Saturday and coming up Caen flight - here and I in the lock with NB Reginald. We worked out quite a good system and managed to climb all 29 in less than 5 hours so shorter than going down!
Ju, half of our volunteer crew - having a relax for some reason (you can't get the staff)
Me slogging away over a hot tiller - it was really warm that day, here I'm going into a lock and seem very nonchalant about it - can't remember that feeling!
We moored at the top of the locks at Devises Wharf and almost immediately the phone rang and it was Glen! Our Rolex River Rescuer! He'd been walking up and down the locks and somehow missed us, poor love thought his legs were going to drop off. Anyway we sat him down and gave him a coffee and let him get his breath back a bit. It was lovely to see him, AND he'd bought us a bottle of his home made wine....not something to be taken lightly or on an empty stomach, but very acceptable!
It's lovely when people visit like that - it means such a lot that they go out of their way to see us.
We found a Chinese takeaway just around the corner and had a feast that evening, then a very early night as Jess and Ju were totally wiped out - we were a bit tired but obviously used to an outdoor life and the exercise. Oldies beat youth that night!
They left the next morning and we stocked up with groceries and set off again, overtaking Vark who had arrived there the day before - we are going to be seeing them off and on I suspect throughout the length of the canal til we get to Reading.
Leaving Caen Locks behind.
We got to Honeystreet but all the decent moorings had gone so this is how we ended up. Paddy was delighted (not) at having to use the gangplank. His toe is much better but he's still limping a bit if he goes too far. We had hoped to moor at different places on the way back but moorings are so few and far between that I don't think we'll be very successful. We had no reception here so no log on Sunday.
On Monday we continued our trip, and John resumed his running which he'd not done for a few days, and I managed to snap this suspension bridge that was built by the 'wide' section to placate the landowner back in the day. I'd missed this on the trip out but managed to get it this time.
John was in raptures about this little boat, and I have to admit it's rather sweet, what on earth can they have inside it though? John just likes wooden boats I think.
We were enjoying the 14mile or so stretch of lockless canal but it came to an end today. We'd hoped to moor at Wootton Rivers, just after the first lock where we knew there were good moorings but it was not to be. The canal is a lot busier now than it was a few weeks ago we notice, and all the decent moorings (not that there are many) are gone. We moored up in a bank of nettles and reeds and put out the washing, but on finding that we had no reception as well as a rubbish mooring, I took the washing down and we moved on. We ended up going up all the remaining locks to get to the summit, went through the Bruce Tunnel (still voted the Harman best tunnel) and moored eventually a bit before the first lock to go down. Still no reception and still reeds and stingers, but no gangplank needed so that was considered a bonus! No blog on Monday, but strangely a TV reception for the first time in ages.
Mooring by Bridge 103. We can't believe how much the banks have overgrown in the past few weeks!
Just one of the many photos I took in the Crofton Pumping Station. An amazing place and still working on selected weekends throughout the year. This supplied the summit with water to keep the locks working for many years and I think I put a photo of the outside of it on when we went past before but we didn't get to stop then.
We were overtaken by Vark briefly at this point but we went past them again while they were moored for lunch!
looking down from the top windows of the pumping station you can see our boat, centre of picture moored next to the bank with another boat moored alongside us. We are between 2 widebeams. There is the railway line right next to the canal - a feature of much of this stretch.
I had company in the lock just after the pumping station - a large grass snake was swimming alongside the boat. It finally rested on the rubbish that accumulates inside the gates - you can see him in the top corner of the photo. I hope he got out OK, he didn't seem that happy in there and kept raising his head up as if looking for land.
It was quite a good spot for wildlife actually as there was a red kite flying closer to us than I'd ever seen before. They really are the most beautiful birds. Naturally I didn't have my camera to hand on either occasion, but will keep a lookout. We didn't see them when we came the other way in this area so are quite excited about this one.
We cruised on to Great Bedwyn, again the good moorings had gone and where we moored before was now impossible to get to because of the growth that has now sprung up along the bank. We are in a very similar position to last night - back well out aground and the bow pulled in with a mat down to try to hold back the reeds etc. and a slight leap of faith needed to get ashore. At least I'm up to date with the blog now. Who knows what tomorrow might hold?????
That suspension bridge is the only one of it's kind to have survived by the way.. so quite a famous bridge!
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