Happy times at Cropredy and Banbury

Tues 14th Feb to Today, Claydon to close Aynho and back to Banbury, 15.5 miles 8 locks

Wendie, Dan and the grandchildren were up during last weeks half term.  We decided Cropredy was ideal for them.  About 100 metres from the lock is a gap in the fence with a lane to Prescote Manor very close.  Very handy for Dan to stop and drop everything off before parking his truck in Cropredy.  It was also very handy for Mr Tesco to deliver us an order the day before their arrival… which meant plenty of goodies onboard!

Quality time last week… the weather was very kind.  We had expected wind and rain, but got sunshine.  It was a bit cold, but it didn’t matter, the sun was out!..

Here eldest granddaughter ready to send all three mutts into the river after one stick!!  Lucy here joined by the choc lab ‘Tilly’ and Chas and Ann’s ‘Molly’.  One or two of you who read this blog regularly will remember Tilly on her first visit to No Problem when she was a pup last July… she has grown a bit since then!

Since then we moved on down to Banbury for a couple of days.  After popping into the town for a good ‘ol browse, we continued on out of Banbury…

Just settled for a couple of days of relaxation to the south.  However, we thought we would revisit Banbury again this week, so we took the long trip to nearly Aynho to turn back…. More later

Locks... would we remember how to do them at Napton??!!

Today – Priors Hardwick to Claydon. Oxford Canal, 9.5 miles 5 locks
Sun 12th Feb – Napton to Priors Hardwick, Oxford Canal, 3.5 miles 8 locks
Sat 11th Feb – Moored Napton, Oxford Canal

We waited for the ice to disappear and for Chas and Ann with NB Moore2Life, our winter traveling companions, to come up from Braunston, where they had been visiting their regular dentist in Daventry while we were at Calcutt Boats having an engine inspection.  News came from them that they would be leaving on the Saturday morning.  It was a beautiful day, and Lucy and I took off to the east of Napton across the downs.  The day before we had spent a few hours to the west.. The views across to Napton were magnificent…

On Sunday morning we were woken at would you believe 7am by the skipper of the boat in front starting his noisy generator!!  Totally out of order in my view… I noticed the previous Friday that he ran his engine from just after 9pm till way past 10pm.. I think there is a sort of BW ‘rule’ that states no engines running after 8pm, well anyway we stick to that ourselves.  Just I find that sort of behavior by other boaters very selfish.. washing to do at 7am or no washing to do!!!

Napton flight it was then yesterday, and No Problem and Moore2Life made their way steadily up one at a time.  It was nice to do some locks again after so long without any during our pre Christmas amble around the Ashby Canal.  Poor Vic was a bit stiff by the time he had reached the top..

Very full of boats from here onwards for quite some way.. no visitor moorings available.  I think British Waterways let a lot out for winter moorings leaving very few available for errrrr ‘visitors’.  Wasn’t long though ‘till a nice mooring was found around bridge 123, very quite, just how I like it.  I enjoyed Sunday..

Today then a fairly early start to get us further along the canal.  We are meeting daughter Wendie and Danny along with grandchildren Kiera and Niamh on Wednesday, it’s half term you see, and they are sneaking a couple of days on No Problem at Cropredy.  Aim was to get below the five locks at Claydon.. some 14.5 or so lock miles away.  Lock miles I say.. its a sort of rough calculation.. add the number of miles to the number of locks to estimate the time it will take to travel that distance.. so at 3mph, that is just under 5 hours.. In fact it took 4 hours and 55 minutes!!

Here Vic working the locks today, closing the bottom gates after No Problem had exited… he uses a short pole with a sturdy hook on the end to pull the far gate closed.  This saves him walking all the way round the lock to shut the gate.  Tall people with long legs can actually step across the gap you see in the pic… buy hey we are only little people!!

A great day cruising today, no sunshine, but dry and calm… oh and the countryside was outstanding..

