Stoke Bruerne

Unfortunately we had problems with the signal yesterday and the blog just would not be sent; tried quite a few times until it was bedtime. So the blog published earlier this evening was last night’s.
This morning we took it easy; fortunately my knee pain was not so extreme as yesterday, so I managed to hobble down to the Canal Museum near the lock at 11 o’clock. We enjoyed the visit there, in spite of the stairs which were rather difficult under the circumstances. Quite a few schoolchildren there on a day trip- memories of the past!
After a quick lunch back on TQ, Cap’n reversed all the way to the winding hole just before Blisworth Tunnel, much to the delight of the children. The tunnel was as wet as ever and still as fascinating in that you always think that the light at the end of the tunnel is a lot nearer than it is. I took a few photos of the different stages but won’t bore you with those, shall just post one taken not too far from the end and the second taken just before exiting. Had a quick stop for water at the edge of the Nottingham Arm, then continued on. We moored at 1730 and are looking forward to seeing our son and grandson before too long!

Oh dear.....

St. Peter's, Weedon Bec

Some Interesting Buildings


Up at 0630 to greet another grey day, while much of the country is enjoying lovely weather like we had at the weekend! At least it’s not raining or blowing a gale, both - or either- of which would be far worse than cloudy weather when we’re on our boating trip.
We set off at 0810 for the very short trip to the next bridge, so that we could go to Weedon Bec village for newspaper and milk. We tied up by 0830 and all was well - but not for long, unfortunately. Somehow, during the short exercise of getting off TQ, I managed to wrench my knee, with a big crunch! Not really very funny and I’m not sure how I managed to get down the very convenient steps near the boat to get to the village. (Only with help from the captain).
We walked through the churchyard of the pretty church, St Peter‘s, (well, limped in my case), and enjoyed seeing the old cottages and houses, some of which are included in the photographs. There is a P.O. and a One Stop shop in the village. We were back at TQ just after 9.30 and away not too long afterwards. The Captain then had to manage the boat single handed all day, as any movement on my part was agony. I had to sit down for as much of the time as possible. We navigated Blisworth Tunnel, the third longest presently navigable tunnel in Britain, during the afternoon; it was rather wet in parts.
Moored at Stoke Bruerne after exiting the tunnel, about half past three and I stayed on board while a bit of reconnoitring was done.
We realise that if the situation stays the same tomorrow, operation of locks will be impossible so we are going to retrace our ‘steps’ and will look forward to the assistance of our elder son- and our darling little grandson!- as we near the Buckby Flight again. We’ll see…

Surprise!

We had been led to believe that the excellent weather was to continue in the same vein for a few days at least, so were very surprised to wake up to a foggy day at 7 o'clock this morning! The mist changed to a dull greyness and it was quite cold out on the aft deck. We set off at 0840 and by 9 o'clock we had started on the Braunston Locks- six double locks, with very tough gates. Fortunately we met a couple on a working boat, so were able to save water, which is even more important than usual at the moment, with restrictions likely to come about before too long. We also teamed up with the same boat for the Buckby Flight of seven locks - again, very tough gates and some of the paddles weren't easy to get going either!
We tied up at Whilton Marina at 1pm. We had been told when we were at the lock that a new cafe was open there so went across to see if we could get a sandwich. However, the cafe was due to open tomorrow actually; they were just finishing off getting everything ready. The lady told us that her husband grows all his own vegetables and they keep chickens, so are going to use mostly home-grown food. The cafe is part of the chandlery building at Whilton Marina. Fortunately the small chandlery near the lock had a few newspapers for sale... The usual type of chandlery crammed with everything you need for the boat, plus a few more things you need anyway, like milk, biscuits and chocolate!
(We had a home-made sdandwich on TQ).
We set off about quarter to three, by which time the sun kept trying to get out, but not always succeeding and it was still rather cold. At four o'clock we moored in a quiet place at Weedon Bec, not too far from a pub, funnily enough. We had a little rest and warm-up then after a quick reconnoitre of the area and in spite of aching joints managed the three minute walk to the Heart of England pub near the bridge 24. We enjoyed a delicious meal there

Back to TQ!

