NB Zindagi

Lift Off at Last !

2012-01-28T14:43:00.001Z

Back in Blisworth at the beginning of November, our 'second home' as it has become, it was good to be able to meet up with friends in the village again and settle in to our 'winter routine'. Our little old Peugeot 205 had been sitting safely on our friends' driveway through the summer, so we parked it at the marina again and were more mobile in spite of being moored up – strange paradox!

Before we completely stopped, though, we had a short trip planned. David and Mary had hoped to come with us in September but had been prevented by illness, so we re-scheduled a short excursion for 3½ days, over to Braunston and back. Here's David at the helm with Mary and Whisk. A very pleasant few days with quite reasonable weather!

A very mild November gave us a wide variety of fungi along hedgerows and towpaths.

Then, on 30th November we received another text message from Wickers World, the ballooning company, telling us that there were some last-minute vacancies for a flight the next day. You may remember that we have been trying to book our flight since August 2010!! We booked, and drove up to Adam's the next day before he came with us to see us off. Here's the balloon being filled up with hot air.

Filled up and ready for us to get on, but then a big surprise . . .

. . . especially for Adam! Not all the vacancies had been filled, so he was able to come with us, and away we went, with Val on her video camera.

High above Whitchurch (Shropshire) but amazingly with absolutely NO sense of vertigo. Apparently that's normal!

Firing up for a bit more lift. In between these occasional bursts, the flight was quiet and apparently windless, as we travelled with the breeze.

The Shropshire Union Canal at Audlem, as we have never seen it before. A fairly familiar length of canal from a very unfamiliar viewpoint!

Jon, our pilot, made the whole trip most enjoyable. Confident, friendly and informative, he made us all feel very much at ease. There were 15 passengers altogether . . .

. . . and here we all are! An ingenious arrangement with a remote controlled camera meant that Jon could take a few snaps of us all, and this is the one that was finally selected.

Looking for a landing spot brought us down a bit lower over the trees and then, after one aborted landing,

we touched down! Well, bumped down, really! A couple of sliding bumps before it stopped, then the basket teetered a little before finally flopping gently over – and we crawled rather than climbed out. A very good end to a great flight!

But we weren't finished yet! Jon got us all helping to squeeze the air out of the balloon before folding it up and packing it onto the trailer.

Back in the land crew's Land Rovers to the place we had started from, to retrieve the car – but not before a mug of hot chocolate in the nearby café!

– and we had the certificates to prove we had finally done it!

Thanks to Adam, Jeremy and Shireen for our lovely joint birthday presents for 2010 – sorry it took so long to actually DO it !

2012-01-18T20:59:00.000Z

Having arrived back in Blisworth at the end of August, we moored up on the towpath between Candle Bridge and Station Road. It's a little nearer to the village than the marina is, and we would soon be on our way back down the Grand Union – to London again!

You 'travelled' down with us earlier in the year, so we will just pick out a few highlights of this journey for you . . .

On our way up the first two locks at Marsworth, we teamed up with Anne and Keith on 'Tournesol' (French for 'Sunflower'). We often share locks with other boats, but this time found that we seemed to get on particularly well, so we decided to travel together for a while. It certainly helps having two people to operate wide locks and the company was most enjoyable!

The next day, we went up the main Marsworth flight, stopped for lunch near Cowroast and then down a couple of locks to Dudswell, where we stopped for the night. We took a walk round the little park near the canal and found this interestingly-carved log. Click on the picture to zoom in and see what the fox is chasing up the tree!

'Tournesol' and 'Zindagi' sharing a lock at Berkhamsted . . .

. . . and a Red Admiral getting a good feed on ivy blossom.

We were already running well ahead of schedule, so we stopped at Cowley while Keith and Anne went on – "See you in Paddington!" Here's a heron on a good fishing perch in the morning sunlight.

Five days (and a lot of dawdling) later, we DID meet up in Paddington Basin. On the following Friday, on the dot of 12 noon, we saw the 'Heatherwick Rolling Bridge' in action. We had walked over it several times when in Paddington before, but evidently we hadn't been there at 12 noon on a Friday! It is hydraulically operated with 7 rams on each side pushing up the handrails.

Shireen and Thor joined us for a walk along the towpath, because they were in London for the same reason as we were . . .

. . . Jeremy and Laura's wedding! (October 8th) Val only took a few photos, leaving the official photographer to take his – all 509 of them!

And you may as well see this one, too – you have never seen us dressed up like this before!

Thor on the boat near Islington as we headed on eastwards through London – not four yet and growing fast!

Mid-October as we went up the River Lee: Spindle berries and Michaelmas daisies reminding us that autumn was just around the corner.

