Round-up of 2024 - Part 1

March to July

Our first visit to Bonjour this year was delayed till the end of March, partly because of bad colds or the weather, but mostly because we needed to be sure our new dog Jess was used to us before we introduced her to our home from home.   But she trotted on board and investigated everything quite happily as we unpacked and had a cup of tea.  She took rapidly to boat life, though had to learn that dogs can’t walk on water!

Yes Jessie, this is boating!

When we arrived at the marina for the first time this year we were delighted to find that the batteries had been kept topped up by the solar panels and we had no need to plug in the shore line.  The solar was the best boaty investment we have made since we bought Bonjour.  As usual our first trip was just for a few days, to check everything over and to start restocking the galley.  We cruised towards Worcester and back, taking in some of our favourite moorings.

Rainbow above the level crossing at Oddingley 

In April we left the marina for the summer, bound for the Shroppie.  We would have preferred to go via Stourport and the Staffs and Worcester canal, but once again the Severn was in flood, so via Birmingham we would have to go.  It’s a good thing we enjoy the Tardebigge flight, although we were heartily glad of the volunteer help this time, as we were both feeling under the weather with colds and coughs.

The next day we were in Birmingham for a few days.  How lucky that we were moored opposite Legoland when my cold turned into pneumonia, and that the hospital was an easy walk up the towpath! 

Moored in Birmingham

With the help of antibiotics we were able to continue our journey to Swanley Bridge marina which would be our base for a while.  We hadn’t been on the Shroppie on our own boat since 2015 on Chuffed.

You just have to take a photo of High Bridge

Having over-indulged on the goodies from the stall at the top of Audlem locks we didn’t feel like eating in the Shroppie Fly, though we did take Jess for her first visit to a pub.

An excellent pint

Along with other bloggers we have noticed the declining state of maintenance of the locks, with paddles out of action and leaking gates.  At Hack Green it was so bad, and getting the levels to equalise and the top gates open was so tricky, that we contacted CRT, and a couple of weeks later they must have had enough comments from boaters to spur them into carrying out an emergency repair.

Hack Green bottom lock, paddles fully closed

Our next trip took us to Llangollen, for the fourth time – we visited twice aboard Chuffed, and in our early boating days on a hire boat with friends in the late 1970s, and we were delighted to be back. The weather this year seems to have been generally very windy, and it certainly made for cold and difficult cruising conditions at times.  As we crossed Chirk aqueduct, the strong wind made it a real struggle for Dave to keep the boat from bashing into the side of the channel.

Crossing Chirk aqueduct

But the next day the wind had moderated somewhat, and we had a delightful crossing of Pontcysyllte aqueduct in bright sunshine.

 

Navigation through tunnels and narrow sections can be hard work on the way ‘upstream’ to Llangollen against the flow (the canal is used to transfer water from the Dee to the reservoir at Hurleston for the water supply to places like Crewe and Nantwich).  On our return we could reduce our revs and let the flow carry us gently downstream.

While in Wales we took care not to get menaced by dragons (top right triangle)

Sometimes the weather was glorious, particularly when we were sheltered from the wind.

The fabulous mooring at Hampton Bank

Of course, there had to be time spent on boat maintenance, and Dave spent a while refreshing the faded red on the cratch board and the sliding hatch.

Moored below Quoisley bridge

Our next trip took us to Chester, where we hadn’t been since 2012, when we went on to Ellesmere Port and visited Chester Zoo too. 

Shuffling at Bunbury staircase

Emergency paddle repair at Northgate staircase locks

Then we went back southwards along the Shroppie and north-east along the lovely Middlewich branch to make a right turn onto the Trent and Mersey, and the start of Heartbreak Hill.  We had a lot of damp weather as we re-acquainted ourselves with the paired locks.  We might complain about CRT’s mowing policy but there have been some real gains for nature.

Orchids flourishing on the uncut towpath near Hassall Green locks

Although I’m not a fan of tunnels as a rule, I was rather looking forward to revisiting the Harecastle and the orange water.

We moored on the long stretch below Poole aqueduct the day before we went through Harecastle.  A new mooring for us, and a real find – peaceful, sheltered, good sun and two supermarkets in walking distance.

After leaving Stoke, we spent a night in Barlaston and two nights in Stone, where we found many changes in the town centre since our last visit.  I took the train from Stone station to fetch the car from Swanley Bridge. 

Stone station building

From Stone, we cruised on to Aston marina for our next temporary base.

March; short trip from Droitwich Spa marina towards Worcester, and return

April/May; Droitwich Spa marina to Swanley Bridge marina via Birmingham

May/June; Swanley Bridge marina to Llangollen, and return

July; Swanley Bridge marina to Aston marina via Chester and the Middlewich branch.

