Today We Went Shopping And We Bought….. 10th May

Great Linford to Fenny Stratford

A perfect day for cruising, so that’s what we did, well for the morning. The hawthorn hedges are starting to turn white, yesterday their aroma was stronger than today, maybe that’s because we were in the countryside more yesterday.

The route the canal takes through Milton Keynes is very rural and only the number of modern road bridges crossing it and outcrops of rather ugly houses give it away. At Gifford Park services we passed NB Valerie, the hose was out but we couldn’t see Jaq to say hello, so we trundled past. Most of the recognised visitor moorings seemed fairly empty whilst elsewhere there were plenty of boats. This is the first time we’ve passed Campbell Park and there has been any space, in fact today we could have had a choice of where to moor with only one boat on the off side moorings.

We pootled along under bridge 84 which in the winter of 2014/15 was closed for months to be rebuilt. This kept us south for longer than originally planned that winter. Today it still looks good whereas others along the stretch have quite scary cracks in them. After a couple of hours we pulled in at the end of the moorings at Fenny Stratford, this end was closer to the shops we wanted to visit.

Fenny Stratford has quite a reasonable sized retail park nearby, within walking distance of the canal. First port of call was B&M to purchase new folding stools. We had left the three on board Lillian, so new ones were needed. They aren’t the most comfortable of seats, but once I add an extra pad to the seat I’m hoping they will improve. We have been missing them, especially Mick who now we had new ones could get his hair cut on the towpath again.

Tescos let us down, they had really good door mats the last time we came through, but today they weren’t up to scratch. So onwards to Ikea. Jaq’s last post (NB Valerie) had described a visit to Ikea in 2011 and the route that Les had taken her by holding her hand and running across the busy roads, scrabbling through bushes to reach the giant blue and yellow building. We’ve only been once before by foot and had a similar experience, today we were going to try our best not to get flattened so studied our google maps closely. That didn’t really help, one underpass and a crossing reduced the number of exceedingly fast roads to cross, but then we still had the two lanes at a roundabout. This was my first excursion without crutches and I wasn’t about to run anywhere even if Mick held my hand, so we had to wait for a suitable gap to appear followed by a scramble through a hedge to reach the car park.

Before anything else we headed straight to the restaurant mainly so that I could have a sit down, whilst we were there we found ourselves filling up with meatballs, oops! Then the list came out and we decided that there was no need to walk all the way round the showroom, which was a mistake as kitchen utensil hanging rails are found in the kitchen department not the market place!

Plenty of storage boxes were measured to check that they’d fit where needed, we now have all our nightlights in a box (except the lid won’t close). A new big sized roasting dish, extra plates, some new bed linen, we worked through the list crossing items off,. We now had a full trolley and three Ikea bags one already full with stools, so instead of borrowing a trolley like Les and Jaq did we got the number of a taxi firm and rang them.

 

We definitely now live in a different world. Once Mick booked the cab he then kept receiving text messages to say that the car was on the way, it’s make colour and registration number, that it was a minute away and would we like to watch it’s progress with their app! It all worked fine but being told ‘It’ll be five minutes’ would have sufficed. Dropped off at the end of the lane close to the boat we only had a short distance to walk heavily laden. Now where to put it all, well that was easy apart from the new roasting dish, I think we need an extra shelf in a cupboard.

There was a space a little further away from the road so we moved Oleanna up waving at the lady in the end house who waved back and Tilly headed off to explore. One of the new stools was put out onto the towpath and my boyfriend soon returned, replacing the long haired old chap I’ve been sharing Oleanna with for the last month. That’s better!

 

0 locks, 6.34 miles, 1 glorious sunny day, 2 layers less, 3 stools, 2kg sawdust, 0 mats, 7 storage boxes, 1 roasting tin, 1 hanging rail, 8 clothes hangers, 4 plates, 1 duvet set, 1 sheet, 1 bottle elderflower, 2 large meatballs with chips, £3 well spent, 1 waving lady, 2nd Fenny mooring, 1 barber back from sick leave, grade 3, 1 boyfriend.

FOR SALE £59,950

 

 

Today Lillian has gone on the ABNB website, it’s a strange feeling.

ABNB Link

Mayhem. 9th May

Grafton Bridge to Great Linford

Our mooring last night was surrounded by lambs and today we’ve carried on seeing numerous offspring as we cruised.

The first goslings and cygnets today along with numerous ducklings. Tilly has been grounded when we have young near by as we don’t want her falling in or encouraging them to play with her! This has meant her playtime tonight has been curtailed somewhat.

