Category Archives: walks

Spaghetti Western. 16th September

Nearish No 4 Swing Bridge

You could tell the wind direction had changed this morning. Last night we went to bed in the warmth left from the day, this morning the temperature had dropped by at least 10 degrees, the north easterly bringing with it the need for jumpers and long trousers.

A check on the possibility of rain during the day, which was slight meant I hoped to be able to get a top coat on the stern. Mick also wanted time in the engine bay, so after breakfast he got to lift the engine boards for a while as I tinkered with other things.

Our bilge pump is meant to be automatic and should go off if the water level rises. For ages it has gone off every couple of minutes for a second or two, no matter what the water level is in the bilge under the stern gland. Mick suspects that the sensor is clogged with grease, so he disconnected it from being automatic to being a manual on off switch months ago. This morning he had a go at cleaning the pump, but not knowing where the sensor is doesn’t help. A new one will need to be purchased. A width of pipe was noted to aid buying the correct one.

With him out of the way and the front doors open for Tilly to come and go I got the stern to myself. A rub down of undercoat and surrounding areas then a wipe down.

I checked on the quantity of black Epifanes paint that I use for the gunnels. If I had enough the stern counter would be painted in this, if not the whole area would be painted blue. This is how she was originally painted, blue then with a coat of black over the top. This was for ease of touch up! Well that worked didn’t it! Too busy boating is my excuse.

The tin of black paint last year was replaced by tupperware. The seal had gone/been too strong which necessitated so much leverage to get the tin open it would no longer close with a good seal. In hindsight this wasn’t the best method of storage as the outside of the paint sets, leaving a giant blister of paint, at least there was still liquid inside.

The blue coach paint went on like a dream, just a shame I couldn’t lean over quite far enough and missed a little bit on the underside of the rubbing strake. I did my best to leave a clean cut edge where the blue would meet the black.

The black paint needed a touch thinning, so I added a glug of Owatrol to the roller tray to aid it’s flow. Edges cut in first then the central area rollered. Job done, at last! Yes I could apply a second coat of black, but todays temperatures were not suitable for the paint to have gone off sufficiently. This can be a touch up coat come the spring instead.

Now all there was left to do was keep Tilly off the wet paint for the rest of the day.

We decided to go for a walk. I changed out of painty clothes and Tilly and I first headed that way. Today the shooting range has been active again. The last two days has been silent round here, but today the echo that has followed every shot is as though we are in a 1960’s western. If you follow this link to the Colt 1851 Navy, Fire 3 ,we’ve been waiting for Clint to ride by.

We followed the path in the grass up to a gate, here is where I decided it would be good to turn around quite a distance from Oleanna who was out of sight. Tilly was quite happily trotting further along the path that went off to the side, ignoring my calls to turn back. Well She’s the one who wanted to go for a walk!

Eventually she twigged that I wasn’t going any further, so she shouted for me, a slight panic in her meow. She then launched herself over the friendly cover to find where I was and came dashing with tail bushed right out. Our progress back was slower, well I needed to pay a call! Once this was done it was loony running back to the boat.

I pushed on further in the opposite direction, a now slightly puffed Tilly still following. It must be hard work down there with all the long grass. We reached where I think the kingfisher hangs out. This was confirmed as it didn’t like Tilly being about, so we retreated to leave it in peace.

The cooler weather meant the stove got lit and that we didn’t have to fend off quite so many midges this evening, just as well as we both have getting on for 20 new bites each. Is it that this year we are that bit more tasty? Is this the week for all the female midges to come out and get their hit of blood before laying eggs and we’ve missed it for the last six years? Are we just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Has the lack of pollution earlier this year increased their numbers? What ever the reason, we don’t like it.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 grey chilly day, 1 bilge pump needing replacement, 1 coat blue, 1 blister popped, 1 coat black, 1 stern almost as good as new, 3, 1 hour proof reading, 2 white items, 857 peeeeows! 1 reluctant cat, 1km walk, 1 comfort break, 2 jacket potatoes cooked in the stove, yum.

Frantastic. 10th September

Sprotbrough Visitor Moorings

A day of not venturing far, well Tilly might have but who knows where she ends up!

A couple of days ago a C&RT stoppage had come through saying that Kilnhurst Flood Lock was out of order due to a hydraulic pipe. This almost certainly meant that Exol Pride was stuck on the far side of the lock, so yesterday when we moved we knew we’d not be bumping into a big blue boat.

This morning a bit before 10am another notice came through saying the lock was now operational again. Exol Pride would be on it’s way. For a narrowboat it would take 3.5 hours to do the journey, Exol most probably a bit less. So it wasn’t a surprise when about an hour later Oleanna started to move, stretching her ropes to their full extent. Around 15 minutes later we could hear the engine and sure enough the big blue bow came round the bend behind us.

Before the lock is Sprotbrough Road Bridge and a pipe bridge, for these the wheelhouse of Exol Pride is too high, so as they approached the wheelhouse sank into the depths of the boat, leaving just enough head height for the helm to be able to stay standing up.

A trip up here wouldn’t be complete without seeing Dolly Earle

About an hour later a dutch barge came past, followed by another. This one we’d been expecting to see at some point. We’ve spotted Dolly Earle every time we’ve been up this way, quite often mooring up beside them as they dry their washing, they always seem to have washing on the go.

Just after lunch I prepared a batch of cheese scones, Mick put chairs and our plank table up on the bank ready for our visitor.

Fran, Mick’s niece who lives in Sheffield came for a visit. She is an NHS physiotherapist who works with children, this morning she’d been into two schools seeing to peoples needs. We all kept our distance sat on the bank, enjoying cuppas and freshly made scones as we caught up on news of her new washing machine and family and much more.

