Now in a marina

Before we moved in we enjoyed an evening out with Del n Al when we all went to the Red Lion pub. Live loud folk music on Friday night. Thanks for getting us out you two!
We moved in before that expected storm over the weekend. Got our tank filled with diesel at 79 pence a litre! Then moved to our temporally allocated mooring. (If we are not happy with it we can put in for a transfer).

Finished with the engine for now. At least it has fresh oil in it after that major service. We will be using that diesel to keep warm while in the marina.

We were obliged to purchase an electric meter to measure the power we use. The electric to be paid each quarter. While connected our Victron Combi will charge the batteries but we will not leave them permanently on float charge. We have an immersion heater in the chlorifier (hot water tank) but if the power goes off there is a risk to the batteries because the inverter will take the power from them! Must remember to turn off the immersion heater after about an hour!

Perhaps the best plan is to connect to the land line during the day when we need it, like running the engine, and disconnect at night.

The marina has been dug out of a farmers field of cabbages! They are growing among the freshly sown grass! We went for a walk to explore the area but the field and access road are still wet n muddy!

Banbury to Cropredy

With our engine fixed after that major service we are able to to continue normal life on board. Hot water is back on tap, we enjoyed a shower each and got the washing machine working overtime.

Although we were plugged into a shoreline from Tooly's yard we only used it in the evenings. Our solar panels did their best during the day.

Banbury is a very busy noisy town and quite bright at night. It provided us with vegetables from the market and Ann went off early to shop at Morrisson's. We had a good chat with Malcolm and Barbara on Pilgrim before leaving.

We set off down to the turning point and back up through the town after dumping rubbish and filling our water tank. Then it was 'full steam ahead' in sunshine going up to Cropredy. Most of the locks were set in our favour making a pleasant journey.

There above the lock was Derwent 6 with Del n Al on board. What a cheerful couple they are. Al had put the kettle on and once we had tied up we went round for tea and a chat.

Next day we got up late because it was so quiet and dark. Practicing to stay under the covers for that extra hour we get over the weekend.

The new pump fits!

A big relief to finally get the correct water pump direct from Kubota.  Our thanks to John who fixed it and Mat who organised it at Tooly's in Banbury.  Adrian at Beta helped to sort out the confusion.

Listen to your engine with the covers off every now and then.  Mine was telling me something and it was John who told me what it was saying!  We are lucky the water pump never actually leaked.  With the new pump fitted the engine purrs quietly.

Still waiting!

Before the weekend another water pump was delivered.  It was the wrong one again!  John the engineer was busy on another boat anyway.  Now it is Monday and the yard is locked and it is raining. John is working on yet another boat!

We have the fire going for a short time mornings and evenings with a kettle of water keeping hot for drinks and washing.

At least we are better off than the fella asleep most nights snoring underneath the shopping centre.

Still hanging around Banbury

Banbury town centre turned into a fairground last week. Just so noisy but fun to watch people on the rides.

Once you know about a problem you are obliged to get it sorted. It was just a major engine service that was needed. All things done that should be done after a years cruising.

 We even had the diesel polished after suffering dirty fuel last month.

On start up the engine rattled a bit. John the engineer at Toolys listened intensely then turned off the engine. "It is the water pump, look the pulley moves in and out!"

When the first replacement pump arrived it did not fit! The design of the engine had been changed. We are still waiting for a new water pump!

We are now hooked up to mains power with the engine in bits. We are not waisting time here though. Got to do something positive. So we set about getting rid of all those things we have not used during the year. Some for charity and some for the bin.

With so many phone shops here we were able to downgrade one of our smarties at the end of its contract. Ann kept her phone intact with Memory Map installed by Sue and got a new battery for it.

Another walk round the park to push away the blues.

A walk in the park

While hanging around Banbury we went for a walk in Spiceball Park.

Over the top

We climbed up the Napton locks and continued on that winding road to the 'mast'.

One lock keeper was at the bottom lock while another came up most of the way. The going was slow at the top as usual with a shallow canal.

Next day we continued to Claydon top lock and stayed the night. We followed several boats down the next day with some also behind us. Plenty of crew to help. We stopped just past the bottom lock being one of our favourite moorings.

We have been lucky with mainly sunny dry days and have usually moored in time for a late lunch. Keeping warm with the occasional use of the radiators. After some washing we needed the fire on. It is oil fed but the oil did not flow when it was turned on. I had to dismantle the Toby control to restore the flow.

