Through Nottingham to Holme Lock

Sunday 6th June 2021

In the bathroom this morning Brenda noted the quantity of hand wash and hand sanitiser alongside our Covid test kits, just in case! It reminded her of the first year we owned Jannock when we  cruised sporting a tray full of disinfectant foot bath during the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001 – that was a grim summer.

 

A very quiet night was spent at Beeston lock with no calls for blood bike services after 9:30pm so Graham got a decent nights sleep. We cast off in ‘grey day’ mode and made our way towards the centre of Nottingham. On the way there were interesting things to look out for, not least the other end of the derelict Nottingham canal to Langley Mill basin. We’ve now been at both ends but unfortunately not along it’s whole length.

 

Just before Castle lock Brenda spotted a Dad explaining, as best he could, to a little girl how the lock worked. We offered them a ride through the lock in the front well deck, so picked them up and then dropped them off again at the lock landing below. They all had a ‘wonderful’ time. Hyperbole to my mind, but there were wide smiles and profuse thanks after the very short ride.

 

On to Meadow Lane lock where we descended and then turned sharp right to explore the top of the navigable section by the Civic centre. The water was shared with kiddies in canoes, rowing boats – athletic types rather than boating lake, and a dragon boat. We winded and set off downstream noting that the derelict areas we saw last time we came this way are now very smart flats with river views.

 

Further downstream there were more canoes and paddleboards pootling along both river banks – the Wombles Boating Club – pulling lots of litter and other items out of the margins. Does a whole motorcycle count as litter?

When we got to Holme lock we learnt that Gunthorpe Lock (2 down) is currently closed due to upper gate leakage – possibly for a couple of days. Good job we don’t have any time constraints – what shall we do now?

 

We tied up on the visitor moorings above Holme lock and spent the afternoon doing a bit of boat maintenance and watching the canoeists doing their thing in the National Watersports Centre rapids.

A time lapse video of  our trip through Nottingham can be found at https://youtu.be/ShXV-DJ0OcU

G & B

Down onto the Trent

Saturday 5th June 2021

A very sunny day and a very busy day.

We left our overnight mooring alongside the playing fields immediately after the other two boats that had also been moored there. This meant that progress down the last 7 locks was very slow as we had to refill each one as well as one of their crew always leaving the offside lower gate paddle partly drawn. 

 

The 34 rod fishing competition further down didn’t help either. None of them admitted to catching anything except the man on the last peg who claimed half a dozen.

We stopped at Sandiacre for milk, tonight’s dinner and melanin wound dressings as Mr Clumsy had used up the last of the stock on Jannock on both of those ‘poorlies’ from life’s little accidents. Poor Mr Clumsy! No where to get dressings from.

 

Then down to Trent Lock where we passed through watched by loads of Gongoozlers outside the pub and café. We turned left onto Cranfleet cut and then passed through the lock onto the River Trent. The views immediately opened right out with geese, cormorants and the odd swan populating the ‘beaches’. The first kingfisher of the year was spotted briefly as it crossed the river.

 

We passed through Beeston lock and then stopped at the sani-station to fill with water. Here we met a cousin of the ‘oiks’ at Langley Mill. Our hose was connected to the water tap and he asked rudely whose hose it was as he wanted to disconnect it. Graham explained that we were filling our water tank and he got all huffy announcing “ but my dog wants a drink” whilst indicating the empty pop bottle in his hand. Graham told him , but then had to show him how to turn the tap from left to right to get water to come out of the other side of the bollard to fill his bottle. No please or thanks, he just went off with half a bottle of water.

Once the tank was full we planned to pull across to the visitor moorings for the night. Graham was on duty as Blood Bike controller all night so we didn’t want to cruise any further. The first spot we chose turned out to be half lock landing as well but there was a fisherman setting up in a suitable sized gap one boat ahead. No problem he said, I’ll move my stuff there so you can moor here. The nicest fisherman we’ve met under the circumstances. That’s two in three days and both young men.

B & G

Erewash canal pt2

Thursday 3rd June 2021

Back aboard Jannock and in warmth and sunshine, fingers crossed that it stays like this for a good while.

Thanks to the Erewash Canal Society and Preservation Association for allowing Jannock to use AWCC mooring facilities for the last 2 weeks. Their Chairman (and moorings officer) Norman was excellent. We reversed Jannock from within their club basin out onto a visitor mooring next to the Nottingham Canal toll office in the Great North basin for the night.

