Wot a scorcher

The day started off with a bit of a mist and, to be honest, quite chilly. But, the forecast is optimistic, so, on with the shorts: mind you, it is Bank Holiday Monday after all!

Spent most of the morning buffing up the brass work in the engine room while the captain mumbled and grumbled her way through Safeguarding. I kept offering pertinent and useful comments from time to time but I don't think any of them ended up in the final report. I still don't know why.

Just after midday we set off towards Cosgrove.

Quite a few new houses alongside the canal since we were last here.

We got a good mooring opposite the Barley Mow. Just before everyone else decided that lunch at the pub was a good idea.

Managed to get a table in the garden, the last one going. We had the homemade chicken curry with locally made chutney. A tad hot for the captain but we got through it OK.

The row of cottages opposite the pub are all relatively new but blend in well with the older properties in the village.

To get back to the boat we have to go through the horse tunnel - you can see a boat on the canal above.

And a view looking back up the road but from the other side of the canal.

We set off after lunch intending to turn round just before the lock. However, just before the lock the canal was blocked by the fuel boat topping up one of the cruise boats, we were being followed closely by a hire boat and someone else was coming out of the lock at the same time. A bit of Piccadilly Circus and Keystone Cops. So I decided to go through the lock and turn round in the official winding hole. Unfortunately, the hire boat wanted to take on water just at the point where a day boat was waiting to come into the lock. So the hire boat went out first, the day boat came into the lock beside us, we nipped out, did a splendid turn round and back into the lock with the day boat but now pointing the other way.

This is one of the locks that still has the remains of the tracks used when loading and offloading the boats.

The bridge over the canal is, unusually, very ornate. There is no obvious reason for this style of bridge. On other parts of the canal it would have been to appease a reluctant landowner to allow the canal to be built.

Anyway, we retraced our route back past Thrupp Wharf and the Navigation Inn.

It was busy both times we passed. It's good to see the pubs being used again, also the care that they are taking to keep everyone safe.

We stopped in almost the same place as when we came up. Supper outside with us only coming inside just before 9 o'clock.

Oh, and here's a sunset from 2 nights ago that I forgot to post.

Sweet dreams. 

A day of surprises

Why a day of surprises? You ask. Well, read on and by the end of the blog I may have an answer for you.

The day started off overcast and the captain reckoned that it was only going to get to 15° today. Not that I check up on the captain but, in this instance, I did and found that she was looking at the forecast for Bradwell instead of Gayton where we are moored. More like 20° for us. Ah, poor old Bradwell.

First stop of the day - fill the water tank. Whoop, whoop, whoop! After that, Blisworth Tunnel. No photos of the tunnel, it was a tad dark in there. We paused before the tunnel to let the trip boat Indian Chief go ahead of us. When we got to Stoke Bruerne, the skipper came and thanked us since he was able to power through the tunnel and not be pottering along behind us.

We managed the locks OK even though we were on our own. Luckily there were quite a few boats coming the other way.

Look at that blue sky.

At Yardley Wharf, instead of a sign to slow down past moored boats, they have a sign for elderly ducks crossing the canal.

We've probably covered about 7 miles today and we have stopped near to Cosgrove.

It was nice and quiet when we arrived but, since then, it's been like Picadilly Circus! Hire boats preparing for handover, a boat with 4 girls dancing on the roof to You're the one that I want, not forgetting the Ooh, ooh, ooh. Boats getting stuck in the mud. And, to cap it all, we had super duper showers with the new, all powerful water flow.

What exciting times we live in! 

What a difference a day makes

Honestly, I sat down to write the blog yesterday and this morning, the captain asks: 'did you write the blog yesterday?' and I says: 'no!'

Anyway, today, Saturday, sunshine for much of the day. Brilliant.

We shared the Buckby locks with Duck Dilly. A couple from Sussex with friends who had not been on the canals before and they were loving it.

Can be quite scary at times when going down through a lock.

Stopped at Weedon for some shopping and, guess what, Granny's Café was open. Well it seemed only right and proper to support them after all they had been through with the lockdown.

What a feast. 

Exciting day tomorrow - we're going to fill the water tank! Oh, such joy. Mind you, since the lads did all that work on the water tank, the water's running faster, the pump doesn't sound so laboured and the kettle fills faster.

Here’s some pictures to show what they found down in the bilges.

This is the inside of the 'fresh' water tank. The guys did say that they had seen worse.

This is it now.

Here’s some of the gundge that they scraped off.

And here's the guy who did it. He spent three days inside the water tank just to get it cleaned.

And a final picture just to show the support struts that they put in.

We were so impressed with their work that we are going back again to have a hatch put in the back deck so that there is easier access to the weed hatch. But, before that there is the Boat Safety Survey, the blacking of the hull and the full survey for the insurance.

Who was it said that a boat is just a hole in the water that you pour money into!?

I know the feeling but I don't regret it. 

We're back on the water

Well, here we are again, back on Polgara with the gas locker having been repaired and the water tank repainted. Also, the water filler point has been moved to the outside of the boat.

