A stuttering start to our summer, and our first look at the Nene

Today – Nether Heyford to Bugbrooke, Grand Union Canal, 3 miles if that! and 0 locks
Tues/Wed 25th and 26 April - Moored Nether Heyford, Grand Union Canal

We are a full month behind of what we had planned for our summer.  We had hoped to be on the Nene at the beginning of April, now it will be the beginning of May.  There have been various reasons for us ‘faffing about’, mainly to visit doctors and sort specialists for Vic who had a problem with circulation a couple of months ago.  On top of that, our traveling companions for the summer, Chas and Ann of NB Moore2Life, had to return to Braunston for some work to be done on their boat.

Annie had to travel ‘dan saff’ for a couple of days on a family matter… back now, but I have to go to the very same place but up the coast a bit next week for a couple of meetings!.. Very frustrating!

On top of that, I am putting on weight… middle age spread I am told… no it isn’t… I have given up smoking and taken up eating!!.. I walk an average of 5 miles a day I suppose, I am really fed up to be putting on the weight.

Anyway, today I have given up sugar in my tea!  I have also given up my pudding after my evening meal! My mid morning snack of a choc bar!  Hey look I even been doing extra work,  painting No Problem…

I was asked to explain the rope thing and the gangplank so that the pointy end can be painted from the towpath, well look closely and you will see how that is done.  This time, however, I did not fall in!

No Problem looks smart now for her summer cruising.. and we have the bugundy paint to do the sides.. we will wait for some much warmer weather to do that though.

Talking of warmer weather.. at last a ray or two of sunshine to day.. not a lot but enough to take off the fleece and walk in my blouse, hooray…

Oil seed rape here well enjoying the sunshine!

We are moored at Bugbrooke this evening, not by the trains, but on the northern side.. a late sun gave a very tranquil scene here tonight..

 

 

To Wilton and back....

Weekend and today, Bugbrooke to Wilton then back to Nether Heyford, Grand Union Canal, 11 miles 0 locks

We have been moored close to the railway..

Here with Bugbrooke village in the distance, but on Saturday we decided to pull the pins and cruise to the bottom of Wilton Locks.. Chas and Ann had bought some ‘burgundy’ paint from Midland Chandlers in Braunston for us while they were there getting some work done on Moore2Life.  Their own brand is about half the price of the International brand of marine paint.  We had bought some ‘Oxford Blue’ when we were there last, and the other day when we painted the gunnels down we were well impressed with the finish of it.  Anyway, we thought we would do the burgundy bit in their paint too, but we didn’t have a colour chart from Midland Chandlers so Chas and Ann took with them a scrap of paper with the colour on it, and reported back by phone that it was a “bit darker probably”

There is a chandlers at the bottom of the locks at Wilton.. we could meet Chas and Ann there on their return from Braunston, check the paint.. and if it was miles out in colour could pop into the chandlers and get the International burgunday that we are used to… Midland Chandlers had agreed to take their paint back if it was not required.

It wasn’t a bad day at all on Saturday, and we dropped the canopy down for the 6 mile trip.. this pretty manderin duck does look so out of place on the canal though.  We passed this one near Weedon..

I just simply love this boat that is moored near Weedon, it has a licence number plate and a licence displayed, which is more than can be said by quite a few narrowboats in this area..

I wonder why they don’t keep the boat out of the water… I suppose technically it should have a proper mooring licence disk on it too.. for sure it has been there more than 14 days!!

I went to the garden centre which is next to the chandlers at Wilton and bought some new plants for my rooftop pots.  The winter pansys have not come through this cold and windy winter very well at all. Even with all my TLC, they are not going to look good in the summer .. I took them out of the pots and planted them yesterday at one of my favourite mooring spots near Brockhall close to the towpath.. They might do better there ..

Lazy day yesterday putting in the new plants and watching the F1.. oh and of course a bit of walking..

Today I went into Northampton with Annie.. she has had to nip off ‘dan saff’ for a couple of days, and I saw her off on the National Express coach and had a quick wander round the town.. before returning back to No Problem at Weedon.  This evening we moved on to Nether Heyford.

