May 2013

I'm going to bury my head and pretend
it never happened

30th Move boat to the A5 bridge outside Chirk in readiness for Peter and Di arriving. We all went for a meal at the Poachers Inn to celebrate Peter finishing his degree! Afterwards we walked the Chirk aqueduct
and the tunnel.


29th Up early to turn the boat at a winding hole while the canal was quiet. When we opened the doors Benny rushed out and did a spectacular dive straight into the canal, expecting the towpath to be on the same side as when he went to bed.  Luckily he's a good swimmer, and was hauled out with no harm done, except to his dignity.

28th  Rain, rain, go away, come again another ...year.  Another cold wet day, so we returned to Chirk Castle to do the inside tour.  Had fun trying on chain mail and trying our hands at sword fighting.

Amazing facts

27th  Walked over aqueduct [Jean hyperventilating all the way]  We're waiting until  Sue, Dave,Peter and Di come at the weekend before taking the boat over.

Memorial to Froncysllte Lime kilns

 Interesting visitor centre, and several canal-side sculptures

26th  Jean back from enjoyable visit to Alex, Guillaume and Louis in France, feeling guilty because weather there was much better than in England

Louis enjoying the sunshine

22nd - 24th In common with the previous times Jean has gone away, the weather has been abysmal! Very cold, windy and wet. I didn't expect to still be chopping wood and emptying ashes every day by this time of the year.

21st A very early start! Up at 4.00am and left the boat by 4.30 to get Jean to East Midlands Airport by 6.30. Roger discovered that the motorway services didn't open till 8.00am so had to make the return journey still without breakfast!

20th Tried a swim in Chirk pool but it was small and crowded!

Chirk Castle

19th We visited Chirk castle, and excellent National Trust property dating back to the 14th C.

18th Jean left Chirk by train to pick up the car from Leamington. Roger swept chimney and re-sealed the broken collar on the wood burner's chimney.

Chirk Aqueduct(left) +Tunnel(right)

17th We arrived at Chirk and moored within 1/2 mile of the village centre. In the afternoon we walked across the Chirk aqueduct (scary enough but only half the height of the Pontcy....., big one and a quarter of its length!), and then through Chirk tunnel without a torch! Also quite scary! 

Dismantled railway bridge.  The train must
have gone over with one hell of a bump.... 

Blogging at Ellesmere!

16th. After a brief shopping expedition we moved on from Ellesmere to New Marton, just a few miles short of Chirk. The canal has been very shallow in places and we have been stuck on the mud several times

15th Torrential rain all night and into the morning. eventually we moved round into the Ellesmere arm in an effort to get an internet signal. Still poor so we ended up sitting at a picnic table with the umbrella and the laptop. Still we count ourselves lucky with the weather as they have had snow in Devon!

14th We finished making, and hung the front door fly screen in readiness for those long hot days of summer. Made use of library computers again and then had a meal at the Black Lion

Blake Mere

13^thStill very wintry but a bit changeable today. Explored the Prees branch which terminates in a Marina and a nature reserve along an un-navigable section of canal. Passed several beautiful meres and moored for the night at Ellesmere.

12^thMoved on from nice sheltered mooring and stopped at the Marina to purchase paint, gas bottle etc. and then moved to Whixall ‘raised bog’. Not overly exciting except to naturalists!  Cold and wet day!

Staircase near Whitchurch

Chemistry at ~Whitchurch

10^th Moved on with astonishing speed and ease now that prop and rudder are fixed. Met up with a chap on a raft doing a ‘charity trip’ collecting for MacMillan nurses. The staircase locks were a doddle as a C&RT man operated them for us. Moored on the Whitchurch arm, walked to Marina to settle our repair bill.


9^th A rainy morning so not too upset at being stuck. The repair man announced his arrival at 9.0 o’clock with some loud clanging and banging noises as he tried to ‘free’ the rudder. He diagnosed that the rudder had come out of it’s lower mounting socket, and hopefully he’s now put it right!? He took no payment but asked us to settle up at the Marina as we pass through. We, amazingly, had a good internet signal on the phone here, in the middle of nowhere! So we spent the rest of a very wet and windy day uploading blog photos.

This chap hasn't quite got the idea of boating.

