It works!

Sunday 9^th July; Stanton Low to Newlands/Campbell Park

Before we left this morning, Dave walked Meg through the woodland beside us, which is known as Joan’s Piece.  There is little footfall just here, as the dog-walkers are mostly on the other side of the canal before crossing over to Stanton Low where we walked yesterday.  Storms are possible this afternoon, so even though we only wanted to go as far as Campbell Park, we set off about 9 in spite of the damp weather.

Never seen a heron on a gunwale before

My camera has given up the ghost, so the photos are now taken on my ropy old phone.  We paused at Giffard Park for water, and I went over to the small Tesco for a couple of bits.  The built-up approach to Milton Keynes was not unattractive in the sunshine.  One thing we remember is the lovely avenues of poplar which run along close to the canal, sometimes concealing housing and sometimes parkland.  (One large poplar fell across the canal a few hours after we had passed, blocking the canal overnight and preventing the electric trip boat from returning).  There is even art under the bridges, or freestanding near the towpath.

Japanese style with British birds

We could have taken one of the free offside moorings at Campbell Park but went on a little to choose a towpath spot under the trees between the footbridges. It was hot in the sun and we were glad of the shade. 

We’d finished lunch when a massive widebeam with a family on board crept by with scarcely a ripple.  Their side hatch was open and now I have serious galley envy!   They had trouble going under the next bridge, having to reverse and change their approach to get through.

Dave continued with his project all afternoon.  He had wondered about walking to Toolstation or B&Q for some cable ties and Sikaflex (or similar) to finish the job, but decided it was too hot and could wait until tomorrow.  So, the promised storms nowhere to be seen, he drilled a hole in the cabin roof instead. 

You can see the reason for all this activity over the last few days, in front of the life ring – a solar panel installation.  It’s only supplying 2.2 amps in the picture below, but the figure increased when I wiped the dust off the panel then zoomed right up when the sun came out again.

And it works

Dave will cover the cable gland (the connector job on the roof) in case of rain until he gets some Sikaflex to seal it to the roof.  He also needs to fit the little monitor in its place and buy some cable ties to neaten the cables which are not at all neat at the moment.  It’s taken him many hours of research to design the system, obtain and fit the parts, but it’s a huge saving on the cost of getting someone to do it for you.  There is only one panel at the moment – we don’t have a freezer or washing machine, and rarely spend a whole day in one place, so it may be all we need – and there wasn’t room for another panel in the car!  But he made sure to choose an MPPT controller, cabling etc which could cope with a second panel if we decide we need one.  We (I mean he, of course) also may change the way it is attached to the roof – currently the panel is flat and attached by magnets, but it may need something tiltable by the winter to keep the batteries topped up while we are way from the boat.

Meanwhile, I did the distinctly non-cerebral task of removing the matting from the well deck and sweeping out all the dead hawthorn blossom from our last trip, as well as cleaning through the boat as far as the bed, which was still strewn with tools and bits from the  installation.

Then it was Meg’s turn for a bit of action.  We walked as far as the new marina and the three-way bridge that appeared in the canal press.  There is a large pub called the Warbler on the Wharf, today crammed with punters having a drink after their Sunday lunch.  None of it existed when we were here last.

Then we went to visit Willen Lake.  It looks like a peaceful countryside location in Nicholson’s (which of course has no funding for updates any more), but turned out to be a popular day out for families, with water sports, a big wheel, waterplay for younger kids, various other activities and a variety of bars and catering.

Rather a lot of wildfowl too

But it was crowded and busy, and Meg had to stay on the lead, so we bought an ice-cream and left the families to it.  Once back at the boat, we took out one of the hopper windows to cool the boat down.  Later I went for a short run across Campbell Park, and found the totem pole and the giant pyramidal structure on top of a hill, known as the Beacon, which we actually saw last time we were here, but I had completely forgotten about both of them.

There are good views from the top, much better than you would get from the big wheel by the lake.

Just 3½ miles today.