New Years Eve Cruise

am. 2.45 miles, 55 minutes, 2.68lm/h
pm. 5.66 miles, 3 hours, 4 locks, 3.22 lm/h


After a very quiet night we set off late from Crofton Top Lock. Nb Summer and NB New Era from Pewsey Wharf passed us not long before we pulled the pins.

We caught up with them at Wootton Rivers Top Lock - Cadley lock. We decided to moor up for lunch to let them get well ahead. By this time it was drizzling a bit anyway.

As it happened a boat came up the locks so they were set for us. We took the locks in turn and John was busy photographing the damaged walls and leaky gates. He is planning to look at the British Waterways Asset Lists to compare their ratings with what we saw.

Here are a couple of photos of the damage and more leaky gates!.



Although there was a fancy dress New Year celebration at The Waterfront, Pewsey Wharf, we decided to continue to Wide Water and moor in the peace and quiet. We will have our own quiet celebration. However as I write this I can here fireworks from somewhere near!

As we have a good satellite signal here we will probably watch Jools Holland’s Hootenanny – usually a good “see the New Year in” show. Maybe have another glass of mulled wine – we are not champagne fans!

Winter Hats

Three postings in one day - I am excelling myself. Actually it is called catching up before I get left behind!

I promised a picture of our newly acquired winter hats. So here we are in all our glory!



They are wind proof, shower proof, snugly warm, will not blow off and were an all round good buy! See here for details

I will use this picture (kindly taken by our friend John yesterday) as our winter profile photo, so goodbye to Derek and Dot's (Gipsy Rover) photo - many thanks and hello winter guise!

Still Sunny Sunday

2.72 miles, 2 hours 43 mins, 10 locks, 4.68 lm/h

It was another sunny day, but 1 degree C outside when we woke. We had our porridge (staple breakfast fare in the winter) and pootled to the water point at Great Bedwyn Wharf, just after Great Bedwyn Bridge. Here we took on water, emptied the cassette in the Elsan (there is a self pump out and rubbish here too).

Another boat came up behind us and we joined them to go up the locks.


Vox Stellarum is a 70-foot trad, built on a Colecraft shell with an owner fit out. A very nice traditional replica. The current owners bought her second hand, as she was just what they were looking for.

They had crew on board so the locks were not too onerous, although John helped with almost all of the 10 locks: 4 locks up to the Crofton flight and then 6 in the Crofton flight. On some of the latter, the bottom paddles should be left open.

Some of the gates are very difficult, particularly lock 64: Bedwyn Church lock. As you see, there are some repair jobs to do too. This is lock 55, the gate is also difficult and needs to be “jacked” and the wall looks a bit “iffy”.


It was a very pleasant cruise with company and we enjoyed finding out a little about each other’s boats. They admired our 18-inch potholes and I said we had aimed at a modern boat with a touch of tradition. The consensus was that we had achieved it well!

We decided to moor above Crofton top lock, leaving 4 locks tomorrow on our way back to Pewsey. We said our goodbyes and settled down for a cuppa and a quiet afternoon in a lovely spot.
The sun was shining and giving some wonderful reflections on the canal of the winter trees. Unfortunately reducing the pixels for web and mobile internet does not reproduce the photos in all their glory!

Sunny Saturday On The K & A Canal

am Br 95 - Great Bedwyn Bridge. 2.13 miles, 1 hour 41 mins, 4 locks, 3.64 lm/m
pm Frith Copse winding hole – Br 95. 2.13 miles, 1 hr 30 mins, 4 locks, 4.09 lm/h


Today we had our friends aboard – a locking crew! It was fine and sunny, but windy and we tootled down 4 locks, accompanied by the railway.

Little Bedwyn lock (67) has attractive beech hedges and an unusual footbridge.


As we came out of Oakhill lock (68) there were 3 lads fishing.
One of them caught his float in the opposite side and was unable to free it before we arrived. We took the line with us, apparently, but were unaware until our “locking crew” walked by them!

