The little lady has arrived.

Hi,

Well,as many of you know,the reason for our remaining here,on or close too,the Ashby Canal,since the beginning of September,has been the expected arrival of our new Granddaughter at the beginning of this month.I can now proudly announce that she arrived,after quite a few uncomfortable hours for her mum that is,at 18.00 hrs. on Friday 18th September.Mum,Dad & the little lady are all very well,and Granddad and Granny are over the moon thank you,the little one is adorable.

For the last week we have been moored on the 14 day moorings,just East of Bosworth Wharf,near to the Market Town of Market Bosworth,on the Ashby Canal.We’ve caught the bus,to get to Coalville and Swadlincote,on a couple of days because there are a number of bigger stores and banks in those towns.One of the things we have been trying to get,for our life on the canals,are Bus Passes,and we first applied back in June last year ‘cos we knew we would be without a car once we set off on our travels.Anyway,after a few months our initial application was rejected so I resolved to enquire in person,when we got the chance,in Swadlincote,where our application was processed.I know I shouldn’t count our chickens just yet,but things look a little bit more positive now.Also,in the last few weeks,Lisa and I have joined The Association of Continuous Cruisers,which has been recently formed to provide support for it’s members,and low and behold,one of the first aims is to help to provide assistance for those entitled to a bus pass.

I would like to add that,in my opinion, anyone who feels they could qualify for membership of the ACC,should give the above link a click and take a look.So far I am more than impressed with the associations approach to some of the,should I say unusual situations,experienced by people who enjoy being on their boat for extended periods.There are already a number of things that I wasn’t aware of that could benefit Lisa and I.They also have a Facebook page should anyone wish to access them that way.

Right,back to what else we’ve been up too.Not a lot I have to say,but we have been over to Aldi in Coalville because the number of special offers that Aldi,do that are of use to people on boats,is amazing.This week I got myself a sack truck ‘cos the gas bottles,bags of coal and cassettes don’t seem to be getting any lighter,or could it just be me not getting any younger.Anyway,the truck has got to be handy for Lisa to transport our things along the towpath,instead of carrying them on her shoulders.A bit closer to our home here,near Market Bosworth,is something we always try to patronise wherever we moor,the local Butcher.This one here is as good as any anywhere,the beef,faggots,sausage and the rabbit have all been excellent.We’ve also managed to give Chyandour a good wash while we’ve been here and that just about covers our weeks experiences.Not a dull moment I here you say and you would be correct,life is just brilliant.

 

A proud Granny and a Proud Granddad with the little one this afternoon.

 

Just a couple of shots taken today of yours truly as we moored up to go and visit the new arrival.Yes,it rained,but I was well wrapped up and well supplied with big mugs of tea so what more could I want?

Sorry,but that’s all for this week,a bit sparse again I know,but we’re on the move again at the weekend so next week could be better.Since last Monday we have done no Locks and 14 Miles,half of that today,giving us a grand total of 480 Locks and 810 Miles since October 2012.Take care everyone.

Our first anniversary.

Hi,

Well,as the title says,it has now been one whole year since we set off on our little adventure on the canal network of the UK.It was a year ago last Saturday,to be precise, that Kingfisher Narrowboats handed Lisa and I the keys to our new narrowboat,Chyandour.Since then I can only say that we have had an absolutely fabulous time,in fact,our first year has been like one long holiday.We’ve met some lovely people, who we know will remain friends for life,and with whom we’ve had some really great times,the weather,over the last year,has been better than we would normally expect for the UK,and Chyandour has performed faultlessly.It really has been a wonderful year.Have Lisa and I had any harsh words? Yes,a few,but nothing that has made us regret our decision to embark on this journey,in fact we are looking forward to the next twelve months.

Over the last twelve months we’ve used over 700 litres of diesel cruising a little under 800 miles through 480 locks.To keep warm we have burnt 1,375 kgs of coal,and quite a bit of wood,on our solid fuel stove,and for cooking,we have used five 13 kg bottles of Propane.I’m not going into detailed statistics as to what we have done and used,I can only say that we are more than happy with how things have gone for us.

 

Lisa filling our water tank at the waterpoint at Limekilns near Hinckley.A couple of goats that took Lisa’s eye in the field next to the waterpoint.

