On to The Kennet and Avon

At last I have a waterway to blog about that I have not blogged out before!  That’s not to say we haven’t been on this canal before – it was the first canal we did as liveaboards back in 2007 but that was before blog days.  I remember it being very hard work due to the number of double locks and swing/lift bridges and finding mooring spots hard to obtain – we will see.  We did go to Bristol and back in about 3 weeks – far too fast!!

Soon after entering the K&A you come to Blakes Lock, the last under the jurisdiction of the Environment Agency.  The lock keeper was at lunch so we had to sort ourselves out.  (My maiden name just happened to be Blake so nostalgia is hard to suppress!)

             

We went round The Abbey Loop really just to see what the moorings are like round there and we found Blake’s Wharf:-

     Back on the main part of the river we saw his cottages:-

              SO …………………………. who WAS Blake?

Is this statue in his memory?

                                          

Anyway, onward through the Oracle Centre in Reading.  The last time we did this I remember feeling like a goldfish in a bowl but it didn’t seem so bad this time.

Yesterday Megan had come to find us and she and I had walked in and around the shops in Reading so I now know what retail establishments lie beyond this centre as well as what’s inside it!!

                                

We carried on through and at the second lock outside of Reading we met a lady in her seventies on a small Cornish Crabber – she had set off from Falmouth in the Spring, had gone all along the South coast, come up the Thames and is now making her way to Bristol to go out at Avonmouth.  She’s raising money for the provision of wells in Ethiopia.

As in the past we’ve found it difficult to find somewhere to moor for the night so are sort-of stuffed in the reeds up against a meadow!  Lola thinks it’s great!! xxoo

The Royal River Thames

We are all enjoying being back on The River Thames – “Ellen” is loving the deep, clean water, Lola is loving the open spaces where we have managed to moor, John is loving having stretches of the river to ourselves and room to manoeuvre and me?  I just love it all!

     

     

We stopped off at Oxford for a walk around – we hadn’t really done that before.  The city of Oxford was busy!  Lots of people, lots of traffic (with the exception of London I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many buses in such close proximity before!) lots of shops and lots of bicycles.

           

We decided that we also wanted to visit Dorchester – Dorchester-on-Thames that is, not the Dorchester in Dorset!  In order to do this you need to be able to moor somewhere near Days Lock and, in the past, moorings have always been full.  This time we were lucky!  What a brilliant spot!  And, what a pretty little place Dorchester-on-Thames is – lots of thatched and half-timbered buildings, a huge Abbey church which is now the parish church and the happiest, friendliest little Co-op I’ve ever shopped in!  From where we moored it was a really nice 20 minute walk across the fields.  Our friends, Gary and Joan drove from their home in Wargrave and came to have dinner with us.

On the other side of the river, accessed by crossing over Little Wittenham footbridge, you can walk to – or rather up to – Wittenham Clumps.  These are clumps of beech trees on top of hills (Round Hill and Castle Hill) where there are remains of ancient hill forts and spectacular views of the river and surrounding countryside.

       

Spot Ellen’s red back door.

Wittenham Clumps

There are also waymarked paths through Little Wittenham Wood and dogs don’t even have to be on leads!  Red kites are becoming more and more numerous the closer we get to Reading.

Well worth a visit.

xxoo

It’s Debatable …….

“Times they are a-changin”  (Who sang that and when?)                                                                                                                 Some really experienced and respected boaters have said that things on the canals aren’t as good as they used to be, that things have changed for the worse.  What makes them think that and are they right?

I know it’s inevitable because things can never stay still/ remain the same but, we have noticed:-

AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE BOATS

Mature, Experienced Citizens, (yes, like ourselves) have most definitely taken a real liking to the canals and narrow boating – marinas are full of boats owned by folk like us and more and more have become Liveaboards and cruise all year.  I’ve been doing some cut research and I can say with confidence that 8/10 private boats are operated by males who have, judging by their hair – (grey/white/silver/dyed or none!), seen the better side of 60 – or at least 50.  At the height of the season, certainly in the Braunston area, it has been ridiculously busy, private boats out-numbering hire boats by about 10-1.  It does make everything much more difficult – passing boats, being passed, mooring, pulling away off a mooring, getting onto the water points, getting through bridge holes, getting through locks etc etc.  All this is bound to increase stress levels and must directly relate to the suspected increase in instances of intolerance.