Arriving at Braunston



Well here we are again on TQ, with the weather rather different from when we left three months ago. It was a beautiful day today, just like summer. We arrived at the marina, which we hadn't been to before, at 1045 as we knew the boat had been available since Thursday. The staff in the marina office were friendly and helpful and there were no problems with the boat.
We left just before 2pm and enjoyed a leisurely cruise to Braunston, passing many moored boats on the way. Most of their owners were sitting out enjoying the fine weather! We were lucky to find a mooring spot quite quickly and we decided to have our meal on board tonight (Thanks M&S!). Since then we have been looking at canal guides and working out alternative routes for this week from what we had originally planned.(JIC). Looking forward to tomorrow....

Our New Website

Good News! Our new website has been launched in preparation for our transfer to Self Management on 1st March 2012. It's bare bones at the moment and there's more to be added, but it's an excellent start. We can be found at www.nb-tranquility.co.uk/. Feel free to take a look.

All the preparation work is fast approaching completion, but some work will continue as the year progresses. Tools and spares are being sourced, I bought these recently...

Some tools for TQ

...to go in our tool box:-



It's not quite as vivid as it appears.

And donated these:-

Should prove useful one day.

Together with some spare parts...

Three drive belts for the engine alternators/generator.

Things are beginning to fall into place.

Our first Committee Meeting...

...Held at Napton Village Hall today (8/1/12),was very productive. The date has been set for the official transfer to self management, and the Agreement and Schedules have been discussed and modified and will be put forward to the membership for approval.
After the meeting we went to Wigrams Marina where we met managers Gillian and Kerry and made our choice from the available berths. We'll be bringing TQ here from Elton Moss within the next few weeks, but first there are some minor issues with the paintwork that need to be finished off, and some "I"s crossed and "T"s dotted.

Bridgwater and Taunton Canal on BBCs Countryfile

This is my local canal, such a shame its landlocked. I'd love to park my barge on the banks of my works back garden.
Don't miss next weeks thrilling installment on Sunday 15th January when the B and T Canal will be featured. Can't wait? Check out the preview here.

It's finished

The ring is now complete and awaiting fitting.


Pressing the brass rod into a ring.




The finished article.

 I'll fit it to TQ when I'm on holiday in April '12.

A posh accessory

Some while ago it was requested that a ring be placed in the seating area on the inside wall of the semi-trad stern on Tranquility. This is for the dog owners of the syndicate to tie their best friend to and keep them under control. A galvanised steel item was purchased and fitted, and it looked awful, it was the sort of thing that would be at home on a farm for tying your prize bull to. At the AGM earlier this year it was asked if a brass one could be located and fitted, but this option had been sought in the past and procurement of such an item had drawn a blank. I waited until the conversation came to a critical point and volunteered (what was I thinking?) just before the fingers started pointing, to make one and nearly got my hands bitten off. Everyone in the syndicate knows I'm an engineer, so if I didn't volunteer I would have been volunteered. I don't mind really, if anyone wants something made I'll try my best to oblige.

Here's a pictorial progress report:-



First, mill two sides square. Re clamp, then mill the other two sides
square and to size using a 10mm slot drill.

 

Mill a 1/8" chamfer all round. Done with a 45 degree
countersink/chamfer tool seen in the top of the photo.



Stage one completed.



Stage two is drill and countersink four holes to suit No.2 BA screws,and
then drill and reamer two holes 1/4" diameter to accept the brass loop.

 The next bit is a little more complicated. I need to make some tools on my lathe to bend the loop and the ring. This will consist of three rollers with a 1/8" radiused groove to accept the 1/4" brass rod. These tools are then set up on the milling machine and I'll use it as a press to bend the brass rod.



Three rollers set up to produce a curve in the brass rod.




A dry fit of the loop in the base plate.




Heating it up to apply some silver solder.




After soldering the dag ends are cut off ready to be machined flush.

