Cornwall, Chocolate And Blue Sky Thinking!

Looking out over the sea here in Cornwall the sun is shining but it is hazy, so that may mean a change is due! I went down to the village and had a wander on the Quay this morning. It was really warm, no need for a coat. A few visitors were wandering around and the hotels and shops are beginning to prepare for the Easter weekend. Will we miss it? I expect so, but we will still be able to visit.

We were chatting to Richard Clarke (Bath Narrowboats) yesterday and their fleet of Anglo Welsh boats are well booked for Easter so I expect the Kennet and Avon Canal will be a little busier for a while. I wonder if it is like Cornwall, busy for a week or so and then a lull before the real holiday makers descend for the summer?


I was thinking about the really blue skies we have seen whilst on the K & A when the sun shines. The light is special on the countryside there, again like Cornwall. Thats why the artists flock to St Ives etc.

I then remembered we have this picture of the Cadbury Wharf at Knighton on the Shroppie, (Shropshire Union Canal, for those of you not familiar with this term!) where the working boats collected chocolate crumb for the factories in Birmingham. It was taken when we were on Twelfth Night on 18 th Janaury 2004 - yes January!


Copyright to nbEpiphany. Not bad for an amateur photographer though I say it myself!

We "Have A Dream"

I have made a commitment to continue our saga of "down sizing" See comments on last post! I am not sure about giving hints and tips but I know that there are a lot of people like us who "have a dream" so our experience may help - or not.

We only have a very short time to do this - our present home is tied to BJ's job. Right from the start of our adventure of designing and building Epiphany she was "our home", the one we owned. We do not have a land base to store, sell, or even consider letting out.

My first tip would be start earlier if it is your plan to move on to the water! My second tip would be do not hoard anything from the minute you have an inkling that that is your ultimate goal! Here is a third - if you file personal papers, make sure that you throw away older versions as you file! We are currently shredding and throwing way years of paperwork. The recycling men will have a fit!

BJ, lucky B, has been on Epiphany for a couple of days. He was investigating job possibilities. He single-handed to Devizes for an over night stop in wonderful weather. Only a hour down the canal - 5 minutes by car! No locks or swing bridges to challenge him! Actually he has done a fair bit of single-handing and has learnt so much about how the boat and water behave in locks and other situations. He has even "supervised" me single-handing through a lock - a good learning experience.

So, enough for tonight! I will try to keep you all up to date, so keep an eye on your site feeds, alerts etc for nb Epiphany.

Breaking News

There comes a time when you know when there are big decisions to be made. Often this is when your world decides it is time that it should drop broad hints about work/life balance and not enough time to do anything properly. The body begins to react to that extra bit of stress and your mind decides to go awol when trying to remember names, words etc.

So this last month or so we have battled with some of this and circumstances have arisen, doors have opened (figuratively) and almost overnight we are planning to move!

This move will be very special. Others have done it before us, now it is our turn. Do you see where I am going with this?

One question – how does one down size from a large 4-bedroom house to a 57-foot narrowboat?

Answer; there is no room for sentimentality or holding on to possessions.

Now you must have guessed. We have the boat – built to live on, we have the opportunity – a mooring on which we can be “live a boards” as from 1^st April and we are going to do it! We will still be at Devizes Marina, will still need to work for a while but we will be able to spend more time together, time on the Kennet and Avon and aim to have a more simple, less stressful lifestyle.

It has been interesting to follow the blogs of those of you who are already living aboard, either cruising or in a marina. We look forward to sharing similar experiences, hopefully only the good ones!

Does anyone want a houseful of furniture, useless nick nacks, endless books, too many pictures, an over abundance of clothes (mine, not BJ’s!)? I think the local charity shops will do well. EBay may be useful, perhaps the answer is some sort of sale. The whole experience may very well be cathartic for us both.

So raise a glass to us and wish us luck and good fortune as we enter yet another stage of our lives. We aim to enjoy it whilst we are both fit and comparatively healthy.

What Are They Up To Now?

When we set out on our journey to design and build Epiphany one of our considerations was planning her to live on. It was a dream we have had for a number of years, through latter years of hiring and then when we had our share in Twelfth Night.

One of the reasons for buying the share was so we could experience winter cruising and life on the canals when there are not many boats; the weather is cold, wet, foggy etc. We deliberately had holidays in November, December, January, February and March. However as narrow boaters know July can be as cold and wet as March, January can be as warm and pleasant as April! Picnics in November, shorts and T-shirts in February were bonuses as we discovered on Twelfth Night holidays.

We discovered that as long as we had clothes to suit any weather, waterproofs, sturdy shoes and a fairly efficient way of heating the boat we enjoyed cruising whatever the weather. Wet and frozen ropes can be handled without bother with proper gloves. Waterproof leggings are a must; somewhere to dry wet clothes and a warm bed to retire to are vital! Winter on the canal system can be great, despite stoppages, ice, and stray boats across the canal. This is all part of the life on the cut.

