Taxi driver jumps red light and nearly takes out swing bridge bridge barrier

Maghull Hall Swing Bridge 12 on the Leeds and Liverpool. We had left our fabulous mooring in Salthouse Dock at 0750 this morning and had had a smooth passage out of Liverpool. Now there was just this swing bridge to do before we tied up in Maghull.

As is our usual practice Jan steers while I operate the bridge. I waited until there was no traffic in sight before turning the key and pressing the button to instigate the sequence of flashing red lights ... barriers down ... wedges withdraw ... bridge swing. All went according to plan until the barriers started to descend. With the warning siren going and the red lights flashing a car - a taxi - suddenly drove fast onto the bridge and headed for the far barrier, now at about 45 degrees. I paused a microsecond before releasing the "open" button, thus stopping the barriers' descent. With millimetres to spare the taxi dodged underneath and drove off. I was so taken aback I didn't think to note the registration, let alone which taxi firm it was.

Had I not let go of the button the taxi would have crashed through the dangly part of the barrier. In that microsecond I was tempted to keep the barrier coming down and thus damage the car. But it would have also damaged the CRT property and could well have put the bridge out of action. I thought better of it, then, and the idiot taxi driver got away with it.

Apart from Jan on the boat and me working the bridge there were at least three people who witnessed the lunacy at close quarters: two men cyclists and a woman walking a dog. There were other - more patient - drivers who would have seen what happened too.

Did I say patient? Well, not the driver who made sure he was first over the bridge the instant the barriers went up after Jan had steered Jubilee through. He accelerated across, mobile phone to his ear, and disappeared in the same direction as the taxi. (Have I just been in an action scene in a film?)

After all that excitement it might be easy to forget that the day started with our exit from Liverpool's dockland. It was raining as we left the mooring, but not heavily; the rain stopped shortly afterwards. Before leaving I set up my timelapse camera to record, I hope, the entire Leeds and Liverpool Canal. (Unfortunately the camera didn't capture the close shave described above as it all happened in the interval between images.)

I realise I have neglected to get a photo of the swing bridge in question, so here's a night-time shot of Jubilee in Salthouse Dock.

Doesn't that wheel spin quickly!

I took the best photos of the Liverpool Canal Link on our way in four days ago; this is where we hung around waiting for Mann Island Lock.

We must get some diesel soon. I dipped the tank this evening and found just three inches of fuel left. I think Ambush is the fuel boat; we saw it at Crooke, I think, on the way down.

Timelapse: Stockton to Wigram's Turn

And here we are, at the end of our excellent two week cruise on Shadow in April 2011. This is the last timelapse film from that journey, which took in all or part of the following canals:

Oxford
Coventry
Birmingham and Fazeley
Tame Valley
Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch
Walsall
Walsall Town Arm
Wyrley and Essington
Birmingham
Staffs and Worcs
Stourbridge
Stourbridge Town Arm
Fens Branch
Stourbridge Extension
Dudley No. 1
Dudley No.2
Boshboil Branch
Bumblehole Branch
Netherton Tunnel Branch
Gower Branch
Wolverhampton Level
Worcester and Birmingham
Stratford-on-Avon
Lapworth Link
Grand Union



When planning the cruise I calculated that we would do 195 miles and 272 locks. But we stopped 3.5 miles and 16 locks short of Stratford-upon-Avon, which reduces the totals to 188 miles and 240 locks. I did all the planning with Nicholson's Guides counting locks and mile markers, so I'll have to check this against CanalPlanAC.

Timelapse: Wood Lock to Stockton

We're on the last day of our April 2011 cruise now. I'm really pleased with how all the timelapse filming came out, especially as there's no way of seeing what the camera sees when setting it up. I have to point it in the right direction and hope for the best. Apart from one or two power supply problems on the south Stratford Canal I have an almost complete record of our cruise. It included some lesser-frequented parts of the BCN. They, for me, were the best bits.

Today's timelapse film covers from Wood Lock 19 on the GU, up the Bascote Locks and Stockton Locks to the Boat Inn by Birdingbury Wharf Bridge 21 at Stockton. We did a lot of boat cleaning here, and ate lunch in the pub.

Timelapse: Warwick to Wood Lock

Another timelapse sequence in two parts. The first starts at the Cape of Good Hope. We go down the two Cape Locks and head out of Warwick into Leamington Spa, crossing the aqueducts over the River Avon and the railway line in doing so. Then up Radford Bottom Lock and up to Fosse Lock 22.



Then it's on to the second film for the last part of day 14 of our April 2011 cruise. Up the Fosse Locks to a mooriing behind nb Rosie below Wood Lock 19.

Timelapse: down the Hatton flight to Warwick

Day 14 of our April 2011 cruise, and we're nearly back at the marina. Just the drop down Hatton and Cape Locks to the sump pound at Leamington Spa, then up to Wigram's Turn. Not all in one day, though.

