Lazy start today so got off about 11. It made a nice change!
It was a bit gloomy but dry and we pottered along quite happily.
We were warned that there was a tree down near bridge 110, and sure enough there it was, just enough room for a narrow boat to get through whilst scraping on the bottom a bit but there was a wide beam waiting, unable to move. It was Damien and co. Who'd we'd moored next to at Kintbury. They'd rung CRT but had no idea when they were going to be able to get out. Hopefully it wasn't too long, but we were unable to help.
The first lock we came to at Wootton Rivers (thinking of Alan and Lynn and sending nice thoughts when we passed 'their ' winding hole) was in our favour but that was about it apart from the couple where other boats were coming through.
Despite that we did really well, 5 hours and we covered 7 miles and 10 locks.
Unusually we stopped for lunch, mainly because John had noticed that there was a track that led to Wolf Hall. So we went for a bit of a walk after our bacon sarnie, and sure enough it was there, but completely hidden in a fold in the hills and it wasn't the original in any case. Oh well, we had a walk in any case!
We got to Crofton Locks and the weather ( which I'd checked as staying dry) changed and started drizzling. By the time we got to the moorings it was pretty wet, and we were lucky enough to get on the last mooring, which is signed as being for 24 hours, although it is halfway across the lock mooring. It was 5.45, wet and we'd hardly met a boat all day so here we are. Well within the mooring sign, but still feeling a bit guilty!
Hungerford tomorrow!
Perfect Harmony
Moored at Huntingdon
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
Monday, 13 July 2015
13th July '15
I hadn't realised how long it was since I'd posted on this.
On Friday we left early but another boat got up before us, so most of the locks (29 of them) were against us. We went up on our own until the last few locks where another boat ( the one who gone up before us, but had stopped for lunch) asked to join us. They were a perfect match for us, I didn't get names but the lady helmsman and I went in perfect tandem in and out of the locks and the 2 crew from their boat, and John got the locks sorted out beautifully. As it was we took 6 hours to get through them all, which wasn't bad going. It was incredibly hot and by mid morning there were loads of gongoozelers, but none offered to help :-(.
We got a mooring on the wharf but it was pretty much the last one, so we were very lucky.
On Saturday we went shopping in the morning and then Lynne and Nige came for a visit, bringing both carrot and lemon cakes with them. We had a lovely afternoon and again the weather was lovely.
Sunday bought a change. Showers, some of the heavy, most of the day on and off, and we decided to stay another night as it was 72 hour mooring and the weather on Monday was due to improve (said John).
Moral of the story, never trust husbands weather forecasts! This morning it was miserable, we left just after 9. It got worse. I held the large brolly over us for a lot of the time. We met Cliff and Chris (from the Bath locks) but they stopped at the last mooring at All Cannings. They offered us to breast up alongside but I t was too soon for us to stop, plus we wanted to get to Honeystreet to fill with water. There was a mooring when we arrived and we'd said that we'd stay there if there was a space. By the time we'd filled the tank, another boat had pulled into the space so we headed off again.
We've ended up in Pewsey. The mooring is rubbish, the back is out in line with the 2 boats behind which are breasted up! The front is almost in, just a gap of about a foot, but Paddy has managed not to fall in, so that's a result!
We walked down to the village, which is about 15min brisk walk away, and John has bought some garden shears. They are going to be our insurance for getting decent moorings in the future.
Hopefully tomorrow will be brighter!
On Friday we left early but another boat got up before us, so most of the locks (29 of them) were against us. We went up on our own until the last few locks where another boat ( the one who gone up before us, but had stopped for lunch) asked to join us. They were a perfect match for us, I didn't get names but the lady helmsman and I went in perfect tandem in and out of the locks and the 2 crew from their boat, and John got the locks sorted out beautifully. As it was we took 6 hours to get through them all, which wasn't bad going. It was incredibly hot and by mid morning there were loads of gongoozelers, but none offered to help :-(.
We got a mooring on the wharf but it was pretty much the last one, so we were very lucky.
