The Generation Game

One of the Kingfisher narrowboat family, “Dai”, from “Jandai” contacted me after reading last week’s blog, asking if we were trying to do the whole waterways network in six months, so frantic was the pace we  had set ourselves.

Well the brakes have now been firmly applied (not sure you can do that on a narrowboat though!), and since Bank Holiday Monday we have been ensconced in a marina in Newbury, where we will now stay for the next two weeks. So in the last week we have travelled just 2 miles, and are now very comfortable thank you. One of the plus points being that we can now use our washing machine on a shoreline, without it keep stopping or cycling.

Our mooring over the Bank Holiday by the swingbridge in Newbury

This stopover is to enable us to be within striking distance of our daughter and her family, James and Livi, who arrived from New Zealand on Tuesday afternoon. Erica is having a belated 30^th  birthday party this Saturday and the following weekend we have her daughter “Livi’s” christening in Little Marlow. They are based in Marlow area, so this seemed a convenient location, though on doing the journey a couple of times now, our home in Welwyn Garden City was nearer Marlow, than here.  So we have gone from a life where we rarely know what the day of the week is, to planning buses, trains and  table reservations. We have had to reinvent a diary again such is the whirl of activity we find ourselves in.

The Harvison Gang with Pat and Livi at the arrivals gate at Terminal One

The other reason for being in a marina is so we I can give the Cat’s Whiskers some TLC. She’s had a good clean and polish, both inside and out, and between us we gave the gunwhales and rubbing strakes two fresh coats of black paint on both sides.

Roger admires his handiwork (Amazing what you can do with a jar of Nescafe)

Last Friday we ventured back home for the first time to see our tenants, book doctors and dentist appointments and pick up our car. It was a bit strange driving again, after 6 months, and only the second time we had been in a car, during that time.

Last weekend was, of course, another Bank Holiday weekend, so it was not surprising that it rained a fair bit on the Monday, though the rest of the weekend was quite warm and sunny, with the occasional shower. My pal Sid from and his wife Mave, visited us on the Monday and we took them from our mooring on the outskirts of Newbury through the town and on to our marina where we had lunch. I worked with Sid at John Lewis, and he had always shown a lot of interest in the project, so it was good to invite him and Mave aboard. They were on their way to a steam fair in Dorset.

The Wiltshire Wolds

I don’t particularly care for the unexpected, so I was delighted that our return up the 29 locks on the Caen Hill Flight at Devizes, last weekend, was every bit as pleasant as our passage down the Saturday before. Our plan, to be at base of the flight on Friday night, ready for the off, first thing on Saturday morning, proved a sensible move and  our premier locking crew of David and Caroline returned to The Cat’s Whiskers late Friday evening to make our ascent as painless as possible.

Dave and Caroline brought with them a third team member and we were delighted to pipe on board “Toby the Terrrier”, for whom this boating lark was a whole new experience. As it happens, Toby’s conduct was exemplorary, and the little fellow really seemed to enjoy the experience, though he was flat out on our floor when we finally moored in Devices Wharf later that afternoon.

Toby the Terrier on roof patrol

We shared our ascent with Bernie and Jenny on NB Varakei. They were two-handed, but promised even more help with the guests they were expecting for the weekend, though at 78 and 83, we didn’t expect their guests to be “hands on”.  They certainly did their bit though.

David & Caroline. Our premier locking crew

Devizes still retains the atmosphere of an old country market town, and the major moorings for the town, at the Wharf, means you are only minutes from the town centre. As luck would have it, we collided with the start of the Devizes Carnival celebrations. The opener being a grand concert in the local town park. So, yet again, chairs under our arms, we sought out some Sunday afternoon entertainment, and had a very enjoyable few hours, listening to a wide variety of music, in the warm sunshine.

We woke up Monday morning to a smell I knew very well. Wadworths were brewing and the smell of the malt permeated the whole area. Luverly! Since then we have slowly journeyed east  through the Vale of Pewsey and have just crossed back into Berkshire, where we are moored at Hungerford for the night. There have been lots of locks and we have befriended a number of boaters on our journey. We even saw another "Cat's Whiskers", without the apostrophe. I have heard of one other.