It was back at the beginning of September that the engine coughed and spluttered. We were near Autherley junction so we called into Oxley Marine. They discovered contaminated diesel in the tank, water separator and fuel filter! It was not the bug and thankfully the injectors were not harmed this time.

When we were in Banbury last year when that happened. We needed reconditioned injectors, the tank of fuel polished and filter changed. Now Matilda Rose has suffered from contaminated fuel. It does seem that we are being supplied with dirty fuel these days. That Fuel Purifiner from MLS is worth getting.

Postal uncertainty

We moved on to Napton in search of post. We had rang the Post Office and got the agreement to send poste restante. (to be collected). Later we had confirmation that the envelopes had arrived.

Having found a mooring we walked to the shop. At first we were shocked to find that the Post Office inside the shop had closed a few weeks earlier. So who had I spoken to and where is our post?

The shop keeper then asked if we were looking for poste restante. There it was under the counter! Apparently the Post Office is to reopen soon after some local protests. Uncertainty has got to me.

It is worth calling into the Folly Shop.

Staying on the Oxford

One night at the top of Calcutt where we walked round the reservoir.  Time now to slow down a bit.  During a calm sunny day we moved on up the Grand Union / Oxford canal to Braunston.  Often considered by us to be the start and end of our journeys.  It has been almost a year since we were here on our way north.  This winter we will be staying on the south Oxford canal.

Braunston and its company has changed during the year.  The Plough has changed hands and the local shop is under new management.  At least the Post Office is still there.  The butcher is still operating and a hair dresser has opened.  The bus service has been altered much to the annoyance of the locals.  Bus stops have moved so we were not sure where to get on for Daventry!  So we never went.

When we saw Tim in the marina the first thing he asked was did we want a winter mooring!   It seems that many boaters are moving down to Cropredy!   We stayed a few nights, visited friends or friends visited us, got full and empty and moved south.

During the month of September we broke a few records.  The number of lock miles in a day and the number of hours travelled in a day.  We have done 224 lock miles that month.

On our way up

We stopped near the Saltisford Arm for a few days. Brod came up to visit and stayed a night. The Saltisford Canal Centre is much improved and provided a secure park for his car.

When Brod had left we decended the two locks going through Warwick and Leamington Spa. Five miles on we start the climb at Fosse locks. By now we were joined by another boat with a happy crew.

 Having got past the staircase locks at Bascote we stopped near bridge 27.

Long Itchington

Next day while the sun continued to shine we progressed up to Stockton Top lock. We had waited a while at the bottom for another boat to join us. Then we saw Hadar going down to Saltisford.

The boat that had joined us is to be sold at Braunston. Arabella was unusual in that it was driven by an electric motor. The 240v ac power was generated by a diesel engine purring quietly below the boards. A true Diesel Electric system. A small bank of domestic batteries provided the usual 12 v power while an inverter converted the dc to ac mains power when the engine was not running.

Going down Hatton

We set off after breakfast to stop at the top lock for water, elsan and rubbish disposal. Four boats passed in quick succession and went down two by two as you should.

The Cafe at the top

But when we were ready to go down there was no other boat to join us. Two boats eventually started down but by then we were three locks down. It was quite a struggle with these huge double locks so we usually only used the paddle and gate on one side.

Ugly bridge with decoration

The boats and crew soon caught us up and started to help us. It took us four hours to get to the bottom  the twenty one locks. We found a mooring near the Satisford Arm. Thankfully all done during a dry day.

The Saltisford Canal Centre is much improved with new facilities but almost full of boats. Beyond our mooring the canal edge is all concrete with nothing to tie to if you want to stop.

Lapworth, Kingswod and Hatton

We got diesel and gas at Swallow Cruisers before moving down the Lapworth locks. 

Partway down volunteers started to help us.

It was a cool damp day with the sun trying to brighten up the sky.

The volunteers were happy to get us down fifteen locks. By then we had had enough and made tea for two of our helpers.

Next day we travelled down some more locks to Kingswood Junction.

We joined the Grand Union canal that seemed like a motorway being wide and deep. But then the trees closed in and reduced the width.

Yet another tunnel to pass through before getting to the Hatton flight.

Fish n Chips

We continued to Hockley Heath, last visited back in 2010.  The shop was closed but potatoes were being delivered and later, cooking oil!  After shopping we got the fish n chips!

After the locks, tunnels!