Hanbury Juncton and back to base

Thursday 10^th and Friday 11^th October; Hanbury junction, then home for the winter

There was more rain overnight, but it had stopped by the time I took Jess out first thing, though the towpath was rather puddly and muddy.

The puddles had drained a bit by the time I took this.

The sky was blue as Dave left to walk down to Droitwich to catch the train for the car shuffle, foot pump in his backpack in case the car tyres were flat.  

Near our mooring

It was only 8.30, so I got on with some jobs, like clearing and laying the fire.  Jess needed a good walk too, so we went down the Droitwich Junction canal as far as the horse chestnut trees near lock 7, between the M5 tunnel and the town.  We hadn't managed to collect any conkers this year so far.  I had to look carefully but there were still a few to be found, and though there weren't many I hope there will be enough to deter the spiders!  I have rehomed several this trip and there are still two evading capture.  On our way back we played with her ball on the wide bits as far as the marina, where we called in to find our berth number.

Bracket fungus spotted on our walk

Dave returned in time for lunch, having had an easy journey by walking, train and taxi to Aston marina and then driving back down the M6 and M5.  The car tyres were all in order, and having done the reset of the electronics advised by an engineer he spoke to, the warning light had vanished and everything was ok.

Intermittent sun only, so although the batteries were ok when we got up, with the fridge switched back on the engine needed running for a while as we are not moving today.  And we needed hot water!

An annoying feature of the design of our cratch cover is that when, inevitably, sometimes the bow scrapes against the lock as you go in, there is a risk that the studs below the gunwale get scraped off too.  Dave had bought a set of studs and the tool to attach the top part to the fabric of the cratch cover.  In the event he only needed to drill out the holes for two studs on the hull side.

Screwing the new studs in place

Meanwhile I had started the Big Clean inside.  Jess didn't get in the way.  After she got bored chewing a bit of stick while Dave drilled and paid her no attention, she stationed herself on the stern deck staring fixedly at the overgrown hedge on the offside, nose whiffling.

What’s there Jess?  Squirrel?

She stood like that for half an hour or more.

It was starting to get colder – a change in the weather was forecast.

On Friday morning the weather had changed, with a sharp frost.

No one else was about as Jess went out first thing.

We got on with packing as we waited for the frost to go before we moved off – Hanbury locks are deep and I didn’t want to risk slipping.  By about 10 I was filling the top lock when the first volunteer arrived, shortly joined by the second.  They took over the emptying of the lock and the bottom gates while I went on to set the two remaining locks.  Then once Dave had brought the boat into the bottom lock, I stepped back on board and they completed the job.

Emptying half the water into the side pond, bottom lock.  Check out that glorious blue sky!

Thanks guys, sorry I’ve forgotten your names!

Straight onto the marina wharf to fill with diesel, get a pump-out and empty the Porta-Potti which we had been using instead of the macerator loo to save the batteries.  There was barely a breath of wind, highly unusual in this marina, as we slid easily into our berth – bow first so Dave could wash and wax the starboard side.  The solar was now going great guns keeping the batteries topped up.  A perfect day for an autumn cruise, or at least sitting out drinking coffee in your well deck as our neighbours were doing!  Sadly we have appointments coming up and need to be back home.  At least it was dry to pack up the car.  We'd left at about three, but delays round Bristol meant it was nearly dark by the time we got home.

Half a mile’s cruise, 3 locks.

Trip stats;

74 miles 6 furlongs narrow canals, 91 narrow locks.

1 working swing bridge (Fradley Junction), 1 aqueduct at Brindley Bank, Rugeley.

8 tunnels – Curdworth, Factory, Curzon St, Ashted, Edgbaston, Wast Hill, Shortwood, Tardebigge.  2 miles 4½ furlongs underground.

Wasps!

Wednesday October 9^th; Stoke Works to Hanbury junction

I got up at 5.30 to put the porthole bung in on the starboard side, as the car headlights of the early shift were shining through the curtains, but they were going right through to the far end of the business park, so with no noise of slamming car doors I soon went back to sleep.  This is not a pretty mooring but in yesterday’s rain it was perfect!  We were running out of milk so I went straight along to the shop in Ryecroft Road.  Sadly, the butcher’s shop next door – the Butcheress – has closed down.  I collected some good chestnuts from the grass below the row of trees half-way back to the boat.  After breakfast we moved along to top up the water tank a bit, but not fully as we are not planning another cruise before winter, though we will have to return to fit new batteries at some point.  Our coping measures are keeping the old ones happy for the moment.

It stayed dry and bright as we started down the Astwood flight, with one boat far ahead, but a couple of boats on their way up eased our descent. 

One lock had a top paddle out

And another had a bottom paddle out, as well as a rotten balance beam.  I hope they are in the stoppage list this winter.