The Cat's Whiskers at rest in the Vale of Pewsey. If you squint you can see The White Horse on the hills

Snap!... but where is the apostrophe

Pat and I are unusual in that neither of us care much for fishing.  On most boats there is at least one fisherman, and no sooner have their boats moored up for the night, than the rod comes out (oooh missus!) and fishing commences. But though I am not a big angling fan, what I saw this morning has changed my mind a bit.  Whenever the crew of Narrowboat Bumble have pork chops they save the bones and then attach them to a line and dangle them over the boat all night. The result, as I saw for myself this morning, is a big catch of crayfish who attach themselves to the bones. They then fry the little critters, or boil them, or make soup, and they look to be good scoff. These are Signal crayfish, so the crew of Bumble are also performing a public service as this invasionary species should not exist is this environment, though they are rife in the Thames. And in the Kennet and Avon, it seems.

This Friday, we catch a train from these here parts and head for St Albans, to pick up our trusty old Citroen Picasso. It will be the first time I have driven a car since Easter and only the second time I have been in a car during the time we have been on the water. Must remember to drive on the left!

On our return with the car, we will be moored in a marina in Newbury for two weeks, so if any of you fancy a land-based visit, with a mini-cruise as an optional extra, then get in touch.

Way Out West

While Pat thinks the Kennet & Avon is a bit dull, compared to some of the other waterways we have travelled on this summer, I am slowly warming to its charms, albeit if only for the crazy sights we keep seeing as we have headed  west.

One craft, moored up just outside Devizes, had built a greenhouse on the front and had planted a lawn on the roof. It was quite green and verdant. Must make a great putting green, but God knows how they get the mower up there.

Who says you can't take your garden with you!

Then there was the “Skip”. Yes, folks, this was a regular skip, that an enterprising boater had used to make into a little boat, which he had fitted with an outboard motor. He was very proud of it, painted in its primary “Lego” colours, and he was taking it through a lock, so it must have been pretty stable.

Pat admires the floating skip

As as we entered Devizes I saw the slogan on a board at the end of a garden. “What if the Okie Cokie is not really what it’s all about!” How profound and wacky is that.

As for our navigation over the week, Newbury slowly gave way to the delights of the rolling hills of the Vale of Pewsey. We have been lead to believe the photo (below) that we took last Thursday, was of the famous “Watership Down”, which many years ago we walked over with our chums, the Scotts, (Dory & Chris), who visited us on Monday. As a big fan of the book, but not so much the film, I am happy to think it is true – it certainly fits the bill, and seems to be in the right part of the country.

Watership Down.... we think

Last weekend we duly fried again as the nation had its third slice of summer. We were in Devizes, in Wiltshire, where we descended the famous Caen Hill flight of locks. Here we said goodbye to Barry and Helen, who had been our travelling companions for the last 30 miles or so from Kintbury. They had moored in a marina a couple of miles outside Devizes, but walked down the flight on Saturday morning to say goodbye. We shared the rest of the journey with Peter and Helene, from Guildford, who were hiring narrowboat “Bath”, and needed to go down the flight on Saturday.

The previous evening all three of us had both moored at The Barge Inn, Honeystreet, right outside the pub. The hostelry is run by the local community and was featured on BBC last summer, “Village SOS”, with Sarah Beeny. The series looked at attempts by villages up and down the country to restore the fabric of their community via lottery grants. The pub was resurrected and is clearly successful. My verdict: they could look after the beer a bit better. One ale was just on the turn, and when I mentioned it, the reply was, of course, “well nobody else has complained”. Their other beer, called Roswell (not sure who brews it) was much better. As was the grub, which was quite acceptable.

We found Devizes to be a very attractive town which is dominated by the Caen Hill flight of locks and Wadworths Brewery. We also welcomed back to TCW some old friends of the boat, Dave and Caroline, from Gloucester, our “Locking Posse”, who finally got to have some time with us in the sunshine.

There are 15 locks on the Caen Hill flight; another seven at the bottom and  five at the top. It was a piece of cake with four helpers opening and closing paddles and setting up the locks. We passed only one other boat on the flight, which was quite surprising, especially being Saturday. The Caen Hill flight attracts huge number of “gongoozlers” (look it up in the dictionary) and they snapped away with their digital cameras as we dropped through each lock. They all wanted to ask the same old question and poor old Pete in his hire boat, beside me, could have been invisible.

