Autumn cruising to Birmingham

I've noticed the autumn colours are showing themselves and lots of leaves are blowing through the breezy air these days.

We have joined the River Canal Rescue as a silver member - to cover both of us if one person is away. This covers us if we breakdown, we can call and they send out an engineer who will either fix it and get us on our way or tow us to the nearest boatyard. They will also convey us to our home mooring. This is a very good idea as we are doing lots of cruising these days and putting the boat and engine under pressure.

For the time being we are running well and getting along fine. But at some point we do need to see a Lister engineer because there is something worn in the gearbox. As we are still on a schedule this will wait until we arrive in Birmingham hopefully in the next week.

Since Boxmoor we have been cruising each day for up to 8hours non-stop and it has been tiring work. We cruised through Berkhamsted and up to Tring Summit where we struggled to find a suitable mooring as the water level had really gone down. There is a constant issue with the water supply here as every time a boat crosses the summit it uses nearly 200,000 gallons of water! We ended up stuck at the stern and with some help from passing walkers, we managed to dis-lodge from the shallows and cruise along to a concreted mooring point.

We moored at the summit overnight which it is my favorite spot to be. All kinds of trees line either side of the valley giving a vast canopy and interest for exploring. Delia and I went in search of fire wood and found plenty. Delia was so excited arriving in a wood that she ran up a tree! Funny girl.

Here is Delia the pickle, caught walking along the gunwhale, just the right size for a purdycat.

The following day we passed through Marsworth locks and all the way to Linslade. We spent the night at Linslade and the next day used the local launderette and grocers, having a day off from cruising.

We set off from our mooring and just made it through Leighton Lock at Leighton Buzzard before British Waterways were doing an emergency stop on a lock to try and repair a broken paddle. We cruised on through Soulbury three locks, Stoke Hammond Lock passing Fenny Stratford and through Milton Keynes. We had cruised 16 miles straight.

Leaving Milton Keynes the next day we reached Stoke Bruerne Locks and unfortunately we arrived after 4pm and the locks were locked shut for the night due to water level shortages.

So, we moored up for the night.

I pulled out my bike and cycled up to the village to collect a lovely take-away curry from Spice of Bruerne, the local Indian restaurant.

The next morning the atmosphere was dramatic as there was a strong haze of fog and steam rising from the early morning dew.

We worked through Stoke Bruerne locks and Blisworth Tunnel which on this occasion seemed to pass much quicker than the first time. And I steered through and passed other boats inside the tunnel without any problems. We moored up at Blisworth as they have a Post Office that I needed to access and so we called it a day.

Yesterday we cruised passed the villages of Gayton, Bugbroke, Nether Heyford and Weedon. It was a blustery day and there were lots of boats moving about making maneuvering all the more tricky along the windy canal. We worked Buckby Locks a flight of seven and took the GUC mainline towards Braunston at Norton Junction. After a mile the cloak of night had come down and it was time to moor up before Braunston Tunnel.

And this is were I write this blog post from. It is Sunday and after being woken at 7am by 30 or so fishermen wittering on about camouflage as they dragged their poles and boxes of maggots along the towpath I didn't want to exert myself. So it's a day of rest and absorbing our achievements and delightful views of gently swaying trees.

Into the depths of London

Our mooring in Cowley was for 14 days without charge but after the one night we were keen to get into the thick of London.

I picked up some provisions from the local high street which was delightful - already I noticed the diversity of cuisine in the variety of ingredients in the smallest of shops. With our preparations on the hatch, horn, map, camera and tea...

we pulled out the mooring pins (like giant tent pegs) and set off for the last lock. Just before we used the facilities - rubbish bins, water and Leigh went into a canalside cafe to order a quick sarnie. They dropped it out to him as we were leaving.

We were in and out with Leigh working the heavy gates and me on the tiller and the sun was gleaming down.

I was glad to see the back of the locks! We were now on the look out for landmarks... was that Wembley Stadium?

We passed this most delightful boat...

with along the side, black 'lee' boards as noted by Andy's comment.

A mile along the way we reached Packet Boat Marina and the Slough Arm. Our guide book noted that this waterway of the GUC is badly silted and in a decrepit state. By the sounds of it, it doesn't get well used and you can get stuck, running aground. We carried on our way to the Paddington Arm.

We stopped at bridge 200 - Station Road bridge as there is a laundrette just round the corner from the canal.

I spotted a crazy Coot - one of the many birds that live on the canals. Their sounds are quite alarming! Particularly when the are warring.

Back on board, and with the engine going we were very close to Bulls Bridge Junction and the Paddington Arm...

The broken side of the sign is Braunston.

Leigh did an excellent manouver of a 90degree turn to get onto the arm. With a blow of the horn we warned any other boats coming through.

We were invited to our friends mooring at Northolt and popped over to see them.

