Wednesday 17 th July 2019 We kept an eye on the boats moored on the decent moorings and, as soon as one of them moved on, we shot down and claimed the spot. We were both really disappointed last night not to have a BBQ. We have only had one this whole year because we have either been on mooring were, for one reason or another, we didn’t feel we could light a BBQ, or in the middle of a town. So today, we had elected to stay on these moorings in readiness for the big event this evening. The day was largely spent chatting with Tony and Jan and Mr. Interestingly Boring behind us. We were quite disappointed when Tony and Jan moved off in the afternoon, this also left us at the mercy of the guy behind, he was a hard one to dodge. All too typically, seemingly after weeks of back to back sunshine, it came on to rain when we were looking at BBQ’ing. It was just light showers however, and we managed to work around them and have the Barbie regardless, but ate inside. Wea...
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Monday 15 th July 2019 The early part of the morning was taken up shopping for an afternoon tea for Mark and Jan who, after their weekend of singing in Bath Abbey, joined us at 10:30. After a drink in the pub in whose car park they left their car, we adjourned to the boat. We had a lovely lunch, and much chat, before they left at 5pm. As always, we are grateful when people make the effort to come out and see us. We spent an interesting evening talking with the guy off what we consider the tinky boat behind us, and his kids, and were given a good insight into what would be considered their “alternative” lifestyle. We had previously helped them to moor up, passed the time of day with them and bought the kids some sweets in the morning. Dad is a labourer and mum picks up menial work in the evenings. They live on a 1977 built, 45 foot, Springer boat that is in a neglected condition. The kids, an elder girl and two younger brothers, sleep in three-high bunk beds and are “ho...
Tuesday 16 th July 2019 We shopped in the nearby Sainsbury’s quite early and once back on the boat, did a wash before setting off. We passed through Bradford Lock and stopped at the service point above. Bradford Lock is an awkward one. To get to the lock from downstream, it is necessary to cross a busy road, similarly for retrieving crew after passing downhill. There are always many volunteer lock keepers here but they do not seem to hear a boats horn wanting to lockup. The area at the top of the lock is known as Bradford Top Wharf. With a lock, service point, a boatyard with a lot of hire boats and hordes of people, it is a busy place. When there are a few of the hire boats at the yard, they completely block what is supposed to be a winding hole. Naughty of them. There are also several canal-related buildings here including workshops, lock keeper’s cottage, stabling and a Canal Managers House. Bradford Top Wharf ...
Sunday 14 th July 2019 We went for a walk around Avoncliffe before a slow cruise covering the 1 ½ miles back into Bradford and were, yet again, lucky enough to find a place on the 48 hour moorings. Avoncliffe is a tiny, delightful place and a very popular stop for walkers and cyclists. Around the Cross Guns pub are a few cottages, all staggered towards the river bank and dominated by the Aqueduct. However, looking at signs from the past, it had once been a thriving small-scale industrial centre with water mills and factory mills concerned with the cloth industry. The up-market Avoncliffe Villa apartments bely their past as, first the Bradford Workhouse, then a convalescence hospital for injured First World War troops and later a hotel. Right our Bradford moorings, down a small embankment, is Barton Farm. The farm buildings are all Medieval and consist of a Manor House, a Granary, one of the best examples of a Tithe Barn and several other buildings. Today, the Tithe Barn ...
Saturday 13 th July 2019 We were moving just 2 miles today to get to Avoncliffe close to the railway station. We set off at 10am to time our arrival when the hire boats would be on the move and the moorings free. Passing down the straight before the aqueduct, two hire boats left their moorings together and the front one did not have any control over his boat at all and was swinging wildly from one bank to the other. We had to go into reverse with a lot of power on to avoid a collision. Getting past him was difficult and we then watched him hit two boats very hard before becoming stuck fast on the offside bank. While we do not complain much, Brenda did phone their hire base. At Avoncliffe, we were lucky enough to moor on the nice 48 hour moorings. We took the dog for a long walk across the aqueduct and then set off to catch the 16:14 train to Bath, leaving Harvey on the boat. The trip into Bath was via a change at Bradford-on-Avon, with 5 minutes to change trains. It...
Friday 12 th July 2019 We both had a broken night’s sleep and so were up ridiculously early. For a retired couple anyway. We quickly moved across the aqueduct to the service point, watered, dumped rubbish, emptied the loo and then moved back onto the mooring before another boat arrived. With the starboard side now against the bank, after breakfast we cleaned, waxed, polished and painted again. While it is very pleasing to have the boat clean on both sides simultaneously, already the side cleaned yesterday is dusty. It is also upsetting to see just how poorly the paintwork is ageing, with lots of micro-blistering that will have to be addressed. Not what you should expect from a boat that is just one-year-old. While waiting for the paint to dry, I walked across the aqueduct to Dundas Wharf. An interesting place. There is an old workshop, now used by CRT volunteers, a toll house, gauging lock and an Acramans Crane and stone weights used to gauge new boats. Whenever ...
Thursday 11 th July 2019 We walked into Bradford-on-Avon after breakfast. Just a quick visit but a delightful looking place that we will explore at a later date. We bought trout in the market for dinner and a rustic farmhouse loaf. Aaron left us at mid-day and, once back at the boat we made ready to leave, being conscious of how long we have been on these moorings. Although they are 48 hours, you are only entitled to 7 days in a month. Having said that, there are so many boats on this canal that never move or only move very short distances, poke a finger at CRT and their regulations and block up all the moorings, that you feel you would be warranted to overstay yourself or moor illegally, after all CRT can see that normally, we do move. This canal is well known for its ‘continuous moorers’, but seeing it for yourself is something else. These boats either have continuous cruiser licences, or in many cases, no licence at all. While many of the continuously moored boats a...