 Well that's it for today, I'll finish it after Christmas. Which just leaves me to say have a really great Christmas and lets all look forward to some wonderful cruising in the coming season.

TQ after wash and brush up!

Last day on TQ until March.
We couldn’t believe what a nice day it was, when we looked out, after all we’d heard! Blue skies, fluffy clouds and sunshine.. Wonderful! We were working Wardle Lock at 1030, then stopped to fill up at the water point round the bend. Nipped over to the Kings Lock chandlery as we couldn’t find any Brasso on board . (Had tried another shop previously and the young chap at the counter said, ‘Brasso? What’s that?’) As the weather was still good, we stopped after Kings Lock so that the captain could continue with the cleaning of the exterior of the boat after all the rain yesterday afternoon. We had lunch there and left at 1320, when we could see very dark clouds gathering not too far away. The wind was still very gusty and the boating was a bit tricky at times, but we were very lucky as the rain, though chasing us, did not catch us until nearly three o’clock. It wasn’t too heavy then until we got to Crows Nest Lock, where we also had sleet and hailstones! After we had tied up at Elton Moss at 4pm, at the end of our holiday, the heavens opened again and we’ve had more showers this evening. All in all, it was a good trip and we enjoyed it. We were extremely lucky that the weather wasn’t far worse for us; we were definitely in a part of the country that missed the extremes of the weather.

TQ at Stanthorne Lock

So, we were expecting an even worse day (weather-wise) than yesterday, after having listened to a few weather forecasts, but we were really very lucky.
The morning was reasonably bright and although you couldn’t actually say it was warm it was a higher temperature than it’s been all week, i.e. not freezing! We set off for the lock about 9:30 and were pleased to find that the gusts of wind were no worse than yesterday, though of course they were bad enough then, as you may remember reading.
Although there was some use of the barge pole and holding off from the banking etc., we got through the locks without too much trouble and only a little light rain and by 1315 we had tied up in the last section before Wardle Lock. Soon afterwards, the heavens opened and the rain lasted for quite a while. We walked to the town about 4.30 -when it had stopped raining- and came across the Post Office on the way, so I managed to post the last of the Christmas cards. Great, all finished! The town now has a few coffee shops, whereas last time we were here there wasn’t one. There are more eating places too (sign of the times) and we went to The White Bear. It was an old pub but had been closed for two years. It has been modernised and has only been open for two weeks. We enjoyed our meal very much. The lamb shank was huge!
The air was rather icy as we walked back to the boat but fingers crossed it will be warmer by morning- we live in hope.

A wet but shiny TQ

It was another wet and windy night, this time next to the aqueduct at Nantwich. Every now and then the boat would shake as a strong gust of wind caught her. However in the morning the sun was out and there was only a little rain, so we set off in the direction of the Middlewich Branch of the SUC. We didn’t get that far -at least not in the time we expected to- as we were blown into the banking near Henhull, where the gusts were extreme. After an awful lot of effort and exasperation we managed to leave the banking behind just one and a half hours later! Continuing to Barbridge we decided to stop there as lunchtime seemed to have come around quickly. (Far more quickly than our escape from the banking). Mooring at Barbridge wasn’t particularly easy either but the cap’n managed it and after our sandwiches we moved further along to take on water. Took these photos of TQ there, as people had asked for them, but neither the place nor the weather were really suitable so we promise we’ll take more if the weather improves before Saturday.
Round the corner into the Middlewich branch at last and we tootled along there until we arrived at Cholmondesten, mooring just before the lock about 3pm. We decided to cross over to the Venetian Marina and see if anything had changed since we were last there. Thought we might have a coffee but the café was closed and it was a bit too long to wait until it opened…..the date to wait for was February 2012. We didn’t feel like browsing in the new (to us) Treasures and Antiques shop at that time, so went into the quiet, very small chandlery shop and had a chat with the lady there. She said she was glad to see us and it must have made her feel it was worth going in to work today, even though we didn’t buy anything. After all that excitement we went back to TQ and got ready for a cosy evening, with our own coffee and evening meal.

