The last of the old format blogs - for a few years!

Yesterday like most of you we fried under the sun - the warmest day so far I think. We decided to go for a "burble" on the canal - as our neighbour Dave on Nb Summer calls it.

So about three we winded at Pewsey winding hole and headed towards Wootton Rivers. This way there is the most shade on the canal. We tootled along, passing a few moored boats. There were some lovely reflections and the banks are full of wild flowers.

At Wootton Rivers winding hole this boat impeded out winding! However we managed it despite getting a few brambles on the front button

After winding we moored up for dinner. It was a lovely quiet spot, until - Here you will have to go to our new blog for pictures to solve the mystery boat and what disturbed the quiet! click here and then RSS feed or whatever to get to the new blog on a regular basis!

Only joking Andy - great to see you and to add your photo to our record of "Bloggers spotted" - another album to be uploaded to our gallery when we get time. The K & A in two weeks is a tall order, sometimes it pays to take it more slowly! We are amazed by your energy

We then had a quiet "burble" back to Pewsey, much cooler in the evening air.

Believe It Or Not

It's crop circle season!

Driving home from Devizes a couple of times this week I have been puzzled by cars parked, almost haphazardly by the road side. Not just one or tw0 but 10 - 20! The most obvious place was Alton Priors, a gorgeous small village near Honey Street and adjoining Alton Barnes.

Yesterday I twigged it - a crop circle! The countryside is at it's ripest, golden fields full of grain, green rolling hills, that special light that precedes the onset of autumn and warm sunny days that linger into the late evening. Bliss!

Yes I know - August is nearly here and we are three quarters of the way through the year. I love autumn despite it's successor winter. However autumn seems to stretch into November and often we have cruised in really warm weather.

So back to the phenomena of crop circles. Whether you believe that they are extra terrestrial, man made or highly spiritual they are fascinating. Wiltshire abounds in them! We spotted one from the canal last year, possible in roughly the same area as the one at Alton Priors.



The above appeared in a wheat field on July 22nd and I first spotted the cars on my way home on Wednesday - visitors trekking over the fields to find it. You can spot them on this close up of one of the circles (C) Lucy Pringle.



They have a strange beauty, a real work of art and deserve to be appreciated whatever your beliefs.

For more 2008 Wiltshire crop circles click here

It's Friday!

No work today and time to myself!

The last few photos of our cruise have now been added to our gallery. I hope it gives a good record of our journey. It will certainly remind us of the pleasure we had on this lovely stretch of the Kennet and Avon canal. Maybe be we will repeat the trip one day!

We love Wiltshire and it deserves more than just a drive through by car. Exploring it via the canal gives an insight into the varied countryside, the history and the special atmosphere of this part of the country. Many of the so called sights are near the canal or can be reached by bus or bike. We would recommend a visit, take your time, be tolerant of others and their life style and learn to "go with the flow"!

You will also see that I have added a countdown to pulling the pins on our side bar! I need John to tweak the HTML however! I have also noticed that he needs to sort out the "and" in John and Fiona. He is on his way back from a few days in Cornwall (without his lap top!) so will have a lot to catch up on!

The End Of A Wonderful Cruise

My apologies dear blog readers - I may have left you in suspense! The last time I blogged we were moored above Manifold lock!

The only excuse is that I have gone back to work and there has been so much to do in the evening on my return that I haven't caught up! Life does rather get in the way sometimes!

On Monday I left John and the crew to bring the boat up to Pewsey. Only 3 locks and 2 swing bridges! Chicken feed after the last few days. Unfortunately for me it was the best weather all cruise. Still Angela and Kate really enjoyed the day as they kindly re assured me in the evening over a good meal and a few drinks! I think we have a couple of canal converts although I did warn them that the weather makes a big difference!

We said goodbye to the crew on Tuesday morning and since then have been here at Pewsey. The weather is sultry to say the least and as I write every thing that can be opened to the "outside world" is open and as many people as possible are outside off their boats. I am almost tempted to sleep with the rear hatch open for some cool air tonight. - Almost! It got quite cool last night eventually.

So we have had a wonderful few weeks moving down to Bath and back. Our "hot" news is that as from the end of August we will become "continuous cruisers" as we "pull the pins" and really start to explore the system, old pastures and new! My notice has gone in at work and we hope to be off the K & A by early September.

All the "tech" will hopefully be up and running so you can follow us on our journey through our website. So keep a look out for us and give us a wave, shout or stop and chat!

37 days and counting down

Caen Hill Bottom Lock To Manifold Lock

0.93 miles, 2hrs 19m, locks 19, bridges 1, 8.74lm/hr

We woke to a sunny day again! The pound had dropped in the night and we were listing a bit! The lock keeper came down and let down a few lock-fulls of water and we were floating again!