I have to say that they were probably not far enough away from the lock anyway, (25 meters away from a movable object, I think is the rule) but we did not want to rub salt into the wound, and they appeared to hold no malice!

We winded at Frith Copse, just below Oakhill Down lock and reversed to moor for lunch.


After mulled wine, pate, cheeses, home made bread (mine), flapjack (mine), Christmas cake and stollen we were replete!

Returning we encountered the same lads above the lock! They pulled their lines in this time! The only other incident in a lovely day was John’s gloves blew off the roof into a lock. Fortunately he noticed and went on his own fishing trip!



We finished the day with a meal at The Cross Keys in Great Bedwyn. It was an excellent meal, despite some of the meals being off menu due to their busy Christmas. It is a friendly pub and has to compete with a rival just up the road – The Three Tuns.

Bedwyn Here We Come!

1.62 miles, 4 locks, 2 hours, 2.81 lm/hour

We had a few tidying up jobs to do before we left Crofton this morning. We set out after an early lunch at 12.22. – So exact!

Despite the weather forecast of rain for the morning, it was dry but windy. As we set off another narrowboat arrived from lock 60, moored and lifted their engine hatch. As I walked to set the next lock I asked them if they had a problem, trying to be friendly. The two guys replied, “no just admiring it”. I assume they were being sarcastic, but maybe they do spend their time down engine holes for fun! I just grinned and carried on.

Lock 61 had quite a bit of water flowing over the gates. As I said previously there is a plentiful supply of water on the Kennet and Avon canal at the moment.


As John was at the tiller, he had the camera. I think he enjoyed “playing” as you can see from this photo!

He also took an “artistic” one of me to prove that I am still capable of doing the locks.


I did 3 of them on my own and walked between 2. John helped with the 4th, the final one before mooring at Great Bedwyn. We took 2 hours to get here, not bad as we definitely did not rush and the wind made steering a bit hard.

Once moored we relaxed – listened to the wind and wondered where the rain was that they forecast. An hour later it arrived! And so it continued for the rest of the afternoon and evening.So that put the kybosh on a walk into Bedwyn until tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow we have some guests. Our friends John and Carolyn will join us for the day, possibly for an out and back cruise, depending on the weather. Definitely for a meal out!

Towards Crofton

10 locks, 4 hours 52 mins, 7.16 miles, 3.53 lm/hour

A mid morning start from Pewsey Wharf after buying some milk at the Waterfront Bistro (they sell eggs and bread too).

We also watered up, emptied rubbish and the cassette too. With all these facilities Pewsey Wharf is a useful stopping place.

The weather was dry, with a light wind and cloudy. We had a good run up Wootton Rivers 4 locks, all set for us.

We wondered if our new satellite dish pole would go through Bruce Tunnel.

Fortunately there was plenty of room, so no mad dash to take it down. It is brilliant as we can now get a signal above the trees that line the canal at some mooring spots.

BW are in process of cutting back some of the trees that encroach the navigation after Bruce Tunnel.

Today of course they were still on their Christmas break and so no activity, but plenty of evidence of their activities from these boats to piles of sawdust and a few logs. Shame we do not have a chain saw – maybe something to consider buying sometime. We did pick up some wood for kindling though as we passed through a couple of locks.

As we reached the top lock of the Crofton flight we met our first boat of the day exiting the lock. They were the only boat we saw moving today. All the locks were set against us as they are left empty and we were going down! The crew of the other boat apologised for this, but they were only obeying the “rules”. I think it is something to do with the water being pumped up to the top of the flight to keep the canal in water.

Some of the gates are very heavy and take a lot of effort to open and shut. The ground paddles are fairly easy but the gate lock gear takes lots of turns! This was an interesting sight in lock 57.


Holes in the top of the gate and leaky top paddles made this probably the slowest lock. There is obviously a lot of water in the canal to produce the waterfall through the holes!