 

A group of ‘little darlings’ approached as we were having our late lunch out on the foredeck and enquired if we were staying? Yes we are! How long? Oh, possibly until tomorrow or Saturday. What, just there? Yes. But we wanted to swim there. They hung around to realise that we were not fibbing, then stripped off their anoraks and black hoodies (it’s very warm out) and prepared to swim in the lock instead. Courage was a very long time coming but they eventually went in.

 

Meanwhile, another lad who was fishing by the ‘No Fishing’ sign, pulled out a large Pike, about 75cm long (2 foot 6 inches to us old bu$$ers) and about 6lb in weight. His mum arrived later and Brenda had to assure her that he really had caught the Pike – we showed her this photo as evidence.

We visited Lidl (across the road from the basin) to re-provision and then visited the Bunny Hop alehouse before crossing the road for an excellent Gurkha meal, both on the Cromford road, about a 5 minute walk. The pub is doing ‘covid’ hours, 3 till 8 mid week and 3 till 9 Fridays and the weekend. The ale selection was excellent and mine host was a very cheery and knowledgeable person and the other drinkers were very friendly – even recommending what desert to have in the Gurkha restaurant. We had a delicious meal and then asked for the desert menu – there was no desert menu. All they did was the rice pudding that we  had been recommended by the drinkers over the road. We highly recommend the Bunny Hop/Royal Gurkha combo if you stay at Langley Mill.

 

On our return to Jannock we saw a wonderful sunset to end our day.

Friday 4th June 2021

We started this morning with a lovely drive through the beautiful Derbyshire Peak District to the Cromford canal terminus. The first industrial mill of Arkwright is an imposing edifice, and that what started it all! The walks along the Cromford canal are beautiful. Late spring had the trees in leaf, birds singing and plenty of hedgerow flowers. There was a variety of water fowl with their fluffy babies.

 

We walked a mile from Cromford to High Peak, had a cup of tea in the café and then walked back for lunch by the car, followed by an ice cream (with sherbet and a flake) before heading back to Langley Mill by a different route.

 

We then set off back down the Erewash canal again. Boys swimming in locks seems to be a thing around here as we happened across another group at Shipley lock. Then some older ‘blokes’ came along to boast how they used to open the gate paddles and then swim through them when they were kids. They we still alive so we didn’t actually believe that they did that. The youngsters listened attentively to what Graham had to say about how locks worked and helped us with the heavy gates.

 

We moored for the night alongside the sports field just after the Gallows Inn, where we stopped for a night on the way up.

G&B

Finishing at Langley Bridge

Thursday 20th May 2021

Jolly boating weather – not!

We set off in general greyness but it didn’t much look like it was going to rain, even though it was forecast. At the locks we were busy, Graham was pulling branches and clumps of floating weed out so that they didn’t interfere with working the locks whilst Brenda started the annual ‘Balsam bash’ by pulling off plants growing on the lock gates as the boat entered the lock – some of them had a good build up of soil perched on top of the gate beams that they were growing from.

 

At 11 am the rain started and the temperature dropped, November has come early this year! A jogger on the tow path said that she felt sorry for us as we looked weather beaten by 12:00. A fisherman was intrigued watching us ascend a lock. Out came his phone and he followed Graham’s every move, videoing the whole emptying and filling routine. Another tow-path walker was also fascinated stating that she’d never seen a boat pass through these locks before. A lesser cruised canal for sure!

 

Just before we got so wet that we would have tied up, we reached Langley Mill lock, the last before our destination – the great North basin at Langley Mill. Graham had phoned ahead and arranged a fourteen day mooring at the Erewash Canal Preservation and Development Association basin using the AWCC temporary mooring arrangement. Norman, their Chairman and Moorings Officer, came out to welcome us and help us perform the sharp turn, through the swing bridge into their basin. With a narrowboat moored on the water point and a cruiser tied up alongside the swing bridge it was not an easy manoeuvre, followed by reversing into a tight gap between two ‘end-on’ moored boats.

Then the rain stopped but the wind increased. Graham did a car shuffle and then we jumped ship and headed home to do the washing and attend pre-arranged commitments.

G&B

And onto the Erewash canal

Wednesday 19th May 2021

We set off with lovely sunshine but a very cold wind, and cruised through Shardlow (where we filled with water) Sawley Cut and Trent Lock and then turned left onto the Erewash canal. Never been up this one so it had to be done when passing.