At last some sunshine, but the ice is back at Napton

Today – Moored Napton, Oxford Canal

What a beautiful day today, it was nice to see some sunshine after days and days of really cold overcast weather.  Mind you, we have had hardly any rain since the beginning of the year.  Just one evening the pitter patter was heard on the roof.  I suppose we will get some soon, well we surely must or there will be water shortage stoppages before even the spring and summer boating seasons. 

Napton on the Hill, to give it it’s full name, must be one of the nicest places to moor on the waterways, always deadly quiet with no major roads any where near.  I did a bit of fishing this morning, sitting under the canopy the sun blazing through, it was like sitting in a conservatory!  My line got caught a couple of times in the ice, so I gave that up as a bad job… I think it was just about the coldest night of the year last night!  A couple of boats came through though breaking it up a bit..

But a wintery scene yet again this year on the canals.. Putting the rod away, I decided to give my newish walking boots a good test this afternoon, and Lucy and I took off across the countryside making our way crosscountry to Marston Doles and the top lock of the Napton flight of eight we have yet to do.  The walk back from there along the towpath is a good couple of miles, arriving back just as the sun set.. But the ice was thicker further south than where we are moored.. It feels cold now, I am wondering if it will freeze again overnight keeping us here till next week…

Busy days around Braunston and Napton

7th Feb to Today – Braunston to Napton via Calcutt Locks, Oxford Canal, 6 miles 0 locks

Busy day in Braunston for me, sorting a computer and internet connection via a mobile phone for a friend moored in the Marina.. post to collect from the Post Office, a couple of bits from the super butcher.. he always recognises me and welcomes me back.. milk, bread and more computers to sort left me quite tired by the time we pulled the pins there yesterday to travel on to Calcutt Marine for a good ‘ol boat engine sort out.

Ah, but before leaving Braunston I popped into Midland Chandlers to pick up a ecofan… I had never heard of ecofans, but came across one on google, did some more research and realised that it just might solve our cold bottom half below knee level on No Problem.  It is very cold below the knees, and more so this winter.  I think this has been a colder winter than any we have experienced before, either that or I am getting really old.  Standing up in No Problem the warm air is all on the ceiling… would the ecofan bring it down to below knee level I wondered.  Quick answer… Yes!

An amazing item, no batteries, no plugs… this fan just sits on our stove and magically the two fins fly round dispersing the warm air from the stove evenly throughout the boat… no more tucking socks into jeans, no more wrapping a blanket round the knees.. If you are interested as to how it works do click on this link although it is a Canadian site it does explain it quite well

We arrived at the top of Calcutt locks yesterday evening and witnessed one of the best sunsets we have seen in a long while… I took a pic across the roof of the narrowboat.. I need to describe the view.  In the foreground is No Problem’s roof, the dark outlines in the centre left and right are narrowboats moored on the opposite side… then a short area of offside towpath, the water on the far side is Napton Reservoir.  The sunset has even cast it’s red hue onto the roof of NP..

Roger at Calcutt Boats did us proud today and asked Gill, his fitter, to give our narrowboat a really good checking.  He was disappointed that the engine had been causing us problems, and he went a long way to make sure that everything was checked out.. engine mountings, batteries, fuel pipes, water pipes alternators, including re-aligning of that problem alternator and belt with new spacers, replacing stuff that other engineers had done wrong.… well a lot of time was spent this morning by the mechanic.  We feel happier now.

At lunchtime John Sinclair popped in.  Always a very welcome visitor to No Problem.  We first met John way back last year at Bedford, followed by a very welcomed visit from him to help us up the Northampton Flight in October last on our way back from East Anglia.  We were all joined by David Butcher of NB Maria Jessie, and we all chatted for a couple of hours.  Thanks to you both, we totally enjoyed your company.

Should we, or shouldn’t we move on to The Folly at Napton.  Decisions made we pulled the pins on Calcutt, and very late in the day started to make our way back to the Oxford Canal turning right in front of the new Wigrams Turn Marina.  John and David both moor their boats there, but had never met before today.  John rushed off as we left Calcutt to go back to the Marina to capture NP exiting the junction… Thanks for the super pic John!

