Maffi wines and dines on No Problem and we get to Napton on the Hill

Weekend and today Nethercote to Napton, Oxford Canal, 5 miles 0 locks

Saturday was OK during the morning so we moved from Nethercote to close to Wigrams Turn.  Ann and Chas turned there, they are going back to Braunston to get Moore2Life’s bottom blacked.

We had just put the pins in when the heavens opened and the wind really whipped up.  I had just decided to sort out some pics on the computer when I heard a horn.. looking out what did I see but Milly M! Ah ha, Maffi.  At long last we meet!

Took this pic this morning as Maffi decided to stay a couple of nights.. and oh boy what a night last night.  I invited Maffi for a meal, and by the time he went a few bottles of plonk had been downed over a lot of banter!  I really did not want to take my head off the pillow this morning!

Great night Maffi, and great to meet you too  xx

I was OK though, a little bit fragile I must admit, but soon everyone was on their way.. Ann and Chas to Braunston, Maffi on to Fenny Compton I think and ourselves to Napton.

On Sunday we painted the blue along the side of No Problem, and this afternoon I rubbed down the whole of the other side.  We had to wind (turn) at the winding hole (turning point!) at Napton and back up a bit to the visitor moorings so we could paint the other side.  I didn’t get time to do the black bit today, but I am looking at the forecast for tomorrow, looks OK so that is my job in the afternoon.

On the bird feeder over the weekend we had a male and female Reed Bunting.  Quite unusual I think, well they do actually look like a sparrow, this is the female…

The male has a very black head with a lovely white ring around it’s neck.  This pic was taken from inside No Problem through the window!

We moored right on the end of the visitor moorings next to the winding hole, and I have already been out there twice to stop people mooring opposite it.  Both were hireboats, the crews did not know they couldn’t moor there even though there are signs!  But being here and having a glass fronted cratch on the front of the boat means that I could see out well, and I was delighted to see Skyy wind.

Mac and Jacquie commented on the blog not long ago, and have also started blogging.  Skyy was looking as though it was being moored the far side of the winding hole, so I took the girls Lucy and Meg and went along the towpath to meet them.

Mac and Jacquie have very recently retired, and in fact, today was the first day they were out on their boat.. the start of another retirement with no problem me thinks!  Nice to have met you both too!

You can catch up on all the bloggers that I have met on my bloggers page, there are links there to bloggers sites too.

I am off to Southam on the bus tomorrow morning to the butchers.  It is very remote south of Napton Locks, and I am getting very short of meals in the freezer.  There are no buses to be had south of here for quite a way, and I don’t know how far we will be going anyway because I want to finish the painting… Ho Hum (as Maffi would say!)

History Lesson time and more on The Association of Pleasure Craft Operators

Moored Nethercote, Oxford Canal

It’s the Oxford Canal where we are moored, between Braunston and Napton Junction, but it shares it with the Grand Union Canal on it’s way to Birmingham.  The Oxford Canal Company were so peeved that traffic from London was now using the Grand Union Canal and not the Oxford Canal and River Thames anymore that they petitioned Parliament for the Grand Junction Canal (later the Grand Union) to pay massive tolls for boats using their bit between Braunston and Napton.  That at least gave them some compensation for loss of traffic south of Napton. 

The Oxford Canal is a canal of contours, finding it’s way round the humps and bumps of the countryside, and from where we are moored north it was straightened saving a lot of mileage for the boats.  South of where we are moored no straightening has taken place, and in some places it takes an hour just to go 200 yards as the crow flies as it rounds a huge hill rather than go over it through locks.

It was while out walking today that I discovered part of that straightening just to the south of Braunston, here some of the old canal in water, you can even see the old towpath on the other side….

There is no bridge where I took the photo from, just a path, and on the other side of the path opposite this….

You can easily follow the old line of the canal as it bends to the right.  You can’t see it very well in the pic, but there is quite a depression in the land, and the tree line would have been the towpath.  It is continuing round to Braunston where it will cross the now straight canal at Puddlebanks and go around to Braunston, I think I am right, through the marina before bending off to the left again.

Ha history lesson for you then and I was never much good at history at school!

The blog about the Association of Pleasure Craft Operators certainly made a lot of people comment.. Here are all the comments.  I have also had an awful lot of emails.

Thanks for all those comments and emails, I have enjoyed looking through them and reading your thoughts.

I am still at a loss as to why a trade body such as APCO are asking private boaters to sign such a petition.  I feel, like one of my email correspondents, that there is a more sinister reason.  All to do with hire boats wanting more of the canal system to themselves more like.

I have been pointed in the direction of NABO who issued a statement in December, presumably Stuart Sampson, the chairman, was at the same meeting as John Slee (who commented on the blog) and so saw this petition put on the table.

I cannot find another publication of it on the internet, and there is not one jot about all this on their own (APCO) website.

I am going to keep a good eye on what is going on and hope that British Waterways are not taken in by some trade body trying to cause trouble and tension.  But I am happy in the knowledge that NABO are looking after narrowboats like No Problem from this type of victimisation.

