Ostend to Dunkirk Sept 13-22 2009

FOR PHOTOS OF THIS TRIP PLEASE CLICK HERE Note there over 500 of them       
THE NUMBERS PRIOR TO THE PARAGRAPHS ARE  WHERE THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN THAT DAY

This holiday was organised by Kingdom Tours as a Waterways World readers cruise. If you click here you will find a map of our route with our overnight moorings.
Our holiday was to start on Sunday morning at Dover where we left our car at Relyon Car Parking and met the coach, this was the last time we saw our cases until we arrived in our cabin on the MPS Princess. The coach whipped us off to the ferry terminal where we waited less than 5 minutes for the second coach before heading off in convoy to customs, needless to say they waved our coach in and let the other coach straight through. In the customs shed the customs officer requested the first 6 rows leave the coach with hand baggage for further inspection. Once they were checked and back onboard we were on our way to check in and then to the holding area to await loading. Both coaches parked beside each other on the P&O ferry and we made our way up to the top deck prior to sailing. By now the day was quite murky with drizzle but the sea was calm, as you can see from this photo of the 113 year  old sailing ship  Belem she has her own web site here.  It wasn't long before we were running into Calais and mooring up. Back onto the coaches and straight off the ferry, no formalities with customs this time, we were on our way to Ostend Docks. Once there it was onboard and down to our cabins to freshen up before dinner. Later that evening 4 of us went for a short walk round the moorings and around the lock which is crossed by a road bridge at each end, both bridges have tram lines but only the westerly one still has the overhead cables.  We saw a few people moving around in the shadows watching the lorries queuing to board the ferries, we assumed that they were trying to make their way to the UK.

The Boat

PHOTOS 209-214
MPS Princess is 80 mtrs long making her one of the largest boats to sail these waters. On the lower deck there are 42 bedrooms on both side of the corridor and on the top deck between reception and the dining room another 7. We were in cabin 33 which was about a third from the stern on the starboard side, here we found the generator quite noisy at night. As we were on a route that is not normally taken by hotel boats there were no "shore Supply" electrics at any of our moorings so we had to be self sufficient. Likewise there were no water bunkering points and part way through the holiday we had to have the local Fire Brigade out to fill us up from a fire hydrant. The bridge of the boat is slightly unusual in that its normal cruising position is sitting on the top deck towards the bow of the boat. When it is necessary to lower the bridge to pass under obstructions, it moves forward on rails to sit on top of a hydraulic platform mounted in front of the top deck accommodation. From here it can be lowered to sit on the main deck in front of the lounge so the top of the bridge is at the same level as the top deck. It was necessary to carry out this operation on several occasions and at one bridge we only had inches to spare with everything removed from the top deck and all the handrails laid flat.

PHOTOS 2-110
Monday morning we were away at 7 am as we had a number of bridges to pass through on the Gent - Ostend Kanaal and these had to be cleared before the rush hour road traffic started. The bridge keeper travelled down the canal by van, getting each bridge ready for us. At the last bridge he positioned himself on the end of the bridge with his net ready for payment, this caused bit of a stir as there were no crew members about on deck and when they did appear they didn't know how much he wanted and couldn't understand him. The captain had to leave the wheelhouse to sort things out.  Our destination for today was Bruges and we arrived at our mooring by the boat club, on the junction just before lunch time and had a quick walk locally around a disused arm that now has fountains to aerate the water but is still displaying the old "No Mooring" signs.
Once lunch was taken care of it was a short walk into the old town, we thought a good way to see things would be by one of the small boats that do sight seeing tours on the small canals that bisect the town. The first one we came to was booked for private excursions until 3 pm but at the next lading stage one was getting ready to leave just as we bought our tickets and they gave discounts to us oldies. This gave a good view of the town and  a good English commentary. We followed this by a walk around the town coming across this busker before having a conducted tour to the towns only brewery, De Halve Maan (Straffe Hendrik) Brewery. This tour took us to the top of the cooling tower where we were able to look out over the roof tops of the town. From here it was a brisk walk back down to where Princess was moored to get ready for dinner and the welcome cocktail party, i.e. One free drink and introductions to all the crew.
From tonight the boat management decided that the best way to manage the meals for so many customers was to stagger the start times by 10 minutes, the idea of this was to reduce the time we spent queuing to get our food from the buffet. We were divided into groups by the number of the coach we arrived on at Ostend, we were on coach number 1 and tonight we were on sitting two. It worked quite well and only being 10 minutes apart we all still ended up sitting down together to eat. There were no fixed seating arrangements and we tried to sit with different people every day.

PHOTOS 111-208
Tuesday we started a bit later with a short cruise to Ghent, this time we were moored a bit further from the town centre so a free bus was laid on to ferry us to the town. The first bus took all those booked on the conducted walk of the town with the rest of us on the second bus, likewise we would be on the second bus returning to the boat to arrive just in time for dinner.
Again our first stop was the tourist boat for a trip round the town, this time we had a lady skipper who gave a good commentary but was in a bit of a hurry to get from one point of interest to the next and speeded up by the "No Wash" signs. We then went for a walk round the town trying to get a decent photograph of the church and belfry past all the ground work that is going on.
We went into the belfry where on the second floor there was a video showing how bells were made and tuned and also how they are played with what only can be described as a keyboard that in turn causes the bells to be struck. There is a lift that takes you from the second floor to the top of the belfry where the views are again quite spectacular. After this we headed back to the coach pickup point to return to the the boat. Our mooring was some way out of town just prior to the junction with Ringvaart and the site of the new Evergem lock. This is the largest inland lock in Belgium and was only opened on the 3 June this year. After diner some of us braved the very busy main road to walk down to look at the lock, by the time we arrived it was getting dark so the photos I took there are not of the highest quality. Before turning in for the night I went ashore again and took a photo of the boat as well as one looking down the canal.

 

PHOTOS 215 - 259
Wednesday A 6 am start for a long day first cruising along the Ringvaart Kanaal and then onto the River Schelde heading upstream through the locks. At one point on this pretty river we passed a rather disgusting outfall with a very dark coloured liquid being discharged into the river, mind you our boat was emptying its toilet holding tank straight into the river as we sailed along. One of the interesting points about the locks on this stretch of river is that they still retain the pulley wheel that were used to pull the boats out of the locks. The first lock on this river section had a digital display to indicate the depth of water over the cill of the lock. We met the one and only other hotel boat we saw all holiday today, it was the Victor Hugo, but they didn't appear to have many guests onboard.  Boating along here was reminiscent of summer boating in the UK, we were in a queue at every lock, but unlike the UK you don't join the end of the queue but you  go into the space vacated by the last boat to enter the lock, no one shuffles up and the lock keeper ensures that the boats enter the lock in the same order as they arrive, similar to the Watford flight !If you don't check in with the keeper, you're not in the queue
We didn't reach our destination for the day, Tournai until 7 pm by which time we were eating dinner. The section of river through the town is very narrow and boats have to pass through obeying traffic light to ensure they don't meet a boat coming the other way. We were moored just before a very narrow bridge just at the beginning of the single flow section. After dinner we had a brief walk along river and through part of the town before turning in for the night.