We left their place early in the morning and the trip was lovely as the dew was glimmering, there was a fresh bite to the air and the canal was ours!

We passed through Perivale Wood (a lovely wooded stretch with Eucalyptus trees and green parrots!), Alperton, Park Royal and Acton, Wormwood Scrubs and into Kensal Green...

We began seeing some London views....

We passed through Little Venice, which is just that, little - not what I was expecting. And round the corner we were into Paddington Basin. We moored opposite this...

A beautifully engineered bridge that curls up like a scorpion tail forming a carefully closed octagon.

Paddington Basin is modern, majestic and full of busy office workers. The jetty is illuminated at night, it almost feels like a marina. There are no facilities here and the mooring is for 7 days only. It is perfectly situated close to the station, tubes and bus routes so it's easy to get around.

We had some lovely family visit us yesterday and we got to show off our brilliant home in the big smoke.

Today we walked to Hyde park and hired the 'Boris Bikes' for the afternoon to explore the park. It was so much fun!

Tomorrow I've got a job interview, so fingers crossed I'll get that. And by the sounds of it, we are staying put in London for winter (getting to Birmingham's out the window) so there will be more from us about life afloat in the smoke.

Thinking about moving....

I've just finished reading Haruki Murakami's book "what I talk about when I talk about running". Sat upon the stern of the boat my belly full of delicious burgers, I was getting itchy fingers. In the sense that I needed to communicate my reactions, thoughts and current blast of feelings. So here we are. Fingers, internal voice and you.

This book I mentioned is a wonderful memoir of the writer and his experience of writing novels since he gave up his Jazz bar in Japan as well as his lifestyle of long distance running. It is a solitary act, running, at least in my mind and one mind-set that I share as a cyclist. Prior to my fold-up-able bike, I had several mountain bikes that I would often set off on in the morning in a particular direction and find myself still cycling hours later through woods, along the river, over bridges... I wouldn't have a set route in mind, just a fair idea of the possible venture. I would return home dripping, take a shower and then collapse feeling invigorated and slightly crazed.


In his book, Murakami talks about how he moved on from singularly running to Triathlons. These epic ventures take on three forms, swimming, cycling and running in one long episode. What a wonderful and yet mad thing to want to put yourself through. I really did start to like the idea of all this. Adding to the fact that my bike comes most places with me, I am also a sort of water-baby. Not born in water unfortunately but born by the sea, had salty air in my lungs for 18 years until I distanced my self as far from the sea shore as possible in Nottingham in 2002. Noticably, I've always needed a fix of salt air and discovered the closest coast over an hour away at Gibralta Point. (Actually Skegness is closer but unless you like the crap fish and chips, primary coloured strip lighting and novelty shops it's not really worth stopping.) Where I couldn't easily get to the coast, i've opted for bike rides along the river or canal or swimming.


Swimming is a pleasure. I adore the feeling of immersion in water, holding my breath, seeing through the fog under the surface. It is in the state of different strokes that I find my mind wanders down some rather unusual avenues. I have been known to not be able to stop laughing when doing back stroke, to the point that I couldn't sustain breathing and had to doggy paddle myself to the side. Note here that I am always a lone swimmer.

Today you see, I cycled half hour, from the canal to the fandangled new leisure centre's swimming pool (not a patch on the victorian one I used to go to before the clever council chose to close it's doors and open this one, but what do I know?!), did half an hour of full-on swimming and cycled home again. I realised on leaving the pool that if I could leave my bike there, I would've like to run home and thus have created my own mini triathalon.


So this leaves running and me. I haven't really run (not just for the bus, I mean intended durational running) since I was a Playworker in Wollaton and donned my shorts one morning and ran to work, only to find that I didn't leave enough time to get all the way there (my judgements in timing getting from A to B have and always will be via cycling), so I had to jump on the bus for the last couple of miles stretch so as not to be late. I don't own any proper running shoes nor any shorts or leggings so the practicality of running now isn't really viable. However, since reading this book and having these thoughts, I am feeling inspired to get running. A good friend of mine who lives and works in London has moved forwards in terms of the speed of her moving. She is someone who even after a night out gets up for work at the crack of dawn to enable her to walk the 2 hour jaunt across London to work and she walks home at the end of the day too! She has recently taken up running and told me about her methods of getting up the speed. So, all things are pointing towards my body steaming along the towpath, all I need are a pair of suitable shoes and shorts and I'll see how I go. And I wholly recommend the book, it is an insight to the creative hermit within us as well as the fascinating struggle facing those who exercise to great length.

On another trail but still somehow connected...
One thing I've noticed within me which is bothering me somewhat is that I feel like a 'dabbler'. I feel that this feeling has set in since I got myself entangled in a ridiculous full-time, unsociable hours, team-working job. It seems that my 'free-time' (emphasized as this term is also ridiculous as all time should be free whether employed or not) is taken up resting and recuperating ready for my next shift and that activities dear to me are nothing more than a scent of perfume on the air.

