Old year/new year trip, day 3: Coventry to Newbold

Wednesday 31st December 2008


not a day for Lady Godiva

Woke up to an ominous stillness. Yup - we were iced in. The arm of Coventry Basin in which we'd moored the previous day, which we'd chosen because the other arm was beginning to freeze over, was itself now covered with a 1/4" to 1/2" layer of ice. Oh dear - that meant we'd have to break ice to get back to Newbold-on-Avon. And we had to get there to be sure of getting back to Stockton Top the next day. (Besides which, we'd been invited to Alex and Amanda's new year's eve party).

At 1000, after waiting and hoping in vain for the ice to melt(!), we set to with the shafts breaking the ice around the boat so we could manoeuvre past the two other boats in the arm and out onto the cut. I was very glad I'd reversed in the previous night!


Our initial progress was very slow: Ben was doing a valiant but very tiring job breaking the ice in front of the boat with the shaft. It didn't take long for us to realise this was futile, and I set the revs to 1200 and we crunched through. Our speed, according to the GPS, was 2.0 to 2.2 mph (where on the ice-free Oxford Canal the previous day this engine speed would have resulted in a boat speed of 2.5 to 2.7 mph).


carving out a channel

At the A444 road bridge Alison and Ben disembarked to get a bus to Newbold to pick up their car. Here a following boat overtook us and took on the job of breaking the ice. Hooray! This didn't last long, however, as he stopped at Tesco's and we ploughed into the ice again, as far as Hawkesbury Junction/Sutton Stop, where there had been more boat movement. So no more ice breaking for us.


a frosty and icy Coventry Canal (1)


a frosty and icy Coventry Canal (2)

My reluctance to break ice was because the hull had only just been blacked! Sorry, fellow owners, but I did the bare minimum, and I had to get the boat back to the marina before the possibility of being stuck in ice in the middle of nowhere.


our route through Coventry


this fridge seems to have been working overtime

Attention now returns to Ally and Ben. We left them getting a bus to get their car. At the car the engine started, but then clouds of smoke (I'm told) poured from uner the bonnet. Oh dear (again). Neither Ally nor Ben seems to be very mechanically minded, so they invoked the breakdown cover. It transpired that the alternator belt had snapped, probably because the water pump was frozen solid! (Why don't young car owners think antifreeze is important?) The breakdown man apparently didn't have the right tools to fix the problem (what sort of breakdown mechanic is one who can't replace a fanbelt?) so he winched the car onto his truck and drove people and car to Ansty to meet us on the boat so we could unload all Ally and Ben's luggage. What would we have done before mobile phones? As it was, we arrived at Ansty only a few minutes before the recovery vehicle, and transferred belongings. They were then driven all the way to Southport!

Meanwhile we cracked on, doing a bit of less-than-daylight cruising, to arrive at Newbold at 1820. Jan was surprised when I started tying up: she hadn't noticed that we'd gone through the tunnel! After Sutton Stop, by the way, there was a good path through the ice; after Ansty there was barely any ice at all.


after a day's cruising in sub-zero temperatures the tiller arm had frozen to the swan's neck

Having moored up, we went in search of coal as we'd almost run out. The Co-op had closed early, so we walked most of the way to a garage before deciding that it would be better for me to get my bike. So we walked back to Shadow, I got my bike, and got the coal and presents (for it was Alex's birthday) from a Texaco garage in Rugby. Then the fire was lit, showers were taken, and it was off to the new year's eve party. We got to bed at 0145, most definitely on the late side for us!

Old year/new year trip, day 2: Newbold to Coventry

Tuesday 30th December 2008


Shadow (on the left) under a crescent moon at Coventry Basin

My alarm went off at 0700, but, for some reason (the night before?), I didn't get up until 0730. We got under way at 0820 and immediately entered Newbold Tunnel.

Stopped at Rose Narrowboats, Stretton, for water. (Entirely unnecessarily, as the tank is huge and we didn't really use much. When we got back to the marina on Thursday we were still about three-quarters full.)


I cycled off to get a paper. Unfortunately I went the wrong way, following the signs to a farm shop (it's NOT 1/2 mile, it's over 1 mile) which, of course, did not sell newspapers. Vast selection of foodstuffs, though, which would have been great if I'd been looking for provisions. But I wasn't, so I cycled back again, crossing the canal, and into Brinklow, where I got a paper from the post office. Back at the boat we'd finished watering up, and so we continued to Sutton Stop, where a stop at the Greyhound to sample some ale was tempting... but we were in danger of not making it to Coventry before dark if we delayed, so we carried on.


going through the stop lock at Sutton Stop

It was today that Ben showed me that my car satnav could, in pedestrian mode, give cruising speeds accurate to the nearest 0.1 mph. And this was after I'd been assured from what seemed to be a knowledgeable satnav forum that GPS devices for cars gave speeds only to the nearest 1 mph. So I needn't have got my hand-held Garmin eTrex H after all! Don't know whether to be cross or pleased! Pleased, I think, but still GRRRR!