PHOTOS 260-275 in town  276-323 cruising 
Thursday This morning was free time in Tournai, not sailing until mid day. We wandered into town in bright sunshine, in the centre of town we came into the main square, like lots of towns over here it has  display fountains set into the ground which these bikers took great delight in riding through. Like Ghent we climbed the belfry,timing to be up there when it struck the quarter hour. (This is reputed to be the oldest belfry in Belgium)  The views of the town were great. We also visited the Cathedral that is undergoing major restoration trying to stabilise the entire structure. Inside they have excavated around lots of the foundations and there is a large amount of scaffolding supporting walls and roof. The town has several bridges crossing the river, again some of them are vertical lift bridges, but the most spectacular is the 13 century arched one, the Pont des Trous. We were moored directly above this and just passed the traffic lights, so when we set sail at lunch time the captain had to back up to see the light before progressing through the bridge, you can see how close a fit we were by Mike touching the inside of the arch as we sailed through. As we cruised along we left Belgium and entered France at Mortagne-du-Nord  where we joined the canal de l'Escaut. This area was much more commercialised with steel works and power stations. The facilities at the locks were much better and at Fresnes lock, the first one in France the boat was able to dispose of all its waste. We moored on the outskirts of Valenciennes by the old river. It was only a short walk into town that is now served by a very modern tram service. After dinner several of us went for a walk into town, one of the most striking features was the tram lanes, these don't run along the road but have their own very neatly mown grass lanes.

PHOTOS 324-338 in town 339-389
Friday We only had until 11 o'clock to look round the town before we sailed. The main features of the town was the Town Hall with its old façade and modern building behind it. Also on the site of the old belfry that was demolished in 1843 there is now a 45 Mt high pin like monument by Jean-Bernard Métais. By the river there are some ruined structures that look as if they were locks and sluices and possibly at one time fortifications. One of the lesser known reasons for Valenciennes fame is that is where Isabelle Dinoire came from who had the first partial face transplant. We set sail at 11 am heading for Douai not arriving until early evening. Today we sailed along the summit level of this waterway and the last three locks of the day were downhill. We moored a short way before the lock, where the mooring rings had been painted with bright orange spray paint, was this done just for us, I don't see many other boats wanting to moor here. After dinner we walked down to the lock just in time to see the last boat of the day passing through before the locks closed for the night. As we walked back to the boat a large ship about 2500 tons came to a stop about 20 foot from the bank, slowly the stern came in to the bank. The skipper left the wheel house and walked round the stern of the boat, dropped the eye of his stern rope over the bollard and made fast to the bight beside the wheel house, casually walked all the way back round the stern and in to the wheel house, very gently sprung the bows in and repeated his walk, this time al the way to the bows and moored that end. It all looked so elegant, no pulling on a centre line like I do to moor up. A true professional.

PHOTOS  Douai 389-404 Cruising 405-460 Marquette and L'Union 461-499
Saturday morning and we wandered into town, there was lots to see and not much time to do it all. The old river Scarpe runs right through the middle of the town and is no longer fully navigatable. There are small boats with large electric outboard engines that take visitors along this now closed waterway but they stop running at the end of August if we translated the notices correctly. The town hall complex also houses the belfry, this time it was a conducted tour with the aid of English commentary on electronic audio players.  At the top of the belfry in the Carillon the guide gave a short demonstration on playing the bells. This is done on a keyboard called a "baton" and played with the fists. The Carillon was quite interesting as some of the bells have two hammers, an electromagnetic one that chimes the half, quarter and hours, automatically, whilst on the other side is a hammer operated by a pull cable connected to the keyboard.
By lunchtime we were on our way to Marquette and moored right by the entrance to the Canal Roubaix, after dinner we were off in two coaches to the opening ceremony of the Roubaix Canal at L'Union. By the time we arrived it had started to  get dark as you will see from the photographs. As we arrived Diana said "There's a Narrowboat over there" It was a Davis boat from Saul on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal called Sika and owned by Michael Clarke who now lives in Belgium. Once off the coach we gave him a knock on the side of the cabin and were invited in by Michael to help finish a bottle of rose wine. This was not the only boat from the UK, we also had a chat with the owner of a Wilderness trail boat who keeps his boat over there for most of the year and Colin Stone on his barge "Kei". Also the DBA had a stand there, so overall the UK was very well represented. As darkness fell we made our way to the field behind the canal where we enjoyed the most spectacular water, light and sound display before heading back to our boat by coach. When we arrived at the boat we found that the local Fire brigade had just finished filling Princesses water tanks, the first water we had been able to take on all week.

PHOTOS  Morning visit to the canal 500-543  Cruising from Marquette to Fontinettes 545-548
Sunday morning and it was back on the coach to meet up with Michael Clarke and visit the restored locks and bridges on the waterway. This was followed by a visit to Pont du Grimonpont where the local sewage work has been modernised and now feeds its outlet into a reedbed filters before discharging into the Roubaix Canal  as clean water. We then walked about 2 Km to Leers where a "Bluedays" weekend event was being held, which involved more beer drinking before rejoining the coach to head back to the boat in time for lunch.
When we arrived on the boat we found she had already been a bit further down stream and "winded", the British Canal term for turn round so that we could retrace our steps back to the Dunkirk-Scheldel Escaut Waterway to continue on our circular cruise towards Dunkirk. We moored for the night at Mont Bernauchon. This is a very small village that has spent thousands of euros in a landing stage that is electrically operated to different levels to match the boats, unfortunately no one knew who had the key to operate it, so we used our gangplank to bridge the gap. We didn't go ashore because it was the night of our Gala Dinner followed by an evening of entertainment provided by the crew, an I must say it was very good with some very humorous sketches.The plan was to go on to Arques just below Fontinettes Lock and moor by the boat lift, but due to some lock closures we were unable to make it in time.

PHOTOS  Morning Boat Lift 549-617 Afternoon Audomarois marshes 618 -645
Monday we departed at 6 am. and sailed to Arques to arrive at 10 am. We moored by the Fontinettes Boat lift after dropping down the Fontinettes lock which replaces the boat lift which in turn replaced 5 conventional locks so it has quite a drop, once clear of the loch we passed under what is probably the lowest bridge on this waterway, made worse by ongoing shot blasting and painting work needing it all to be scaffolded out. They did keep the air draft as high as possible on one half but it still made navigation difficult. From here we visited the lift, this is very similar to the Anderton Boat Lift but in nowhere such good condition and is now only preserved and will not be restored. After a conducted tour and video at the lift we wandered up to the river above the lift to look at what use to be the holding basin for boats waiting to use the lift, this basin was protected by a pair of stop gates that were only opened to allow boats to enter or leave the basin. From here it was only a short walk to the new lock that replaces the lift where we were able to watch two boats lock down to the lower level.
After lunch we boarded our coaches that had now joined us from the UK for a short drive to Audomarois marshes This area is very similar to the Norfolk Broads in that it was formed by Peat digging, where it differs is that all the drainage dykes are navigable and connected to the main navigation so they can be used as a transport system. There is a visitor centre that hires out small power boats and canoes as well as having trip boats that can carry about 50 people at a time with a captain and guide, we had two of these and spent a pleasant couple of hours cruising round in the sun shine before returning to the boat for the last time. Once back onboard we set sail for Dunkirk not expecting to reach there until 9 30 pm. It was actually later than this when we arrived. We picked a guide up as we entered the port who then gave a commentary all the way to our mooring. It was quite dark as we passed the different areas of this gigantic complex with chemical and petrochemical works. This was our last night aboard the MPS Princess.

Tuesday the morning the crew loaded our cases onto our waiting coaches and we headed off to Calais for our ferry crossing home. Here we all had to get off the coaches and pass through immigration to have our passports checked and the coach checked for illegal stowaways. Once on the coach again it was off through the ferry checkin and to be told that we could load onto the earlier ferry that would be leaving shortly. As soon as we were away it was possible to see the white cliffs of Dover and it wasn't long before we were back in the UK. HMRC were not interested in us this time and we were soon out of the port and back to the car storage park to pick up our car. The end of a great holiday.

