Thinking about where to go this year

For the last few years we have included the Crick Boat Show as part of our itinerary, but this year we shall be further south. The Boaters' Christian Fellowship has an event in Newbury in June, so we plan to do the Kennet and Avon. The only part of this navigation we have done so far is between Devizes and Bath, and that was on Shadow when it was based in Devizes one year. This time we'll be able to cover the whole length of the K&A from Reading to Bristol. We won't venture beyond Bristol as I don't want a mutiny.

Other canals I'd like to travel include a couple of arms of the Grand Union, the Aylesbury and the Slough Arms, neither of which we have explored before. As we'll be on the Thames anyway to access the K&A it would be good to do the Wey and the Basingstoke as well.

Today's photo is of the Thames in London nearing sunset.

(photo taken on 26th December 2016)

There's a lot of corrugated iron round here

We said goodbye to David this morning and then set off ourselves down Aston Locks. It started raining as we left the bottom lock; I had hoped to get to Maesbury Marsh for lunch but the rain just got heavier and heavier. There aren't many opportunities for mooring on the Monty so at the first bit of piling without too much foliage I pulled in and tied up. I was glad to get back inside the boat.

Notice anything about the picture of Jubilee where we stopped?

Yup. That's woodsmoke coming from the chimney. We have had the fire going every month since April.

When the rain stopped - at about 1545 - we carried on the half mile or so to Maesbury Marsh. After checking out the pub, the Navigation, we went for a bit of a walk. The horse-drawn trip boat building has a corrugated iron roof, so too do a few other places round here including St. John's Church, Maesbury.

Not only the roof - the walls as well!

We did a bit of planning this evening. From here we'll go back to Hurleston Junction, then head north on the Shroppie to Chester and Ellesmere Port, returning down the length of the Shroppie to Wolverhampton.

More tea, vicar?

All right, it's lunch, not tea, but there's never any shortage of food at a BCF Barbecue, especially when it's at The Taft. And you won't be surprised to learn that there are a few retired vicars and other church ministers in the Boaters' Christian Fellowship. I can think of at least three who were at this year's barbecue weekend.

Before lunch Martin (one of the retired vicars) led a service of communion in the marquee. I'm sure God was laughing with us (and Edwin) when Martin drew attention to Edwin in his Sunday best suit.

Later, David B. presented Peter and Julie, our hosts for the weekend, with a teapot. It was actually one of their teapots, but filled with cash donations from all of us who had enjoyed their hospitality. And we all had.

As the weather was so good, David L. took to his canoe for a paddle on the canal.

Then he went for a dip in the neighbouring River Trent. He reported the current as being too strong to swim against (we had noticed a couple of days ago how much water was in the river).

Tomorrow we'll leave The Taft and head for the Black Country Boating Festival. We've left it too late to book a mooring, so we'll have to hope we can tie up beyond all the booked boats somewhere - and get wristbands for the evenings. We have now planned our schedule for the rest of our six month jaunt; it sees us return to the south midlands for some work to be done on the boat and to be near our winter mooring. Neither the work nor the mooring has been finalised yet.

Pottery workers take a break

Much better weather today saw us cruise from Etruria to Rode Heath. On the way we saw workers on a break at Middleport Pottery.

A familiar boat went past, No Direction, but in different ownership since bloggers Ray and Jayne sold it.

(Rubbish picture, sorry.)

As we went past Westport Lake a man untying his boat, Tilly May, called out to say that he read this blog. At Harecastle Tunnel we had a chat while watering up.

Chris and Jan, it was good to meet you. Our paths diverged the other side of the tunnel at Hardings Wood Junction as we carried down the Trent and Mersey while Chris and Jan turned onto the Hall Green Branch.

We stopped at Rode Heath where the moorings were pretty full. We tied up at the beginning of all the moored boats, had tea, then welcomed friends Martin and Buff - who live in the village - on for drinks.

At one point in the evening Jan noticed the sunset directly ahead of us. This is the view from the side hatch.

Our lunch stop, by the way, was at Red Bull, where we booked our passage into and out of Liverpool. This is now to be in on Wednesday 29th July and out on Sunday 2nd August, giving us three whole days there. I think that will be enough. This wasn't the perfect timing as we had hoped to meet up with Ally and Ben at Scarisbrick on their way to a wedding in Southport. Never mind, they will have to visit us in Albert Dock. I don't know where they will park.