With little sun it was a touch chilly sat outside, we’ll be getting our padded down coats out soon to have meetings like this. It was lovely to see Fran, the first of our family in the flesh this year.

Once we’d tidied everything away we decided to have a short walk along the river bank, heading down stream. It takes a little while to cross the bridge as there is only one pavement and that is on the other side of the road from both the moorings and the direction we were wanting to go once we’d crossed.

A coffee van had been serving cyclists and walkers all day from the little car park opposite our mooring, but had now packed up for the day. I stopped to take a photo of Oleanna across the way. Four years ago we’d been moored in exactly the same spot when the Google car came past, both of us were stood on the bank at the time. Street view has been updated since.

We turned and walked under the bridge we’d just crossed, walked up to the lock. Alongside the huge chamber is a kind of layby where a couple of boats are, what was this used for? Was it part of the feed to the water wheel that used to power Sprotbrough Hall pumping water up to the village?

We soon came across what had been the pumping house, some wheels and cogs still visible. A sign explaining about it is really quite annoying. Full of information but highly polished silver it is next to impossible to read, taking a photo for later proved impossible and I was so occupied in just trying to read it very little of the information stuck. It did how ever make for a slightly arty photo!

One thing I do remember is that the ruin is a grade 2 listed building and the mechanism was put into storage in Barnsley for safe keeping, which now has been lost!

Sprotbrough Hall was built for the Copley family in 1670 and remained in the family by hook or by cousins for many a generation. It was a Jacobean house with some influence from Versaille. The Hall and estate were sold off in 161 lots in 1925, FS Gowland from Ripon bought the hall with 115 acres of land for £9100.

By 1926 the hall was being demolished, the rubble used to fill the cellar and excess stone was used as foundations for houses in Brompton Road. Much of the village is now built on the Halls estate. Little remains of the original house, the stable yard remains now apartments and looking up from the river bank we could see the ballustraded viewing area which was directly infront of the hall. A very interesting article with photos can be found here.

1966 there is now another estate above Lover’s Leap

We continued our walk to the A1 bridge, traffic hurtling across above us at speed, I wonder what it was like back in April stood on the river bank when there was so much less traffic.

A footpath took us up into the village where we weaved our way around the roads where once the hall had stood. At the methodist church the railings were festooned with blue ribbons, each one marking a life lost in a Doncaster hospital from Covid-19.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 niece, 2 lovely hours, 12 scones, 3 consumed, 9 left oh dear! 1 walk, 1 hour setting up, 8 hours shore leave, 1 problem solved, 1 big quiche, 3 big boats, 9.

This house looks like it’s straight out of a period drama

Saturn, 126m From Half Way. 29th August

Naburn Water Point Pontoon

I woke at 6:30, my internal clock nudging me awake at the time we could have been leaving if the levels were good. But there was no surprise as I looked out the front, the levels had gone back up again! Back to sleep it was.

Some old wires for the telephone engineers

This morning’s Geraghty Zoom included Revengeful Gutters, Ging Gang Goolie, Currier Couriers and slight envy of Marions new Fire Pit they’d be trying out tonight.

By 11 the levels at Viking Recorder seemed to be levelling out, but would they fall sufficiently for us to head off downstream tomorrow morning, which is when our original plan had been. A look at the forecast suggested not and the level would drop a bit, but then go back up again!

She tried to explain things to me. ‘It’s like your be’doingee ball Tilly. We can only tie the good dry outside up when the ball hits the floor, but at the moment it spends a lot more time in the air than on the floor. When it does hit the floor it immediately jumps back up into the air.‘ I’d be able to put my paw on it to stop it bouncing back up, they’d do the same if they really cared about me!!!

After watching, La Course, the Womens one day race of the Tour de France we had a chat with the Lockie. He confirmed that we wouldn’t be going anywhere tomorrow morning, but with fine weather for the next few days Monday is looking like it might be possible. Fingers crossed.

NB Large Marge following us downstream in 2016

Four years ago today we’d woken early and entered Naburn Lock in the mist heading back to Selby after a few days in York. We’d managed to visit the city when the levels had stayed low for a few days and as we left the river was rising again, by the end of the day the mooring bollards at Naburn were under water, today they were nowhere to be seen!

Would the shop at the campsite have our newspaper? We went to ask, but they don’t sell papers. With no shop in Naburn Village we’d have to do without a paper today.

Instead we went for a walk. The grass verge to the village is wide and mown. St Matthews church sits on the outskirts. We could smell food coming from the pub, but resisted and headed off down Vicarage Lane to find the old railway line, now Route 65 of the National Cycle Network.

In 1864 this route was opened knocking half an hour off the journey time between London and Edinburgh. It carried trains like the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard, coal and steel from Yorkshire to other parts of the country. Trains would also take workers from the villages south of York in to Rowntrees factory on the Foss Islands line. Local passenger services stopped in 1958 and the goods traffic ceased in 1964.

Only 10 miles to Selby, it feels like another world today

In the 1980’s work was underway developing the Selby coalfield which coincided with electrification of the rail line. Possible subsidence in the area might cause speed restrictions on the line, now was a good time to bypass the swing bridges at Naburn and Selby creating a new route, getting British Coal to pay for it.

Once the new route opened, the stretch from Riccall to York was sold for £1 to Sustrans and formed the first six miles of the National Cycle Network.

To mark the millennium, staff from the University of York created a 10km, 575,872,239 to 1 scale model of the solar system. Scale models of the planets are positioned along the route, The Sun being closest to Tescos in York and Pluto just outside Riccall and there are 1/3 scale models of the Cassini probe and Voyager 1.