We travelled as far as the Huddersfield Narrow and the Leeds & Liverpool canals and down south to the Kennet and Avon and the Thames. More of our travels will eventually be on our website. I am just waiting for the web master to be less busy!

So, did we still want to live on our own narrow boat? You bet! Those of you who followed the build of Epiphany will know we set out on our dream last June.

Actually it started in February, at the show in Birmingham. Everything then seemed to happen very quickly. More of our journey will be on the website in the future so if you are interested keep a look out. For new readers, there are lots of pictures of the build from empty space at the shell builders to journey to the fitters and comprehensive pictorial log of the fit out.

So far we know we have done the right thing for us – Epiphany is our “home from home”. This blog is to whet your appetite for more. We will be updating you with developments soon!

Boats, Floods, Be Prepared!

We were looking at the picture of the floods on the River Soar on narrowboatworld. Follow the link to First Mate. There are some boats stranded as a result of the widespread water on the fields. It set me thinking! Although we boaters glibly say "we'll be OK if global warming means more floods, after all Noah survivied!" it is not quite as simple as that is it?

Do we carry more that 2 cassettes in case we are standed for more that 10 days? What happens if we have a pump out system? Do we keep our larders full of food "in case" - rather like the Scouts motto "Be Prepared". Make sure we have longlife milk, freezers (if we have one!) full of meals. I could go on with ideas. This is tongue in cheek, I think!

However those boaters stranded on the Soar may wish that they had a "tender behind". Do you remember the old joke about trains? Will we see narrowboats towing tenders? (the sailors among you will know what I mean) Perhaps the market for the fold-up boat, as seen at one of the recent boat shows, might suddenly grow. Apparently they can be stored under a bunk.

Here is one I found on the web! It folds very small. Google 'folding wooden boats' for more information. The blurb says it is unsinkable - not sure if this picture inspires confidence though.

Maybe the moral of this story is
a. Keep an eye on the weather forcast
b. look before you moor to see if you might get stranded
c. we boaters should do our bit for the environment too

Still Need A Canal "Fix"

Travelling to work today on the King Harry Ferry I was catching up on reading the March edition of Canal Boat. I particularly enjoy Adrian Rayson's "Solo Round the System" articles and this one brought back vivid memories. He describes his experiences on the Llangollen canal with "Frilford" and his fear of heights whilst crossing the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct.

BJ and I have crossed the Pont on two cruises. One, years ago on an Anglow Welsh hire boat and more recently on "Twelfth Night" in May 2005. BJ too does not like heights whilst I make a point of looking over the side and revelling in the views.

Perhaps these photos illustrate this, as I was the photographer!
















This last one I was leaning right out of the boat over the edge. 128 feet between me and the ground!


One day we will take Epiphany over the aquaduct and up to Llangollen. It is another one of our favourite trips but not to be attempted in the height of summer! The train trip up to the Horseshoe Falls and the walk back along the towpath beside the non navigable part of the canal is very worthwhile and completes the experience. The scenery is spectacular, there are many more moorings now and the facilities much improved. something to look forward to when we have the time!

Rock and Roll on a Narrowboat, Yeah!

As you see from the previous post Blogger was playing up, hence my last cruise blog is now a day late!

Monday night on the Kennet and Avon canal was very wild! At one time I thought we were on the high seas the boat was rocking and rolling so much. Isn't it nice though to be tucked up in a warm bed, on a narrowboat; enjoying the freedom and knowing that the ropes are really secure, the roof stuff is tied down well or inside and so you can relax. Or that is the theory! This time for us it was fact! Rock on!

However true to form Tuesday dawned sunny again, with a bit of cloud this time. So off we set back to Devizes. A few boats were on the move.

This stretch has a lot of line moorings so tick over is the order of the day making a short journey a mite longer. We are beginning to recognise people and boats and anyway when there is no hurry why worry.

Mooring up to take on fuel at the marina we met Sue and Vic from No Problem 2 (which is actually in the paint shop) and Anne and Charles from Moore 2 Life. A good natter ensued, NP2 is really taking shape and Sue let us have a "nose". Of course we reciprocated and showed her Epiphany.

So Epiphany was back home. It was the first time we have got back to the marina in the dry and no wind so manoeuvering into her berth was straightforward. Time to replenish the larder, finish a few jobs and go back to work and our other life for a short while.

Catching Up and Cruising Too

Here is the picture as promised below!
This morning dawned bright and clear. Wow, the sun was shining again and here is the picture to prove it! (Problems with blogger so I will upload the picture later!) The early morning trains – the main line from Paddington to Penzance - woke us but we both went back to sleep as we had had a late night the previous night. There were no trains during the night so maybe there was engineering on the main line over the weekend.