Cruising plan decided

After church and after lunch we decided we'd leave Stone and make a start on a few locks on our way up to Stoke-on-Trent.

approaching Yard Lock, Stone

After two locks a "Yellow Peril" (Viking Afloat hire boat) pulled out in front of us. I helped them up the remaining two Stone locks and the first two of the Meaford flight. The less I say about their steering the better.

As I whizzed along the longish middle pound - on my bike - I saw that it would make a good place to tie up for the night, so that's what we did. We are directly in front of the Bywater Hotel pair; I had a good chat with the owner.

We have now come up with a reasonably definite plan: we'll go to Liverpool via the Bridgewater Canal and Leeds and Liverpool Canal, then traverse the Pennines on the L&L, then return to the Trent and Mersey via Standedge Tunnel. (I'd better find out about booking a passage - and booking from Aintree to Liverpool.) We have a deadline to meet at the beginning of September, that's the annual BCF Barbecue at The Taft near Rugeley, but we can meet that on four-hour days and still have a couple of days in hand. We're actually already slightly ahead of schedule now; I aim to keep it that way.

Oh - I have discovered that there's no John Lewis in Stoke; I'll have to do my camera thing in the Trafford Centre. The Bridgewater Canal goes very near, so that's handy.

On the move with a plan

We said our goodbyes to our friends at Fazeley this afternoon and set off on the next part of our 2015 cruise. We're heading towards Birmingham, so we're still on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.

It has been another sunny day, not as warm as yesterday, but good spring weather nonetheless. This is Fisher's Mill Bridge.

The birds were twittering away, especially just before the winding hole at the foot of Curdworth Locks. We tied up just before the lock landing, ready for a cycle round the waterpark in the morning before starting the climb towards Birmingham.

The plan is this:

• Birmingham, where I will knock off one of the only bits of the navigable BCN I haven't done - the Titford Canal. (I believe the only other part I haven't cruised - or should I say legged - is the Dudley Tunnel. One day ...)
• Wolverhampton
• Shroppie to Barbridge Junction
• Middlewich Branch to Middlewich
• T&M to Anderton Lift
• River Weaver to Weston Point and back to the lift
• T&M to Fradley (might squeeze in a visit to the Caldon Canal on the way)
• Coventry Canal to Sutton Stop
• Oxford Canal to Braunston
• GU to Crick for the show, where we'll help at the BCF stand

Of course, things might change, but I feel happier now we have worked out a rough schedule.

Route planning

Not long to go now until we're off on our summer cruise. Our son Andrew lives in Sheffield, and I thought it would be good to visit him and Bekka by boat. As we haven't "done" the Rochdale Canal (apart from the Nine) I thought we'd go the long way round, i.e. up to Manchester and then over the Pennines via Rochdale.

At Sowerby Bridge the waterway becomes the Calder and Hebble Navigation; at Cooper Bridge (Huddersfield) we'll be retracing the steps we took in 2005, but only as far as Castleford Junction where, instead of turning left towards Leeds, we'll carry on down the Aire and Calder Navigation to Southfield Junction. Here the plan is to turn left on the dead-straight New Junction Canal and continue up the South Yorkshire Navigations to Sheffield.

I'd be really grateful if any reader who has experience of this route could tell me if there's anything I should know beforehand. I'll consult the CRT website about booking Tuel Deep Lock - is there anything else which needs booking? (I have a feeling the Rochdale Summit needs to be booked too, is that the case?)

Having got to Sheffield, assuming we do, it would be a shame not to visit the Chesterfield Canal while we're in the area. This will involve a bit of tidal Trent. I guess the best thing here is to go with the flow from Keadby Junction to West Stockwith Junction.

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Rather than leave this post without photos, here's David (of Kew) testing the Severn in Worcester for swimmability.

Half-way across, and it's all right: the weir is 500m away.

He made it to the other side, and back again.

Off to crew for Kew

Tomorrow I shall be on my way to Fazeley to join nb Kew as crew/lockwheeler for part of the journey to Stratford-on-Avon.

Kew at the Black Country Boating Festival at Windmill End last year

I'll cycle to Wymondham Station (in Norfolk) and get the train to Nottingham, where I change for a train to Birmingham, alighting at Wilnecote (Staffs). Then a short cycle ride to David and Mary's house.