Not done the other side of the boat yet.. hopefully get started on that tomorrow…

A quiet day and at last a sign of spring at Bugbrooke

Moored Bugbrooke, Grand Union Canal

Spend a quiet morning doing some bits and bobs on the computer before setting out with Lucy to explore some of the countryside to the west of the Grand Union Canal.. there are some villages close together, so thought I would go and take a look.

The weather was calmer today, the annoying wind not present, and it wasn’t long before Lucy and I were enjoying a real spring walk.. here a peacock butterfly..

And this absolutely delightful lane leading from the village of Eastcote.. truly a sign that spring is here at last..

For the second time in two days, I got another soaking though.. the heavens opened before I got back to No Problem, and although I did take a lightweight coat, I was pretty wet once again!.

Ah well, at least I saw a bit of spring for some of today!

Painting at Bugbrooke, but it wasn't the rain that soaked me!

Moored Bugbrooke, Grand Union Canal

Had to wait a while this morning until the rain had stopped before continuing with the paint pots this morning.  Luckily enough it was only really wetting the side of No Problem away from the towpath, so at lunchtime when it had stopped we got the brushes out.. here is me yesterday rubbing down with our super duper sander.  I got this for next to nothing at Aldis at the beginning of last year, it sure does a magic job..

Vic does the ‘hard bit’ coming along after me “Missed a bit, missed a bit”!..   I didn’t miss much… “If it ain’t good enough, do it yourself”! .  Nah, he follows along afterwards with a fine sander and cloth to make sure everything is smooth..

Today then it was on with the paint, the easy bit.. well it is until you get to the front.  Vic did the blue and I did the black today.. we do it together, well I am a bit ahead of him.. I have to cut in the black just right too!

I say until I got to the front.  It is difficult to do the front you see, a plank has to be balanced on a rope from the narrowboat to crawl along to reach the pointy bit.. all was fine until I tried just to reach that bit right on the very front just under the fender!…

Splosh!!!!

No not the paint brush, nor the paint pot… ME!!

Looks a treat this evening though, oh apart from a couple of paw marks thanks to Lucy.. so that is one side done. 

Tomorrow we will turn round and start on the other side.. Got to think of some other way of doing the pointy bit on that side though!

Smashing Easter... they wanted to 'do' the tunnel though!!

Fri 14th to Wed 19th – Cruising between Rothersthorpe Locks, Stoke Bruerne and Bugbrooke, about 7 miles 0 locks

But 2 tunnel journeys in one day!

A very eventful weekend spent with Wendie, Danny and the two girls.  They only decided to come on Sunday late morning, the grandchildren were well enough to travel.

While I was pulling out the bedding, Vic shouted from outside for me to come quickly.. a lamb had fallen into the canal from the other side.  I ran across the locks and scrambled down the bank to try and rescue it while Vic got No Problem’s engine going in case it swam to a point inaccessible.  The bank was steep, and trying to get a purchase and pull it out was going to be impossible.  I did manage to get hold of it, and it tried very hard to make an effort to clamber out, but I needed Vic’s help, and kept his head above the water till he arrived. 

He was a lucky fella as he ran away after his ordeal, and I was thinking as he paired up with his twin and mum, that in a couple of months time he might be on my dinner plate.. it’s funny really, there we all are happy to save these animals from drowning in our canals, when we are quite happy to eat them on our plates!!  Mad, mad world!!

Late afternoon the family arrived, and while Wendie sorted their bits and pieces out, I took to girls to have a look at Rothersthorpe Locks..

Party time again then on Sunday night.. and just a couple of bicardi and cokes made me brave enough to say “Yes” to the request to go through Blisworth Tunnel in the morning!… Gawd, Easter Monday, Blisworth Tunnel!

I felt quite brave on Monday

Four boats I passed, but I caught up a slow boat in front of me… oh why oh why do people go through tunnels on tickover, then stop when a boat is coming the other way.. never mind, Stoke Bruerne it was, and everybody enjoyed their day in one of the most famous places on the waterways.  I celebrated with a couple of glasses of wine at the Navigation.. well the Boat Inn was jam packed.. so when someone said..

