Monday 28 th January 2019 Aaron is coming out to visit us tomorrow so we had to move to get closer to a suitable meeting point, our water was becoming low anyway. We were almost reluctant to leave here. We have both thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet. There was ice on the canal so we held off leaving until 10:30 after a Clifton Cruisers boat had passed and broken the ice, thank you, and we had done a wash. The ice gradually thawed out as the day wore on. At Stretton Stop we passed through that stupid swing bridge again. It is really awkward approaching it from the Rugby direction as Rose Narrowboats have the majority of their hire fleet moored in the winding hole just before the bridge, so it is very difficult to get off the boat to open it. If ever anybody steals the bridge, I want to shake their hand. Beyond the bridge we watered up and picked up some wood laying in the side hedges. We continued on to Hawkesbury Junction, Sutton Stop, with nothing much of note...
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Sunday 27 th January 2019 We had decided to stay where we were and have a Sunday dinner after having said we would keep our traditional Sunday’s. Although the rain had stopped during the night, the wind was very strong anyway so we wouldn’t have been moving. The boat was rocking all day due to being buffeted by the high winds. Just like a North Sea’s winters gale. Almost felt seasick. I finished the dog’s poo trowel so it now has the same pattern as the rest of the roof top tools. Brenda cooked Sunday dinner. And we huddled down in front of the tv, listening to the wind, enjoying the stove and laughing at the number of people who have asked us if we are not cold on the boat in the winter.
Saturday 26 th January 2019 We went into Brinklow for a pub lunch after first walking through the village, a nice place with a nice feel to it. The main street, funnily enough named Broad Street, was very wide for a country village. There was a good mix of buildings of all types and ages. There were two pubs, one was advertised as being under new management but the other looked to be the better of the two. We were perhaps wrong. It would have been a good, friendly local but not for a meal. Fish, chips and mushy peas and pie, chips and mushy peas came to just £4.95 each but it was all out of the freezer and there were kids playing skittles which made too much noise when you were eating. We called into the second pub on the way back to the boat. The food looked better although much more expensive, the place had obviously been newly decorated but it w...
Friday 25 th January 2019 We clipped Harvey. He had needed clipping for a while now but it kept getting put off. He is a lot more co-operative with us clipping him now, but it is still a major operation that requires the two of us and a lot of cheesy treats. He does look good although he has been cut a bit short, very short in fact. He doesn’t like his face or backside being done and becomes stressed, so a shower for him can wait another day. We both dozed a bit early afternoon. We have both been having a lot of sleepless and broken nights lately. Brenda has been so down lately; I had bought her a box of chocolates to gorge on, so she was left with these and her kindle while I took the dog out for an explore of the area. From the canal guides, Brinklow sounds an interesting place. We went up to bridge 34 so see the bat boxes, these had intrigued me since first seeing them, and the rods and plates that hold the bridge together, eight altogether. Beyond the bridge the to...
Thursday 24 th January 2019 We had planned to move yesterday but there was ice on the canal. These moorings are safe enough despite being so close to housing. They would be ideal for exploring Rugby and it has been good being so close to shops, but we haven’t really felt comfortable here, a main road is quite close and there is traffic noise 24 hours per day. Today feels milder, the ice has all but disappeared although the towpath is still frozen. Brenda went for another visit to Homebase for more dehumidifiers, there are now six on board, the condensation drives Brenda mad and she is forever wiping up. Very disappointing this when you consider we paid out for double glazing throughout the boat to stop this. Once she was back we set off and had a slow cruise to Newbold-on-Avon where we took on water while washing the bedding and dumped rubbish. When we last visited the pub here about ten years ago on our shared-ownership boat it had a very good reputation for food. How...
Wednesday 23 rd January 2019 The snow had stuck overnight and, although we have not had as much as most of the country, it is a cold day but at least the muddy towpath has frozen over. We went for a walk to Rugby Wharf, an arm off the main canal, only to find the entrance was gated and locked. Then went to Homebase again and bought vents for the wardrobe doors and to Tesco’s to stock up. Back on the boat the vents were fitted to the doors. Hopefully that will aid with air circulation. Brenda meanwhile, went through the clothes in the wardrobe and under the bed and has had to dump quite a few due to them having mildewed. We have heard that Peter’s funeral is not for a few weeks yet. The time between any death and the funeral is hard.
Tuesday 22 nd January 2019 We went shopping on separate expeditions. I went first, spent loads of money on clothes but bought nothing. Brenda then went in the afternoon and got caught out in rain and snow, the first we have seen this winter. Typical that she is feeling so miserable and then gets caught out in weather like that. While she was out I did a few jobs, the shelf under the table, very useful, the rail in the saloon and fitted a shelf in the overhead locker in the bedroom. I have also been painting the extended trowel we use for dog poo and have managed to make a rope mat. I had always planned to play about with knots and rope work once we were on the boat. Weather: pleasant morning, snow in the afternoon.