We'll be boating via the Severn and Avon to approach Stratford from the river, but I can't remember which route David said we'd take to the Severn. The most direct would be down the Worcester and Birmingham, but I seem to recall him mentioning the Staffs and Worcs, so we might be going via the Wolverhampton 21. Whichever way we go, I'm hoping we'll be in Worcester by Saturday as I have booked my train to get me home that day. Actually, my advance ticket covers only from Nuneaton to home as the cheapest fare from Worcester to Nuneaton was a standard "anytime" fare, so there was no point in buying that in advance. This has given me some extra flexibility in case we don't make Worcester by Saturday.

It will be good to be back on Kew again; no doubt I will get my turn at steering the full-length boat (with wooden 'ellum) from time to time. I'll post a trip summary with photos when I get back.

Route planning to take in painting at Gayton Junction

I have now planned our schedule for the outward "half" of our Easter cruise. "Half" in inverted commas as the outward part is shorter (in time, at least) than the return part.

The trip takes in a four hour stop at Gayton Junction to assist with a work party painting the service block and associated railings etc. I saw the briefest of items in Canal Boat's "diary" section and had an encouraging response from an e-mail I sent.

The above photo shows the former BW yard, now occupied by the Grand Junction Boat Co. Were the areas separated by brick walls originally coal bunkers?

Here is the route plan:

Mon 7th April: Thrupp Wharf Marina to Stoke Bruerne or Blisworth
Tue 8th April am: Stoke Bruerne/Blisworth to Gayton Junction
Tue 8th April pm: Gayton Junction to Weedon
Wed 9th April: Weedon to Crick
Thu 10th April: Crick to Foxton Top Lock
Fri 11th April: Foxton Top Lock to Market Harborough
Sat 12th April: Market Harborough to Debdale Wharf Marina

The stop at Foxton coincides neatly with a talk entitled "Foxton Locks 1814 - 2014" which starts at 1830 in the "Canal Museum" and ends via a treasure hunt at the Bridge 61 pub (can't wait!) (Another diary entry in Canal Boat magazine).

The planning stops at Debdale Wharf Marina as that is where Jubilee's bottom will be spanked blacked. The boat will be removed from the water - or the water from the boat - on the following Monday, but we need to be there early. We are told that the boat should be back in the water on the Wednesday; I shall plan the return trip accordingly.

If any blog reader would like to make themselves known to us en route we should be very happy to see them. There is plenty of tea and coffee on board!

Boating weather?

According to my trusty, dusty, Maplin indoor/outdoor thermometer, which I believe to be reasonably accurate, the temperature here in Norwich reached almost 20˚C this afternoon.

It might have actually got there, but if it did I didn't see it.

I have another in/out thermometer on Jubilee, with a useful max/min function, but its two sensors don't agree with each other. Putting the "remote" sensor in the same place as the main unit the two temperature readings differ by 2.0˚C.

Boating weather? Definitely. But so also is 0.1˚, rain, sleet, snow ... A year ago it was freezing, with snow lying in shady spots. This was 6th April 2013 on the Trent.

I'm currently planning our Easter cruise: I'll post details here soon.

On board again

We got to Milton Keynes at about midday having spent three days with my brother and his family in London. The journey across town was traffic-free, and the M1 started OK, but had ground to a halt by Junction 11. So we diverted via Dunstable and the A5 - surprisingly traffic-free once more.

We got some provisions from Tesco in Wolverton and bumped into Adrian of Briar Rose there. Having discovered that he was going to be on his own until Adam arrived in the late evening, we suggested that he came over to Jubilee for drinks in the early evening. Unfortunately, when I knocked on his window later on, his cold had worsened and he had to decline our invitation.

Before that, though, we had a family gathering on board. (Daughter) Ally and Ben came over; and so did (son) Andrew and Bekka. We enjoyed a splendid meal, cooked by Jan, before opening our Christmas presents to each other.

The stove was going a treat and we all had a good time. It's difficult for me to supply pictures as the "old" computer, the one which I usually use for blogging when away, has died. I should have asked Andrew to have a look - he's good with that sort of thing. (I'm writing this on Jan's much newer laptop, on which I have not yet installed a photo resizing programme.)

