Day 3 Bugbrooke

Its Friday and we are now at Bugbrook making our way down the Grand Union, water levels keeping up- I sound like a TV programme that updates you after every break- sorry!! I have been having trouble with blogger- well I mean its me trying to keep up to date as they have changed the screen layouts which in fact do look much more user friendly and I have lost the picture heading which I am working on.

A few more pictures of things we have seen which always amuses me and sometimes Anne although our sense of humour can be at odds at times. There is never a dull time on the canal- thats what makes it so enjoyable.

Sheep come in all types and sizes- this one was opposite our mooring on Wednesday night in Braunston. It just had a lot of attitude and appeared to be looking down on all who passed.

The butty Dee with teddy bear bow button- should I report them to the RSPB

All boys must have sheds- this one is for a joinery business

Bows again the one on the inside is butty Gilbert the motor had no name

Coming into Weedon are acouple of moored working boats and on the shed are two examples of the old wooden rudders from buttys- its really shows how large they needed to be for the 70ft boats

We moored on Thursday night just outside Weedon  and I heard a lot of squealing around 7pm and couldn't work out what it was. It started again at 8am-it was these pigs on a small holding getting very excited as food was on its way!

Day 2 of our Autumn cruise

We have decided on an autumn cruise down the Grand Union main line hopefully as far as Rickmansworth providing the water levels keep up. The GU main line is not as bad as some of the narrow canals like the Oxford but as we came through the Braunston and Buckby flights BW had staff on hand to try and get all boats to double up- mostly successfully although some boaters didn't want to wait for another boater to come along. We have not been on the GU past Cosgrove as our friends Ray and Jenny brought BB up from London to Wigrams back in 2005.

We stopped last night in Braunston. At 09.00 this morning a lovely tug nb Albion Mills (fresh out of the paint shop) came along and we decided to share. Mike was taking her back to his mooring in Cowroast on his own so we decided to breast up the two boats through both of the flights. This enabled Anne and Mike to do the locks together whilst I did the two boats. All went well except for a few very shallow ponds in which BB struggled to move both boats along. A boater was very surprised to see two boats joined together until we explained the reason and then she saw the light. As we came out of the last of the Buckby locks at Whilton- 2 monks and a sister entered as they had just bought a boat and were now on a steep learning curve-the sister asked us to pray for them!!!!

BB and nb Albion Mills breasted up in the Braunston flight- a lovely pair of bows

Jobs in the sun and a short cruise

We went up to the boat at the beginning of August primarily to attend the BBQ at the marina on the 6 August. It also gave us the opportunity to do some more jobs on BB. I completed replacing the rope seal around the stove door and primed all the rust spots on the roof ready for it to be painted in October. BB is going into dry dock for a week at Stowe Hill for blacking etc.

The weather for the week was excellent but just before the BBQ was due to start the heavens opened for half an hour. It then stopped although it was chilly- a typical English summer evening- but the food and company was very good which made up for the weather- didn't leave until 11pm.

A few pictures of the week.

We were moored at one of our favourite spots near bridge 103 when we were nearly run over by a combined harvester!



A cool budha in the field near Braunston Turn

Working boats- Motor Seaford and Butty Alperton

The Welland Canal

I had to get a boaty post for the blog the above picture is of a boat entering a lock on the Welland Canal. The picture was taken from a coach as we crossed the canal- my excuse for the slight out of focus.

The Welland Canal started in 1829 connects Lake Ontario with Lake Erie which is 327ft higher. It was built to avoid Niagara Falls and to allow large ships to open up the interior of Canada. Its 26 miles long and 27ft deep with 7 locks averaging 47ft deep.


Not the canal but the Maid of the Mist approaching the Horseshoe Falls which are the ones on the Canadian side. With the spray from the waterfall its just like a very wet/windy day on BB except that there are 150 other people on board with you -it was brilliant.

An empty canal lock.

A view of Horseshoe Falls with the mist rising above them- you can see why they needed to build the Welland Canal.

A dumb barge that had lost its moorings a few years back that is left to rust away above the falls.

Nothing to do with canals- but something I saw in Jasper. The ideal gift for somebody who has everything. A John Dere moving hose sprinkler

Our spring/summer cruise to Canada

The above picture of a hump back whale diving in the waters off Juneau Alaska- its just magical to watch these huge creatures in their environment and sums up how exciting Canada is to visit.

No we have not taken BB to Canada this year our trip has been a bit further afield.We left the UK in mid May for Las Vegas (an adult Disney World) and the Grand Canyon.Then onto Vancouver for a cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska with stops in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchichan. The cruise returned us to Vancouver for a few days and then we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer-Gold leaf for a two day trip to Jasper.A few days to enjoy Jasper before we collected a car for a drive down the Icefields Parkway-described as the most beautiful road passing through exceptional awesome scenery to Banff and Calgary. We passed through/by Columbia Icefields,Lake Louise, Emerald Lake, Bow Lake and the mountains. The final part was a flight to Toronto so that we could see Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist trip.