Having turned left onto the Coventry Canal the increase in the amount of rubbish on and in the water was marked. The boat seemed sluggish and the steering heavy, so I assumed I had picked up something round the prop. I stopped, went down the weed hatch after pouring some hot water in, to find... absolutely nothing. All right, there was a propellor down there, but it was completely free of rubbish. Must be shallow, then.

It was along this stretch of urban canal that we saw two kingfishers: not doing their usual darting into the bushes in front, giving one the merest glimpse, but perching on a branch, showing off their orange bellies and electric blue plumage. Of course, my camera wasn't to hand!

At 1630 we moored in the right-hand arm of Coventry Basin, reversing in past a couple of boats. There was the thinnest of thin skins of ice starting to form at the end of the other arm,so I hoped it wouldn't spread too much. Some hope!

After dark I tried a few night shots. I was surprised to see that the laser beam sweeping the sky over the city had come out.


weighbridge office, Coventry Basin

Alison and Ben went off into the city on a shopping expedition, while Jan and I walked to the cathedral to have a look at the old and new (both closed). Then we met up for our worst experience (so far) at a Wetherspoon's pub: two of the meals we'd decided on were off; and a third, which we'd successfully ordered, turned out to be off too!


statue of James Brindley, once Coventry's most expensive sculpture

Back at the boat we did some serious wedding invitation list creation before bed.

Old year/new year trip, days 0 and 1

Sunday 28th and Monday 29th December 2008

Home to boat;

Stockton Top Marina to Newbold-on-Avon

Day 0? Yes, because the trip starts when the boat does, and that wasn't until the next day. There was much discussion at home as to when/if people wanted to go. In the end it was agreed that I'd go on my own for the first day, meeting the others on Monday afternoon. So I got to use my new toy in anger for the first time: a Garmin Nuvi 250 Satnav.


I'm still learning how to use it, but it seemed to know the way, so that was good. The screen displays an arrival time, but it must be based on average speeds far higher than I achieve. Perhaps it assumes driving at the speed limit the whole time. As I rarely exceed 55mph, in the interests of relaxed driving and fuel economy, the eta gets later and later. It started by suggesting I'd get to the marina at 2130: in the end, after a slightly delayed getaway, I arrived at 2230.

After loading Shadow, which was very cold, I lit the fire and retired to bed. It was now gone midnight. The fire blazed away overnight, keeping the other end of the boat nice and warm. Not, however, the rear cabin where I was trying to sleep (under a double layer of duvets). The alarm went off at 0700, and I was ready to go half-an-hour or so later. I delayed starting up until 0800 as Shadow was right next to an occupied NB Balhalla(?) in the marina.

At Calcutt I found the first two locks conveniently in my favour; the top lock, however, had just been taken by another boat also going up. It must have just come out of the marina and hadn't noticed me. But another single hander was coming down, so we assisted each other and went on our way. Reached Napton Junction at 1010.

I'd left my camera at home, so I missed some photo opportunities. One of these was a snap of NB Hadar which I met at bout 1045 at Lower Shuckburgh between Napton Junction and Braunston Turn. I exchanged greetings with Keith and Jo, and later wished I'd stopped them for a bag of coal. Just after Napton Junction, before Hadar came along, I stopped to make a coffee as I was FREEZING! The boat was reasonably warm inside, but there was no-one inside to appreciate it. The coffee helped, but at 1245 I stopped again - just after turning left at Braunston Turn on the north Oxford Canal - to microwave and eat some lunch: a very welcome spaghetti carbonara ready meal (thank you, Mr. Cohen).


Braunston Turn (photo taken on 1st January 2009)

At 1450, outside the Old Royal Oak, just before Hillmorton Locks, I picked up friends Amanda and Alex, with their friends Neil and Alison. Amanda and Alex moved from Norfolk to Newbold a couple of years ago, and we'd always promised to call in on them when we passed on the canal. It was handy having crew to work the locks. but I didn't benefit from the exercise, and hence the warmth, that working the locks myself would have given. After the locks I suggested that my crew might like to keep warm inside by the stove, but they all said they didn't want to miss anything. So we chugged along, quietly, nose up in the air.


Bridge 80, Grand Union Canal, in less than perfect nick (photo taken 1st January 2009)


Mural under Bridge 72, Grand Union Canal. A valiant attempt (I certainly couldn't do better), but the train appears to be crossing a hump bridge! (Photo taken 1st January 2009)

On the way through Rugby we passed NB Gypsy Rover. Derek and Dot had evidently spotted me as they have commented on an earlier post, but I didn't see them, and I'm sorry that we weren't able to stop, as we were up against it, daylight-wise. We'll meet up properly sometime, I expect!

At 1715, any vestige of natural light having just about gone, we tied up by the Barley Mow pub at Newbold Wharf. Waiting for us in the pub were wife Jan, daughter Alison and her fiance´ Ben.  That evening we all enjoyed an Indian meal at Alex and Amanda's house - it was excellent.

