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.

Managed to get out

BB survived the coldest winter with only a split water pump filter and no sound out of the hifi. Both have now been fixed, the hifi was a dry joint presumably caused by the large range of temperature within the boat.We managed a trip to the boat last week and although the weather was grey and a bit chilly we cast off and left the marina for an overnight trip to Braunston and back. We last went that way in March last year and there have been a few changes.

A few pictures of the trip and my winter project.

Canal junctions are always special, one of my favourites is Braunston Turn- port for the north-starboard for the south. The majesty of the iron bridges against the stark winter trees just make it stand out even more.

As you come into Braunston from the Napton direction you go across Puddlebank which is lined with stone slabs

They have been building a new house near bridge 99 for the last 2 years. It has a timber timber frame of oak and since we last passed has been thatched-a house of real character.

Bridge 100 has over the years been slowly falling down with the brickwork in a very poor state. The problem has now been solved by a quick fix- its all about cost I assume now as its lost its appeal as a brick built bridge.

BW contractors have been working hard with lots of tree clearing so improving the M25 effect on this bit of the Oxford/Grand Union canal, but the satellite TV reception is now much improved. Our mooring near Br100 is now very open and wide.

My winter project has been the building of a Dorset Kit model of the Welshpool & Lanfair 0-6-0 loco in 7mm narrow gauge.One thing I have now found with my right eye is that I have lost the 3D effect which makes it very hard to line things up-especially when very small. I eventually managed to finish it with some help in building the chassis. It just needs painting now.

Boats are like children

Hope you have had an excellent Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year.

Children are fantastic to have around and can be very exciting and brilliant etc but they do give you concerns especially when they are away and you don't see them for awhile - just like narrowboats especially in bad weather.

What with my eye operation and the weather over the last 5 weeks we have been unable to visit the boat and hopefully the engineer in Wigrams was able to give her the once over which may save us some concerns-time will tell.

We did have a great trip to London over the weekend of the 11 December with our son and girlfriend. They treated us to tickets for Faithless at the O2 they were great. We stayed in a B&B in Greenwich, the weather was very cold and bright. On the Sunday we managed a boat trip from Greenwich to Charing Cross pier past Limehouse- so we have been along part of the Thames that we must do in BB- it doesn't seem as bad as I thought- time will tell.

Walking back to London Bridge station there was a lovely sunset behind Cannon Street Station.

A view of the lock entrance to Limehouse Basin.

A view locking from Greenwich Park towards Greenwich College and Canary Wharf.

A bit of culture, during the summer there was an Antony Gormley exhibition at The De la Warr Pavilion in Bexhill called Critical Mass. It involved 60 lifesize body casts all based on the artist himself. It was very disturbing it felt as if they had fallen from space and just been frozen in time.

I decided not to put any pictures of snow on the blog as I have had enough at the moment and I expect so have you- so one of a nice sunny day.

Things work against cruising

Since the return from our trip in June we have had a very difficult time. Anne's father had been in an assisted living home and during our trip Anne had returned back to Fleet a few times as he was not very well at all. On our return he deteriorated further and we had to move him into a nursing home. He became very weak and passed away peacefully at the beginning of September. We have been dealing with his estate which hopefully is now nearly completed.

We have only managed one quick trip to the boat in October to check her out and do a few jobs to get her ready for winter. Although when we were their we had one nice day so we did a quick cruise to The Bridge Inn and back.

I started to suffer from another trigger finger whilst we were out which has gradually got worse and resulted in a small operation in October which has taken 6 weeks to heal. A small cut but very painful in the middle of your palm.

When I had the detached retina last year there was a high probability of a cataract. Well one has developed and I am due to have an operation this Friday. Hopefully that will be the end of it for a while. Mind you everything that goes wrong now seems to be put down to old age!!!!!- something that really p...s me off.

I include a few pictures covering the last few months which included a trip to North Somerset.

Our lunch stop mooring near The Bridge Inn on a lovely October afternoon.

We passed this Kestrel on a post as we left the marina.

When we were in North Somerset I went to look at Watchet Station on the West Somerset Railway.On coming out I saw this lovely restored 1950's Jaguar S class.

A Green Woodpecker making big/deep holes in the lawn.

