The Grand Canal Tour 2014. An Early Start.

It is very rare for me to be awake at 04.30 and even to get out of bed, but the sun was shining and I wanted to take some early morning photos with no one about. So I walked down Paddington Basin and met a security guard doing his rounds there, plus a few early morning travellers going into the station.

An 05.30 view from the Horse Bridge.
 

All ready for the fray.
 

I wonder if all those air bubbles are there to keep the flotsam back? Hope that is cleared up later!

I hope they get this fixed shortly too!
 

 

After a late breakfast, Jo and Phil arrived just in time for the decorated boaters’ pageant, one of two competitions that I had entered in the Cavalcade; the other being the boat handling competition. Stronghold was only decorated with bunting, as I am not interested in winning this one, but it was a chance to charge the batteries and heat up the hot water. Some of the boats go for this event in a big way and are very successful. One boat even had a Nelsons Column erected, with a figure of Nelson on top and another had the Queen on the bow; then there was Boris on a bike on a third boat. We cruised through the Maida Hill Tunnel with no problem and then through the London Zoo and under ‘Blow Up Bridge’, where a gunpowder barge exploded some years ago and finally winded in Cumberland Basin. The return through the tunnel was not without incident, as I still had the bunting up. The sun was in my eyes as I entered the tunnel and it takes some time to get used to the darkness, consequently I got too close to the wall twice and had to stop and fend off to get back in the channel. I dropped my visitors off at the Horse Bridge, as I had to travel quite a distance to wind the boat and get back on the mooring. That was confusing, as I failed to recognise my mooring, because another passing boat had stolen my place. I contacted the Water Space manager, who arrived almost immediately and we moved the offending boat further down the line and affixed a ticket asking them to move, which they did later.

I had a walk up to the boaters' bar for a pint and met John Fevyer there briefly and offered to buy him a pint, but he was busy being in charge of Area 1 and actually refused a beer. It was not long before Adrian and Hillary turned up after their trip to Twickenham to meet up with some old friends and watch the Army v Navy rugby match. We had a few laughs and that was about the end of the day for me, having been up so early.

The Grand Canal Tour 2014. A Day With No Locks

A Day With No Locks

An leisurely start to the day, as we were in no hurry to get to Little Venice. If you arrive early, it appears that boats spend most of the day being shunted around and just hanging about. All the moorings were allocated this year, which is a great improvement on last years fiasco, when boats of differing lengths were moored next to each other in the order of arrival, which is quite a waste of mooring space.

It is just over 13 miles from Bull’s Bridge to Little Venice and there are no locks to break up the day, so although the going is easy, I tend to find it boring. Zavala set off about 11am and I followed about 15mins later, so they were out of my site on the trip, but in radio contact. I made a couple of stops on the journey to collect some kindling and then to chain saw up logs that I had collected previously and were cluttering up the cabin top. I don’t think they would have enhanced the appearance of Stronghold in the decorated boat parade! I had met Paul Garner on Destiny2 briefly, who Brian already knew and Paul invited me to a dim sum lunch at his favourite Chinese restaurant, called East Pan Asian, in Alperton. It was an excellent meal and wiled away a very pleasant couple of hours. The restaurant is above Loon Fung Chinese supermarket (a worthy rival to Wing Yip at Croydon) at the rear of Sainsburys.

Following Tarn to the mooring...............

 

..............................closely followed by Zavala and Destiny .


 

I arrived at the Delamere Terrace mooring about 6pm and found that I was to be moored next to  the tug Tarn, instead of Muttley. It seems that they changed places so that Dorothy and her sister on Tarn, could walk their three dogs more easily than being stern first in the pool, accompanied by the milling crowds that would be on the towpath over the weekend.

 

I was busy clearing the plastic bags off the propeller later, when Adrian on Serendipity introduced himself and said he was off for a pint at the WarwickCastle. I said I would see him there shortly, as it is the Victorian pub that I frequented when I was here last year and serves Doombar, one of my favourite beers. Adrian was with a crowd of boaters that had moorings on the Slough Arm and had wanted to get to Cavalcade last year, but were thwarted by a collapsed bridge on the arm. As he commented “It has taken us a whole year to get here!”

I believe they were going on somewhere else after the pub, so I said my goodbyes and turned in without having anything to eat, having had enough food at lunchtime to last the rest of the day.

The Grand Canal Tour 2014. A Few False Starts.