"Gongoozlers" check out our progress on the Caen Hill Flight

We parted ways on Sunday evening, after an excellent roast in a local pub and three hours in front of the telly watching the closing ceremony of London 2012.

Roger sporting the latest in "must have" narrowboat wear - the exclusive "Cat's Whiskers" polo shirt

Gold Post Box in Bradford On Avon

We are currently in and around Bradford-On-Avon. Here we saw our first gold post box. This one commemorates Ed McKeever, the sprint canoeist who won gold last week. We were intending to cruise into Bath, before turning round and returning to Newbury, but a lock gate at one of the city’s locks is badly damaged, and is being repaired, but the navigation will not open again until this weekend. So we went into Bath yesterday by bus and had a great day. I hadn’t been there for several years, and we took advantage of the free walking tour and really enjoyed the experience. The sun shone as well. It’s a different story today and we went a few more miles, before winding at the Dundas aquaduct, in the driving rain. So now we are pointed east and ready to go back up the Caen Hill flight this weekend.

A Medal Winning Performance

Putting aside the exploits of Messrs. Ennis, Farrah, Rutherford and Pendleton at the weekend, I have patted myself on the back and awarded Pat and my good self an honorary Gold Medal this week for our sterling work navigating this part of the Kennet & Avon Canal, which is really the River Kennet from Reading to Newbury.

Sharing locks with Barry and Helen on "Midnight", our companions from Kintbury to Devizes

I thought I had got the hang of this boating lark, and to be fair a number of boaters warned us it would be demanding, but the journey from Reading to Newbury was very hairy, with the river still very high and flowing much faster than I remember the last time I was on it, some four years ago.

Most of the issues have come approaching locks. Many aof these have a fast flowing weir on their immediate approach, some right on the gates. Now I am used to this scenario, but while you are battling the flow, you have to moor the boat and let your crew (Pat) off. There have been a few leaps of faith from my “First Mate”, I can tell you on to very short pontoons.

 I think we have just been spoiled up to now, and have quickly learnt that on this waterway you can’t just assume that the next town along will have a suitable place to moor up and if it does appear to have services such as rubbish and water, they may not be available.  And the worst thing is, there are very few riverside pubs to try, especially as we enter Wadworth country.

Monkey Marsh Grass Lock

But this bit of the K&A does have its features. There have been two “grass” locks, which resemble the sides of a river bank, once you are in the chamber. It’s a bit of a change from bricks and the odd steel and concrete ones. These grass locks are the only ones on the network, protected as a “Site of Scientific Importance”, and are a bit strange to go through

And then there are the pill boxes that crop up every few miles. This was going to be the “tank line” in the Second World War, a natural obstruction that the Home Guard would defend in the event of a Nazi invasion.

Defending the "Tank Line" along the Kennet & Avon

So, a challenging week, which has become easier, as we move on to the canal section. Yesterday morning we met up with “Monty”, a jet black shire horse, that pulls a horse barge for tourists, out of Kintbury, a few miles from Newbury.

Pat gets friendly with Monty

He was magnificent, as was the barge he pulls, and a rare example these days of what would have been a common canal sight 150 years ago.

Monty earns his keep in around Kintbury

One of the main reasons for us to venture down the Kennet & Avon, was to check out the marina in Newbury that we are booked into at the end of August, when our daughter Erica, and her family, come and stay with us, on arrival from New Zealand. The marina is on the outskirts of the town, and quite comfortable, though the pontoon we will probably moor up to is a bit short.

Where there is a canal, you will often find the railway running alongside, and the line from Paddington to Bristol, hugs the canal from Reading, criss crossing it at various points all the way down to Bath. Monday morning at 9.45am we went under a railway bridge and above it stationery was a commuter train of three carriages. I always wave to trains (not sure why) and, surprise, surprise, the driver waved back.

Yesterday morning we were chugging along and the same train (the 9.45am) passed us on our right, and the driver tooted to us. This is becoming just like “The Railway Children” I thought. By the end of the week I should have all the customers waving handkerchiefs out of the window. I’ll tell you how I get on.