So we set off at 10.00 with me and "crew" locking.


There was a bit of a wind so I let John start off until I was completely compos mentis! We were able to go ahead and set the locks as there was no boat coming down - very quiet in fact apart from the gongoozlers out for their Sunday jaunt.

Here is an illustration of what I was ranting about in my last post!

- The fishermen/boys at the top of the lock.

I spotted a new sign at lock 36. Peter Lindley-Jones wrote "Restoring the Kennet and Avon Canal published in 2003 - a book I mean to get, someday soon.


We found out further up the flight that it was unveiling day today - we met some of the Devizes boat club and Bob Naylor (Photographic Journalist, often published in the boating press and the Butty) who told us on their way down to the lock. So here is a first! Pre unveiling!

We arrived at the top lock, still no boats waiting to come down but by the time we reached AP Herbert lock 46 there were two boats waiting.

We went through our final lock for today and moored outside the Black Horse (above Manifold lock 47) at 12.20 - yes, less than 2 and a half hours! Not bad with a novice crew and with about 50% of the locks set against us! In fact (excuse my French) good!

A good roast at the pub and we all needed a snooze! The afternoon has been lazy, reading, writing, blogging! Now we are all quiet, busy but being entertained by John singing and playing his guitar. It is about time he exercised his voice! Occasionally we join in - not sure if we have an audience in the pub garden, perhaps we should have our hat out!

We certainly should have had it out this morning we would have made a mint - £5/photo or video? I think we may be featuring in a few holiday snaps?

I have to go to work tomorrow, - my holiday is over. The car awaits me in the pub car park and the boat will go on without me to Pewsey. So I shall have to rely on reports for my final cruise blog!

Seend to Sells Green And Beyond

Seend to Sells Green: 0.85 miles, 1 hr 35m, locks 3, swing bridges 2, 2.42 lm/hr
Sells Green to Caen Hill: 1.66 miles, 1 hr 55m, locks 7, bridges 3, 4.15lm/hr

This morning we had a short journey from Seend to Sells Green. We locked up with another boat in sunshine. Between us we had a good system going and lock wheeled the 3 locks. We took the swing bridges in turn and knowing the moorings at Sells Green were prepared to breast up there.

However there was room on the 24 hour moorings for both boats. we planned to stay there until our friends from Cornwall arrived for a couple of days.

Angela and Kate arrived about 4 and John and Angela shuffled the cars so ours was at Marsh Lane at the bottom of the Caen flight. This meant we could eat out as the nearest pub from there is a fair walk!

The sun continued to shine as we set off up the 7 locks. It was a training exercise as Angela had forgotten the lessons of last year and Kate had never been on a canal boat let alone worked locks!



It was a very pleasant evening as we ascended, avoiding the fishermen/boys by nearly all the locks. I get rather cross as the by laws are quite clear about fishing near "movable structures" on the canal. We have been very surprised that the lock keepers at the Devizes locks do not stop this. Time for a letter to BW? It particularly annoys me when they leave their lines down and completely ignore the presence of a boat. To prevent the lines around the prop the only choice is to go into neutral and hope that there is enough momentum to steer the boat as I leave the lock.

Moan over for the moment!

We moored up at the bottom of the flight - there were two other boats waiting to go up on Sunday.


Once moored we relaxed a bit and then went out to the Cross Keys pub in Rowde, about three quarters of a mile away. A nice meal and really good company!


This was the view from Marsh Lane bridge as we returned to the boat - looking back down the Devizes locks, beautiful!


More pictures are still being added to our gallery as we go along. Just click on the individual photos to see them in all their glory!

Avoncliffe To Seend

8.02 miles, 4h56m, Locks:5 Bridges:15, 2.64 lock/mph

After our evening out last night I had a bit of a lie-in this morning! Too much red wine I think!

We set off mid morning and it was really slow going! This is the worst stretch for moored boats I think. We locked through Bradford lock (14) eventually after waiting for the boat in front of us and then a very slow day boat to come down. We had the company of a couple on a small boat - he was Spanish or Italian and they had been living on it for a year.

Then it was Bradford Marina - again lots of boats! Hilperton Hire base was full of boats - a lot to turn around for tomorrow? I think it is good that we will be well past. Although there were still Alvechurch boats coming down the locks at Seend this evening!

Semington swing bridge (161) is still chained back and will be for about 6 months for repairs. Just before Semington bridge we passed a boat named Lark Rise, John asked where To Candleford was!

As we waited for a boat to come down the lock John took some photos of the end/beginning of the Wilts and Berks canal.