 

I have been planning an extended cruise since last year, which included Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice to start with at the beginning of May and then the BCN Challenge at the end of May.

All the entrants for the Cavalcade were invited by Andrew Phasey of St. Pancras Cruising Club to take part in two cruises the following weekend through the Olympic Park and then Bow Locks to Bow Creek, around the Isle of Dogs, Deptford Creek and back into Limehouse the following day.
This was a chance not to be missed and my application form went off first class the next day.

After the BCN Challenge, I had yet not decided where I was going, except in a northerly direction. However, I had a good two weeks to get to Windmill End on the BCN for the start of the challenge and am hoping to get down the Aylesbury Arm and maybe the Wendover Arm as well, on the way to Brum. The Ashby Canal is also on the agenda, but probably after Birmingham. I have passed by all these minor waterways in previous years, when time has been of the essence, so now is the time to give them some attention.

 The Grand Tour began on Wednesday 30^th April with a false start immediately. The favourite place to wind the boat after leaving the mooring is outside The Pelican pub, where it is wide and deep enough close to The Pelican piling, but at one end there is an unknown obstruction which stopped the engine dead. A weed hatch exploration was begun and whatever is was down there was not easily moved, so Dave Murray, my crew for the day, pulled the boat further down the mooring, which cleared space for the propeller to rotate. Now we were properly on our way, so we thought, but Zavala, who were our boating buddies for the trip, were waiting in Town lock with little sign of activity. There was a red board posted there and the top gate was chained up. The River Wey, below the lock seemed calm enough, so phone calls were made to the National Trust and Thames Lock and Tracy the lock keeper appeared shortly with the appropriate key to release us onto the river. On arrival at Thames Lock, the dreaded red board was again in evidence for the Thames between Shepperton Lock and Sunbury Lock, after which there were only yellow boards, “Stream Decreasing”. We decided to go, knowing that once beyond the Shepperton weir, the going would be much easier. Brian and Margaret on Zavala went first and I knew that if we lost radio contact, something had happened. All went well though, with full throttle applied through the weir stream and then more slowly into the Desborough Cut. Speed was fast in the current and through Walton and we were soon into Sunbury Lock and paying for the £10 transit licence to Teddington. It was then midday and we had until midday the following day to complete the trip, if we so wished.

Zavala at speed on the Thames.

 

Plenty of white water over the weirs!

 

The next incident occurred at Kingston, when I pushed the throttle control too hard and pulled the outer cable out of its fixing in the engine compartment. On investigation, I thought a tension spring had broken as well and some time was spent looking for this mythical object, but on reconnecting the cable in the appropriate position, all was well and we were soon on our way again to Teddington, where we locked through about an hour before high water on one of the highest tides of the year, 7.1 metres.

The crewman keeps a sharp lookout.

 

After an hour, we were at Thames Lock at the beginning of The Grand Union Canal, where the water was level on both sides of the lock, necessitating a short wait to be able to get under Brentford Bridge and then through the gauging locks to a mooring. My crew man Dave, insisted on buying me a beer, before he made his way home. Being an offer I could not refuse, we repaired to O’Brians, where a welcome pint or two were consumed with a meal before he departed on the bus for Kingston. I made my way to The Brewery Tap, where there is normally home grown music on offer, but it was a quiet night and I became absorbed with a Daily Mail article on the gaffes made by the Green Party’s farcical shenanigans trying to govern Brighton and Hove, which is very close to where I live.

 The following day, we planned to leave Brentford about 10am to tackle the Hanwell flight of locks to Bull’s Bridge. It had rained hard in the night, which might well have affected a later trip on the Thames, so we had made it in good time. There were two Black Prince hire boats moored there and as there was some movement on board at 9.30, we decided to move earlier and make the most of our advantage, otherwise all the locks would be set against us and would make for slow going. Progress was good in the intermittent rain, with Margaret valiantly preparing the lock ahead and Brian or myself closing the top gates of the lock below. We made it to Bull’s Bridge in 3 1/2 hours and had plenty of time to dry out and take it easy.

 

 

Easter Cruise with the BBC

or Tugboat Ray `.

I signed up at the last minute for the Byfleet Boat Club Easter Cruise, having been mostly inactive during winter hibernation. Not that I hadn’t been to Stronghold over that period, but not actively out on the waterway, so I was rather suffering from cruising withdrawal.