CRUSING PATTERNS  

At the height of the season and on particularly busy sections it now seems that the thing to do is to set off early in the morning and then stop earlier in the day. In popular places it is now not unusual to be passed by the first boat at about 6.30am.  Not being an early-riser myself, by 9.00am I’ve generally not only lost count but patience too!!  Some boaters pass slowly showing a degree of consideration for those of us who are not floating insomniacs and some pass quietly showing a degree of consideration for those of us who like to confront a new day in a subtle fashion …… but not all!  The early-to-get-going lot also seem to be the early-to-moor-up-for-the day lot.  If you arrive at a popular spot past 4pm there’s little chance of finding somewhere to moor.  Surely this cruising behaviour is directly related to the sheer number of boats now out and about and is really only an issue in the summer months.  Again though, it does add to stress levels and accompanying intolerance.

TOLERANCE LEVELS  

Several well-established boaters have expressed their belief that boaters aren’t as nice to each other as they used to be.  I must admit that too often this year I’ve been told tales by very upset people about being shouted at, sworn at, moaned at and most of those with the bad tempers have been private boaters who don’t stop to ask questions or assess situations before shouting.  We are all capable of making a bad decision – like the hire boater who didn’t realise another boat was approaching a lock and proceeded to empty it.  It was a genuine mistake but, boy, did his ears pay a high price for that mistake!  Then there was the teenage boy on his holiday who was doing more than a reasonable job at steering his hired boat but he clipped a lock gate on entry.  My goodness, how rude was a moored up private boater – going on about damage to infra structure – I bet he’s bashed a few lock gates in his time.  That lad was really upset and it took lots of persuasion by this dad to get him to stay on the tiller.

Other things that trigger intolerance (some of them being more than justified*) seem to be:-

• when you’re trying to pull away from being moored up and, even though the ropes have been untied for some time, you struggle to get the back away before someone comes steaming along and then accuses you of ‘pulling out in front’!
• when it’s so shallow or silted up that you are forced to go slowly and those behind seem to think you are doing it on purpose.  We met a chap who had a horrid experience in the Chirk Tunnel.  Because of the current, the shallow water and the deep draft of his boat he ended up going backwards!  He resorted to jumping off and pulling it through.  He said he had to suffer dreadful verbal abuse from those behind.  Why didn’t they just get off and help him?  This man refused to go any further – he turned round at the next winding hole.
• lone boaters*  If they make some effort to help – fine - but some of them just assume you’re going to do it all for them. Yesterday I locked a single hander through a lock.  He made no effort to help.  Standing on the tiller he looked up, grinned and said to me “ It’s such hard work on my own.”  “Yes”, said I.  “I can see that!”
• Non-compliant Continual Cruisers in very neglected boats, toot all over the tow path and, this year, we passed one that had not only been in the same place for at least 3 months but had also pitched a tent! *
• Speeding past moored boats*

Sadly, it’s always the bad instances we tend to remember the most.  The majority of the boaters we meet are lovely, friendly and helpful.  The sheer volume of boats now on the system makes the likelihood of confrontations higher but I suspect the grumpy, ill-tempered minority have always been there and always will be.  Some people are never happy unless they’re moaning about something!

xxoo

Taking the p**s………

We’ve lived all our adult lives believing that it’s cheaper and more sensible to DIY it if you can – painting, decorating, car maintenance, gardening, fitting kitchens, fitting bathrooms, making soft furnishings etc etc  So, boat-related things, in the main, we try to tackle ourselves.  DIY should be a cheaper option …… shouldn’t it?

Well, when it comes to the modern-day, CaRT pump out, think again!

Was it not bad enough when the price of a DIY pump out card rose 50% in one fell swoop - £10.00 - £15.00?  For a £15.00 card you got 25 points in order to do a pump out.  The Skipper tells me it only takes 20 points to complete a pump out so what happens to the 5 remaining points?  “What can I do with the 5 remaining points on the card?” John asked the lady at the Anderton Boat Lift where we bought some cards.  “Oh, you can use them on an electricity point,” said she.  Right!  Where might they be then?  We’ve seen something suspicious-looking on the Chesterfield canal and a couple going down to Boston but I bet they wouldn’t accept our 5-points-remaining card.  Actually, we now have FOUR cards with 5 points remaining on each!

AND, to make matters worse, when we purchased a couple more cards this year, we found they had gone up in price again – they now cost £16.00!  For that you:-

• have to DIY
• get no Blue added unless you put it in at your own extra cost
• worry that you’re going to run out of time before you’ve been able to give the tank a decent rinse out
• pay for more points than you actually need

DIY pump out a good financial option?   Not at the moment it isn’t.  Some marinas are not charging more than that but no doubt they will soon ‘wise-up’!  Perhaps this is a sneaky way of getting DIY pump outs off the canals altogether!  Cards need to be 20 points for £12.00.  As it is, whichever way you look at it, it’s a case of taking the p**s!  No wonder so many of our boating colleagues have opted for cassettes!

xxoo

Guess Where?

BIG CLUE:- Long, leafy cuttings which look beautiful especially when the sun is shining.

BIG CLUE:- Very tall bridges.