Decisions decisions, meeting people in Braunston and NP gets a lick of paint..

Yesterday and today, Willoughby to Nethercote, Oxford Canal, 3.5 miles 0 locks

It seems ages ago that we were at Willoughby, but it was only the day before yesterday.. so yesterday then, it was on to Braunston, and here Meg standing in her favourite place looking out across the fields towards Braunston church..

But I got a surprise… there were very few boats indeed moored.  In fact just two boats on the Oxford Canal’s visitor moorings, so after putting on water at the services at the junction we moved No Problem over to the other side of the canal, moored and wandered up to Wharf House Chandlers at Braunston bottom lock to purchase some paint… yes paint time!  Well it has been a year since No Problem was painted back on the Kennet and Avon Canal.. doesn’t time fly.

On our walk along the towpath who should we meet but..

It’s John with NB Tui usually seen travelling with Les of NB Valerie.  John got caught on the other side of locks under repair, and is now rapidly catching up with his mate Les who I believe is around the Newbold area.  We stopped and chatted a while before returning back to No Problem..

Braunston Marina is very full as usual…

And the hedgerow has completely changed alongside the towpath.  I thought I was in a different place.  All the trees have gone, and the hedges neatly laid.. looks a real treat it does…

Nearly back to No Problem when Maggie and son Thomas popped their heads out of the side hatch to say hello..

Maggie is a regular reader of the blog, and has been out for a while on their newly acquired narrowboat, now on their way back to Crick after a short cruise.  Lovely to have met you and Thomas Maggie!

Braunston is always a most interesting place with lots of boats and lots going on.  I have never failed to be there when I haven’t been stopped by people I have met before on the cut.. tis always a hive of activity..

Decisions …. decisions!

Onward to the Oxford Canal south then.. We will be back through Braunston a bit later to continue on our journey to the Nene, but for now we are going to cruise on the Southern Oxford because daughter Jenny is bringing the family up in a weeks time or so for a long weekend.  The locks on the Oxford Canal are better for my young granddaughters than the large double locks of the Grand Union.. they will enjoy working through some of the narrow locks I think..

Sad this is… Well some might not think so, but I do..

Here the burnt out old working boat where a family has lived for as long as I can remember.. each time I passed the young lads got bigger and bigger as they peered out of the cabin to watch the boats go by.  I don’t know if they ever had a licence for that boat or not, but I guess just about everybody on the cut remembers this family..

We moored close to Nethercote just before the rain and hailstones started coming down, and today I started on the paintwork, sanding down the blue from the gunnel down.  I was quite pleased really that there were not too many areas where paint had been scrapped off.. but there were a few, and after a good rub down I put on some red oxide. 

You can see what I did after lunch.. yep good old sticky black stuff below the blue as far down as I dare without touching the water..

I don’t know when I will be able to put on the top coat of blue now, the forecast is not good for the next few days, so I will have to be patient.

Petition for a fair license to be paid by Private Boaters

A shocking Petition put up by Association of Pleasure Cruiser Operators (APCO)

I was sent this by a reader of this blog.  This follows the ballot that I reported in January.  I find this a shocking petition sent out to 20,000 boaters who have a mooring, although, like my reader, I have yet to meet one!

I now feel like I am a second class boater.. No Problem is a continual cruising boat.. quote

“In a majority of cases these boats are lived on and some may be of a low standard of appearance and using the towpath for storage”..

OK OK, so I am going to paint my boat tomorrow as it happens!

Here it is then.. I need to digest before I open my mouth and comment  Oh by the way… tis APCO who have highlighted “continual cruisers” not me..

The Background

In effect any boat moored against a canal bank whether on the towpath or private offside pays a mooring fee to BW, with the exception of continual cruisers.

 

In the license review of two years ago and in the present license review the question of ‘continual cruisers’ (who say they do not need a permanent mooring as they are always on the move) is not being taken into account when reviewing license fees.

 

It is estimated using BW’s own figures that approx 6,000 boats throughout the waterways are without a mooring and so are considered to be continual cruisers. In a majority of cases these boats are lived on and some may be of a low standard of appearance and using the towpath for storage. This making it increasingly difficult to promote the waterways for everyone’s enjoyment whether they be boaters, walkers  or anglers.

 

Majority Boaters point of view

The average boater who lives in a house may be paying £2,000 in council tax and £2,000 to moor his boat in a marina. Then when he comes to cruise the waterways he encounters the continual cruiser who pays nothing except the boat license, which all boats have to pay.

 

Financial cost to BW in lost mooring fees and administration.

The average mooring now costing around £1500 per year the direct loss in moorings revenue to BW of 6,000 boats could be as much as £9m. (This figure being reduced when some continual cruisers pay for a winter mooring) Add to this the cost of BW Patrol officers having to continually move on continual cruisers and the cost of court action if they do not move within 14 days could be another £1m. (It is estimated that 75% of working time taken by Patrol Officers, Moorings Administrators and moorings wardens is taken up by the moving on of continual cruisers.)    