Back from our trip to c-c-c-cold Coventry

Yes, we had an excellent four days' boating on the Grand Union, North Oxford and Coventry Canals. Too tired to do a proper write-up now, will do so tomorrow. Briefly, though, I took Shadow from Stockton Top Marina to Newbold-on-Avon, picking up some friends on the way; thence to Coventry and back, breaking ice, to Stockton Top. When we got home this afternoon the house was freezing!

Possible boating next week - but is it icy?

We have an extra week on Shadow coming up in a few days, but the forecast is for night-time temperatures below freezing, and daytime temps not much above. The big question is: Will the cut be frozen? (Grand Union in Warwickshire) If the boat is iced in there won't really be much point going. Hmmm.

Happy Christmas!

I'm just off to the midnight service, but before I go I wish you all a

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Is it a lifeboat?

No, it's a piling boat. Spotted on the Grand Union just east of Leamington Spa last month. I looked up the company's website, trying various options before hitting on the right one: ale-piling.com (well, it looks like flale or feale before the hyphen, doesn't it? Ah - I see it now: a monogram combining the letters "A L E" presumably depicting the operation of piling.




According to the website:

"ALE Piling is the country's leading installer of steel sheet piling using side grip technology."

And what, you might ask, is "side grip technology"? The company explains:

"Surprisingly, side grip technology is not a new idea, it has been in this country for about 10 years with varying levels of success. As opposed to traditional installation techniques, where all installation and extraction is carried out from the top, side grip technology is as it says, gripping from the side."

So that's clear, then.

And so to Oxfordshire...

... to meet up with Maffi and Bones. First, though, I woke up on Shadow, moored, you recall, outside Stockton Top Marina on the Grand Union. The fire had gone out overnight, and it was cold on board. Got dressed, had breakfast. No toast (why did you take all the bread, David?) Carried on with cleaning, including emptying the stove and ash pan etc. When I tried to slide the slide open it was stuck fast. I didn't immediately realise why this was so; then I noticed that all the puddles of water were solid. No wonder I'd woken up cold: the whole place was frozen up (apart from the canal). I was so keen to finish cleaning and packing and get going that I neglected to take any photos.

At last (1030) I'd finished loading up and I could drive away. Only I couldn't: the car was iced up. It took so many attempts to start the engine that I thought the battery would surely die and I'd have to get assistance. Finally it fired, and kept going. Good. Now all I have to do is navigate my way south through the thick fog.

Which I did, with the bicycle hanging out of the boot as on the way here. A sat nav would have been handy as I found that there's probably been a new road built bypassing Southam since my map was printed. Never mind: Southam wasn't busy, and there were some nice old buildings.

In an hour or so I was driving alongside the Oxford Canal. Yes - there was Millie M... and NB Bones. And there, too, was Maffi himself. I unloaded one or two things, then drove Maffi to the shop for some doughnuts which we ate on his boat with a couple of cups of very welcome coffee. Takes it out of one, driving through fog! While we waited for Bones to be let out of work Maffi and I walked down to their new moorings, complete with private car park - very nice! We found a kayak in the undergrowth with Maffi's name on it (metaphorically speaking). We walked back to the pub, and had just sat down with our drinks, when the leather-clad Bones arrived (fresh from her motorbike, that is.) We had lunch (ham, egg and chips for me, very good) and then repaired to NB Bones for coffee. Actually, I should be careful about saying the word "repaired" in relation to Bones: we did a little "unrepairing" (tearing away some lining in the bedroom) in readiness for her rebuilding of it.

I was fortunate not to be embarrased with the discovery that it was Bones's birthday as I had brought a few small gifts, Just no birthday wrapping paper.

While it was still light Bones suggested a trip on her dinghy. Of course, we all agreed it would be a splendid thing to do, especially with the outboard engine. To prepare the outboard it had to be given a drink of gearbox oil. It's very thirsty, apparently.


Maffi with outboard engine and funnel for feeding it

And then we wobbled away from the bank and motored past huge narrowboats, their blackened steel hulls towering above us. And I took a few piccies.


sunset over Millie M and Bones


the Yellow Peril powering along the Oxford Canal


Dusty trying to swamp us with wash (or should that be trying to wash us with swamp?)






more sunset pictures over Maffi's and Bones's moorings

We managed not to fall in, even when disembarking. I thought we were safe, but then Bones wanted to try one of her birthday presents: a lethal-looking device for making fire! This was a sort of everlasting match which produced enormous sparks. The idea was to try to ignite some special tinder and thence paper etc.


After much persistence Bones got this to work. This was thankfully on the bow and not inside (where are the gas bottles?)


I had promised Jan I wouldn't be too late, so, after a most enjoyable few hours, I dragged myself away and drove home via Milton Keynes. Thanks Maffi and Bones, I look forward to our next encounter. One of these days it really will be by boat!