Top Thirty, 2013 week 19

There's a message from Tony Blews below this week's chart ...

Here is the UK Waterways Site Ranking (top thirty places) as it stood at 1530 on Monday 6th May 2013. This is taken, with permission, from Tony Blews's UK Waterways Ranking Site.


1 Canal World Discussion Forums (=)

2 CanalPlanAC (=)

3 Pennine Waterways (=)

4 Jim Shead's Waterways Information (+1)

5 Water Explorer (+1)

6 Living on a Narrowboat (-2)

7 Retirement with No Problem (=)

8 UKCanals Network (+1)

9 Waterway Routes (-1)

10 nb Epiphany (=)

11 Towpath Treks (+2)

12 nb Waiouru (=)

13 boatshare (-2)

14 Canal Shop Company (=)

15 Captain Ahab's Watery Tales (+2)

16 BCBM Ltd (=)

17 NB The Manly Ferry (+4)

18 Narrowboat Dreaming .... Parisien Star (+8)

19 Baddie the Pirate (+3)

20 Narrowboat Chance (-2)

21 Milburn Boats Ltd (-2)

22 Rock n Roll (+8)

23 Narrowboat Briar Rose (-8)

24 Boat Build Blog (-)

25 Skippy's Random Ramblings (-)

26 boatrent (+2)

27 Seyella's Journey (-4)

28 Narrowboat Tacet (+6)

29 Boats and Canals Forum (-4)

30 boats and cruising (-)

31 Halfie (-7)

32 M. B. Willow (-12)

33 NBNorthernPride (-)

34 'Eileen Inlanding' (-2)

35 Narrowboat Starcross (+2)



The figures in parentheses denote the number of places moved since the previous chart;
(-) denotes new entry or re-entry into the chart;
(=) denotes no change.

There are 106 entries, up from 94 last week.

Tony Blews has asked me to remind all users of the UK Waterways Ranking System to update their websites to use the ukwrs.co.uk address instead of the coobeastie.co.uk one. The older coobeastie address will cease working half way though May. Thanks.

To update my Blogger blog I logged in to ukwrs.co.uk; clicked on the Manage Site option in the top left of the page; and copied the code from the appropriate box. Then on my blog I clicked on Layout; found the HTML/Javascript "gadget" corresponding to the ranking position; and replaced the code there with the code I'd copied from UKWRS.

Extra cruising on Jubilee

We're on board Jubilee again, staying briefly with Ally and Ben. They were keen to get out of the marina for a bit, so we cruised up to New Bradwell, winded, and have come back down to Giffard Park (all in Milton Keynes).


It was good to be cruising on Jubilee again - we are looking forward to having the boat back all to ourselves, when they eventually move into their own accommodation.

Seen while cycling: one Candlestick, one Moggie and one wherry

I enjoyed a twenty mile cycle ride yesterday in the sunshine around the lanes of Norfolk. There are some strange road names out there!


I was on my way to help a friend move a car and a whole load of boxes and pieces of furniture.


On a different cycle ride a couple of days before, on the Marriot's Way - a former railway line now cycle/footpath - I saw this depiction of a wherry. This is about a mile from Norwich city centre by the River Wensum.


I'm not really sure why this wherry should be here. There is a small river which the railway crossed by the bridge in the above photo, but I don't think it was navigable this side of New Mills Pumping Station.

Cold easterly wind a feature of our Easter cruise

Some days the wind was stronger and more biting than others. But for nearly every one of the fourteen days of our recent cruise round the Leicester Ring the force was with - or, rather, against - us.


This little shelter at Hunt's Lock, near Fradley Junction, seems to have been blown over by it.

I had my own battle with the wind when trying to get back into the mooring at Wigram's Turn at the end of the cruise. I'll write about that later.

Fradley Junction and nb Percy

Easter Cruise day 4, 4th April 2013, Fradley

After turning right onto the Trent and Mersey at Fradley Junction I took the obligatory photo from the lock looking back at the Swan pub. Not as good as Nev's masthead photo, but a record of our passage.


On exiting the lock I looked out for Percy as I knew Nev moored it in these parts.


Here it is - a hurried snap as we went past. It was at this time that my camera battery ran out; by the time I'd changed it Percy was receding in the distance.


I was to meet Nev and Rachel later, at Willington.

Old boat reveals its name

Problem: How do you identify an apparently nameless boat as you pass by?


Answer: you take a photo of its licence ...


... and then zoom in afterwards.


So this is Paragon. But, in this case, the identification problem doesn't necessarily end here. According to Roger Fuller's website on historic boats LMS boat Rival, built in 1929, was renamed Irlam. It was then renamed Paragon, but was apparently offered for sale in 1989 in two halves.


And if each half spawned a new boat, which half can legitimately call itself the "original", the "historic" boat? Or can both halves claim that?

Perhaps Paragon never was split into two, and remains the original iron BCN day boat (except now with a cabin).

photographed 4th April 2013 on the Coventry Canal by Fradley Bridge

A Norfolk walk including the River Yare, more snow and wooden birds

Last Saturday we joined the usual suspects for a walk in a lovely part of Norfolk.


The walk was a 5.4 mile stroll centred on the village of Claxton. We started from Rockland St. Mary, walking along a short cut leading to Rockland Broad. This looked very canal-like, with its concrete edging.


You don't get too many signs like this on the canals, though!


A typical Broads cruiser motored past ...


... while we walked part of the Wherryman's Way along the River Yare. (The river flows into the sea at Great Yarmouth.)


Despite temperatures hitting 20˚C earlier in the week, there seemed to be snow lingering on some roofs.


Or perhaps it was the previous day's hail, concentrated to look like snow.


In the centre of Claxton a tree had been receiving the attentions of a wood carver...


... commemorating the London 2012 Olympics by incorporating the interlocking rings into the village name...


... overseen by an owl ...


... and a swift.


St. Andrew's Church was very simple inside.


It retained the box pews for the lord of the manor and his family.


At last, the daffodils were out.


The last leg of the walk took us across a ploughed field with a well-defined path.


An excellent walk - thanks Tony and Helen - and I'm glad it didn't rain. I'd forgotten to bring my coat!

Huddlesford Junction and the eastern end of the "Lichfield" Canal

Easter Cruise day 4, 4th April 2013

After the overnight at Hopwas we continued north along the Coventry Canal. At Huddlesford we stopped so I could explore what I could of the eastern end of the Wyrley and Essington Canal - or is it the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal, or the Lichfield Canal? Whatever it is, the junction signpost gave the first indication that visitors were not welcome.


At the junction is the building housing the headquarters of the Lichfield Cruising Club. The towpath bridge is gated with plenty of barbed wire to ensure that only authorised people can get through. A swan was sitting on its nest sheltered on three sides by the wing wall.


Across the canal were the remains of a NO ENTRY sign dangling from a piece of scaffolding. Boats were moored on both sides.


David and I walked the few yards to Bridge 83 where we crossed the Coventry Canal. Just under the railway bridge is another access point to the Lichfield Canal, barred, of course.


Pressing on, we were able to cross the canal at Watery Lane Bridge, having walked down a footpath. This is the view back towards Huddlesford Junction.


By taking a short cut across a field we quickly got to Cappers Bridge, whose rebuilding was in part thanks to ...


... the European Union.


We were well over our allocated exploration time by now, so we went back the same way to the boat.