Sat 22 Jan 2011 Coventry Basin

Last night the temperature dropped to almost -6 but when we got up this morning it was just above freezing point and the ice was melting.
10 AM and we made a move down to the water point, the pressure was very poor but we needed water badly so persevered, I walked down to the refuse disposal point at the junction, BW have recycling bins here as well as general refuse but people have just dumped their general rubbish in the bottle recycling bins so they are not proving very successful. When I returned to the boat the water flow had improved greatly so I can only assume the stand pipe had ice in it. It was just on 11 am when we left and made our way past Hawkesbury Junction straight on toward Coventry City Centre.
My memories of this stretch of canal are crystal clear water with the fish flashing about under the boat, being able to see all the weed that grew so well in the clear water and all the rubbish laying on the bottom. Now the water is as murky as the rest of the system and has obviously stifled the plant growth, the rubbish is still there but you just cant see it. There was still a covering of ice in some places but no particular thickness. On several of the bridges there is a silhouetted map of the canal mounted high on the parapet wall made of quite thick steel, anything less would have succumbed to some of the lowlife that seam bent on destroying all in their path. We passed the old Club Line hire base at Swan Lane Wharf which is now a "not for profit" project. Entering the basin there was only one boat moored there which is good because the swing bridge is closed preventing access to the end of one are, its "No Mooring" along the front of the shops and services and the other arm has room for about 3 boats against the island and one the other side. The canoe club are out in force and we are getting constantly rammed as we are opposite their base, I don't mind if its the canoes hitting the black but I wont be amused if I find paddle scratches on the gloss.
A majority of the shops and offices around the basin are now displaying large "For Sale" or "To Let" signs and only the hairdressers and one shop are open.

Fri 21 Jan 2011 Hawkesbury

Last night the temperature dropped to below -5 so when we got up this morning the canal was covered in ice but by the time we set off at 10 am it was quite a bit warmer, only -3 in bright sunshine. The ice around the boat was about 6 mm and  a bit further along it doubled to 12 mm, whereas in some places it was barely a skin on the surface. We broke Ice for an hour, the only spot giving any problem was the bend at Stoke Golding with boats moored all the way round it, travelling slowly passed the moored boats I just didn't have the momentum to swing the back  out and get round the bend, having to back up and take a second bite at it on a different angle, some of the looks we received from a few of the occupants as we passed said we should not be boating in such weather but others gave us a hearty wave.
Just beyond Higham Bridge some good Samaritan had been moored the night before, left before we arrived and had cut a nice clean channel all the way to the Coventry Canal at Marston Junction, this made the majority of our days travel much easier. thank you John.
  At the junction someone has placed a posy of silk flowers in the piling, I don't know what dreadful deed has happened at this spot in the past that someone has marked it with flowers.
Once on the Coventry canal we turned hard left  still following the broken ice, a short way passed the now decaying Navigation Public  House we pulled over and had an enjoyable cup of tea and chat with Terry and Chris, before we knew where we were it was 4 pm. so we said our goodbyes and headed off to Hawkesbury where we moored for the night a little short of the visitor moorings under a bright red sunset.
Apart from being cold out of the sun today the weather has been absolutely stunning with bright sunshine and blue sky's, I expect we will pay for it tonight with very low temperatures again.

Thursday 20 Jan 2011

When we went to The Rising Sun last night the grass was already frosty and after a very good meal, a place to be recommended we walked back in a hard frost. Overnight the temperature dropped to -4.8 and was still below -2 at 10 am. this morning and there was a very thin layer of ice on the cut.
We didn't set off until 10 30 am as John and Madeline who live just up the road from us came by on nb. Maximus and stopped for a chat. We head off in bright sunshine passed the long row of boats that moor at Shackerstone and out into open countryside again. The frost hung in the trees shining in the bright morning sun and there were a few walkers enjoying the day. The light as we entered Snarestone was quite enchanting with the sun still low in the sky, reflecting down the canal and straight into the tunnel mouth illuminating the inside of the tunnel for half its length. What did surprises most was that between bridges 60 and 61 the canal was covered in ice about a quarter of an inch thick and we left a clean channel down the centre.
We winded at the old head of navigation, moored up and went for a look round. There is now a pedestrian swing bridge where the head of navigation use to be over what will be the stop lock gates. This is locked in the closed to navigation position.  Beyond this bridge there is a wide concrete channel with both sides marked at 48 hr moorings.
The interesting thing is these are Leicester Council moorings, not BW or Ashby Canal Trust and the wording states they are 48 hr moorings for continuous cruisers. On one side there are a row of old "company" boundary markers which I take are to be used an mooring bollards, but the other side there is nothing, only a concrete edge and a hard path. We made our way back along the canal in the bright sunshine and at the tunnel portal it was impossible to see the entrance until we were right against it due to the bright sun and haze, if conditions were like this on the roads its no wonder there were lots of accidents, visibility towards the sun in some circumstances was zero and we were only doing 2 mph not 70.
As the afternoon progressed we started to look for a nice spot to moor for the night, the battle field moorings were discounted as they were shady and still icy, a boat was already moored by the old disused railway bridge, 2 boats had settled in on the open section opposite the wood, we could have got between them but why spoil there solitude, next was the visitor moorings by the visitor centre, the same boats here now than when we passed yesterday plus one had squeezed in between a narrow boat and a cruiser and had 5 foot of his bow rubbing the bows of the cruiser, one had a notice saying it was an allocated mooring and the rest looked as if they had been there some time so we continued on past the visitor centre and then the long row of long term off side BW moorings to moor a little after 4 pm on the towing path just beyond the last boat. 
A  few minutes after getting tied up a Chinook helicopter came over very low and a few minutes later an aircraft flying high leaving a vapour trail that turned into smoke rings before fading away in the clear blue sky.