When this is restored as you reach the junction there will be the choice of right towards Bath.


Or left into Buckley's lock and towards Caen Hill.


I wonder how soon that will be? Lark Rise joined us for the locks up to Seend Lock 18. As they had a bike aboard they swing bridge "wheeled" (3 bridges) and lock wheeled and I caught up at my own sedated pace to help!

They are thinking of having a new boat built and rather liked Epiphany! So we told them our experiences and why we settled on Bath Narrowboats as our fitters. As we decided to moor in the pound between 18 and 19 they did not get a guided tour of Epiphany but I told them to look at the website for the build and interior!

So we are moored here for the night, will water up and then continue up to Sells Green to pick up some "crew", another couple of friends who will be with us until Tuesday - Caen Hill here we come!

Sydney Wharf To Avoncliffe

6.54 miles, 2h52m, Locks:0, Bridges:12, 2.28 lock/mph

A slow journey today as there were quite a few boats moored. We left at a reasonable time and were not in a rush anyway. We passed the entrance to Sydney Gardens from the canal.

We have seen this boat here before - is this a defence against other boats or keeping it together? Last time he had a raft behind full of wood too!


Bathampton swing bridge has water and an elsan point which means that boats have to moor on the lock landing, but there was plenty of room before this to let me off.


Dundas basin was busy and a lot of boats moored before hand, but afterwards we had a long stretch without moored boats and this is where we met the restaurant boat - passing easily for a change!

When we got to Avoncliffe there was no room on the visitor moorings but we were able to moor beyond them again and reversed back later when someone moved. We met up with Richard, JB and Lisa from Bath Narrowboats for a meal at the Cross Guns pub - superb food again. A great evening, but slightly sad as we probably will not be down this way again for quite a while!

Steaming Away

Once again I find myself having to do a catch up blog! Yesterday and today we cruised, more of that later.

Wednesday we had a brilliant day. It was a "transport day" by which I mean we moved by other means than water!

We caught the bus into Bath - one of the bendy orange ones! At the station we caught a steam train to Bristol. It was a Steam Dreams trip - the train started at Victoria and terminated at Bristol (then return). Luckily for us it stopped at Bath. It was really great to be on the main line hauled by Bittern. The carriage we were in was familiar - a slam door 1960s buffet car! There will be an album full of photos of our trip as soon as I can upload it to the gallery on our web site for you fellow steam buffs!

Here are a couple to whet your appetite!


We caught a bus in Bristol to the Broadmead shopping area - not recommended at the moment as it is a building site due to be finished in the next year or so. However we were able to shop in Debenhams and managed to get John two pairs of jeans and a new shirt in the sale!

After that we wandered down to the riverside and found a bar to have a coffee and a hot fudge sundae (and 2 spoons!)

So it was a shortish walk back to Temple Meads station to wait for Bittern for the return trip! Oh the lovely sound of a steam train hoot and the sound of a steam train approaching!

Bathampton To Sydney Wharf, Bath

1.59 miles, 0h56m Locks:0 Bridges:5 Average speed:1.70 lock/mph

We set out from Bathampton at 10. 20 and arrived at Sydney Wharf at about 11.15. Our speed was very slow as there are a lot of moored boats on this stretch. Some of them were obviously long stayers but there were also a fair number of boats on visitor moorings.

Folly Footbridge (185) is a good access to Bath outskirts and Morrisons which is why this stretch is always well populated!

The canal bends to the left towards Sydney Gardens and the attractive wrought iron bridges. Cleveland House Tunnel is named for the house that sits on top of it - the first HQ of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company.

As we approached this tunnel we heard what sounded like a steam train hoot, hoot! It took us a little while to realise that this was a warning from The John Rennie to any boats that were coming - it takes up all of the space! Fortunately we were just by the one boat mooring/passing place that is here and were able to pull in. As per usual we encounter JR in a tight place - it is becoming quite a joke!



Around the corner and we arrived at Sydney Wharf, passing the new development next to it.



We were expected and so having permission, we were able to moor on one of Bath Narrowboats slots. We can now stay and advertise for their narrowboat building for a couple of days!

We walked into Bath for lunch with John's brother Pete who works in Bath. It was good to catch up. Then wandered back to the boat via the shops, looking in vain for a pair of jeans for John - all we saw were the washed out style and he wants a "decent" pair!

Today (Tuesday) has been spent catching up with washing, polishing one side of the boat and trying to relax in between!

I have just found an interesting read, an article by Jim Shead about Jane Austin and her links with the Kennet and Avon Canal. Hmm, I think he has convinced me!