 

Under present BW license and mooring fees a wide beam boat pays the same mooring fee and license fee as a narrow boat. This has resulted in a large increase in wide beam boats many of which are continual cruisers as in practice they get up to a 50% reduction on both mooring and license fees. This could be costing BW a further £1/2m

 

Add to this the extra use by continual cruisers on the canal facilities like rubbish disposal, sanitation facilities and water points this could be another £1m.

 

So we have the situation where continual cruisers who use the canal the most and cost BW the most pay the least.

 

Solutions

All boats that do not have a permanent mooring should pay a higher rate license equal to the cost of combining the average linear mooring fee with the private boat license fee.

Wide beam boats should pay pro rata.

 

All boats should be issued with a mooring license which they can display next to their boat license and if they are a continual cruiser a large C could be printed on their boat license. This would make continual cruisers easy to recognize and therefore self monitoring by other boaters and boat yards saving BW on admin costs. 

 

Summary

There is nothing wrong with those who wish to live on their boats and cruise the waterways but under present BW policy continual cruisers and wide beam boats are costing BW in lost revenue and administration costs between £4m and £11.5m. Should continual cruisers be paying their fair share there would be no need for boat licenses to be increased by more than inflation (not the 30% over the next 3 years that BW are proposing).

 

As this present license review does not take into account continual cruisers anything decided at this review will be short term. BW do not believe that the majority of boats paying for a mooring believe that continual cruisers should pay a higher license which is why we ask you to sign this petition.

I feel this is splitting boaters down the middle again.. just this bit is enough for us to be heads down when passing other boaters….

“and if they are a continual cruiser a large C could be printed on their boat license. This would make continual cruisers easy to recognize and therefore self monitoring by other boaters and boat yards”

Are we to be second class boaters then?

No rush so its walking instead of cruising at Willoughby

Barby to Willoughby, Oxford Canal, Just over 1 mile

Didn’t get far today then!

Tesco delivery mid morning followed by homemade soup for lunch as I watched out of the window at boats passing with crews dressed up in woolly this and that looking miserable as the cold wind got up again.

Tomorrow is another day ho hum, and Braunston can wait!

The girls wouldn’t though, and it wasn’t long ‘till we were striding across the nearby fields, dressed in much the same this and that woollies I had seen earlier, admiring the young lambs.

Here are the girls waiting for a command from me to continue after they jumped a stile into yet another field full of ewes and lambs….

Got big hasn’t she?!

A White Easter around Barby

Easter Weekend moored Barby, Oxford Canal

I have felt very sorry for all those out and about with their narrowboats this weekend.  The weather has been atrocious, and those cruising along are dressed more like they are hiking up a mountain in the Himalayas.

Saturday I jumped on a bus and replenished the freezer from the good butcher in Rugby and filled once again the vegetable box and fruit containers from the market.  I phoned the coal boat last week and asked them to call on their way through on Saturday, and late in the day Iain and Alli with NB Gosty Hill pulled alongside..

We bought some coal to go with our depleting stock of logs.. not much wood around here, in fact none at all.  We have done well this year finding wood to burn though, so I am not complaining about buying a few bags of coal.  In fact so far this year we have used just 10 bags of coal, and now have four more on the roof from Iain.

Easter Day was bitterly cold, and there was a good inch of snow on the ground by the time I had woken up.  It disappeared quite quickly though, but I wasn’t keen on going out there walking in the icy wind.  I guess I saw today more boats passing than I have seen in the whole of the winter so far.  Near on 50 narrowboats passed yesterday, most coming from the Braunston direction, and with the wind high there was fun and games alongside No Problem..

Boats getting blown across the canal, others trying to get past not wanting to wait, it was total mayhem for a while.  Soon though they sorted themselves out, and there was a queue of 9 narrowboats following each other closely making their way towards Hillmorton..

Look how they are all dressed up against the bitterly cold wind.  Anyway the girls got their walk in the afternoon.  They both managed to make me feel so guilty that I had to give in to them!  I dressed up warmly, but didn’t go too far!

Today the longest walk of the year so far, a planned 10 plus mile hike to Barby, Ashby St Ledger and Braunston, returning over the top of Braunston fields to Barby hill again rather than via the towpath.. here the most delightful village of Ashby St Ledger..

Some fantastic thatched cottages further up the lane, and on the left by the tree covered in ivy is the old school house, now a private residence.  It is thought that Guy Fawkes planned the gunpowder plot from the manor in the village too!

On to Braunston tomorrow I think, taking a ride on No Problem this time..

Getting the best of the day out walking at Willoughby

Moored Barby, Oxford Canal

It wasn’t so bad here today, the sun shone this morning and I took the girls for a short walk along the dismantled railway line close by before returning to No Problem to try to clear a bit of bookwork. I say try, I always seem to be distracted and start doing something else like my mapping which is a new project for me, but I never seem to have time to do it!

Anyway after lunch I looked out of the window and couldn’t resist getting memory-map out to see what footpaths there were towards Willoughby to the south east of where we are moored.  I gave Ann on NB Moore2Life a shout and we set off with the K9s.  Although the sun was out, we had to wrap up against the cold wind.