8^th A grey and damp start but, undaunted, we set off to Marbury lock. We tied up and walked half a mile into the village. Here was another beautiful old church overlooking a ‘mere’, some interesting looking gargoyles, and a tower leaning 25” from the vertical!! Carried on through a further couple of locks with the tiller becoming steadily more difficult to operate and the boat going slower and slower. We stopped for lunch above Willeymore lock and Roger investigated beneath the weed hatch (1^st time since leaving Warwick)We unwound the remains of a purple scarf, red dress, some tights and several plastic bags!! Unfortunately this did not free the tiller which seized completely as soon as we set off again. We called Whitchurch Marina for help.

Abracadabra .....

....Hey Presto!!

7^th Still improbably good weather considering it’s a bank holiday. Roger decided to clear the blocked sink waste, a ‘ten minute’ job which took up 2 smelly, disgusting hours and was a plumbing nightmare! We walked into the village and discovered the 15thC church which had a special pew for the ‘dog whipper’. His job apparently was to chase away the farmer’s dogs and keep dozing parishioners awake! We had an evening meal at the Cotton Arms

6^th Bank holiday. We moved on through 2 Swanley locks and 3 Baddiley locks. We managed to get the boat jammed quite solidly against the side weir at Swanley top lock and had to be rescued by another boat! We eventually moored at Wrenburyafter negotiating a tricky lift bridge on a busy country road. It has been a beautiful sunny day.

Jean in Blogging mode!

5^th A rest day although we were up early thanks to Benny. Typed some of this blog onto a ‘word’ document ready to transfer. We then removed our Perspex secondary glazing sheets from the windows, in preparation for the summer!

4^th Visited Nantwich museum which featured an exhibition of cheese-making!  Then with the tension mounting we made our way toward the Llangollen canal. We were apprehensive because we had been advised that the boat may be too wide for the first lock! Thoughts of being stuck in it for a day or so whilst holding up a hundred or so other holiday makers were worrying to say the least! Then, YES we are through and we know we can experience this fantastic canal and the amazing aqueduct whose name we cannot pronounce (Pontcysyllte).  We moored between bridges 3 and 4

3^rd Jean went for a swim in Nantwich, while Roger did various chores in Leamington before catching the train back to the boat.

2^nd Roger drove the Rio back to Leamington and included a visit to Jenny’s and later stayed overnight at Peter’s. Jean did ‘Historical’ walk around Nantwich.

1^st After catching up with various chores we walked into Nantwich which is a lovely old town, based originally on the production of salt from local brine springs.

April 2013

1^st More work on the bathroom and some alterations to the plumbing in the airing cupboard.

2^nd Both of us to York where Roger helped David with clearing some space in the garage in order to store much of the campervan equipment in there until the next campervan project is underway.

3^rd Roger drove the Focus back despite the dodgy brakes, and Enzo fitted new pads in the afternoon.

4^th Finished the bathroom!

5^th Mammoth launderette wash followed by moving the boat to the Navigation Pub at Lapworth where we treated ourselves to a well earned meal.

6^th Moved up 6 locks to moor at the Boot Inn

7^th Jean to Lapworth Church. Roger going down with a cold. More fiddling with the plumbing to try to get hot water from the wood burner. Had a walk in the afternoon. Lovely mild and sunny day.

9^th Well, we’re finally off on our ‘cruise proper’. We’ve officially declared that winter is over! Roger drove to Leamington to park the car and returned on the train. Set off at 2.00pm and did 13 locks and a lift bridge. Moored near Hockley Heath.

10^th Decided to give the (as yet unused) folding bike a bit of a treat and oil some of its bits and pieces! Benny caught a mouse which finally escaped by jumping in to the canal! It swam across and back again, and was eventually rescued by Jean with the fishing net. Moved another few miles in the afternoon and moored at Lady Lane wharf.

11^th     Set off at 8.30 to get through the guillotine lock at Norton Junction before any of the local hooligans were awake. The lock has recently been refurbished at huge cost but has already  been ‘graffiti’d’.

Guillotine Lock

 
We reached Gas St basin in Birmingham at midday and had a short break before finally setting off into ‘new’ territory for us. We went round the ‘Soho Loop’ before following the Main line rather than meandering along Brindley’s Old Main line. We reached the Black Country Museum by tea time and were able to moor there.

Mooring outside Black Country Museum

12th Woke to intermittent rain but, undeterred, we visited the museum. We've been twice before but there are always plenty of fascinating things to look at and their fish and chips cooked in beef dripping are delicious. 

13^th After a slow start we headed off along the Wolverhampton Level. It was slightly less grim than we had expected but the canal and surrounding banks were littered with rubbish and a couple of youngsters threw a handful of stones at us. We moored right in Wolverhampton town centre on a Saturday night!