We're planning to take the boat out for a couple of days before returning to help Ally and Ben with the house. We might go to Stoke Bruerne, or we might go the other way towards Leighton Buzzard. (My preference is to go north - I like locks; and I would really like to try the Indian restaurant at SB which others have written encouragingly about. But we'll decide in the morning.)

Our view of Braunston will have changed

This is Braunston as we approached it in 2009.


Nothing wrong with that, you might say, but on top of the boat is my old bicycle. Well, that particular velocipede is now scrapped. Future cruises shouldn't have the view enhanced obscured by a bike: my new folding two-wheeler, when I'm not lock wheeling, will be inside or on the well deck out of the way.

I was sorry to read that Sarah and Jim of Chertsey and Bakewell have decided that the current cold and windy weather is not conducive to fun boating, and have abandoned their plan to go to Ellesmere Port for the Easter gathering of old boat(er)s.

I'm beginning to wonder whether our (my) plan for an attempt on the Erewash Canal might not be a little ambitious too. Do I really want to stand/sit at the tiller for seven hours a day for a fortnight getting various parts of my anatomy frozen off?

Route planning: the Erewash beckons

I spent some time today in the pleasurable pursuit of canal route planning. This is for our two week Easter "retirement" cruise on Shadow.


We haven't explored the Erewash Canal before, so I consulted a map, then CanalPlanAC. Going north on the Oxford, Coventry and Trent & Mersey Canals; then up and down the Erewash; across the Trent and up the Soar, along the Leicester Section and back to Wigram's Turn via Braunston - with a detour to Market Harborough - comes to 199.5 miles and 131 locks, taking 95.5 hours. If I allow 12 days (to give a day in hand for stopping/exploring etc.) then that's 8 hours per day. Easy peasy.

That's the current thinking, anyway.

Can you identify the location of the photo? Bonus "points" for getting the time of year (although this might be easier than the location!)

Graffiti smoke effect

It's a shame this photo is blurred, as the graffiti on the bridge could be the outline of a plume of smoke coming from Victoria's chimney.

Ashby Canal, August 2012

With regard to our route planning problem: I e-mailed Damian Kemp of CRT - he who sends out the regular Boaters' Update e-mails - and received a prompt reply. I'd asked him if the stoppage information is likely to be up-to-date, and he said it was. He gave me the e-mail addresses of the appropriate waterways regional offices and suggested I contact them for first-hand info. I'm just waiting for a reply from the South East Waterways office ...

Route planning scuppered by stoppages

The last time we were on Shadow was last September, almost half a year ago. This was the weather then:

Forward to the present ... and, oh dear. We were planning to be on Shadow for a few days, taking it from Wigram's Turn to Birmingham. The boat needs to be at BCBM's shared ownership boat show at the beginning of March, but the stoppage information from CRT seems to indicate that there would be a problem.

Grand Union Canal »

1. Stoppage: Calcutt Lock 1 to 3

   11 Feb 2013 - 01 Mar 2013

   Associated Regional Office: South East Waterways
   Relining of lock gates.
   (Enquiries: 03030 404040)

Coventry Canal »

1. Stoppage: Atherstone Lock 7

   07 Jan 2013 - 01 Mar 2013

   Associated Regional Office: Central Shires Waterways
   Repair / Rebuild Lock Landing
   (Enquiries: 03030 404040)
   The towpath is also closed

We were intending to leave Wigram's Turn Marina after 11th Feb, i.e. after the Calcutt stoppage is due to start. An alternative route to Nantwich, via North Oxford, Coventry, T&M and Middlewich Branch Canals is blocked by the closure at Atherstone Locks.

I'll have to contact CRT to ask if this stoppage info is up-to-date.

Route planning: the Ashby Canal beckons

We have a week on Shadow coming up, and I thought I'd better decide where to go. Shadow's base is currently Wigram's Turn Marina, which is conveniently located for many choices of route: the Oxford Canal either north or south; and the Grand Union either north or south. Each of those options has further options branching out, and many of these are within range of a week's there-and-back cruise.

We've just done the GU down to Milton Keynes; and we went to both Market Harborough and Oxford last year. We were last on the North Oxford at the beginning of 2009; and last visited the Ashby in 2005 - so it's back to the Ashby for us this time. The only down side for me is the lack of locks: there will be just four in each direction. Never mind. We're planning to stop off and explore lots of villages en route, including Brinklow with its church with a steeply sloping floor (according to Nicholson).