We are now moored in one of our favourite spots at the bottom of lock 60, opposite Crofton Pumping Station.

- The moorings are just to the right in this photo

The water is rushing over the weir from Wilton Water and the wind is beginning to blow. We are in solitary isolation as there are no other boats on the moorings – the first time we have had this.

We will hear the trains on the very near Paddington to Penzance main line this evening, which runs alongside the Kennet and Avon canal from Pewsey to Reading. They never bother us at night and the early morning trains wake us up in good time!

Cruising - At Last

0 locks, 2 swing bridges, 4 hours and 9.62 miles, 2.41 lm/hour

Hooray, time to be off out onto the cut after a few days in Cornwall to spend Christmas with John’s Mum. We have been looking forward to this cruise for sometime!

The morning we left for Cornwall the marina was iced over.


However the weather forecast looks fairly OK for the next few days, so here’s hoping we don’t get any severe weather. However if we do we now have some really warm hats from Canada to keep our heads warm! Ah the joys of the Internet and ordering on line. We ordered them on the Sunday before we left and they were here when we got back to the boat.

John set up his Christmas present before we left the marina – an electronic weather station. So now he can tell what the temperature, pressure, humidity is like both in and out of the boat!

We set off about 11.15 heading for Pewsey. It took us approximately 4 hours as we moored at 3.15.

On the way we encountered 2 boats on the move towards Devizes. We saw 4 Kingfishers that were extremely camera shy (can you spot the blue flash and the reflection in the photo! Bottom left), lots of coots and ducks and 2 swans at Wide Water.


One or two people were out walking their dogs on the towpath, we passed a few fishermen and there were plenty of moored boats, some on winter moorings.

Arriving at Pewsey Wharf there were two boats moored; One a familiar boat, Nb Summer who is usually moored on the moorings here and another “just visiting”. Dave from Summer invited us to moor alongside, as there did not seem to be any moorings further up. As we are both cruising towards Hungerford tomorrow it made sense.

So now we are snugly warm, 19 degrees in the saloon (so the weather station says!). The Christmas tree is lit; as are the fairy lights in the boat and after a meal we will cross the towpath for a drink in the Waterfront Bar, meeting up with some of the moorers here no doubt.

Sunday Shopping?

A very strange Sunday. We have just been out for a drive and all the shops are open. Now forgive my ignorance - are they all normally open on Sunday or is it just because it is Christmas? I would expect food shops to be open to 4pm as per usual but clothes, gifts, cafes etc?

Everyone seem to go into siege mentality at Christmas and Easter too. Thursday we saw trolleys piled high with food. More than enough to last well into next week. But hold on - the supermarkets are open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Christmas Eve. Duh!

As it is said that we throw away good food - too much, I can't remember the percentage. How much will we as a nation throw away after Christmas? I must confess that in the past I have been guilty of "over catering", but thank goodness for large chest freezers. But not on a boat! We have learned to be more frugal.

This Christmas we did our on line shopping, stuck to a menu and list and I still cook a little too much. Not thrown away though - frozen in an empty small freezer for future use.

Anyway that must be my Christmas rant over. Now it is all Good Cheer and looking forward to celebrating Christ's Birth.

We have compiled a selection of photos from 2007. Many of our friends may have already looked at the album. If you would like to share our enjoyment of our first year on nb Epiphany, click here

Visits And Travel

Christmas comes but once a year. Like most folks we are busy visiting various friends and making sure we contact all those we know and love. Hence we are rather quiet on the blog front.

However a quick post to say that we are still following everyone else's blog! Those of you who work - we hope you have a well earned rest. Those of you who continuously cruise - we envy you! Those of you who are braving the weather away on your boat for Christmas - hope you don't get iced in.

We were stuck at Hopwas one year, but only a stones throw from the pub! Definitely the best place to be stuck.