Wolverhampton

That’s planning for you! Tied up on the non-towpath side in case of trouble from revellers leaving the nearby nightclub and pubs. Had a fairly restless night due to sirens, shouting, revving engines and worry!

14^th We had set the alarm for 7.00am to have an early start down the 21 locks. About to enter the top lock at 8.00 but came to an abrupt halt as the pound below the lock was completely devoid of water! In spite of it being a Sunday the CRT men responded quickly to our emergency call and arrived by 9.00am.

But don't expect water....

At this point we discovered that the whole flight had been emptied by vandals overnight and we were to be stuck there till 2.30pm! Very, very frustrating after our sleepless night and early start. After various difficulties on the flight we finally made it through to the peace and tranquillity of the Shropshire Union canal.

Well worn rubbing strip on a Shroppie bridge

15^th After a 10 hour sleep we awoke to a lovely peaceful view of fields and geese. 
We moved on just 3 miles to Brewood (pronounced ‘Brood’). Walked in to see the very pleasant rural town. Jean dropped phone in a bucket of water!

Brewood

A fine drying day

16^th Had a walk along the towpath to Avenue Bridge, a splendid balustraded structure which carried an avenue over the canal to Chillington Hall.

Avenue Bridge

17^th Stocked up on groceries before moving on across a short aqueduct over the A5 to Wheaton Aston.

A5 aqueduct

 Stocked up with diesel at an old fashioned garage / workshop at the canal side. Then sailed on to Gnosall.

18^th Survived a very windy night without anything too major falling on the boat and Benny didn’t wake us till 9.30.Carried on to Norbury Junction, where we bought a few bits at the Chandlery and had a look around. Passed under 'High Bridge', which has a built-in telegraph pole, and stopped to walk to Loynton Moss - a floating bog!

High Bridge

Norbury Junction

Loynton Moss

19^th Windy and cold but at least sunny. Carried on through Woodseaves Cutting – a mile through solid rock!

Woodseaves Cutting 

Went down through Tyrley locks which caused us a few headaches! Heavy, difficult gates and strong currents from the cunningly positioned side weirs! Still we battled through and arrived at Market Drayton.

Tudor Hotel, Market Drayton

20^th Walked into town to find some splendid old buildings but sadly so many shops and pubs closed down.

21^st Unsuccessful in finding a pub for Sunday lunch in town as so many have closed, so went back to the Talbot at canalside.

22^nd Early start today and en route by 9am. Reached Audlem locks and went down through 11 of them. Still very chilly.

You've guessed it - Audlem Mill

23^rd Walked around Audlem. Magnificent 15^th Century church in the centre. First time since early October we didn’t light the fire in the evening! Has Spring finally arrived?

Shroppie Fly pub,Audlem Wharf

Audlem church and buttery

24^th Up and away at 9.30 down the remaining 4 Audlem locks and then . an hour’s cruise to Hack Green’s 2 locks. At the top is a sign for the ‘Secret Bunker’ museum.

Information board at Hack Green Locks

Shop in former canal linesman's hut
Audlem bottom lock

25^th A cloudy and chilly day although there are some signs of spring. We walked half a mile to view the luxurious cattery where Benny will spend five nights. We then had a brief look around Nantwich

Nantwich viaduct

26^th Cattery lady came to collect Benny at 9.30 and we then walked to the railway station to catch our train back to Leamington, via Crewe and Birmingham.

Betty's tearooms at Harrogate

Drove to York, and after spending time with David, Lizzie+ James, and Robert over the next couple of days we moved on for a very enjoyable short hotel break in Harrogate, a beautiful old spa town. It was nice to make the most of unlimited baths, showers etc!

Horse sculpture, Nantwich basin.

30^th We returned to Nantwich and picked up a rather reluctant Benny. He seemed to have grown accustomed to his heated sleeping accommodation and was unenthusiastic at seeing us again!

March 2013

Friday 1^st Met Barbara, Jill and Andrew initially in the Talbot but soon in the New Inn due to rather loud live band in the Talbot making talking impossible.

2^nd Benny (who we have come to rely on as an alarm clock) failed to wake us until 10.15!! After a large ‘Brunch’ Roger started work on the bathroom alterations. Barbara came for a cuppa in the afternoon.

3^rd Roger working on the bathroom in the morning and then visited by Ann D (midwife) and her partner Lisa and their twins Eleanor and Teddy.

6^th Bought gas and coal from a passing fuel boat. Then took campervan for its MoT (after some starting problems).

7^th Jean having some major work on her teeth!