The CIBC Rally at Blue Lias

Thursday 24 September

We arrived at the boat late in the afternoon and had the ropes off about 5 pm. From our mooring we made our way down to the top lock and while the lock was filling managed to unload the car into the boat, this included the carpet tiles for the lounge that we had taken home to clean. We met the first boat just as we left the top lock which saved closing gates, this is one of the few Narrowboats that I have seen with wheel steering. The second boat appeared as we left the second lock, things were looking good, but after the next lock which had almost emptied its self we were following craft travelling down hill and didn't meet any more boats. Just beyond The Folly we were able to pull into the 48 hr moorings for the night.

Friday 25 September

Another fine day and we were away about 9 am. Steady run down the Oxford Canal and then sharp left at Wigrams Turn to go north along the Grand Union Canal. We were contemplating weather to stop at the top of Calcutt Locks and tack water, but as we arrived there were two boat coming out of the lock towards us, one of them shot over to the water point and the boat ahead went into the lock, the obvious thing for us to do was to go in and join them, locking down together. I got chatting to the chap on the other boat as we locked down, his boat was a trad with a Gardner engine, the interesting thing was his exhaust which was hinged to drop back if it hit anything and had a spring fitted into the hinge mechanism so it came gently to rest as it fell back, level, but not hitting the cabin roof. We parted company at the bottom of the flight and continued on alone towards Stockton.
The approach to Stockton Lock is quite slow due to the number of moored boats along that section and before we reached The Boat pub we were passed by a chap on the towing path carrying a windlass, some way behind us was a converted working boat and I am guessing that the chap had probably walked from Calcutt Locks to Stockton Locks along the towing path. I dropped Diana off at the bridge by the pub and by the time I reached Stockton Top Lock he had opened both gates and was on his way down to the second lock. I was in the lock and Diana was ready to close the gates before NB Chiswick arrived and slid in beside me. She is acting as a floating stage for two waterway artists, you can see more details at http://www.sounduk.net/event_page.php?eid=12 . With 2 crew with the boats and one member setting ahead we had a good run down the flight. The young lady steering Chiswick was very capable of handling such a fine craft and we slid down the flight side by side entering and leaving the locks together, we didn't meet any other boats to disrupt our rhythm.  We winded and after taking water moored outside the Blue Lias while Chiswick visited WFB to get an estimate for some repair work they needed doing.

Our reason for visiting The Blue Lias was that it was the annual Cutweb Internet Boat Club CIBC rally that weekend and we had 12 other boats moored with us plus some camping units in the field behind the pub. Our Saturday night entertainment was provided by Kate Saffin in her one woman show. On Sunday we had a charity auction, I was a bit late arriving and Diana gave me a wave to show me where she was sitting, it cost me a pair of glass decanters, the first lot knocked down to her for a pound.  As usual we were very well looked after by staff of The Blue Lias.

Monday 28 September

9 am and we were on our way in the company of nb Jannock up the Stockton flight, all the locks were against us at first but then we met a couple of boats coming down which eased our way slightly, then on to the Calcutt flight, here there was a boat read to go into the lock so Jannock went in with them, we in turn went in with another boat that had just arrived from somewhere, probably the marina, that was on a "training day" the two chaps and the trainer just stood there talking to each other after the other boats in front had left the lock and the top gates were closed. I walked up and asked them if they intended going up the flight and they said they would like to join us, I then suggested it might help if they did some of the work as I had nothing to moor to and walked past, leaving the boat drifting to set the lock. Graham saw my plight, sent me back, turned the lock opened one gate, I passed the boat went in and moved across before any of the others wandered up. At was at this point I found out it was a training day and suggested that maybe the trainer should train them to do some of the work. I had been standing on the towing path holding the boat right behind them all the time the other boats were going up and none of them bothered to walk back and tell me what they were up to. We shared all three locks with them with some pointed comments about how we were working the lock and not asking for a "thumbs up" before opening paddles, I don't think they would have noticed a flag waving and they were well roped up before they closed the bottom gates.
We turned left at Wigrams turn and followed Jannock into Braunston where we winded and made use of his self pumpout kit before returning to Calcutt to fill up with diesel. Once toped up with diesel we moored for the night just above the locks opposite the reservoir  at 5 30 pm. later we witnessed a glorious sunset with a bright red sky reflecting in the water.

Tuesday 29 September

After a very quiet night the dog had us up before it was light, when we finally surfaced it was sunny and as the morning went on, things got even better, probably the warmest day all month. We set off at 9 30 am heading back to Wigrams Turn where we turned sharp right up the South Oxford canal. We met a few boats between the junction and the Napton Locks.  As we cleared the bridge by The Bridge Inn, Napton a passing boater was trying to remoor a boat that had drifted out across the cut, we assisted by pushing the bows in and then throwing the front mooring line to him. This boat was here when we passed last Friday, at that time the front line was strung across the towing path and tied to a post in the hedge.
At the bottom of the locks the working boat Gosty was bunkering diesel, he only sells none propulsion diesel and to commercial users at the low rate of duty. He also had a full load of coal on so if you get behind him he may be a bit slow through the bridge holes. We didn't have a bad run up the flight meeting a few boats on the way but also catching some up. Just above the top lock a Rose Narrowboat was moored on the lock moorings with the engine boards up, Diana went to enquire if he had a problem and he said he had found a pipe come off in the engine bay. I got volunteered to go and look, it was the pipe from the bottom of the sump to the oil change pump, apparently it had also been off when he picked the boat up and the chap just pushed it on again,  so he had done the same and didn't know what it was. I told him that if it fell flat in the bilge it could drain all the oil from the engine. We then went up to our mooring and moored up at about 12 30 pm. Whilst I was changing a bulb in the stern light an Oxford hire boat pulled up beside me, the chap asked the best way to turn round. I told him to back up, stick his nose in the arm and drive the back round, this resulted in the request for me to demonstrate, I didn't demonstrate but I did hop on his boat and instruct him on what to do and within 5 minuets a happy boater was heading back towards Marston Doles locks, I don't know if he is still happy as he was hoping to get to Cropredy tonight.
We shut the boat up and headed back to Suffolk.