 

As we were about to pull out this morning a procession of boats appeared around the bend, once two had gone one way and another the other I pushed to bow out and walked up to the stern just as another boat came into view. All of a sudden we seemed to have joined the M25 of the canal world. In a long line we all processed on towards Cosgrove Lock. Here we passed NB Pengalanty the cratch repair boat. Allan has covered quite a distance, for him, since we last saw him in Braunston, we slowed to say hello but there was no sign of anyone on board, anyhow he’d most probably not recognise us without Lillian.

Approaching the lock there was a tail back and the boat in front of us was starting to reverse to let a boat past that had just come up the lock. Ahead two boats were entering the lock, so we pulled in where we could and I hopped off to go and lend a hand. NB Grace had had a lazy morning and were starting to descend. Our paths may cross again when we are all down in London.

A chap was on the water point below, we checked that he didn’t want the lock, neither did anyone else, so it was refilled for us and the boat ahead. More boats were pulling up behind, really hope not everyone is headed for London! A C&RT lady walked up to the lock and started to chat to the people from the other boat, she was very chatty asking how long they’d had their boat for, where they moored etc. But I could see through this and when there was the next lull in engine and lock noise I could hear her patter that we have heard numerous times up near Nottingham about becoming a friend of the waterways. Leaflets were handed out, but no promises of money from either boat.

As we opened the gates it was obvious that there were two boats waiting to come up, so both boats started to exit the lock, picking up crew as they went. This is when the chap on the water point decided to reverse back up the cut in front of us and at the same time in front of the oncoming boats! Reversing isn’t that easy and he certainly made it look very hard, in fact he seemed to travel further forward than he did backwards! By now the two boats wanting to ascend had done their best to pull in, one chap clinging onto his centre rope for dear life with his boat asquew across the canal. Coming up behind them was a widebeam and another couple of narrowboats and still the chap tried to reverse. “I don’t want to wind”, he said. To which Mick replied, “Why not!” under his breath.

Eventually, once quite a crowd had gathered we managed to get past him. By now crew from the boats above were getting impatient and I think getting on for 20 boaters were cursing the short reversing boat, he simply wouldn’t get out of the way. If he’d checked that we didn’t want water he should have then stayed put, waited for us to go past, let the next two boats enter the lock. This would have given him a clear 15/20 minutes to reverse and only be in the way of boats approaching the lock. What a Prat!

Our food supplies needed some boosting so we pulled up in Wolverton to head to the Tescos there. Once a partial stock up was done (Leighton Buzzard has a much closer Tescos) we set off again, hoping to find a space at Great Linford on the off side. We passed several possible mooring sights but carried on knowing that we would be very lucky indeed if there was space.

At the bridge before Great Linford we passed the Exbury Egg moored up on the off side. It seems to be THE thing to take a photo of this year, so here are my photos. Stephen Turner is currently touring an exhibition called Everything Comes From The Egg in which he has a range of artworks made whilst he lived and worked in Exbury and Milton Keynes among other places.

Our luck was in, behind WB Aber there was a space on the 48 hour moorings with the wonderful view of the park. Sadly we were just that bit too long to fit and Oleanna’s bow was going to end up being scratched in a very woody bush, so we pushed over to the other side. The mooring did have reserved mooring signs for the Exbury Egg this week, so we might have got moved on anyway.

1 lock, 9.22 miles, 8 cygnets, 1 twonk head, 9 boats with steaming ears, 1 very soya heavy shop, 1 tin of Spam, 1 large egg, 2 curtailed hours, 4 ducklings happily swimming by, 8 pork and apple meatballs, 1 duck discouraged to sit on our roof.

 

Are We Too Deep? 8th May

Nightingales Bridge to Grafton Bridge (or Drowning Lamb)

Back into winter woolies this morning, hope my beans have coped with the temperature change.

The stream of passing boats started quite early. We suspected there were a few ABC hire boats due back at Gayton this morning as three passed in quick succession. Then an hour later the stream of hire boats started to head the other way, these were all from the Wyvern hire fleet.

We pootled up to Gayton Junction where we pulled in behind another boat at the water point to top up. Once full we pulled back out and carried on towards Blisworth Tunnel. Blisworth is just short of 3km long and is wide enough to take two narrowboats passing, widebeams have to book and are only allowed through at 8am. The unusual thing with this tunnel is that despite it’s length you can see from one end to the other as it is dead straight. We could just make out the shape of a boat up ahead that we were following. It stayed in view until we reached the halfway point.