Wed 19 Jan 2011 Shackerstone

Walking the dog last night and the grass was all frosty except where we had moored, I think we were sheltered by the hedge. It was just about a full moon last night so was quite light all night. This morning when I checked the max/min the temperature didn't quite make freezing on the bow of the boat, but the puddles on the offside fields were all icy.
We made an early start to beat the rush, five to ten and the sunny start to the day was just changing to 100% cloud cover, damp and cold, this lasted to about lunch time when things picked up.

The first 10 miles of this canal have been easy going, averaging 3 mph. including slowing down for lots of moored boats, but the bit between the 10 and 14 mile markers was different with the bottom to close to the top. We only just managed 2 mph. on this section, stirring the mud all the way.
All the visitor moorings at Stoke Golding have been turned over to winter mooring and were all full.
Due to the slow progress we decided to stop at Congerstone and eat at The Horse and Jockey, we moored up at quarter to three a bit earlier than planned, the last couple of miles were easy going again and Diana took Magic for a walk down to the pub to see if they were doing food tonight. What she found was the pub was not only closed but had been sold, if it will reopen as a pub I don't know. When she returned to the boat we decided to carry on to Shackerstone to The Rising Sun, there was room for a couple of boats on the visitor moorings when we pulled in at quarter to four and again Diana went to investigate the pub.
On her return I found out that the pub does food from Wednesday to Sunday, so that's OK and all these moorings are also winter moorings, so we are just waiting for a knock on the boat from someone returning from the water point or something.

Tues 18 Jan 2011 Ashby Canal

Last night the noise from the passing trains was quite intrusive  which was strange considering how far the railway line is. Over night the temperature dropped into the minus figures once more.
This morning was still and sunny, I started the engine at 10 ready to push off but the boat a short way behind had the same idea and as I came up the hatch he was dropping his ropes off, it seems that 10 am is a popular start time and I think I will try to change ours when moored amongst other boats, anyway I gave him 15 minutes and set off, It wasn't long before the wind freshened slightly and it turned quite cool but stayed dry.
Approaching Ansty there were 4 BW chaps with 2 ropes and grappling hooks, I saw one of them returning to his van and enquired what they were after. It seems that a dog fell through the ice during the recent cold spell and the owner wants the body retrieved, needles and haystacks come to mind. We met Bill on Rosy tied up in Ansty doing an oil change so had a few words before pushing on, If anyone is interested in narrowboating on the continent they should read his web pages at http://www.billybubbles.demon.co.uk/ . One thing I noticed was that all the long term moorings opposite The Rose and Castle were vacant, I wonder if this is because BW can't let them or they are not trying to.
Loads of vacant visitor moorings at Hawkesbury Junction, just as we were leaving the lock a boat arrived from the Coventry Canal to lock up onto the Oxford and I have to admit that I failed to make the turn onto the Coventry canal in one ending up close in by the new houses just before the old pump house.
We carried on along the Coventry Canal until we reached Marston Junction. Between bridge 15 and the junction there was an interesting little aluminium cruiser owned by BW which is used for hydrographic surveys, once past it we turned very sharp right into the Ashby canal, by now the weather was quite pleasant so we carried on for about 2 1/2 miles where we found some convenient Trench Sheet piling to moor to, the time was a few minutes past three.

Monday 17 Jan 2011 All Oaks Wood

We were ready to set off just after 10 am this morning, the wind had died away to nothing and there was not a ripple on the canal. Just as Diana was going out of the front doors the boat moored ahead of us pulled away so I gave him bit of a start before we set off also heading towards Braunston.

  There is now a second boat sunk at Braunston about 100 yards south of the one that has been there for well over a year now. I am surprised they are having so much problem lifting the one that has been there for so long as her gunwales are above the water, she must have some  seriously large holes under the water. BW have a large pump on a flat at Napton that they used to empty the Napton locks, I am surprised they don't bring that down and try to pump her out as that would move large amounts of water and may be able to overcome the inrush. The second sunk boat, also a wooden motor but with a full length cabin is close to the bank and sitting much higher in the water so should not be such a problem to get back up.
At Braunston Turn we carried on round to the left north along the Oxford Canal. Just beyond the first bridge we stopped for a chat with Mike on Draco, by now it was quite overcast and spitting with rain. There was still no sign of any activity at the new Barby Marina and still a lot of work to do before it will be open for business. We pulled over at Hillmorton opposite The Royal Oak to post a couple of CIBC membership cards as there is a post box just at the top of the steps, just the other side of the bridge we met Trevor on NB. Wyrd, he was about to set off and followed us to the locks where we back set for him.
Why do we always find boats moored on the lock moorings at Hillmorton, today there was a shared ownership on the lock moorings below lock 4, I wonder if the owners know its moored there when they are probably paying for a berth and then a private boat moored above lock 2 making it impossible for a single hander coming up to close up behind them. and if going down gives them a long walk to set it.
By now the rain had stopped but it had turned quite a bit cooler so we though we would stop at Newbold but by then the sun was out and it was quite pleasant so we continued on just passed All Oaks Wood where we moored for the night at about 4 PM. Just before we moored we had a 4 engined plane fly over us with a boom arrangement looking like a crop spraying boom under its fuselage, I managed to get this photograph of it.

Sunday 16 Jan 2011

Last night we ate onboard with an Indian takeaway from Southam which was quite enjoyable and not to oily. The night was very blustery and we both woke several times, the only one to get a good nights sleep was Magic who spent the night down the lounge. We were nice and warm as the BMC stove was still burning when we went to bed.

We set off this morning a little after 10 am in sunshine and wind, but quite pleasant, a boat had come up just before we set of but even so nearly all the locks were against us, we did meet a hire boat half way down the flight, they pulled into the lock moorings as we arrived at the top but showed no interest in locking up, eventually they walked up the lock with their dog but no windlass, so Diana turned the lock, when the lock was a little over half full one of them went back for their windlass and then they watched as we locked down chatting to Diana, they indicated that they had not had any lock instruction at all. We left the lock and they made there way up. As some walkers had told them we were on our way down they had not only left the gates open on the next lock for us, but also all the paddles up.