IWA National back to Napton

Saturday

Again we were off at 9-30 am. first stop Watford Locks where we booked in with Madam Lock Keeper, if you are not booked in you are not in the queue and we were third to go down after the three coming up cleared the flight. By the time we went down there was at least another three behind us and six at the bottom. The normal routine when the flight is busy is 3 up and then 3 down. Once we reached Norton Junction we started meeting hire boats, we had seen very few other than Canaltime over the past few days, but that was about to change. We met 4 boats in Braunston Tunnel, one at the first S bend, but he held back for me so I could complete the bend before passing him and one on the slight S bent at the Braunston end. BW have started work on the site of the land slide by the tunnel mouth by improving the land drainage, but have done nothing about removing the obstruction. We didn't have to turn any locks on the Braunston flight due to boats coming up but we did have to wait while some were turned as we left the lock above. We found a boat moored under the bridge at the foot of lock 2 but a boater coming up moved it as we were leaving the lock and tied it to the piling. We stopped for water at The Toll House and then pushed on with a view to stopping at The Bridge, Napton. That plan changed as we continued on as Diana said she had food in the freezer she wanted to use up. This was a good decision as there were boats moored both sides of the bridge by the pub including across the winding hole. As we approached the A 45 bridge just before the Mill House I could see clouds of white smoke or steam and expected to meet a steam boat at the bridge , so held back. I was therefore more than slightly surprised when a Willow  Wren boat from  Rugby came through with not only a group of chaps on the roof but also a BBQ that was causing all the smoke, I am glad I wasn't going to share the locks with them!  A short way before Wigrams Turn we met a broad beamed boat, as we passed I asked him if he intended to go through the tunnel to which he replied "yes" I can only assume he didn't know about the landslide that happened about two years ago closing half the canal, I doubt he will get past it. We arrived at the bottom of the Napton flight just as a Napton Narrowboats hire boat was about to go up, it was their first lock and the yard had told them to moor before the locks and they would send someone out in the morning to show them how to lock up, unfortunately there were no vacant moorings by the Folly so they rand the yard and told them they were going to push on. Just as the boat was entering the lock the yard rang them, so this young lady is trying to steer into her first lock, stop in the right place and talk on the phone, she did well doing 2 out of 3 and only failing to stop until she hit the cill. The yard were still on the phone as she was about to drive out of the lock. We helped them and gave as much information as we could and as we followed them up two more locks they looked to be doing OK. We arrived at our moorings at about 7-30 pm. winded and got in reasonably easy as the water level was well up.

This is the end of our present journey.

IWA National back to Napton

Friday

At 9 30 am we said goodbye to Clive and Rita and head off to Debdale Wharf to fill with diesel, we have always found them to be the cheapest in the area. Opposite the marina is a burnt out steel narrowboat that has suffered quite a fire in the front half, the stern end looks OK still so it could well be worth salvaging. Just behind it was a brand new boat "Oakfield". If you notice that they don't seem to have a licence, don't bother reporting it to BW as BW sent them the licence for another boat. I expect the right one will arrive one day !
Once topped up with diesel we were off, a bit of welly required after reversing out of the marina to miss the moored boats in the wind, but we were soon on the straight and narrow again and soon at the bottom of Foxton Locks. Diana was dispatched to find the lock keeper and we were told to follow the boat that was just going into the bottom chamber, it would have been difficult to time it better. The smell just outside the bottom lock was hard to bear, they were cooking and selling bacon butties. I think if I had been third in the queue I would have succumbed.
A swift run up the flight and onward towards North Kilworth Wharf, this is once again a hive of activity after laying unloved a few years ago, it was also the first place I picked up a decent 3 Mobile 3G signal since we left Leicester, so as Diana drove I sent of two blog reports. We decided against a trip to Welford and continued on to Crick, Its good to see that Water Voles are only liable to be disturbed during the Crick Show and that moored boats don't affect them at other times, in other words the "No Mooring" signs and buoys have been removed. There was a good gap in the moored boats between the two Marina entrances but a fisherman was right in the middle, we pushed on to Edwards's and found all the moorings full, so had to back up all the way to the lone fisherman who was just packing up as we arrived, backwards. One of the reasons for making for Crick was to eat in the Red Lion, it was absolutely packed out and we waited well over an hour to get a table for two. The beer was constantly changing as the barrels ran out and different ones were put on. We wandered back to the boat in bright Moon light and Mars very visible not far from it. Interestingly I had a chap try to convince me that what I thought was the moon was actually Mars as its the closest to the earth and largest its been for many thousands of years. He did succeed with some of the drinkers he enticed out to look at it at Kegworth

IWA National back to Napton

Thursday

Last night the weather was to say the least unpleasant, with high winds and rain. Today wasn't to bad with not much rain but lots of wind. We pushed off at 10 am.  and found most of the pounds very low with most of the top gates wide open. Closing these gates when leaving the locks was sometimes impossible as the strong winds soon opened them again, but one or two with low pounds above them did stay shut, due to leaking bottom gates if you took the trouble to bring them both together. We did meet 3 boats in the course of the day but with boats going up just ahead of us this didn't help much as the next lock up was always against us and they were just too far ahead for us to see them. At Pywell's Lock there was a BW work boat using a majority of the lock moorings, it wasn't as if it was being used but just sitting there all locked up, in the way. We moored for the night just over Smeeton Aqueduct opposite the feeder arm behind our friends on nb. Treivalic at 3-30 pm.

IWA National back to Napton

Wednesday

Last night we had an Indian Take away onboard, They offer "free delivery" but 10% discount if you collect. It seemed to offset the "Free Delivery" a bit.
We heard a boat go by quite early this morning and then another, who we shared with at 8-30 am. We were ready to go but the dog wasn't as he didn't oblige on doing what a dog should do on his morning walk, so it was 9 am. before we set off alone with all the locks against us. We caught the boat up that left half an hour before us in Leicester and shared with them all the way to Kilby Bridge where we moored at 4-30 pm. The weather has been very showery and quite cool. Once in Leicester we met a couple of boats so we then had a few locks with us, but it didn't last very long. The pound below Kilby Bridge Lock was very low and I was well aground a good four feet from the towing path bank at the lock moorings, requiring quite a bit of shoving on the pole to get free. Most of the locks along this section are secured with a BW padlock and chain, we found several cases where the lock staple had been chopped through by someone.
The Soar has its fair share of Floating Penny Wort and BW have been treating this with an approved chemical weed killer, this looked to have worked in places where the Penny Wort had yellowed and was dyeing off, but there are lots of places where it has not worked at all or the patches were missed because there is still a lot of bright green leaves about with no sign of yellowing.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

IWA National back to Napton

Tuesday

We set off at 9-30 am, we should have left earlier and found ourselves in a queue at the locks for most of the day. At the Bishop Meadow bridge we shared with a full length boat, he found it a tight fit, bow fender against the cill and the stern as near to centre as I could let him come over. Once in, unfortunately his crew opened the gate paddle which shot water straight into the front cockpit, even more unfortunate was the fact that the front doors were wide open and the accommodation floor level a fair bit lower than the cockpit floor. They were still mopping up at the next lock. By now it was obvious that it was going to be a slow day, a few boats coming down who took ages to untie before coming into the lock and then even longer getting all the ropes off to come out. Some of those in front were not the fastest in the world ether, wandering up to the lock forgetting to take a windlass etc. attaching lots of string before closing gates.
We had quite a good run through Loughborough and pulled over to take water by The Boat at Meadow Lane bridge but it was out of use, so we filled up at Barrow Mill Basin, it was just after this that a couple off a new boat said "we almost called our boat Harnser, but saw your web site" It turned out they lived about 8 miles from us before becoming live aboard's.
At Junction Lock it rained, hailed, thundered and lightening, as we were going to moor within a couple of miles or so we decided to pull over and moor above the lock, as soon as we tied up the rain stopped and the smoke from a bonfire drifted right across the boat so we decided to carry on to Birstall where we had originally planned to spend the night on the town moorings below the lock. The first attempt at mooring close behind a boat already there was a failure due to underwater obstructions and we finally tied up at 5-20 pm about 40 feet further along. Now all the passing boats will say " Look at that inconsiderate boater, he could have moored close to the next boat to make more space.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

