27th February 2014

The day started early with a reverse into the winding hole and back into the last lock on the Oxford. By the end of the day I will have travelled 16 miles and 11 locks together with 5 lift bridges of varying ease. A good day and no repeat issues with some of the previous problem areas.

As I approached Dashwood Lock there were two large raptors floating above looking like vultures awaiting the imminent death of their next meal. I had a comical thought of some ‘single hander’ stuck in the lock and being viewed as lunch by some arial carnivores. As it turned out these were Red Kites and not the usual Buzzards and they performed a beautiful display for several enthralling minutes. They effortlessly moved away until they were just dots inn the sky and I can only guess they had travelled miles in so little time. Terrific viewing and all for free.  The vivid colours were so bright even against the light sky and they certainly earned their name RED Kites.

Anyway nothing much more to report on today’s journey so I’ll call it a night and publish this if the wifi holds up just one more minute.

Just one more thing. Last Saturday we had a minor altercation with a member of the Cropredy Canoe group. I made some remarks about this in my blog, and remarkably the person involved has contacted us and this together with my reply can be seen on the Contact Us tab. I haven’t yet worked out why this resides in that tab and the ‘comments’ from others are in the Recent Comments block. It’ll no doubt come clear at some stage.

26th February 2014

I sit here at the end of the Oxford Canal and have decided that the journey down the Thames is not going to happen on this occasion. I rode the bike along the towpath to the first lock along the river, Osney Lock, and the amount of water was far too much for safe passage; the delay for it to become safe is likely to be beyond that which I can last before I have to attend my training course – that may still be cancelled I suppose.

The access to the lock mooring is blocked by a large floating work platform and I can only imagine that they don’t expect any vessels approaching the lock as there is no room to moor and hold against the flow into the weir. There is a warning note in the write-up about the lock advising speedy roping of boats by the lock as the flows are fast. The river is red boarded at all points and I suspect it will be several weeks before any narrow boats will be allowed to enter.

When I got back I had some tea and sat and watch the TV. As happens occasionally I fell asleep only to awake when the boat seemed to rock unexpectedly. You all know how it is when reality and fiction blend together and the fact that the boat is attached only with knock-in mooring pins on a soft banking all merged to shock me into thinking that I was drifting on the river and needed to rescue the boat from it’s impending collision. I shot to the side door and relief came like ten birthdays all at once as I discovered it had all been a dream. It maybe goes to show that the flow that I witnessed had a great affect on me.

Anyway with the decision made I had an early night and know that tomorrow I am on my way home, not in the planned direction of the Grand Union, but re-tracing my recent route back up the Oxford but maybe this time with a little more knowledge of what to expect. The early night worked and the concern over soft banks and knock in mooring pins meant I would get little sleep and I was awake at 5.00a.m. and had to await daylight (again) before I could start my journey home. It seems too often that I am seeing the sun rise on one side of the boat and 12 hours later see it disappear on the other side. It would be better if there was someone to see it with me though.

Sorry about the delay in posting the last few blogs but a combination of bad signals on the mobile Personal Hotspot, computer power and my frustration with the former meant I could only prepare the post on Word to be sent when levels of signal are better, as they are tonight.

 

25th February 2014

The trains acted as the best alarm clock and so I had an early start and made my way steadily towards the next possible hold-up – the River Cherwell. There’s been constant notices advising that the river section was high (red boarded) and I still had to cross this point. When I reached the marker boards the level was showing just on the line between red and amber. I met a local boater who was permanently moored on the canal above the river and he said that the level had been another 2 feet higher than was showing now. Anyway I had lunch and walked the river section to check on the flow along the full length. It was just like the canal with hardly any flow at all. So I went back to the boat ready to go through.

By the time I got back to the boat it was a new colour – white. During my lunch break there had been a very heavy down-pour but only for a few minutes. I can only imagine that some local factory  chimney output had been affected by the rain, and the dust, normally air-borne, was scrubbed by the rain and poor old Mercury got a colour change. I decided to reduce my journey and give the boat a good wash down. The river was as calm as it looked and caused no danger to my journey.