BIG CLUE:- Views of The Wrekin.

AND, at last ……………… BIG CLUE:- The Anchor Inn which was open!

All the guides say that this drinking establishment is in a time warp – an original Public House where the bars are in the sitting rooms.  Every time we’ve passed we’ve stopped but Olive, the Landlady, has had the pub closed.  NOT THIS TIME!  And, yes, it is old fashioned and unspoilt.  The tiny bar is at the end of what I suppose is/was the hallway, the toilets are still outside and the garden is immaculate.

            

          

We’ve had a lovely couple of days based at Brewood where our friends Mick and Lynn joined us but are now back on the Staffs and Worcester heading towards Penkridge where we are to be joined by our next visitors.

xxoo

Blacking a BIG Bottom ……!

When we have to get Ellen’s bottom blacked it’s a significant event.  We’ve never done it ourselves but talking to those who have ……. it’s hard, messy work!

Well!  Consider the DIY blacking of a Dutch Barge – that’s the task son, Ben, has undertaken this week.  It’s actually a ship so …………… he has taken it to a shipyard ……………… at Chatham on the Medway.  A big boat needs a big dry dock!

Going through London – sights we have experienced ourselves on “Ellen” …………….

(* Little bits of factual info for those who like to know …….)

 

*The London Eye stands 137 metres above the city.  On a fine day you can apparently see as far as Heathrow Airport and Windsor Castle.

 

 

 

*HMS Belfast was in active service as a Royal Navy Cruiser.  She was commissioned on 5th August 1939 just before the outbreak of WW2 and finally decommissioned on 24th August 1963.  She was launched on St Patrick’s Day 1938.  She is now part of The National Historic Fleet and operated by The Imperial War Museum.  Each year she receives 1/4 million visitors.

*Tower Bridge was built by Sir John Barry & Sir Horace Jones between 1886 and 1894. 

and, going downstream, sights we haven’t …………………

*The Cutty Sark was built on the Clyde in 1869.  She was one of the last tea clippers and one of the fastest sailing ships of her time.  She too is on The National Historic Ships Register and is now kept permanently at Greenwich.

She is one of only three remaining other clipper ships built in C19th.  Of the others one is in Australia and the other in Chile.  In 2007 she was badly damaged by fire but she is now fully restored and once again open to the public.

 

 

*The O2 Arena.  We still haven’t been there!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

*The Thames Barrier.  520 metres wide and built as part of the effort to protect London from flooding due to rising water levels and tidal surges.  This design was chosen from amongst 41 different proposals.

 

 

 

*The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.  It was opened by the Queen on 30/10/1991 and its construction cost £120 million.  It’s 137 metres high and, despite the toll, an average of 130,000 vehicles use it on a daily basis.

 

 

  At sea …..

 

Arriving at the dry dock at Chatham.

 

 

 

 

 

I  wish we had been able to accompany him either there or back but it was just not to be.

Adapting Lifestyle

For what seemed like my entire career I was told that I had to embrace and cope with change!  Considering the profession I was in, coping with the changes to our lives now should be a doddle!

We have been on a mission to get back to Dorset to check on the house and garden and then get back to “Ellen” to continue cruising.  We know of several other boaters who do this every year and they make it look so easy!  At he end of June our good friends, Jane and Ron, came to spend a few days cruising with us.  We put the boat into Swanley Marina and were driven all the way back!  Well, that was easy!

 

We were met by a jungle!  Originally we thought that all we wanted was a small courtyard garden but it didn’t quite work out that way.

We have spent the best part of the last three weeks gardening!  It’s now back under control and  ………………………. we’ve left it to it’s own devises yet again!  Gluttons for punishment or what!

We did manage a couple of trips to the coast and Megan came to stay for a few days too.  It was really good to see her.  She is looking so well.

 

I can now officially announce that the thing we thought was never going to happen for us …… is!  In November we are going to become grandparents!  We are going to have a grandson …. how brilliant is that!

Lola loved swimming in the sea and wasn’t fazed one bit by the waves.

Getting back to Swanley was much more of a mission!  We let the train ‘take the strain’ (and the bank account!) but, all told, it took us best part of eight hours!  The journey itself was very straightforward – to Salisbury, change to Newport (yes, in Wales!) and then via lots of other places to Nantwich.  We could have gone via London but we thought the scenic route would be much kinder for Lola.  She was superb – most of the time other passengers (and there were lots – train travel IS popular) didn’t even know she was there.   Nantwich to the marina via taxi and we were finally back on board by 5.30 pm.  Despite my best efforts to safeguard my flowers, most of them had perished.  Such a shame because they were looking glorious before we left.  After all these years John is going to get his wish – no pots on the roof!

Anyway, we are now heading back down the Shroppie and it feels like we’ve never been away! 

xxoo