We stopped at The Folly to fill with water, so now we can shower in the morning and not use canal water to flush the loo. There was only one boat on the Folly moorings, I think that is the quietest I have ever seen it. We carried on to The Bridge where there were no other boats moored at all and stopped for Sunday Lunch, it was still early at 12-30 so they only had another 3 tables taken and some people in the bar but it probably picked up later.

We just came through Nimrod Bridge 108 and caught up with a boat going at slightly over tick over speed, a short way ahead of him/her was another pair of boats, one towing the other on about a 50 foot line but with no one on the boat being towed so it was going everywhere. I followed these 3, they were all together an tickover speed to just past bridge 103 where they met a couple of boat and all ended up on the bank, I took this opportunity to pass them as the obviously had no intention of letting me by. Shortly after this we had very light drizzle for a bit. We continued on to moor at what felt a slightly more sheltered spot just through bridge 99 at 3-15 pm.

BW have made what looks to be a good job of repiling in the Napton flight and also in front of The Bridge Inn almost opposite the winding hole, the end of the piling had been sticking out here for some time and could have caused serious damage to a plastic boat.

Back onboard 15 Jan 2011

Well we are back onboard arriving early this afternoon. My first job was to fit a new accumulator, although it was the same make, size, colour as the old one it came with a different plumbing fitting on the end. The easiest thing would have to changed the fitting, but I am very wary about giving anyone a chance to wriggle out of a guarantee so I modified the plumbing to suit. Next job was to refill the domestic water system and pressure test everything, it all looks OK. The only problem now is that we have used virtually all our supply of water refilling the system. Following getting the water in the system I was able to light the Dickinson stove. I always find this burns a bit on the low side until the diesel warms up a bit so I have to run it a couple of notches higher for a day or so. I then moved to the Boatman's Cabin and lit the stove in there, good job is only small as we are almost out of coal as well, but we will probably meet the coal boat this week so I will get another bag off them.

I had a quick look round the engine and it fired as soon as I turned the key and at about 4 pm we were off. A boat had just passed going down the flight so we expected the lock to be against us, what we didn't expect was for the bottom gates to still be open and both paddles up. As the boat laid in the lock we loaded up from the car and got the dog aboard, he is to stiff and unsteady to cross the lock gates now to get to our moorings.
Once loaded we dropped the lock and just cruised to beyond the lock moorings to stop for the night, we would have gone a bit further but we wanted to walk back up the moorings and thank Graham and Carol for moving Harnser back to her moorings after the ice thawed last weekend.

Tomorrow we should be heading off towards the Ashby with a bit of luck and a fair wind

Friday 26 November 2010 Napton Top Lock

Last night we walked up to the Red Lion to eat returning to the boat at about 10 pm in quite a sharp frost. I had to get up during the night and I could see that the canal was already frozen over.When we got up this morning it was still minus 5.5 after dropping to minus 6 last night and the canal was covered with half an inch of ice. This was much lower than was forecast.
We set off at 1030 stopping for water at the services, I had to breast up to a BW flat which had the new lock gates on ready for Broadmoor Lock which are due to be fitted on Monday. We were breaking ice all the way but all the locks were with us. The short pound on the Claydon flight was down about 30 inches, by looking at the ice line I think this may have dropped this morning. As we approached the top of the flight a lady appeared behind us with a windlass, I asked her if she was following us up as I had not noticed a boat behind, but she said she was meeting a friend who was on her way down, they had left Fenny Marina 15 minutes earlier so we should meet them on the way. We bit her farewell at the top lock, but we didn't meet her friends until just south of Fenny tunnel so I expect she was quite chilly by the time they arrived. The day was very bright but I don't think the temperature ever got above freezing all day.
Once we got to Fenny Marina we were breaking ice again, but not for long. Half way along the visitor moorings the channel was again broken which made life much easier, we followed this channel wondering if some one had been daft enough to go to Wormleighton to moor for the night, at Wormleighton we met the kind soul who had made this channel especially for us, it was a boat called "Helen of Troy" who had been all the way to Napton, turned and were returning to Fenny, so Helen of Troy, if you are reading this, a big thank you.
We arrived at Marston Doles locks in the dark and they were both against us and once below them I was unable to find the cut channel again. We wasted the best part of half an hour trying to get onto our moorings but the pound was so low we had no chance, so we have moored on the towing path opposite. By the time we had secured the boat the temperature had already dropped to minus 4 and things were freezing fast.

Thursday 25 Nov 2010 Cropredy

It wasn't quite so so cold where we were moored last night at the bottom of the locks and there was only a light bit of frosting about when we set off this morning at 10-30.
I go 60 years without seeing a Kingfisher catch a fish and then I see three in two days, that's right, the only Kingfisher I saw today dropped into the water and came out with a fish. The good thing about this is that once they have caught something they have to go to a branch and kill it before eating it, so stick around giving you half a chance to photograph them before departing into the distance.

There are still some very good crops of Sloes about if you are into making Sloe Gin, we picked and jared ours last time we were on the boat, we will probably bottle it over Christmas and keep it until next winter.

We didn't see another boat moving until we reached Banbury where we met Mark Paris heading back to Thrupp, we were also in the pub with him at Thrupp just like the boater Mark who we met yesterday. The first job to do in Banbury was to visit Sovereign to fill up with diesel at 70p/lt. If you need diesel and are in the area best hurry because he is closing on the 1st. December for 2 months over Christmas. After taking on 140 lts we reversed back down into town to eat lunch and for Diana to do a bit of shopping while I did important things like talk to local boaters.
When Diana came back we pushed off northwards, by now it was quite overcast. Just above Hardwick Lock we came across our first bit of ice on the canal just before the motorway, it was very thin and already broken. The lock cottage at Bourton Lock still looks the same as it did 12 months back, I fear that if there is no progress soon it could well get vandalised again which would be a great shame.
As we approached Cropredy there was a large section of visitor mooring free so we pulled in in the glom at quarter to five with a view to visiting the Red Lion tonight, we hope this will be quieter than the moorings by the lock where we could hear the church clock well into the night.

