Monday 12 October 2009

From north of Yelvertoft to Crick, Leicester Arm and onto Braunston, Grand Union Canal

We have now made our way back to Braunston ready for dry docking next week, and becuse a trip home for a few days is also beckoning. Absolutely perfect boating weather by day, and we are certainly not alone in enjoying the October sunshine. very cool overnight and our thoughts are turning towards installation of a wood burner, we should have sorted out ages ago.

We have to say that at Yelvertoft on our way along the Leicester Arm ,we discovered a very good village butcher, with excellent meat and time to talk - highly recommended and well worth a visit. We shall return to him most certainly. Unfortunately, the visit to the village stores was memorable for different reasons.

An easy trip down the staircase of locks at Watford in the sunshine, assisted by helpful BW personnel, but as we were leaving the final lock, 'a jobs worth' element came into play. As another boat approached to go into the lock and on to a passing place, BW closed the gates in front of them and promptly refilled the lock. Unfortunately, every boat must speak to the lockkeeper who is at the top of the flight. Haven't these BW people heard of mobiles or walkytalkies? What a waste of water and energies.

Be back soon.

Saturday 10 October 2009

From above Foxton Locks to just north of Yelverton, Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section


Top hats, long tail coats, lace bonnets and shawls, flat caps and hob nail boots were the order of the day for many boaters we saw dressed in period costume setting off in a parade of boats from Foxton to Market Harborough to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the canal arm. VAGABOND, an elderly cruise boat containing a brass band, lead the procession away, to the sound of "for all those in peril on the sea"! There was a slight delay to the proceedings due to the late arrival of the horse for the horse drawn boat , but things went to plan after that.

So it was mid morning before we set off from Foxton, and true to form the weather forecasters got it slightly wrong today, as a fine drizzle fell, but all was quickly forgiven as lovely, warm, sunny afternoon soon materialised.The thermals must have been good too, as several gliders were circling overhead.

We have a feeling that today we passed "Indian Jo", on his boat Lakota Dream Spirit, who was slightly known to us as a fellow boater on the Mon and Brec when we had our hotelboats. He certainly looked familiar, but we hesitated to call out to him incase ......... May be we shall encounter him again and have a chance to chat.

Friday 9 October 2009

Foxton Locks, Leicester Section, Grand Union Canal



Well, after a 2 week holiday at home we have returned to the boat and made our way to Foxton, primarily to see the restoration work done here over the last 20 years since our last visit. Now it is a very tidy and well kept site with interest too as the remains of the inclined boat lift plane now very evident, plus the canal museum alongside is open. Plans are in place to fully restore the lift which will ease congestion of boats waiting to get upand down, in fact history will repeat itself.

We have spent the day here as we also wanted to take in a walk we had seen in the D/Tel - thankfully we were able to substitute some tarmac walking with paths across farmland and taking in well signed footpaths. A good 3 hours - need a dog! - made complete by some very enjoyable Theakston Black Bull ale at the pub below the lock staircase.


On our way to Foxton we boated down to Welford, down the pretty canal arm reopened 40 years ago. Rather a dreary place at the end of the canal, but Welford is an attractive village with, thankfully, a good little shop.

So tomorrow we will not proceed down the locks, but turnround and retrace our steps. There is a promenade of dressed boats and boaters in period costume tomorrow, to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of canal arm to Market Harborough. We will probably watch them leave and then make our way back towards Braunston.

Sorry no pictures this trip, left the camera behind, we hope!

Saturday 19 September 2009

From Kings Sutton to Fenny Compton, Oxford Canal

Well we have now passed through Banbury and that boat we saw being craned out must have been the submerged wreck we saw a couple of weeks ago. Banbury was very busy with boaters as we moored by the Castle Quay centre and lots of folk enjoying the autumn sun. Lunch with Mrs T and then off to find a quiet mooring out of the town.

Great excitement as we spotted a floating black lap top case! On retrieval we didn't find a lap top, but an absolutely sodden A4 notebook crammed with info and numbers plus some case notes, all barely readable by now of course, but obviously important to the author. We handed it over to the Police Station in Cropredy (ie the Village Stores) who will ensure it gets passed on.

Above the locks at Cropredy, there is an American landowner chap who has boat moorings, sells hens eggs and who had all these pumpkins stacking up, presumably for Thanksgiving.

Now we are back at Fenny Compton and would you believe it - as we were tying up, we struck up a conversation with a couple on the towpath who were admiring the boat and it transpired that they had hired from Cambrian Cruisers a couple of years ago. I don't think any of the 4 of us could recall one another!

Thursday 17 September 2009

Upper Heyford to Kings Sutton, Oxford Canal

An early start today to ensure we were ahead of the rest! We were still afloat, but the level was not quite what it should have been. It was at least mid morning before we saw a moving boat and it was rather pleasant to have the water and locks to ourselves for a time, even though it was a grey, still, bland sky all day.

After a brief stop at Aynho Wharf for lunch in The Great Western, (new owners since our canal pubs guide was published), we pushed on to Kings Sutton to moor up, making sure there was a goodly distance from the nearby railway.

En route this afternoon, we found Tuckeys (presumably working for British Waterways), craning out a cruiser that must have sunk - it had a valid licence and may well have been the navigational hazard we had to steer round, when we came through Banbury last week. We shall see tomorrow.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

From Kidlington Green to Upper Heyford, Oxford Canal

A normal start to the day proceeding northwards along the canal, until we got to Thrupp, where the canal was temporarily blocked by 'Dusty', the cheerful coal and diesel carrying chap who was off loading early winter supplies to boats.

We threaded our way through the maze of boats, and moved on through pretty Shipton on Cherwell, and onto Lower Heyford where a short queue of boats built up. As often happens in these situations, the lady crews quickly sort it all out and do the hard work, and the men just stand and wiggle the tillers!

This evening, after a short walk uphill, to the only pub in Upper Heyford, we carried out some quality control of Fullers ales, and returned to the boat, and as the water level was low, we have left the ropes a little slack. (Our last lock had a faulty top paddle, and so the pound is now down on where it should be.) As often happens overnight, water levels sort themselves out, and we will not have any problem tomorrow, certainly not if we get away early, after the bacon sandwiches!

Tuesday 15 September 2009

From Bablock Hythe, River Thames, to Kidlington, Oxford Canal

Some old territory and some new today - we retraced our passage down the Pinkerton and Eynsham locks, and then branched right, and on down to the King's Lock where the lady lock keeper had this helpful facility for cyclists - see picture.

Our route then took us on downstream to Godstow, and through our first electrically controlled lock (just like enFrancais), and out onto a very wide, fast flowing and extremely windy stretch of the Thames, we were fighting with the elements all the way until the shelter of Fiddlers Island, and then to the refuge of the Sheepwash Channel linking us via Isis Lock (picture) to Oxford and the canal again. Wending our way out of the urban area northwards, not an attractive aspect of the city, and we quickly realised we were back under the auspices of British Waterways, overhanging trees, and long stretches of linear moorings.

Thankfully we have found a mooring spot just outside Kidlington - autumn is most definitely here - a cool, windy, overcast day, and the barometer is falling!