Looks good, doesn't it? Now, when the water overflows, it just goes into the canal and not into the boat. The only problem is that nobody can see what's been done. I want to put a notice telling everyone what's been going on below the water line!

Out for supper tonight: smokey beef and pancetta lasagne for Brigid and crayfish languine for me.

And look how happy we are.

So, a night in the marina and then off again tomorrow.

There's a hole in my bucket

An early start today getting ready for Lee and Dale of Candle Bridge Fabrication to pick up the boat for the repair to the water pipe.

And there she goes.

Turning into Braunston Marina.

And going along to the workshop.

Now then, what to do for two hours while they work their magic.

Well, first a walk up to the butchers to get a joint for the weekend and then a walk round the supermarket while it rained. When it started sleeting again we sheltered under the pub awning and got a call from Lee. They had started the work and all was going well until they found that there wasn't any metal at the front of the gas locker. Whoops. Did we want to take a look and see what needed to be done?

Minds in a whirl, we still had time to chat to a baby robin on the way back. 

Had a good look at the hole but the problem is that there is nothing to weld anything to. Recommendation: remove existing floor and replace. They will also clean out the water tank, repaint and fit a new filler pipe on the outside of the boat so that any overspill goes into the canal and not the gas locker. 

So, we have emptied the boat and have come back home. Hopefully the work will be completed in a fortnight and we can then finish our time away. Also, it might be a bit warmer by then! 

Ta-ta for now - hope to be back again soon. 

Baby it's cold outside

Well, the weather forecast indicated 61% chance of rain.

Dead ahead the 61% and 90° to the left....

the 49%. I know which one I prefer. However, we got the 62% with the added bonus of a bit of hail again.

While the rain wasn't raining the captain took the helm. She does like to be in charge!

We pootled along taking time to charge the batteries as we only have a short way to go to get to Braunston for tomorrow's welding appointment.

We stopped off at Midland Chandlers again for some odds and bobs and then picked up a mooring about 100 yards from the repair shop, all ready for an early morning start.

Looks nice, doesn't it? But I can tell you it's freezing cold outside in the wind. We think it's the worst week of weather for this time of year since we got the boat. Come on, it's May and we've had the fire alight every night. So, we've tackled some jobs inside ww2today, a bit of knitting (not by me!), maintenance to the stove (not by Brigid!), a bit of reading and keeping warm.

Late afternoon and a family of swans dropped in for tea.

That's all for now. Lamb chops for supper. Luverly jubbly. 

Hail the sun

Sorry, title should be 'Hail then sun.'

It's been a funny day today, weatherwise. Overcast first, a bit of sun, then rain, overcast again, then hail followed by a calm sunny evening.

Cleared Hillmorton Locks in good time with a volunteer lock keeper helping much of the time. Then past Wharf Farm by Tarry's Bridge.

Here’s a touch of the overcast lowering clouds that give you a good soaking every now and then.

At the entrance to Barby Marina there are three alpaca keeping the grass down. This length of canal is almost dead straight for over a mile with the welcoming view of the M45 creeping slowly towards you. At least, that's how it feels.

Once again we have stopped relatively early to, once again, sit out the rain - and hail! Now that was not forecast.

Yet, a few hours later, lovely sunshine, hardly any wind and the sweet sound of birds singing in the trees.

I must say that the birdsong is wonderful at this time of year. Even at 4 o'clock the other morning when Brigid unwillingly marvelled at the calls before crawling back into bed for a few more hours of sleep. 

Wet, wet, wet.

Sorry, but no post yesterday for two very good reasons: 

1) it rained all day; and

2) when we stopped for the night we had no Internet.

A window into our day.

We managed to get past Rugby and stopped short of Hillmorton locks. Didn't fancy tackling them in the rain. And, boy, did it rain. We battened down the hatches, lit the stove and hibernated. 

Line of Duty or line of sight?

Sunday morning started well with egg and bacon on toast. Then on to the water point, fill up and off we go. 

Even though it was Sunday morning, there were two C&RT men struggling away trying to get a section of tree trunk out of the water. As we left I think they calling up reinforcements. C&RT get a lot of criticism but, so far, we have been impressed with all the work we have seen being done. 

Just approaching the turn under the bridge to get on to the Oxford canal.

Safely through and now coming into the stop lock.

And out the other side.

Sadly, not all boating ventures end up that well. Don't know what happened here but it wasn't there when we came up. Let's hope no-one was hurt.

There have been many warnings about gas cylinders and petrol cans on boats. We are always careful to turn off the gas at night to be on the safe side. 

Right then, who remembers the Muppet show where the announcer says something and all the characters look up and down to see where the voice was coming from? Well, we had a similar experience ourselves. We were waiting for a boat to come through a bridge and we could hear a very loud conversation but we couldn't see anyone nearby. Until, that is, we looked up. 

Two engineers working on the overhead cables.

And this is our view for this evening at Brinklow. We have stopped reasonably early so that we can have a roast supper and watch Line of Duty, the final in the series.

Aerial aligned (line of sight OK), batteries charged - will we finally find out who is H? All will be revealed!