The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful except for another lift bridge adventure!! This one was an electrically operated affair and should have been simple but for the fact that I ended up on the wrong side of the water. I say water since the approach side was a marina facilty /winding hole and by the time I realised that there was a lift bridge I was past the chance of mooring on the ‘right’ side (on the side where the Operating Panel is) . Anyway no problem just back up and swing onto the other side. No chance as the wind was too strong on the bend and Mercury was always blown into other vessels (and contact with another boat is definitely a no-no). After a couple of attempts I decided to just haul it through with a long rope but luckily a kind passer-by saw my problem and offered to operate the bridge. But that was when the horror of it all came home. There was  a second Operating Panel on the other side that I had not even seen!!! Hey Ho. Just another bit of the learning curve of single handing.

I thanked my kind passer-by and thankfully left Thrupp. Hopefully any return journey through this lovely area will be better that this one. I travelled only another couple of miles, mooring up at a quiet stretch and settled down for a better night than last.

 

 

24th February 2104

Today seemed hard work. a combination of ‘getting back into it’ after the weekend break and the reality that I was back alone again, didn’t exactly thrill me and it was a push. Anyhow I had resolved to take things steady for the last few days into Oxford so I had a short day reaching a busy little village of Lower Hayford and for some unknown reason managed to moored straight over the tracks at the railway station. Not too many trains (or so it seemed) so I settled down and resolved to live (temporarily) with the trains.

The journey to Lower Hayford was hard work because of a strong wind. There were quite a few lift bridges and thankfully most of them were left in the open position but one in particular caused me problems. The wind was coming from my right causing Mercury to move along the canal slightly sideways. The aft end gets blown further across the canal and rather like turning into a skid in a car you have to steer towards the wind to maintain a forward motion. As I approached this lift bridge the boat was really crabbing and my feelings were that i was likely to have a severe impact if I chanced getting through at normal speed. Perhaps as things worked out it might have been better but at the slow speed I used the wind was much more dominant. Mercury was blown against a particularly nasty bridge wall and literally ground its way through finishing up in the reeds just beyond the bridge hole. Getting out of the shallows proved difficult too and i would estimate i lost an hour in the whole episode. At least with a narrow boat slight paint damage is a fact of life and not a major event as it would be with a car. I have a friend who describes narrow boating as a ‘contact sport and maybe that’s not too far from the truth.

At my chosen mooring place the trains were noisy, fast and long and I promised myself that I would resist mooring in such a close proximity to the tracks in future. At 5.15a.m. the first of the morning passed through not very quietly and in the end I got up and dressed by 5.45. Too dark to move and too early to do anything else.

 

 

 

23rd February 2014

The target to reach Banbury on Saturday was achieved and I had a little help over the last three locks. Sue met me at Cropredy at about 10.30a.m. and we cruised slowly into Banbury to moor up outside the Quays shopping centre. We spend the rest of the day looking around the town which is of particular interest to boaters being the start of Tom Rolt’s journey on nb Cressy in his popular diary of events of 1939, Narrowboat. A tremendous read for anyone interested in the revival of the canals in Britain by the formation of the IWA (Inland Waterways Association)

 In a much less impressive way I had a hard day on Thursday (21^st) traveling from Braunston to just outside Cropredy which I measured to be 19 miles and 13 locks (8 at Napton and 5 at Claydon). I finished as the weather closed in and it was not sensible to continue but had an 11 hour-day. I woke early and completed the 4 locks down into Cropredy and moored up just below the lock.

 By this stage the boat was very grubby looking as a consequence of dirty ropes being constantly dropped onto the roof and dripping dirt and mud down the sides. I spent a useful 30 minutes washing down before I got the message that Sue had arrived in the village. 10 minutes later we were on the way to Banbury having purchased some ‘just baked’ bread from the local village shop. Lovely.

The journey was slightly notable because of the swarm of canoeists out on the cut for a weekend practice. There must have been 30 or 40 mostly young kids paddling away and enjoying the event. and we were restricted to making way very slowly. Only one of their party (an older person who should have been setting an better example) spoiled the occasion by having some inane desire to squash himself on the side of nb Mercury and try as we might he played a suicidal game twice racing through spaces that were quickly disappearing. 15 ton of steel boat against 90kg of flesh and plastic. What an idiot! Anyway by my careful avoidance tactics he still lives and although I had decided to pay a visit to the clubhouse and voice my complaints about his stupid behaviour the time wasn’t available and maybe I’ll just ring them and let them know of my feelings of his antics. Sue was of the opinion that he just couldn’t see (he was wearing glasses) and maybe that was the excuse? Either way he needs telling.