The only photo I seem to have of the Ashby Canal is this one from 2005 - and there's not much that identifies it as any canal, let alone the Ashby!

Where is this? - more revealed

I obviously made it far too difficult yesterday (no guesses!), so here's a little more revealed.


More tomorrow.

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I've just booked the Napton Bridge Inn, or The Bridge at Napton as it calls itself these days, for Sunday lunch for six of us.

I've just spent a large part of the evening working out a complicated route and car shuffle. Ally and Ben are joining us as we board Shadow at Wigram's Turn on Saturday at noon, then we'll cruise to Braunston, stopping there for the rest of the day (and night). The next morning we'll return to Wigram's Turn where Ben's parents will join us, then cruise up to the Bridge Inn for lunch. After that we'll head for Marston Doles where a bit of bike and car movement will ensue so that Ben's parents can drive back up north.

Route planning: Oxford in the frame

I spent some time with a Nicholson's Guide this evening, planning our next trip on Shadow. I'm thinking of going down the Oxford Canal to Oxford. It's been a few years since we did the South Oxford, and on the last occasion we didn't get quite as far as the town itself.

It would be entirely feasible to get there and back from Wigram's Turn in a week, but David is taking the boat after us, and we could do a remote handover. So we might just take our time, staying a day here or there, and hand over to David somewhere along the route (having been to Oxford, of course).

Then we'll have the small matter of a spot of car shuffling, but there won't be a great distance involved so it shouldn't be any great problem.

I will have to ensure we're topped up and pumped out, of course.

It will be just before the clocks go back, so that's good. I've been accumulating a supply of smallish logs for the stove on the assumption that the weather will be actually autumnal.

I'm looking forward to it!

photo: nb Merlin at Thrupp, November 2008

Two weeks' boating: the plan

On my day off yesterday I finished planning the route for our forthcoming cruise. I used my old Imray map (that's the one under the windlasses in yesterday's post) and Nicholson's guides, and made a table of miles, locks, hours and minutes for each leg, with a cumulative time as the final column. I have yet to work out where we're going to stop each night. That's something I like to do even if we don't actually tie up at the designated places. It makes it easy to see if we're ahead or behind schedule.

So, the route.

Starting from Wigram's Turn (Napton Junction) we'll go to Braunston; then on the Oxford Canal to Sutton Stop; Coventry Canal to Fazeley Junction; Birmingham and Fazeley to Salford Junction; Tame Valley to Doe Bank Jn; Walsall Canal to Birchills Jn (including Walsall Town Arm on the way); Wyrley and Essington to Horseley Fields Jn; Birmingham Main Line to Aldersley Jn.

Staffs and Worcs to Stourton Jn; Stourbridge Canal to Delph Locks (including Stourbridge Town Arm and Fens Branch); Dudley No. 1 to Windmill End (including Bumblehole Branch); Dudley No. 2 to Hawne Basin and back; through Netherton Tunnel to Dudley Port Jn and Albion Jn.

Gower Branch to Bradeshall Jn and Oldbury Jn; Titford Canal to the end and back; Oldbury Jn to Bromford Jn and Smethwick Jn and on to Gas Street Basin; Worcester and Birmingham to King's Norton Jn; Stratford Canal to Stratford and back as far as Kingswood Jn; Grand Union to Wigram's Turn.

Total milage (by my calculation) 182.25; number of locks 272. (Er ... wow! It's a good job we have two full weeks!) Total time I calculate to be 111 hours 45 mins, which is an easy 8 hours per day for 14 days. (My parameters: 2.5 mph average speed; 7 mins per lock. What we lose in not being able to maintain speed we gain in the fact that locks are often much quicker than 7 mins, especially when I lockwheel.)

I'll next have to double check against CanalPlan, and then check Waterscape for stoppages!

The route includes many options for short cuts if we need to save time, especially the drop down to Stratford. Not doing that would save us 18 hours - or two whole days.

The photo shows the last time we cruised on Shadow. We were returning to Tattenhall Marina after a trip along the Llangollen. Here we're doing a passing manoeuvre in the Bunbury Staircase.