IWA National back to Napton

Bank Holiday Monday

First credit where credit is due, I spoke to Waterspace, Pat Barton and Bruce of RGB about the problem of running engines in the morning and being unable to catch the ferry to the site and between them they changed the ferry time to finish at 10 30 am. this gave half an hour to leave the boat and catch the last ferry to the site.
Whilst at the National I bought 25 lt of engine oil for £55 and borrowed Marine Engine Services barrow to drag it back to the boat on the mid day ferry. Had the three Fire Extinguishers off the boat discharged and refilled for £8 50 each ready for the next BSC. and bought a roll of "underlay" to go under our mattress to prevent condensation.
After saying our good byes to as many people as we could find we left the site for the last time and walked back to the boat, once back we decided that we may as well make a move, as we did not intend returning to the site this evening, we found the Harbour Master who assisted us in slipping out backwards between the other  boats in our pack and made sure the others were secure after our departure. As we pulled away it was just quarter to five and a boat was coming upstream behind us also heading south. To say the engine was smoky after all the running on idle over the weekend would be an understatement so I gave it a bit of welly to clean things up and left the other boat way behind. As we approached Kegworth Deep Lock it was good to see that it was virtually empty with Diana just drawing the paddles to equalise the gates, there was still no sign of the following boat as I went in, Diana closed the gates and drew the top paddle, at that point the other boat came round the bend, so Diana dropped the paddle, went to the foot of the lock, drew the bottom paddles and then opened one gate, all she had to do after that was convince the other boat that we were not coming out, but were going up and waiting for them and that they could get a narrowboat through one gate, once that was archived we were on our way up again. After leaving the lock it was some time before we saw the second boat again. We met 4 boats before Zouch lock and when we arrived at the lock the bottom gates were wide open, so straight in. We moored for the night just before the next bridge between the bridge and a BW dredger moored near the end of the lock moorings at 6-30 pm. After a glass of wine and listening to the Archers I set about doing an oil and filter change that was a few hours overdue, I had almost finished draining the oil when the boat that had shared the last lock with us came by, I am glad I didn't wait for them.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Stafford Boat Club to the IWA National

Friday

Last night we moored outside one of the old converted Silk Mills, it looked very splendid with all the outside illumination on. Thanks to the clear waters of the Erewash Canal I can now confirm that there is not a magnet stuck to the side of Harnser, where it went when I lost it I don't know, it is possible its under the base plate but I am not going under there to look.
We set off this morning just before 10 in sunshine but it soon turned showery. On our way down the canal we passed the branch to Derby as well as the headquarters of the ECP&DA. Also to add interest we passed the bottom of someone's garden and they had a full length Narrowboat cut in half, the back end stood out in the open but the bow section was poked through a hole in what looked like the back of his garage. I can only assume that some time in the future these two halves will be reunited. We stopped for water just above Trent Lock where I had a quick word with Jan Deuchar on nb Hereford while the tank was filling. Jan's husband, Chris wrote the book "A Boaters Guide to Better Boat Handling" This little book is full of very useful boating information. We locked down on to the Trent with two Wilderness aluminium Narrowboats who were able to get in the lock one behind the other beside us. Once on the Trent it was straight across onto the River Soar to make our way to the festival site. Our mooring pitch is at the south end of the moorings, there are only 24 boats further from the site than us, I am waiting to find out how many booked after the closing date for the draw for moorings and why they have better moorings than we have. I have conformation of two boats that booked late but are still closer than us. We moored up just before 2 pm and after a bite of dinner walked the two miles to the Water Space Office to book in. There is a ferry that would reduce the distance by over a mile but it only runs between 8-30 and 10 am. 12 and 2 pm. 4 and 6 pm and the last one 7 and 8 pm. There is mini bus to bring us back but that leaves between 10 and 10-30 pm which is before the entertainment ends.
This is the last trip report until we leave for home next week.

Stafford Boat Club to the IWA National

Thursday

Our moorings last night were very peaceful however the industrial site on the offside started work at 6 am this morning. We pushed off at 8 30 in sunshine. The barometer started rising late yesterday evening and has continued on an upward trend until lunch time today. We found all the locks against us for the first part of the day until we met the Narrowboat Kew, we later found out they got stuck winding above the top lock.  After another couple of locks we met another pair coming down. At Barkers Lock a BW chap was painting the gates, although he didn't have a windlass he helped us through and even phoned his 2 mates painting Stensons Lock to have that ready for us. I thought this was typical BW planning, IWA festival encouraging people to use the Erewash so they paint the gates on probably one of the two busiest weeks of the year, the other being next week after the festival. We carried on until Eastwood Lock where two boats were sitting above the lock, they had been unable to fill the lock as the bottom paddle had dropped. They had rung BW and it was not long before a chap was on the scene looking at the problem, within ten minutes he had a mate with him and they set to work. Harnser was brought into the lock to act as a work platform. The problem was due to a new type of paddle they are trialing. It is 10 mm steel sheet and as the plastic one it replaced was 25 mm thick plastic it was somewhat sloppy in the runners and jumped out. Not only that but it weighed about 90 Kg and had to be dragged up, The rod and rack fed back into the pinion. The paddle then had to be supported while the rod was disconnected, the steel paddle lifted out of the lock and replaced with the standard plastic unit. While they were at it the cut off the protruding bolt that were fouling the paddles movement with my angle grinder. Once this was all done we locked up and continued on our way through Langley Lock to wind and fill with water. I walked round and visited the dry dock to buy a commemorative plaque for reaching the head of navigation and Diana bought some bits at Lidl.
2-30 pm saw us on our way down the canal, now all the locks were against us as the two boats that were trapped above Eastwood had gone down in front of us. Our luck changed after about 3 locks when we met a Sea Otter coming up the cut.This gave us quite a good run before hitting locks set against us again. We finally moored for the night a little after 7 pm at the visitor moorings in Sandiacre. Its a town centre mooring so a bit noisy at the moment but hopefully things will improve later. We have seen lots of Kingfishers today and also some very large dragon flies, I also spotted a Little Grebe and in the water a white Koi about 10 inches long.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Stafford Boat Club to IWA National

Wednesday

After yesterdays queues we decided to leave at 8 am. this morning and I didn't hear any boats pass before we set off. We woke to the sound of rain and it carried on like that for most of the day. We saw very little on the move until we caught up with a Canaltime boat heading back to Sawley and we shared with them all the way to Shardlow where I stopped to visit Millar Marin to buy some 10 w 2D fluorescent tubes without success.  Just above the flood lock I spotted not only a garden railway but also Laplander waiting for Sean's return. In Sawley basin we pulled over and set the anchor out on the deck ready for river use, we then locked down through Sawley Lock on to the River Trent. The level was well down with very little flow, so we had no trouble at all turning sharp left into the Erewash canal just on 2-30 pm. At the top of the lock I had a word with Jan Deuchar before we continued up stream. The water was very clear and the level right up to the top of the bottom gates. Most of the locks were with us and we met more boats here than we did this morning on the T&M. The anti vandal locks on the top gate paddles are bit of a pain as they have to be unscrewed and screwed up again unlike the BCN which are just a 90 deg. twist. I found it strange that they only put them on the top gates, a boat like us going up, leaving all locks full, would make it easy for anyone wanting to drain the pounds. We carried on as far as the pound above Hallam Fields Lock were we moored for the night by the sports ground at 6-30 pm. just as the rain stopped.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Stafford Boat Club to IWA National