 

At Sawley lock, a fellow boater told us that the Erewash canal was hard work but he forgot to warn us that the heavens would open as soon as we turned onto it. We approached what looked like a garage, the noises coming from that direction convinced for Graham and a passing walker that it emanated from a badly timed car engine without an exhaust system. Workers even came out from the factory opposite to see what all the noise was about. Turned out it was a road-line-marking lorry that was obviously not going to be laying any double yellows today, it’s faulty compressed air system was causing the din.

 

The locks on the Erewash were hard work, possibly because they get minimal use, but the rafts of weed and flotsam didn’t help, neither did the swans at lock 61. On arrival, Graham found one swan in the lock and another below the lock. They were both obviously trying to get to each other and so he started emptying the lock with a view to getting them together by opening the gates. A passer by commented that both swans were aggressive males whose partners were sitting on eggs in their pounds and would fight each other to the death if they got together. Graham then turned the lock again to fill it with the intention of letting the swan leave at the top level before re-turning the lock to let Jannock ascend once the swan had left. This worked but the swan below the lock started attacking Brenda and the boat as they entered the lock once the gates were open.

It would appear that every pound on the Erewash has a nesting pair of swans except one that was occupied by two males – make of that what you will!

We eventually stopped for the night at Hallam Fields, Ilkeston which was a pleasant mooring alongside a large sports field which was very peaceful.

G&B

Burton on Trent

Monday 17th May 2021

We set off from our peaceful overnight mooring in Alrewas with improving weather. The Trent section of the canal was marked as Passable OK so we dropped down onto the river and transited back onto the canal at Wychnor lock. The sun became quite warm by 11 o’clock and then the rain was so hard by half past that we pulled over rather than transit a lock in the downpour. 

 

As the lock was filling, the storm abated so we passed through and cruised into Burton on Trent in light, but cold showers. With the rain stopped the blue skies were gone and replaced by heavy grey instead, We moored at Shobnall bridge because Nicholson’s said it was a good access point for the town. After lunch we walked into town for a few bits, especially a replacement smoke detector.

 

Brenda was pleased to find a Primark so managed to get some replacement trainers and a couple of pairs of cheap sunglasses. Sainsbury’s to restock the larder and Wilko’s for the smoke alarm. We had missed the market. It was quite a trek to the town centre from Shobnall and it’s not particularly attractive.

From today, the Covid regs allow pubs to open normally from today but none in Burton looked as though they were, so a visit to the brewery tap was off the plan.

B&G

An afternoon at the National Memorial Arboretum

Sunday 16th May 2021

We started off from our very quiet overnight mooring and then stopped before the junction to refill the water tank. Then through the swing bridge to become part of a three boat shuffle. Eventually everybody got where they wanted to be including the boat that was just turning round to go back down the Coventry canal.

 

Then down the five locks to Alrewas, past the new marina being built, where we arrived earlier than predicted due to the easy run down from Fradley where we met a couple of Cutweb members for a chat. Now that Covid rules have been relaxed we were amused to see both cricket and football being played side by side on the same field. Imagine the hassle if a footballer got clobbered by a rogue cricket ball. The footballers were having to constantly retrieve their stray footballs from the cut as it was.

 

After lunch we walked to the National Memorial Arboretum which is about a 45 minute walk from where we were moored. Unfortunately I used Google maps which ignored the ‘National Arboretum Way’ footpath and took us along the A513 road between the A38 and the Arboretum entrance. Not a walk we would recommend to any-one as the grass verges are un-even with abundant overgrown trees dangling across the route. It was only studying the OS map in Nicholsons guide when we returned to Jannock that we spotted where the footpath was routed.

 

A visit to the Arboretum is highly recommended, and it’s free entry. It is so beautiful. The trees chosen to carefully represent those who are being remembered – indeed honoured! There are many beautiful and varied sculptures. We thought of so many family and friends both lost to us and who serve country and community but it is not a sad place to visit – just very thought provoking.

 

The Arboretum is run by the Royal British Legion and although we had pre-booked our free tickets, as we entered via a pedestrian access rather than the formal entrance we did not collect them on arrival. After visiting the loo, Brenda stopped at reception and asked whether they needed to know that we were on site, and they did.

 

We decided to take a ride on the ‘wally trolley’ that provides a guided tour around the grounds. I’m so glad that we did because it was a one hour trip with running commentary that explained a lot of specifics that we were not aware of when we had wandered around earlier. Although it was expensive (£7) each, it was well worth it for the extra information that we gathered during the trip.