Avoncliffe To Bathampton

2 hours 30 minutes, 5.51 miles, 2 swing bridges, average speed 2.20 lm/hr

The photos of our journey to Avoncliffe, including ones of the area around the aqueduct are now on our gallery. There is a bit missing from the gallery - the early part of our journey from Pewsey and I hope to upload them in the next day or so. It will then be an up to date record of our cruise so far and the rest of the week to come!

On Sunday morning we set off to Bathampton, over the Avoncliffe aqueduct.


A really early start for us - 7.30 am. Partly because we wanted to stop at Dundas basin to off load our recycling and partly because we wanted to make sure of a mooring at Bathampton so we could go to The George for lunch.

We moored at Dundas and by that time we were all up so it was time for a light breakfast! John and Carolyn had a quick wander around the basin area for some photographs and then we set off again.

It was a glorious sunny, warm morning and we "girls" sat in the bows chatting and the "boys" gossiped at the stern!

There were two swing bridges, Millbrook (179) and Bathampton (182). At the latter we met a convoy! Five boats to pass through before us!


The first crew pulled in to wait for the bridge opener and hoping for a quieter time let all the others and us through! They then shut it before a sixth boat a little behind could catch up. The woman on this boat was very disgruntled, but it was fair enough as they were not hurrying to catch up and the others had let five and us through!

Not long after this we spotted "Tarifa", also built by Bath Narrowboats as a live aboard wide boat, a while before they built Epiphany.



When we arrived at Bathampton we were able to moor at the end of the 24 hour moorings - away from the gongoozlers at the pub. The towpath here is extremely busy with walkers and cyclists, particularly at the weekend.

We enjoyed the garden next to our mooring!


We had a good meal at The George - Sundays is their busiest day, but we were able to get a table inside. The menu is very good and the specials include a cardiotherapeutic menu too! We then had a relaxing afternoon and were sad to say goodbye to John and Carolyn who were returning home from here.

The Flag We Fly On Epiphany

Someone has asked what our flag is - via an anon comment. We do not publish anon comments but I can answer the question here!



Our flag on Epiphany and the one we use on our website is a Cornish Ensign. The White cross on a black background is the flag of St Piran said to represent the tin (as mined in Cornwall) against the black ore.

St Piran is a Celtic saint and he is commemorated each year on 5th March and during that week in many events in Cornwall. It is said he landed at Perranporth, near Newquay when he arrived from Ireland. There an Oratory was built in his name. Over the years it became covered in sand and has become known as "the lost Church".

The reason we fly the flag? John is Cornish, he was brought up in Cornwall. His mother was a Cocking and comes from a long line of the family from St Ives, Cornwall. Many of the men have been involved in fishing and to this day there are Cockings involved in the Lifeboat there. On our website we have a family tree section and there is a search facility that will bring up Cocking.

We have spent the majority of our married life in Cornwall as as I was married to a Cornishman I was just about accepted! I think of Cornwall as my adopted homeland as it is the place that I have lived the longest. Our son, Craig is also very proud to have been in Cornwall and as he has a Cornish birth certificate regards himself as Cornish too!

Over the years we have also found the name Cocking in other places - most recently in Market Lavington, Wiltshire and previously near where we lived on the South coast of Cornwall!

Seend to Bradford on Avon and Avoncliffe

8.02 miles, 4h20m, Locks:5 Bridges:15 Average speed:3.00 lock/mph

Our friends arrived quite late on Friday evening so after a good nights sleep we set off towards Bradford on Avon. The weather was kind and although there was a bit of a breeze it was not cold and we even had some sunny periods!

Not long after we left Send Bottom Lock behind we spotted Nb Salix Alpha coming towards us. Salix Alba was moored below the lock too so I managed to get a photo with Epiphany as the "sandwich" between them - 3 Bath Narrowboats boats together on the canal, a unique opportunity!



Caught , photographic proof - yes, we do carry our stern rope on our tiller pin! For convenience, safety and ease of use!

We passed through the swing bridges - I rather liked this adaptation of a disused bridge into a pleasant garden.



We joined another boat for Semington lock and Buckley's lock. At Buckley's lock we waited for a day boat to enter the lock with a Hen Party aboard. They did not really know what they were doing and I had to stop them reopening the bottom paddles and explain the principle of locking up. They were gently taught how to fill the lock by our crew and fellow boater! Frankly some of them looked terrified!



It was a busy scene when we arrived at Bradford lock and we waited whilst two boats came up. As usual there were plenty of gongoozlers!


It was not much longer before we arrived at Avoncliffe and moored up.


