Watch Our Cruise On the Kennet and Avon Canal

I was glad to get home from work today. There is definitely something special about living on a narrowboat. Just the sight of Epiphany waiting for me has a de stressing effect!

I am lucky as we have an agreement that John cooks when I am working, so I come in and put my feet up and relax, catch up with how our day has gone, check if there is anything interesting on the TV (less and less now a days!) and enjoy my meal.

Like many areas of the country we have been having cold clear nights, icy mornings and really sunny days. The light on the hills and canal has been fantastic and I even braved the cold one evening to watch the space station "fly" by.

The real purpose of this brief blog is to say that there is now a video of parts of our short cruise on the Kennet and Avon Canal last Saturday here.

I filmed from the stern and so the video is accompanied by the sound of our engine. It sounds a bit different from the "real thing" but that is down to the quality of the equipment I think!

Anyway for canal addicts like us it is worth a look! It was interesting to see how our winding manoeuvre came out!

Enjoy!

A visit to Stafford Boat Club

John travelled to the Staffs and Worcs canal on Sunday. A 2 - 3 hour trip by car. Weeks by canal. Guess which mode of transport he took. We wish it was the slow one! Particularly as the weather was beautiful.

He was attending a Save Our Waterways meeting with lots of other delegates from waterways user groups. It was a good meeting to share views and look at possible action regarding all the various changes on our waterways. There is so much to concern us all, less maintenance, higher licences, diesel price hikes, mooring tenders and now reductions in restoration grants. The canal forums are full of comment, blogs too. As we have said in the past it is important to make the boaters' voice heard. Watch this space!

Anyway to return to the Staffs and Worcs. John called in at Gailey Wharf on his way to Stafford Boat Club where the meeting was being held. Regular readers will know that this is where JD Boat Services are located. They are the builders and management company for a number of share boats including our previous boat Twelfth Night.



By the lock is a round house. It was built around 1800 and used to be the Lock Keeper's home. It is now an excellent gift shop.

JD Boats manage a Viking Afloat hire fleet. Many of which were out of the water for painting and maintenance.



We are familiar with the view of Stafford Boat Club from the canal. This is from another point of view.

A Wonderful Day, A Short Cruise

What an absolutely glorious day! John had someone coming to look at the Renault Clio we are selling (anyone interested? - late 53 plate, 24,400 miles, in v. good condition, FSH!) and then we decided to make the most of the weather and take an afternoon cruise. John also wanted to test his new gadget - a GPS to map our route on Waterexplorer.

So about 1 pm we set out towards Horton and All Cannings. The sun was shining and the temperature on the weather sensor showed 18 degrees (it went up to 20 as we cruised).




I took the opportunity to snap our flowers on the roof. Can you spot the narcissi about to come out! The planters have violas, narcissi and moscarii in them.

The planter by the stern hatch with its extras!



Our large planter mid roof



Dipper with cyclamen and moscarii



A basking cat planter at the bows, these bulbs are not so far on




John split his time between the tiller and playing with the GPS and I carried on with camera, relieving him at the tiller when necessary!



I also took some video and will work on creating something to watch in the next day or so. For those who enjoy listening to the engine sound and imagining themselves on the boat - as we used to - keep an eye on our blog for the link!

Because of the weather there were a few boats out and we opened Bishop's Cannings Swing Bridge for "Mollie May". Following them all the way to Allington Swing Bridge where we winded to return.

A fabulous afternoon and we feel quite refreshed now.

Cruise To The Dentist?

Now tell me. Is our canal obsession catching up with us?

We both had to visit the emergency dentist recently and as I have to have a crown they gave us the details of a dentist that was taking new patients and charging NHS rates. Guess where it is? In a marina! Staverton marina (aka Hilperton marina) in Trowbridge to be precise.



Not on a narrowboat though. Now that is an idea! A mobile dentist on the canals, cruising the system from appointment to appointment! They would be in demand I think.

I digress - slightly! The dentist is not actually in the marina but in the new development alongside. Those of you who have travelled the Kennet and Avon canal below the Caen Hill flight cannot fail to see the Alvechurch (sorry, ABC) hire base at Trowbridge.
Unfortunately we didn't cruise to the dentist - stoppages and time would be a problem!
Opposite is a new marina and tucked away behind the building above in Meadow Court to the left of the moorings is an Indian restaurant and the dental practice.





Entering
Through the bridge







The moorings to the left










A pleasant area to the right





Despite the charges being NHS rates it was an expensive morning and I have 2 more appointments and John has 3 as he has to have a filling!