Wednesday 24 Nov 2010 Kings Sutton Lock

It was quite surprising how much we heard the trains last night, when we moored here going down we didn't hear a thing.  By the time we went to bed it was below freezing with frost on the grass, by this morning it was almost down to -4. For those of you that have travelled this way over the past few years you may remember the Collie that use to insist you threw sticks for it, well I can report she is still going and now 18 years old and lives at the Mill. She doesn't go out to the lock any  more but she still enjoys a stick.
We pushed off at 10-15 in a very bright day and we saw several  Kingfishers in the first few miles and we were even honoured to see two kingfishers catch fish, something I have never witnessed before and needles to say I was unable to catch it on camera. I did get a blurred shot of him sat eating his catch.  I think the reason for all this extra kingfisher activity on this section of the canal is that they are taking advantage of the clear canal water   to catch fish. I suspect they would normally be fishing and moving up and down the River Cherwell that runs close by.

As we passed through Heyford British Waterways were hard at work cutting the offside trees and scrub, they have already made a big impact around bridge holes by clearing around the base of the bridges, but there is still an awful lot to do. We also saw other teams walking the towing path cutting the hedges with petrol hedge trimmers

We were a bit undecided where to moor for the night, we thought that we would like to get beyond Aynho where we moored on the way  down, so we carried on to finally stop for the night just below Kings Sutton Lock about 4-30 pm. We only met one boat on the move all day and that turned out to be Dave who we had been to the pub with on Sunday night, he was just dropping down in Allan's lock as we approached. As I type this at 5-30   pm it is already freezing outside.

Tuesday 23 November 2010 Pigeons Lock

Last night we ate a nice Thai restaurant just over the from the  canal terminal called Bangkok House. There were surprisingly few people walking past the boat late at night, but we were woken in the early hours by a lot of shouting up on  the main road and we hoped that they wouldn't venture in our direction. On e of the best thing about  the moorings was that you didn't have boats coming passed.

This  morning we set off at 10 am reversing back to ISIS lock and then dropping down the lock to wind. Since they have put the new floating pontoon below the lock there is insufficient room to swing the stern to the left when leaving the lock to make the tight right hand turn to the Thames and I couldn't even get Harnser round in one and we are only 57 foot, I hate to think what it would be like getting a full length boat round. The pontoons actually take up 11 feet of water, right where you need to swing the stern. If they had just piled the bank and lowered it a couple of feet it would have been fine.
We continued on back to Thrupp with Diana working the lift bridges this time. At Thrupp we stopped to fill with water and pump out the toilet tank. Thrupp Boat Club now have a pumpout machine that is card operated and costs £12 for 9 minutes, you could probably pump to boat tanks in that time.  Once this was all taken care off we were off yet again, by now the sky was very clear and the temperature was starting to fall even with the low sun. We continued on up the River Cherwell and into Bakers Lock which still stinks of diesel and there is still quite a bit floating on the water. By the time we reached Pigeons Lock it was getting dusk and as I dropped Diana off to operate the lock the bottom gate opened and shortly afterwards a boat emerged, we were soon through the lock and moored in the same spot as Saturday night, the light was going fast and turning cold, only 2 Deg.C and it still wasn't quite 5 O'clock.

Monday 22 Nov 2010 Oxford

Last night we wandered up to The highwayman for the Folk night, this pub use to be called The Wise Alderman and is right by the canal with room for one boat to moor against their gardens. It was a full moon but we didn't see much of it with the thick cloud cover.
We set off this morning at 9-30 just after a hire boat had gone by to ensure all the locks were against us. We were in desperate need of water, no showers this morning and we stopped at the waterpoint just through  Langford Lane Bridge opposite The Highwayman but unfortunately our hose connector wouldn't fit and I couldn't find the adaptor ring. It is the first connector of this size that I have come across in over 10 years and I have probably not seen more than 5 in all the time I have been boating, so we pushed on to the next water point. We remembered to hake the chimney down before we got to Yarnton Bridge which is quite low with a bump sticking down from the middle of it  and stopped for water just after Drinkwater   Lift Bridge. This is another bridge that BW have attached a locking mechanism to and when Diana opened it after initially rising it just hovered half way up, at this point Dust was coming the other way with his coal boat and we let him through first. While we filled with water I spotted a brown rat making his way along the hedgerow about a foot from the top, I managed to get a photo of him, but you need to look hard to spot him as he was well camouflaged when he kept still. Once full of water we carried on under the new A 34 flyover to Perry's  Lift Bridge the last locked lift bridge on the South Oxford canal, here we were held up for about 10 minutes as a tanker was emptying the Elsan disposal holding tank and his lorry was to heavy to cross the lift bridge, so he was parked on one side and had his pipes laid out over the bridge to access the tank on the towing path side. When he had finished I opened the bridge for Diana to bring Harnser through, this time the bridge didn't lift at all and I had to cross to the far side and open it by pulling the balance beams down, when Diana had cleared the bridge when I tried to lower it it balanced out about half way up, so I had to walk on the platform to close it, surly this cant be any safer than they were before modification. After this it was a straight run to the very end of the South Oxford Canal, mooring at the end just before the rain started at 2 pm. We have been for a quick walk round the area and there is a nice looking Thai restaurant just by the bridge that we will probably try tonight.