We went to Topsham on the River Exe which has a sunken boat just like they do on canals!!!

Day75 back in Marina and now home

We rushed back up the Oxford canal and on our last day we did 14 miles and 14 locks in 9 hours cruising in glorious hot sunshine. The only delay was following a boat down the Napton flight that was towing a hulk that will require major rebuilding. All because we had been invited to a lunch party and to watch the England match therefore we needed to be home Saturday evening. The lunch was the best football wake we have ever been to.

Our final totals for the trip which ended on Friday 25 June are;-
380 miles, 289 locks, 54 swing/lift bridges, 16 cappuccinos and 6 events. A great trip made even better by the weather and the fact that we only cruised in the rain twice!

Coming round Napton on the Hill we saw this lovely foal with mum.

As I ascended Cropredy lock the Song Thrush serenaded me from the wall next to the lock.

Whilst I watched the boat being lifted out Anne was making sure BB didn't get away.

Again whilst waiting for the boat lift- a picture of the Old Toll House next to Cropredy Wharf.

My picture of BW removing an untaxed boat at Cropredy.

I have passed this boat on several occasions and at last managed to get a photo. There cannot be many boats on the system with their own lawn.

Day 73 back in Banbury

Our mooring Tuesday evening above Kings Sutton lock- what it does not show is the hum from the M40 about quarter mile away. sorry about the underlining-its doing it again

Totals to date are now 360 miles , 268 locks, 16 cappuccinos and 7 events. Only a few days left of the trip now- ahaaaaaa.

The 7 events in no order are;-

1.Going up and down the Caen Hill flight- I have just seen that they are currently closed until further notice as a boat has hit a gate and they need to assess the damage- if a gate collapsed when it was holding back a head of water it would be a problem.
2.Going through the Reading Oracle shopping centre when the K&A was still in flood ie we were going against a still strong current.
3.Going along the side of the Avon Valley as we entered Bath in spring time.
4. Steam days seeing Crofton Pumping Station in steam and seeing Tornado go through Great Bedwyn both on the same day.
5. I always wave at passenger trains that pass us and we have been close to the railway during this trip. In April I waved at a train as we came out of Aynho Weir lock. We moored near a boat at Pewsey the owner of which said I saw you wave to the train as I was on that train.
6. Mooring alongside Mike and Dini's GRP boat outside Tesco's at Reading on the Thames. A GRP boater moored near us at Goring had seen it and was amazed.
7. It continues to be the people we have met and talked to all the way along our journey- it really makes the trip so enjoyable and interesting-long may it last as it confirms that the UK is still a great place to live.


The ultimate driving seat!!!! not sure if it was fixed down so could be interesting if you got the boat on the plane.

As we came towards Aynho Weir lock we saw a Black Prince hire boat come out. As they got near they all shouted at us. It was the Atterill tribe from Battle out cruising for a week. They had only mentioned us yesterday when hey presto we appeared. A quick stop and a lovely chat in mid channel. A very pleasant surprise to a great days cruising in glorious sunshine.

The South Oxford canal is famous for its lift bridges. This is No 193 Chisnell Lift Bridge - they all have names but don't know why its called this. Its in a lovely location and just connects two fields.

Somerton Deep lock is at 12ft one of the deepest. The lock cottage like all the others is a private dwelling. This one though has no road access and the property comes with its own boat as the nearest road is about a quarter mile away.

We had to stop again at one of our favourite places- Somerton Meadows where we were greeted by the locals again.

Our first night's stop on the canal was at Thrupp which has a very good community spirit and a great bunch of people. There was a gathering of boat bloggers who met in the Boat Inn on the Saturday evening. They were Sue & Vic nb No Problem, Maffie on nb Millie M, Bones on

nb Bones and Sheila and Bruce on nb Sanity Again . It was great to meet you all and thanks for a very enjoyable evening.

We had decided to go back on the Oxford canal through Oxford and this is the first lock -Isis lock which is the other name for the Thames.

Just a lovely building as we approached Folly bridge on the Thames at Oxford.

As we left our mooring at Sandford lock on the River Thames we passed this 3 storey tuppaware boat it was really tall. I do need to add that narrow boats are also refered to as ditch crawlers which is just as bad as tuppaware boats.