Too late, but so what?

Wednesday 24^th August; bridge 123 to above Claydon locks

The noises from the farm had stopped by teatime, and with no roads nearby it was a very quiet night.  Even the neighbours were quiet – every spare moment was being spent nibbling.

I took Meg down the towpath for her early morning walk and found a cut-through to the farm track leading to the farm where last night’s noise was coming from.  There are a lot of good blackberries coming along, but they are beginning to get a little in need of a trim – in another week or two these will have reached the ground and be trying to root!

We were ready to leave by about 9.  It’s a nice mooring here, but if you moor when there’s noisy work going on at the farm (farm work starts early) there are better places further along.

We set off in splendid isolation, meeting no boats for the first mile until – at a bridge, naturally – there were the first two, one each side.  And then, as the bridge (126) is at the start of the really wiggly bit where HS2 is laying waste to the land, we met most of the rest that we saw this morning – about 8.  Then all was quiet again for the rest of the journey to Fenny.  But there was plenty to be seen if you are into large plant and machinery!

In the distance, miles away it seemed, there was a person with a buggy and small child walking what must have been a footpath across the far side of the HS2 works.

We caught sight of them again as we neared bridge 127 (having had to wind out way around the bends, so she arrived first) and on the map we saw that there is a circular walk from Wormleighton village crossing the canal at 126 and 127 – and taking in an awful lot of HS2.  What a fabulous walk for a kiddie!  He liked waving at boats too.

Tip, grade, flatten, tip, grade, flatten, tip, grade.....

We haven’t been this way since before lockdown, but it doesn’t look a lot different – just much more extensive and a bit more flattened, and with work on the towpath side which we thought might have been preparation for a supply area with a temporary bridge as I believe is happening elsewhere along the route.

We carried on to Fenny Compton, where the moorings were nearly empty.  We walked straight up to dispose of rubbish at the marina (and I notice they have a recycling bin, coloured green, as well as the red general refuse bins) and to visit the chandlery for some paint.  But now there is no longer any engineering work at the marina, the chandlery is much reduced in size and no longer stocks it.

After lunch we moved on, wondering if we might get to Claydon Top Lock before 3, which is the time for last entry to the flight.  We trickled past the few boats on the visitor moorings.  We find it rather noisy here, as there are factory units behind the hedge.  Even worse today, as someone was cutting the hedge from the other side, with one of the types which munches its way along, leaving torn branches and mangled hedges in its wake. 

The driver stopped as we passed – didn’t want to risk damaging people, but presumably boats are fair game.  I would have objected if Dick Terrapin (fab name!) was my boat.  On we went, through Fenny Compton ‘tunnel’ – although it was opened up in 1868, it is narrow and slow going, especially if you meet a boat as we did.  We trundled along, remembering that there is a stretch of offside moorings to be passed, and didn’t expect to arrive at the top lock in time.  So we moored on the rings before Claydon Top Bridge at about one minute to 3, then strolled down to chat with the lockie.  He was just waiting for the last boat up to arrive so he could go home.  He said Derek will arrive early to let water down as one of the pounds sometimes empties overnight, so he may well open up early.

A bit too late

We got on with a few jobs.  Dave’s first was to check the bilge pump – there was a fair bit of water in the bilge when we arrived and it hadn’t automatically cut in.  It was full of gunk, absolutely filthy inside.

He cleaned it out and tested it in a bucket of water.  All working, so replaced it and got on with some more red oxide painting in the engine hole.

We can hear the railway in the distance, but there are few walkers and the nearest road is down at lock 2, so it was quiet.

8½ miles, 0 locks, Fenny Compton ‘tunnel’.

 

Cassette toilets rule!

Tuesday 23rd August; Napton Narrowboats to bridge 123 (Priors Hardwick)

We were up and about early – I got up well before 7 to discover the loo had backed up again.  Out came the Porta Potti we had bought ‘just in case’ so at least we would be ok for the couple of hours before Napton Narrowboats opened.  Dave walked round at 8.30 to find staff already there and willing to do a pump-out straight away, so we reversed back through the bridge and tied up well before 9.  We gleaned some useful information – if you’re pumping your tank and the pump-out pipe sinks it’s working, when it floats your tank is empty.  And the man confirmed what we suspected – there is no need to add Blue or any chemicals, however eco-friendly, as the bacteria already present will happily deal with the tank contents, especially if you have a macerator.  We know we are pump-out novices, but we really are not sure about them – if there is a problem and you’ve not got a back-up of some kind, you’re in trouble!

We were on our way by 9.  Dave asked the man in the office, when he paid, what the cruising was like on the South Oxford – and most of their hire boats choose to go the other way, because of the restricted lock hours.  We decided to carry on.  I took a snap of the windmill (of course) as we neared Napton.