The boat continues to behave itself and we are piling on the miles; in fact today we topped 500 miles and 385 locks.  We still have a bit of a drip from the side hatch when it rains heavily, and one of the burners on our hob, keeps cutting out. We have cleaned it thoroughly and still have the same problem, otherwise all is well. The weather forecast is good for the weekend as we head for Devizes and the legendary “Caen Hill” flight of 26 locks over 2 miles.

Toodaloo  playmates.

Roger

Our Own Thames Barrier

Last week should have been dominated by our passage down the Thames from Oxford to Reading, and I suppose it was, but not in the way we had imagined.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, we had to wait around a bit in Banbury before we made our passage as old Father Thames had been in flood for weeks and the red warning boards were showing. This began to ease as the weather picked up so by the time we went through the last lock on the Oxford Canal last Thursday morning and as we swung into the river we were expecting the “normal stream conditions” displayed on the web site for Thames conditions.

Our last lock on the Oxford Canal

Ohhh no..... She took off like a rocket: we flew under the first bridge and as we approached the first lock at Osney, which is known as a tricky one to moor up at, it became very apparent that the boat was going to be nigh on impossible to stop – even in full reverse. It was a pretty hairy experience and Pat had to jump off as we bounced off the jetty and pull me slowly in. I was very glad of every one of those 43 horses under my feet that morning. However, I felt a whole lot better when the boat that came up behind us, had exactly the same issues and the one in front reported a similar docking.

Pat queues for Thames licence at Osney Lock (Always wear life jackets on rivers folks!)

Even though we pay a hefty annual licence to cruise the canal network, if you go on to the Thames, you have to pay separately and it is not cheap. We had planned a leisurely four to five day cruise from Oxford to Reading, but on finding they would charge us £38.50 a day for the privilege, we agreed to go for it over two days, paid the lock keeper, got our paperwork, and pressed on. Once through Oxford the current calmed down, the river opened up, and the biggest hazard were the skullers from the university rowing clubs and their coaches .

I had high expectations of this part of our odyssey, and I think both of us were a little disappointed with it. That’s no fault of the river. It is very relaxing, and for the most part undemanding. It is, of course, stunningly beautiful, especially the part downstream from Goring, where we were joined by dozens of red kites souring above us as we approached the outskirts of Reading. But mooring is a nightmare in any town you care to stop in. Cabin cruisers can pop in under a tree and moor, but not a 60ft narrowboat and I think Pat missed her lock keeping duties. And it has to be said, that a narrowboat is not the perfect vessel for a fast flowing river. Other narrowboaters we met said that after a few days you adopt a new mind set in dealing with rivers and their demands, and it has to be said we had superb weather all week so we saw it at its best. But to do 42 miles in two days in a boat like ours, meant two very long days at the tiller, in 30+ temperatures, so when we swung off the Thames at Caversham Lock, last Friday afternoon neither of us were too disappointed.

Somewhere around Goring on The Thames



Pat checks out the Red Kites flying over us as we enter Reading



Our mooring over the weekend was in central Reading, in a little loop, which was once a wharf that served the Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Factory. Considering its location, it was very quiet, and there was an abundance of wildlife to enjoy, even though we were surrounded by modern office blocks and a Homebase.

It was only two minutes away from a Wetherspoons and that is where we ended up at 8.30pm last Friday night to watch the opening ceremony of London 2012. We were joined by our boating neighbours Peter and Linda, on NB Bullfinch, who we had moored against the previous evening at Wallingford, and all was going very well, until five minutes to midnight when all the TV’s were turned off and we were asked, very politely to leave. So we had to hot foot it back to the boat to see Team GB make their entrance and the flame lit.

One of the major disadvantages of these flash hot spells are the insects that want to invade your space and feed off you. I have been bitten to bits over the last 10 days, mainly by horseflies, yet they leave Pat alone.  We’ve got stuff in our first aid box to relieve stings, but it is not that effective, so over the weekend we bought the strongest “after bite” Boots could offer us, as we hear they bite even harder on the Kennet & Avon.