“It’s a bit busy here to stay the night, lets go back through the tunnel this evening or drop down the locks” .. I could have said that two glasses of wine meant that I couldn’t skipper No Problem through the tunnel, but it made me feel brave, I might not feel so brave in the morning!!  Anyway I didn’t fancy the locks… the top lock was absolutely awash with gongoozlers…

So back through the tunnel it was, bit quieter on the way back, passed just two boats and nobody in front of me.  In fact it took 10 minutes less going back!  We settled just north of Blisworth for the rest of the evening, the dogs Lucy and Tilly enjoyed..

But hey, look at this.. here is Buddy a pup to keep Tilly company.  Another lab for Wendie, and at just 9 weeks old, already he is a ‘canal dog’ already, testing out what is, and what is not possible..

They all left to return to Portsmouth on Tuesday… a journey of just under 2 hours, so not too bad, but not before the traditional ‘Easter egg hunt’.. here the girls delighted to be going home with some goodies..

We will spend this week painting ‘gunnels to water’.  We are at Bugbrooke this evening.. it has been raining today, but we did manage to rub down all the blue from the gunnels down in between the showers and get some red oxide on.  Hopefully before the weekend we will have both sides painted and blackened. 

Happy Birthday Annie!

Moored Rothersthorpe Locks, Northampton Arm, Grand Union Canal

Happy Birthday Annie!

We all went aboard Moore2Life last night to party, and this morning we had to say goodbye to Chas and Ann as they left for Braunston to have a bit of work done on their narrowboat… We will wait for their return before dropping down the locks to the River Nene.

Getting ready to spend Easter on the Northampton Arm..

Nether Heyford to Rothersthorpe Lock 1, Grand Union Canal, and GU Northampton Arm, 4.5 miles 0 locks

Today was very busy for us, with a visit to the butchers in Nether Heyford first thing.  What a surprise too.. bearing in mind that this is a butcher in a small village.

There was a queue, and we had to wait our turn.  I was expecting just a couple of items on show and the rest in the fridges, but it looked like a main high street butchers with very fresh quality meat on show.  I purchased enough for 14 meals, you can see it all piled on the counter, along with some bananas!  Not only a butcher but some nice fresh fruit and veg too!..

On the way back to No Problem, called in to the fishing tackle shop that is just off the canal near to some new lakes from old gravel pits, and purchased some bait, which I will hopefully temp some nice fish onto my line on the Northampton Arm at the weekend.

Pulling the pins at Nether Heyford, or close to, we travelled the short distance to fill the diesel tank at Nether Heyford Wharf.. I was pleased at 50p a litre.. that should do us now for about 6 weeks, and take us onto the River Great Ouse to Ely before having to fill again.

On the way to Gayton Junction to pick up an order from Tesco, we passed this house and bridge.  I have passed it on a few occasions now, and it is one of those waterway scenes that I always remember.. the perfect ‘canal scene’ bridge, house, daffs, spring.. chocolate box stuff!

So to Gayton Junction to wait for Mr Tesco for our groceries for Easter which I had ordered a few days ago.  While waiting for him we filled with water, dumped the rubbish and did the loo cassettes.

Didn’t have to wait long for Mr T, and soon everything was put aboard, and we made our way up the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal past the lovely Gayton Marina.  If I was to have a boat in a marina, I think I would choose this one, it’s nice, and seems very laid back..

It is very big actually.. I know that because I went for a walk the other day which went along the road beside it.. I couldn’t believe how big it was, it goes a long way back from the canal..

We have moored close to the first lock of the Northampton Arm of the GU Canal this evening..

it will be quiet here over Easter, which I will enjoy.  I am hoping Wendie, Danny and the grandchildren are coming over Easter, but Wendie tells me that young Kiera has tonsillitis, and Niamh has a bit of a bug too… Well kids are kids and can get better very quickly.. I do hope they do, I have everything crossed tonight and hope they recover enough in the next few days to spend some time with us…  

I do hope you all have a very happy Easter whatever you might be doing.. the weather is going to be good apparently so enjoy!

The butcher is needed in Nether Heyford

Nr Gayton to Nether Heyford, Grand Union Canal, 3.5 miles 0 locks

Well it was a bit further than that.. we went on to turn another mile further on before mooring this evening. Annie and I took the dogs over the fields for a couple of hours this morning before we pulled the pins and headed for Nether Heyford.  A nice trip.. There has been some lovely hedge laying along the embankment to the south of Bugbrooke, much better than I had seen further north..