On Saturday we went shopping in the morning and then Lynne and Nige came for a visit, bringing both carrot and lemon cakes with them. We had a lovely afternoon and again the weather was lovely.
Sunday bought a change. Showers, some of the heavy, most of the day on and off, and we decided to stay another night as it was 72 hour mooring and the weather on Monday was due to improve (said John).
Moral of the story, never trust husbands weather forecasts! This morning it was miserable, we left just after 9. It got worse. I held the large brolly over us for a lot of the time. We met Cliff and Chris (from the Bath locks) but they stopped at the last mooring at All Cannings. They offered us to breast up alongside but I t was too soon for us to stop, plus we wanted to get to Honeystreet to fill with water. There was a mooring when we arrived and we'd said that we'd stay there if there was a space. By the time we'd filled the tank, another boat had pulled into the space so we headed off again.
We've ended up in Pewsey. The mooring is rubbish, the back is out in line with the 2 boats behind which are breasted up! The front is almost in, just a gap of about a foot, but Paddy has managed not to fall in, so that's a result!
We walked down to the village, which is about 15min brisk walk away, and John has bought some garden shears. They are going to be our insurance for getting decent moorings in the future.
Hopefully tomorrow will be brighter!
Thursday, 9 July 2015
9th July '15
Yesterday we left Bradford on Avon in a shower of rain! Typical.
It soon dried out and became quite nice later in the day. We stopped for fuel at Hilperton, after passing the infamous 'oil-change' mooring. I took a photo and as soon as I get a laptop I'll put some of them on here, looking forward to it.
We had hoped to moor at Semington, but ...shock horror....there were none to be had. We went on and found a relatively decent spot before Seend. Didn't need the gangplank which was something. Paddy was happy because he was able to have a run without his lead.
I tweaked my back somehow during the evening, don't know what I did, and it wasn't too bad, just meant that I went to bed a bit uncomfy.
Woke up much improved, although somehow our bedroom door had shut itself and so the room was still quite dark, when we both surfaced and checked the clock it was 10.00am! We still got away well before 11, and partnered up with another couple who we went through all the locks and bridges with. They were on a share boat and were hoping to moor at Sells Green. No moorings so they ended up going into Caen Hill marina, their home base, and we'd more or less decided to get through the Foxhangers locks and hope for a mooring before the main Caen flight. When, lo and behold, there was a 48 hour mooring....empty!
So here we are, moored nicely at the bottom of the locks with plans for getting up early (no sniggers please) and going up the flight before it gets too busy.
We've walked up right to the pub before the top couple of locks, which was interesting for me as I'm usually on the boat. I have to admit that as well as a beer in the pub, I succumbed to an ice cream half way up, but they are SO good that it had to be done.
So tomorrow we'll be in Devises again, hopefully early enough to get a mooring.
It soon dried out and became quite nice later in the day. We stopped for fuel at Hilperton, after passing the infamous 'oil-change' mooring. I took a photo and as soon as I get a laptop I'll put some of them on here, looking forward to it.
We had hoped to moor at Semington, but ...shock horror....there were none to be had. We went on and found a relatively decent spot before Seend. Didn't need the gangplank which was something. Paddy was happy because he was able to have a run without his lead.
I tweaked my back somehow during the evening, don't know what I did, and it wasn't too bad, just meant that I went to bed a bit uncomfy.
Woke up much improved, although somehow our bedroom door had shut itself and so the room was still quite dark, when we both surfaced and checked the clock it was 10.00am! We still got away well before 11, and partnered up with another couple who we went through all the locks and bridges with. They were on a share boat and were hoping to moor at Sells Green. No moorings so they ended up going into Caen Hill marina, their home base, and we'd more or less decided to get through the Foxhangers locks and hope for a mooring before the main Caen flight. When, lo and behold, there was a 48 hour mooring....empty!
So here we are, moored nicely at the bottom of the locks with plans for getting up early (no sniggers please) and going up the flight before it gets too busy.
We've walked up right to the pub before the top couple of locks, which was interesting for me as I'm usually on the boat. I have to admit that as well as a beer in the pub, I succumbed to an ice cream half way up, but they are SO good that it had to be done.