Wonderful autumn colour near the winding hole above the second-to-bottom lock

The offside garden of Astwood lock cottage is always worth a look.  The roses have suffered in the wet weather, but the hollyhocks always look good.  This year the gnomes have been supervising a tall sunflower.

Eight-foot sunflower and pretty pink hollyhock

Plenty of seeds for the birds

We got down the flight in plenty of time for a lunch stop on one of our favourite moorings, though we had to reverse smartly from the first spot we chose because of a wasp’s nest.  We passed two on the offside yesterday, both marked with a yellow notice like the hornet’s nest. 

No sheep today! Frisbee opportunity at the bottom lock.

While Dave took Jess to the field to play, I went to mark the location of the nest.  I tried to get the what3words address, but the gps signal was so weak it thought I was a hundred yards away in a field.  I got the secateurs and garden gloves and cut some spiky brambles and hawthorn from the hedge – there were plenty sticking out over the path – to mark the spot.  

Beware!

The wi-fi signal wasn't that good either, but I did manage to use what3words on my laptop to get an approximate location, and to notify CRT in the hope that they would come out and mark the spot.  I know from experience you can still be stung in December if you inadvertently disturb a nest, and with this such a popular mooring spot I thought it was important it should be marked.  We moved on once this was done as we need to be at Hanbury junction tonight so Dave can get to the station early to go and fetch the car tomorrow.  We got the best spot – no overhanging trees and furthest from the road.  It was a good thing we’d moved on early as several boats came by looking for a mooring – there is only room here for three normal-sized boats so most had to move on to find somewhere to stop.

Robin’s pin-cushion

It rained on and off all afternoon.  Dave went down the engine hole to check the battery size – he shouted the dimensions from under the golfing umbrella while I sheltered inside to write them down.  We ate in the Eagle and Sun, where there is a daily carvery.  It was ok – the beef was good, the veg ok but of course had been kept (fairly) hot for a while.  The Yorkshires were a disgrace and would not have dared to show their faces in that beautiful county.

2½ miles, 6 locks

 

 

Tardebigge and the Stoke flight – more than we had planned

Tuesday 8^th October; Tardebigge top pound to Stoke Works visitor moorings

We awoke to gentle rain.  The forecast was for rain coming and going all morning, but today’s the day for the descent and we’ll have to get on with it.  We just hoped it wouldn’t be as wet as last year, when all movement on the flight was halted for 2 hours to stop flooding lower down – we had to moor in a lock by the reservoir to have lunch and wait it out.  No rush today, as only one other boats was moored, and they came up yesterday.  These locks mostly drain overnight, so they would all be empty anyway.  We started at about 8.45.  We were just descending in the first lock when a volunteer arrived to set the next one!  Sam was soon joined by Rob, who we have met before.

Probably lock 48, near the reservoir.  Sam and Rob are following Jess down.

Progress was swift and smooth, though poor Dave gets a bit bored when there is lots of help to deal with locks, and it’s also much colder standing still on the boat – I was getting hot and peeling layers off while he shivered.  The bywashes had been running all morning from the rain over the last couple of nights, and with locks being emptied too there was a lot of water coming down.

The extra water was doing the job of the offside ground paddle – lucky, as I was not going to walk round across the bottom gates – and certainly not going to risk walking through that flow!

No need to raise paddles, the locks were filling themselves with the extra water.

At Halfway House bridge we met a boat coming up, with three more volunteers.  Dave, who is still undergoing his training, joined Rob and Sam to help us.  We started to get warnings about a hornet’s nest at a house by the canal, apparently in a dog kennel.  Where could that be but the Noisy Dog House? 

The noisy dog is no more, but last year the other dog, much more friendly, was still around and the house occupied, as ever surrounded by a vast array of radio aerials.  The house is now empty, and we realised later that the aerials had gone too.

Dave and Dave (and walkers too) at lock 38

After the early drizzle it had stayed largely dry, apart from the occasional few spots of rain.  Locking ahead, I spotted another boat on its way up, so after relaying the message to the others I waited for them to arrive.  With two crew they were working well.  While the lock was filling there was a beautiful rainbow.

Rainbow at lock 37

 

 

Pot of gold in that field?

Sam and Dave went back up the flight with the other boat while Rob stayed to help us down the rest of the flight.  It had taken us just a few minutes over three hours, and we were easily moored in time for lunch. 

Community workboat moored near the bottom of the flight.  The volunteers had been hard at work cutting back offside vegetation.

Sponsors

 

When I made the soup yesterday, we had no idea how cold, wet and tired we’d be by now.  We weren't cold or wet, and not even particularly tired! – but it was nice not to have to make sandwiches.

Moored at the Queen’s Head – not the best spot.  Poor edge and too close to the pub garden.