 

The long walk back to Alrewas, via the A513 again, was another un-enjoyable experience but was rewarded when we called into the Coop for some milk and picked up Bread, apple pies and doughnuts all at vastly reduced prices.

G&B

To Fradley we must go

Saturday 15th May 2021

Another grey morning, after a very wet night, greeted us when we awoke. As Brenda drank her morning cuppa she watched a Woodpecker doing a very thorough recce on an adjacent tree.

Last night we watched a family of 7 ducklings. They mooched about feeding and diving and the mother duck called them to settle once she’d found a nice sheltered resting place. They were very well camouflaged. Then two white ducks swam past but turned and made a beeline for them. Mother duck came out to meet their aggression but to no avail and so she roused the ducklings and made them leave the sheltered spot. They all hurried off pursued by the white ducks. We thought they might return to use the resting spot but no, they just swam right past and back towards Hopwas bridge. We found a snack for the mother duck and her babies but their cosy spot remained empty for the rest of the night.

The rain persisted, on and off all morning and it remained cold so not pleasant cruising weather. We moved on to Huddlesford where we pulled over to moor but then the rain stopped so we set off again and went to Streethay Wharf to buy a couple of gas cylinders. 

 

Then onto Fradley where we moored at the end of the steel piling at ///haystack.custom.charge before going for a walk around the Fradley Pool nature reserve. The last time we visited here it was just being sorted whereas it is finished now. A lovely place for a peaceful stroll watching various water birds. Children were jam-jar dipping and tramping through the muddy undergrowth – lovely?

 

G&B

A car shuffle from Hopwas

Friday 14th May 2021

The very peaceful mooring spot induced over sleeping and a rare late start – we had expected to be woken by a dawn chorus but we suspect the dull grey, damp and cold morning meant choir practice was cancelled.

 

Once on the move we passed Alvecote marina and made our way to Glascote locks where we descended behind a single handed boater with one other boat coming up.

 

On through Fazely without stopping and continued on to Hopwas where we moored up by the school. There are not many other boats about, considering that we are in mid-May, however there have been a few hire boats out so that is good considering it is not a school holiday period.

 

Graham went off on the Di Blasi to fetch the car from Brinklow and move it to a suitable parking spot up here. Brenda stayed on Jannock and attacked the housework lightly.

Our overnight mooring was at ///computer.skyrocket.narrow

G&B

An easy passage down Atherstone

Thursday 13th May 2021

Animal of the day – a water vole spotted under the bank near Mancetter.

The Cap’n was up and about while I slept off my medication (not really - lame excuse for sleeping in!) I took the tiller whilst he went for his breakfast and was asked to get some pictures of the new Mancetter Marina, we have always said that the lake here deserved to be turned into moorings and now it finally has. Very smart it is as well.

 

There has been a lot of canal related development along this stretch including the Rothwells wharf and the Alpaca farm – cute!

 

With a bank of wallflowers, squirrels, the water vole we spotted and bluebell woods it’s a good way to start the day. An easy run down the first five locks of the Atherstone flight ably assisted by the volockies made the day even better. We stopped after the A5 bridge and went into Atherstone centre for a wander and some shopping. There is a lovely cake and pie shop right next door to Greggs. We treated ourselves to a lamb, mint and pea pie for lunch – sorry Greggs but the filling choices were better next door.  After lunch we set off again down the rest of the locks, in intermittent light rain,  to Bradley Green.

 

On through Polesworth to moor for the night at the old Pooley Hall colliery in amongst the trees. The Cap’ns choice of rural mooring was superb because as soon as we had tied up, it started to rain proper wet stuff.

Overnight mooring was at ///kind.farmer.linked

B&G

Ready for the off!

Tuesday 11th May 2021

Having had our second Covid jabs and with the Public Health rules relaxing we were ready for the off!. We left home after lunch to travel to Brinklow via a supermarket in Banbury. It’s a shame that the weather is stuck in March.

The new management have improved Brinklow marina so much – thank you Castle Marinas. Once we had unloaded the car we wandered up to the residents tea parlour and chat room for a cup of tea and a book swap. The one thing that has not been changed is the friendly community spirit that was fostered during the dark days of uncertainty.

Wednesday 12th May 2021

Graham filled the water tank and reclaimed his credit from the service post before we left the pontoon. We then moved Jannock down to the service wharf and did a pump-out.  Then out the marina entrance again and this time turning left towards Coventry.

