NB Zindagi: Devon, Scotland and Devon Again!

Plan? What Plan?

When we started out in 2007, we had a vague idea of the main places we wanted to go first, and then worked out where we might go after that. Our plans have been flexible, to say the least, and we like it that way!

In 2007, though we started up in Lancashire, we headed south and spent spent most of our time exploring some of the waterways in the south of the UK – but not all of them!

In 2008, we headed north and stayed there for most of the year, heading southwards in November to moor up in Blisworth Marina for the first time. After that, it became our usual winter 'home' until early 2013.

2009 found us fitting our cruising around Val's replacement knee joint operations in January and July. They were very successful! In the Spring, we went down the Nene to the River Great Ouse and the Cambridgeshire Fens. After the second op, and more recovery time in Blisworth, we set off for the Kennet and Avon Canal, via Braunston, the southern Oxford Canal, Oxford and the Thames.

An eventful time on the K & A, and a magnificent frosty journey back up the Thames from Reading to Oxford – and we entered 2010.

To start with, largely immobile in Aynho and Blisworth, but then we headed north-east via Leicester and Nottingham to the River Trent, from which we branched off wherever we could, down to Lincoln and Boston and back, then along the Chesterfield Canal and back before leaving the Trent on our way to Rotherham and Sheffield.

Then north and west over the Pennines by the Rochdale Canal, down to Manchester and then via the Macclesfield, Trent & Mersey and Staffs & Worcs Canals south to near Wolverhampton, via Birmingham and on down to the Severn at Worcester. Right down to Sharpness, then back up to Stourport, to head up the Staffs. & Worcs. Canal near to Wolverhampton again.

Blisworth again for the winter, then in the spring of 2011 we took a trip down the Grand Union to London, through and out the other side to the Lee and Stort – and slowly back! Then over to the Stratford Avon and up the Severn to visit the newly re-opened Droitwich Canals.

By boat to London for Jeremy and Laura's wedding in October 2011, then back to our 'second home' in Blisworth for the winter, enjoying a little more involvement with Christian folks there, too.

In 2012 we started by heading north again to see the Caldon Canal in the Spring, then changed our plans and decided to cross the Pennines again - up and down the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and then back over the Leeds & Liverpool to the Bridgewater. Our proposed visit to the 'Shroppie' and the Llangollen followed on after that – beautiful countryside on the way and once we were there.

Then onto the southern section of the 'Shroppie' and from there the Staffs. & Worcs. – we decided not to go down to Stourport but turned north again to Great Haywood, then south via the Trent & Mersey to the River Trent and then the the River Soar – up to Leicester.

From there, we dawdled back towards Blisworth for the winter again. The folks at the marina were expecting us on 5th November 2012, and we just managed to avoid being there early!

January 2013 saw us move back to the land in Lapford, and very little 'boat-related activity' until October 2014, when we moved Zindagi onto the 11-mile long Grand Western Canal near Tiverton in Devon. 3 years there gave us the opportunity to carry out some needed maintenance, but we did very little cruising!

The future? Well, as you can see, we moved Zindagi back onto the main national canal system in early October 2017. Just those couple of days gave us a fresh taste of enjoying life on board – almost like old times!

So, we hope to get out for some more trips, hopefully sometimes with friends, re-exploring some of our old haunts. Looks like there may be some interest from the younger members of the family, too. Lots of different routes to follow from Hatherton! Only about 3 hours drive to get there from Lapford – not too bad!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Devon, Scotland and Devon Again!

Yes, there ARE canals in both Devon and Scotland, but they are not connected to the rest of the system, so we have been driving around quite a bit since the end of June.

As you know, Val's second knee replacement operation was scheduled for 1st July, so we drove down from Blisworth to Lapford on the 29th of June, ready for Val to go in on the 30th. We stayed the night with Colin and Janet and then Dave stayed the next few days with Joe and Wendy in Barnstaple, until Val came out of hospital.

The operation went well, if anything better than the first one, and Val didn't have the same bad effects from the anaesthetic this time. She also ended up in a ward with 3 other ladies with knee and hip operations, where quite a lot of fun was had!!

So, after the expected 5 days in hospital, Val was allowed home and we went back to Lapford to stay with Colin and Jan again. And here is Val, just 8 days after the operation, getting the second knee (her right leg) into action again. Seems that this second knee h

as had slightly better mobility a bit sooner than the first one, but there has been rather more pain and discomfort and a few more disturbed nights' sleep.

Overall progress was good, though, and the physios released Val after 4 weeks, as we had hoped. Shireen had invited us to come and spend some time with her up in Glasgow, so we drove up a few days later, stopping overnight with Adam and Rachel in Shrewsbury on the way. Thanks, folks, that really made a difference! We were towing our trailer with a bookcase for Shireen, one that had belonged to Dave's parents, plus a little chair which we no longer need and she should find useful. Dave had spent some time renovating the trailer while we were in Lapford, so that worked out well.

We hadn't seen Shireen and Thor since March and, as you can see, he had grown – no surprise! Here he is, 'helping' in the garden. His watering efforts were actually quite useful as Shireen was starting some containers of herbs and flowers! This is the first time they have all had a garden of their own, and it is rather empty at present, so there is plenty to do.

Val's knee was recovering well but of course she couldn't go running around just yet. We thought we could manage a trip to the Falkirk Wheel, though, and played at being 'canal tourists' as we took a trip in the boat and went up the Wheel, along the canal and through Roughcastle Tunnel before turning round and coming back down again.

While Val and Shireen had a little break, Dave and Thor went up the hill beside the Wheel and had a towpath-side view – yes, that's Thor in the pushchair, taking an interest in a boat going up the locks above the Wheel.

While we were up in Scotland, we took a couple of days out from Glasgow and explored some of the eastern coastline south of Edinburgh. Too late to see puffins and some of the other seabirds, but there were kittiwakes still nesting on the cliffs at St. Abb's Head and snorkellers among the rocks just outside St. Abb's little harbour. We found a nice B & B just outside Coldingham and stayed there two nights before making a long and circuitous return trip to Glasgow via the borders.

We stayed a few more days in Glasgow and Dave walked up to the Maryhill Locks on the Forth & Clyde Canal a few times. There is not much chance of us travelling along this canal in 'Zindagi', but we have toyed with the idea of trying to find a narrowboat owner who is based on the Forth & Clyde and arranging a swap for a week or two. Not sure whether that would work, but it is an idea! And then, of course, it would also be great to take the boat from Fort William to Inverness, travelling through Loch Ness . . !

Val's final appointment with the surgeon wa

s on 26th August, so we went back to Devon a couple of days early and got routine dentist appointments out of the way. We stayed with our friends David & Mary in Okehampton and, once again, Dave enjoyed walking out onto Dartmoor, just about 5 minutes' walk from their front door. By now, Val was walking with just a stick and not really needing it all the time – good progress!