After hearing about horrendous journeys home for Christmas we are really glad that our preferred method of transport is on the water and we are fortunate to be able to take advantage of it and the peace and quiet of winter cruising next week.

Aren't we all lucky, this boating life is sooo good!

To Continue The Theme

Continuing the saga of West Kennet Long Barrow - I have uploaded a video of our visit. Follow this link.

Today we still have sun, but I think it is a little warmer. Indoor jobs today - cleaning, paperwork and washing!

It appears Scrooge is still alive and well. Some chap has been asked to limit his decorations outside his house and stop collecting for charity. Shame.

Foe some reason we feel more Christmassy this year. Maybe it is because John is not buzzing around like a blue ........ fly! Time to be calm, tranquil and be together instead of me sharing him with a Parish!

West Kennet Long Barrow

Another sunny, cold day. There was ice in the marina and our roof was extremely frosted!

Today is Christmas correspondence day. Christmas emails, letters and other bits and pieces.

So to all our friends on the cut, fellow bloggers and those who look at our blog through searches, from abroad - USA, Germany, France, Sweden, Korea, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Bermuda and maybe others - we wish you Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year whatever your beliefs and customs are.

Here a few more photos from our visit to West Kennet Long Barrow.

Looking into the Barrow


The ceiling of the West chamber


This is one of the other chambers.


The River Kennet runs at the bottom of the hill up to the Barrow. The river was running very full and it was flooded not so long ago.

Winter Walk In An Historic Landscape

Today was sunny but very cold. However we needed some fresh air and exercise!

Driving towards Marlborough we stopped at the West Kennet Long Barrow, part of the Avebury Heritage Site along with Silbury Hill.

It is a bit of a walk - up hill to get the heart and lungs functioning(!), but definitely worth it. Here is John on top of the Barrow. Silbury Hill is in the background.
This is Fi at the entrance to the Barrow.
"Me and my shadow" photographing the entrance!

The sun was beginning to go down by the time we left after taking loads of photos.

Once I have sorted the photos I will upload a few more on the blog. I also have some video footage to work on. Once that is complete I will also put it up.

Epiphany Before Christmas?

Yes, this year and all the years to come we will celebrate Epiphany before we celebrate Christmas. I hope no explanation is needed!

I now feel Christmas is on its way! Our food (and drink) order has gone in to "Mr Tesco" - how did we manage to spend so much, still it is for 3 people for 6 days!

We put up the tree in the bows today.


We also decorated the saloon and galley.

Our outside lights arrived today so they will go on the roof tomorrow. They are solar powered so have yet to see how effective they are.

John is leading the carol singing at Pewsey Wharf this evening. Here he is just leaving - can you spot what he is wearing for the first time in 6 months!
I am unable to go as I have to steer clear of crowds and germs for a while. I have had some very mild radiotherapy to help me maintain my lung function. Apart from glowing in the dark my white cell count is down making me susceptible to infections so I am in Purdah! The good side to this is no work until the New Year, so an extended holiday for me!

More good news, just had a call - I don't have go out in the cold to pick John up as some friends will drop him home. I can now crack open the bottle of Westons Old Rosie that has been calling me all evening. Epiphany is not a dry ship tonight:-)

The temperature outside is about 1 degree so we may have ice tonight, but unlike some canals in the Midlands it is unlikely that the K & A will ice over.

More Cuts!

Sometimes "cuts" can be positive. There was a powerful demonstration on the Andrew Marr Sunday am show today. Everyone should watch this.

Sunday AM

Everyone who believes in the dignity of human life should be demonstrating and lobbying against the Mugabe regime. For too long the people of Zimbabwe have suffered ignominiously. Starvation, loss of homes and livelihood, 7000% inflation should not be swept under the carpet by so called world leaders, particularly those in Africa.

We can do our bit as Archbishop Sentamu suggests. It is obscene when you compare what we are doing over the next few weeks with what is happening in Zimbabwe daily.