We left the mooring at Bramcote Road Bridge last Tuesday and made our way to Hinckley where we went into town to get a few bits and pieces and then stayed the night before moving on the next day.We are still cruising on the Ashby Canal because our Granddaughter hasn’t  arrived yet,she was due at the weekend but you know what girls can be like when it comes to being on time.Over the weekend we stopped in Shackerstone because,as well as the expected new arrival,I had my 65th Birthday to celebrate.The Rising Sun in Shackerstone is ideal because as well as doing very nice food,they serve Pedigree Bitter,my favourite,and it’s but a short stagger from there back to the canal.We’re now moored at the end of the navigation just past Snarestone in the company of friends,Peter and Jeanne,on their boat Castellan.They walked into the restaurant at the Rising Sun as we were having a celebration lunch yesterday.

 

Pete on Castellan.I’m just pulling away from the towpath with Castellan in tow.To avoid travelling a long way on the Ashby Canal to Wind,i.e. turn,we decided to tow Pete’s boat back a couple of hundred yards to the winding hole behind him.Reversing narrowboats is not the easiest task,especially on shallow canals like the Ashby,so we opted for the simple life and I gave him a tow.As you can see from the right hand pic’ it was lashing down with rain and,what you can’t see,blowing a gale too,neither of which help when reversing.

Sorry this weeks blog is a bit sparse,be gentle ‘cos I’m now a pensioner and anyway,we are going over old ground at the moment,I’ll try harder next week.Since last Monday we have done 0 Locks and 18 Miles,giving us a grand total of 480 Locks and 796 Miles in a year.Please take care everyone.

Back on the Ashby.

Hi,

This week our blog comes to you once more from the Ashby Canal.We’ve come back here to await the arrival of our Granddaughter who is due to be born in a week or so’s time.Our mooring here is about 650 metres past Bramcote Road Bridge,near to Burton Hastings in Warwickshire.This is one of those out of the way places where Lisa and I like to moor so we can get on and clean and rearrange things on Chyandour.It’s quiet here,there’s no other boats,there’s plenty of room on the towpath and the weather is fine so we can do our chores without interruption.There is also a good TV signal so Lisa can get her fix of “Strictly”.We’ve been here since Saturday morning and we’ve just about finished all that we hoped to do,so tomorrow,we will be away in search of another quiet mooring.It’s my Birthday on Saturday so our plan is to be at Shackerstone for then so we can celebrate with a pint or three of good old Pedigree Bitter in the Rising Sun.It would be nice to wet the baby’s head at the same time but I’m not building my hopes up too high,I’ll be happy if mum and baby are fine whenever the little one decides to put in an appearance.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday were spent looking around Coventry,we walked quite a bit out of town too,going out as far as Gallagher retail Park,to get some bits from Maplins and Alvis Retail Park,for Curry’s and B&Q.Coventry Basin,it seems,is quite handy for getting bits and pieces from the bigger stores.On Wednesday though,we spent almost the whole day in the Motor Museum.This museum is a must see for anyone going to Coventry,the exhibits are amazing.There are,what seems like,thousands of bicycles,motor cycles and cars,all with an account of their history.The highlight for me though was the Thrust SSC simulator,this showed Andy Green,the driver,set a,still unbeaten,Land Speed record of 763.035 mph at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.It was awesome to sit in the cockpit as he did it even though it was just a simulation.

 

One of the murals on the road which runs alongside the Coventry Canal.The Local Authority & the local people have done a lot to improve the canal over the years & it would be nice if more boaters were to use the canal as a way of saying “Thanks”.The people we spoke to were proud of Coventry’s Canal & Basin.There’s Chyandour moored in the basin,a few boats did stay while we were there.

 

The Whittle Arch outside the Motor Museum,this is a tribute to Sir Frank Whittle who invented the Jet engine in the Rolls Royce factory in Coventry.just a few of the exhibits at the museum,sorry about the quality of the pic’,I couldn’t get the flash to work.I think Lisa will get me a new camera for my birthday.

 

Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC at the museum.Again sorry about the quality.

On Thursday we left Coventry Basin,after the usual ritual of emptying the loo and filling the water tank and made our way North towards Hawkesbury Junction,where we intended to stop a while.We made one short stop,near the Ricoh Arena by Bridge No 8 on the Coventry Canal.Here,Lisa went off to do a bit of shopping in the Tesco Extra store that overlooks the canal,while I chatted to people passing on the towpath.Lisa says that this Tesco is an Extra,Extra store,it’s massive,bigger than the more usual Tesco’s.From there it was but a mile or two to the junction with the Oxford Canal,where we were to stay for a couple of nights and to also enjoy the delights of The Greyhound pub.We left there on Saturday morning to do the five and a half miles to where I’m sat now as I write this weeks blog.

 

Me doing a few measurements,notice the ever present mug of tea on the toolbox,and our mooring near Burton Hastings.