Sunday 21 Nov 2010 Thrupp

We were just catching up on the Archers this morning when a boat came up Pigeon lock. That's lucky I thought, it will save us having to turn the lock, wrong. before we could do anything a boat came passed us and went straight into the waiting open lock, so we still had to turn it.
As we passed through Enslow a Crayfish pot came to the surface near the bank, I checked that it was tethered and not just floating around waiting to catch someone's prop and saw that there were three Red Signal Crayfish in it, I wonder how often the owner empties it?
There was a lot of diesel in the water at Bakers Lock, we timed this one right as a boat had just come up and was leaving as we arrived.  Again the Cherwell was hardly moving, but the indicator boards showed it to be just in the amber, I would have thought it hard for it to be any lower. At Shipton Weir we met yet another boat and as the lock was with them Diana helped them through. They said they had come from Sheffield mainly weekending and were making there way back.
Just after this there was a new experience awaiting me, as we approached the lift bridge the anglers not only took in their lines, but one of them, followed by two young lads crossed the bridge and opened it for me to pass under.
There were several vacancies on the visitor moorings as we entered Thrupp but we really wanted to be at the other end, so we went as far as the lift bridge and while I waited for a boat to leave the services Diana walked along the canal to see if there were any spaces by The Boat or The Jolly Boatman. By the time the other boat had left the services and I had come along side Diana returned as said there was a space by the Jolly Boatman and the boat that passed us at Pigeons lock was moored in the middle of 160 ft gap outside The Boat. On the strength of this information we aborted the service stop and made our way to The Boat where I was just able to squeeze in between the bows of the boat moored in the middle of the gap and the stern of a boat on the first Long of the Term Moorings. Since we have been here there have been several boat passing through looking to moor, so I was just as well we moved up when we did.

Saturday 20 Nov 2010 Pigeon lock

Last night we both ate too much in The Great Western Arms, or table was right in front of the fire so I was rather pleased they hadn't made it up and that the embers were dyeing away.
This morning was a bit overcast which was a shame following the lovely clear night last night. We walked the dog to have a look at Aynho Railway Station, It's quite a pretty building but unfortunately the station platform has been removed as has the canopy, which had been rater brutally just chopped away.
We set off at quarter to eleven with still no sign of the sun coming out to play. One of the first obstacles we had to overcome was Chisnell lift bridge. Since we were last this way BW has seen fit to lock it in the closed position, Luckily Diana didn't have her BW key on string round her neck as the key goes up with the bridge. The bridge is designed to open when released and to be pulled back to the closed position and locked after the boat has passed. I think this was all set up in the summer when the deck was dry, because Diana actually had to lift the deck and push it as high as she could before I could pass under it. 
It was anther very quiet day on the cut and we only met one boat all day, but we did see 7 Kingfishers including a pair or two flying together because I can't tell the difference between male and female.
We moored  for the night just above Pigeons Lock at about 1530.

Friday 19 Nov 2010 Aynho

Well our plans have changed very slightly, we had planned to spend a couple of days going up the Thames, but I downloaded their stoppage list and all we would be able to do would be to go out at Sheepwash and come in at Dukes Cut. I don't think its worth buying a days Thames licence just to do that, so now we will have to terminate at Oxford before heading back to Napton.
Last nights moorings were good and quiet, the moon managed to show its face a few times but mostly the evening was thin cloud, so it never really got dark. When I looked out early this morning there was very light mist and by about 9 the sun was out and it has carried on that way.
After carrying out minor adjustments to the Dickinson, I find the calibration screws creep slightly, so its not been burning at maximum this trip, we set off. As we approached Grants Lock there was a boat following us, they had been moored about a quarter of a mile behind us last night and then as we came round the bend to Kings Sutton lock there was a boat coming up, so that's 2 boats in one day. 
BW have a large pile of rubbish at the Nell Bridge yard whit what looks like a half decent inflatable dingy and loads of bicycle parts, a bath and all other sorts of stuff, I guess they must have cleared it all from the towing path. I was most impressed with their stock of stop planks with all the ends colour coded. I have still not been able to find the colour coded strong flow indication board below Nell Bridge. There is the useless height indication board between the lock and the bridge telling you what the bridge clearance is, but not the useful one.  When we arrived at Aynho Weir the indicator board showed we were well into the green, but I would like to know before I get that far if it was in the red. Once through the lock we continued on to moor for the night opposite Aynho Wharf. Once tied up at about 1330 I wandered over the bridge to The Great Western Arms to book a table for tonight. Whilst in there I noticed that not only are they open all day but they also offer a free WiFi link.

Thursday 18 November Banbury area.

Last nights moorings are not the quietest in the world as the church clock strikes every 15 minutes. I think it may stop in the depth of the night because the last hour chime I recall hearing was at midnight.  It didn't help that we are both going down with colds so the nights sleep was not that good. The end result was us crawling out of bed late this morning.
We set off at 10-30 and stopped just through the bridge to fill with water, while there I dumped the rubbish and noted that they now have recycling facilities there. Once the tank was full we were on our way again, as we left I was aware of a commotion in the trees behind the old coal yard, it turned out to be a Rook with pure white wings, the rest was black just like the rest of the noisy flock.
A BW chap on a bicycle accompanied up all the way to Banbury, he had his data logger on his handlebars and was inspecting structures as he travelled, he was also entering information about trees growing along the towing path.
As we came past the Spice Ball long term moorings, half of which are empty we saw our fist boat on the move in the entire trip. Passing Sovereign Narrowboats I noted that his diesel is 70p/lt. We moored for a bit by the shopping centre, first to eat diner and then so Diana could visit the shops. We had considered stopping here for the night, but as Diana returned at about 3 pm. the sky brightened up and it turned into the best part of the day, so we untied and moved out of town to moor for the night just before bridge 172 at about 4 pm.

Cropredy Wed 17 Nov 2010

Last night the pressure continued to fall and this morning it was down by over 10mb, as it did the wind freshened and the rain arrived.
We pushed off this morning at about ten to ten in cold windy rain and after an hour or so I was beginning to wonder why we were doing it. As we passed Fenny Marina I noticed that there appears a lot of vacancies now, I can't imagine they are all out cruising as we haven't seen a boat on the move in the two days we have been out.  As we entered Fenny Tunnel Diana came to drive while I went below for bit of a warm. At the Claydon flight the locks were all against us and of course there was no one coming up, so it was turn each one. The same was true for all the locks as far as Cropredy. As we started down the Claydon flight the weather brightened and the rain stopped which was nice. At Cropredy Lock the lock side cottage has a white board and marker pens hanging on the fence, written on it was an invitation to help yourself to apples which were laying all over the grass, Diana picked up half a dozen nice red ones as the lock filled. The people who live in the cottage seem quite boat friendly which is quite unusual these days, lots of them seem to be owned by people who would like the lock filled in and go out of there way to make life unpleasant for boaters with notices and fences.
We moored just below the lock for the night at ten past two, just as it started raining again.

