{"id":794,"date":"2022-05-14T17:14:55","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T16:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcguiness.co.uk\/?page_id=794"},"modified":"2022-07-17T10:41:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T09:41:26","slug":"paddling-along","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mcguiness.co.uk\/?page_id=794","title":{"rendered":"Paddling Along"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our journey on the canals in the narrowboat Joey.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

15th May 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Map of the canals and navigable rivers of the UK. We start at Rose narrowboats, owner of the narrowboat Joey, our floating home for the next two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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16th<\/sup> May 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We drove down to Rose narrowboats at about 11:00, we had planned on leaving earlier, but packing the car had become significantly more difficult. We had been going to use our car, with it\u2019s ample boot space, but in some mystifying deal, somehow we ended up with Luce\u2019s tiny Toyota Aygo whereas she drove away in the roomy Peugeot \u2013 never mind, I am sure there was some logic in it, maybe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, we arrived at about 2pm (the red square in the map above), loaded up the boat with clothes and food, had a technical talk from the engineer about oil and batteries and generally how to keep Joey afloat. Armed with armfuls of advice and phone numbers to call in case of emergency, we started the Isuzu engine (see what you learn talking to engineers!) and began chugging southwards on the Oxford canal, aiming for Newbold and the promise of a pub dinner or maybe fish and chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some people are born to look cool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About 90 minutes later, at about 6:30pm we tied up just after bridge 50, and had an excellent meal in the Barley Mow public house. On the walk back to the boat we saw a rat running cross the towpath and swimming across the water – ugggh. Feeling strangely tired after beer and food we retired at about 10pm after watching a spot of Netflix (we are so<\/em> modern!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17th<\/sup> May 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We awoke after an OK night (the bed is actually two singles so I kept falling into the crack, we will move to the other bed with is a proper double tomorrow I hope) at the sound of a resounding THUD, as another boat banged into us. Muttering under my breath I got up, only to find that Joey had slipped his moorings (notice the nautical term!), and was slowly drifting across the canal. A hurried heaving on ropes pulled him back safely to the bank, but this was a worrying development, obviously my malleting skills needed developing quickly \u2013 the pins having not been driven far enough into the bank the night before. This might have been due to my eagerness to get to the pub, but I stress might<\/em> \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Surely everyone keeps their ropes neat ?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We prepared to make some breakfast when we realised the boat had no electricity at all (the life blood of canal boats is electricity, supplied by a bank of batteries \u2013 and they need careful love and attention). Confused, we phoned Rose narrowboats, and the same engineer, Jamie, arrived 30 minutes later. After a bit of poking and probing (engineer talk there), he diagnosed a probably blown fuse, or a sticky switch and after 20 minutes had everything running again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We left, travelling southwards still, towards Braunston \u2013 a famous canal village, the junction of the Oxford and Grand Union canals. We navigated 3 locks \u2013 the first of MANY we will encounter in the next couple of months \u2013 with Belinda skilfully driving the boat and I doing the less technical and more manual labour of opening the gates and paddles. These locks, at Hillmorten, are the busiest in the UK with over 8,000 lockings per year. Anyway, we continued down arriving at Braunston and then turning right onto the Grand Union canal and made our way towards Napton. We moored up just short of there and had a dinner of pasta and beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Please, please… can we buy this boat ?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

18th<\/sup> May 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This morning we had a repeat of the electric issues, but we decided to turn the engine on and see what happened – that seemed to fix the issue, at least temporarily, but if it returns again we will contact Rose and ask for advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We must have moored under the flight path from Heathrow !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We had a relaxing first hour’s cruise, the temperature rising up to a balmy 20C eventually as we approached Stockton locks – a sequence of 8 locks, one after the other, over a distance of less than a mile. Luckily we found a friendly boat to share the chore with – the locks being two boats wide – and relatively quickly moved through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sharing the locks with the narrow boat “Sometimes”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We left our new friends after a few more locks – we stopped for lunch – but saw them later when they had moored up at about 4pm. It is quite hard work using the locks, plenty of winding up and winding down the paddles, moving the gates (which weigh over 3 tons at times) and simply walking around, we did about 20 today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lots of birdlife, including baby swans hitching a lift on Mummy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We cruised until about 6pm, where we moored up a mile or so outside Leamington Spa. Soon the rain came down heavily, so we closed the doors, made dinner, and settled down to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19th<\/sup> May 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the night we heard the fridge turn itself off – not a good sign – and as expected the power was missing this morning. A swift phone call to Rose elicited apologies and the promise of a new set of batteries soon – Yay !! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joey at rest in Leamington – so at rest he would refuse to start later<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, off we went for a short jaunt down the cut into Leamington Spa where we stopped, looked and wandered into the very elegant town. Tea and cake in the gardens <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Curly ferns in the hot house<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

followed by a meander into the hot house filled the morning and a short visit to the museum informed us of the elephants of Leamington – very enlightening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking arty and cool in the hot house !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back to the boat and a daunting journey through another 21 locks loomed, but we were saved this by the engine now refusing to start – a further call to Rose was needed … and a few hours later an engineer from Kate Boats arrived to install a new starter motor battery. Kate Boats and Rose Narrowboats are friends and so they sometimes swap jobs and stuff I imagine. Anyway – it was late so we stayed in Leamington and had a very nice pizza that evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunset in Leamington Spa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A visitor to Joey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

20th<\/sup> May 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started early winding our way through the outskirts of Leamington and Warwick – no sign of the castle though. Very soon we started up the locks – the never ending series of Hatton locks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just a few of the 20+ locks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They basically took all of the rainy day, Belinda expertly driving the boat and me doing the simpler tasks, and resting often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wet and tired on a lock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We also gave a lift to a small boy, Christopher, aged 4 and one day and his grandmother. They admired Joey in one of the locks, so we invited them aboard (nautical term again) and took them up the next lock. They would have stayed longer but they had to meet Christopher’s mother. Our first visitors and we forgot to take a photo !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Belinda working towards a lock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Half way through the day we stopped and met Jamie the engineer from Rose, who installed a fresh set of three batteries, so all of them are new now, and hopefully the issues are behind us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a damp Friday !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We missed a cup of tea at the top of the locks by about 15 minutes, the caf\u00e9 had closed, so we drove on to the nearest pub through some dark and forbidding wooded areas and also through the Shrewley tunnel (400m of dripping darkness), <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tunnel entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

only to find that was closed too – the pub, not the tunnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Creepy woods !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So cheesy pasta for dinner tonight – at least we have beer in the fridge !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21st May 2022<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a lot happened today. We cruised up the Grand Union, turned left at Lapworth junction, and then proceeded in a leisurely way southwards towards Stratford on Avon. We had a chat with a couple of CRT employees and they explained that someone had left the paddles open on a lock and drained one of the pounds. They had to divert water downstream to fill it. Luckily this happened before we got there, so our stately progress was unimpeded .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Locking on the Stratford canal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lock keeper cottage with the distinctive curved roof, and the split bridges to allow the horse rope to pass unimpeded.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dead fish is the commonest mortality we see, followed by expired rabbits and deceased deer (probably muntjac) – one of which was very pungent ! The number of living water fowl is quite stunning – literally hundreds of ducks, coots and moorhen, complete with broods of up to 8 chicks; occasionally the boat comes between mother duck and duckling, and a frantic cheeping from the baby can be heard above the sound of the engine – they have always been reunited though, the mother ducks seem much less worried than the babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is where we stopped for lunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n