Leigh mentioned this to me, 'it's like scratching an itch' that I devote five minutes to an interest of mine and that is just about sufficient to keep it going on in my life. I do this with, phew, probably everything, from baking to ham radio to music. This I am beginning to feel is against the grain. A solution hasn't fully surfaced and maybe wont, maybe this is how things are for me, maybe. Great at starting something, rubbish at staying it out for very long. But then of course things have phases, things come and go so, maybe this is how it is. I don't know yet, it just feels like a significant thought that's all. Significant to make me wonder why and if I really should go running when I should stay where I am and face things through. Significant enough for me to want to write it down and share it.

We'll see.


On the boat front, it has been another laundrette day, collecting fallen wood on the way home. Leigh has been brilliant, chopping wood, carrying water, cooking dinner, charging electrical things, cleaning, making the fire and caring for Delia and me. Yes, yes, yes, it is still marvelous and I am loving the settling into the lifestyle.

The salads are sprouting showing their bright green shoots...


We have completed the final varnishing of the hatch and it is now firmly in place, securing our exit and entry onto the boat.


Here is a taster of the beauty passing our windows captured by Leigh.

Browsing round the boat

The other day I thought I would capture some of the spaces in our home as it is all gradually coming together.

Here is my studio...


I am planning on making a drop leaf table top, secured to the shelving so that I can pull out my electronic bits and bobs and get making and creating with ease again. One thing, do you think they've invented a solar powered soldering iron yet?

Leigh's extra special books all made it aboard and fit brilliantly on this shelving sideboard that we picked up from Ikea in their ex-display section at a bargin price.


I saved some of the house plants from the flat, mainly cacti and the lovely peace lilly which has taken very well to the environment, I think all these windows have come in useful!


The heart of the boat requires constant maintenance, even as I write this blog Leigh is brushing away the ash from inside the burner making it ready for this evening's burn. Here is the set up of tools, coal, wood, firelighters, paper...


The utility room has become a bomb site again, I had sorted it out a few weeks ago but still need to remove the old sink and put up the rest of the shelving to really get things in their places. Organise, organise, organise...



The kitchen is holding up very well to cooking beautiful meals and storing foods. This particular night Leigh was cooking one of his fantastic curries (his secret to filling the boat full of morrish smells?? Answer: gently dry toast the spices first!) We have decided not to use the undercounter fridge at the moment as we are managing fine without and it saves on electricity too.


Our lounge area needs a little more shelving in place and as I've newly painted the walls it is ready when we are for this.


My raleigh swift fits perfectly on the stern. Leigh has purchased a tarpaulin sheet which I've now started to cover my bike with as it was starting to rust in areas already and has developed a strange squeeking from one side of the pedals.


And finally, Leigh's gorgeous ornaments and crafts from around the world are being brought out from the wooden box and displayed around the boat...

Bridge 11

Leigh has spoken to Yorkshire-man Brian, who advertises his capentry skills from the side of his narrowboat, about a new hatch. With a great quote for the work we decided to go for it. With this new hatch we hope to improve the security of the boat and make the stern area look alot more aesthetically pleasing.


After sourcing the beech ply from a timber merchants off Lenton Lane, I managed to coerce them into carrying the 8ft board down to the canal and putting on the boat. God knows how Leigh and I would have done this. We had to move next to Brian, so we upped sticks (or ropes in our case) and pootled down the Nottingham canal towards town. Our moring area was busy with folk going to and fro Sainsburys but there is the weir to the side of the towpath which adds to the natural environment of overhanging trees and small shrubs. We were facing the wooden bridge number 11. When cycling along the towpath under the bridge I decided to stop temporarily to aviod the rain, at this moment I listened to stilletoe heels charging their way across the surface of the bridge sounding like thundering drums pounding from above.

Here is the hatch as it currently stands...


It is rather weathered as you can see...



And here is what Brian produced over two days inbetween the rainy spells.


Leigh is in the process of staining and varnishing with Yacht varnish, ready to fix inplace. In the fine weather today Leigh got two coast of stain on, so keep looking back to see the finished article on The Kite Experiment.

Raleigh Swift

All this hard shift-work is certainly paying off. Here is my latest purchase. My last bike became a bit of a death trap so this was desperately needed. Due to our change from land to water and reduction in living space I opted for a fold-up bike. It folds in half, the handles and one pedal folds in and the seat comes down.



The Raleigh Swift was the cheapest I could afford, on offer from Halfords it cost £159. Not bad for something that I use everyday. It is a great ride the for the price, the only problem is catching my heels on the paniers but that should just need tweeking. I plan to look after this one and it should see me through a while. Look sharp as I speed past on this beauty. Whizzz!!