Evening at the top of Hatton Flight

8^th Drink in the evening at the Hatton Arms with Jill, Andrew, Karen and Roger P

9^th Jean to York and Roger working on the bathroom.

11^th Snow overnight and bitterly cold. Went to Hatton Locks café for full English breakfast.

12^th Jean drove the car to Lapworth and then caught train back to Lapworth station where Roger arrived in the boat  to pick her up. Continued on to Lapworth through Shrewley tunnel where there were giant icicles hanging from the portals. Moored on the link between Stratford and Grand Union canals.

13^th At 11.30 pm we discovered that Benny was stranded on another boat on the other side of the canal! Had to go and ‘rescue’ him in extremely icy conditions!

Benny chilling out after his adventure!

14^th Jean has more serious work on her teeth!

15^th Advertised the campervan on Ebay and then went to Fenny Compton and meet up with Jenny, Rich, Joseph and Samuel for a meal. Joseph then returned with us to the boat for his second night aboard!

16^th Joseph up and about at 6.30 prompt! Rather wet morning so stayed aboard and made Welsh cakes which were burnt but tasty! Bach choir rehearsal in the afternoon which Roger and Joseph dropped in to, and were later joined by Jenny, Rich and Sam.

17^th Andrew Davidson joined us for  a casserole lunch, cooked on top of the wood burner!

Double whammy - using the stove for cooking

After he left we moved the car and the boat to the Black Boy at Knowle. We finally had enough internet signal to place the Ebay ad for the campervan.

18^th More work on the shower; Jean painting and varnishing

19^th March Jean to the dentist for root canal filling! Started tiling the new bathroom panel and discovered new tiles are a fraction smaller than the existing ones. Tricky!!

20^th Tiling today. Excited to find the campervan has already reached its reserve price!

21^st Final fiddly tiling with Roger outside in a ‘Siberian’ wind cutting tiles with the angle grinder. Then over to the campervan to empty its remaining contents into the Kia (Filled to the roof!)

22^nd Awoke to find more snow! Drove Jean to Leamington station to catch train to visit Jenny D in the New Forest. Tony came to visit the boat in the afternoon.

Will winter never end?

23^rd Stocking up on coal and diesel, and more wood logging.

24^th Jean still in the New Forest. Peter over for lunch with Roger at the Black Boy. The campervan sold for £2,150.  Amazing!

They don't build them like that any more!

25^th Jean returned to find there was still thick snow lying on the fields all around us! Spring is a long time coming!

26^th Jean grouting the shower cubicle while Roger chopped wood. Then we had a walk along to Knowle locks.

27^th Clear remainder of campervan equipment in readiness for sale. Jean to the dentist for (thankfully) final session of this treatment.

28^th Jean to York for Easter egg delivery. Plan to return in the Focus was thwarted as the brakes were making a rather alarming noise.

29^th Jenny, Rich, Joseph and Sam along for lunch and a short boat trip up to Knowle locks to fill up with water.

31^st Easter Day.Both of us to church at Radford Rd and then on to Radford Semele for the campervan handover!!  Despite our misgivings the buyer arrived complete with all the cash in £20 notes.

September 2012 to February 2013

February 2013

5^th Drove to Stockton to take Helen to the launderette as their new generator has blown up their washing machine! Later moved Vincent Joseph up two locks to the Cape of Good Hope pub in Warwick.

7^th Coal from Mark’s working boat. Later joined by rather unpleasant boating neighbour (permanently drunk, swearing and asking to borrow money).

8^th Moved a few hundred yards along the canal. Joined by Jenny D who has come to stay for the weekend.

9^th Jean and Jenny at choral workshop today and we met up with some ‘Red House’ pals in the evening at the ‘Cape’

10^th Jenny D left and we had lunch at the ‘Cape’. It was snowing by the evening.

11^th More snow overnight and towpath was under water in places.

12^th Jill and Andrew & the dogs came to visit in ‘Knot so Fast’. Pancakes for supper. as it’s Pancake Day!

13^th Snowing but not settling too much.

14^th Visit to the Saltisford Canal Centre to arrange to leave the boat while we are away next week.

15^th Roger doing some minor electrical alterations.

16^th Jean to York.

18^th Roger made a small folding shelf by Jean’s chair to hold cup of tea – or glass of wine...

19^th Lovely sunny day! Roger went for drink with Darren in the evening.

20^th Early start to move the boat round to the Saltisford, unload Benny via the portable cat basket, turn the boat and reverse into our mooring spot. Then Benny off to the cattery and us off to York to see Alex, Guillaume and Louis at David’s.