Today we joined the route around about half way between Uranus and Jupiter. Heading towards the Ouse we soon came across a raised mound up to a turret made from signal ducting. We climbed to the top expecting a view, but trees got in the way. Below a sign suggested sitting on a bench at the base and lining your view up with a stick. This we did, and there was the view, the central tower of York Minster. Originally this could be seen from the turret, but an oak tree has grown to mask it.

By Naburn Station there is the Tuck Trike Saturn Stop. Here picnic benches offer a break to walkers and cyclists, there is a cafe, a hut with a portapottie and quite a few artworks around the site.

We then walked past Saturn on it’s plinth, a sign post pointing the way to the next planets in each direction.

Naburn Swing Bridge was our next landmark, sitting over the fast flowing Ouse.

Murals have been painted on the concrete walls, poetry added to the rounded sides of the bridge and high above everything sits The Fisher Of Dreams with bicycle and dog.

Designed by Pete Rogers the sculpture was commissioned as part of York City’s Millenium celebrations. The design involved the community, three ideas were formulated, in January 2001 a vote was taken and The Fisher of Dreams was chosen.

The sculpture depicts a person holding a fishing rod sitting on the supports of the old control tower. On the end of the fishing line is a cut out of the Flying Scotsman.

Behind the figure lies their bicycle, a dog with cocked leg taking a wee on it’s saddle. A very amusing sculpture which it was nice to get to see from a different angle.

Down below a big cruiser fought it’s was upstream against the current.

We retraced our steps and then walked down into the village. Those chips smelt good!

Late afternoon we could hear funny noises from outside. Was someone having a shower? Did someones engine have a strange rhythm? It was in fact a cruiser turned up to fill with water. They pulled in behind us and tied up to the boat on the outside, hoses passed over boat roofs. He’d run out a few days ago, so today he really needed to fill up!

That wasn’t the end of the excitement for the day. I’d just served up our lamb potato and spinach curry when there were voices and engine noises coming from the lock area. One big cruiser was in the lock facing upstream.

Ropes were being passed round the swing bridge, then another cruiser came in behind them. The tidal river was so high the height difference up onto the none tidal section could only have been about a foot. These were almost certainly the two cruisers that had left the other day. Wonder how much diesel they’d used pushing against the current to get here from Selby?

0 locks, 0 miles, 3.75 miles walked, 1,443,300,000km to Uranus, 648,860,000km to Jupiter, £1 for 6 miles, 1 swing bridge, 1 fisher, 1 engine, 1 bike, 1 dog, 3 cruisers moving, 2 boaters wondering what cat kebabs taste like.

Hands, Face, Space. 31st July

Bradley Swing Bridge to Lanehouse Swing Bridge 189

Strange dreams for both of us last night, until I realised that the smoke/CO detector above our heads was beeping, announcing it required a new battery. Mick removed the detector from the ceiling and popped the battery out, deciding it could wait for morning.

Next thing we knew was boats going past at just gone 7am, two heading back to base at Silsden the other a private boat heading towards Skipton. Our mooring had some shade but it was busy with passing boats. Most of the day boats from Skipton came past us yesterday and winded a little bit ahead of us before returning. Maybe we’d be better off elsewhere to sit out the heat of the day.

After our cuppa in bed we rolled back the covers and pushed off, leaving Bradley Mill (an old spinning and weaving mill) behind us. Breakfast could wait until we were moored up again, hopefully in a larger area of shade away from the busy road.

Just around the bend was our first swing bridge of the day, Hamblethorpe. Easy to move and enough time to have a look at the memorial to seven Polish Airmen who died when their plane crashed near Skipton in 1943.

A fine wooded stretch follows, perfect for shade on a hot day but very close to the busy road below, we continued.

The next swing bridge is Milking Hall sat at the edge of the wood, a path leads up the hill away from the canal with a mossy sign pointing the way. I like this bridge, if it was snowy it could almost be in Narnia. One thing I did remember about it was how the landing has an overhang, this caught us out when passing through last time on Lillian, crunching off a chunk of paint on the top of a gunnel. Mick kept well away as I opened up the bridge, a hire boat with a 60th birthday party came round the bend so I let them through before walking on to the next bridge.

Redman Swing Bridge links the towpath to footpaths in Kildwick, a village that clings to the hillside, the road to the valley dipping under the canal. Mick now had to go very slowly indeed as I needed to get up ahead to take a photo I’ve been wanting to take for four years.

Four years ago as we passed through Kildwick I’d paused after letting Lillian (our old yellow boat) through Warehouse Swing Bridge to take a photo. At the time we were heading over the Pennines to spend that winter up on the Macclesfield, where we hoped Oleanna would get launched. The photo I took of the stern of Lillian passing through bridge 186 became the photo to keep of her, as if we were saying goodbye.

Since then I’ve been wanting to take the same photo but with Oleanna coming towards the camera, saying hello. It’s taken us four years to get back here, but today we finally managed it.

I couldn’t quite remember where I’d stood last time, so stood on the bridge to take the photo. This was maybe just as well, being at a slightly different angle otherwise the moored boats would have blocked the view of Oleanna. It is close enough for my liking, different seasons and a very blue boat, but the post box is still in view. Our four year mission now complete.

We now hoped to find shade and stop for the day. The first possible mooring didn’t have much in the way of trees, then the depth wasn’t sufficient. On through Grange Swing Bridge where a new stretch of pilling is being put in.

Is this Tumbelweed No 5 who used to write a blog?