About a kilometre in the tunnel opens out where it was repaired back in the 80’s. The methods that were used here were being tried out for when the channel tunnel was constructed, large concrete hoops make up the construction. This however doesn’t stop water cascading in, luckily we’d remembered it being a wet tunnel and had dressed accordingly. About two thirds of the way through a tunnel light appeared up ahead, gosh it was bright! Had they not adjusted it to point up and slightly to the right? It stayed in view for a few minutes and then was turned out, it was the trip boat from Stoke Bruerne popping it’s bow into the tunnel for a quick look before reversing out again.

Some warming soup was needed before we could carry on and we decided to do the top two locks and moor in the long pound for the day. Despite it being a grey Monday we still had gongoozlers having their photos taken with us in the background. One chap exclaimed at how well I was doing driving the boat into the lock, “Isn’t she doing well!” Cheers mate!

There was plenty of room in the pound below so we pulled over to moor up, but Oleanna thought otherwise, her bow swung out back into the centre of the cut. Mick hopped off and tried pulling her in, but she wasn’t having it. A nudge along and the stern got stuck. Was it that the centre of the moorings was silted up and too shallow for anyone? Are we sitting too deeply in the water? Would Lillian have had the same problem? Was the pound down? We tried and tried again, but had no luck, she just wasn’t having it. Only one thing for it and that was to carry on down the locks.

Just as we entered the next gates a boat appeared behind us, NB Grace. Denise and Bob soon arrived in a pincer formation one from each side of the canal. With lock partners again we soon made speedy progress down the flight despite every lock being against us. I headed off ahead and set the lock below leaving Denise and Bob to bring the boats down and open and close gates. This meant there was little time to chat as when they arrived I was heading down to the next lock.

At the bottom we led the way out only to pull in a mile or so later. We waved goodbye as NB Grace passed, their aim was the Barley Mow at Cosgrove tonight. Our paths will cross again this week as they are having a break and have booked into a marina to go sight seeing in Milton Keynes. Hope that water is alright in the marina, when we stayed there a couple of years ago it tasted horrible, even boiling it didn’t work.

What kind of outside is this?! Behind the sideways trees are huge beasts munching and chewing away at it! Then across the way are fluffy white sheeps that I think I’d like to play with, but that would involve a bit of a swim. But the grass tastes good from the cat walk, so I suppose that’s alright.

Mike Todd asked about the soft shackles that we got at Tradline for our centre ropes. They are available to order from their website.

 

This is one of them in action with our two centre ropes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under strain the loop tightens and cannot come off the end over the knot.

 

 

 

 

 

When not under weight you can make the loop bigger, so that it will go over the knot.

 

 

 

7 locks, 6.53 miles, 1 tunnel, 5 mysterons, 1 full water tank, 1 new pooh bucket, 1 clean pooh box, 56 slugs left, 1 patronising comment, 1 moron, 2 shallow to moor? 2 deep to moor? 3 jolly Geordies, 2 hours, 0 drowning lambs, 1 stove ablaze.

16 Miles From Braunston. 7th May

Brockhall Road Bridge to Nightingales Bridge

There must have been rail works as the trains didn’t start until about midday, so our mooring last night was just fine. We’ll have to get used to the trains as we’ll be accompanied by them for most of the way to London now.

Mick yesterday had of course bought some bangers, it would have been extremely rude not to. So we decided to have a cooked breakfasts of sorts. Mick would like me to point out that it wasn’t up to his usual standards as we didn’t have the usual ingredients. Sadly for me I only allowed myself one banger which had to be accompanied by a quorn sausage, doctors orders!

We gradually made our way along the long pound towards Gayton in wonderful sunshine. Unfortunately I had decided to spend the day painting up my illustration down below, so missed much of the sunshine. As I am the official photographer not many photos were taken as I was busy. Up on deck Mick passed numerous moored boats which made our progress slow. Plenty of people were out in the sunshine pootling along.

 

Stopping for lunch we decided not to aim to do the Stoke Bruerne flight today, the number of gongoozlers was likely to be great, also Blisworth Tunnel could well be busy, so stopping short of Gayton was our new plan. About a mile short of the junction Mick pulled in, just as I was about to finish painting and join him at the stern.

A load of washing was hung on the whirligig and I did a spot of gardening. The bean plants were planted out, at last, and canes were popped into the troughs for them to grow up. I now need another pot for the herbs as I hadn’t wanted to crowd the beans into one. Mick put the new blue ropes on Oleanna. We now have two centre ropes, one blue and new, one black and old.

More boats passed us including one that pulled in to pick up a member of their crew who was walking along the towpath dripping wet, they must have fallen in.

Tilly had hours of fun running back and forth making friends and playing. Non of them wanted to come home with her, thank goodness!

0 locks, 8.32 miles, 80 Litres diesel, 2 paintings done, 20 boats passed, 78 moored boats passed, 3 friends, 3 murders, 2 trees, 27 blades of grass, 4 bean plants planted, 3 blue ropes.