Plenty of paths over some really delightful countryside then, and it wasn’t too long ‘till we got to Willoughby…

What a lovely village this is.. here the village pond and just a bit further on the vicarage on the left and the church in the centre. 

From there we headed back to the canal towpath across the fields.  It was great training for Meg (the young collie of 9 months old) today, as a lot of the fields had ewes and lambs in them.  Total control from her.. in fact she is becoming a well behaved and obedient dog, I am really pleased.

Just a brief stop for about 10 minutes sheltering up against a high hedge while a vicious hailstorm went past.. those things really sting the face they do!.. the dogs were not impressed with them either and their tails went down.

It wasn’t long before we were off again and soon joined the Oxford Canal towpath at Navigation Bridge 85 at Willoughby Wharf, turned left and walked back to our boats.

Ha no sooner had I praised British Waterways about their towpaths I now have to report the very same in a terrible condition between that bridge and Barby.. Look at this!!

The sides of the canal have no protection against the steady stream of boats that pass.. not all going too fast at all, there is wash coming off most of them which is eroding away the banks.  Until BW shore them up, us walkers are going to have to put up with more of the above I feel.

Oh and false alarm at Harecastle Tunnel, it wasn’t a WW2 bomb at all.  It was a bit of an old gas lamp!! 

Broken Bridges and hill tops around Barby as the rain falls

Moored Barby, Oxford Canal

They found a WW2 bomb no less at the south portal of Harecastle Tunnel, now that will cause some disruption tomorrow when it is dealt with.  Hope they don’t blow the place up!

The cut (canal) is getting busy, but I am staying put, and smile smugly as narrowboats pass with crews dressed more like they are in the round the world yacht race.  I guess they are enjoying themselves in this crazy weather.

I enjoyed yesterday.. out walking for most of the day I was.  But the wind really got up today so Vic and I caught the bus to Rugby from outside the prison just across the field here.. a five minute walk to the bus stop by the way.  He fetched home some new shirts at a bargain price at the Peacocks Store in the town.  I asked for the hangers, well we are getting a bit short “I will have to cut them down a bit though” I said to her as she packed the bag “My wardrobes are a bit narrower than normal because I live on a narrowboat”

“I know you do” says she… Up went my eyebrows in amazement “Yes we had a conversation when you were here last time, I was asking you how you keep warm in the boat”.. “But the last time I came in here was years ago” Says I,  “Yep” says she “I might be as blind as a bat, but I have a good memory!”..

Blimey how about that then.. It’s funny really I never usually say much about where I live to people.. odd I should say to her twice about the very same thing!  I just looked to see when I did meet this lady for the first time and it was October 2004 would you believe.

I was saying the other day about how the towpath hedges have been beautifully laid, and the towpath itself mowed and tidy.. but this is a view on top of one of the bridges that has been waiting for a repair for as long as I can remember.  There must be some reason why they are not mending it.  In fact I am hoping that someone reading this will know why.  Here is the same bridge when we passed underneath it last year…

They can’t just let if fall down surely?  Hey it is a footpath!  Anyway, over this bridge this afternoon with the girls (collies Lucy and Meg) on a walk to the top of Barby Hill.. thank goodness the wind was behind us, I don’t think I would of made it up there otherwise!  I just kept thinking “This must burn calories, this must burn calories”!!.. then at the top and looking back there was rain looming in the next county…

Just to the left in the centre if you look carefully you can see the canal and No Problem moored there.  Over to the right is the large complex of the Young Offenders Prison at Rye Hill.  It is huge, I was amazed at the number of cars parked in the various car parks all around the place, there must be hundreds of people working there.. scarey really when you can actually see what it takes to keep people in prison..

I think I will wait to see what the weather is like tomorrow before planning any more walks.. might be a day inside to catch up on paperwork.. let’s hope not.

Many thanks to those who have warned me about the River Nene being in flood and the lock gates put into reverse mode.  I sure am glad we didn’t go down before Easter as was our first plan.. maybe now we will have to wait a little longer than we expect!  Rain, rain go away!

Pretty towpaths and an oddly moored boat as we cruise to Barby

Hillmorton to Barby, Oxford Canal, 4 miles 2 locks

It was great to get going again from Hillmorton after a stop there of some 11 days in total.  That is a long time for us in just one place, normally no more than a week would we stay..

A nice calm day as you see, and I enjoyed very much to short trip to Barby.  There was a lot to see and admire and a lot of things not to admire too.  I can’t understand how the hedgerows can be worked upon to such an extent as to look magnificent…

All beautifully laid along here as you can see, and the neatly trimmed towpath edge and recently mowed towpath.. then, round the corner, there is no change from the trip back in July last year, the bridges are still in a very sad state of repair with no work having been done in all that time. 

Oh and just looking at that pic above, you can see a definite tinge of green in the trees on the left, for sure the buds are arriving now and soon everything will be in flower and leaf… Hooray!!

British Waterways, not long ago, introduced a new mooring ‘Waiting List’.  Now if BW has a mooring available somewhere then it has to be put out to tender.. as a by the by, it seems to be working fairly well, with some mooring fees just a bit above the guide price and some just lower, but this moorer obviously has other ideas about mooring outside his house!..