Auntie Alex doing Lizzie`s hair

James

22^nd Returned to Warwick via East Midlands airport to drop off A,G &L. Picked up a reluctant Benny (who was enjoying his heated bedroom!) and got back to find the Saltisford all locked up! The gates required a BW key to unlock them but unfortunately our BW key was on the boat! Finally gained entry thanks to a kind resident, but the boat was very, very icy. Minus 4 degrees C outside and only plus 2 inside.

Sue really loves the Hatton flight

23^rd Sue E joined us yet again for another heroic assault on Hatton locks. Also joined by Guy B who did a few locks and ate lunch! We did the final few in light snow.

24^th Sunday lunch at the ‘Cape’ with Peter and Di. Another bitterly cold day.

26^th To Cheltenham for Marie’s funeral. Very nice lunch afterwards with Sue and Martin. Roger received a beautiful old leather trunk which had belonged to Marie, along with some other interesting items and documents.

January 2013

1^st Walked via a disused railway line, over a field and climbed a fence, to see the Long Itchington model Village. Built in early 1900’s to house workers at the cement plant.

2^nd Moved down through Bascote locks to Welsh Road

3^rd Modified solar panel fixing to make it rotate. Local gamekeeper warned us that cars and boats have been vandalised in this area so we plan to move on soon. Denise and Rick came to visit.

4^th Towpath in extremely poor state after all the rain. We moved down to the Fosse Way and had an altercation with one of the permanent moorers! Ended up right by the busy road. There are a lot of ‘mystery numbered boxes’ fixed to the trees along the towpath. For dormice / voles??

5^th Collected Joseph from home and took him to Coventry to see the Dinosaur Exhibition at Herbert Museum. It was excellent! We then returned to the boat and J stopped overnight. He slept in our bed and we made up the dinette.

An early morning start!

6^th Jenny collected Joseph at 10.00 after a sausage and egg breakfast. Caroline and Nick came over in the afternoon and we all walked down to Radford lock and back.

7^th Went in to Leamington library to use the computers

8^th Filled up with diesel and water and bought new gas cylinder before moving on to Radford.

11^th Roger took boat in to Leamington to the ‘Moorings’ pub and Jean brought the car along. Had a drink with the ‘Red House’ gang.

Anne's ?? birthday bash

12^th To Bristol for Ann B’s birthday party. Had to call AA out to start the car first! Stayed overnight at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Roger with Marie

13^th We took advantage of a ‘proper’ shower before having a walk along the waterfront for an hour in lovely sunshine. Returned via Cheltenham and called in to see Marie. The boat (and Benny) was icy cold on our return and it took the whole evening to warm up.


14^th Jean off to Leeds and York by train before flying from Manchester to Nantes to see Alex and Co.

15^th Roger moved the boat up to opposite Kate Boats and was snowed in from the 16^th onwards. Joined by new ‘neighbours’, Mike and Helen in ‘Firefly’.

I can't believe Jean has gone to France and left  me!

A rather icy canal.

21^st Jean returned from France but Roger’s visit to Cropredy cancelled due to snow.

22^nd Jean walked in to Warwick for a swim while Roger sawed and chopped some more firewood.

I knew I'd left the car somewhere!

24^th Roger drove to Tony’s for a chat and then we visited Mike and Helen in the evening, aboard Firefly for drinks. They have lived aboard for a number of years, including a spell on European waterways, so very interesting to pick their brains about numerous things!

25^th Met up with the Red House gang in the Talbot.

26^th Turned boat around to face back towards Leamington today and then had Mike and Helen for a return drink.

27^th Moved boat to moorings by Lidl in preparation for a big ‘stock up’ of food and drink!

A hungry visitor

29^th Drive to Long Itchington, bought coal and then went to see Denise and Rick who had some excellent firewood for us!

30^th Sandra called in to see us on her way to shop. Jean went to the launderette as a special birthday treat! Then for a buffet lunch at the ‘Five Rivers’ in Leamington.

31^st Jean drove to York / Leeds and Mike carried out an engine service on Vincent Joseph whilst also instructing Roger ready for next time. 5 months living aboard completed!

December 2012

2^nd Temperature of minus 2 when we awoke, and not much warmer inside. Lunch at a pub in Stockton. Jean went to Dream of Gerontius at Warwick University. We have now decided to turn the boat and go and spend some time in Braunston. We spent an unsuccessful hour trying to turn in Kate Boats’ entrance but there were too many moored boats.