This timelapse film covers the descent of Hatton and into Warwick, where we tied up by the Cape of Good Hope pub for lunch.

You might have noticed at the end of yesterday's timelapse the boy from the next-door boat kicking a football up the bank - well, he's still at it in the morning when we leave!

Just above the top lock a posse of RCR engineers come to look at Shadow's engine. There was some sort of an RCR awayday at the Hatton Locks café, so I asked them about a minor oil leak from the rocker cover. My account from the time is here.



Unlike some people I quite like the broad locks with their distinctive paddle gear on this part of the GU. Yes, the paddles take a lot of winding and the gates are big and heavy, but the locks empty and fill quickly, and the gates are well-balanced. I would, of course, share locks where possible, and we did down Hatton, but it would have been easier and quicker on our own. The crew of the boat we shared with couldn't manage either the gear or the gates, so I did a huge amount of winding, pushing, pulling, running around and cycling! But I love it!

Timelapse: Preston Bagot to Hatton, two other short bits and power supply problems

I was having a few power supply problems with the timelapse camera on our April 2011 cruise. The camera is designed to run from two AAA batteries - no good for the lengths of time I need to run it - or a 12V cigarette lighter plug power supply, connecting via a small plug into the camera. Ideal for a boat, you'd think. But the connection between plug and camera is not reliable, so I soldered a couple of wires to the battery connections inside the battery compartment and lead them out to a home-made power supply which I run from a large rechargeable 7.2V battery. The bodged way I connect to the large battery involves pushing the wires into the connection holes. Hardly surprising, then, that they sometimes come adrift. I really will have to come up with a more reliable solution!


When we'd got to lock 31, as on yesterday's timelapse film, the camera's memory card had filled up. I realised that that was what had happened when, still aboard, I transferred some of the files to the laptop to make space for the rest of the trip. Before that point I suppose there was enough space for a couple of (very) short sequences.

First, six seconds of our entering a winding hole just north of Wilmcote.



Next, and more interesting, a whole 14 seconds including steering onto the Edstone Aqueduct. It would have been good if it hadn't stopped before we got to the end!



Now for the full-length feature. Day 13 of the cruise saw us climb from Preston Bagot on the Stratford Canal to Kingswood Junction, turn right on the Lapworth Link, and right again down the Grand Union. Ally and Ben had joined us again; we had a barbecue when we tied up above Hatton Locks.



Tomorrow: the delights of the Hatton Flight.

Timelapse: Lapworth to Lowsonford - locks galore!

This is the second part of the timelapse file which was too large (or something) for YouTube to handle. It's one great Stratford Canal lockfest: the entire Lapworth flight plus the slightly more spread out locks past Kingswood Junction down to Lock 31 at Lowsonford.

The timelapse film starts as we leave Lift Bridge 28, then we have to wait for Land and Water contractors to move a mud hopper out of the way.

We stop just below Lock 28 for a breather. I've been lockwheeling all the way - see how most of the locks are magically ready for Jan just to steer into!

After this point I let Jan have the fun of lock operation.

Timelapse: Billesley to Lapworth

Yes, I've done it! I've managed to split the unuploadable file into two, and have managed to get them both onto YouTube!

Here is the first of the timelapse films, 2' 40" long, covering from Bridge 5 on the Stratford Canal down to Lapworth Top Lock no. 2.

See Shirley Draw Bridge rise in front of us!

Watch as a boat reverses out of our way at Earlswood Motor Yacht Club!

Wonder as Hockley Heath Draw Bridge draws out of our way!

Marvel at how the next moveable bridge, no. 28, lifts as we approach!



Tomorrow I'll post the onslaught on the Lapworth lock flight and more.

Timelapse: Lowsonford to Preston Bagot

I haven't yet been able to upload the timelapse of the first - and most interesting - part of day 11 of our April 2011 cruise as YouTube keeps "rejecting" the file. So here is the next part of that day's journey: 1' 48" of timelapse film covering Lock 31 at Lowsonford on the Stratford Canal to beyond Bridge 49, a mile south of Preston Bagot.



I hope to figure out a way of uploading part one at some point.

A momentary lapse ...

I tried and I tried and I tried last night to upload the next in the series of timelapse films of our April 2011 cruise - but YouTube kept rejecting the file, saying that there was something wrong with it. Well, it looks perfectly all right to me at home, looking at it on RealPlayer and QuickTime, and it's a .AVI file just like all the others, so I don't know what to do. Perhaps the system is objecting to the size. At about 400MB it's slightly larger than the previous uploads. Perhaps I need to cut it in half. But if I do in in Final Cut the aspect ratio goes wrong ...

It's a good one, too, with lots of locks (Lapworth flight).

Does anyone have any ideas which I'll be able to understand? YouTube talks about browsers, mentioning Google Chrome and Firefox. I'm on an oldish version of Safari (yes, I know, what do I expect?)