 

A fairly un-eventful cruise which started windy and then became grey with light rain as we proceeded North through Stretton Stop (where the footbridge was open already) and Ansty to Hawkesbury Junction. Brenda worked the stop lock whilst Graham drove Jannock round the very tight bend to get us onto the Coventry Canal heading towards Nuneaton.

 

Shortly after the turn we were approaching the house of our friends and noticed Terry busy working on their boat Grace and so we stopped and tied up alongside for an hour long tea and chat stop. They will be setting off towards Llangollen soon so were preparing their boat for the trip.

Then on through Nuneaton to stop and moor for the night just before Springwood Haven marina at ///flame.tens.monkey

G&B

A visit by the grand-daughters

Saturday May 1st 2021

Moving aboard day. Lots of jobs to do to ready Jannock for a crew with kids cruise tomorrow. Frosts most days in April, so lets hope the weather warms.

It’s been so dry recently that we welcome the deluge that is promised for next week, starting Bank Holiday Monday – just NOT TOMORROW please weather gods.

Graham was surprised how much stuff we had to move from Jannock into the back of the car in order to make the boat ‘toddler safe’

Sunday May 2nd 2021

The weather gods were three star – adequate! The junior Keens’ arrived at Brinklow just after 9am so we had a coffee then off. Out of the marina and turned right towards Rugby. Three excited little girls taking in everything but frustrated that they couldn’t do all those little things that were not safe. That included two and a half year olds wanting to drive the boat all by themselves.

We pulled over at Rugby for a bitsa lunch and a run around on the grassed area by Masters Bridge. We hope everyone was at least full when we continued on our trip.

We continued down to Clifton Cruisers where we just managed to wind at the entrance of the arm with Matt pulling the bows round using a rope. The littluns had got bored now and so it was drawing with crayons and watching a Sean the Sheep DVD in the lounge whilst we returned to Brinklow. Back in the marina, we all went for a walk to find the ponies and their foals in the next field and also had a play around the lake.

Sausage in bread and marmite toast was chosen for tea, with banoffee waffles served by Felicity to follow. A mad half hour of hide and seek, under the bed covers, had the kids so pooped that they were keen to get in the car for a snooze on the way home.

As the rain started we moved Jannock back to our old mooring place, resplendent with new pontoon deck and services posts making it a much safer environment now. A quick tidy up after returning all of the stuff from the back of the car back onto Jannock and then home for a busy week. Hoping to start our summer cruise soon – Covid willing of course.

G&B

Time lapse videos

During our trip around the Thames ring, which was an alternative to our planned route but needed to be done to use the Gold licence we purchased in December, I’ve been making time lapse videos.

The links to the relevant videos are shown at the bottom of each day’s blog but here is a full list incase you would like them all in one place.

https://youtu.be/mQ6QamRk1Bk Hillmorton locks
https://youtu.be/fwGF1kxXOjY Braunston to Weedon
https://youtu.be/6g-wCGWhvhE Stoke Bruerne locks
https://youtu.be/WQzB_2s4ShU Cosgrove to Lindford
https://youtu.be/VM0Zr7Mt3PM Slapton to Marsworth
https://youtu.be/JHpWveUE4QE Aylesbury Arm part 1
https://youtu.be/xECjRvMjjhs Aylesbury Arm part 2
https://youtu.be/w7D9-izlsgg Marsworth flight
https://youtu.be/FjAlM30n9O4 Hemel to Huntonbridge
https://youtu.be/MlKBBhZadls Croxley to Harefield
https://youtu.be/87U5nz6KJMM Harefield to Southall
https://youtu.be/FofVbQo8NTI Southall to Paddington Basin
https://youtu.be/8izPKYe-F8k Bullsbridge to Brentford
https://youtu.be/PXma9UVulEw Brentford to kingston  
https://youtu.be/wH1hcC0ay8k Sunbury to Penton Hook
https://youtu.be/sGcejam2VgA Penton Hook to Dorney common
https://youtu.be/4S2KQZeYxQo Dorney to Cookham
https://youtu.be/8U7ZdOTOdNw Cookham to Hurley
https://youtu.be/6m6qH1vP7_M Henley Caversham
https://youtu.be/aADnid7anDg Pangbourne to Benson
https://youtu.be/1qUFexrjntQ Benson to Culham
https://youtu.be/RNFlemzhHGg Folly to Godstow
https://youtu.be/X6hYTdxfEMY Godstow to Kings with rope
https://youtu.be/OiK63BWzSdw Kings Lock Thrupp
https://youtu.be/7oibHc6jkjg Kirtlington to Somerton Mill
https://youtu.be/LlG_PNDxie0 Somerton to Twyford

Graham

It was twenty years ago today …………

… that we collected Jannock (formerly Powys) from the Black Prince base at Festival Park marina, Stoke on Trent and brought her home.