The original plan had been to stay here and eat in the pub.  But tomorrow morning there is a temporary stoppage at Stoke Bottom lock while a paddle is repaired and an attempt made to lessen leaks.  Normally we wouldn’t mind the delay, but Dave needs to collect the car from Stone on Thursday – what if there is a problem with the repair and the stoppage goes on all day?  Or longer?   The forecast for the afternoon was not good, but fortified by our hearty soup we still had the energy for more locks.  We thought we'd best get the wet-weather gear on before we started.  It quickly became apparent it would be needed and it rained the whole way down the Stoke flight.

Ferns and/or liverworts in one of the locks, enjoying the conditions

We met just one other boat on the move, and we cheerily waved at each other as we passed.  We moored on the rings at Stoke Works, by the new housing and opposite the business park.  We lit the fire straight away to start drying out – Dave discovered his jacket was beginning to need reproofing and his jumper was damp.  The sun came out for a short while but the rain didn’t stop!  We briefly considered visiting the Boat and Railway, where we’ve never been before, but not for long – it was far too wet to be bothered.

3¾ miles, 35 locks.

Three tunnels

 Monday 7^th October; King’s Norton junction to Tardebigge top pound

The sky was clear-ish this morning and with the fridge off overnight, the batteries had pretty much kept their charge.  As Jess will be spending a lot of time inside on her own (which she hates when we are moving) we all went for a walk in the park before leaving.

Flying frisbee and St Nicolas’ church

While Jess was playing with another young dog we got chatting to the owner.  He knows the midland canals well, but from a fishing point of view rather than boating.  He is one of the fishermen who thanks boaters who pass properly - slowly, in the middle of the canal as they are usually fishing along the offside edge with poles, or close to the towpath side if not.  He is also fully aware that no boating equals no fishing, because the canals would quickly silt up and fill with reeds,  and he tells his grumbling colleagues so too.  He once competed in a match which started below Stoke Bruerne locks and continued for 70 pegs …. that must have been somewhat tedious to pass!  He said that on the Grand Union, in spite of the electro-fishing to remove the introduced zander, the effect on native fish has been terrible – for example, very few small roach are caught nowadays, because the zander polish off most of the fry before they have a chance to grow up.  A really nice chap, you could easily imagine having a pleasant evening in the pub with him.  I popped up to the little convenience store near the bridge by the water point, then we set off around 10.30.

North portal, Wast Hill tunnel, a boat's headlight dim in the distance

There was a boat coming, but it looked a long way away.  We were through in 31 minutes, getting a bit wet but not too wet, and having passed the other boat with neither touching the sides of the tunnel or each other.  The wind was cold but the sun was warming us up nicely. 

Swan family at the fishing lakes

At Lower Bittell reservoir the weed boat must have been through as there was less invasive pennywort than on last year’s trip, though there were lots of smaller bits floating about.  There is not usually much of interest on the reservoir, just a couple of swans and one great crested grebe today.

This pussy cat spotted something, but it wasn’t interesting enough for it to jump down to investigate

We stopped for lunch near the Crown Meadow arm, where the pennywort was already building up again on the offside.  We called in at Alvechurch marina for a bag of coal.  Dave didn't expect them to have our kind of batteries – they are 130ah rather than 110ah – and they didn’t.  However, he did get some engine oil which was on offer.  It was also a good opportunity to dump rubbish and recycling.

Stay!

On we went in the sunshine to Shortwood tunnel, which was a bit wet inside, and past the site of the massive landslip which happened the day after we passed though last year.  The slip has been dealt with, and it looks as though the drainage pipe to carry away rainwater before it floods down the bank is still in place.

Maybe the pipe is now a permanent feature

There are still small slips happening

The Anglo-Welsh base, now closed, appears to have occupants in the house but there doesn’t seem to be much else going on.

The pennywort has spread through Shortwood tunnel to the stretch of permanent moorings between the tunnels.  Sadly, it has made it through Tardebigge tunnel and down the first lock too.

Tardebigge tunnel was dry, and then there was just the top lock of the Tardebigge to do.  Great, a boat just above, it would be set for us … but no, this is one that must be left empty, and they had just done it.  This lock has narrowed somewhat (there is a Mikron short video showing the crew ‘unjamming’ Tyseley by all jumping at once) and now use is restricted to boats of width 6’ 10” or less.  We found a sunny mooring about mid-afternoon, and Dave set to washing and polishing the port side, washing the roof and bow deck, and then bar-keepering the soot and rust marks on the roof around the chimney.  He finished at 6.30, just in time to avoid a heavy shower.  Good thing he hadn’t been tempted to touch up paintwork instead.  Meanwhile I made soup for tomorrow and laid the fire – but it was so mild we didn’t need to light it this evening.

8½ miles, 1 lock, 3 tunnels.