3^rd We discovered we could turn if we went down just the top lock so we’re now pointing the right way for Braunston.

Working boats at Braunston

4^th Set off in pleasant winter sunshine but nevertheless we were pretty chilled on arrival opposite the Boathouse pub.

The geese are taking over!!

5^th We awoke to SNOW and a FROZEN canal! Now we know we’re doing a winter on a boat! Roger and Karen came over for a meal with us at the Boathouse. Jean hitched a lift back to Stockton with them to pick up the car.

6^th Ice on the inside of the windows this morning despite the fire still having some warmth. We finally managed to make use of Skype and were able to call Alex in France by way of a Birmingham number? Amazing! We then had to brave the icy conditions and take the boat up to the water tap. The towpath was treacherous where the tap had leaked and then frozen

Who'd have thought that getting tap water
 would be quite so hazardous?

8^th Sunny but cold, with ice on the canal. Walked into Braunston village and bought some local sausages from their Christmas market. Walked down past the Admiral Nelson which has re-opened, and then along the towpath back to the boat. Dinner at Andrew D’s this evening.

10^th We both went to Cropredy to take the boys swimming.

11^th Both back to Cropredy to take Sam on a little outing of his own. We went to Radford Road Church’s Nativity Exhibition. Freezing fog persisted all day.

12^th Jean on long, involved Christmas shopping expedition while Roger met up with an ‘Engine’ man to investigate why battery charging is so poor.

13^th Still bitterly cold and life revolves around sawing / chopping wood and huddling round the fire! Forced ourselves out for a walk round to Midland Chandlers.

14^th Trip in to Leamington for weekly launderette visit and Roger went off to Torrys to order Perspex for our secondary glazing! We have decided to get panels cut for each window throughout the boat and make some simple clips to hold them in place. Stopped off at the campervan in Radford to pick up some additional wood for the fire.

Concert poster to tempt the boating community

15^th Jean off to Bach Choir concert followed by a drink at the Talbot and a sleepover at Sue’s. Roger stayed and began fixing the secondary glazing in place.

Peter and Di join us for mincepies

16^th Peter and Di over to Braunston for lunch at the Boathouse, followed by tea and mince pies at the boat. Peter brought over a load of wood which he had been storing for us in his garage.

17^th Boat is now decorated for Christmas with mini tree, tinsel, ivy and fairy lights! Presents are mostly wrapped.

Mother Christmas!

18^th Simon the engine man, arrived to work on the battery charging system, while Jean drove to Dunchurch, parked the car and returned on the bus. Set off at 12ish well wrapped up and had soup and sandwich lunch en route. Pressed on to the top of Stockton locks.

Spiderman visits Dunchurch!

19^th Roger to Dunchurch by bus to collect car. Left it at the bottom of Stockton and walked up the flight to the boat. Moved the boat down to the Blue Lias pub. Jean to Leamington Spa in the evening for carol singing.

20^th The Coventry Skype number is working well for speaking to Alex! We ordered the remaining Perspex sheeting from Torrys for the secondary glazing.

The Blue Lias at Christmas

21^st Worked out how to record from the TV to a memory stick / hard drive! Major breakthrough! Jean iced the Christmas cake and then we had a drink in the Blue Lias, every inch of which is covered in Christmas lights / decorations. Quite spectacular!

22^nd Jill’s for Christmas party. Then back to the boat for ‘Strictly’ final! How sad!

23^rd Jean to Radford Road for carol service and later to Burton Dassett for their candle lit service. Peter over to visit at the boat. Some serious flooding problems all over the country after recent downpours. The road to the Blue Lias is a lake.

We know how to enjoy life!

Christmas Eve. We moved down the locks today in a downpour! Dressed in all our best waterproof gear. Towpath is one long, deep stream! We walked straight back up the flight to collect the car and then took the ‘loo’ to empty it at Napton. Unfortunately a stream had burst its banks and the road was several inches deep in water, so we had to abandon the car and carry the loo!




Christmas Day. We both went to the Radford Road service and then back to the boat to cook the turkey, ‘pigs in blankets’, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, sprouts with gravy and cranberry sauce!! Not bad for a meal on a boat!

Trying out the Christmas Jumper!

A Christmas feast.

Boxing Day. Off to Cropredy for Joseph’s birthday bash (6).

28^th We drove up to David’s in more rain, for another ‘Christmas lunch’

30^th Pick Joseph up for ‘Snow White’ panto at Spa Centre Leamington

31^st Saw the New Year in by watching a DVD!

The end of another very enjoyable month of living aboard.