This is the log report for that day.

Saturday 21st October 2000                9 ¹/₄ Miles  12 Locks  6 Hours   

Arrived at Black Prince base in Stoke on Trent at about 10 AM. Myself, Simon & Matt loaded the boat whilst Brenda took Brian shopping. Morrisons supermarket is about half a mile from the marina at Stoke on Trent. Grocery and bottled ale selection was excellent. Christened the galley, served up bacon and mushroom butties with mugs of  NAAFI tea, in 10 minutes flat. Brian was impressed! Left Festival Park marina at about 11:30 AM. Immediately appreciated Jannock's handling as I managed to reverse her out of the marina without hitting anything. Dropped Brian off to return our car to Thame and pointed the bows towards home  feeling about 10 foot tall. Our objective was to make it to Fenny Compton by Wednesday night as the covered dock was booked for the sign writer on Thursday morning.  Spent most of the day familiarising myself with all of the new things I've got to maintain now. The boss has noted in the log that there is a launderette at Barlaston. It's amazing how passing through the first couple of locks rapidly moulds the crew into a well practiced team. Moored for the night near Stone. I noticed that grease line to stern tube was split and needed maintenance ASAP if we wanted the new stern tube to survive. Could this be the reason for BP having to replace the old one? They've committed that traditional mistake of repairing the damage without finding the fault. The whole crew had a go at trying to tune the television with limited success. Who invented "auto tuning portables"?

I know I’ve got some catching up to do as the Blog is not up to date but this is an anniversary that needed marking.

Graham & Brenda

Fenny Compton will do for now.

Saturday 12th September 2020

Graham was up with the larks and off to fetch the car from Shipton on Cherwell. He placed it at Fenny Compton and then returned to Jannock for breakfast.

Question of the day – “Do you think the overnight lock flight closure has been put in place to deter

No Moo ing

hirers?” – from an older boater – Answer erm No! After-all, they wont know about it in advance and are unlikely to change their minds and just not have their booked and paid-for holiday! Brenda explained that the reservoir was short of water to feed the canal but was told that we’d had plenty of rain recently. He’d obviously forgotten about the scorchio spring we had.

Moored at /// basher.firepower.sums

We climbed the five Claydon locks and then continued on through the ‘tunnel’ to Fenny Compton. The offside moorings along this section have certainly expanded since we last came this way, they have established gardens and everything.

We passed the Wharf Inn and went under the road bridge to moor up. There was a lovely gap with a
short hireboat moored right in the middle of it so Graham asked if they would mind moving either forwards or backwards so that Jannock could tie up. They moved forwards half a boat length which allowed us in behind.

Cropredy – where we used to moor ages ago.

Friday 11th September 2020

We cast off at 9:50 and made our way to Grants lock with some sadness that the lock cottage has recently been burnt out. 

A descending boater had obviously put on weight during lock-down and now

Tooleys boatyard

his boat was jammed in the lock and couldn’t get out.  He pushed and he shoved to no avail so Graham suggested he pull his fenders up – that sorted it!

Onto tramway visitor moorings where we stopped for a provision run to Morrisons. Larder replenished we continued on to Banbury hoping to fill with water below the lock. Another boat was there doing water and elsan so we passed up the lock and filled at the tap in the first basin. Through the liftbridge and into the centre of an enormous building site.

Onto Cropredy, fondly remembered for the first five years we owned Jannock because we moored at

Old Mill. The gates at Slat Mill lock appear to have damaged cills and so the Cropredy pound was over 30cms down in level. This meant keeping to the centre of the channel and passing a fuel boat and other southbound boats very carefully.

Little Bourton Lock Cottage

 

Once through Cropredy lock normal water levels were experienced again. We moored for the night at the bottom of
Claydon locks as they are closed overnight until 10am tomorrow due to water shortages. /// nourished.rich.licks

 

During our evening constitutional we happened across fellow Cutweb members aboard nb Elysium, also waiting for the locks, so we had a socially distanced chat with them for a while.