We decided to go for a wander to take some photos of the aqueduct and its surroundings. We booked into the Cross Guns pub for our evening meal too. When we returned to the boat I spotted a notice, not very obvious, that showed we were moored on Permit Holders moorings.

Fortunately by then there was space on the 24 hour visitor moorings so we moved up! We all really enjoyed an excellent meal at the Cross Guns pub and would recommend the food, service and ambiance very highly.

I have a number of photos of Avoncliffe, the aqueduct and surroundings. I may do another blog with a selection on later but -

We are in process of adding all our photos to our new gallery on our website, please be patient with us as the plan is to move the blog, link all the photos and also map them. You will see our tests here and it will not be long - hopefully in the next few days when things change. We will let you know and put a permanent link to the new locations on blog spot!

Sells Green To Seend

1.14 miles, 1h27m, Locks:3 Bridges:3, Average speed: 2.85 lock/mph

We both woke early this morning so were able to get going earlier - well earlier than normal for us, i.e 9am!

Well first we went backwards - a couple of boats lengths to the water point! Once filled up we set off to the swing bridge. I made a complete hash of the steering - my brain has not been in gear all day - so John took over and continued as we went down the Seend flight.

Some of the paddles are hard in this flight so at lock 20 I got on the boat and John continued with this one and 19!

The canal bank is well protected in the pound between locks 20 and 19!

It stayed dry all the way - even a bit of sunshine! We moored up opposite the Barge Inn below lock 19. There were only a few boats here then.



After lunch John walked back to Sells Green (in the pouring rain) on the towpath to get the car and go shopping. My jobs on the boat were cleaning and baking a cake!

About 4 we drove up to the Three Magpies again for a couple of drinks with Jon (Bath Narrowboats) and his family and James who also has a BN narrowboat - Nb Salix Alba, moored just below the next lock.

We are now relaxing after a meal and have a few more things to do before our friends join us later this evening. There are no moorings left in the pound, it is a very popular spot because of the pub! It is a very pleasant, dry evening!

Richard (Bath Narrowboats) emailed to say that the River Avon is flowing very fast and may be closed to navigation so it looks as if we will not get down there. We cannot get stuck on the river as it is rather a long way for me to get to work!

So we will just take our time, and enjoy the canal!

Off We Go Again!

I am on holiday! This means we can dispense with the car - park it somewhere secure and pull the pins for 9-10 days.

Moored near the water point at Sells Green ready for tomorrow

So the plan is - water up tomorrow morning, move down 2 swing bridges and 3 locks to Seend and wait for John and Carolyn to join us for the weekend. Whilst we wait - a food shop and a boat clean!

John has been busy today. He fitted our new battery, this replaces the one that had a dud cell (replaced under warranty), so now we can be "fully charged"! He also finished varnishing the new sliders that enable us to lengthen and shorten the fender ropes, fitted the ropes, sliders and new fenders together and put them on the roof. We now have our full quota of fenders again plus a spare.

Fender slider

Whilst he had the varnish out he re varnished our star and put it back on the cratch and also varnished the bit of the cratch that had worn badly! Also we can now hang the flag in the stern cabin beside the tiller on newly varnished rests!

Flag and Tiller in stern cabin

So now we look a bit smarter - only the red rails to go and a wee bit of touching up elsewhere. However we have to wait for summer to arrive and a bit of settled weather for that! I suppose we can live in hope.

The forecast for the weekend is not too bad and after that it looks as if it may warm up and become more settled. Hopeful?!

Monsoon?

Rain drops are fallin' on our boat, there are huge puddles on the tow path and the trees are drip drip dripping!

It has rained all day! Not just rain but huge drops of heavy rain! The road gutters cannot cope with the amount of rain and run off from the fields! It was predicted that Wiltshire would have 1 inch of rain today, I am sure it has been much more. Hopefully this will get it over and done with before we pull the pins for our holiday cruise down to Bath!

The only boats that are on the move are hire boats - poor things have schedules to keep.

We had a great evening with Mike and Sally Ann (Cornwall by the Sea blog and MX-5 car enthusiasts). They have just bought a boat in Norfolk and are on their way to photograph it and decide what needs doing. Like we were, they are excited to be boat owners!

John went "back to school" this morning as Mike had kindly offered to teach John how to splice a rope. So by the time I got home he had managed to splice a loop onto each of our ropes used for our mooring hooks and also on each end of our new long bow rope! He now has pink, painful fingers! Ahh.. - but a job well done thanks to Mike's excellent tuition!

Still At Sells Green

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday catch up blog!

Our quick drink at The Three Magpies turned into a couple of hours listening to some live entertainment. We had agreed to meet up with Geoff and Gill (nb Petroc) for a drink there and as we sauntered from the canal I commented that they usually have live music on a Saturday evening - it can vary in quality and is not always to our taste. However this time it was 60s music and we really enjoyed the first half of his "show".