Tuesday

The first boat went by at 6-15 am and if I had any sense I would have followed it, however we didn't set off until 9-30 and were 3rd in the queue at Alrewas Lock, but we let nb. Spirit overtake us as he wanted to get his boat to the National and then drive home to fetch his stand. Even through a couple of the boats ahead stopped in Alrewas we were still 6th in the queue at Bagnall Lock and it continued like this most of the day, most of the boaters mucked in and helped each other but a couple only worked their own boat at the lock, but were quite happy to accept help from the rest of us. The day started fine but around lunch time we had some very heavy showers and even a rainbow.
When we reached  Branston Lock, famous for its pickle the queues vanished and we met a steady stream of boats coming towards us. At Dallow Lane Lock we were waited for what looked a brand new boat to come up, complete with 7 hanging on each side. The lady from the boat behind thought the owners may also be new to boating. The strange thing was that the licence expires 3/10 which would indicate the boat is about 6 months old. Conversation with the lady from the following boat revealed that we actually knew each other from the internet even though we had never met before, she was off nb. Warrior.
We stopped at Horninglow Basin to fill with water. Once topped up we continued on to moor for the night at 6 pm. in the village of Willington. I had a short session fishing with the magnet and found another mooring stake before latching on to the side/bottom of the boat. When I tried to pull it free the the line shot up leaving the magnet somewhere on the boat, the line didn't break as the thimble was still on the end, so the post must have pulled out of the magnet.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Stafford Boat Club to IWA National

Monday

7 30 am.  this morning saw us backing out of our mooring, winding in the basin and heading east along the Staff and Worcs Canal towards Great Haywood. We met one boat on the move before we reached Tixall Lock at 9 am. Between leaving the lock and reaching Tixall wide we met 6 boats. At Great Haywood Junction we turned right on to the Trent and Mersey Canal and sailed straight into Haywood Lock as the hire boat we had met a few minutes earlier had left the gate open when they left, not for us I might add as we were still out of sight.  The next lock on the list was Colwich Lock and as usual here we found a queue, we were in sixth place. Diana went to the lock to help the  boats in front of us through as did all the crews from the boats ahead of us, when it was our turn to lock down the single hander behind us came to give us a hand, we had helped him at Gt. Haywood, but behind him all the crews stood dutifully by their boats, no one coming forward. I just hope the single hander didn't hurry himself.
We stopped at Rugeley to refill the larder from Morrisons and also our wallets from the hole in the wall before pushing on again in the rain, today was proving to be very showery. As we passed the long term moorings at Hawksyard Priory we were haled by an approaching boat, it was our IWA Branch chairman and his wife with John and Joan on their boat, all muffled up in the now pouring rain I didn't recognise them. We stopped for a few words and they told me that they had be set adrift in the early hours by the Anchor Pub at Hartshill and also there had been a stoppage due to a body being found near the canal at Armitage which we knew nothing about. He also told of the queues at Fradley, however by the time we arrived there, almost two hours later we were able to sail straight into the lock and apart from waiting for boats to lock up we did this at all the Fradley locks, between Junction Lock and Keepers Lock I pulled over to the water point and waited while a pair of loaded working boats long lining came by. At Keepers Lock I met the owner of the other "Harnser" that moors below the lock on the long term moorings. We continued on down through Common Lock and moored for the night at almost 6 pm at the first piece of decent bank we came across.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Birmingham to Stafford Boat Club

Friday

We made an early start as at 8 am as we thought it would take the best part of 8 hours to get there. As I untied Harnser I noticed yet another golf ball laying about 6 inches from the boat. This mooring was very quiet but I would not suggest mooring there to early in the day.
The day started fine but we soon had some very heavy showers which lead to my shorts getting wet through. The first lock we arrived at was Gailey where there was a queue and we were forth in line. We met boats quite regularly as we headed down the canal which was without incident until we reached Shutt Hill Lock where Graham lost his footing on the wet stone and slipped into the canal just above the top gates, luckily he was not hurt and managed to scramble out with help.
By the time we reached the Stafford Boat Club the sun was out and Andrew was waiting to direct us to our mooring, this was the first bay inside the basin so that it was east for Magic to get on and off. We moored up at 3 15 pm so the journey had only taken us seven and a quarter hours, it also meant that Diana's new slow cooker had to be turned off a little bit early, even so her first attempt at using it produced a very enjoyable dinner.
We will remain at the boat club for the weekend and then make our way to the IWA National Festival at Redhill on Monday.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Birmingham to Stafford Boat Club

Thursday

Last night after dinner the water pump continued running when it should have stopped, we had run out of water. The gauge said 30% but it was telling porkies, it was empty. This morning I went out to find Graham's hose in our water filler and he was pumping water from his tank to ours.
We set off at 9 am. and almost immediately it started raining, this continued for most of the morning. At Botterham Staircase lock we caught up with the hire boat that had pulled away from the lock moorings of the previous lock just as we were coming out of the top gates. He was in the process of assisting a boat coming down the staircase  who was sitting on the bottom of the top chamber as he had somehow emptied both the top and bottom chambers together.
Between here and the Bratch flight a boat pulled out between Graham and myself, this meant Graham was stuck at the bottom of Bratch for an hour while three boats came down. We pushed on to Compton where we had a pump out at Lime Kiln boat yard and then backed through the bridge and waited for Graham to catch us up. Once he arrived we were off again looking for a quiet mooring for the night above Autherley Junction which we found a little after 1800 hrs by the golf driving range at Cross Green. As we sat on Jannock there was a loud bang as a golf ball bounced off the boat roof into the cut so this may not be the best weekend or afternoon mooring.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Birmingham to Stafford Boat Club

Wednesday

Last nights moorings proved to be very good, the first noise we had was when the scaffolders turned up at their yard at 7 am. We were on the move at 9 am heading for the Stourbridge 16 locks. I had to stop and do a weed hatch cleaning job to remove some polly bags as Jannock headed down the flight. Graham had his bike out and back set every lock as he left it making our journey much easier. We stopped for a few minuets at Dadford's shed and Graham went and picked up some boat cleaner/polish from Phil Speight's shop for me. We continued on down the last three locks of the flight to Wordsley Junction and then down the Stourbridge Canal to Stewponey, here we found a trip boat moored for the passengers to have lunch on the lock moorings and later one of the lock pounds lined by anglers. At Stourton Junction we turned right up the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The cave at Devils Den still has the locked door on it that BW fitted some years ago. We carried on for about another hour and a half to moor just above Hinksford Bridge at around 1615 hrs.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Birmingham to Stafford Boat Club

Tuesday

Both their crew of Harnser and Jannock were up in good time and by 7 15 am we were helping the some of the others down the flight who were getting away before us. We moved the boats down from where we moored last night to the top of the flight and after a couple of boats had gone down we followed on with John and Albert assisting us again.
Down at the junction we turned left on the Wolverhampton Level to Brades Hall Junction where we turned right and made our way down the Brades Flight along the Gower Branch, at the end we turned left along the New Main Line to Dudley Port Junction and then left again on the Netherton Tunnel Branch and through Netherton Tunnel. This was the last canal tunnel to be built during the canal working days in 1858, it has a towing path both sides and is wide enough for two way working. It was originally fitted with gas lighting but this was later changed to electric lighting fed from a water turbo generator driven by the flow from the Old Main Line to the New Main line. Unfortunately now there is no lighting at all.
Once clear of the tunnel we made our way to Blowers Green Junction, now the headquarters of the Dudley Canal Trust. At this point I cleared the prop of all the rubbish I had picked up this morning, but I was still better off than the chap moored at the service point who had smashed his prop shaft joint and was waiting for a new one to arrive.
Once the prop was clear we made our way down the Dudley Number One, through Blowers Green lock and down towards the Delph flight of 8 locks. We stopped at Merry Hill Shopping centre to replenish supplies and Diana bought her self a Slow Cooker to use on the boat. At the Delph Flight I was speaking to a chap walking up the flight and he told me that the Police had closed the flight this morning, as a woman's body was found at the bottom of the flight. I then got talking to a fisherman and it tuned out he actually found the body. Below the Delph Locks the canal changes to the Stourbridge Canal. We carried on for about a mile before mooring in what we hope is a quiet spot for the night. Tonight we have been invited to eat on Jannock.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Monday

10 O'clock this morning we backed into the Basin and filled with water before heading on our way to Titford Pump House, the headquarters of the BCNS. We kept on the Wolverhampton Level all the way to Oldbury Junction where we caught up with the last four boats that had left before us. Here we turned a very sharp right and made our way up the 6 Crow locks, half way up John was waiting to lend a hand and some of the boaters who arrived earlier were waiting at other locks to help us on our way. Again we had been travelling with Jannock and once up the locks we carried on to Titford Pools at the top of the flight, here we winded and then headed slowly, it was the only way with the shallow water and rubbish to moor just above the railway bridge, below the bridge the rest are double moored all the way to the Pump House.
This is the end of the 2009 BCNS Explorer Cruise and tonight we will be saying our farewells  to new friend at the BBQ at the Pump House. Tomorrow will be the start of another journey, not home but to Stafford Boat Club.