Eleven boats were signed up for the trip to Guildford and Godalming, stopping at The New Inn, Send on Friday night for a meal and visiting Hector’s Bistro at Farncombe for Sunday lunch, where places for 25 members had been reserved.

I eventually got to Send at 18.30, having expected to spend the night at the boat club, but on arrival there, I was informed that they had all left earlier, so I was on my own (nothing new) for the two hour trip to the pub.

The New Inn had changed hands since I had last been there and the decor had been improved slightly, but the range of beers had been improved considerably and one of my favourites, Doombar, was on offer, so I was happy. I ordered the Scottish mussels and expected similar to other Scottish mussels that I had had in the past. However, they were not and for the first time ever in a restaurant, I complained about the miniscule size of the molluscs. I was assured that they were indeed Scottish, but was offered a complimentary sweet in compensation, amounting to half the cost of the main course, which I considered to be a reasonable offer. Next time, I will have the enormous fish and chips!

The following morning, I accompanied Mick and Suzanne on their brand new boat Cranley, which Mick had brilliantly fitted out for them as Aquarius Narrowboat Fitters. Obviously, I had to take extreme care when entering locks as I did not want to be the first to mark the shiny paintwork – I left that to someone else and indeed that someone, who shall be nameless, actually did!

 

It's very hard work, this locking business!

 

I moored up on Guildford water meadows with John and Sue on Corn Dolly on the outside and it was agreed that I should go with them to Farncombe the following day, as mooring there is limited. This was a good decision for me as it turned out later.

The trip to Farncombe was without incident and all fifty of us sat down to a hearty roast lunch, which was good for Hector’s, as it was now raining heavily and customers would have been scarce under the circumstances.

All the boats left in mid afternoon, again in heavy rain, but as I was only crewing, I had the chance to stay in the dry until we came to a lock and although I didn’t get quite soaked to the skin like John, I was pretty wet when we arrived back at the meadows. Needless to say, my fire was soon coaxed into action and I spent the evening warm and toasty.

I cruised back to Byfleet with Corn Dolly as far as Papercourt lock, where a cruiser was on the lock lay-by and I asked if he intended locking through, to which he replied in the affirmative “eventually”, as he had broken down. In my usual generous manner, I asked if he wanted a tow to Pyrford Marina, where his boat was based, which he accepted. The alternative was for him to bow haul the boat two and a half miles, which I estimated would take several hours, whereas by boat it would take about one and a half hours. After locking through with Corn Dolly, the cruiser locked through and the tow started on a very short line. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the cruiser steered and all went well until the footbridge with scaffolding after Worsfold Gates, where the top frame of the windscreen suffered some slight damage. As the guy said later, “It was OK on the way up”, but it appears there were four on board at the time and the river section had been rising during the constant rain. As is normal on any weekend, there were plenty of gongoozlers out at Pyrford lock and we both got through the lock together, which was even easier than Newark lock.

Leaving Newark lock. (photo by Suzanne Wilson)

I was rather worried about getting the cruiser through the narrow gap into the marina, having not done so well last year with Rowan, but this time I took it far more slowly and all went well on the short tow line. The reception committee were there on the jetty to start work straight away and I left them to it and said goodbye. I forgot to ask the guy for an address to send the salvage invoice – oh well, next time maybe!

The weekend finished back at the clubhouse downing a few beers with Mick, before cruising back to The Pelican moorings in the morning. A good start to the season.

 

BMC Engine Starting Problem Solved.

Ever since I bought Stronghold, I have had starting problems with the BMC 1.5 engine as soon as the weather starts to get colder. Despite trawling the internet and all relevant solutions offered therein, nothing seemed to work. As most BMC owners will know, you are advised to clean out the carbon from the hole where the heating element fits, but no one stresses just how important this is to solve starting problems. I had changed the heater plugs a couple of years ago and there was a minor improvement after attempting to clean out the hole where the element goes in with an 11/64 drill. However, this is difficult to achieve for several reasons:-

1. It is almost impossible to twist the drill with your fingers and putting it in a drill chuck with a heavy drill on the end, risks breaking the drill off in the engine block, with dire consequences.

2. Holding the end of the drill with pliers is extremely awkward, because the injector pipes get in the way of the pliers.

3. The drill needs to go right into the hole, leaving only 3/4 inch protruding from the block, which leaves very little left to hold.