Sunday morning we drove up to the church at Seend - on Geoff and Gill's recommendation, they went too! The church is lovely - we felt very at home there and the woman vicar had some very pertinent things to say in her short but punchy sermon. We do not have any problem with women priests!

The weather was foul though and after a really good lunch at The Barge we enjoyed an afternoon in with the tennis (well, evening really - what a match!) and a "high tea" of home made scones, jam and Cornish cream!

Monday was a wet day, but as I had to go to work apart from the walk to the car from our mooring I was not too fussed about the weather! The afternoon cheered up and Nb Petroc moved off towards Caen Hill. We will miss them! Our mooring was a little difficult apart from being a good walk to the car the movement of the water in the pound as boats went down the lock towards Seend left us aground! With my slightly iffy back a listing boat was not a good idea - it recreated what the problem was from years ago - one hip higher than the other!

Anyway the weather today has been better and even some sunshine. So about lunch time John moved the boat to the water point to fill up and then moved along a bit to moor. We have a new battery in the car and need to empty the elsan so now not only is the walk shorter, there is no list but the heavy jobs can be done a little easier. As I drove home this afternoon I spotted Nb Petroc at the Black Horse nearly at the top of the Devizes flight - Gill was taking a photo, I hope I didn't make you jump when I tooted.

Hopefully my back will now clear up in time for the weekend when our friends John and Carolyn join us for the beginning of our cruise down to Bath.

This evening we are meeting up with Mike and Sally Ann (Cornwall by the sea) as they are passing through and will be in their van just over the hedge in the Caravan Club site! It really is nice to meet up with friends both those on the canal and those who come to visit. We have really enjoyed doing this recently!

Finishing Off The Devizes Flight - Bottom of Caen to Sells Green

1.66 miles,1h48m, Locks:7, Bridges:3, 4.79 lock/mph

We had a very quiet night - no boats arrived to wait for the flight to open at 8 am! We were grateful for the tyres we picked up a while ago - for fenders. The sides at the bottom of Caen are very high with a bit of an overhang and our round fenders were not effective against the boat banging last time we were here. The tyres worked - tied so they were floating horizontally.

When we woke it was sunny, but very blustery. The boats moored ahead of us moved off - one very early. We left about 10. 40 am to go down the 7 locks to Sells Green. This a pretty stretch and we enjoyed pottering down!

Exiting lock 28 under Marsh Lane Bridge

We had a little help from the wide boat Talisman that was following us down. The owners live near Padstow, Cornwall and like to get away from the summer crowds down there on their boat based on the K & A! They plan to eventually sell the boat and retire down there! I said we had done the opposite!

There were also a few boats coming up so some of the locks were set for us. This is by lock 25 where we met 2 boats coming up.


We had a couple of light showers but most of the time the sun shone. We had a bit of an altercation with some lads fishing on one lock landing who insisted that the "no mooring" sign there meant we could not put a rope ashore to wait for the lock! They insisted their angling licence entitled them to fish there. We pointed out the "no fishing" sign and they continued to complain that we had taken their lines away! They refused to see sense so in the end we gave up explaining and anyway the lock was ready!

We got to the bottom lock at Foxhangers and waved to Ann from "nb Skylarking" as we went by.

Ann works at Foxhangers and her husband John helped fit out Epiphany at Bath Narrowboats. Once past all the moorings there we motored quickly to Sells Green.

It was very blustery by then and we pulled in in front of "Posh Rats and Activ". Robert greeted us and said he had seen us yesterday on his way back from work, figuring we were on our way down! They run a coffee boat, moving around a bit, but are here for the moment. We know them from Devizes and Pewsey Boat clubs.

There was some space further up nearer the swing bridge so we moved on and managed to moor - a bit out from the side so need the gang plank. How ever that is not such a bad thing as the towpath here is very dusty and the cyclist throw up a fair amount as they pass at speed!

Settling for lunch we managed to watch most of the F1 qualifying and now have the women's tennis final on! I really wanted a TV signal as Dr Who is so good at the moment! After that maybe a drink in the Three Magpies is called for!

Plans Are Not Necessarily A Good Idea!

4.24 miles, 5 hrs 35 mins, 22 locks, 4.71lmph

Yesterday en route to The Bridge Inn there is a tight bend - look how tight! On the right are permanent moorings and opposite on the bend a very large wide boat!


Some of our readers will have encountered this boat and will now be having a wry smile!

What a funny day today turned out to be! We had a plan for today so off we set!