Warm welcome at the Crown Hotel Nantwich

It was a very wet and windy night again, but a sunny morning. Very quiet at Barbridge and still very cold. We had a lazy morning and set off at 1050 for Nantwich. No problems and the temperature actually went up a bit, so the trip was quite pleasant. We were very well wrapped up of course! Not too busy at the Nantwich moorings so after checking out spaces, we went along to the winding hole and came back to moor quite near the aqueduct at 1230.
After lunch on board we walked down to the town, enjoying the sight of all the lovely old buildings on the way. We had a look round the old (14th/15th century) cathedral-like church, with its very fine old and modern stained glass windows and some amazing needlework displays. Waited in the long Post Office queues to get cards for abroad weighed and then went for a coffee, to pass the time before the pubs opened. We went to the old Crown Hotel and it was a very good choice! For the last hour or two before we went there, it had got a lot colder again, so it was great to see a roaring fire. We enjoyed a most delicious meal, the Cannon of Lamb. Can heartily recommend it! The atmosphere of the place was perfect for a winter evening and afterwards we were ready for the walk back to TQ and hopefully to write the last few cards.

We arrived back on board Tranquility on Saturday. She is looking really good after the new painting job, lovely glossy finish! Have already had comments from strangers about how great she looks. By the time we had unpacked and got sorted, there wasn't much time before darkness would set in so we decided to wait till the next day before moving away. We had enjoyed a good meal at the Big Lock pub at Middlewich on the way to Sandbach, so just stayed on board for the night.

On Sunday we got up quite early- ooh, cold!- and set off at 0810 towards Wheelock, in order to turn around. We moored back at Elton Moss by 9am, then left by car for Sandbach so I could go to Mass in the small, old St Winefride's church. We got back to Elton Moss by 1140 and left soon afterwards for Middlewich. It was cold and wet and we wondered why we had decided to use this week of our allocation instead of staying in a warm, cosy home....We moored before Rumps Lock, for lunch, then continued up to the moorings before Kings Lock, where we stayed for the night. Short days in Winter!

There were very heavy rain showers in the night and also some this morning and it was VERY cold. Steve went out for his newspaper and I went out later to post the Christmas cards I'd been writing. We went through Kings Lock about 10am and Wardle afterwards. Very icy. Quiet down the Middlewich Branch but we did meet 5 boats altogether. Apart from a rain shower to start with, we had beautifully sunny weather all day, but it was perishingly cold. (Hot water bottles were good for improving the temperature of frozen hands). We arrived at Barbridge just after 3.30pm and filled up the water tank, then tried to moor further along. Plenty of space but, as at other times, difficult to get near to the banking. We were intending to have a meal at the Barbridge Inn, but it didn't look too hopeful when there weren't any lights on at 6:15pm. However, we decided to have a look and discovered that the place is closed for refurbishment. (Loved the live Jazz there on Thursdays). We carried on walking to the Jolly Tar across the very busy main road, to see if they were offering food. Fortunately yes and it was very good, though the place was nearly empty. Back to TQ early, so time to write the blog!

Change of management. A New Beginning...

Its AGM day today and some radical decisions have been made. Firstly we had a meeting at Olympus Narrowboats to check out the new paint job. Its not finished yet, but progress is being made and should be finished by Wednesday. So far it all looks good and the paint has a deep lustre and thickness which makes it look rich. All that's left to do is the black gunwales, red handrails and panel coachlines.

The green is a shade darker

Looks good here, even better to touch it



Name plates ready for "Tranquility" and "No. 8" with the Swan insignia



The cream is non slip

Then we had the AGM where the big decision is that we're going "self management". The meeting lasted more than two and a half hours, and I think most people are happy, although the voting was not unanimous.  It all seems a little bit daunting at this stage but Artie from Carefree says he will help us all he can with the transfer and if it all goes belly up, he'll have us back in an instant. I think he didn't want us to feel that we'd burned our bridges. The transition will take several months and Artie says he'll guide us all the way. There is one thing we're going to learn about from this and that's all the wheeling and dealing that goes on in the background and the planning, finance and maintenance. One thing on our side is that we have all the skills in the syndicate to do it. So here we go head long into a new era with TQ.