Been in the Folly tonight, well I can’t resist not doing.. still is my most favourite pub on the system.  The open log fire was just as I hoped on this very cold evening… pies and beer are still good too!

No Problem is in Braunston

3rd Feb to Today – Rugby to Braunston, Oxford Canal, 9.5 miles 0 locks

Friday was a busy day.. No Problem’s engine was fixed again, and by the early afternoon we welcomed the opportunity to charge our very low batteries.  I went over to pick up Lucy’s dog food and get some other bits and pieces while Vic and Chas managed to fire up the generator just to check that it would work OK.  Well, the way I am feeling at the moment, I just want the insurance of some alternative power… seems the engine is not totally reliable… but we are due in at Calcutt Marina on 9th February, and I have asked for a full engine check.  This engine is a reconditioned BMC 1.8 from Calcutt themselves and is only 15 months old.

Pulling the pins on Rugby it was nice to be away under our own steam, and by the early evening we were moored at the top of Hillmorton Locks..

It was a bit late to call on the farmer to ask if we could take more wood from his fields.  The last time we were here we filled the roof right up with some love long burning logs.. I waited to do that the following day.. he said to take as much as we liked, so once again the roof is full.

I cannot pass Hillmorton at the weekend without calling in at The Lock Stock Bistro for a good old Sunday roast.. in fact Chas and Ann joined us, such a lovely place this is, so relaxing.  Here we all are eagerly awaiting our plateful..

The run from there to Braunston today was as pleasant as ever.. bit cold but no wind… and surely spring is on the way when the first lambs of the year are spied close to the canal..

I am very surprised how quiet Braunston is.. Over the last weekend there has been a bit of a show on here for the Shared Ownership Boats, but there was no sign at all of that today, and we moored just outside Braunston central in view of the church.  We can get the satellite dish to pick up the dot in the sky from here you see.. tis more difficult in the central part of ‘Braunston turn’.

Popping into the marina to meet some friends, the latest gossip was of a certain Mr Finch who had fallen into the canal in a drunken state… luckily for him he was rescued… Now Mr Finch is dreaded by any narrowboat owner… he breaks in and steals from the boats.. he has broken into over 350 narrowboats, the courts being very lenient with him in the past.. As he lay unconscious on the towpath waiting for an ambulance, gossip has it that 6 police cars raced to the scene to catch this illusive burglar!.. I see in the Northampton paper that today he was sentenced to 2 years in prison, so I suppose our boats are safe now for a year or so!

We will be here for a day or two.. walking is definitely on the agenda tomorrow..

Yet another engine breakdown!

Feb 2nd and 3rd – Newbold to Rugby

I walked to the bus stop in Newbold and saw Tony off on the bus back to Coventry Bus Station for his connection back home to Portsmouth and returned to No Problem.  We had planned to just do the short trip to Rugby so that I could spend the next day catching up with this blog and a ton of emails in my box.  I also needed a big bag of dog food for Lucy which can only be obtained from the very large pet shops.  We had also planned to get some petrol for the new generator picked up a couple of days before at Machine Mart..

But… no chance.  I pulled the pins before starting up No Problem, as I normally do, but no… phunt!.. tried again phunt! Nope, sounded like the starter had jammed.  I have had that problem before many times, and applied a bit more heat and away she would go, but not this time she wasn’t!

Gave up trying and tied up again.  Checked everything, battery was ok.. engine would turn over manually.. It was getting late.. I wanted to be in Rugby if there was going to be a problem.. No engine means no electric AGAIN!  Ah but we have the generator and battery charger now.. but no petrol!  Getting to Rugby would mean that at least we could get petrol from Tesco’s filling station..

Chas kindly offered a tow .. and on a freezing cold, grey evening I was left on the back of No Problem in very quiet circumstances, my mind racing and my brain trying to talk itself into not being angry and this latest breakdown only about 2 weeks after the last one left us stranded with very little battery power.