Monday 21 st January 2019 We emptied the stove grate and swept the flue. It turned out to be a much easier job than we had anticipated. The heating was controlled on the thermostat and worked well. Our water capacity dictates when we have to move. It had now been a week since we watered at Braunston and the tank was getting low. So we left the mooring and slowly moved down Hillmorton Locks to the wharf where we emptied the toilet cassette, then moved across to dump rubbish, then pass through the final lock to the water point. All very time consuming. On the water point we did a wash but the water flow was so low, no more than a trickle, that it took ¾ hour to fill the tank. We then slowly cruised as far as Rugby where we moored up. We again visited a DIY store. We have a few more ideas around the boat. Another below-gunwhale rail, a shelf between the dinette seats below the table and a shelf for the bedroom overhead lockers. Back on the boat we awaited news of P...
Saturday, Sunday 19 th /20 th January 2019 We haven’t moved. Grieving. We haven’t done a great deal. A few walks down the locks and a visit to Hillmorton to the local shops. Hillmorton Arm is a busy place. All the old wharf buildings are occupied by small businesses and the arm itself, with its iconic crane, is full of boats and has a drydock. The locks have lines from a poem cut into the beams, one set of gates have “This door makes depth captive for a while” the other has” Working water climbs carefully down”. We have intended, all along, to only explore places when we do the whole length of that particular canal. However, Hillmorton is not worth the exploring and any boaters that do not venture into the town are not missing anything. The canal, wharf and church, with its vestry about to be demolished, are separated from the town by the high railway embankment through which passes a tall road bridge. The town appears to be an overspill for Rugby and is one huge...
Thursday 17 th January 2019 It had frozen overnight although the towpath had remained a sea of mud that immediately stuck to your boots. Taking the dog out first thing I found the towpath was much better closer to the locks so we moved about six boat lengths. The ropes were frozen solid and were like handling iron bars until I threw them in the canal to thaw them out. Other than that we remained where we were. Brenda stayed indoors resting to try and get over her virus. I finished off laying the tiles on the back deck. It was a very cold job but it looks so much better. Temperatures are expected to reach -5 ˚ tonight so the stove will be given a good test. Weather: clear but very cold, frost didn’t lift all day.
Wednesday 16 th January 2019 We left the morning early on a dull looking morning. Again, going over old ground, we didn’t see a single boat moving and yet this would be a very busy section of canal in the summer season. We saw our first snowdrops on the bank, a jay and a bullfinch and passed within 6 feet of an unconcerned looking squirrel sitting on the bank eating something held in its paws. We had intended going as far as Rugby to go shopping at Debenham’s, M&S etc in the retail park there. However, Brenda is still not feeling too good and probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it and it began to rain, so we moored just before Hillmorton locks and will save Rugby for another day. We both feel a day or so not moving will do us good. I was talking to a local guy and he said that the 6,000 homes being built along here was just the initial application and that the plan now is for a new town with its own infrastructure and approach roads from Rugby, Hillmorton and off the...
Tuesday 15 th January 2019 Brenda went, first thing to the local shop and butchers to pick up meat she had ordered and had vacuum packed. Meantime I went to the chandlers to see if they had a pole/plank holder of the same type. They didn’t but the woman was able to identify it, it is made by ProCast and is available on-line. I then visited Tradline again for rope to make wrap-around fenders but they didn’t have any of the correct type rope in stock. We then started the engine and did a wash before reversing to the marina entrance, winding and moving onto the water point. After watering-up we called into Midland Chandlers again. We discussed future projects for the boat and one is to floor tile the back deck. This will take 12 tiles and, at £6 per tile, it is not a cheap option. We have never been happy with the paint-work on the back deck. It was one of those jobs that was left at new-build until the boat was in the water and was painted, with its final coat, the day after....
Monday 14 th January 2019 After a leisurely start to the day we left the moorings at 10:30. Going over old ground we quickly came to Hillmorton Locks which were passed through in just over 30 minutes. All three locks were in our favour which makes for a quick passage. Having said that, today was a much longer day than we have become used to. The new road follows alongside the canal culminating in a huge embankment where the road joins the A428. There has been a lot of progress made here even since we were last here at the beginning of December. Passing beyond the M45 the canal takes a number of tight bends that we have to take slowly being so long and the bridge holes are narrow and some have tricky approach angles. Then suddenly the canal becomes straight and the bridge holes much wider. It is a strange contrast. Then from about 2 miles away Brauston church spire comes into view. We have spent so much time in Braunston and the people so friendly, we almost feel as ...