Then we could see shade up ahead and a view to the off side. This would do us for the day. The back doors were opened, along with the front, hoping for a breeze. Tilly was given eight hours and we settled down to have breakfast at 10:30.

A text prompted Mick to turn on BBC1. Here was Mr Johnson confirming what had been mentioned on the news last night regarding local lockdown measures across the North West and West Yorkshire. Better to stand in front of the cameras rather than announce the new measures by tweet!

Our route ahead remains open, but no meeting friends or family other than on park benches until we reach Leeds! The next stage of lockdown relaxation has been put on hold for at least another two weeks. So the doors of any theatres that were about to reopen for socially distanced performances remain firmly closed for the time being.

The new three word slogan for the pandemic way of life was mentioned at the press conference. So we decided we’d have a look at where Mr Johnson was suggesting we should head using what3words

To reach our new destination, we would have to head back west over the Leeds Liverpool Canal to Wigan.

From here we’d have a choice, either all the way to Liverpool docks, out across the Mersey, round Liverpool Bay heading west, across the River Dee then follow the coast line westwards to LLandudno and the Irish Sea.

Or at Burscough turn onto the Rufford Branch, out onto the River Douglas, turning left onto the River Ribble continuing out to the Irish Sea to turn southwards to follow the coast to Llandudno.

Or into Manchester on the Bridgewater Canal, drop down Pomona Lock onto the River Irwell followed by the Manchester Ship Canal, joining the River Mersey at Eastham Locks.

Or the Bridgewater Canal to Preston Brook, down the Trent and Mersey to Anderton, down the boat lift onto the River Weaver, head westwards to Weston Marsh Lock where we’d drop down onto the Manchester Ship Canal.

Or the Bridgewater Canal to Preston Brook, down the Trent and Mersey to Middlewich, across the Middlewich Branch, turn northwards on the Shroppie to either Chester, dropping onto the River Dee (this route may not be possible due to the lock onto the Dee) or continuing to Ellesmere Port to join the Manchester Ship Canal.

Or at Barbridge Junction on the Middlewich Branch turn south onto the Shropie, onto the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal to Stourport, River Severn to Gloucester, Gloucester and Sharpness to Sharpness, then onto the River Severn again continue on past Portishead hugging the south coast of Wales, then head northwards until reaching the Irish Sea, up the Menai Straight and eventually Llandudno. But this route would just be silly!

Maybe we’ll not bother and carry on with our original plan, Norway. 😉

A very warm day followed, we were glad we’d found some quality shade. I headed out for a walk to stretch my legs. I headed along the canal passing two open swing bridges. Down a very rubbley footpath towards the River Aire.

From here I had to play cow pat hopscotch, then cross a field of sheep, the now fully grown lambs still wanting to suckle from their Mum, two of them so forceful they actually lifted her off the ground. Then back up onto the towpath, shortly before a cooling breeze and rumbles of thunder came past.

0 locks, 2.79 miles, 5 swing bridges, 4 years for a photo, 1 lorry, 1 tractor, Tumbleweed 5, 29.7 degrees, 1 hot day, 8 hours, 1 hot tired cat, 1 boat still heading eastwards, 0 roast tonight, 1 salad, 1 Mrs Tilly Stamp of Approval, 1 theatre designer in need of a job!

https://goo.gl/maps/kCvG49YCJSrRm8SS7

Sheep Worrying. 29th June

Smith’s Bridge 14

A day for not doing much really. The wind and rain didn’t make the thought of moving very appealing, even the hardiest crew member Tilly wasn’t impressed with the weather. I think the amount of footfall here yesterday actually had more to do with her choice than the weather.

As there is still a chance that a project I’ve been offered with Dark Horse Theatre Company might happen next year I decided it was way time I did a bit of sussing out for it. The production will have a lot of projection in it and after watching Small Island last week I decided to get in touch with my friend Jen. Jen was a Scenic Artist at The National Theatre and had worked on the show. The constant background of projection had made me wonder what colour the back wall had actually been. Almost certainly not white as this would have allowed light to bounce around all over the place, but was it grey?

She came back with the response that the back wall had been heavily textured and painted in several shades of grey. If I’d been to see the show I’d have been able to appreciate the texturing and the work that had gone into what on the TV screen at home looked more like a plain wall to project onto with just a bit of something to break it up a bit.

I sent another email to a good friend, normally a lighting designer, currently redesigning his garden, for a touch more information. Then I settled down to do a bit of hunting around for flight/boiler suits and hats for the cast to wear. I will soon need to provide a costume design so that it can be incorporated into the animation for the show.

The day being so damp and chilly Mick lit the stove and gave Oleanna a glowing warm interior. Tilly appreciated this and took pole position on the sofa for much of the rest of the day.

Think someone doesn’t like speeding bikes

Mid afternoon it looked like outside was drying up a touch, so I decided to see if there might be any views to be seen from the hill up towards Lyme Park. Mick wasn’t so keen so I set off on my own, making sure he knew what route I’d be taking.

I returned to the water point, at the Trading Place I realised that the chap yesterday hadn’t been constructing something in the doorway, but it was actually a little trolley that he could put peoples purchases on which would then slide to the doorway for them to collect. Shame I didn’t take a photo.

Over the bridge and straight up the track to where it forked, a quick check of my map and I took the right fork, still heading up hill. Cattle grids to keep the sheep in and plenty of farm traffic. There were tractors moving large round bales of silage from one place to another, builders pickups and a large transit that seemed to be visiting every farm in the valley. It took a while to climb up the hill past all the farm yards sadly missing many of the disused mine shafts as I went. The area used to be filled with coal mines.