That’s all again for this week folks,next week I will officially be a pensioner,so be gentle.Since last week we have done all of 11 Miles and 0 Locks,giving us a grand total of,480 Locks and 778 Miles since October last year,it’ll soon be our anniversary.Take care everyone please.

Coventry.

Hi,

This week we are moored in Coventry Basin at the very end of the Coventry Canal.I’ve wanted to get here since 2007 when we came into the basin on a hire boat.Back then we couldn’t find a mooring so we had to leave and,as there was nowhere for us to moor for the next 5 miles,we missed out Coventry all together.This time the basin is virtually empty,with only three other boats moored.The journey down from last nights mooring at Hawkesbury Junction,where the Oxford Canal leaves the Coventry Canal,was uneventful,I have no recollection of what it was like in 2007 so it all seemed new.It reminded me of one of the reasons I like the canals so much,it was like a secret passage flanked with trees and hedges with just the briefest of glimpses of familiar places.Everything looks so different from a canal,even places only a few yards away that you travel almost daily,can look as though you’ve never been that way before.The Coventry is pretty much like any urban canal,there’s some rubbish,but that could largely be wind blown,there was just one old tv and that was well out of town.There isn’t any more graffiti here than on any other canal,in fact there’s probably less.Some years ago the local authority spent a lot of time and money on brightening this canal up and,though it now looks a little careworn,it doesn’t look like the urban jungle that so many people would have us believe.

Last Tuesday we steadily made our way off the Ashby Canal,in the company of John and Sheila on Water Ratz,turned onto the Coventry Canal and headed to Atherstone.We were to part company with John and Sheila on Wednesday morning as they were heading back to Trent Lock and we intended to stay a day or two before heading here.We helped them down the first five locks of the Atherstone flight and then said au revoir,we plan to meet up with them again sometime next year around Northampton.After they left us,it was into Atherstone for a bit of good old retail therapy and some pleasant surprises.Atherstone is a great little place with quite a bit of interesting history as well as a number of,what can best be described as,inexpensive shops.Anyone getting the chance to visit Atherstone should make for The Larder Restaurant,it’s a 1940’s Pie and Mash eatery offering a different experience in dining out.

 

A haven for the Ducks and Moorhens in the side pond at the top of the Atherstone Flight.John bringing Water Ratz into the top lock with Lisa and Sheila looking on.

 

Sheila with Lisa and John with me as we said au revoir.

 

Just a couple of the strange and varied sights you can see on our canals.These are just two of the scenes on the Coventry Canal at a place called Charity Dock.

We left there on Friday morning intending to take a very very gentle cruise to Coventry,taking the best part of three days and a bit to cover the 17 miles.One day we didn’t move at all,letting the solar panels top up the batteries,while we took a stroll along the towpath collecting firewood to give us a bit of warmth on the chilly nights that we are now experiencing.On Sunday we stopped a hundred yards or so from the junction of the the Oxford Canal and nipped into The Greyhound for a very pleasant pint or three of Pedigree.

 

The Coal Boat Auriga moored just past the junction at Hawkesbury,and the stop lock on the Oxford Canal just before Hawkesbury Junction,referred to as Sutton Stop.The Greyhound pub is at the Junction,just out of shot.

 

A statue of James Brindley at the basin here in Coventry and a view of the basin with Mr Brindley standing with his back to us.You can see how empty the basin is in this shot.

 

We’ve just had a few hours to spend in Coventry today but we’ll get more time tomorrow.On the left is a pic’ of the old Cathedral that was fire bombed on the 14th of November 1940 and on the right is good old Lady Godiva who took her clothes off to protest at high taxation.

Well that’s all for this week I’m afraid.Since last Monday we have done 0 Locks and 32 Miles,giving us a grand total of 480 Locks and 767 Miles since October last year.Take care everyone.

Hinckley.

Hi,

This week finds us back in Hinckley,we’ve spent the last week cruising up to the end of the Ashby canal at Snarestone and then back down to here.We’ve covered some familiar territory and moored in places we’ve moored before,so this weeks blog is likely to be a bit thin I’m afraid.I’ve got a few pictures so I’ll do my best with them.We’ve had Lisa’s sister and brother in law stop with us on Saturday night,while we were moored at Market Bosworth,and the rest of the last week we have spent with the crew of Water ratz,John and Sheila.

The highlight of our week was on Saturday when we took a trip on the Battlefield Line on a former British Rail Class 73,electro diesel locomotive,called Stewarts Lane Traction Maintenance Depot.Apparently,this is a large railway servicing depot in Battersea in London,unfortunately,I can’t find out how the engine came by that name.The rest of the week we have spent at Snarestone or Market Bosworth doing odd jobs on Chyandour and generally catching up with the experiences that John and Sheila enjoyed on their four month tour of India.