Time to go home.

Its been so busy in the Braunston area, we've seen more boats on the move in this spot that during the whole time spent on the River Nene.

Seen along the way:-


I had to take a photo of this, I wonder how long its been there.
I'd guess since 1979 when their album The Wall was released.
It's lasted well.

 This is the only piece of graffiti I like, it's plain, simple, uncluttered and I have to say because I'm biased, (they produce some of my favorite music) this should be a listed building, not that appendage, that wart sticking out of the middle of Northampton.

Our final journey of this holiday with TQ was quite short and our first stop was at the water point just above the lock to fill the water tanks, fore and aft. Then it was through the lock and moor up stern end on to the quay, unload all our junk onto the car, fuel up and pump out TQ, pay our dues and make our way back home.

So, summing up, would I go down the Nene again? Yes, absolutely. Its a beautiful river and gets better after Wellingborough, I wish circumstances could have been different and we could have explored the Middle Level, but that will have to wait for another time. The drawbacks - You need an extra visitors license (if you don't have a BW Gold license), and it's not cheap. Additionally you'll need a special EA key to operate the locks and obtain water. This will cost £10, but on the up side, pump outs are FREE - YES FREE! You just have to help yourself. Facilities are scarce, the only pump outs being at Peterborough and Northampton. The facility at Rushden and Diamonds has been closed, moorings only, not even any water. There are some nice places to moor, you just have to find them as they're not always obvious.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the trouble to read my blog over the last three weeks, our next adventure is due in January 2012, though I think we may not be taking it after our last Winter escapade. We'll have to wait and see how the weather pans out.
Cheers for now, K & L

Our last day

We took a walk around Braunston today, and discovered Dover from the TV series Narrow Boat Afloat presented by Alan Herd. To be honest she looked a bit neglected, being mounted up on sleepers and having plates welded on to the hull. I thought they did all that in the TV series, seems I was mistaken. We continued our walk to the bottom lock where Lin went into The Boat Shop and bought a loaf of bread, and then we crossed the canal walked through a field to the main street of the village.


Dover - out of the water.





Vulcan - on the water



This is on the footbridge over the entrance to Braunston Marina

When we came back to TQ we set off towards Braunston Junction and turned left onto the Oxford Canal. At bridge 102 we stopped for lunch and had soup with some of the bread we bought earlier in the village. Later we pushed on to between Bridge 108 and Napton Junction where we moored up and started cleaning TQ and making ready to vacate tomorrow morning. I polished the brass again and cleaned the gutters around the lockers, deckboard and rear hatch. I also cleaned the front deck and lockers. Then it started to rain - thanks for that. Never mind, at least I know the job has been done.




Fully loaded stern tube greaser

I also filled the stern greaser and looked at why the engine is sluggish to start sometimes. I think I've found out why, there is a badly corroded connection in the starter circuit which needs attention. I tried to loosen the nut but not wishing to break the stud off I thought it best to leave it to the engineer at Calcutt. I gave it a dose of WD-40 to help give it a fighting chance.



Corroded connection to starter motor

Tomorrow morning we head for Calcutt and unload all our chattles into the car, and then its a cross country journey to the M5 and back home. Really looking forward to that - not. 

A quiet day, non-eventful and normal.

I must say it's good to be back on the canals, you can moor pretty much anywhere and you don't have to plan your stops/moorings and have a contingency plan if plan "A" fails for what ever reason.

We popped into Whilton Chandlery at the bottom of the Buckby Locks and got ourselves a new aerial. They had one at a knock down price, so we had to have it to replace the old one which gave up the ghost and it's now up and working.

Our new aerial, installed and working.

We're back in Braunston again and, as luck would have it, moored outside The Boathouse. There was just enough space to get in. It's quite a nice pub for a chain pub, very clean, not what I'd call a sticky pub, (where the tables are sticky), it has a friendly service and the food is good too. Lin had Hock of Ham and I had Pork Loin served with mashed potato and vegetables, and the sweet was good too, Apple pie and Custard for me and Soft Centre Chocolate Pudding for Lin.