Yes, I noticed the hearse in the garden too.. it was empty by the way!!

Our engine sounded a lot quieter today with the problem of the gearbox loss of oil sorted.. and I actually opened the throttle up a bit without the usual gritty grunty sound that we have experienced of late.. still prefer a more leisurely speed though!

Moore2Life joined us on the mooring near Barby Farm Bridge, and after some delicious homemade soup we all wandered over the footpaths with Lucy, Meg and Molly enjoying a good run as we strolled and chatted.

Then a big discussion aboard No Problem with Vic as to whether to make a run for the Nene before Easter or not.. Buckby Locks are opening tomorrow, a day or so ahead of the scheduled time.. we would be able to get through there tomorrow evening and onward to Gayton by Thursday evening and out on the Nene on Friday.. Ho Hum what to do?

If only it wasn’t GOOD Friday.. we decided too many marinas around Braunston and Buckby with too many narrowboats in them all trying to get out on the cut.  We will stay here or here abouts until after Easter when most will have put their boats back in the marinas after the Easter Break.  One less boat travelling out on the cut will help them enjoy their time!!

Mind you, the footpaths and bridleways around here look very inviting indeed.. ideal time to put in a few miles and lose those unwanted pounds around the midrift!

Smashing time in Hillmorton, busy day today too..

Moored Hillmorton, Oxford Canal

Back from  ‘dan saff’ and I phoned Vic to ask him to put the kettle on.. “Les is here!”  Brilliant, I love meeting up with one of my favourite fellas on the cut…

Here Valerie and No Problem head to head.  Les is going ‘oop norf’ now, while we ‘goo eeeast’, I decided to cook him a roast dinner and invite Chas and Ann from Moore2Life in for a bit of a party time in the evening.  There was plenty of catching up to do, the towpath telegraph was getting a good airing as we all exchanged rumours and murmurs heard on our travels..

Saturday was market day in Rugby, and I said a fond goodbye to Les before catching the bus from Hillmorton.  Needed some fresh fruit and vegetables, I was not disappointed and filled my rucksack to the brim.

Weighing myself on Sunday morning, I knew it, I knew it.. 3lbs gained over the last week.  Well I had been to meetings and socializing, what with spag bog and the like, plenty of wine, and a few bicardi and cokes, the diet was going straight out the window.. plus I had that delicious Sunday roast at the Lock Stock Bistro the previous Sunday..

Naughty me had booked in again for another Roast on Sunday too!.. So after bringing Moore2Life back along the canal backwards strapped to No Problem, we put on water before Moore2Life winded (turned) and up through the locks came the two narrowboats in the rain.  The locks are in pairs as you can see, so we can both use them at the same time..

Once again a delicious Sunday Roast shortly after collecting a home delivery from Tesco, and we went back to watch Lewis Hamilton win the Australian Grand Prix.. a great day on Sunday, I really enjoyed.  But now I am on a very very strict diet.. wonder how much I will lose this week… for sure all that 3lbs has to go plus another one if I can do it!

Today we replaced our battery bank as the newly named Hillmorton Locks Canal Centre had them at a good price.. cheaper than anywhere else by a good £10–£20 each.  A saving for us of probably £100 with 7 of them to change over.  I was planning on doing it this spring anyway.  On lifting them out, it was evident that they were really on their way out, so a good decision today.

Our gear box had been playing up too, a faulty hose that Vic failed to notice was to blame, so now that is all fixed, no more leaking oil from the gearbox for us.

Also today another delivery that I arranged, a new lid for my cooker… would you believe I smashed it last week.. I am still giving myself grief over it. My smev cooker does not have an automatic flame go-er-outer, what ever they are called, if the lid is shut with one of the burners left on…. smash!!! Such a racket and glass everywhere. 

I say give myself grief over it.. I promised the first time I did that, that it would never happen again… Yes, this was the second time I have done it!!!

Full day for us today, but the cooker lid is fitted and the batteries all changed.. oh and Vic even managed to chop some logs for the fire this evening.. ummm he seems a bit stiff this evening.. teehee.. he’s a good lad, I can put the whip away now!!

Hillmorton sorts out some long term cosiness for No Problem ...

Moored Hillmorton, Oxford Canal

I like it here.. well maybe I am liking not moving, I am getting things done, and so is Vic!  I got back from my morning walk to shouts and screams from underneath the back canopy and two dogs quickly ejected from that area as they raced to greet Vic on their return ..

What did I see then?.. Ha a weedhatch cover neatly pained in a good ‘ol base coat of red oxide, and a new weedhatch seal ready to go around that area once it had dried, for sure dog hairs and noses were not welcome!!

This is the Lock Stock Bistro that serves the most delicious Sunday Roasts.. I think we are staying here this week.. can I let next Sunday go by without visiting again?

‘Tis a bit blowy tonight and looking at the forecast it seems we are in for more rain.. satellite dish has come in doors this evening, now that is a rarity, but a necessity.