I like Reading. It’s a town I know well. Especially Reading F.C., on the outskirts of the town on the M4. The club shirt is sponsored by Waitrose, and we held our John Lewis internal five-a-side tournament there for several years until I retired. I notice that hasn’t happened this year.  I also worked at John Lewis Reading, when it was called Heelas, for several months in the late 1980s and at the Waitrose branch over the river at Caversham, so finding our way around wasn’t much of a problem, though like so many towns they have knocked it around a fair bit. Ever-ready to absorb ourselves into local culture, on Sunday afternoon we went into the park above the canal, with our fold-up chairs, and watched the local town band. We also took an umbrella, which we had to press into action on a couple of occasions.

What could be more British than listening to the band on a Sunday afternoon

Our guests on Monday with Dorothy and Steve Woods. I worked with Dorothy at John Lewis Welwyn and we have a bit of a history with the Woods, so we were delighted to welcome them, especially as they had made the long journey from Suffolk to be with us for the day. And boy did we need them. A windy day, in conjunction with some strong currents and small landing stages at locks, saw them taking a very pro-active part.

With Dorothy and Steve Wood in our little basin in central Reading

We are currently in the middle of nowhere on the Kennet & Avon, between Reading and Aldermarston (Ban the Bomb I say! – You have to be of a certain age to understand that). The boat is surrounded on one side by six foot reeds and on the other by overhanging trees so it should be a very quiet evening. Should be in Newbury Wednesday or Thursday.

Toodaloo.

This Is What We Signed Up For

Yes folks, in common with most of you, (except in Scotland), we are, at last, experiencing summer conditions. Most of last week was spent in Banbury, where we moored in the town centre until Monday, and over the weekend we entertained my bestest friend John, his Partner Lorraine and their daughter Cara, whose picture is below. Cara has been on the boat once before, when we were moored at Trent Lock and complained that I never mentioned her in my blog at the time. So, Cara, I have mentioned you three times now, so hope I am forgiven.

Cara tries out the tiller on TCW

We took them north to Cropredy for the day, and had drinks at the Red Lion, before returning to Banbury. Everybody had a go at everything and they all seemed to enjoy the experience. On Sunday we entertained Sue and Geoff. I worked with Sue in John Lewis and got to know Geoff on our mini weekend breaks away in Europe.

We went the other direction with Sue and Geoff and Geoff was keen to pick our brains about boating as they are about to buy a house with a mooring and they are considering a cruiser to potter around at the weekends. While The Cat’s Whiskers is a long way from a cruiser, Sue was keen to experience “life afloat” and they both seemed to embrace the life, though to be fair, the weather on Sunday was glorious, so they saw the canal at its best.

Sue and Geoff joined us in Banbury on Sunday for the day

Last Friday we decided to pop down the cut, turn the boat around and get some water and empty our loos at the lock in the centre of Banbury. While we were busy doing our business who should glide by but actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales, in their boat “Peggy Thompson”, which, we found out later, is moored just up the cut from the town. These two are well known boaters and Timothy is often to be seen on waterways programmes on TV and in the press, championing the canals, so it was good to see them practicing what they preach. Just got to see David Suchet now to get the set!

So, at long lase, this is what we signed up for. The weather is now glorious, and we registered 34 degrees at 2pm today, which is something to do with the reflection off the water, I guess. It can’t be that hot. One passing boater even said, “I wish it would rain, I’m so hot”. After experiencing similar temperatures yesterday, we were up at 7am and away half an hour later. We set ourselves a gruelling seven-hour cruise today from Aynho to Thrupp. This is quite untypical of us, but we want to get on to the Thames while the weather is still settled, so we had to put the miles in. That should happen either tomorrow or Thursday sometime as we are only a few miles north of Oxford at present and a couple of hundred metres from “The Boat Inn” at Thrupp. “Morse” writer, Colin Dexter, is a regular at the pub and set one of his books, and later an episode on TV, “The Last Enemy”, around the pub, after a body was mysteriously found in the canal. Better watch my step!

Roger tries out The Boat Inn. Shame it was a Greene King pub

  

The Thames is back at its normal levels now, so we should be safe to navigate downsteam to Reading safely. We are doing in over four days and hopefully meeting Dorothy and Steve, some more of my John Lewis pals on Monday.