But once I was above all the tractors and mud I was able to catch my breath and admire the grey view towards Stockport and Cheadle Hume.

Fields of sheep sat either side of the track. A few woolly beasts had found the tastier grass on the wrong side of the hedge which lead to a game of chicken, in a sheep kind of way. I kept myself right up to one side of the track hoping not to worry them too much, as they all carried on running away from me up the track. But soon a gate stood in their way! What were they to do? I carried on walking up the side, then all of a sudden the one brain cell between the six of them jumped into action, one sheep making a dash for it past me, the others followed suit, panic over.

A large banner covered a gate outside the last house on the track. This must be where Heather Broadbent lives. Last year she started on the around the world yacht race. Glancing at her blog and facebook page, it looks like the boat, CV21 got to Australia before the rest of the race was put on hold due to the pandemic.

National Trust tracks up towards Lyme Park

Through the next gate I was on National Trust land. I had no idea how much of my planned route would be on their tracks and the gates would be closing in half an hour. I reckoned that as soon as I started to head down hill I should be fine and I would soon be crossing over fields to the next track to make my descent, so I should make it in time.

Ladder and dog flap, Tilly would just step through

A large wooden ladder, with a handy dog flap below it joined me onto the North Cheshire Way for a couple of fields. Of course as I changed direction the wind now blew drizzle at me, so with my coat zipped right up I continued across the wet grass.

A section of dry stone wall was mid way through being mended. All the stones had been laid out of the grass, graded into sizes and the top stones all ready to go back sat in a line.

Below in the field I could hear a ladies voice. The milk heard gathering by a gate. They’d be heading for milking. Would I get to the farm before them? She opened the gate and off trotted Mable ahead of the pack, leading the way to the milking shed. I think she got there before the last straggler had left the field. Luckily for me the route to the milking shed didn’t involve the track down hill.

Back on tarmac I passed Platt Wood Farm with immaculate gardens and then veered northwards. A short distance onwards was a rather fine Volvo Amazon Estate sheltered out of the rain.

The house it was next to was for sale. At first it looked like the house was detached and the sign suggested it came along with some woodland. Now if we got a mooring at Higher Poynton we’d be able to walk from boat to house quite easily. A shame we’ve not got £600k to spare! And it’s only a semi!

By now the drizzle had turned to rain and I was glad I was mostly sheltered by the tall hedges. Over the canal again at Bullocks Bridge and a very damp walk back to Oleanna. Mick had suggested he might move the boat so that we didn’t have to listen to the music from across the way for another evening, but due to the rain the side hatch had been kept shut, well until the skies dried up again in the evening! Oh well, we’ll move on again tomorrow.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 wet blowy day, 3.2 miles walked, 6 panicked sheep, 1 round the world yachts woman, 5 minutes on National Trust land (worth a years membership), 1 cosy boat, 1 pair of soggy jeans, 2 much Oasis.

Loaf Of Bread. 26th May

Lockdown Mooring 5

That maple syrup and spoon of other flour had done the trick to my starter, this morning it had doubled in size and hadn’t sunk back down the jar. It was ready to bake with. I wasn’t prepared. I’d thought it might take until this evening for it to be ready to start a loaf and if I started a loaf now then I would end up baking it tonight at bed time!

I scanned through my recipes and found one that suggested it would rise and be ready to bake between 5 and 7pm. The recipe did have a touch of yeast added to it, but I thought it was well worth it as I didn’t want to waste the progress my starter had made. So a loaf of Chestnut and oat bread it was. My starter was so airy, the airiest it’s ever been. I ran out of white rice flour, so had to add some brown rice flour. Once mixed the sponge was left on the proving shelf for four hours to see what it did. It rose up and showed great promise.

Domed and cracked top even without the yeast

Time to get on with the portraits of the actors who would have been in the production of The Garden. I’ve been putting this painting off for a while, but it proved to be quite pleasurable to work on.

They look a touch like they need a good wash

Skin tone shadows were painted in for everyone and highlights washed back. Then I started to work up one face at a time.

Whilst painting we listened to Anno Domino the new Alan Ayckbourn play. Alan and Heather play all the characters and it is well worth a listen. Back in the 60’s Alan had a stint of being a Radio Drama Producer for the BBC. This showed as we both laughed out loud at images that simply wouldn’t have been as funny on stage. The sound effects (an Ayckbourn hobby) and atmosphere along with the multi track recording worked very well. It must have been great fun for them to make as it is great fun to listen to. Available until the 25th June.

Final ingredients (including some yeast) were mixed into the sponge. Then it was poured into a lined tin and left of the proving shelf for an hour and a half to rise. It gained about a third in height, time to bake it. Mick was requested not to step on and off the boat for a few minutes whilst I transferred the tin into the hot oven. Any knock right now would end with a very flat loaf. Transfer completed Mick could continue to mend one of our tyre fenders that has developed a puncture.

I’d spent all day sat at the dinette table working, so after dinner I headed up the towpath for a walk. I’d spotted a footpath on the offside of the canal which would bring me alongside Oleanna as the sun started to set.

Quite a beautiful evening.

I walked up to Hack Green Locks. The field beside them had the now rotund lambs/teenagers we’d seen back in March. They still played and demanded milk from their Mum’s teets. One old lady just stood and stared at me until I moved away.

I crossed over the bridge between the locks and started to walk back towards Oleanna. This side of Nantwich the fields are all pasture where as to the north they are more arable. Blimey the long grass was hard to walk through and there was no obvious footpath.

A murder of Crows circled the nearby wood, cawing to each other. I found my way into the second field and walked round it’s perimeter trying to find the way ahead. Nettles and brambles stopped my progress. By now I felt like I’d walked through miles of deep snow, my calf and thigh muscles complaining.