So tomorrow we'll be in Devises again, hopefully early enough to get a mooring.
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
7th July '15
A busy couple of days. We left Bathampton yesterday early(ish) and filled up with water while the supply was handy.
The trip was fairly uneventful apart from the section between Dundas and Avoncliffe aqueducts. We came across an old workboat, jammed across the winding hole, and the young couple at a loss. They'd been turning there for years apparently but it's got silted up. Another boat had come from the other direction and was trying to puss the bow around, but not much was happening. Eventually we decided that if we took their front rope and pulled it, they might get moving, as John was sure he could see some movement. So we pulled, the other boat pushed and eventually there was a slight move in the right direction. A couple more tugs and they were clear. Then they pulled us out of the reeds and mud that we'd got into, as we were worried about the prop. However all was well and all three boats went on their merry way! It was lucky it wasn't a Friday when all the hire boats were out, as it would have been chaos. At least we provided some good footage for the pedestrians cameras.
Bradford on Avon was very quiet with only one other boat on the good moorings when we arrived. They filled up quickly, but we were moored nicely, close to the Tithe barn and the park for walking Paddy.
Steve and Pam came late afternoon and we went to the Dandy Lion for a meal. Three of us had the burger on special, venison, black pudding and Stilton. Ooooh was it yummy!
Next to our mooring there's some work going on with rebuilding an old wall in the precincts of the tithe barn. CRT volunteers were doing it so I went and had a chat. It's going to be lovely when it's done, a long job but well worth the effort. You have to admire the skill of some of these fellows.
Jan and Rog came late morning today and we went around the town looking at all the arty craft shops and buying odd bits and pieces. It's a lovely little place, very picturesque. We had lunch at the Swan and after a quick visit to the boat for a cuppa they caught their train, we got some groceries and now we're ready for the off in the morning.
It's been lovely seeing people but I won't be sorry to get back to the diet! Feel so stuffed at the moment.
It's lovely and sunny now but rain is forecast, so just hope it's nice tomorrow.
The trip was fairly uneventful apart from the section between Dundas and Avoncliffe aqueducts. We came across an old workboat, jammed across the winding hole, and the young couple at a loss. They'd been turning there for years apparently but it's got silted up. Another boat had come from the other direction and was trying to puss the bow around, but not much was happening. Eventually we decided that if we took their front rope and pulled it, they might get moving, as John was sure he could see some movement. So we pulled, the other boat pushed and eventually there was a slight move in the right direction. A couple more tugs and they were clear. Then they pulled us out of the reeds and mud that we'd got into, as we were worried about the prop. However all was well and all three boats went on their merry way! It was lucky it wasn't a Friday when all the hire boats were out, as it would have been chaos. At least we provided some good footage for the pedestrians cameras.
Bradford on Avon was very quiet with only one other boat on the good moorings when we arrived. They filled up quickly, but we were moored nicely, close to the Tithe barn and the park for walking Paddy.
Steve and Pam came late afternoon and we went to the Dandy Lion for a meal. Three of us had the burger on special, venison, black pudding and Stilton. Ooooh was it yummy!
Next to our mooring there's some work going on with rebuilding an old wall in the precincts of the tithe barn. CRT volunteers were doing it so I went and had a chat. It's going to be lovely when it's done, a long job but well worth the effort. You have to admire the skill of some of these fellows.
Jan and Rog came late morning today and we went around the town looking at all the arty craft shops and buying odd bits and pieces. It's a lovely little place, very picturesque. We had lunch at the Swan and after a quick visit to the boat for a cuppa they caught their train, we got some groceries and now we're ready for the off in the morning.
It's been lovely seeing people but I won't be sorry to get back to the diet! Feel so stuffed at the moment.
It's lovely and sunny now but rain is forecast, so just hope it's nice tomorrow.
Sunday, 5 July 2015
5th July '15
It was so nice yesterday that we eventually decided to walk back to Bath, it only took half an hour to get to the outskirts. We visited the Abbey as we'd never been there before. It was a beautiful light airy space with some lovely stained glass.