Wendie, Danny and the grandchildren are coming up for a visit over Easter, hence the reason to visit the butcher, they do like their roast meal on a Sunday.. but they may not eat it… I have planned an Easter Egg hunt onboard No Problem.. maybe I should hide the eggs well..

I am a bit late writing this blog tonight, I’ll add a bit more tomorrow.. Been listening to the footie, nice to see Portsmouth get a point against Arsenal tonight.

Getting around the country from Northampton..

Moored Nr Gayton, Grand Union Canal

It’s been raining all day today, so I took the opportunity to get some tickets booked for up and coming journeys..  At the beginning of next month I have a meeting in Portsmouth set for 10am in the morning, so no chance on making that a day trip, I will go the day before.  I have had great fun today seeing just how cheaply I can get to Portsmouth! 

With a combination of National Express Coach and Megatrain, I have paid just £8.50 return!!

Megatrain is part of Stagecoach, and have services from the south to London for just £1.00 per journey if you book early enough .. There is megabus too..

But I am very amused as to where I have to sit on this train.. A special megatrain carriage is provided to avoid the mixing of megatrain and non-megatrain passengers, however, there is nothing to stop those paying ordinary fares sitting in the megatrain carriage, as the signage only instructs megatrain passengers on where to sit - not the normal fare ones!  I am wondering what sort of carriage I will get for my £1.00 fare.. wooden seats? .

Our trip down the flight of locks on the Northampton branch has been delayed to the beginning of May.  Chas and Ann of NB Moore2Life need to return to Braunston for some work to be done on their narrowboat… we will wait for their return before spending the rest of the summer on the eastern rivers together.

I lost my walking stick last week, and it was like losing a best friend.. On our return to Blisworth I revisited the last place I remember having it.. I couldn’t really believe that I would never see it again.  I put it down you see, to take a photo of something or other I expect.. anyway I went to the place and wondered if some person had found it and chucked it over the hedge just for the hell of it.  So I scrambled around the other side of the high hedge.. and I couldn’t believe it… there it was… But I couldn’t understand why I started to cry … after all I hadn’t cried when I realised I lost it!

Weekend at Stoke Bruerne then back to Gayton..

Today – Stoke Bruerne to Nr Gayton Junction, Grand Union Canal, 4miles 0 locks
Weekend – Moored Stoke Bruerne

Once Kiera had boarded the bus…

We settled at Stoke Bruerne for the weekend.. although arriving on Friday on the 48 hour mooring, technically we should have moved on Sunday at the same time.. the warden for the area had ‘clocked’ us on Saturday morning.. we decided to cheat the system and stay till Monday morning.. anyway if the warden had wanted us to move on Sunday we could have gone down a couple of locks and moored on the visitor moorings there.. it was empty.. enough room for maybe 30 boats there was.. but for only 24 hours!!  Sometimes I wonder at British Waterways..!

We had Sunday lunch at the Boat Inn.. firstly we went to the restaurant.. a fine affair built onto the original Boat Inn, but at £20 a head for a two course Sunday lunch was a bit above what we normally would like to pay, so we opted for a ‘bar Sunday lunch’ at £6.95 in the pub itself.. anyway the atmosphere was better!

Pulled the pins today to return through the tunnel.. had to reverse back to the turning point about 200yds behind our mooring.. that took at bit of time, and I let a boat past to enter the tunnel ahead.. “I’ll give you a ten minute start”.. ha, not particularly for his reassurance, but for mine!!.. didn’t tell him that though!

Looked at the watch… 10, 9, 8, 7, etc… go!!

My normal speed through the tunnel.. flat out.  Can’t see the point in being in there any longer than necessary… of course if there is a boat coming then I would slow right down.. but…….

I had been in the tunnel 15 minutes and caught up the narrowboat that went through before me… oh it scared me.. there was also a boat coming the other way and my eyes were playing tricks on me.. this guy had actually stopped to wait for the boat to pass.. I had to go in major reverse to stop hitting him!.. the boat coming the other way was a good 5 minutes getting to us..

More boats coming the opposite way.. more stupid tactics… I shouted at him in the end to keep his boat moving.. at a tickover speed we exited the tunnel, and as he moored at Blisworth I vented my nervous frustration at him…

I do wish the weather would warm a little.. I lost my friend, my walking stick of 5 years, last week… today I found it.. more of that tomorrow

Bisworth, Stoke Bruerne and a surprise for Kiera!