I found a narrow bridge across a ditch into another field with more long grass but decided to turn back and head to the bottom lock where a pathway had been worn to the bottom gates. The bywash here was just narrow enough to hop over and I was back on shorter grass.

Tonights sunset was beautiful. A good Shropie sunset is hard to beat. Not having Hurleston Reservoir in the way helped to get the full effect.

0 locks, 2 walked to, 0 miles, 1 frothy starter, 1 loaf, 84th play, 4 portraits finished, 1 Sainsburys order completed, 9 hours, 2 friends consumed at least, 1 tyre mended, 1 stunning sunset.

It works today!

https://goo.gl/maps/9MSEzxGEjpwHCevp7

Laying The Ground. 18th May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

Tilly obliged in coming home this morning so we could have a walk up the locks together. We don’t like leaving her out with no-one home, just in case!

We’d been able to hear and see things going on at the top of the flight, a digger/crane in the compound that had been used whilst the bottom lock was being rebuilt. At the locks there was activity too. A couple of chaps seemed to be moving earth around, tidying up the edges of the towpath with a digger . Mick made sure they were aware of the leak at the lock. We suspect the brief for the lock may not have actually included repointing behind the gates, just rebuilding the chamber wall and making it wide enough for boat passage. We feel we’ve mentioned our concerns to enough people now, as I’m sure others have too.

The red van still has eggs for sale, but no duck eggs sadly. We looped back round onto the towpath, crossed over the lock and did a circuit round the reservoir. The work men at the bottom lock were raking finer stones around the lock, finishing off what has been left for a couple of months. Wonder if any of it will need to be dug up to sort the leak out?

An afternoon of painting again. The garden fence went on forever! Will I actually get them finished this week?

Mick attracted my attention at one moment, ‘It’s them!’.

The Wheelie Shoppers were on the towpath, not the field, walking towards the junction. They didn’t dip down into the field but carried on. I grabbed my camera and followed at a distance.

Of course Tilly had to come and help, in fact her meowing arrival at my ankles may well help me in laying down the ground for my back story. The two of them, minus wheelie shopper, walked up the hump to the bridge. Each gave a glance over their shoulder towards me. My sight line was obstructed for a few moments during which time they vanished! But where to!?

I walked up the mound, as if to cross the bridge whilst Tilly continued straight along on the level. Tilly confirmed that they weren’t hiding below, in fact she got quite upset about the whole thing and started shouting very loudly mimicking a duckling who gets stuck on the wrong side of a passing narrowboat from it’s mum. Panic had set in, so my attention had to turn to her, calling her up to the higher level to see where I was. This all helping very much with my back story, should I ever need one.

The Wheelie Shoppers hadn’t actually vanished into thin air, I had a very good idea where they had gone. Opposite the end of the bridge there is a narrow path that leads through the sideways trees, I’d spotted this months ago. Straight ahead is what looks like a small branch blocking the way. They had either lifted this to pass, or the pathway takes a 90 degree turn which isn’t visible from the towpath. As I glanced through the sideways trees I could see them quietly moving away from the canal.

This morning whilst looking down to the boats below the reservoir, I got thinking. With the normal mooring rules coming back in next week, boats will start moving off. We are on a 48hr mooring, so will need to move on Monday whether we want to or not. Each boat will go in a different direction, at different speeds, with different aims and different destinations in mind. We’ve spent a couple of months in each others company, yet not been able to get to know each other, keeping our distance.

Some we just nod our heads, others we deliver veg boxes to, others we have little chats when we come across each other on the towpath or when passing. Social distancing will not be lifted for quite some time yet, so sadly we can’t get together to celebrate being able to move again, or celebrate the lifting of lockdown when it comes. We will all just drift off in our own directions after sharing the last two months together apart. I hope that our bows will cross again in the near future when we can take the opportunity to stop, stand closer have a drink and conversation together. These boats will always be our Lockdown Buddies.

So fluffy, no wonder Mum and Dad are so proud

0 locks, 0 miles, 1ce more round the reservoir, 2 to tidy, 1 to watch, 1 full lock, 1 leak leaking badly, 2 speeding boats, 8 feathery fluff balls, 14 fences, 0.5 fee, 0 shopper, 2 rucksacks, 2 secret pathways, 1 button webcam required, 1 back up story well and truly laid.

Tom’s Cat. 17th May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

For the last couple of nights I’ve preferred to sleep on my bed on the sofa. She is comfortable, mostly, but I thought I’d try a change. It also means I don’t get moved around quite so much during the night.

Then this morning I thought I’d try another change. Instead of warming one set of toes I decided to warm knees instead, Tom’s knees. She wasn’t too happy about this and said I’d become Tom’s cat. Because of all the changes I totally forgot about my morning game of pen and headed straight for the back door instead. She was even less happy about this.

Maybe I should reconsider. Tom gives good chin rubs, but his head nudges aren’t as good. He also tends to just push me off the bed in the middle of the night where as She slides the duvet around with me on it when She wants to turn over. I’ll think it over.

Today she went for the usual walk trying to avoid other people going round the reservoir, so she went in the same direction only to find that the family turned round and came back! I’d have run through their legs in this situation, but She says that wouldn’t be 2 meters away and more to the point She’s too old to be running around on all fours! I don’t see a problem with it myself.

The weir into the reservoir all clear now

The reservoir had lots of fishermen round it. All with their masses of equipment. One chap stood in the middle of the path as I approached, but moved out the way for me. His mate down the bank said to just push him out of the way! I didn’t have a long enough stick to keep the social distance, he’d moved enough out of the way anyway.