Having just acquired a lathe, I decided that a drill soft soldered into a ½ inch diam steel rod would give me something to grip with my fingers. Better still, a 5/32 and then an 11/64 drill would enable the carbon to be removed from the hole in smaller quantities, so making the tool easier to turn by hand and if it was knurled, much easier to grip with the fingers. So I made up the tool illustrated.

I checked that the removed heater plugs were working, using one of the batteries, before reaming out the carbon in the element holes, smaller drill first, with a little grease on to contain the carbon. Even though the tool is quite long, it did not impinge on the injector pipes. Had it done so, I intended sawing it in two.

The heater plugs were replaced in the block, with some copper grease on the threads, and re-connected to the circuit. Now came the moment of truth. The ambient temperature was about 10 deg C. The heaters were switched on for 30 secs and the throttle set to half open. Imagine my delight and surprise when the engine fired up immediately!

I never realised until now, how important that clearance around the heater element was. The carbon must have been restricting the effectiveness of the heater element for nearly all, if not all of its length, because after the thread was released, there was still some resistance when extracting the plug from the block. This is not really surprising, as the heater element is .125” diam. and the clearance around it is only .023” either side, so it would not take long to clog up with carbon.

I think this is now going to be an annual ritual before winter sets in.

Banbury Canal Day 2013

Having collected my boat from Bossom’s Boatyard at Port Meadow, nr Oxford, I returned to the Oxford canal via Sheepwash channel and Isis lock to moor in Jericho for a long awaited visit to The Olde Bookbinders Arms, but I never went there after all. I paid a visit to The Jericho Tavern, which I had read was good on someone else’s blog (was it Herbie, I wonder?) I can’t say that I was impressed. It just did not have that more intimate atmosphere of the Bookbinders.

 

I made it to Thrupp the following day and made enquiries as to the whereabouts of Maffi. That paid off, as he cycled down to find me and we spent the evening in The Boat with his mate Colin, a continuous cruiser, from nb Dr. Bradley’s Linctus, where we mostly talked about boats.

 

Peter Darch paid me a visit in the morning and suggested that I take Stronghold up to The Rock Of Gibraltar later, where he would meet me with Escape in readiness for the trip to Banbury, via Lower Heyford the following day. We then leapfrogged up the Oxford canal to Banbury to my allocated mooring below the lock, along with other boats from Thrupp Canal Cruising Club.

 

The following day, I took Stronghold up to Sovereign Wharf to re-fuel, but it was closed, so I had to wind in the arm and return to my mooring. The following day, I took containers up to Peter’s boat and we both took them to be filled, while he winded his boat in readiness for the return journey. Ray at Sovereign asked me if I wanted to pay any tax, to which I replied “Not really, as this is going to fuel my winter mooring.”

 

A tug called “Firefly” was on a reserved mooring and had to be moved, but the crew could not start the Kromhout hot bulb diesel engine, so Peter then had to tow them down through the lock and then go another half mile to wind again. On his way back “Firefly” passed him under power, so had eventually managed to start the thing, much to his annoyance.

Kromhout hot bulb engine on Firefly.

 

 Kathryn Dodington passed through Banbury earlier and we had a good old chat about her trip and what I had been up to the past couple of weeks.

 

I heard from Kathryn later that she had passed the NBT pair, so I made contact with them and walked up the cut to the next lock to join forces. As we approached the straight section, in Banbury, where all the boats were moored, Barry leapt off and said to take the pair through, while he did the lift bridge and lock. All went well until we got to the lock where the butty came up on the inside and wedged both boats in the gap – and another boat was rising up in the lock at the same time – oh well, I was a bit out of practice after a week on my boat! A little later, I loosed the butty off to moor up and stopped her by wedging the motor bow against the bank. I’ve not seen this done by anyone else, but it seems to work OK for me. We went to Ye Olde Reindeer later and quenched our thirst with Hook Norton beers in the Globe Room at the back.

 

Excellent Pub and Thai Next Door.

Sunday dawned chilly and misty, but gradually warmed up to a beautiful sunny day, which brought out the crowds in their thousands, just like the previous two years that I had been here. I did my three hour steering duty in the morning, from the water point at the lock to Sovereign Wharf, where passengers disembarked and more boarded, then on to the winding point at the arm and then return to Sovereign and the water point at the start. There were four boats this year instead of the usual three and each one was packed with the maximum of ten passengers. There must have been at least a one hour wait for trips at Sovereign all the time I stopped there. On my last trip Roger came on board to learn the route, as he had not skippered there before and he was to follow me in the afternoon.