Then we decided to lunch and soon found an Indian restaurant that was doing a lunch special. I had an excellent prawn biriyani, one of the best I'd ever had so was very happy.
We walked back again and met Cliff and Chris, moored at the top of Bath, who we'd come up through the locks with, so stopped for a chat. They are planning on going to Bradford on Avon on Monday as well, so we may we'll meet again.
Got back to a very happy Paddy! Shortly after, Tracey with guide dog Oakley went past on the first leg of their journey.
I'd bought the DVD of The Imitation Game and we watched it in the evening, brilliant film, if somewhat sad. I DO like Benedict Cumberbatch.
This morning I woke up and decided I really wanted a roast dinner, so sent John in to book a table when they opened at 12 noon. None to be had before 4pm, so we've had a very late lunch, and I made a pig of myself by having a portion of the sticky toffee roulade for pudding. I'd had it last week with Rachel and Paul, and it was just as good this time. Mmm
While we were waiting, Rose (Sams mum) came to see us. She'd wanted to see the boat and seemed very impressed.
It's been raining intermittently since midday, and the weather looks to be wet tomorrow pm so the plan is for an early night, early start and BoA by lunchtime. Wish us luck!
Then we decided to lunch and soon found an Indian restaurant that was doing a lunch special. I had an excellent prawn biriyani, one of the best I'd ever had so was very happy.
We walked back again and met Cliff and Chris, moored at the top of Bath, who we'd come up through the locks with, so stopped for a chat. They are planning on going to Bradford on Avon on Monday as well, so we may we'll meet again.
Got back to a very happy Paddy! Shortly after, Tracey with guide dog Oakley went past on the first leg of their journey.
I'd bought the DVD of The Imitation Game and we watched it in the evening, brilliant film, if somewhat sad. I DO like Benedict Cumberbatch.
This morning I woke up and decided I really wanted a roast dinner, so sent John in to book a table when they opened at 12 noon. None to be had before 4pm, so we've had a very late lunch, and I made a pig of myself by having a portion of the sticky toffee roulade for pudding. I'd had it last week with Rachel and Paul, and it was just as good this time. Mmm
While we were waiting, Rose (Sams mum) came to see us. She'd wanted to see the boat and seemed very impressed.
It's been raining intermittently since midday, and the weather looks to be wet tomorrow pm so the plan is for an early night, early start and BoA by lunchtime. Wish us luck!
Saturday, 4 July 2015
4th July
Thursday started a bit gloomy and John declared that he wanted to visit the Herschel Museum...not my cup of tea (something to do with space). So I decided to go off for a wander around the shops. John got back before I'd had time to get out as the museum didn't open until the afternoon. However we set off up to the city together and visited Sally Lunns tea shop. We went there last time but I really enjoyed the buns so we went back. Well worth it.
Then I discovered a little fabric shop so John went off to do his thing and I treated myself to a couple of fat quarters and 2 buttons! Not a cheap shop but quite intriguing. After a bit longer I decided I ought to get back and give Paddy an airing, which I did and it had warmed up considerably. Paddy is very reluctant to walk at the moment so I was soon back up to the shops!
Then the heavens opened! I was in a strappy t-shirt and got soaked! I'd sniggered earlier when John took an umbrella but wished I'd got one then!
We both arrived back at the boat at the same time, me like a drowned rat and him all dry and superior!
I met Tracey Clarke and her guide dog Oakley who live on a boat and they were preparing to set off today Saturday, to walk from Bath to Reading, in aid if Guide Dogs for the Blind. Anyone along the path should look out for her and or find her page to donate, as its an amazing feat to attempt.
Friday we moved up to Bathampton and for once I had a really good partner through the locks and everything went smoothly, amazing what a difference it makes.
We managed to moor right outside the pub (again) and Chloe and Sam came for the night. We walked down to the Mill and had an excellent meal, in beautiful surroundings.
There was some rain and thunder just as we went to bed, but it didn't come to anything.