Oleanna, a visiting boat and then the flag bubble to the right

Back on board I made myself some hummus as I’d run out. With no tahini on board I tried zuzzing some sesame seeds with my stick blender to make some before adding chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, a touch of cumin and some sumac. This will keep me going for a while even with putting half of it in the freezer for the next time I run out, although I think it will need thinning a touch with some more oil.

I also set about browning some pork that we’d bought back in November in Oxford. To this I added a parsnip, carrots still left from a couple of weeks ago, the turnip from this weeks box and several tomatoes. A little glug of wine a stock cube some sage and seasoning, then left it to bubble away at the lowest setting in the top oven. This cooked over several hours and smelt exceedingly yummy.

Mick gave the chimney a sweep, removed the baffle plate inside the stove and cleaned it out. I made sure he stayed well away from my illustrations when he came past with sooty hands. Sadly the stove wasn’t lit until the evening, so the pork stew stayed in the oven to gently cook.

Skies were painted in and a few backgrounds for fireworks and blowy days. There is still a lot of work to do on my illustrations. I need to get a few more hours done in a day, but I am limited as my right hand isn’t too keen on holding thin brushes for too long.

The pork stew was very tasty, we had it with some salad and rice. There is enough left over for a couple more meals. Trying to keep up with the veg boxes keeps me on my toes, so I think we’ll have to freeze the remains of the stew, just so that we can get the greens, aubergine and broccoli eaten before the next box arrives!

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 fishermen, 1 Tom cat! 1 pizza boat, 2 lots of hummus, 3 meals of pork stew, 16 illustrations, 14 skies, 1 whirl wind, 0 wheelie shoppers today, 1 clean chimney, 2 filthy hands.

Yummo! 3rd May

Lockdown Mooring 4A

With some gluten free bread on board, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes etc and it being Sunday, there was only one thing for it…. a cooked breakfast!

Because of us having a potato mountain on board I decided to have a go at making some hash browns. This turned out to be a very good idea. I grated up a few small potatoes and a half onion left over from a few days ago into a t-towel, then I squeezed out as much water as I possibly could, a surprising amount. Then in a bowl I added a good amount of salt and pepper and about half an egg, enough so that I knew it would help bind everything together without becoming a potato omelette. This was then handed over to the breakfast chef for cooking. Cooked in rapeseed oil for about 3 minutes on each side until golden.

They were certainly worth the grating. As Rick Stein says, ‘Yummo!’

I decided to stretch my legs in the late morning sunshine and see how the fields up towards Stoke Manor were doing. I walked this route a while ago when the footpaths were hard to make out across recently sewn fields. Today I set out to do the route in reverse.

Walking along the towpath up to Stokehall Bridge you could see the effect of the recent rainfall. The towpath plants have shot up, cow parsley reaching for the sky. The well trodden path a curved dip between the green edge of the canal and the trees. Normally this would have been mowed by now, but C&RT are only mowing near locks and moorings, places where you need to be able to see what you are doing. I wonder what they’d look like if there wasn’t quite so much footfall?

I crossed over the canal at the bridge and climbed over the stile. From here the green field had a very well marked footpath straight across towards the manor. The crop now sprouted by around 8 inches in little tufts above the earth.

Where the two paths meet I could see which was the more popular route, the other route ending with a 12 ft quagmire. But the path was marked, was the yellow colour from feet brushing through the crop, or has the farmer sprayed or rolled the line to mark the way?

Approaching the manor the trees now in leaf framed the building well.

The footpath becomes a narrow channel through the friendly cover of cow parsley and grasses brought me to the farm yard and back onto the road. I was glad to see the footpath sign has been revealed again, shame the one at the top of the road still had it’s black bin bag wrapped around it!

Returning by the reservoir the cocky cockerel had escaped again and was strutting his stuff around the garden. A couple of boxes of eggs his good ladies had laid sat waiting to be bought. I’m still holding out for some duck eggs.

Tilly spent much of the day out in the fields, we don’t get to see much of her at the moment. She returns for a few biscuits and the occasional drink during the day. An odd restorative kip and then she is back out hunting for friends. We have turned into a B&B for her. At least with the stove out this evening she curled up on my knee for some warmth. I wonder what she’ll make of it when we get to cruise properly again?

The ability to draw had returned this afternoon, so I worked my way back through my sketches, removing gurning chins, improving hands. Sadly I was missing a good photograph of the movement director to add to the portraits on the last sheet. Hopefully Dark Horse will be able to provide me with a better image of him, then the pencil stage will be done, unless I get notes from Amy.

Thank you Ann for the link to the National Trust bird song. Sadly the PPe bird doesn’t feature. Mick has down loaded an app BirdNET to see if we can identify it with that. He’s tried several times to catch it’s call , but when he does get it it is upstaged by other bird song. We’ll continue and hopefully managed to identify it.

This evening we have worked our way through a few more potatoes and enjoyed a large roast chicken and fresh veg to accompany them. We didn’t eat the whole bird, the left overs will last us most of the week. With still half of our veg box left to consume I’d better look at buying some new jeans the next size up!

0 locks, 0 miles, 12 tomatoes, 4 rashers bacon, 4 hash browns, 8 mushrooms, 3 slices toast, 3 eggs scrambled, 4 slices black pudding 1 hours walk, 2 bridges, 1 field, 2 paths, 12 eggs, 1 cocky ‘un, 15 sketches complete, 9 portraits, 1 still to go, 1 cat B&B, 1 elusive bird, 2.1kg of chicken, 1 bag of potatoes completely eaten!