Is there an easy way to chop a Quicktime movie file in half so as to be able to upload each half separately?

Timelapse: Worcester Bar to Bridge 5, Stratford Canal

This timelapse film from our April 2011 cruise runs for 6'24" but covers only the W&B from Birmingham to King's Norton, and then the Stratford to Bridge 5 at Billesley, less than three miles from the junction. Bridge 5 is the nearest point to Ally and Ben's house, and this is where they got off.

Timelapse: West Smethwick to Gas Street Basin

Two timelapse films for you today to finish off the fascinating trip we made from Windmill End on the Dudley No. 1 Canal to Birmingham. The first one is only nine seconds long - I don't know why - but does include Telford's Galton Bridge and the Galton Tunnel.



The last part of day nine of our April 2011 cruise is recorded in the following 1'08" timelapse film which takes us under the amazing Engine Arm Aqueduct and on to central Birmingham, just past Gas Street Basin and Worcester Bar. We tied up in front of The Mailbox, just before the right turn to Holliday Wharf.

Timelapse: Windmill End to West Smethwick

Another great day's boating here. This timelapse film is from day nine of our April 2011 cruise centred on the BCN, and covers the Boshboil Branch, the Bumblehole Branch, Dudley No. 2 Canal to Hawne Basin and back, the Netherton Tunnel Branch through Netherton Tunnel, the Gower Branch up the Brades Lock, a very tight turn from the Wolverhampton Level into the Spon Lane Locks (I've always wanted to do that!), and another nearly 180º turn back onto the Birmingham Level. Almost all of this day was new stuff.

Timelapse: Dudley to Windmill End

This is the timelapse film of the last bit of day eight of our April 2011 cruise. After visiting the Merry Hill shopping centre (the only useful shop is Clas Ohlson) we continued up the Dudley No. 1 Canal to Blowers Green Lock and Parkhead Junction. Here we watered up before taking the Dudley No. 2 Canal to Windmill End.

Timelapse: Stourton Junction to Dudley

Our April 2011 cruise took us on many waterways which were new to us. This timelapse film covers our exploration of the Stourbridge Canal and its navigable arms and extensions, all unknown to us before.



My account written at the time is here.

Timelapse: Gothersley Lock to Stourton Junction

This timelapse film rounds off day seven of our April 2011 cruise, covering the bit from Gothersley Lock to Stourton Junction on the Staffs and Worcs. We paused at Limekiln Chandlers at Compton, and at Bridge 45 for the Round Oak pub for lunch.



Contemporaneous account here.

Timelapse: Aldersley Junction to Gothersley Lock

Day 7 of our April 2011 cruise round much of the BCN. This timelapse film covers the chunk from Aldersley Junction down the Staffs and Worcs to Gothersley Lock. We stopped for lunch at the Round Oak at Wombourne for lunch.



My contemporaneous account is here.

Timelapse: Going down the Wolverhampton 21 as the sun sets

This 2' 43" timelapse film is the continuation of Day 6 of our April 2011 cruise. We'd set off from the visitor mooring at Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch just before half-past eight in the morning and had reached New Bentley Bridge at Heath Town on the Wyrley and Essington nine hours later. This film picks up from there, showing us turn right at Horseley Fields Junction in Wolverhampton and then start the descent of the flight of 21 locks. We meet Andy Tidy, aka Captain Ahab, at Lock 6: he helps us down the rest of the flight.

We pause at Lock 11 to let the engine cool down after it overheated. If it hadn't been for this delay we'd probably have got to Aldersley Junction in daylight: as it was, we did the last few locks in the dark. You can see occasional flashes of torchlight.

As the sun set in front of us the camera picked up some lovely colourful images.



For a fuller account of this day's cruise, including the overheating story, click here.

Timelapse: Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch to Wolverhampton

The sixth day of our April 2011 cruise took us on more canals which seem to be rarely used. We passed only one moving boat all day (10 hours cruising time)!

This 6'49" timelapse film shows us turning right out of the Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch onto the Walsall Canal; then winding in a shallow winding hole (shaft needed); turning into the Walsall Town Arm and tying up just before the basin (I didn't know I could have pushed the yellow boom out of the way to moor in the basin itself); ascending the Walsall Locks; turning left onto the Wyrley and Essington Canal towards Wolverhampton. You'll see we stopped a few times for prop clearance.



The next timelapse film should show the continuation of this day, where Captain Ahab joins us for the descent of the Wolverhampton 21.

Timelapse: Holloway Bank Bridge to Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch

This is really the last little bit of yesterday's timelapse, covering the westernmost mile of the Tame Valley Canal, a tiny bit of the Walsall Canal, and our exploration of the Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch. We went to the ends of the two sub-branches before tying up on the fenced-in visitor mooring. Well, we hadn't planned to go anywhere that night!



The actual cruise was on 6th April 2011 and my contemporaneous account is here.