Blisworth to Stoke Bruerne, Grand Union Canal, 2.5 miles 0 locks

I was so excited this morning when I pulled the pins, and was very relaxed as we entered the northern portal.. ah ha, no boats in there, can see the end!  Blisworth tunnel is the longest navigable tunnel on the waterways system for powered boats.. once inside I tested No Problem’s top speed through a tunnel, and soon we were really moving along. It was a bit wet in there though with lots of water cascading down from the roof.  I just got the bow out of the tunnel when another narrowboat entered from the south…

There he goes.. You can see that British Waterways have contractors doing a lot of work to the southern portal..

And the reason for my excitement was this…. hey hey look who I spied on her annual school trip!!….

Right in the middle of the picture giving me a wave is granddaughter Kiera with all her school chums taking a ride on the trip boat from here at Stoke Bruerne Museum!   I only knew that Kiera was coming to the museum a couple of days ago..

“Ah Mum, Kiera is visiting a museum at Stoke on her school trip”  says daughter Wendie… “Museum at Stoke-on-Trent?” I thought.. could have been the museum at Eturia on the entrance to the Caldon, but I didn’t think 55 kids would visit that place.. “You sure it’s Stoke Wendie?” “Yes Stoke Brun or something like that”…

Ah Ha!!  “Stoke Bruerne is it?”  “Could be, I will find out”… “Oh you know were that is do you Mum?” “Yes for sure I do, we are about 9 miles away from there!!”

So, I had to go through the tunnel you see, to surprise our Kiera… she was made up to see us, and she was the toast of the class, telling them all about No Problem as she cruised by in the trip boat! 

They have been away since Monday up in Yorkshire, and broke the journey back to Portsmouth by a stop-over at Stoke Bruerne.. Kiera had no idea we would be there!

Now I must put in a pic especially for Mark who regularly reads this blog from the USA.  In a comment last night he said of a trip he did in 1990..

“The last time I was on this part of the Grand Union I went through the Blisworth Tunnel and spent the day at the Waterways Museum. As I remember the food was pretty good at the pub across from the museum.”

Here you go Mark, the pub is still there..

We shall investigate The Boat tomorrow no doubt..

It's lovely weather.. but oh the wind is cold at Blisworth

Today Bugbrooke to Blisworth, Grand Union Canal, 4miles 0 locks
Yesterday – Nether Heyford to Bugbrooke, GU Canal, 1.75 miles 0 locks

How two days can be so different is incredible!

Yesterday first thing I wandered off to take a couple of photos for a walk I had done the day before… I had to go back you see, because the batteries on the camera ran out, and I do like to record all my walks with photos.. then it was off for another trek, but this time I wanted to go back to the ‘Old Dairy Farm’…

This is a lovely village as you can see, but the Dairy Farm Centre is a wonderful place to visit, especially this time of year for a very good reason, the lambs are being born, and at weekends during March and April they have ‘lambing weekends’.. the cost is a couple of quid per person.. what a wonderful day out!

Anyway.. they have this little sweet shop there among other interesting shops.. and that sweet shop sells kola cubes!.. That is well worth the walk.. I got some last time I was there the winter before last.. I have never seen kola cubes since I was in my teen years.. I used to get them and put them into a tin and put them in my pocket when I used to go hunting on my pony on a cold Saturday morning.. I was a brave young lass you know… I remember on one hunt, I jumped a five bar gate ahead of the master of hounds.. mind I had a good pony!.. that was a long time ago though..

So I now have a bag of kola cubes… today was busy phewwwwww!  I had a bit of admin stuff to do on No Problem before the pins could be pulled.. did that and then moved along the canal to an enormous load of potential logs!  I had already gone down the towpath to seek permission to put some on our boat.. “Yes for sure, take it all if you want”.. great stuff… except if we had taken it all I am sure No Problem would have sunk!…

We chucked as much on as we could lift and went on down the canal for a while then off loaded it and got to work with the chain saw and spliiting axe before storing it on the top of NP, this will for sure be the last load for us this year… says me hopefully!!… Surely spring is around the corner!