Where do we go now!

Thursday 10th September 2020

Wildlife of the day – Roe deer in a field by the canal.

Surprise of the day – A Tornado fighter jet flying over us, low and banking steeply as we moored up.

We set off from the quarry at 9:45, glad to be back on the canals again. There were plenty of boats

coming the other way so only one lock had to be turned before we could use it.

At Lower Heyford, the hire base was devoid of boats showing that the international travel restrictions were having a good effect of home-grown holidays. Once we were through Mill lift bridge, luckily opened by the boat ahead of us, we started meeting plenty of Oxfordshire hireboats heading back to base – I suspect that a lot of their business has been midweek and weekend short breaks rather than week long holidays.

We learnt to day that Jannock’s winter quarters may be at risk! The marina owners bank have called in the official receivers in order to realise the value of the property to pay off the debts. We suppose that’s better than the stories of CaRT & baillifs visits that we’d heard before we came away. It must be a huge worry for the folk who live on their boats in the marina. With Covid it has become a more solid supportive community there which to us is a more desireable thing. Shame if that breaks down.

I suspect we’ll now proceed slowly back in that direction whilst waiting to see what happens at Brinklow and investigating alternative mooring arrangements if needed.

We continued up through Somerton, Aynho wharf, Nell Bridge and Kings Sutton to finally moor for the night near Twyford bridge (/// posed.pesky.outdoors ) With hindsight, we might have had a quieter overnight mooring if we’d gone under the M40 and continued on into Banbury.

A timelapse video from Kirtlington quarry to Somerton mill can be viewed at https://youtu.be/7oibHc6jkjg

Short run to warm the engine.

Wednesday 9th September 2020

Another week has passed and social restrictions have been tightened. This time evidence shows that it’s kids and young adults who are the problem – better off boating then.

Shipton Weir Lock

We boarded Jannock at lunchtime but it was 2:45pm before we finally left the mooring near Shipton bridge. Our first lock was shared with another boat, the owners of which didn’t think they could, as it was a diamond shaped lock up onto the River Cherwell. It was designed this way to extract as much water as possible from the river each time it was used in order to keep the canal topped up.

The sun finally came out as we were nearing Kirtlington Quarry, an old favourite mooring of ours – so we did!

Graham planned to do a 200 hour engine service (oil, filter and gearbox oil) whilst the weather was nice. Brenda remembered the blackberries were always nice here so off she went foraging. She went right up to the top of the quarry and found alovely quiet spot to sit and look out over the miles of counrtyside listening to natures soundtrack.

On her return to Jannock she cooked a batch of blackberry and wild mint muffins and a tray of Blackberry Oat bars.

Our mooring at Kirtlington Quarry was /// coins.danger.fallback

Off the Thames onto the Oxford canal

Wednesday 2nd September 2020

Wildlife of the day – Kingfishers and Egrets

Port Meadow Bridge

A later start that we’d hoped but once we’d got to Jannock by bus, unpacked and then got her stern free from the shoal she was firmly sat on we made good time. You can see on the first video below that we had to pole Jannock out and let the current take her round to get off the shoal, narrowly missing some rowers - who had been warned by their trainer.

Once on our way and after a lovely couple of days land-side, the rain started. It was that light rain which really soaks you. Port Meadow is lovely in the sunshine – but not pleasant at all when you are steering against the wind in light rain!

Dukes Cut

We turned into Dukes cut and were welcomed to the canal again by a long line of almost derelict boats. Sadly most of them will be homes.

Thrupp lift bridge

As we approached Kidlington, we met Simon and Janette
heading South, we managed a brief chat with them before continuing on to Thrupp. We stopped for water before the road bridge, out side the cottages. Brenda operated the lift bridge at Thrupp whilst depositing a large number of surplus books onto the charity bookshelf at the same time. We then continued on past all the club moorings and found a place for Jannock on a shallow bend in the 14 days moorings.

It was almost dark and still raining when we had eventually tied up at /// gurgling.shock.screaming

A video of our very wet trip from Folly Bridge to Godstow lock can be found at https://youtu.be/RNFlemzhHGg and from Kings Lock to Thrupp can be seen at https://youtu.be/OiK63BWzSdw

 The bit in the middle, complete with mooring rope hung across the camera lens can be found at https://youtu.be/X6hYTdxfEMY