Sue, sadly, left on Sunday and after we walked back to the car at Cropredy she set off home and I cycled back to the boat, had a haircut and then set off to moor up out of town. It’s nice in Banbury but you get used to being quiet on an evening and towns tend to have more problems for boaters than in the county. The wind was strong and it wasn’t long out of town that I moored up and watched an bit of TV, reflecting on the journey so far and the short distance I have yet to cover in order to get to the River Thames. Will it be ok to enter the Thames at Oxford? Well in two or three days I’ll know and the question will be answered.

Tomorrow I traverse sections of canal that have been hit by the floods of the River Cherwell but I understand now are cleared for passage. I have a total of 19 miles and 13 locks inter spaced along route. I plane to do this over two days at a steady pace, continuing to hone the single handed techniques, as there are also several lift and swing bridges also which bring with them more problems for the single handed boater.

Bye for now.

20th February 2014

Had a fair day today reaching Braunston Turn which leads me to a short run along the Grand Union Canal tomorrow and then back onto the southern Oxford Canal. My target is to get to Banbury as early as possible on Saturday. This will be 20 miles and 19 locks!!! I need to be away early to have a chance so thus post may be short.

I had two hours of rain this morning followed by the best of weather for February. Towards the end I was chilly and glad to reach a suitable stopping point but overall the day was what I believe is best about winter cruising especially with skipper hire. Our customer can rest assured that the new destination will be achieved but can enjoy the best of the good days and avoid the worst of the bad days. The canals are quiet and little problems with traffic at the regular pinch points. The view seem that much crisper in the winter day light. I saw a large flock of thrushes gathering and performing the airborne group-swirls (I didn’t realize that they give a screeching accompaniment to the ballet too). There was a group of crows seeing off a buzzard in no uncertain terms. Really good day for seeing the countryside activities from the canal.

My techniques through the locks single handed is getting more into a routine.  I still forget to turn off the engine every time but it’s definitely getting more sequenced. I can bow-haul the boat on these narrow locks quicker than driving in and it’s safer I think, not having to jump onto the roof or jump off before the lock. It seems to be if I meet anyone that I don’t follow the routine, so will have to be more disciplined when people are around. I have a been through a long run of relatively lock free runs but that’s due to change tomorrow. 8 locks at Napton and and a further 11 to get me into Banbury. Should have got into a sensible pattern by the end of that lot.

Anyway I’m turning in for today to get an early start tomorrow. Will type some more after my long day.

19th February 2014

Another very pleasant day starting with a bit of a drizzle then turning bright lasting for most of the day. I stopped of at Nuneaton to get some ‘slime’ for the bike tyres (with three punctures in as many days am taking Mikes advice). Does anyone remember the Slime that was sold in the 60’s? Small containers of a gloopy substance that was supposed to have some entertainment value but failed pretty quickly. But now slime is the generic term of a substance spayed into bike innertubes and automatically seals small holes caused by the ubiquitous hawthorns that form the surface of the canal towpaths. Here’s hoping it resolves my current puncture problem.

There was a market in Nuneaton and well worth a visit if anyone’s near on Wednesdays. It was very busy and leaving the guy at Halfords to do the business with my wheels, I stocked up with lots of fruit and veg, some ham to boil and some other bits and pieces.  When I got back to the boat (with arms like an urang utan) I re-fitted the wheels, stowed the bike and set along the high level pond which is the high point of the Coventry Canal.

I passed the impressive Marston Junction – start of the Ashby Canal – and eventually came to the Oxford Canal at Hawkesbury Junction. This was a very important junction in the heydays of Canal Transport and has many old warehouses and large houses that would have been the dwellings of the current industrialist of the time. The living history of these junctions is fascinating and I took a leisurely hour to have walk round and try and visualize what the old times would have really been like. Not safe to walk round I suspect. There is a very shallow lock here of about 6 inches depth. Small in terms of what I’m used to on the Trent & Mersey (around 12 feet normal) but when you think how much water is held by that 6 inch of lock it’s incredible – about 12 miles at 20 feet wide!

Another thing is the accuracy that the engineers maintained to only require this small adjustment to level these two canals. Someone produced a level for the top lock at Atherton and the top lock of the Oxford, Hillmorton, which is about 25 miles away. This difference is about 6 inches over this distance! No theodolites or lazer levels in the 18th centuary either. Clever people that’s for sure.

Anyway I moored up just before the junction and will be setting out on the Oxford Canal tomorrow. I am led to believe that the stoppages reported last week are now over and the passage through to Oxford is now possible. I’ve had no notification for C&RT so not completely convinced but will press on until things change.