I Set Off From The Water Point. (Photo by Robin Williams)

It Is Very Busy.

Peter Winds His Water Taxi.

Balloons Everywhere.

 

In the afternoon, a pair of hotel boats came through and I had a brief word with the captain, who was the guy I had words with at Marston Doles last year, as we were bringing the loaded butty up the lock immediately behind the motor, even though Barry had asked one of his crew first. He did not remember me, needless to say!

 

Later, Vic and Linda came through on “Lindy Lou” on their way to the winter on the K & A. Only a few words passed between us, as they had  a tight schedule to keep to, but they are still enjoying the continuous cruiser life, without a home mooring.

 

Peter and I went off to a Chinese/Thai restaurant and on the way back I was telling him the tale I had heard at the BCLM recently about the butty boat called “Fanny” and the wife who steered it, hating the name of the boat, so the name on the stern was always covered by the little mat they always used to stop the ash cants getting dirty. As we entered Banbury bus station, I got to the part where the toll clerk used to wind her up by saying, “Come on Missus, show us yer Fanny.” A woman passerby heard this and made some comment, obviously thinking that it was directed at her. Ooops!

 

Monday was time to backtrack south, so Peter and I did the usual leapfrogging down the locks as far as The Rock of Gibraltar, where I had a quick word with Kevin and Ingrid of nb Columbia. Peter arrived first and headed back home with Anne, only to return for me later to have a meal with them at home, complete with Welsh cheese from The Cheese Boat to finish with – delicious!

The Rock of Gibraltar.

He returned the following day and we continued back to his mooring just above Kidlington Green lock, while I went on through Dukes Cut until I met up with Nuneaton and Brighton again just above Iffley lock. I accompanied them to Reading, where the pair were left for a crew change, while I continued back downstream toward Shepperton and the Wey.

All Alone at Tesco Mooring, Reading.

 

I was aiming for The Bounty at Bourne end, where I had an entertaining night the last time I passed by. The weather was horrendous, with rain and strong cross winds, just like this time last year. Eventually, I reached The Bounty in the dark, with headlight and full navigation lights on. Fortunately, there was a vacant mooring outside the pub, but few people were there and those that were, were watching footie on the TV, so it was not such a good evening and no atmosphere. Think  I will try The Spade Oak next time, as I heard from another boater that it was rammed on that same night.

 

Passing nb Merchant moored near Staines, I saw smoke arising from the chimney, so moored alongside for a chat and coffee with Chris Iddon, who I had met on the GU two years ago. He is now moored there at Tims yard for the winter and is able to trade peat and diesel from his mooring, which is well worth knowing for the future.

nb Merchant Selling Peat and Diesel.

 

Finally, I have to say that this was the best ever five week trip that I have done on my boat so far. There never was a dull moment; I don’t think I spent more than two or three evenings on my own for the whole time I was out – it was brilliant!

2013 Autumn Coal Run

Oxford Open Doors weekend passed without incident in rather inclement weather, although the rain held off that had been forecast. This was the third year I had steered one of the trip boats and much of what went on can be read here from the previous year. http://nbstronghold.blogspot.co.uk/2012_09_01_archive.html

Stronghold was booked in to a mooring at Bossom’s Boatyard, Binsey for two weeks, while I did my stint with the Narrow Boat Trust on Nuneaton and Brighton, loading mixed fuels on the pair of boats and then taking them to the Black Country Living Museum for the weekend.

 

I was due to join the boats at Awbridge on the Staffs and Worcester Canal, but heard from the previous captain, Steve Morgan, that there was a problem with the Lister engine on Nuneaton, which caused the pair to grind to a halt at Milford Bridge on the Staffs and Worcester, some 2 miles west of Great Haywood.

Subsequent investigation by our usual Lister expert, showed that the engine had sheared  a cylinder head stud and repairs could take a few days, plus the weekend and a definite date for completion was not forthcoming, so all I could do was to keep the crew informed of progress as it happened, hoping that none of them had pre-booked rail tickets for the following day. Fortunately, none of them had done that and also there were several days in hand before the boats were due for loading.

