Monday 31st March; Oddingley to the marina
There was a sharp frost when I took the dog out first thing, but it disappeared as the sun rose higher. The air was chilly to start with, but with hardly any wind it was a beautiful day for cruising.
 |
| Blackthorn blossom |
Trinity Boats, a small hire company at Dunhampstead, has
moved now to the old Anglo-Welsh base at Tardebigge Old Wharf, which is between
Tardebigge and Shortwood tunnels. The
Tardebigge lock closure happened just after they started the move, which will
have meant it would have taken longer to move the boats, but their old home looks
empty now.
 |
| Trinity’s old home. With two more hire boats coming on stream there wouldn't be enough room here |
On the way to Hanbury Junction there is a large house with a very long garden and canal frontage, and for years there has been a decrepit boathouse with a tatty looking cruiser inside, reeds growing across the front. It has all been renovated now.
 |
| A bit smarter now |
It’s less than two miles to Hanbury Locks from Oddingley. We haven’t seen the volunteers yet this year, and these locks empty themselves so even though a boat had just left the top lock I had to top that one up and then turn the second and third. These locks have working side ponds which are a water-saving device as long as they get used! The procedure is the same whether you are going up or down. First you open the side pond paddles, so if you are emptying the lock, as we were, you will fill the empty side pond from the lock.
 |
| Empty |
If you are coming up and need to fill the lock, there should be water waiting in the side pond for you to start the process.
 |
| But we were going down, so half our lockful went in here. |
When the levels have equalised (the flow in or out of the side pond stops) you close those paddles then open the ground or gate paddles as appropriate.
 |
| All ready for the next boat |
We've had such a dry winter and spring so far I wonder whether CRT might consider bring other side ponds back into use, such as on the Stoke Bruerne and Atherstone flights?
Today's weather was perfect for marina mooring – not a breath of wind – and we slid into our berth very easily. As well as the normal packing up, there were the toilets to be sorted out. Plural, because the Porta-Potti was deployed yesterday evening. There isn’t a problem with the macerator, but it was being descaled. We had never thought about it until Dave was doing research on macerator pump-outs soon after we got the boat. It’s like descaling a kettle really, you buy the stuff and follow the instructions. Various sources said it needed to ‘soak’ from a few hours to 72. So we started it yesterday evening and finished the job in the marina, then of course the cassette needed to be emptied too. I have never seen descaling mentioned on blogs or websites, so I wonder if most people don't do it?
We had a list of jobs that need doing, and most didn’t get done, but the biggest – get the batteries changed – and the most annoying - descale the macerator - are out of the way at last.
We still haven’t finalised our cruising plans for the year. There are three ways to the main canal network; the first, via the Worcester and Birmingham, is out for months because of the stoppage at Tardebigge top lock. The second, down the Severn to Tewkesbury for the Avon Ring, which we would have liked as our 'escape' cruise, is also out till the end of May as there is a stoppage on the Wilmcote flight. So that leaves the Severn to Stourport, to join the Staffs and Worcester. As we spent time further north last year, and with the recent breach on the Macc, we will be in the Midlands and south this year, but still have to decide on our first destination.
Today's stats; 3 locks, 3 miles
Trip stats; 17 miles narrow canals, 30 narrow locks, Dunhampstead tunnel (twice). Waterways; Droitwich Junction canal, Worcester and Birmingham.