Fat Ropes. 6th May

Braunston Lock 2 to Brockhall Road Bridge

A drizzly kind of day, grey, quite disappointing compared to the last couple, but at least the wind had died down.

Mick walked up to the village for our Saturday paper whilst I made my way along the towpath on my crutches. If I know I’m going to walk a distance at the moment I use them, otherwise I go solo hobbling along. We met at Butchers Bridge, the walk over the ornate bridge at the marina entrance was considerably easier than it had been the last time we were here, followed by the convoluted way over dry dock bridges to get to Tradline.

At the moment you can buy a full set of 14mm ropes from them for £55, this includes bow, stern, centre line and a soft shackle. Jan yesterday had shown us their soft shackle which we’d not seen before. Tyler Wilson shells have a small loop on the roof to attach a centre line to. We tend to have two lines attached here and Mick had cobbled a means of attaching our ropes for the time being. The soft shackle will make this much easier. They are clever things tightening under weight but incredibly easy to undo when at ease.

Looking at the 14mm rope it still seemed a bit thin compared to our old ropes so we decided to go thicker still to 16mm. Then a choice of black, blue or hemp. We opted for blue which the lady would have to make up for us. So instead of watching we walked back to Wharf House Chandlers so I could check on how long it would take to order some touch up paint and get a new tin of Multiforte, with the hope that I’ll keep the gunnels touched up as we go. Touch up paint would be between 24hours and a week to come in, shame I hadn’t rung last week.

Mick collected the ropes and we were ready to set sail for London. In the pound where we were there is a slight indentation which made us wonder if we’d be able to wind there instead of going down the remaining two locks to the marina entrance only to come back again. But an enquiry on facebook came back with a no, so we didn’t even try. As we were about to pull out a boat was just mooring behind us for lunch, they had been sharing the locks with NB Hakuna Matata, so we swapped places with them and shared the last two of the flight.

It seemed daft for me to get back on Oleanna, only to hop off again when we’d winded and returned so I stood on the crest of the bridge and watched what started out as a quiet scene. Mick gradually disappeared under Butchers Bridge towards the marina entrance where he wanted to wind. From my view point I could see two hire boats pulling out, one reversing, another boat waited for them to wind before coming through the bridge. Out of sight boats appeared from every direction as Mick reached the marina entrance. One boat sat waiting for boats to go past before pulling out, this blocked Micks way and therefore holding up boats behind, others came from Braunston Turn holding everything up too. Eventually Mick managed to get the nose of Oleanna into the marina and winded, the hire boats followed, one chap had definitely seen bunnies and panicked bumping into a following boat.

Back at the lock two boats arrived and it would have been churlish not to have opened the gates for them. The first boat in the lock was a single handing lady we’d come across on the River Soar a couple of weeks ago, I suspect we’ll play leap frog with her if we don’t end up sharing locks. Then NB Grace and Oleanna came into view, lock reset and we were on our way back up. Denise and Colin (hope I’ve remembered your names right) had brother Bob with them who was under tuition. We managed to have a very jolly chat as we worked our way up the six locks. They are also heading to London, not sure if our cruising pace will be similar, but if it is the locks will fly by.

Originally they had thought of stopping before the tunnel, but instead decided to follow us through as we were ‘seasoned boaters’! We met two boats at different times coming the other way. The second one we could see we’d end up meeting at the bend, so Mick slowed down, in the end we managed to stop just with the bend in view as the on coming boat twisted round it. No serious bumps or scrapes today.

It being about 4pm we decided to carry on and do the Bucky flight before stopping for the day. NB Grace pulled in above the flight and the single handing lady had also stopped, so we ended up sharing the first lock with her partner. Then we were on our own again, I handed the windlass over to Mick and drove the rest of the way down the flight as my ankle was starting to complain. All the locks were in our favour as the sky got greyer and greyer. At Wilton we pushed on a few more miles before pulling in near the Bedazzled boat. Here hopefully we were far enough away from the M1 and railway to have a peaceful night.

15 locks, 9 down, 6 up, 8.06 miles, 1 wind, 1 boat facing south, 9 boats from nowhere! 1 tunnel with 2 mysterons, 3 boats to share with all heading for London, 16mm set of fat ropes, 2 shackles, 5 litres gunnel black, 0 coal scuttle, 1 pair green Farahs, 6 Braunston BANGERS! 0 cat walk, 0 trees, 5 tellings off! 1 cheshire cat hot pot for tea! 1 brother, 1 fabulous wisteria, 1 tree raft island, 0 snowman.