 

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/2009/08/bcn-explorer-cruise-day-1.html
and Peters Blog at http://nbgecko.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Sunday

Jannock and Harnser left the moorings at Pelsall Junction at 10 am. the last boats in the convoy to depart. We had absolutely no problems on the remaining length of the Wyrley and Essington canal  unlike all the trips we made down the weed hatch last year. We passed a few boats on the way, one had a large piece of wood jammed in his propeller and 3 were just removing rubbish like rope and wire. 4 of the earlier boats managed to turn left at Birchills Junction instead of right, 3 of them realised in time to turn round but unfortunately one is now travelling alone. The growth of Floating Pennywort has got worse over the past 12 months. I was under the impression BW had been given permission to use a weed killer on it, but I may have that wrong. We arrived at Wolverhampton at about 3 30 pm which for the canals we have been travelling on today is very good. We now have boats moored all the way from the top of the locks to Broadstreet Tunnel.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/2009/08/bcn-explorer-cruise-day-1.html
and Peters Blog at http://nbgecko.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Sat

Last night after going to bed it rained so every thing was soaked this morning and there was a brisk wind blowing across the basin. As the day progressed the weather improved and turned into a warm afternoon.
We didn't set off until 11 o'clock and by 12 were moored at Brownhills where we did a bit of shopping and filled with water. At 2 pm we were on our way again heading for Pelsall Junction where we were mooring for the night. At Pelsall we made a short diversion down the Cannock Extension Canal. This is a dead straight  length of canal that was terminated with the construction of the A5 trunk road. To turn at the end you have to put your bows into the entrance of Canal Transport Services dry dock and they request you pull the boat round by rope so as not to silt the dock entrance. We returned Wyrley and Essington canal and moored just west of the junction. From here it was just a short walk back to The Fingerpost pub where we had all the tables booked for the evening.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/2009/08/bcn-explorer-cruise-day-1.html
and Peters Blog at http://nbgecko.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Friday

Last night we had a fish and chip supper at the Longwood Boat Club, but unlike last year we were able to move all the tables and chairs on to the the towing path just above the lock at the front of the club house. The evening was warm and dry and it was quite pleasant being outside. Kevin, one of the other boaters entertained us with songs and stories until late into the evening.
Friday was an easy day so we didn't set off until 10 30 to a warm sunny morning. The first three miles was very slow where we averaged about 2 mph. but after this the canal widened and things improved greatly. At Catshill Junction the other end of Daw End Canal we turned left and headed along the Wyrley and Essington for about a quarter of Tesco's at Brownhills to replenish supplies and fill the water tanks. We winded by the canoe centre and headed back to Catshill Junction and carried straight on along the Anglesey Branch for about 3 miles to the terminus basin. Once in the basin we passed several of the other boats moored along the entrance . At the very end of the basin there were about 7 boats packed into the feed and Jannock moored to the bank, we came in alongside Jannock and soon there were another 4 boats on the outside of us.
The weather had determinate quite a bit by 6 pm. and the wind had freshened but it was still dry as we set up our BBQ's on the bank and it was still dry when we packed up and went to bed.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/2009/08/bcn-explorer-cruise-day-1.html
and Peters Blog at http://nbgecko.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Thurs

Today was only a short cruise up to Longwood Boat club so we didn't set off until 10 30 am. Graham fancied going over the M5 aqueduct  so we set off together, at Rushall junction we turned round and reversed the half mile back to the aqueduct, stopped for tea and cakes on the aqueduct, did a visit to the weed hatch to remove the polly bags and then headed back to Rushall and turned left up the Rushall Arm. 
At the bottom of the Rushall flight we caught up with the last boat from our party who was about to go up the flight, part way up we came upon John again who helped us through a couple of locks. As we were the last boat in the party coming up it was our job to put all the anti vandal locks back on the paddle gear. We reached the top of the locks at 3 30 pm and was offered a choice of mooring outside one of the club boats just above the lock or continuing on under the road to find a towing path mooring, we decided that we would breast outside the other boat as we would be more in the centre of things here and well away from the road.
Tonight its a fish and Chip supper in the Longwood Boat Club club house.

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/2009/08/bcn-explorer-cruise-day-1.html
and Peters Blog at http://nbgecko.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Wed

This morning we had to set off at 9 am because following yesterdays early finish we had an hours cruise to get us down to Typhoo Basin where the other half were moored and what's more it was raining steadily.

When we reached the basin we decided to cruise in at have a look round. The Birmingham Proof House stands right on one bank of the basin and the whole area is completely surrounded by old warehouses, Once we were back out of the basin we made a 90 deg. right turn on to the end of the Grand Union Canal.
The plan was to turn sharp left down Garrison but for some reason we started to go straight ahead up Camp Hill locks, I realised our mistake as I entered the lock and reversed out again and back about two boat lengths to the junction.
Going down towards Garrison Locks there are some fairly new developments on the right with a paved area facing on to the canal with bench seats etc. The area is so run down, the paved area is covered with weeds and completely uncared for, a lot of the windows in the flats had cardboard and blankets for curtains, its such a shame to see a new area go down hill so fast.
At Garrison Top lock we found another BW man to help us on our way, and a bit further down Aiden was there doing a few lock before going to work. Once through the 5 locks it was on to the junction by Star City, here BW have installed some floating pontoon moorings on the none towing path side by the Casino but I am not sure if you moor her if you can leave the area or if it is completely fenced in. Just beyond this is the Stop Lock complete with lock cottage, the lock has not had any gates on it for some years and the cottage looks as if it is being renovated yet again. Following this we found our selves back on the Birmingham and Fazeley canal at the same junction we turned off yesterday morning but coming out of the other arm. Again we turned left up the Birmingham and Fazeley canal to climb the Perry Bar flight of 11 locks to moor for the night just through the top lock at about 5 pm.