I left the boat at Horton Bridge and took the car into Devizes for some shopping and John cruised down to Devizes. After London Bridge the police had closed off the towpath and were looking for something.



This is where a disabled lady on a motorised scooter lost control and had to be rescued from the canal yesterday. The bank is very steep so she must have had a nasty experience. Apparently she is not too badly injured.

I parked the car and met John at Kennet lock (50) where nb Beau was waiting for another boat to go down with. We went down with him and his dog Bill through the 3 locks to the Black Horse pub. I know Collies drive sheep, but narrowboats through locks?



Bill does look a little scared though, maybe he is wondering what his master is doing leaving him in charge of the boat whilst he operates the lock!

At the Black Horse John walked back for the car - unloaded the shopping, loaded the empty gas bottle and went back to Devizes for a new one and some rope from the marina, a long length for a long bow rope - apparently for me to practice my skills at throwing the rope to lock keepers on the Thames!

Epiphany at the Black Horse pub moorings

Back he came, unloaded the car and took it down to Sells Green, caught the bus back and as the sun was shining we set off with the intention of going down to Caen top lock - 3 more locks. The flight closes at 5 pm and we were pretty sure we would not be there in time.

So Caen Hill on Saturday as planned, although Gill from Petroc told us the weather was going to be bad and they had decided to stay down below at Seend for the weekend! We would meet up on Sunday.

We met the lock keeper who asked if we planned to go down the flight - "up to you" said John! He said "it's OK there is a boat coming up so they will be set and as you go you can leave the bottom paddle open" as per usual when they are closed. A change of plan? - OK, we said and we set off down the flight at about 5.10!

The lock keeper warned us that there was a lot of water in the flight - a bit of an understatement, as it turned out. There are no by washes on the Caen Hill 16 locks and so the water continued to come in through the "letter boxes" (the ground paddle overflows) and into the lock when the top ground paddles are fully closed! He said it would probably be difficult to open the bottom gates of the first few locks because of this! Another understatement!

It was a good job John was locking - even his weight, strength and sheer brute force was only just enough to open them with difficulty! This was the scene at lock 41, it felt like being in a film set imitation sea tank!


The turbulence from the water coming in at my stern was rocking the boat from left to right! It also made steering out of the lock fun!

The water in lock 40 was very high - in fact it was going over the bottom gates, as you can detect if you notice the dark, wet, tide mark!



As the lock emptied the turbulence began again. John then decided we needed to stop some water coming down and shut the bottom paddles of the previous lock, thereby damming the flight!

When we entered the next lock (eventually!) the lock keeper appeared and said he was going to let some water right down the flight otherwise he would have a flood! I think he might have been right!

So lock 38 had all its paddles raised as did the rest of the flight!



Once this had been done it was "plain sailing" from there on and we finally arrived at the bottom about 8pm! Moored on the visitor moorings and had a well deserved meal!

The only other problem was that we were unable to "live track" our journey down Caen as for some reason John could not get it to start - so our journey has been entered manually!

Dare I say it - our plan for tomorrow is to go down the 6 locks to Foxhangers and then on to Sells Green.

Devizes Here We Come

Tuesday: 0.2 miles Elapsed time: 25 m; Locks:1; 2.88 lmph;

Wednesday: 0.75 miles Elapsed time:1h24m52s Locks:5 Bridges:0; 4.06 lmph

Thursday: 15.45 miles Elapsed time:7h36m54s Locks:4 Bridges:32; 2.55 lmph

Well strictly speaking until this evening - here John comes on Epiphany! No I have not jumped ship - only during the day! Work has been horrendous and I have been too tired to even think about starting up my laptop!

As those of you who either check our website or Water Explorer to see where we are and what we have done will know we are moored at The Bridge Inn, Horton. This is on the outskirts of Devizes.

John has singled handed the boat for the last two days. On Tuesday we moved Epiphany from below lock 60 to above to get water and moored there for the night. At the moment the water point on the off side is very difficult to access as the boat could not get right in and the vegetation there is really overgrown - not to be recommended! Particularly when a wide boat decided to barge (!) into the lock before we had a chance to clear it - doh!

So off I went to work on Wednesday morning only to get a text later "going up Crofton locks". Much later another one "moored at Wolfhall Bridge"; this is just after the top lock. John gave me directions and by dint of a little local knowledge, a road map and the canal map I found the farm track that gave access and a little parking!

Almost as soon as I was home a guy arrived to say that there was a dry pound in the flight and he would have to let some water down. Someone had left the top paddles open as well as one bottom paddle (the locks on the flight all have to be left empty). So we had a listing evening with drawers etc. open and doors unable to close! Fortunately the electric pumps were functioning and the water eventually rose to level us off!