November 2012

3^rd We had a meal at the Wharf Inn with Jenny and Rich, Joseph and Samuel. We then went by car to the Cropredy bonfire in absolutely torrential rain!

Sunday 4^th Had a walk around the nearby village of Wormleighton using a leaflet guide.

5^th Made use of Wharf Inn launderette probably for the last time as we’re moving on this week. Roger swimming with the boys this afternoon.

6^th Various bits of business today before driving to Napton to leave the car and doing a complicated return journey to the boat by means of 2 buses.

7^th Sue joined us by bus from Leamington and we set off to cruise to Napton. We needed to descend Napton flight before repairs begin next week.

8^th Early start to move through last of the locks, and then had a bit of a wait for a mooring space to become free. Eventually we got a good spot not too far from the pub and car parking etc. Went in to Southam in the afternoon to use the library computers as we have no signal at Napton!

9^th Roger did some paperwork on the computer and Jean hand sewed tiebacks and handles on porthole covers. In the afternoon we walked along to the Boat pub to check out moorings and we found Andrew B aboard Knot So Fast, doing jobs while Bandit and Shadow ( Border Collies) tore up and down the towpath. Drink at the Folly in the evening

Twilight on the cut.

10^th We moved a couple of spaces along the towpath to avoid a noisy, engine running neighbour. Benny was completely confused by this and kept returning to our original spot. Jean ‘bussed’ in to Leamington for Bach Choir rehearsal and Roger drove in for the concert later on. Drink in the Talbot later with Barbara, Roger and Karen.

11^th Very heavy frost this morning. Lots of old working boats leaving Napton this morning after attending a rally at the pub the night before. Got some free advice regarding our Sterling 240v alternator. Bought some coal off the ‘working’ boat moored next to us (To be known in future as ‘Mark the Coal’). David 9down visiting a friend in Leicester)  drove over to bring the new solar panels we had ordered through Amazon.

12^th Lazy morning. Roger to Cropredy in the afternoon and Jean walked around Napton.

Confused ducks - the water`s gone hard

13^th Southam library again to use the internet. Jean attacked portholes with Brasso, with very limited success.

14^th November. Start work on mounting the new solar panels.

16^th Jean has been smitten by a cold.

Sunday 18^th Jean still feeling poorly but we managed lunch at the Folly Pie. We walked along very muddy towpath to check out moorings at the Boat pub again, as we need to move on. Roger now going down with cold!

19^th Both feeling poorly today.

20^th. We moved round to the Boat Inn and walked back to collect the car. We are having a prolonged spell of wet weather at the moment. Had a drink in the pub in the evening.

21^st Wet weather continues; the towpath is awash, and canal level noticeably higher.

Solar panel has arrived but where's the sun?

22^nd Dry today but windy. Our nice new solar panel blew off the roof! Fortunately on the towpath side. Started constructing a frame to hold them.

23^rd Jean off to Leeds / York while Roger stayed and chopped wood and socialised in the pub!

24^th ‘Red House’ gang gathered for a drink at the Boat.

Monday 26^th. Roger to Cropredy. Jill dropped in for a cuppa at the boat.

27^th Very early start! 7.15am. We drove to the Boat Inn at Stockton locks, left the car, bus to Southam. Then internet at library and back to the Boat at Napton by bus. Then moved boat to Stockton after filling water tank at Calcutt. Phew!! Benny has rushed out to explore.

30^th Work on fitting rotating solar panel platform made from recycled office swivel chair.

And that completes our third month of living aboard!

October 2012

2^nd  and 3^rd . We moved the boat down through Claydon locks and then on into Cropredy where we moored just above the lock.

4^th . We took Jenny and Rich, Joseph and Samuel, and friends Maria and Josh down the lock and a gentle cruise through Cropredy.

5^th We progressed to Banbury. In the evening we went to a ‘spooky’ comedy held in Tooley’s boat yard dry dock (drained). The play was performed by Daystar Theatre, a husband and wife team who played 3 parts each!

Samuel and Joseph at Banbury Canal Day

7^th Banbury Canal Day. There was a huge number of market stalls mostly selling a wide variety of food, and one selling boat bits and pieces. In the afternoon we met up with Jenny and Rich, Joseph and Samuel. We included a trip on a horse drawn cart and a falconry display. Then back for tea on the boat.

8^th Roger enjoyed the weekly swim with the boys and then went on to Coventry and stayed overnight with Peter. Jean remained on the boat alone!