The sun is shining now, and we're just wondering if we'll have any visitors.
Then I discovered a little fabric shop so John went off to do his thing and I treated myself to a couple of fat quarters and 2 buttons! Not a cheap shop but quite intriguing. After a bit longer I decided I ought to get back and give Paddy an airing, which I did and it had warmed up considerably. Paddy is very reluctant to walk at the moment so I was soon back up to the shops!
Then the heavens opened! I was in a strappy t-shirt and got soaked! I'd sniggered earlier when John took an umbrella but wished I'd got one then!
We both arrived back at the boat at the same time, me like a drowned rat and him all dry and superior!
I met Tracey Clarke and her guide dog Oakley who live on a boat and they were preparing to set off today Saturday, to walk from Bath to Reading, in aid if Guide Dogs for the Blind. Anyone along the path should look out for her and or find her page to donate, as its an amazing feat to attempt.
Friday we moved up to Bathampton and for once I had a really good partner through the locks and everything went smoothly, amazing what a difference it makes.
We managed to moor right outside the pub (again) and Chloe and Sam came for the night. We walked down to the Mill and had an excellent meal, in beautiful surroundings.
There was some rain and thunder just as we went to bed, but it didn't come to anything.
The sun is shining now, and we're just wondering if we'll have any visitors.
Thursday, 2 July 2015
1st July '15
James contacted us early to say he'd got us into a different boatyard that afternoon, so John rang the insurers, and like all their kind, what had seemed easy when it was a possibility, suddenly became a HUGE problem, when it's actually necessary. They wanted 2 engineers reports plus photos before they would agree any payment which meant that we'd be paying out owner £600 before we even knew if they'd pay, plus the time delay.
Since the boat has been handling fine on the river, we decided to get home and instead of being lifted, go into dry dock, with people we know to do the work. Which means we've wasted the best part of a week. If the insurers had made the situation clear at the beginning, it might have been different. Apparently they sent an email to John but got the name wrong...how did they do that? They have it all on record, but can't tell the difference between an 'a' and an 'o'. Prats!
We went down to Bath Marina and pumped out, emptied Elson and filled water, so we're all set for a bit.
We also went to Sainsburys and bumped into one of my old students, Siobhan, who recognised me, which I was pleased about. She's in her final year of her degree before doing her PCGE. I'm so proud of all my students, all the ones I know of are doing so well.
We had a wonderful evening with Alan and Sharon from West Stour, who came up and we all went out for a meal. Went to Browns and the food was great. A lovely evening generally. We wondered if we'd get in anywhere as its graduation week and the city is swarming with students in gowns and proud parents. It's so lovely to see them all, but not necessarily if you're looking for a place to eat!
It was incredibly hot and sticky and we left the shower door open with a wet towel inside for Paddy to cool down on, boats can be tricky things when it's roasting.
Cooler today, but I'll save that for next time.
Since the boat has been handling fine on the river, we decided to get home and instead of being lifted, go into dry dock, with people we know to do the work. Which means we've wasted the best part of a week. If the insurers had made the situation clear at the beginning, it might have been different. Apparently they sent an email to John but got the name wrong...how did they do that? They have it all on record, but can't tell the difference between an 'a' and an 'o'. Prats!
We went down to Bath Marina and pumped out, emptied Elson and filled water, so we're all set for a bit.
We also went to Sainsburys and bumped into one of my old students, Siobhan, who recognised me, which I was pleased about. She's in her final year of her degree before doing her PCGE. I'm so proud of all my students, all the ones I know of are doing so well.
We had a wonderful evening with Alan and Sharon from West Stour, who came up and we all went out for a meal. Went to Browns and the food was great. A lovely evening generally. We wondered if we'd get in anywhere as its graduation week and the city is swarming with students in gowns and proud parents. It's so lovely to see them all, but not necessarily if you're looking for a place to eat!
It was incredibly hot and sticky and we left the shower door open with a wet towel inside for Paddy to cool down on, boats can be tricky things when it's roasting.
Cooler today, but I'll save that for next time.
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