So this morning I left for work not quite knowing where I would spend the night! Our mobiles then proceeded to go on the blink. I could hear John but he could not hear me. We could exchange texts and messages though. Bizarre.

However thanks to the new feature on our website I could track his journey! Have a look! (follow the drop down link on nb Epiphany button). At end of the day I could see he was approaching Bishops Cannings swing bridge so tried to ring him - all was working and John planned to moor here! It all worked a treat. I think we deserve a drink which we will indulge in soon!

Tomorrow we will make Devizes and then hopefully Caen top lock and be ready to go down the flight on Saturday possibly passing Nb Petroc on the way if we leave early enough! I think we will manage to meet at a pub on Friday evening!

We are playing with another way of uploading pictures to our blog along with a new blog on our website so photos tomorrow I hope!

Excitement at Crofton

Mooring at Crofton is very special - or at least we think so. I am not sure if it is unique on the system but there cannot be many places where the old and its nemesis, which caused the canals first demise, combine to such an effect.

We were fortunate to be here again when the pumping house was in steam and this just adds to the atmosphere. The knowledge that whilst it is in steam it is doing the job that it was built to do in 1807 - 9, namely pumping water to the top pound of the K & A. The electric pumps are switched off and one's imagination takes you back to the days when the canal was first built.

The years of the Industrial Revolution eventually led to the development of the railway in 1841. The thought of the sight of the steam from the pumping house chimney, the steam from the steam engines passing on the railway and the working boats carrying coal and Bath stone makes me wish I was here to to see it!

Some of the restored boats can be seen at Hatton soon.

At the meeting we attended with Robin Evans a serious proposal was made that the BW restored working boats should make a trip to Crofton loaded with coal for the engine. Now that would be good to see.

We knew that Network rail would be working on the railway that runs parallel to the Kennet and Avon canal at Crofton.
What we did not expect was to be woken at 3. 30 am to hear what sounded like an enormous aircraft and very loud frequent thumps! Looking out the porthole this is what we saw!



A very long goods train carrying ballast and a "machine" that was doing all the work supervised by men with powerful torches! It had travelled from Reading and was going to Pewsey laying the track ballast and new rails (we think!).

All the work continued during Sunday and we took the opportunity to visit the pumping station again. More of this tomorrow!

Wooton Rivers to Crofton

3.39mls, 2hrs 34mins, 8locks, 4.43lmph

It rained quite a bit in the night but it was dry by morning. We set off about 10 as we had 2 more locks to do in the Wootton Rivers flight and then the 6 down to Crofton.

Approaching Cadley Lock

We passed Burbage Wharf with just of the stump of the crane left, it is being restored at Claverton. (See Claverton Blog); quickly followed by Bruce Tunnel (502 yards). The towpath goes over the top of the tunnel so walkers have a bit of a climb. Bruce tunnel was named after Thomas Bruce, Earl of Aylesbury. It still has chains on the walls that were used to pull boats through.

About half a mile later the Crofton flight begins, just after the imposing remains of an old railway bridge either side of the canal. We stopped just before the winding hole to hold the boat whilst John set the Crofton Top Lock (55). All the locks down to Crofton should be left empty and have really leaky gates. Two of them have interesting names – Adopters lock (57) and Sam Farmer Lock (58).




After the next lock we moored briefly to have lunch and cast off just before two boats began to descend behind us. This meant that they had to wait for us, or slow down a bit. There was a fairly brisk wind blowing by this time but the sun was out and it was very pleasant.

There have been a lot of walkers today – some of them serious hikers by the looks of their gear and also one group who were orienteering. We only passed two boats coming up and that was not until Crofton lock where there was a BW man helping boats through. He was quite chatty and helpful and as there was another boat coming up we John was able to leave the gate open.

We moored right down near the next lock (Crofton Crossing Lock - 61). There were only two moorings left!

Looking back from our mooring towards lock 60 and the pumping station

John then dashed off the catch the bus at Bedwyn a couple of miles away to go back to Pewsey to bring the car here.

Bus via Marlborough

We plan to stay on the 48-hour moorings then perhaps wind and go up a lock so we can stay here until Thursday. I shall go to work from here as Marlborough is not too far and I only have to go into Devizes on Wednesday.

Since we have been moored the boat traffic has been heavy – maybe because Crofton Pumping House is in steam this weekend. I can smell the coal smoke from the chimney as it blows down the cut – a very nostalgic smell!

It has been a lovely evening and as I upload this the sun is setting, but not such a good sky as they had a Wimbledon in the last few moments of the Nadal/Kiefer match!