BJ spent the morning catching up on his Save Our Waterways work, ensuring the pictures on flickr were being uploaded correctly. Make sure you have a look, as there are lots of photos from across the network. There were some very successful events by all accounts. Hopefully reminding the “Powers that like to think that they be” that DEFRA has affected a lot of people and penalising others for their mismanagement is not something they can get away with easily.

I also caught up on some jobs, cleaned the stove out, cleaned the floors and generally tidied up. We therefore missed out on enjoying the sun whilst cruising. However it was great to be moored with the sun flooding in and the cratch open, giving that a chance to dry out too. I took more pictures of Epiphany and where we were moored, just for the record!

We had run out of water, yes we did not fill up last time we got back to the marina! BJ was sure we had, I knew we hadn’t! I was good and did not argue. I felt vindicated when the shower I tried to have failed! So we cruised back to Pewsey for lunch, water and shopping. Fortunately the tap at the wharf is pretty fast so it didn’t take long to fill the tank.

By the time we walked back from the village it was raining! We are hardy souls, John got dressed up and cruised, I rested and read! We made Honey Street and despite the developing gale, managed to moor. Part of the boat is sheltered but the bows are not! As I write we have brought in the sat dish and life belt. The boat is rocking and being buffeted in the wind and we are partly sheltered! How other boats are further along I dread to think. It is also belting with rain. Someone yesterday said the canal is higher than he has ever seen and there is definitely some water around in the fields.

Ah well, we will be rocked to sleep; perhaps it will not feel so bad in the bedroom which is in the middle of the boat. Anyway after all the exercise we have had today, walking and fighting to control the boat when mooring in the wind, we should sleep well.

"What's The Weather Like Today Jim?"

Well, I suppose it was inevitable! We had "liquid sunshine" all day. We did not rust; it takes sun for that!

We cruised from Honey Street, with an early start, so that we could get to Pewsey Wharf to support the Boat Club Save our Waterways blockade of the Kennet and Avon canal. There were about 15 boats. Unfortunately I think the torrential rain put off all but the boaters who, as we know, are mostly a hardy lot. We were provided with hot dogs, cake and tea, which was wonderful.

Michel Ancram MP was good enough to support us. He was at Devizes yesterday where the sun shone and lots of people turned up. I think the Kennet and Avon has really done its bit as there were other events all along the canal too.

We then cruised and winded below Wootton Rivers Bottom Lock. This was our best judgement as the by-wash was very fierce and we felt that going further with all the rain would be daft. So we moored up fairly soon, near the railway but away from trees so I could watch TV and a couple of my favourite Sunday evening programmes! The joys of sattelite dishes on boats!

Cruising At Last, Sunny of Course

We have been on Epiphany for a couple of days now. Two days in the Marina, catching up on jobs, friends and attending the Pewsey Wharf Boat Club AGM. Being British I am now going to comment on the weather. You may skip this and go to the next paragraph if you are fed up with weather discussions! It has been beautiful, sunny and at times warm – a bit of a breeze and it has only rained at night, so far.

After the AGM we were desperate to get out of the Marina and cruise. However it was not so simple, our stern doors would not open. The mortise lock had a problem. We finally got them open. It is a good job we have sturdy bolts on the inside, as they will still be secure despite this. A repair job for tomorrow I guess.

The canal is still quiet with only a few narrowboat movements. I hope that there were plenty of boats down at Devizes Wharf today for the Boat Club protest, barbeque and canal blockade. No doubt we will soon get pictures through on the Save Our Waterways Flicker site. BJ hopes it will be easier to upload this year as he has tweaked it and sent out instructions. I hope you will all have a look and upload your photos into the right set!

We cruised up to Honey Street to meet with Rachel who is the soft furnishing expert for Bath Narrowboats. Two of the boats that they have in build would like curtains like ours so she came to pick our brains. Rachel is a professional seamstress so I am sure she will make a more professional job than I did. If you are interested have a look at the gallery at the interior of Epiphany. The Owners like the neatness and simplicity of the look!

The third boat they have in build is their “Crick Boat”. We had a look at it on Friday and although not to our taste, (each owner has their own ideas and BN are very good at building to the owners requirements) it will be a lovely boat and will show off Bath Narrowboats skills well. Go and see it at Crick. We hope to, but unfortunately will not have time to take Epiphany.

The Barge Inn at Honey Street is famous for being in a Morse Episode and has lots of information about crop circles. We have eaten there in the past and were impressed – probably not this time though – may have a drink!

Tomorrow we cruise to Pewsey to join in with the blockade there with the Boat Club at the Wharf. We then hope to go a little further up the Kennet and Avon, but have to turn round as we have to return. This is only a short break. I will try to put something on the blog each day. However that will depend on Orange (VERY frustrating)! They have had a few problems in the last couple of days but BJ is online at the moment so it seems to be OK.