A trip down the Oxford 16 Nov 2010

As you have probably guessed we are back on Harnser again. We arrived back on board around about mid day after stopping at the new Southam Tesco for supplies. We normally bring them from home but this time we have been grandson sitting for the weekend and came to the boat straight from theirs. 
The first job when back on board was to fit a new oil seal to the hydraulic filter head the old one had started weeping so I bought a replacement O  ring while at home, until this job was done  I was not able to run the engine as even out of gear the oil circulates through the filter.    The other important jobs were to light both the back cabin stove and the Dickinson in the galley to warm the boat up.
Thankfully the day was bright and in the sun quite warm, however there was still ice on the puddles and frost on the grass where the sun had not caught it. We were able to walk Magic right to the boat as British Waterways have put a bridge across the head of the lock while the lock is drained for repairs.
Once Harnser was in a fit state to run we winded in the engine arm and ran backwards to the lock moorings where we tied up and transferred everything from the car to the boat, then still tied to the lock moorings we had lunch, I then went to the Post Office in the village while Diana took Magic for a walk, it was only then at 1420 that we left the lock moorings, it something I have never done before and will probably only do  it once more when we return. With the stop plank in and the lock drained it was very unlikely that anyone else would want to  use them.
The pound between the two Marston Doles  locks was quite low which is not unusual and we got  through with no problem however the summit pound was right on weir, even so the going was quite slow and with no other boats on the move the water has cleared and you can see just how shallow it is in places and how narrow the channel is. 
We continued on not seeing another boat on the move in bright sunshine, however it was slowly getting colder with a clear blue sky. Looking up it was possible to see what looked like very faint rainbows high in the sky.
We decided to moor for the night at about 1630 by the Wormleighton disused DECA radio mast.  Just after we had tied up a mink came swimming by bold as brass, straight down the canal on the surface. In the past when I have spotted them the slightest movement caused them to dive out of sight, not this chap he just ignored Diana, Magic and me out on the front deck watching and talking about him going by . I didn't bother to go for the camera as the light was fading and him being black and moving away at quite a pace I didn't think the photo would be worthwhile.
As I type this the outside temperature is only 3.4c   but the pressure is falling steadily indicating black clouds and rain is on the way, hopefully it will be back on the rise by the morning to give us another fine day.    

Saturday 23 Oct 2010 Napton Engine Arm

Last night just as we went to bed it started to rain, this carried on most of the night giving us about a quarter of an inch in total. The good news was that it had stopped before we were about this morning, the bad news was that the front slide got left open all night so we have wet carpet tiles and a wet chair.
We set of at 10 am.  several boat had already been by the time we set off and when we arrived at the Napton locks there were three boats ahead of us. There were several boats coming down the flight and it wasn't long before it was one for one and we made steady progress to the top. The rain held off although it looked threatening at times, but we made it in the dry. We moored just above the top lock and had lunch before unloading the boat to the car,including the poor old dog who would have problems crossing the lock gates. Once that was all done we winded in the Engine Arm and slid into our moorings and after picking a couple of bowls of sloes headed off home. By the time we had driven to the road it started to rain and this continued all the way home.

Friday 22 October 2010 Napton Brickworks

As planed,last night we ate in The New Inn at Buckby Top Lock http://www.gillies-inns.com/ and we weren't disappointed, they had a good range of beers on and we were offered a taste of one we had not tried before without asking, there were several specials on the board including chili beef with chocolate. The pub also offers free WiFi  which I didn't know about before we went so didn't take the laptop. To top it all they had a raging fire going that opens into two rooms. We will visit again sometime.
This morning we woke to the sound of next doors diesel heater doing an impression of Heathrow at about half seven, we were moored stern to stern and we sleep in the Boatman's Cabin. We took the dog for a walk in the very warn sunshine, probably the warmest day this month. 
We wandered down to Norton Junction and over the food bridge, on the off side you can still see the iron work in the ground from when this use to be a swing bridge. The small cottage on the corner at one time was connected with the Salvation Army. They now have a very nice living wagon in their garden.
Once back on the boat it was a case of reversing back to the junction and then heading off down towards Braunston. We met one boat in the tunnel called Pin Mill which is a place in Suffolk, needles to say the steerer came from Suffolk as did the original owner. As we approached the top lock a boat was just leaving which was handy,also I knew a boat was following us through the tunnel so I tucked into the lock and waited for "nb.Tranquility" to join us. We had to turn all the locks except one as there was a boat running down ahead of us, the water levels in the lock pounds were the best I have seen them for some time with them all on weir.
We stopped for a bite of lunch in Braunston and also to visit both Bottom Lock and Midland Chandlers, I still didn't get what I wanted.
We set our goal for this evening as The Bridge Inn at Napton, but as we approached it we could see the moorings were somewhat busy with 13 Narrowboats moored before the bridge and one after with a second arriving as we passed. The sight of this lead to a change of plans and to eat onboard, the next decent piece of mooring is just passed the old brick yard where we finally moored for the night at 5-30 pm overlooked by the windmill.

Thursday 21 October 2010 Buckby top lock

We woke to another bright sunny morning and by 10 am were on our way. We met several boats today, mostly in more convenient spots.  Coming through Yelvertoft just Crick side of the road bridge on the bend I have often noticed some old brick ruins on the off side and wondered what they are. Today I managed to get a photo of them as we passed, could they be old lime kilns by any chance?