 

To see more information about this trip please go to
Grahams Blog at http://jannock.blogspot.com/2009/08/bcn-explorer-cruise-day-1.html
and Peters Blog at http://nbgecko.blogspot.com/ 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

The BCNS Explorer Cruise 2009

Tuesday

By 10 o'clock all the boats had departed except us, the last boat booked out and Brenda the organiser who was going behind every one else. The only problem was the 9 30 boat was pointing the wrong way and travelled about a mile and a half to the winding hole so even after we went Brenda still had to wait for them to come back.
At minworth locks there was a gentleman waiting to assist us on our way which was a great help, We  were to see him again later in the day at Aston Flight where we got chatting to him and found out his name is Aiden and he enjoys working boats through locks. At the bottom of the flight we came up behind three other boats from our group who had left earlier than us, BW were on the top lock waiting to assist us, here we were able to top up the water tank and still not miss our place in the queue. From here it was a steady run to Salford Junction where we turned sharp left up the second arm, ready to tackle the Aston flight of 7 locks. Part way up we hit an obstruction under the bridge, I had been warned there was something there so was going very slowly. By now the boat that was following having been the extra distance to turn round had caught us as had Brenda. On this flight we had help from another gentleman called Albert as well as Aiden. Once out of the fop of the flight it was turn hard left again on the Digbeth Branch ready to head down to the Typhoo or Digbeth Basin for the night, Before we got to the Digbeth locks we came upon half our group moored on the left hand bank with stories that there was no space left at Digbeth, so we pulled in as well. Brenda was slightly perplexed to find us all moored where we were as it was her plan to completely fill the basin with boats which would have made a wonderful sight. but it would have been impossible to leave the boat and get ashore, not the best thing for the dog owners amongst us, so we spent the night as 2 groups.
Diana cooked dinner for the Jannock's and us which we ate on the towing path around Jannock's table. We were joined by Blue Moon who brought there dinner with them and Gecko joined us for after dinner drinks, just to round the evening off.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Napton to BCN Explorer Cruise

We set off at 9 30 am towards Curdworth, I was lucky that we moored where we did as the road gets very close to the canal once passed the Fazeley Marina entrance for some time. As we approached the Curdworth flight we started to catch up with the hire boat ahead of us, which was surprising considering how fast he came past us this morning and as we slowed behind him boats were starting to appear behind up. When we arrived at Curdworth bottom lock the hire boat pulled in and just tied up, we had pulled and Diana had gone up, turned the lock and opened the bottom gate for them before they considered doing anything else. Diana helped them through the lock, it was obvious they didn't have much idea what to do and we can only assume they had met boats at locks all day yesterday who worked them through. As we entered the lock I spotted Graham bringing Jannock coming through the bridge about 5 boats behind us. Going up the flight we helped the boat ahead as much as possible and hopefully were able to offer advice that would make their trip both easier and enjoyable. After the next few locks still helping them through I didn't have the heart to tell them they were supposed to close the gates when they left the lock. We met a few boats in the flight that eased our passage but the two boats behind us managed to keep up with us with ease. It wasn't until the last couple of locks the hire boat managed to draw ahead and give us a cleaner run, even if we did have to turn the locks.
About a mile above Curdworth top lock we came upon some of the other boats moored up outside the now closed  Kingsley Arms. At first I tried mooring on the behind them but there was insufficient depth to get anywhere near the bank so we moved forward and moored right outside the pub against the piled bank, about half an hour later Jannock came along and moored on the outside of us. This was convenient as Brenda had offered to feed both us and the crew of Gecko with one of her home made curries. In the end they also invited the crew of Blue Moon along for the evening.
At 7 pm. we all gathered in the pub carpark to be briefed on the activities for the week ahead and also to organise starting times for the morning so we don't all arrive at the locks together. There will be 26 of us leaving between 6 and 10 am so that should spread things out quite well.

 

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Napton to BCN Explorer Cruise

Sunday

Last night a hire boat from Springwood Haven came down the flight in the dark and moored just in front of us, this morning they decided to start their engine at 7 am and not move until 9.
We set off at 9 30 am. and stopped for water about half a mile below the locks, while we were there two more hire boats came down, obviously travelling together. There was a boat on the water point when we arrived so we moored just behind him and waited until he moved off before backing up and taking water. The first of the two hire boats after pulling into the long term moorings on the off side stopped opposite us and when we moved back he pushed across and took the spot we had vacated, his mate arrived and stopped opposite the water point. As soon as we had finished taking water we moved off, instead of the first boat moving back, the one on the other side seeing a boat coming down the cut just pushed off right in front of it, threw his stern line to his mate standing by the water point who pulled him in swinging the bow to the opposite bank, the boat was now 45 degrees across the canal about 100 feet in front of this pore chap coming down the cut. Not a word was said from ether side and the chap stopped his boat in the centre of the cut and waited until they sorted themselves out. All because they thought they miss their turn at the water point, they only left the boat yard yesterday afternoon.
As we were in no hurry I waved several boats passed that caught up with us, it was obvious that they were travelling faster than I wanted to so I was quite happy to see them on their way. Why don't the boaters I catch up with do this?
A short break for Diana to go to the Tesco Express just before Tamworth. A boater coming towards us said there was no point in hurrying as there was a good queue at Glascote locks and he was right. While Diana was shopping I went fishing with the magnet and caught yet another mooring spike to add to my collection.
When we arrived at the Glascote Looks there were boats ahead of us but they were locking so slowly with boats coming up as well, it must have taken us the best part of 2 hours to do these, but the sun was shining and most people were cheerful. Once through the locks it was still quite congested as the Tamworth Cruising Club have been holding an event this weekend. We continued on to Fazeley Junction and turned hard left on to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, carried on for about half a mile and moored outside the new marina.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Napton to BCN Explorer Cruise

Saturday

Last night because my son and his family came to see us we ate at The Greyhound, We went in about 6 30 and asked for a table for 6 but they were fully booked, then the initiative of the waiter clicked in, "This table is booked for 8, can you be clear by then?" We told him if the service was good enough we would be well gone. How easy it is to just say, sorry all tables are booked. The food was much better than I remember having there before and my son said it's the best canal pub we have ever taken him to too eat. That is praise.
This morning we set off just before 10 am. and met very few boats, but I did manage to meet two in the course of the day right in bridge holes and in both cases they had to pass me on the wrong side.
We stopped for coffee with Peter and Hazel on their end of garden moorings in Nuneaton before pushing on to the Atherstone flight, we caught these quite well, the top one was down a foot and then we met boats at every lock until we reached Barry Hawkins's At Baddesley Wharf yard then things got patchy, a couple against us, and a couple with boats just entering from below. The locks on this flight empty a lot faster than they fill, but I suppose in their working days the side ponds would have speeded the filling. Maybe the top paddles are intentionally small to encourage the working boaters to use the side ponds, especially if they were fitted with a large paddle.
We moored for the night at 5 pm just below the bottom of the flight on the mooring rings just after the lock moorings.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route

Napton to BCN Explorer Cruise

Friday

Last night we at at the Bistro at Hillmorton Locks, when you go in there are notices telling you its not a restaurant but a cafe, the tables look like cafe tables, they are laid like cafe tables, when our food came the portion size was like a good cafe but the food quality was  as good as we have had anywhere and at the end of the meal, 2 starters, 2 main courses (we couldn't manage sweet) 2 coffees carafe of red wine and a beer and I got change out of £40. Will we go again, you bet.
It must have rained for 12 hours yesterday but this morning was overcast but dry, we pushed off at 9 am in case it turned wet again but as the day wore on it got warmer. There were only 2 boats on the 14 day moorings at Newbold and none on the 24 hour moorings and this was just after 10 in the morning, we also noticed that there was room for 4 boats at the beginning of the long term moorings. Passing through Newbold tunnel we noticed that the lights are not working. The question is, should we tell BW so they can fix it and spend money on electricity or just forget about it?
We had a very pleasant 5 hours making our way to Hawkesbury junction meeting several boats on the way but were surprised that the moorings were quite full, we passed through the junction and have moored about 200 yards down the Coventry canal towards Nuneaton.

You will find our latest position at
http://tinyurl.com/Harnser-s-route