This was to be my first “command” of the pair, without the presence of either of my mentors, John or Barry, so I was a little nervous about taking over the responsibility. Although my crew were experienced and I had sailed with them before, I had no other captain to refer to if things went wrong. I need not have worried, as we all gelled into a good team on the trip and they gave me excellent support.

I was also concerned about the indecisive nature of the engine repairs, which could take just a day or two, or even until the end of the week and not knowing what progress was being made, added to my feelings of insecurity.

 

I was also in a quandary, as I did not wish to twiddle my thumbs on a mooring alongside Port Meadow for what could be several days outside Oxford and no pub for quite a long walk. However, I decided that a trip further up the Thames would keep me busy and somewhere that I had wanted to explore for the last few years, so I took off that afternoon and spent the evening on two pints of Wadworth 6X at a very reasonable price in The Ferryman Inn at Bablock Hythe. Although they had Wi-fi there, I had to sit beneath the TV to get a reasonable signal. Luckily, no one was watching TV at the time!

I cruised up as far as The Rose Revived at Newbridge in the pouring rain, where I could get a phone and Wi-fi signal in the pub. It is quite an upmarket place and I was dressed in the usual scruffy boater’s outfit and Drizabone coat and soaking wet to boot, so I did feel a little out of place. The news was good for the engine, which had been repaired that morning, but not so good for me as I was now 12 miles and 5 locks from Port Meadow. It was time to make a run for it at full speed, so that I could catch a train to Stafford the following morning.

I had arranged to meet up with Colin Wilks at Stafford, so that we could share a cab to Bridge 105, via Tesco to stock up. All went well and we spent the night on board until David Thompson and Graham Roberts joined us the following morning. The back end cloths were folded on the top planks, as advised by David. I had briefly seen this done on You Tube and it proved to be a very easy and efficient way of doing the job. This was to be the first of several techniques that I was going to learn on this trip.

All went well the following day, with no problems with the engine and we made it to The Fox and Anchor at Cross Green, which is still on the Staffs and Worcester, despite their web site positioning it on the Shroppie!

 

At the end of the day.

 

The following morning Mouse (Michael Daltry) appeared on his bike on the towpath and watched us pass by. I was the only one who had met him before, but even I did not recognise him in his cycling gear and helmet – how embarrassing!

 

The butty ‘ellum was unshipped at Wightwick Mill lock and was returned to it’s rightful place with use of the Pull-Lift suspended from a bridge, as has been described in previous blogs. Once again, the point of balance has to be just right, to get it back into its pivot holes.

 

We pressed on to Dimmersdale Lock, where there was a winding hole just below the lock, where we had to turn the boats individually, before reversing another half mile to John and Jenny’s coal yard. I took the motor and the butty was bow hauled by the rest of the crew, neither of which was easy, but we made it in reasonable time on Friday afternoon and were now back on schedule.

We said goodbye to Graham and David as they were whisked off to the station by John, as he was on his way to deliver a load, so we were now down to three for loading, which I was rather concerned about, but we need not have worried as John managed to change a delivery and could help us out, for which we were all grateful.

Yet another tonne!

 

The stevedores take a break.

 

I took to John and Jenny immediately, as did the others on the crew and despite the hard work of loading, there was a lot of humour bantered about over the weekend. A few visits to The Bell confirmed the humorous interactive relationship between us all.



I was pleased that Steve Morgan answered the call for help and Steve Green & family joined us unexpectedly to assist with loading too and although there is limited access to the loading area, they were able to relieve others to make the job go so much faster. John Jackson was able to load tirelessly, as he is so used to it. It took between 10 and 15mins to load 1 tonne and it was important to stack the bags evenly in the hold so that they did not build up to become an unstable load that could move when the boats were under way, or when they were trodden on. John was the expert loading advisor and Mouse was appointed loadmaster and made a very good job of it too. Even after working on both boats, he volunteered to load 9 tonnes onto John’s boat Roach, whilst we clothed up the pair – oh to be young again!

The Green family supervise loading........

 

and even start issuing orders!

We eventually pulled the pins on Sunday afternoon and made our way towards Compton for the night, where we were due to meet Terry Woodley. All was going well on a bright afternoon until we ran aground in the middle of the cut one lock below our destination. Someone was on the bank and could let water through the lock above to refloat us. The same happened in the next pound and we were all on board wondering how to cope. There were no volunteers to paddle to the bank but Mouse managed to row the butty over and get a bike off to cycle up to the next lock. We could see a figure in the dusk waiting for us on the towpath and wondered if that was Terry. Sure enough it was him and we had kept him waiting for nearly two hours. He was welcomed aboard and we found a deep mooring for the night, before retiring to The Swan for beer and a Chinese restaurant for food.