I am much happier with the front saloon of No Problem.. if you remember I was feeling that it was not a ‘cozy’ place, couldn’t put my finger on the reason why.. but I got a couple of throws/rugs from Ikea the other day for a staggering 99p each and I chucked one over the back of one of the black leather arm chairs.. said to Vic that evening “Hey you know what, I feel a bit happier about the saloon, but no idea why.. what has changed my mind?”

He then look around and took off the throw.. hey presto that was it!!

So yesterday in Rugby I got a really nice throw to go right over the black leather chair.. it has transformed the place into a really cosy home.. at last.. only taken a year to work that out!!

Woosh we beat the weather and arrive at Hillmorton

Sunday and today – Moored Hillmorton
Saturday – Hawkesbury Junction to Hillmorton, Oxford Canal, 15 miles 0 locks

I have a meeting coming up, and need to be within striking distance of Rugby so we decided to pull the pins on Saturday in case the weather really closed in and kept us from moving in the next few days.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of work that has been done to the towpaths in this area.  Firstly, before reaching Hawkesbury on Friday, I noticed some work done there where it used to be really muddy… Then at Ansty, not far south of Hawkesbury..

The edge has been neatly worked on and replanted with grasses.. all very nice, pity about the M6 which you can see in the background.

We caught a boat up today.. yep even WE can catch a boat up.. hey in fact we actually passed one last Friday.. would you believe it was a Canaltime boat too!! .. Teehee, for those not in the know, I do tend to go quite slowly along the cut, I am never in much of a hurry, so to actually overtake another boat is a rarity indeed! 

Anyway I caught a boat up at the Rose Narrowboats little yard where there is a small swing bridge that the workforce use to get from the office to the workshop.. there are boats moored in this area all over the place, and only enough room for one boat to pass through all the moored boats and also the little swing bridge.  I was right up behind a very slow boat when another hire boat decided he was going to come through first.. ah ha!.. No chance.. here the mayhem as I follow the chap with the red tunic on!…

The strengthening wind was not helping anyones cause, and the hireboat sensibly backed off but then got blown into the bushes as you can see.. well he couldn’t of got by me anyway!…

And the boat in front.. well after this he pulled over and I gave him a friendly wave smiling as I saw the name of his boat….. “No Rush”!!

We thought we might moor at Newbold, firstly though on through the tunnel.. here it is again, by the way, with it’s lights blazing away in a blue, green and red rainbow effect..

Newbold didn’t look inviting this time around, so we continued onward.  On reaching Rugby, the visitor moorings were a right mess, the lovely weeping willows on the parkland had been drastically cut back, and on the towpath side all the trees had gone and the land flattened for quite some area.. obviously more development about to happen.. not stopping here as there were reports from Chas and Ann of NB Moore2Life that the last time they moored there they were intimidated by drug users in the park..

Eventually moored at Hillmorton, and the first thing I did was to phone the Lock Stock Bistro to see if they had a table for Sunday Lunch.. yep.. Yeah I know, diet.. but I can’t miss Sunday Lunch at this, perhaps the best pub on the system for a roast dinner can I?

Anyway, I have lost a pound this week, not bad when you consider that I had that fry up at Ikea, steak and chips at Hawkesbury.. OK, OK, so this week I will cut back even more.. well it was worth it, the roast was delicious, and made even more so when Chas and Ann decided to move Moore2Life up from Napton during the morning to join us.

It was great to meet up with them again, and Molly, Ann and Chas’ lovely jack russell, got quite a shock to see Lucy’s new friend Meg.. I don’t think Molly is too sure about Meg yet!

Weather was OK today.. not quite what the forecast was, but I don’t think they were too sure exactly what was going to happen. 

Red diesel, Gypsy Rover and Springwood Haven

Today – Atherstone to Hawkesbury Junction, Coventry Canal, 10.5 miles 1 lock
Yesterday – Moored Atherstone

Really enjoyed Ikea yesterday and came back with a couple of bits and bobs including some lovely woven mats costing just 99peach.  They will be perfect for the front cratch area in the summer.  Had a full English Breakfast too on the 6^th floor so had a great view of the city and Ann and I took a good hour and half chatting away over our delicious meal.. The breakfast with coffee cost just £1.70, and you could refill your coffee cup as much as you liked, a very enjoyable day we had.

Bit of bookwork to do this morning before going over to Aldi in Atherstone for fresh vegetables, fruit and milk.  The pineapples there are only 38p each, so got a few of those, some ripe ones and some that will ripen over the next week or two.  Yum, plenty of pineapple for puds and I do like them fried with pork or gammon, both of which I have in the fridge at the moment!

Pulled the pins then, and our destination was to be Springwood Haven Marina where we would really use them today as we needed just about every service except water!…

Here No Problem is getting a pump-out of the loo tanks, the gas is being changed and at the back diesel is being put in the tank.  Now this really is using the services, I can’t remember the last time we have every needed all three of these at the same time!.. My credit card cringed at the £118 odd that it was being asked to give over.. works out at just under £20 a week over the three elements.