Bye for now.

18th February 2014

It was a cool morning with a slight drizzle, but the first chance to start unhindered without flood restrictions. Checked the engine and after watching Team GB men’s curling team make the semi-finals and I set off with Atherstone Flight in my sights. Fazeley offices were not open when I called to drop off some Advertising leaflets but posted a pack for their attention (hopefully). Filled up with water, emptied the bins and off to do some locks. The Coventry is a long pound (no locks) from Fradley to Fazeley and would make a good narrowboat day-trip venue so as not to be delayed with lock work. In summer would be a good day’s journey, with extra traffic to be negotiated in the high season.

The weather cleared up and I dispensed with the waterproofs to get on with the task of locks once out of Fazeley. Only two and then a 6 mile journey to the start of the Atherstone flight. Here we find eleven locks made up of three sets of two with a group of five to finish with. You pass through rural, urban, allotments and industrial backdrops whilst negotiating Atherstone Flight – not that I was intent on sight-seeing today. My main aim of this exercise is to establish workable methods to be employed in handling nb Mercury single handed. The big thing is to be safe and efficient with my methods.

Anyway I was through by 5.00 p.m. and cruised for another 30 minutes to clear the town suburbs finally mooring near bridge 34 in open countryside. Hopefully good views in the morning as I’m on the highest level of the Coventry Canal and should be looking out over Leicestershire (I think or maybe Staffs)? Lovely and quiet far away from roads and the rail has left me now for a short rest.

Today nb Mercury has covered 15 miles and climbed 13 locks in an overall time of 10 hours including water replenishment (about half and hour). Not bad for a single handed effort and there was certainly no interest in rushing. Tomorrow I plan to push on at the same pace and see if I can get through Nuneaton, Bedworth and skirt around Coventry. I should be on the Oxford Canal tomorrow by the time I moor and will have a better knowledge of possible weather effects.

Bye for now.

17th February 2014

This morning I finalised the trim round the heater blower and whilst waiting for the kettle to boil I rang C&RT to see when they thought the river section would be open. To my absolute surprise the section had literally just been changed to Amber – Proceed With Caution. On with the waterproofs and off we go.

I had feeling of joy tinged with anxiety but glad to be moving again. I got to Wychnor Lock to find that the bottom gate was still secured shut with a wire strop and a phone call back to my new best friend at C&RT sorted that and yet again confirmed that the river was ok to cross. Within 5 minutes a van arrived and the strop was removed. I was the first to cross the flow and whilst strong, it was ok and things went well.Time now to text Sue and tell her I was though – I knew she wouldn’t have wanted to know I was going to start the passage.  On the top side I had lots of people asking if I’d come through, what was it like and  I could see that there were quite a few boats waiting for the go-ahead.

I pushed on for the rest of the day and stopped at 6.00.p.m. at Hopwas on the Coventry Canal just missing my target of Fazeley by a mile. It was pretty gloomy by then and 20 minutes in the mornings’ light will get me there safely. After the delight of getting moving again its easy to do too much I suppose and I needed to moor up and have something to eat.

I’ll have an early night as there’s a more positive feeling and I will be up early and off as soon as it’s light enough.

Bye for now.

16th February 2014

After a day like today I begin to believe that I might make it down to the Thames after all. Even the weather on Country File seemed to be more positive. This week will have some showers but nothing too major and that might start the levels receding – in my optimistic mind anyway!

I had a great bike ride this morning, found a glove that I lost two days ago and had another look at the high waters at Alrewas. Still high but the flow was not as bad as it was yesterday.  I measured about three miles an hour at the surface. The weather has attracted lots of gongoozlers down to the river section to see the swollen waters and it was quite a touristy spot.

I fixed the fan heater as mentioned yesterday and saw a big improvement in heat output. It also looks better now so proved to be a good change. Just a bit of finishing on the surround pieces but ran out of daylight and didn’t want a lot of sawdust in the boat from the sander. It’ll look like bought one by the time it’s finished.

Had another inquiry tonight and it looks like this can be converted into an order. End of April, so will need to get a good run back along the Grand Union on the return journey from the Thames (if I manage to get there).  It’s needed near Nottingham so will probably go straight there since I’ll be on the Trent anyway. Anyway will know tomorrow if it’s a definite. 

Bye for now – it’s late.