The following morning, the Wolverhampton 21 loomed ahead, which would take a whole day to achieve with its single locks. Previously, a boat owner called Richard from nb Dream Maker gave me his phone number and suggested that I ring him if we needed any help locking up. He turned up on his bike that morning, without even being asked and was a great help all the way to the top, so many thanks once again.

Colin steers and Richard lock wheels.

 

I asked Colin to steer the motor first and when I said that if he got the snubber around the blades, it was traditionally his turn to get in the water and clear it, the look of fear on his face had to be seen! Mouse took over the afternoon shift and because neither of them had steered a loaded pair before, I had to brief them on the technique, but they both did a first class job and the propeller remained clean all day.

"Come on Colin, it's my turn on the motor!"

 

The first two pounds were fairly long, so the motor went up first and then towed the butty through. After that, the pounds were very short and the same technique caused the motor to ground, because we were taking two locks of water out of the pound, so water had to be run though the lock above, which just compounded the problem further ahead. What to do? By this time a queue was beginning to form behind us, so I decided to let them through. We then tried tying all our lengths of rope together to make up a very long snubber, so that we only had one boat in a pound at the same time. Unfortunately, there just was not enough line to do that, although the motor was closer to the lock above and there was less chance of it grounding. By this time, John Jackson appeared on his bike to see why all the pounds were empty, but he did not bring any extra line with him! By now, we were only two locks from the summit level, so continued to the top lock as we were. An alternative, suggested by some “nose in the air know all” on the bank, was to bow haul the butty through all the pounds. As the butty boat was now close to 40 tonnes, none of us thought that was a very helpful idea, as it would probably contribute to heart attacks all round!

I learned useful technique from John on that trip and that was how to stop the bow hauled butty before it hit  the cill in the empty lock. When it is about 6 to 10ft from the cill, draw one top paddle half way up. This achieves three things, a) it stops the boat, b) it holds the boat against the cill, c) it assists in closing the bottom gate. I have used this method several times since on my own boat, when I take the engine out of gear as it enters the lock, before I get off and go to the top of the lock and half draw one paddle. No need for a line off, but the speed of the boat has to be just right.

Terry gets his hand in.

 

It took us eight hours to finally get to the summit level, where we said goodbye to both Richard and Mouse. They both had to cycle back 9 miles in the dusk to Awbridge, but it was all downhill. We moored in Broad St. Basin, as advised by Barry and John. This was a secure area in the middle of Wolverhampton, with a lockable gate. There were showers, water point and an Elsan disposal as well as a night club in the old FMC warehouse, which soon made itself felt by the head banging sound from within.

 

Well packed into Broad St. Basin.

 

We followed John and Jenny to the Great Western pub soon after a meal and enjoyed some well deserved beer in this heritage pub close to the rail station.

It was only about 3 hours to the Black Country Living Museum from our mooring and it was Terry’s turn to have a steer of the motor along with Colin as mentor. There were no locks to negotiate on this stretch, although there were some tight bends as I found out steering the butty. Terry had previously had a fair stretch of steering the butty and soon got the hang of it. Of the two boats, the butty is the most strenuous one to steer, because of the size of the rudder, which must be close to a square metre.

 

Terry's turn on the motor.

 

Before we left the main line, we stopped to have drinks (non-alcoholic for a change) with John and Jenny, just above Factory Three Locks, as they were off to make a delivery and go through the Netherton tunnel to moor close to Ma Pardoe’s, aka The Olde Swan at Netherton. .

It's goodbye for the moment.

 

We were all little envious, as I was the only one who had previously been there and it is a CAMRA Heritage Pub, which is well worth a visit. We continued towards the Black Country Museum and into the arm to wind in the entrance by the lift bridge, where we contacted Nick Wolfe, who had a prime spot for us at the back of the Bottle and Glass pub.

Discussion ensued about which pub to visit that evening and I worked out that Ma Pardoe’s was only about two, miles as the crow flies. As we could not go in a straight line, we took a wrong turning and ended up at a giant Tesco. I nipped in to buy something, while the other two waited outside. As I was leaving the store, Colin phoned to ask where we were, as a passerby had said that it would take at least 45 mins to walk to the pub and it would be easier to get a cab. I asked a woman on the escalator where this Tesco was and after giving me a funny look, I had to explain that we had come by boat to the BCLM.