We could pump out the loo ourselves, we have not done that yet, and I guess that we might have to use two unit lots as it is an enormous tank.. I am wondering just how much the diy is going to be on doing that… Each unit is £10

While I was wandering a call from the boat just about to pass.. hey hey it was the two ‘Ds’   Derek and Dot the Kiwis with NB Gipsy Rover.. not seen them for 6 months and we sure did have a lot to chat about over coffee aboard NP.. One of the main subjects was the new proposals for the diesel which will come into effect in November.  At the moment this seems to be the idea from the Treasury..

• Private users can continue to use marked fuel (red diesel) provided they make a simple declaration to the supplier and pay the full duty rate for heavy oil;
• Registered Dealers in Controlled Oils (RDCOs) will be responsible for declaring the duty collected to HMRC; and,
• Fuel purchased for domestic use (i.e. not for propulsion of the craft) can continue to be supplied at the rebated rate.

One interesting and rather tongue in the cheek thought was that we could buy our diesel at Tesco.. in fact we could buy 100 litres saving a bit if we have a 5p off a litre coupon.. get clubcard points too and the diesel would be cheaper than at the boatyards. 

Now then this 100 litres would be white stuff, of course, all for cruising.. that would last, say errrrrrrrr Oh I don’t know maybe 230 hours.. but then there is the heating of water and charging batteries for power (domestic use) while cruising along.. errrrrrr.. need to take that off the cruising calculation.  Errrrrrr say half?  So my 100 litres of white full price diesel for compulsion would probably take me something like 370 miles..give or take a few.

OK so then each time I fill up within those 370 miles I can have fuel at the rebated rate because it will all be for domestic use. 

I said “Tongue in cheek thoughts”!!  Very interesting thoughts though with Dot and Derek.. I am sure there will be plenty of discussions on this subject over the next few months..

Anyway, after catching up with all the news from both boats, we left the two ‘Ds’ to continue northwards while we headed in the opposite direction..

It was lovely to see them both again, and nice to see Derek looking well although there has been news from their blog of Derek’s hospital checks for a bit of a heart problem… We will see you in the fens you two… big bbq time then me thinks, next time we meet.. take care you both

I thought it would be good to stop not far away, in fact the next bridge up, some good walks from there,  but there was a boat already moored in the only place where we could have got our sky tele.. so we travelled on through Nuneaton and on to Hawkesbury….

Rounding the corner where the Coventry Canal continues to the City Centre, we past The Greyhound Inn and through the stop lock that leads to the Oxford Canal.  It was late as you can see by the shadows, but the weather was lovely after an afternoon of showers.

This is now a conservation area which will secure this, our heritage, for the future, here the pump house in the background..

This very nearly got demolished/changed into flats.  But it now has a conservation order on it thank goodness.  The temptation of the Greyhound was far too much tonight, and the diet has gone out of the window as I had a large steak and chips this evening in one of my most favourite of pubs on the system!

The Delightful Atherstone Flight of locks

Bradley Green to Atherstone, Coventry Canal, 3 miles 11 locks

Took the opportunity to wash the ‘other’ side of No Problem today as we passed the services at Bradley Bridge.  For a change the services were on the non towpath side, it’s been a long time since we have had the towpath on the ‘right’!

Had to hurry though, and not such a good job done as a boat wanted to moor to get some water themselves.  Trouble with No Problem is her length, once she is moored up at a water point there is no room for anybody else.  Very quiet this morning, but typical, just as you want to do something a whole load of boats turn up!

Had a very pleasant late morning climbing up the Atherstone flight…

Stopping after just doing four out of the 11 of them.  Two reasons, one was that we were all hungry and secondly there was a boat ahead, so we dived inside out of the cold wind for some lunch letting the other boat get on up the flight.  Ann and Vic worked the locks today while I kept out of that cold wind taking the odd pic as I steered No Problem through the locks..

Lucy as always enjoying locking, and here almost at the top..

Beside No Problem by the actual lock are some white railings.. that is a side pound, an area where water can be stored to fill the lock.  All the locks on this flight have side pounds, but they are not in use these days, and that I find quite amazing as quite often during a dry summer the locks are put on the ‘restrictive use’ list, and I remember one year, oh many years ago now, when the locks were only open on two days of the week because of a shortage of water.. that was during the 70s I think.

It wasn’t long ‘till we reached the top lock.. the lock keeper had no eggs today unfortunately, although he was advertising lock keys (windlasses) for sale.. I guess he fishes those out of the canal with a heavy magnet by the locks when crews drop them in on their way up and down this flight!

Had a nice stroll round the town late this afternoon and also checked on bus times for our trip to Coventry tomorrow.  Luckily a National Express bus leaves here about 8.30am and it gets to Coventry about 20 minutes quicker than the regular bus does, so that will be better. 

I wonder what I will bring back from Ikea!!

Sunny day, Sunny Valley and Matresses.. what a mix..

Fazeley to Bradley Green, Coventry Canal, 8 miles 2 locks

Lovely day again when we pulled the pins early this morning, bit cool in the breeze, but the sun on the back canopy meant shirt sleeves for Vic.. heh, jumper for me of course!