Having done all that it was onward to Gayton Junction for water etc, then to Blisworth to collect post from the Post Office… now here must be one of the most friendliest Post Offices on the system… my stuff from Screwfix arrived in a box measuring about 2ft 6ins by 1ft 9ins and was 6ins deep… big eh?  Well in that box was the sanding disks Vic wanted.. I couldn’t believe it… the sanding discs would have fitted in a ordinary A4 envelope!!.. The Postmistress was a gem.. “Ah leave all that cardboard with me, I will dispose of it”…super stuff..

I can’t wait for tomorrow at Stoke Bruerne… something a bit special is going to happen… but I have to go through a tunnel, Blisworth in the morning first… and hey for once I don’t mind, it sure is going to be worth it!

Neyther Heyford, that place nobody really knows about

Moored Nether Heyford, Grand Union Canal

Not many know that there is a butchers in Nether Heyford… Not mentioned in The First Mate Guide, maybe it should be.  OK it is a bit down the road from the bridge, but less that half mile I guess.  I went there for the first time last year, I had some books to return to the library and saw on the internet that the mobile library stopped close to the canal on that particular Tuesday we were passing.. and so I found out about Nether Heyford.  It also has a Post Office and a store as well as a hairdressers..  Not that I want my hair cut.. these days I wear it fairly long and just trim it when needed.. it used to be curly, but I had to pay a lot for curls..

The River Nene passes through this village, here it is as Lucy and I wandered over the local countryside.. well it was very low and slow flowing, I was quite surprised really as we have had quite a bit of rain in the last couple of weeks.. It is amazing to think that No Problem will be travelling down this river soon, and where she joins it from the canals isn’t that far away either!

There are a lot of hire boats out.. quite a few came by today.  Everyone was well wrapped up against the cold northerly wind, they looked as if they were enjoying their hols though.. The daffs have given up waiting for the warmer weather, and now most are out.. I saw bumble bees today, but really there are no wild flowers about at the moment… there are a few buttercups braving the un-springlike weather but that is about all.  I have not seen any butterflies.. Ah but I have seen a few spiders move into our narrowboat!!.. I often wonder where they go in the winter… I might let a few stay a while.. for sure they do a good job on those pesky mossies on the rivers. ..

I think we will move up a bit tomorrow..

Busy weekend then on to Nether Heyford..

Today – Brockhall (br21) to Nether Heyford, Grand Union Canal, 3.5 miles 0 locks
Weekend – Moored Brockhall (br21), Grand Union Canal

Saturday saw me out nearly all day walking over the countryside.  Quite a lot of time was taken up getting lost!! .  The farmers are not too keen on having ramblers over their fields in this area me thinks.  Footpath markers fallen on the ground or missing… heavily ploughed fields with no idea of which direction to cross them.. still, at least I have a gps to help me get back on track.  You have to be very careful at weekends not being on the correct paths.  There are lots of rough shooters after rabbits and pigeons… well anything that moves, and Lucy might be mistaken for a fox against the sunlight.. Not too much of a worry on Saturday though.. the only ‘shots’ I heard were from gas guns that farmers use to scare birds off the crops.. they scare me off them too!!

Sunday we welcomed daughter Jennie, hubby Phil and granddaughters Molly and Jessica… at last someone to clean my brasses!!

Above is young Molly getting stuck in…. and here Jessica’s effort shows nice shiney brasses for me…

With only a few hours to pack in as much fun as possible we managed to have a Sunday roast and walk along the canal.  The grandchildren cleaned the brasses, washed the boat and baked some cakes for tea before it was time for them to travel back… Vic and I collapsed into a heap totally exhausted!!

This morning saw us pull the pins to head off to Weedon to pick up some post… well the post wasn’t there.. It was some sanding discs from Screwfix, and they had arrived by courier and not by Royal Mail.  Although it did say on the packet Poste Restante, to be collected by me, the Post Office decided not to accept them because they didn’t know who I was.. no harm, I phoned Screwfix and they are going to send them to another Post Office who has agreed to hold on to them until I get there.

We have continued on to Nether Heyford this evening, probably will stay here for a day or so because we are going on to Stoke Bruerne this week.. there is a good reason for that, which I will reveal on Friday… but it does mean going through another tunnel… will be worth it though