Brakes on in Banbury

When we lived in Welwyn Garden City we had a train company that served Hertfordshire and the northern Home Counties called WAGN. I think it was an acronym for “West Anglia Great Northern” but regular rail passengers joked it meant “We Are Going Nowhere”. That could well become the motto of “The Cat’s Whiskers” this week for, although our progress has been good, heading south on the Oxford Canal, we now know that once we reach Oxford (sometime next week), we could be there for a while.

For much of the Thames over its navigable length is in flood and the red boards are up at all the approaches. The same is true for most of the main river systems. So here we go again. We had days and days of staring at the Trent, through the rain in April, waiting for it to subside before we could get going, and history looks like it’s going to repeat itself. Weather experts are predicting a shift in the Gulf Stream and some more settled fine weather due next week, so we might be OK if we take our time.

It hasn’t been a vintage week, and events of the last seven days have been pretty mundane. I think the most exciting thing that has happened was to talk to another boater coming through a flight of locks with us, who told me that the previous evening he had pulled out a snake from his weed hatch. I assume it was dead, but I didn’t ask. We have slowly chugged south, had some good moorings, (and some quite decent beer, namely Purity) and are currently in Banbury, a town I already knew fairly well.

So the weather continues to dominate our travels, but we are keeping to our rough schedule and Thames-permitting we will be in Reading and ready enter the world of the Kennet & Avon over the weekend of 4^th & 5^th August.

I am able to predict this quite accurately as when I left John Lewis I was brought a super-dooper waterways mapping system  for my laptop and I use it every day. I sat down for an afternoon last week, when it was particularly wet, and mapped out a proposed route down the Oxford and the Thames to Reading and then down the Kennett and Avon to Bath and back to Newbury. It means that we can predict where we will be fairly accurately within a day or two and means that those of you threatening a visit can see where we are likely to be over the next couple of months. I’ve even factored in some rest days.

I must say I am enjoying re-visiting the Oxford Canal. I haven’t cruised the northern section from Napton to Cropredy and on to Banbury for nearly 20 years and I forgot how stunning the scenery was. Gentle, rolling, verdant hills populated by nothing but sheep. No houses, people or vehicles, and not many boats either, with every sweeping bend offering a new vista. Pat’s become a big fan and received valuable lessons last weekend in how to deal with a flooded flight of locks. And we finally got a day of sunshine on Sunday and I broke out the sunglasses for an hour or two.

A view from the tiller of the Oxford Canal, south of Napton

We spent a couple of days in Cropredy. It’s a “chocolate box” village, best known as the gathering every August when Fairport Convention and friends have a weekend’s festival in the village. Richard Thompson, one of its founding members, often performs, and Richard and I go back to around 1966/7, when his mum and mine worked together in North Finchley. I was drumming then and he rang me up to ask if I would be interested in joining his new band, which turned out to be Fairport Convention. I thought my printing apprenticeship was a bit more secure than taking a chance on a folk/rock group.

The Cropredy Festival is advertised everywhere

One of the best gadgets (as Pat would insist on calling it) I insisted on purchasing before we boarded TCW was a good digital radio and I went for an expensive portable Roberts that can take a memory stick. So if I feel like a bit of Fleetwood Mac, Elgar or even Fairport Convention I can download the album from the master database on a portable hard drive and listen to it through the radio. It works excellently and when it rains I just pop the radio in a carrier bag. Simples...!

One event of historic waterways importance that happened last week is that all boaters who live and cruise the nation’s canal network now have a new landlord. For British Waterways, who oversee most of the nation’s waterways, officially became the “Canals & Rivers Trust” on the 12 August. BW was one of the quangos that the coalition government busted up shortly after being elected and the new outfit, a charity, is positioning itself as “The National Trust of the Waterways”. So please, all you non-boaters, join the new organisation or our licence might double next year!

Somebody from C&RT has been busy with sticky labels in these parts



We are staying in Banbury now until the weekend when we are entertaining friends and family. Currently moored neared “The Tom  Rolt bridge”. Tom Rolt was an early waterways campaigner who wrote the book “Narrowboat” in the late 1940s. This book was instrumental in starting the revival of the inland waterways and founding of The Inland Waterways Association. The book chronicles his journies of his boat “Cressy”; a journey started just a 100 metres down from where we are moored, hence the bridge name.

The Tom Rolt Bridge in Banbury