Later, back on TQ, we watched TV. Well, the new aerial had to be tested.

Stray boats and fallen trees

There's never a dull moment on the cut, apart from the wind making steering difficult and uncomfortable, there are events that occur as a result. Leaving Bugbrooke this morning we intended to get to Buckby Wharf but, canals being canals, there are often many things that can hinder your progress. Two things today,  first we stopped to fill our tank with water at Stowe Hill. When finished we were just going to pull away when a boat appeared and going quite fast through the moored boats, then another two boats at a more sensible speed. Then we noticed a boat moored ahead of us had moved out across the canal, not quite able to fully turn in the width and became stuck in the shallow water on the off side. And there it stayed until enough blokes gathered to heave on the centre rope to haul it back to the canal side. The owner was asleep inside and was woken by someone on his boat finding a decent rope to heave on. We all eventually managed to get the boat to the side and the canal was open again. It all happened because someone was going too fast and pulled the mooring pins out of the ground, such disrespect.

Then we hadn't gone far when we were stopped by a boat moored under bridge 23. "Stop, there's a tree down" they hollered, but by that time we were too far ahead to stop and were through the bridge when another boater kindly said to moor alongside his. So that's what we did. And there we waited for British Waterways to turn up which they did after about an hour and a half. Just the one guy on his own who assessed the situation and made a phone call and then said their contractors will be along when they can.



Tree down just North of Bridge 23

We thought this could take hours and decided to take matters into our own hands, so we moved the purple boat and another moored in front up the cut about thirty metres and managed to squeeze a narrowboat throughthe gap. Then another and another until the queue had gone. Free at last. By now it was mid afternoon and the wind had taken its toll out of us so we found a nice spot just up a little ways and moored not too close to the M1. If we went much further we'd follow the M1 very closely for around two miles including the along the Buckby Flight, not so comfortable for a nights' peaceful mooring.

More tomorrow.

And yet more wind!

We started off early again today and moved up to the services near the moorings for a pump out (FREE - YES, FREE) which meant winding so that the port side of TQ was nearest the quayside. When done we went back to the moorings to wind again. Whilst we were filling with water, Lin spotted some of those Signal Crayfish easily seen in the shadow under the nearby bridge. They seem to spend most of their time fighting and hiding in the holes eroded in the bridge foundations. Shortly after we negotiated the last lock on the Nene, Northampton Town Lock and made our way toward the junction with the Grand Union Canal and up the seventeen locks in the Rothersthorpe Flight.

No, I can't put a caption here!

The first four locks are well spaced but then the next thirteen are very close, close enough to set the next lock ready.



Lock 17, River Nene behind, Grand Union ahead

On the way down some two weeks ago we spotted some logs in a pile between Locks 12 and 13 and thought we'd have some of them on the way back if they're still there. Well they were and I set to with the chain saw and cut up two logs into rounds in about ten minutes. Best leave the rest for someone else.

So I turned a couple of these...

...Into these.

Now we look like real liveaboards.

Two weeks ago at lock thirteen all the land adjacent to the canal appeared to be a site dedicated to nature and I was quite horrified to see this:-

The site is massive and the dust being whipped up by the machinery and the very strong wind is phenomenal. I am convinced the councils and governments of this country will not be satisfied until every square inch of this green and pleasant land is covered in concrete. It is absolutely criminal.

The Express Lifts Tower

Here's another odd structure. Would you believe some idiocrats have made it a listed building? It's not even slightly glamourous and even looks unfinished. If it had a designed top and was open to the public, then maybe it could qualify, but as it is?

As I said earlier we're back on the Grand Union and we ended up at Bugbrooke and have been in The Wharf for an evening meal. We had Steak and Ale Pie. It was delicious and very filling. Back on TQ and it's now raining, something we've not seen since the 19th September. Tomorrows forcast is dire, very strong winds and heavy rain. We could be tempted to stay here.

More tomorrow.