Approaching Crick the  towing path visitor moorings opposite the marina are now all turned over winter moorings and are for use by permit holders only. I wouldn't mind so much if they were all in use but there are very few boats there at the moment and the sign forbids you to moor there as a visitor.  It would appear that these moorings are administered by Crick Marina as there is also another BW notice telling you to contact the marina for a mooring.
We had a lonely run through Crick tunnel not seeing another bout until the bottom of the Watford Flight. As we arrived at the Watford flight I pulled over to the lock keepers hut and Diana went ashore to book out passage, but as usual if you go to the top the lock keeper is at the bottom so Diana walked all the way down and back again to say we could carry on down. We finally met a boat in the bottom pound which saved as both a bit of work.
Once clear of the locks we stopped to fill with water, this is a very good tap with good water pressure and we were soon full. BW are repairing the drainage sluice between the bottom of the locks and the road bridge by the Thai restaurant, they were installing a temporary around the outlet when we passed last week, this is now all in place and work was being carried out on the sluice even through the water has not been drained behind the dam. 
On the off side opposite Watford Gap Motorway Services one of the householders is selling homemade products at the bottom of their garden and we pulled over to buy some more rhubarb and ginger jam, we bought a jar on the way up and it lovely. We were soon at Norton Junction and instead of turning right towards Braunston and home, we carried on a couple of hundred yards to moor for the night so that we can visit The New Inn to eat tonight.

Wednesday 20 October 2010

The dog decided that he would like to go out at 6 am this morning in the cold and dark. As I opened the front door I was aware of a keen frost with ice on the outside of the boat. When I returned to the boat I was unable to open the slide at it was frozen solid and Diana had to come and let me in.
When we got up it was bright sunshine but still decidedly chilly when we set off at 10 am. We made our way down to Debdale Wharf to fill up with diesel at 68 p/lt and to have a chat with John the boat painter about redoing our roof for us early next year. While we were there we also had a coffee with friends on their boat in the marina and introduce ourselves to the owner of nb.Lilly Pad.  Once this was all done we were on our way again and heading for Foxton Locks. Diana went up the flight to find the lock keeper to book our place in the queue,there were no other boats waiting at the bottom and one had just gone up the first lock.
There is a new sign post at the junction, the strange thing is that it says its 15 miles to Leicester. There was a GU mile post right beside where we moored last night at Smeeton Aqueduct saying that it was 15 miles to Leicester from there as well, but the 2 signs are about an hours cruise apart. I think there is a cast iron mile post adjacent to the new wooden one that says its 18 1/2 miles to Leicester, so which one is right.
Diana returned and we were clear to follow up the flight,after about 3 locks a family with 2 small girls came along and opened and closed all the offside gates for us, which saved me walking up to open it and Diana crossing the bridge to close it. When we reached the top there were 3 boats waiting to come down so our timing was spot on. 
We carried on it the bright sunshine which at times made it almost impossible to see if anything was coming towards us as it got lower in the sky and shining straight  along the cut into our eyes. Passing through Husbands Bosworth tunnel Diana was steering and I was standing on the front deck examining the inside of the tunnel, although this tunnel has no ventilation shafts there are several borings in the roof of about 2" diameter, some of which had water running from them. As it was such a pleasant afternoon we carried on until a few minuets to six when we moored for the night just before bridge 27 by Yelvertoft Fieldside Covert.

Tuesday 19 October 2010 Smeeton Aqueduct again

Last night just as we got back to the boat from taking the dog out it started to rain, this gradually got heavier and we went to bed listening to it drumming on the roof. I got up during the night and the rain had stopped the sky was clear and the stars were out, this morning it was sunshine. We were right about it being quieter below Double Rail lock and we never heard the train once all the time we were there. Our walk with the dog took us up passed Double Rail lock where the top was open and the pound above down by the best part of a foot. I closed the gate and overnight the level recovered. The gate on this section of the GU tend to swing open after you leave the lock, in some cases they do that after you enter the lock as well, you just get to the top and look back to see the bottom wide open.
This morning we were away at 0945 hrs and met boats at both the first two locks, we pulled over at the services at Kilby Bridge to top up with water, we haven't spotted a water point since we passed here on Saturday afternoon. Just as we were leaving another boat came down and took our place so the omens are good for some locks being with us. In the end we met 9 boats coming down and apart for some locks that had partly filled they were all with us except the last one.
Around lunch time it started to rain and this continued for the rest of our journey so I was quite pleased to enter Saddington Tunnel. As we passed through I noticed some structures attached  to the roof and wondered if they are bat boxes, they seem to be situated about 300 yards in from both ends of the tunnel.
We only had one area of concern as we made our way up the locks today and that was above Taylor's Turnover Lock where the pound was so low that the mud was exposed at the sides, maybe half a meter or so, but I kept to the middle and chugged slowly up to the next lock, Diana walked as its only a short pound so if I had of got stuck she could have let some water down. We moored for the night on the straight stretch of concrete  just to the south of Smeeton Aqueduct at 3 pm.

Monday 18 October 2010 Kilby Bridge

While I took the dog out this morning Diana visited the Co-op to do a bit of shopping and we set off at ten past ten to the first lock which was full, we noted that the top paddle was 2 notches up, it was also like this last night when we went down, This is a very popular dog walking area and I am guessing that the lock is left like this to ensure its always full to make it easier to rescue anything that fell in.
Today was quite overcast and nowhere near as warm as yesterday but at least we didn't get any rain. I have seen more Little Grebes in this area than I have ever seen anywhere else. We also saw several small patches of Floating Penny Wort but nowhere as much as in previous years.

The river carries much more rubbish  to the north of the town than it does in the higher reaches through the town centre, Things brightened up for a short time as we passed the Space Centre which gave some nice reflection on very smooth water. 
We saw a few more boats about today, 2 moored on the BW moorings in the centre of Leicester and then we met 2 coming out of Freeman's Lock, just after we had locked up we met a third coming towards us. The first assured us we were the only boat they had seen all day but within about 3 locks they were all against us, so someone must have been going up ahead of us.
We moored for the night about 300 Mts. from where we moored 2 nights ago, this time we are below Double Rail Lock, on Saturday we were above the lock.

