interrupted by a call from my bestestest friend over in Sydney. Emma was out for a morning walk with her dog Moose. It was lovely to have a good catch up.
0 locks, 0 miles, WE this year, 234 journeys, 743 hours, 1248.12 miles, 565 locks, 3 mile walk, 0 twinging calf, 1 not so sure cat, 1.84m river level at 11pm, 1 stew, 6 dumplings, 30 minute catch up, 1st Happy Valley season 3.
Henry Knibb Bridge 3A to Shardlow 48hr Visitor Moorings
Sunrise from the bathroom
Both of us had checked the river levels during a conscious moment over night, so neither of us were rushing to get going this morning. As we had our cuppa in bed we checked again, both the Government website and Gaugemap, levels were still going up on the rivers. Cranfleet flood gates would remain shut today.
The bacon was very good
Time to make use of those nice field mushrooms I’d bought in Alrewas along with the bacon. Once breakfasted we made ready to move into Shardlow, away from the traffic noise and to see if there was space by the pubs to put a supermarket order in for delivery.
Didn’t the cottage used to have something like Wisteria on it?
A slow pootle to Shardlow Lock past all the moored boats. The lock was full and a grassy island sat just above the top gates waiting to make it’s way down with us. Despite Mick trying to discourage it’s descent it won and entered the lock with Oleanna. A Grandad with pint in hand brought his grandsons over to watch us at the lock, just in time to help close the off side gate.
Nearly down
A top up of water was needed, a load of washing and the dishwasher had been at work already. Tilly’s pooh box got a refresh then we were ready to find a space. As we passed the moorings outside JD Narrowboats I spotted a very shiny NB Hunky Dory, was this THE NB Hunky Dory the owner having got in touch with us years ago at their planning stage. This was to be a boat with not one but two incinerator toilets, high spec kitchen appliances. This was all pre-pandemic, was this their winter mooring, or was the boat only just finished? Both very possible.
Not much passing traffic here
Two boats were on the moorings before the bend, we hoped there might be room for us at the far end, but rings hadn’t been used with others in mind. A glance up to the pubs, three boats were nicely spaced out there too, it didn’t look hopeful for a delivery so we reversed back to the first mooring ring. Yes there is a git gap in front of us, but we are on the last ring. Mick walked up to check on the pub moorings, there were four boats, no room for us.
A cuppa and a shopping list were put together then Mick headed over to Leicestershire in the bike, across the River Trent, to pick up a few things to keep us going for the next few days.
Tilly came and went for Dreamies. There are calculations going on with the hope of being able to reach the top of the brick wall alongside our mooring. The C&RT wooden posts may just assist. The mortar between the bricks is too new to get a good grip. Depending on how long we are here, she may discover that she can walk just a few yards along the towpath to an open gate to see what’s on the other side of the wall! There’s no fun in that though!!
An enforced stop means I need to get on with some work. Props for #unit 21 will be needed soon into the New Year and I have quite a lot of materials on board to get started.
Green mats
I unwrapped a couple of the yoga mats I’d bought. These are cheaper than plastizote, come in a good colour but are a touch softer than I’d thought. Making certain things from them won’t be a problem, but the biggest prop may need extra support. I spent the afternoon measuring the mats and working out how best to cut them up. I’d not taken into account their rounded corners, but as the thicker mats are bigger than advertised this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Next I measured all Oleanna’s doors, hatch and windows. I need an opening of at least 60cm for the big prop. Oleanna has a maximum opening of 54cm! If I took the front door frame out then maybe, just maybe there’d be enough room. This would mean making the prop in our bedroom as the bathroom doors are narrower. Hmm, maybe I’ll cut everything out and assemble it in Huddersfield when I get there.
Detailed calculations
The door openings did make me wonder how deep our washing machine is. It’s not a full depth machine so maybe it would fit through the doors sideways? Was it brought in before the doorframe was fitted? Now what about the cooker? One day we’ll have the joy of finding these things out!
As the day progressed the river levels have risen further. Our bookings on the Trent are looking like we won’t be able to use them.
Using stuff up rice
Last of the Christmas duck was added to some fried rice this evening. That’s the end of the duck and birthday cake, just the ham to finish off tomorrow.
1 lock, WE 0.65 (will this be our last journey recorded on Water Explorer?), Pip’s Nebo 0.8 miles, Mick’s Nebo 0.7 miles, 1 load washing, 1 dishwasher load, 1 clean pooh box, 1 clean pooh bucket, 2 many git gaps, 1 mathematical cat, 2 yoga mats, 1 sheet of calculations, 1 boat going nowhere for a while.