We didn’t have to go too far ‘till we arrived at our destination to be able to pick up the new mattresses for our bed.  Here the closed down pub, once thriving until the road going past it just stopped because of a new roadway which you can see in the distance that goes around Tamworth…

Actually this is a very nice mooring, very quiet on the offside with rings to tie up to.  Just feel sorry that this huge place has now been forced to shut.

The mattresses got delivered around midday, and the Bed Centre duly took the old ones away, and we pulled the pins straight away to make our way to Polesworth where we were meeting Annie of NB Moore2Life who was coming to stay for a couple of days.. 2.15pm about she was arriving, we just had enough time to get there without breaking too much wash.. ideal!

Up through the pair of locks at Glascote, here No Problem is completely unmanned making her way very slowly into the lock.. she is well trained you know, trickles into the lock and waits there until Vic and I fill the lock to let her out!..

Here at the second of the two locks, Lucy in typical “I am posing mode”.. makes me laugh that does, she always puts on that pose look whenever she sees the camera in my hand.  When the lock is full I will put down that paddle on my side and step aboard, wait for Vic to open the gate then exit the lock stopping just past the gate to pic up Vic after he has shut the gate.  And on a day like this there is nothing as enjoyable as working slowly through a set of locks this way..

And so to Polesworth when I just had time to go get some fresh vegetables, fruit and milk.. and while browsing the veg shop a tap on my shoulder from my very good friend Ann, it was lovely to see her again, and we chatted and caught up with all the news from each other’s boat…

Quick cupper for Ann, then it was away again moving out of Polesworth and onward towards Atherstone.  I was pleasantly surprised to see NB Sunny Valley at Grendon Bridge..

The last time I saw this particular working boat was back in October 2004 when, pulled by motorboat Clover,  it was taking part in the re-enactment of the Jam ‘ole Run along with a load of other working boats.  I happened to be at Clifton at the time, and took pics of all the boats as they came past.  You might enjoy having a look at the special page I did for that.

We eventually put the pins in for the night at Bradley Green, about half a mile or so from the bottom of the Atherstone flight of 11 locks.

A huge disappointment today as we tested out the new mattresses and remade the bed.. Aghast.. too wide.. too tight across the boat.  It was almost as if both of them were a good inch too big.  Together they were too tight to fit snuggly and there is a hard ridge where the two meet.. That is no good at all, and I have had to re-order one again only much smaller.  My fault, I should have allowed ‘spread’.  I have kicked myself up and down the boat for getting it wrong, but it is done, nothing I can do to change that.. Ah well

Tomorrow is another day, and I am looking forward to working through the Atherstone flight.. 

Good Internet Connection deal in Tamworth surprises me

Today – Hopwas to Fazeley, Coventry Canal, 2.5 miles 0 locks
Weekend – Moored Hopwas, Coventry Canal

A nice mooring over the weekend, and I tried to be good and rest up as much as possible.  But such is the area around here I found it very frustrating trying to be good and stay indoors to get rid of this virus.  The woodland walks all over the place were far too much for me, and I was off out on both afternoons!…

No worry…. and the weather was perfect, a bit windy but the sky was as blue as I have seen it for ages.  Hopwas sure is a place of people and dogs, and no wonder there was so much dog poo here.. There were so many people up and down, we even had to shut the curtains when we ate our meals such was the interest in No Problem and it’s contents!

I popped into Tamworth via the local hourly bus from the pub, and it was my lucky day.  I went there to either renew or buy a new contract for my T-Mobile internet connection.  I had intended to go to the T-Mobile shop just to renew and upgrade, but I thought I would pop into Carphone Warehouse just to see if they could do a better offer for me.

I was dead lucky.. “Yes we have a new offer just started this morning.. £10 a month on the same tariff as you are using at the moment”… WOW.. well pleased with that.  They are giving £120 cash back after 4 and 8 months of being connected, just got to send the bills in.  I am happy with that, I do it every year with my own phone, never having to pay any line rental.. free phone and calls for me each year as it is!

I have been paying £29.99, so that will be a big saving for me..  We pulled the pins this morning after I had nipped to the Post Office to get my Mothers Day Cards, and a special one from Kiera and Niamh my grandchildren I was specially pleased with.  It had a badge on it, you know it isn’t often a grandma gets a card with a badge on it, and it says “Best Grandma”, Chuffed to bits with that, hey thanks you two …

Here looking back on the left is the Red Lion, I like that pub, good Sunday Roasts there and a real local, on the right is the Tame Otter, a much more what I call plastic pub that kids simply love, very family orientated.  You can see the bus there too on the way to Litchfield from Tamworth.. Hey it must have been 20 five past 11 then when this pic was taken!.. See I know all the times of the buses!

Arriving at Fazeley we moored at the services at the BW Offices and Service Area..

We reversed back to find a space for the evening on the otherside of the canal, and it will be an early pin pull in the morning to move down to Kettlebrook Wharf to collect the new mattress from The Bed Centre in Tamworth.  It’s quiet here tonight despite the housing outside.. mind you I do like the design of the houses round here..