We were delighted to see the water point was free, and pulled in.  But only a dribble was coming out of the hosepipe.  We ran the whole thing out, and discovered two tight kinks right up, near the reel which would have cut off most of the flow.  Dave cut the twisted end off and refitted the hose, while I went up to the shop for some milk. 

When I came back the tank was still filling, and Dave had just pulled Meg out of the cut.  He had been picking the lovely blackberries behind the taps and he was just taking the bowl inside, but she had tried to follow by climbing on board rather than jumping as the bow was a few inches out from the bank - and it hadn’t worked.  She is not very buoyant and tends to sink so quick action is needed if she goes in. 

We moved up to the facilities to empty the Porta Potti cassette while a boat came down the bottom lock, and were soon on our way up.  The volunteer commented how quiet it had been for August – it was about 11 o’clock and we were only the 7^th boat.  There were a few coming down but not many, and it was hard work – the early morning coolness had vanished and although mostly cloudy it was sultry and very hot when the sun shone.  There is an old willow at lock 9 with a very interesting shape.

We grabbed a snack to keep us going as we traversed the long pound below Marston Doles bottom lock, and found a space to have a break for lunch once we had cleared the flight.  The boat in the field is well established now and today had some close neighbours

 

Then we went on a bit to moor just before bridge 123 near Priors Hardwick.  We thought we should check under the bed for possible leaks after the morning’s experience – and yes, there had been one.  Dave quickly found the source – the offending area was still damp – and the jubilee clip holding one of the hoses was a bit loose.  The edge of the pipe was uneven too, so he trimmed the ragged bit off, cleaned it and retightened the clip.  It is beginning to look as though this boat vibrates things loose as a matter of course.  Meanwhile I completed the curtains and got them re-hung before we relaxed for the evening.  One thing I did while it was still light enough was to take a photo of the decorative panels on the inside of the stern doors.  The roses are a decal bought on the internet, and at the top are Dave’s first efforts at castles.  Bonjour is very plain both inside and out, and it’s nice to have something traditional as decoration.

Unfortunately I couldn't easily get them side by side and don't feel inclined to find out just at the moment....  the starboard door is below.

5 miles 9 locks

 

 

It doesn’t do to be too squeamish

Monday 22^nd August; Calcutt marina to Napton, bridge 109

Monday is not a good day to travel up from Devon in the holiday season.  Traffic was very heavy on the M5, and it was raining, but as soon as we got off the motorway going across country towards Stratford and Calcutt the weather and traffic improved.  We were just thinking we would pay for the mooring and get going straight away when the rain we had outrun caught us up!  Rather than get soaking wet going up the locks, we stayed put and hauled the mattress off the bed so Dave could get to work replacing the carbon filter on the pump-out tank.  Luckily he had put a bucket underneath – the old one had disintegrated (presumably as a result of our failure to realise the tank needed emptying, and overfilling it).  Here he is cleaning out the housing.

A bit messy

It took a little while to make sure it was clean and dry.  The new one was easy to install.

Not sparkling, but new

As he was replacing the cap, Dave realised that it hadn’t been fully tightened when he removed it to replace the filter – has it always been loose, or does it gradually undo itself with engine vibration, like the multi-plug behind the engine?  The debris was soon wrapped up in newspaper and put in the skip, and by 5 o’clock we had paid the mooring fee and set off.  As we neared the exit, we could see a boat was waiting below the bottom lock – what a bonus.  The crew had gone ahead to let water down, as the pound above was low.

Mind you, there was plenty of water in the channel. We were soon in and going up, and with two crew and a helpful couple of walkers to help with the gates the work was minimised.  We continued to the junction and turned right towards Napton.  Dave had asked in the Calcutt office what the situation was on the South Oxford, and they said there were no problems cruising, just to be aware of the lock restrictions in force, which we knew about anyway.  We moored just past Napton Narrowboats.  Dave took poor patient Meg for a much-needed walk, and while the sausage casserole for tea was cooking I started work on the curtains.  We noticed after a couple of days on our first trip that the heading tape on one set of curtains was coming apart, so I took them home and replaced it.  On our second trip we realised the others were following suit so three more pairs came home with us.

Just a bit of camera shake

 I hadn’t completely finished the work though.  What with catching up with jobs around the house and garden after our last trip, and then grandparent duty for a week with lively 3- and 5-year-olds while Dad worked from home and Mum worked from Mum and Dad’s, I had just managed to get the new header tape stitched on.  But all the sewing in of loose ends and replacing the curtain rings was waiting to be done.  Just one pair tonight, so at least we have curtains on the towpath side.  Dave got on with replacing the fuse for the bow thruster batteries which had prevented the batteries from charging.

Once darkness fell and cars stopped tooting before they went over the humpbacked bridge 109, it was quiet.

 1 and a half miles, 3 locks.

1½ miles, 3 locks