  

Richard III’s remains,or is it a copy?These are in the grounds of the Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth.The Old Workhouse,also in Market Bosworth.In 1881 there were 5 staff and 100 inmates here,the youngest was only 3 years old and 11 were classed as imbeciles,not a term you would hear today .

 

The services at the end of the Ashby Canal at Snarestone,there’s me gathering up John’s hose after filling Chyandour with water.We join hoses together to save having to move up to the waterpoint.Lisa and I as we set off from the end of the canal on Friday morning,this was taken by Sheila.

 

Looking down the canal towards the winding hole just before the end of the canal,we’re moored out of sight around the corner to the left.John,Sheila and Lisa with Water Ratz.You can see who does the work.

 

A lovely view of the Ashby Canal near Snarestone,Bridge 61 in the background,and one of my many attempts at taking a photo’ while we negotiate a tunnel.This one’s not too bad.

 

The Class 73 Diesel Electric Loco’ at the terminus of the Battlefield Line at Shenton and the station at Market Bosworth,not very busy when there are no Steam Trains running.

 

There was Steam Train running on Sunday,this one is a Great Western Railway,2884 Class Locomotive,number 3803,built between 1938 and 1942.There’s Chyandour on the visitor moorings at Market Bosworth,the Battlefield Line is just a short walk from there.

Well,that’s all for this week.Since last week we have done 0 Locks and 22 Miles,giving us a grand total of 480 Locks and 735 Miles.Take care everyone.

Market Bosworth.

Hi,

This week we are at Market Bosworth which is about 15 miles up the Ashby Canal from Marston Junction,where the Ashby canal leaves the Coventry Canal.We are here with some friends John and Sheila on their boat Water Ratz. We haven’t seen them since the end of October last year when we parted company on the Nottingham Canal,in of all places,Nottingham.A month or so after that they went away to India for four months and then,when they got back,they spent the next few months cruising on some of the Southern Canals.They’ve detoured up here before heading back to Nottingham and then jetting off to Sri Lanka for a few months.What a life hey?

We finally left our mooring near Congerstone last Wednesday,after being there 11 days.All the little jobs that we had wanted to do for our daughter were done so we thought we would go up to the end of the Ashby canal just past Snarestone,and see what remains of the last 8 miles of canal that were closed due to mining subsidence.There’s a very active Ashby Canal Association that is working towards reopening these lost miles and it was our pleasure to meet some of the members of the ACA.There are some lovely moorings at the end of the navigation so we spent a couple of days there and on the Wednesday night we took a walk to the nearest pub,The Globe,a friendly place,well worth the walk.On Thursday we walked along a short stretch of the old line of the canal which has been filled in but is earmarked for restoration in the near future.

 

That’s us moored at the end of the navigation,nice quiet moorings,with the ACA shop etc. in the background,it was here,and the Globe,that we met some of the ACA members who made us more than welcome,so much so that we joined the Association ourselves.The old Hinckley Pumping Station which is at the end of navigation.This was built in the 1890s to pump fresh water to Hinckley,the pumps were originally steam driven,but there’s little of them left and the building is now a private house.

 

The shaft for the flywheel still in place on the side of the building,it is still possible to see a small part of the flywheel through one of the house windows.The two beams from the pumping engine,these have been bought by one of the ACA members who is to have them mounted on a plinth as a feature alongside the canal.

 

Lisa at the very end of the navigation and a view along the line of the old canal back towards the pumping station.This has all been backfilled with waste from the coalmines to a height well above the original towpath.

 

A private mooring on land that is part of the Manor of Snarestone,I can’t find anything about this feature but it’s obvious what it was used for.The approach to Snarestone Tunnel,The Globe pub is above the tunnel.

 

A few wood sculptures in a garden as we walked into Market Bosworth and Lisa with,not a doggy bag,but a few Blackberries that we picked on our way back to the canal.They went into a lovely crumble for tea

On Friday we left there and made our way here to Market Bosworth,to do a bit of shopping,before moving on to Hinckley,where we had arranged to meet up with the crew of Water Ratz.We spent the weekend there,catching up with all the adventures they’d had in India,and then cruised back here,to Market Bosworth,this afternoon.

Right,that’s all for this week folks.Since our last blog we have done 0 Locks and 30 Miles,giving us a grand total of 480 Locks and 713 Miles since we set of last October.It’ll soon be a year.Take care everyone.