Making the most of the weather.

The weather has improved and looks to be set fair for the next week too, so we have made the most of it over the last couple of days.

Yesterday we had a lovely trip from Welford Junction back along the Leicester line. A few more boats out for the weekend, but it has been a great few days on this quiet and rural stretch. Lots of buzzards circling, in fact we saw more of them than humans on the run down to Watford Locks.

We had to wait almost an hour to begin our decent, but there are far worse places to be held up. Apart from the constant drone of the nearby M1, it is a lovely spot for a break, and the lock keepers were in good spirits. Our delay would have been small compared to the queue of at least 10 boats waiting to travel in the opposite direction.

Top of Watford flight

Having cleared the locks, we then turned right at Norton Junction towards Braunston and soon passed nb Prince Albert moored up. It was nice to have a brief chat as we passed with Alan & Ann - the last time I saw Alan was last Wednesday when he had banged his head and become unconcious at Braunston. He had had stitches in the wound, but was back fighting fit and looked so much better than the last time we met !!

We shared Braunston Locks and then met up again with David & Sarah on nb The Hodma'dod and managed to moor in next to them, before having another lovely meal in The Boat House.

The Hodma'dod

Today we wished David & Sarah well as they departed just before us, heading towards Wigrams Turn, and we headed north towards Rugby. There was a constant stream of boats towards us and also mayhem behind as two hire boats collided heavily on a bend at Willoughby - one of which was moored and minding its own business. It was not a glancing blow but a bone cruncher - just glad it wasn't us they hit !!

Hillmorton Locks was also very busy, but the main queue was coming up. A brief stop off at Tesco in Rugby to stock up on provisions before continuing on beyond Stretton Stop and mooring near Hopsford Aqueduct. A lovely homemade curry for tea and a nice evening with Louise sat out reading on the towpath and me catching some fabulous Roach as the sun goes down.

Tomorrow we will head for the Ashby and no doubt meet lots of working boats departing the Shackerstone festival.

Filling with water can be dangerous !!

Monday was a quiet day as planned and we only moved about four miles down to All Oaks Corner, which is one of our favourite moorings, arriving just after lunch. The weather was mixed, so we just relaxed on board and watched the numerous boats passing in both directions, including steam powered Adamant, making their way to next weekends Shackerstone Festival.

Nb Adamant

Tuesday saw us move down to Rugby and meet our youngest son Luke and his girlfriend Annabelle, who were joining us for a few days. Luke was recovering from four days at Leeds Festival but seemed to have had a thoroughly good time. We made our way up through Hillmorton Locks where only one of the duplicated locks were operating, and then on to Braunston in the sunshine. There were plenty of moorings available and we settled for one next to the marina entrance. We were treated to Nutfield and Raymond passing us as they returned from the Alvecote gathering. The way they were steered into the marina, breasted together, can only be described as deliberate and extremely precise !!

Nutfield & Raymond

We had planned to eat at The Plough in Braunston, but unfortunately it was shut due to a cellar problem, so we walked to The Boathouse where we hadn't eaten for some time as we weren't impressed the last time we visited. However following a change of name (from The Mill House) and chain, we were very impressed. Good deals on main meals with two for one offers and a huge menu choice, we will certainly be back sooner rather than later.

Today has been one to remember, and one that makes you realise that you can never take everyday events for granted. I walked into the marina to buy a new bow line from Tradline Fenders just after 9am. When I returned, there was a boat on the water point outside The Stop House, but I also noticed a man lying on the ground next to the standpipe and a lady crouched next to him. I went over to see what had happened and it transpired that 'Alan' had been pulling his hosepipe off the tap connection, when the hose gave way and he smashed his head onto the corner of the standpipe, causing a very nasty gash above his right eye. He was concious but very groggy, but said he wanted to sit in a chair as the ground was wet. I helped his wife to sit him in the chair and confirmed that an ambulance was on its way. However after a few minutes, he started to go grey and very quickly became unconcious. I lifted him out of the chair and back down onto the ground and checked he was still breathing. I then tried to get some reaction from him by pinching his ear and talking to him. After a short time some colour came back to his face and he started to respond to my voice and I kept talking to him and pinching him to prevent him drifting off again. After what seemed like an age, the paramedics arrived and I was able to hand over to the experts. Not the best start to the day, and we sincerely hope Alan quickly recovers from his injury.

Todays boating has been wet to say the least. We have travelled from Braunston to Yelvertoft. The rain started as we cast off this morning and hardly relented all day, until, that is, we moored up this evening. Luke and Annabelle have even had tea sat on deck chairs on the towpath - the good old British 'summer'. 

How it all started

Having enjoyed reading numerous blogs, particularly those which are waterways related, we have decided to document our travels on our narrowboat 'Blue Moon'.