Sunday 17 October 2010 Birstall

Last nights moorings were very quiet, the railway line was just a little bit further away than in Kilby Bridge itself. When we took the dog out the sky was clear and half a moon was well up. This morning or early morning alarm,about 8 am reminded us we were not that far from the real world as a two tone siren was hurrying along somewhere the other side of the railway. When we got up it felt decidedly chilly with a temperature of -1 outside and white stuff on the cut grass, yes it was our first frost of the season. The morning was very bright and sunny causing the temperature to rise quite fast.
We set off at 10 am to the first lock of the day,  Double Rail lock, as we passed through the lock it became obvious why its called that, the bottom gate has a double hand rail as opposed to the normal single rail making it much safe for pedestrians to cross, this is quite important because two footpaths seem to cross the canal at this point. There were very good moorings below the lock and I think I would moor there another time as its even further from the railway.
From here several of the locks were full thanks them overflowing the top gates, There had been a boat going down yesterday evening and on one had come up. Kings Lock saw us lock down onto the river section which was barely into the green from the bottom of the scale, at the next bridge I managed to pick up a plastic refuse sack round the prop, the water was so clear that I could easily see what I was doing and had it off in minutes. At Freeman's Meadow lock by the football stadium, when Diana drew all four paddles on the lock the weir stopped flowing completely , there was so little flow on the river. Here we saw our first moving boat of the day, a rowing boat with 8 first timers on board, A chap ran forward and asked to please pass them slowly with care as they had never been in a boat before. As we passed the cox called to say that there was a road barrier in mid channel under the next bridge, right where I would have been travelling. We met the first Narrowboat of the day at North Lock, they were about to leave just as we arrived.
North Lock is right beside Frog Island, is this where the beer comes from by any chance? 
We carried on, the river now had much more rubbish floating about than earlier in the town. The town always looks very inviting but I have never seen anyone mooring there, no CC's, no bridge hoppers, not a boat to be seen, even the BW floating moorings were empty, we did consider stopping but it was still quite early in a very sunny day. We arrived at Birstall Lock just as a boat that we had been following was leaving, we caught sight of them at the last lock so I have no idea how long they have just been ahead of us. Just below the lock I winded in the stream that feeds the lakes and moored on the Birstall visitor moorings facing back upstream ready to retrace our steps tomorrow.

Saturday 16 Oct 2010 Kilby Bridge

We woke to a lovely sunny morning after yesterday evenings rain, unfortunately it didn't last and we even had a few showers.
We set off at 10 am and met a boat just before Saddington Tunnel which ensured all the locks as far as Newtown Top lock where we started to encounter bottom gate open, but a couple of locks later saw us meet two more boats that put us right as far as Kilby Bridge, here we took on water and moored for a short time while a rain shower passed through, we then continued on through one more lock to moor for the night just below bridge 89.
As we approached Kilby Bridge I noticed the BW notice telling boaters travelling east that they were entering an SSSI and reading it a little more closely I see you are only supposed to moor at designated moorings. I don't recall seeing any notices indicating designated moorings and there definitely are not any where we moored last night at Smeeton Aqueduct or anywhere else we saw boats moored. What we did see was yet another Buzzard getting a very hard time from a couple of Crows, for some time it was just a single one before his mate gave him a hand, I often wonder why such big birds put up with this treatment and don't just turn on their attackers.
I have just visited Natural England's web site and found the SSSI information for the canal,

Friday 15 October 2010 Smeeton Aqueduct

Last night as planned we ate at The Water Front in Union Wharf and it was as good as we had expected it to be. We last visited here in March this year, just after they opened. There were quite a few people in there, several of them from Canal Boatclub boats who were turning round first thing today. The food in there is not cheap, it cost us £50 for the two of us having 3 courses and a bottle of red wine.  A nice touch is that they bring a carafe of chilled water to your table when they bring the wine without being asked, the also brought us each a small orange liqueur with the bill. Would we go there again,to true we will. 

This morning we were in no great hurry to move as the stoppage just beyond the junction at Foxton was not due to be lifted until 5 pm.so after taking the dog for a walk and then having a wander around the basin we set off at about a quarter to eleven and chugged very slowly the five and a half miles to Foxton arriving about 1-30 pm. On the way we spotted a couple of Kingfishers, one sitting quietly in the hedge before darting off down the cut, the other like most of them just shot off as we passed. We moored up just before the swing bridge and had lunch.
After lunch we decided to walk down and see how work was progressing on the stoppage, lo and behold it was all complete, the contractors had cleared up and most of their plant was already gone, I wonder when BW will remove the "Canal Closed" notices? Seeing this we returned to Harnser and set off. Just as we were leaving I could see the first of this weeks Canal Boatclub approaching and Diana held the swing bridge open for them. As they passed through the bridge they got their centre rope ready to stop and I expected them to swing left towards the locks, wrong, they turned right and stopped right where you would expect a boat to stop if going up the locks. We carried on past the site of the stoppage which was just beside the foot bridge. They had to lay several hundred feet of temporary roadway to cross the field with their plant to reach the work site and in a couple of weeks there will probably nothing to show that they were ever here.
Just beyond Debdale Wharf BW have erected a large notice informing us that we are now entering a SSSI and to take care that we don't damage the plants with our propellers. Does anyone know why this is an SSSI and what magic plants exist here that we must take so much great care not to damage, or is it just the case that the area is a SSSI for some other reason and the canal just happens to pass through it just like the lanes do?
We pushed on to Smeeton Aqueduct  where we hoped to moor for the night but another boat had just beaten us to it and not wishing to moor fender to fender in this lovely open countryside we continued just round the bend to moor at about 4 pm.