The trip was fantastic,the scenery awesomeeeee and the highlights are many but include whale watching, listening to glaciers calving in Glacier Bay, flying over Misty Fjords in a sea plane, Vegas just to have seen it and the Grand Canyon,driving down the Icefields Parkway and The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island. The Rocky Mountaineer - the whole experience especially the group of people in our section of the observation car. Special mention must be made of the two Aussie couples Graeme (who wants to do a narrow boat trip) and Tricia and Peter and Claudia all from Sydney.

A few pictures now to show what we have experienced.


Another picture of hump back whales in the vastness of Alaska.


A frozen Bow Lake we passed on the way to Lake Louise.

A view of Castle Mountain between Lake Louise and Banff.

Looking down the lake formed by a glacier to the Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise. A hotel built by The Canadian Pacific Railway to encourage tourists to visit the West of Canada in the early 1900s.

A view along the Icefields Parkway

A mountain reflection from the train on the way into Jasper.

A view of a train making its way back to Skagway on the White Pass Railway

10 day trip in sunshine

We have various commitments coming up over the next few months so decided that we needed a BB session so decided that a trip out on the boat over Easter was required especially with the forecast of wall to wall sunshine. We knew that this would be a busy time but we had a plan to avoid the traffic! We set off from the marina on Wednesday 20 April as we had an appointment with an engineer to refit our Eberspacher boiler in Braunston first thing on Thursday. We had decided on a trip up the Leicester Arm so left Braunston at 09.30 and went up the flight with an efficient Canal Time Boat. Through the tunnel and only meet 5 boats coming the other way. We arrived at Watford flight at 11.30 with 2 boats in front. Only a short wait and up we went, why don't the crews of waiting boats help those coming through- it seems to be the thing to wait until its your turn to go up or down before coming to help!!. Part of boating is meeting fellow boaters when going through locks.

We stopped for the day a mile after the M1 bridge by Bridge 9- to the sound of lambs,green woodpeckers, slight railway sounds and the distant rumble of the M1- bliss.

Many boats about but we watched the world go by for the rest of the day. On Good Friday morning I walked to Watford flight to get rid of the rubbish and at 08.15 there were 16 boats waiting to go down. When we came back the following Wednesday the volunteer lock keeper said that 57 boats had used the locks on Good Friday- an average wait of 6 hours.

A few pictures of the trip.

Two buttys(unpowered boats) moored by Braunston Turn.




Just as I took this photo one cow stood up- you don't often see a complete herd sitting down- its supposed to be a sign of rain isn't it.


The lock keepers cottage at the bottom of the Watford Locks is being refurbished- looks very nice- but it is very close to the M1 which the picture doesn't show.

The trip between Braunston and Napton has Fields upon fields of rape which smell very strongly- alright for a quick stop but not for overnight.

We wondered why there were no boats when we came back through Braunston tunnel- the reason being that this stealth wide beam had just gone through in front of us. It really does look out of proportion- flat and wide.

Couldn't resist a picture of this old working boat panel in the boat yard by Braunston Bottom Lock

An old iron plate that protected the bridge brickwork from the tow ropes from butty's over the years.

Why do animals always want to eat that extra bit that always requires that little bit of extra stretch.

A motorised butty going through bridge 9. It has an engine in the hold with hydraulic drive to a prop mounted on the rudder. It didn't have a name but the boat is 100 years old.

Another picture late afternoon of bridge 9 in the round.

Looking back to our mooring at bridge 9 a mile from the M1.

A great looking BCN tug

The weather was excellent the canal was busy but we had a lovely trip up the GU Leicester Arm to Welford- and watched a lot of boats go by from the tow path on which we had our earliest BBQs with meat from the butchers in Braunston- cooking doesn't get better than this!!!!!

LCL - The Liverpool Canal Link

Not a BB boating trip but a visit to Liverpool Docks which is now on the list of must do trips for next year. We had to go to a 60th wedding anniversary at Wrexham in March and decided to have a few days in Liverpool. A city we have always wanted to visit and our time in the city was excellent with glorious sunshine and warm to boot- a real bonus in March. A few pictures of the dock area associated with the Liverpool Link Canal (LCL) Looking at the converted warehouses around Salthouse Docks with the new pontoons put in for a boat show in May which has now been cancelled. Part of the new Liverpool Link Canal which runs under the new Museum of Liverpool and through Mann Island Lock into Canning Dock.

A view of Salthouse Dock with the BW moorings which have water and electricity with the Liverpool Wheel in the background.

A view of Salthouse Dock from the wheel.

My new camera has a panoramic facility which shows a view of the buildings around Salthouse Docks.

A view of the Liverpool waterfront from the ferry on the Mersey.

The 3 Graces from the Mersey - they are The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building. The building that looks like an open mouth is the new terminal for the Mersey Ferry.

BW have an excellent Skipper's Guide on their website and you have to book a passage to the docks starting at Aintree through the Wigan office on 01942 405700.