London And The Thames

For the last few weeks I have been re reading a book called London by Edward Rutherfurd. It is an epic novel about the history of London right from the earliest Saxon and Roman days up to 1997.

Even as a Londoner, it makes me see things in a different way and realise that although I would not choose to live there now I should be proud to have that heritage!

In May 2005 I became a tourist in my home city and did some of the Sights. Once again I was struck by what I missed growing up there and living there for 20 years. I have been away from London more years that I lived there now! Two things in this photo were not there then, guess which.

Not hard I think.

We visited The House of Lords, The Eye and rode on the River Thames all the way down to Greenwich. I really enjoyed seeing London from this new perspective.

It helps that many of the buildings have been cleaned in recent years. I think a quote from the dust cover from "London" says it well. The book is "An invitation to witness a unique pageant unfold to reveal the heart and soul of one of the greatest cities on earth".

To bring this to a close the River attracts visitors, trade, boaters and many others from Kent to Lechlade. As it did us when we visited Henley, home of The Regatta - another couple of photos from last Sunday to finish.

There were a few narrowboats moored, looking back towards the bridge and town.

Marsh Lock

Continuous Cruisers to bear the increase in licence fees?

http://www.waterways.org.uk/News/Pressreleases/BWconsultationmeetings

Anyone else here been to any of these meetings? If not, I hope you will go to one of the ones coming up. We don't want BW to think no-one's interested, do we?

I went to Watford yesterday, and I must say I came away with a positive feel on balance. Simon Salem in the chair, Robin Evans alongside and Sally Ash in attendance, plus about 16(?) boaters. Many from IWA Lee and Stort Branch.

Interestingly, most of the subjects raised on Saturday at the SOW strategy meeting were raised by users. I feel certain SOW is right on the) pulse.

From BW's side the most interesting thing was Mr Evans' statement that they think that DCLG (Dept for Communities and Local Government) is the best option instead of DEFRA. Although the consultation document says BW must raise extra money from boaters, discussions are still ongoing about trying to get the government to cough up for all users from different pockets long-term. So the fight against accepting the increases should go on.

Two issues were raised that Mr Evans was quick to say had been talked about in recent consultations, but anything and everything is back on the table.

* Licence calculations by area instead of length could be revisited.
Strong agreement on this idea. (Maybe no wide boaters there?)

* Increased licence fees for continuous cruisers (and by implication for continuous moorers).
On the ground that continuous moorers/cruisers take up all the visitor moorings on the GU, James Griffin(?) from Wyvern Shipping raised the latter point. He claimed that the necessary shortfall could be mostly raised from this source.

Mr Evans said this had been shouted down 3 years ago by all the user groups, but if there is a change of feeling about this, I think it is something they would like to do.

If you are a genuine continuous cruiser, make sure you object to this idea when you send in your consultation return. Otherwise the 9% over inflation figure could be loaded big time onto continuous cruisers.

A Trip to the Thames

Yesterday John went to Foxton for a SOW (Save Our Waterways) meeting. There is still much to be done, for there is talk of DEFRA funding being further cut, with BW a likely sufferer. Watch this blog! On Tuesday he plans to go to Watford to argue with BW against the proposed licence increases of 9% above inflation, at one of the consultation meetings.

The weather forecast for today wasn't up to much, so a trip out from Harefield didn't seem a possibility last night or this morning. But the need for fresh air won, and we drove down to Henley on Thames. What a pleasant surprise. It was windy, true, but look at the sky after the Sunday roasts. Cold though.Maybe we'll post a few more pictures later in the week.

Last night was windy to say the least. We lost the empty plastic box from Epiphany's roof - and another of the lids blew off. Perhaps we'll dispense with them and store the logs in the open or in the cratch. Time will tell.

Advent Is Here

I did think about updating our Advent Calendar at midnight - and then thought again! It is now "live", enjoy! Just click on the date.