We first experienced narrowboating in 2005 when we hired 'Katrin' from Viking Afloat at Worcester. It didn't all exactly start well, as our youngest son, Luke, decided he was going to fall in the water before we had even finished the boat briefing or started the engine. However, things improved very quickly and since then we have been 'hooked'. Our first trip saw us head out onto the River Severn and then head north along the Staffs & Worcs and the Shroppie as far as Brewood, before re-tracing our steps to Worcester. We were blessed with fabulous weather which undoubtedly helped, but the sense of relaxation we experienced was just fantastic. 

Whittington Lock - Staffs & Worc

On the return home we put the radio on in the car and were listening to reports about Hurricane 'Katrina' in New Orleans, which was news to us. The fact that it had occurred six days earlier and we knew nothing of it brought it home to us how far away from everyday life we had been.

Within a few weeks we had booked our holiday for 2006, a fortnights trip this time from Chirk Marina on a Black Prince boat called 'Miranda'. We managed to cover the Llangollen, Four Counties Ring and most of the Caldon, before crossing the 'Ponty' on our last afternoon before handing the boat back. 

Great Haywood Junction

2007 saw us hire 'Natasha' another Black Prince boat, this time from Wigrams Turn, for a trip down the South Oxford as far as Thrupp and then back to Braunston and up to Norton Junction before the short trip back to base. Just a week on the waterways this year, but our enthusiasm was as strong as ever. 

Summit Level - South Oxford Canal

Whilst on the 2006 trip we met people who had a 'share' in a boat and got us thinking about shared ownership. We researched it then but didn't feel confident enough to commit. We visited the OwnerShips show at Braunston in 2007, picked the brains of those already involved, but still held off. After the 2007 trip, we considered it again, and this time we decided that the time was right. We signed up to a share in a new boat 'Marbury' and we were the first aboard her in February 2008. A very cold week but most enjoyable too.

Market Bosworth

The waterways were becoming an addiction. Not only Marbury, but later that year we decided to buy a share in another OwnerShips boat, 'Inglewood'. This gave us at least 6 weeks cruising a year and this was the case until 2010. The groups of owners on each boat were fantastic. All were enthusiastic and lovely people, but despite having our own share, it never felt like 'ours'. I would say to anyone considering the shared ownership option, it worked well for us and totally fulfilled our needs at the time. It beats hiring hands down and is a chance to become involved in the running of a boat - your boat (or at least some of it).

Bosley Locks - Macclesfield Canal

Our last trip on Inglewood was in August 2010 when we ventured down onto the River Avon from our base at Fradley. Unfortunately we became stuck at Bidford-on-Avon due to floods and had to stay put for 3 days, but on our return to Fradley we discussed the possibility of buying our own boat. We wanted something to call our own and something where we could please ourselves. We chatted for hours and hours about whether we could stretch to buying a boat outright, what make and layout we would prefer etc etc. We viewed a couple of boats at nearby Mercia Marina and came up with a short wish list of what we wanted.

Many hours of internet trawling followed, until one Saturday night in September 2010 it happened. A private advert on Apollo Duck suddenly appeared and our short wish list was ticked in virtually every box. We just stared at the advert in disbelief. 'That's it' we said - 'That's what we've been waiting for'. A sleepless night, followed by an early morning telephone call to the advertiser and an hour and a half later we had travelled to Blisworth Marina to view 'Blue Moon'. As soon as we stepped aboard for the first time we knew this was the boat for us. We immediately got on with the owners David & Sarah and left them a couple of hours later having agreed in principle to buy the boat. We called at the first pub we found and walked in as though we had won the lottery (it would have been useful at this point) and had a celebratory drink, not believing that we had agreed to buy our first boat. Interestingly, David had told us that 'Blue Moon' was not the original name of the boat, but that they had changed it when they bought her two years previously. She was originally called 'Stephanie Jane' when new, but they didn't care for that and so they had changed it. That immediately rang a bell with me. 'I've seen that boat before' I claimed. 'Where, are you sure' queried my doubting wife Louise. 'In a magazine' I replied. I'm sure from the look on her face that she didn't believe me, but when we got home I found the magazine in question from 2009. There I found the advert of 'Stephanie Jane' for sale with the New & Used Boat Company. Spookily, the advert was circled in pen signifying it as a boat I would like to buy. It was obviously meant to be !!

We were invited back a couple of weeks later and got the opportunity to take David & Sarah out for a' test drive' finishing off with a lovely pub meal. They were selling 'Blue Moon' as they were having a new boat built, but as they were in no great rush to sell and we were in no great rush to take delivery, we agreed to leave the boat at Blisworth over the winter. Over the winter we counted down the days until the deal was completed on 26th February 2011. We left Blisworth exactly a month later for the journey north to our base at Kings Bromley Marina on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Louise at the helm having left Blisworth 26.3.2011