Remote Control. 23rd April

Lockdown Mooring 4

An alteration to my routine was called for. I tend to get into work in the afternoons and because of that and wanting to listen to what is being said at the daily press conference from London I keep missing out on a walk. So I decided to rearrange my day a touch, heading out for a walk returning for lunch, then I could get on with work.

Today I plotted a route to walk, around three miles with the aim of seeing a house I’ve not noticed from the canal before, Wardle Old Hall which sits at Bridge 101 of the Shropshire Union Canal. Most of the route I’d be covering I’ve done a few times now but that can’t be helped, so I chose to cross over the canal and return across the fields to Stoke Manor.

Recently people have been saying how clear the water has been looking with the lack of boat movements. Sadly that is not the case here. Boats still move for shopping, water etc, but there is far far less movement than there normally would be on the Four Counties Ring. Instead of the canal clearing so we can see the fish and what lies below our hulls the canal is growing murkier and thicker. Last night we’d noticed a layer of scum which was starting to collect trapped by the bridge hole behind us. Today the start of weed was very evident along my route up towards Barbridge.

There was lots of activity on the side of the reservoir. At least eight Fountains employees were cutting the grass and trimming the nettles working their way round the two boats now moored there. I did a double take as one lawnmower was moving around by remote control. I’ve seen the little robot mowers before in peoples gardens, but this was a fully grown up big cutting machine a chap walking alongside directing it with a joy stick. At least he was getting his excersise without having to man handle the big mower along the slopes. I was then surprised to see another chap walking his way round the steeper sections of the bank with a mower, maybe the big one is too heavy to get to the top.

Onwards towards Barbridge I walked, the earlier time of day meaning there were fewer people about. I got just past Stokehall Bridge when a muscle in my left calf went ping! Damn!! This has happened before, several times, normally during the colder months. I took a few steps further, not as bad as it’s been before, but I shouldn’t antagonise it more than I had to. I’d managed a mile and was turning round before I’d reached my goal, a hobble back to Oleanna.

Wild Garlic. I’d like to find a patch of it away from the towpath and make some pesto

Another four sketches were achieved, some closer images which require better faces. Some looked good, others not so. The play works it’s way through all four seasons and I was a little bit unsure as to when we went into Autumn, a quick text to Amy and that was sorted.

My sourdough starter was fed and returned to the proving shelf whilst the excess was mixed with several different flours, milk, cocoa and chocolate.

Baked in the oven for 25 minutes, then left a short while to cool just enough. The result was good, but could have been a touch better. I’d had to substitute the main flour for rice flour which tends to be a touch thirstier, so this may have dried the mixture out a touch too much. Next time, if I’m allowed to use so much chocolate again, I’ll reduce the amount of arrowroot and add a touch more milk to see if that improves things.

Listening to the press conference we both commented on how badly Matt Hancock was delivering his spiel today, he had no idea of what he was saying, he can’t have read it before hand. We listen to what is being said at these conferences and find ourselves commenting at the TV, our comments are getting louder and LOUDER each day!

We’d not seen Tilly for most of the day, she’d returned home for a drink and a short snooze mid afternoon, but now cat curfew time was getting close. A quick call along the towpath didn’t work, so I hobbled down through the gap into the field. More calls. She wasn’t along the left perimeter where she’s popped out from the last few times. I called and called.

Maybe she had gone to climb the trees in the centre of the field?

Was that a Crow over there? On the other side of the field? It was too big for a crow. It moved so it wasn’t an inanimate object.

I got Mick to pass me the camera and zoomed in on the black shape walking away. That black shape had four white paws and holey tights!

TILLY!!!!!!!!

NO acknowledgement what so ever, just a swifter walk away from me. At least we knew where she was. Should we leave her to come home on her own? No, we knew she would now be tiered, tired like a little kid who won’t go to bed giving you all the excuses that you can see straight through. Oh for a remote control cat! We could turn her round and bring her back straight across the field!

Instead Mick put his shoes on, decided that going to the right would be the shortest route around the boundary to get to Tilly. Off he set. Ten or so minutes later I phoned him. Tilly was on the other side of a hedge from him doing the toddler thing and meowing about being busy! No point in trying to pick her up because she’d find enough energy to wriggle herself free and then be far FAR too busy to come home. Words of encouragement were the only way forward.

A while later I hobbled back to the gap to see what progress had been made. They were on the opposite side of the field now, Tilly was leading the way home following her scent, the longer way round the field. I tried shouting, but neither Tilly or Mick could hear me. Back to chopping veg up for a stir fry.

Then half an hour after Mick had set off I could hear his ~~no quite so~~ encouraging words just on the other side of the hedge. Time for me to take over.

As she popped her head out from the sideways trees I could see just how exhausted she was. Luckily she knew the best thing to do was come inside and have some food and a drink. Then she took herself away into the bedroom where she curled up for the night only to be disturbed once by us making the bed up.

I wonder where she’ll get to tomorrow!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 remote control lawnmower, 1 miles there, 1 ping, 1 hobbling mile back, 1tsp maple syrup, 4 sketches, ? more figures just to impress, 12 brownies, 2 shouting boaters, 1 shouting cat lady, 1 cat just visible, 0.75 miles walk for Mick, 1 totally exhausted cat, 0 lap sitting tonight.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: walks

Spaghetti Western. 16th September

Frantastic. 10th September

Saturn, 126m From Half Way. 29th August

Hands, Face, Space. 31st July

Sheep Worrying. 29th June

Loaf Of Bread. 26th May

Laying The Ground. 18th May

Tom’s Cat. 17th May

Yummo! 3rd May

Remote Control. 23rd April