“We’re at Berntryielan” she said.

“Sorry, could you repeat that please” said I.

“Berntryielan”, she repeated.

“Could you say that more slowly please” I said again.

 “Bern Trey Eilaan”.

“Oh, Burnt Tree Island,” I said.

“That’s what I said in the first place.” She replied!

“You did indeed, but I’m from daaan saaaf so, sorry to be so thick!” I should have replied.

So, eventually we got to Ma Pardoe’s and what treat that was. Not only was the beer between £2.20 and £2.80 a pint, but the food was excellent. We finished our meal before John and Jenny arrived and I think we eventually got back to the boats through an early mist, or was it just a haze?

The famous Ma Pardoe's.

 



Colin left the following morning, but Terry stayed on until Friday. We did some tidying up and Terry went walkabout around the museum. I met up with my daughter at Mad O’Rourkes Pie Factory at lunch time and found out that beer prices there were the same as further south, but an interesting pub, with lots of Black Country memorabilia and interesting food, including battered chips and Desperate Dan Cow Pie – complete with horns. A certificate was issued to anyone who could eat a whole one.

In the meantime, while I was out enjoying myself, Terry set about polishing the brasses, which had not been done for some time and had completed the lot by the time I returned.



Friday came and Terry departed, only to be replaced by Barry and John later in the day. We went off to The Fountain that night for a meal and beer, which was the usual Midland prices as was the food. The Fountain is famous as the home of ‘The Tipton Slasher’, a bareknuckle fighter of distinction in the 19^th century.

Most of Sunday was taken up with talking to various people around the museum and back at the boats. I got talking to Nick Wolfe about clothing up and use of the uprights used to make the top planks more rigid, as well as different ways of tying top strings. I also talked to Blossom on nb Darley and watched him tie up his side cloths, using uprights too, of course. I still have a lot to learn about clothing up, but feel I am getting there.

Barry, John and I had a visit to The Pie Factory for a meal and they both opted for the Cow Pie, which would have been a challenge for me, but they both coped right to the end and received their certificates.

 

John relishes Desperate Dan's Cow Pie.

 

Well satisfied customers.

 

I met up with Henry Johnson again, the last time being at Braunston Historic Boat Rally, but then I did not know his name. He is related to Alice and Tom  Lapworth, who also put in an appearance. I’m not sure what his experience is, but it’s enough for Malcolm Braine to entrust him with Cactus, which Malcolm has owned for 50 years. I was fortunate enough to meet Malcolm after all those years of reading about him, so he is one of my heros. I managed to get some pics of his 15hp Bolinder, while I was there.

Malcolm Braine, standing centre, talking to Henry Johnson on Cactus.

 

 

 

!15hp Bolinder in Cactus.

 

 On my last night, we went again to The Fountain, but the music was so loud, that we could not talk and although we tried a few other pubs, they either had loud music playing or there was no decent beer. We returned to the BCLM and joined the other boaters in the Bottle and Glass until 10pm, when they closed.

The following morning, Dave Thompson gave me a lift to Wolverhampton station and I just managed to catch the train to New Street, where I got the train back to Oxford, and so to my boat, which was still secure on it’s mooring.

After a weekend at Banbury Canal Day (more of which later), I caught up with the pair at Iffley Lock on the Thames and travelled with them as far as Reading, where there was to be a crew change. It found it strange to be travelling in the same company, yet apart on my own boat. On this part of the trip, the VHF radios were put to good use, so I could keep in contact, even though I was often far behind or ahead. I could also get ahead when approaching a lock and ask the lockie to prepare the lock in readiness for the pair, which saved a little time.

On the far side of Iffley lock we experienced The Prince of Wales, which was a first for me, especially as there was Wadworth 6X on offer and the food was very good too. I remember saying to a bloke that Barry was talking to in the bar “I’m sure I know your face.” To which Barry replied “You should, he is the lock keeper!” An excellent and welcoming pub that deserves a return visit.

I finally said goodbye to John, Barry and Lawrie at Reading, having thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSOJkGpdHiE&list=PLYB1bILo6eLMG5GesebZErOiKlKCrv2kl&index=89