We have gone through Tardebigge and Shortwood tunnel and stopped at Hopwood for the night. Then it was on through Wast Hill tunnel, all on the Worcester & Birmingham canal. They were all wide enough to pass boats going the other way despite this being a narrow canal. Only one boat in front and behind going the same way.

It was not long before we turned right at Kings Norton and on to the northern end of the Stratford canal and through yet another tunnel. We got quite depressed with the damp dark conditions and when it actually rained we stopped.

Ann made hot soup while I setup the TV and lit the fire.

Tardebigge

It took another day to get to Stoke Pound at the bottom lock. A very good friend had offered to help us up the next thirty locks. Colin arrived after breakfast and after refreshments we set off at ten.
We were extremely lucky to find most locks empty for us. A boat was following so we opened a paddle to empty the lock once we had gone up.

Progress was rapid to say the least. We got to the top in three hours, an average of ten locks an hour or one every six minutes. 

Colin stayed a while as we discussed our future plans and news of a previous life while consuming Ann's home made soup.

Thank you Colin, we did well and enjoyed you visit.  He then cycled back down to his car at Stoke Pound and drove home.

Droitwich

The Droitwich canal is one of two halves. The southern section is the barge canal with wide locks and the northern section is the Junction canal with new narrow locks.

Another salt town is Droitwich but this one was lucky enough to have a brine spring.
On a walk about we found Vine Park where Molly could run about.

The M5 crosses over north of Droitwich and although quite high the tunnel is very low for boats. One boat is known to have got stuck when the next lock up was emptied, raising the water level! With much removed from our roof we rushed through at speed.

The building of the motorway paid for the restoration of the canal so why did they make the tunnel so low?

There are six locks to get up to Hanbury Wharf at the junction with the Worcester & Birmingham canal. We met Jim at the local pub for a drink and chat. He is the brother of a previous neighbour of ours.

A nine to five trip

We got to Stourport and did some shopping.
Then had a look round the basins. The river Severn was low and slow ready for our trip down.

We set off at nine to go down into the basin for water and elsan dump before doing the four locks down to the river.

A narrowboat called Brief Encounter followed us down to the first lock. As it turned out the crew intended to head the same way as us.

There is just nowhere to stop on the river and after the second lock we soon found the Droitwich canal entrance.

A convenient landing stage enabled both boats to stop and operate the wide Hawford lock. There was already one smart motor boat in the lock but the owner had lost his windlass and was waiting for help. We managed to get both our boats in and went up. 

The locks are all wide up to Droitwich because of the salt barges that used to travel down to the river.

But the canal is now narrowed by reeds although quite deep enough.

Each lock had a new landing stage.

All eight wide locks were completed and a few miles on we found the secure visitor moorings by five o'clock! 30 lock miles in one day is a record for us.

Forgotten canal?

As we travel down this canal we enjoy its beauty forgotten by us since we came this way ten years ago. What wonderful days in sunshine with other boaters helping at the locks.

Down we go through the tree lined canal into the valley and on to Worcestershire.

Down past the sandstone cuttings.

We went shopping in Kinver.

Debdale lock with its horse cave cut into the sandstone.

Then it was on past Kidderminster.

Heading down to Stourport

The river Severn is 294 feet lower than the canal here at Autherley. We have only once been this way in 2003. So often, over the years, we turned north here.

The engine coughed and spluttered on startup but soon ran OK. We called in to Oxley Marine near the junction to have the fuel line and tank cleaned out. The water trap was dirty with grit but not the dreaded bug. Some had got to the fuel filter which stopped it there. A certain amount of dirty fuel was sucked out of the tank. Having replaced the filter and with fresh diesel in the tank the engine ran smoothly again.

I do not know where the grit or dirty fuel came from. Is there a case for the diesel suppliers to ensure clean fuel is put in our tanks. High turnover suppliers should be safer.

Going down the locks

A trip off the boat

I went off on my own from Gailey on a bus n train to Fareham. When the train arrived at Stafford the doors opened but I could not get in. There were so many people with their luggage blocking the entrance! I was obliged to stand for an hour once I had got in. At each station some got off but yet more got on. Roll on more track and rolling stock.

I went to see my brother for his 70 th birthday party. A gathering of friends at the Pig followed by a picnic in the New Forest.

Lunch at Zizzi
I stayed with Brod in his pad at Gosport and enjoyed rediscovering some of our old haunts. A chance to sample life on land and boy, was it buzzing over in Pompy and Southsea.