Sunday 13 th January 2018 It was an uncomfortable night with the wind buffeting the boat. The ropes were tied tightly because of being moored on a bend and the wind was causing the boat to lurch. There are probably moorings on the tow path side at Rugby for about 16 boats. Of these spaces there were just three obviously loved and cared for boats and one end and at the other there were about a dozen tinky boats looking as though they move together en-mass. Certainly we had never seen them before. All had flaking paint and rusty metalwork, broken, taped up windows and a multitude of crap piled high on their roofs and spilling out over the tow path. An eyesore and a disgrace and there probably isn’t a single licence between them. We had always planned, prior to moving onto the boat, that we would keep our traditional Sunday’s with a roast dinner, chat, tv and lounging about. So far we hadn’t been doing this and were both missing not doing so. Being determined to reinst...
Saturday 12 th January 2019 Brenda had a broken nights’ sleep and was in the saloon chair all night. I awoke at 6:45, got up and Brenda went to bed. Once the dog was fed and walked we left the moorings as soon as it was light enough, a grey, dull, drizzly morning. And so it remained all day with the drizzle occasionally becoming a light rain. We were now back-tracking over old ground towards Braunston again. This was the fourth time Bridge Street was going over this canal. One of the many short arms on the Oxford Canal created when the canal was straightened Bouys in the cha...
Thursday 10 th and Friday 11 th December 2019 Brenda had been feeling quite grotty with a virus that she thought she was over, but has come back on her, so we have remained at Hawkesbury Junction doing not a lot. Thursday morning was interesting watching Mark on the fuel boat “Callisto”, loading up at the wharf here. He started loading at 6am and, by the time he had finished the boat was down to her gunwhales. Although he loads bagged coal as opposed to loose, he still maintains a boat that provides him with a living purely off the canals. Much a scene from by gone days. Callisto ply’s her trade along the between Foxton Locks, the Oxford, Grand Union, Coventry and Ashby canals providing boats with diesel, gas, coal, logs and other essentials. And Mark is a really nice guy with it. We shopped at the local shop nearby for essentials, a rough neighbour thi...
Wednesday 9 th January 2019 We finally left the Ashby Canal today. We had spent 34 days travelling and exploring the 22 miles up, 22 miles down and of course the walk along the unrestored last 8 miles. We thoroughly enjoyed the canal although the lack of amenities was a challenge. We slowly cruised down the last mile of the canal and passed once more, onto the Coventry at Marston Junction and then on down to Hawkesbury Junction. Unusually, Brenda spent the whole time out on the back end enjoying the day, normally she would spend her time inside either cooking or cleaning, it made a nice change to have company. At Hawkesbury, we visited the long over-due sanitary station. There have been no rubbish disposal facilities since Sutton Wharf on 30 th December, 10 days ago. Once watered and de-rubbished we reversed to the junction and passed through the stop lock onto the Oxford Canal, the third canal of the day. It had been so long since we had operated a lock we coul...
Tuesday 8 th January 2019 We woke later than usual and, once breakfast was over, we both started jobs on the boat and had busy days. Washing was hung out and the bed changed. The bathroom had begun to smell of stale water so everything was emptied from the room and we checked for any leaks or water ingress. None could be found and we have put the smell down to the drains. We can’t really understand this though, as the drains are regularly cleaned. The back door yale lock plate was refitted. It looks much better and the door now closes more positively and does not rattle when locked. It was an awkward job made worse due to bad eyesight. Eventually we worked out how to do it without having to remove the sliding hatch by laying flat on the gate-leg coffee table. Would have looked bloody funny to anybody passing but it worked. The boat now, we feel, is much more secure. However, with three locks on there is...
Monday 7 th January 2019 We left Harvey on the boat and walked the 1 ½ miles into Hinckley. It is much quicker without him. We could have caught a bus but both felt like the walk. We called into a locksmith’s shop we had seen to have the back door yale lock reversed and buy a hasp and concealed padlock. We have never been fully comfortable with the security arrangements on the back door and were determined to improve on it. We called into the post office to pick up mail, including Christmas cards, and the chemist. Also bought a couple of plastic storage containers for the back end. I was getting fed up of bits cluttering the place which made it awkward to access the storage lockers. After walking back to the boat we had soup and sandwiches and then made ready to move. We had been in Hinckley for five nights. We called into the marina for water and to empty the loo. They charged us £2 for each. The water was down to less than ¼ tank and the loo almost full. We coul...