9^th & 10^th We moved on to Lower Heyford. Made some bread and picked blackberries for a crumble! Excellent.  Jean managed to get to choir rehearsal and back by train including a walk along a very dark towpath.

12^th We moved to Thrupp and Benny brought his first live mouse back

13^th Had a trip into Oxford by bus for supplies.

14^th Moved the boat into Oxford a mile or so from the centre. Jill B came to visit.

15^th Moved down to the centre and very briefly joined the Thames via a lock, in order to turn the boat around. We then both went by train and bus to Cropredy and had supper at Jenny’s. We returned by train and had a long, dark walk along the towpath carrying half a tree for firewood!

Beautiful Oxford Canal

16^th & 17^th Moved up to Tackley. Chain sawed our latest timber acquisition and then on to Lower Heyford again where Jean was able to catch the train for another choir rehearsal.

Somerton Deep Lock

18^th We cruised back to Aynho Wharf and were visited by Pernilla, Hans and Nisse.

This looks interesting!

19^th Walked up very busy main road into Aynho village and then took the boat back up to Banbury, buying some excellent sausages from a canal side farm shop.

Jean chatting to Aynho resident!

20^th We pressed on to Cropredy and were joined at Bourton lock by Jenny and Rich and the boys. After mooring up near the Cropredy lock we again returned to Jenny’s for our tea.

21^st October Jean visited Cropredy church and in the afternoon we walked along the track to Prescote Manor.

Monday 22^nd Roger  went to see the boys and Benny had his 2^nd unexpected ‘ducking’! Fortunately Jean was on hand to pull him out.

Benny trying to dry off!

23^rd We navigated up through Claydon locks. We then pumped out many gallons of water from the bilges beneath the bed!  A leaking shower waste?  We hope that is all it is! Benny seems unfazed by yesterdays soaking.

A meal at the Wharf Inn

24^th Back to the Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton. Jean to Leamington on the bus to choir practice, picking up the car for her return journey.

2CV Rally at the Wharf Inn 

25^th Caroline visited us for lunch.

28^th David, Lizzie and James came for lunch and to pick up Jean en route to Sidmouth in Devon.

29^th & 30^th Jean is in Devon and Roger is stocking up with diesel, coal and wood.

August and September 2012

28^th August. Although we thought we were prepared the final moving day was a very, very full day!

The final trip made at 6.30pm with both cars packed to the roofs.

Between August 28^th and Sept 3^rd we remained at Cape of Good Hope in Warwick while Jean completed her midwifery career!

Benny has been adapting to his new environment , including exploring outside on his lead.

Becoming a little more adventurous!

4^th September we moved to moor opposite Kate Boats in Warwick. Benny made a break for freedom and disappeared into the undergrowth, but fortunately returned after an hour or so.

5^th September was Jean’s final working day

6^th September was Jeans farewell curry night with her colleagues from work and she returned to the boat in the dark, laden with flowers and presents.

A lady of leisure!

A drunken midwife!

7^th September we moved to the Moorings pub and had a drink and boat viewing session with the Red House crowd.

8^th September we moved to Long Itchington and found a quiet rural mooring. Benny went out to explore and promptly fell in! He managed to extract himself but was very wet and very cross in equal measure.

Long Itchington

9^th September Peter joined us for tea.
10^th September Benny was taken off to a cattery in readiness for our trip to France. Robert came down to join us by coach from Leeds, slept on the boat and we then set off on the Tuesday morning for our visit to Alex, Guillaume and Louis.

Alex and Louis

18^th September we returned to the boat having collected Benny en route. He seemed delighted to be back ‘home’.

21^st September still at Long Itchington and having some technical problems in trying to keep the batteries charged up.

22^nd September we moved to the top of Stockton flight in lovely warm sunshine. We took the batteries to Enzo in Leamington to charge and test them.

25^th September Jean took the boat from Stockton to Calcutt on her own while I went round by car. We then swapped roles and got both car and boat to the Folly pub in Napton

27^th September cruised up the Napton flight to Marston Doles.

28^th September We have now lived aboard for our first month and we celebrated by sailing a nice ‘lock free’ 9 miles to the Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton.

There followed some complicated manoeuvres with buses to retrieve the car from Napton.

In August 2012 we (Jean, Roger and Benny the cat) rented our house out and moved onto our narrow boat to spend a year living aboard. This is the story of our adventures on the English and Welsh canal network.
After many months of planning, preparing, packing etc we finally moved on to Vincent Joseph on the 28th August 2012. We were moored at the Cape of Good Hope pub in Warwick.