I phoned the insurance company and told them of my plight.. they were very understanding beings I had only just put a claim in for the last one, and arranged with Roger at Calcutt Marine for him to send help the following morning.

We never did get the generator going that night, well we had never used it before, and it was gone dark by the time we had got the petrol.. nope that wouldn’t start either!  We had enough battery power onboard for the evening though, but no tele..

A new starter motor was required..

One very amusing moment though, while getting our jerry can filled with petrol at Tesco’s filling station, a fire engine pulled in with its blue lights flashing.. “Quick, someone fill it up and someone go over and pay for it” shouted one of the firemen as he leapt out of the cab….  Everyone on the forecourt froze and looked in astonishment at the huge fire engine… and with it’s fuel tank replenished, they all jumped in. With the sirens blaring and lights blazing off it went with enough petrol now to get to it’s shout!

Coventry Basin

Visited Jan 29th and 30th

I had never been to Coventry Basin, the nearest I had ventured was to bridge 5 many, many years ago to pick up a hire boat for a weeks hols.  I remember back then that the canal back up to Hawkesbury Junction was dirty and full of rubbish.  On that particular trip we didn’t turn left for the basin, our first night was at Hawkesbury Junction.

What a change now though.  The Coventry Canal was clean and the water clear enough to see the bottom.  Yes there were a couple of places that had some accumulated rubbish from a couple of black bin bags no doubt tossed in by city people who have no care nor any use of the city’s assets.

Our first view of what the basin was like was at the very low Bridge 1.  We knew this one was low, and had already taken the back canopy down a few bridges before this because that one was also pretty low and we weren’t sure if it would go under or not.  Just the chimney cowl had to come off, and No Problem slipped neatly under the bridge.

I enjoyed a quick good look round on Sunday, it’s nice to be in a big city once in a while.  I was even more amazed to see a Machine Mart just 50 yards across the road from the basin.  I had planned on buying a generator and battery charger from them on the internet and having it delivered to Calcutt Marine when we arrive next week.. but hey, no need to do that.  The basin was very quiet, although once outside the noise of the traffic was horrendous.. the basin all newly rebuilt, with the factory on the left of the picture above having been restored.. at night the lights were left on.  I didn’t mind that, it makes a nice change!

On the side where No Problem was moored was another new building housing some offices, a tea room and an information centre.  On the Monday morning a guy from there popped a bundle of information for boaters through the door… I must say a huge effort has been made by the council.  It is very safe in the basin, cctv cameras everywhere and signs that say zero tolerance.. those found drinking in public would get a slap on the wrist at the least and their beer or whatever taken off them. 

After picking up Tony from the bus station, which was only an 8 minute walk, we popped back to drop off his luggage before going over to the Transport Museum.  A huge place this, with all the history of the cars, motor bikes and push bikes that were made in this area all neatly sorted into decades.  Thrust 2 is also there, the land speed car, and if you are in the museum at the right time then you can go in a simulator to experience the winning land speed run.  Unfortunately we browsed for far too long and missed the last ‘flight’!

Full facilities for No Problem, loos, rubbish and water all available in a lovely round building… great place this was, I will be back!

We meet Tony in Coventry...

Sat 28th Jan to Thurs 2nd Feb – Limekilns, Ashby Canal to Rugby, Oxford Canal via Coventry 31miles 1 lock

Good grief, I can’t believe we have done all those miles in such a short time!

A very quick blog tonight from me, the last week has been full of plenty to say, but for tonight I am just shattered.   My son Tony kept me busy from Monday to today, the highlight was his delight that we were moored in Coventry itself, he thought from the bus station it would be another bus journey into the country.  I loved Coventry Basin, it is fantastic, more on that later, but here a pic…

The highlight of his journey from Coventry to Newbold was THAT tunnel… a time warp he called it..

Yes the lights are still on…

And I will leave you with this pic to finish tonight….

Yes, this is Chas of NB Moore2Life towing No Problem to Rugby!! ..  More later…..