"Season of mists . . . " morning on the river near Broxbourne.

Michael and Christine came and stayed with us again – with Faith this time, who had just moved near to the river at Cheshunt. They certainly enjoyed themselves, so we look forward to seeing them on board again before too long..

Back through London in glorious late October sunshine. This is the Hertford Union Canal, just over a mile long, with 3 locks, running beside Victoria Park and linking the Regent's Canal with the River Lee.

After another couple of nights in Paddington Basin, we set off back north. Dan joined us at Croxley (near Rickmansworth) and came as far as Berkhamsted. Great having him (and Raffa!) on board again, if only for a couple of days.

It was late October now but the autumn colours were only just starting to show.

Here's that same cottage at Marsworth again - Virginia Creeper at its best!

Misty morning sunshine near Old Linslade.

So, back to Blisworth, mooring by the towpath for a couple of nights before checking back into Blisworth marina for the winter! If you look carefully, you can see Zindagi's wind turbine!

Birmingham to Blisworth – via Bosworth!

2011-12-03T18:41:00.000Z

This year, we seem to have specialised in having the blog running absolutely ages behind real events - apologies again!

For your information, at the beginning of November we moved into our winter mooring at Blisworth Marina, near Northampton. We like it here, and have been back every winter since 2008/9!

However, the blog last left readers on the outskirts of Birmingham in early August, so we shall try to get you up to date in the next few episodes . . .

Leaving the relative tranquility of the moorings at Star City, we were only a few hundred yards from one of the busiest motorway junctions in the country. Officially called Gravelly Hill, it is known to all as Spaghetti Junction. What many people don't know is that under the road junction is a much older canal junction, now dwarfed by all the roads and swamped by the traffic noise.

We have been through Salford Junction 3 times now. First in 1986 (!!), when we took our last family hireboat holiday. We had come through Birmingham and down the Aston Locks, emerging from the canal on the left just beyond the signpost. Then in 2008, when we had done our devious route via the Wyrley and Essington Canal ('The Curly Wyrley'), we came down from Perry Barr (straight ahead under the low bridge). This time, having come down 'the bottom road', we came out at the far left of this picture and took a wide sweeping turn to our right – we had joined the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal again!

We have shown you this odd 'folly' bridge before, but it's still unique – the elaborate Drayton Manor footbridge, with spiral staircases up inside each of the towers and a walkway over the canal. There's a less decorative but very practical swing bridge just next to it, for wheeled traffic! We were approaching Fazeley, where the Birmingham and Fazeley joins the Coventry Canal.

Suddenly, after Fazeley, the canal got busy! We had to wait in a queue to start up the Glascote locks, and the queue went on forming behind us as we entered the bottom lock.

Skirting round the edges of Tamworth and through Polesworth village, we came to Atherstone and its seven locks, raising us 80 feet – our last locks for several days! One of the locks has a workable side pond, so we made use of the new skills we had picked up in Droitwich! Here is the old Watling Street bridge, but the A5 goes over a new one now!

Just a couple of miles south-west of Atherstone, we passed the British Waterways yard at Hartshill, looking somehow timeless in the changing world around it. Solid and elegant industrial buildings!

After plunging through Nuneaton's suburbs, we turned off at Marston Junction, where the Ashby Canal starts its 22-mile lock-free journey eastwards and northwards. The junction itself (like so many canal junctions) seemed quiet and remote after the suburban bustle, and the Ashby, with its stone bridges, fields and farming villages, is very different from the Coventry!

The Ashby Canal passes close to the site of the Battle of Bosworth (1485) and we took the opportunity to walk up to the centre on Ambion Hill and look around the area. On the hill, a copy of Richard III's flag flies, complete with his Boar symbol. (Henry Tudor's symbol was a dragon).

What's this picture of reeds by the canal? Look carefully, and you may see a water vole just making landfall. Not a good picture, but it's rare enough to see these little creatures, let alone get a picture! Back in the 1970s and 80s, when we first went canal boating, we used to see them quite often. Not now, since there are so many mink around, largely 'thanks' to animal liberationists some years back!

Late August, and the berries of Black Bryony were already turning from green to orange and red.

We had enjoyed our week on the Ashby Canal, but rejoined the Coventry, skirted Bedworth and then turned 180 degrees left under the bridge at Hawkesbury Junction on the edge of Coventry, where the northern section of the Oxford Canal joins.

Near Newbold-on-Avon, the cast-iron bridge to the right takes the towpath over a short cul-de-sac which used to be part of the canal's old and very windy route. The bridge beyond leads the canal along the 'new' straightened route of 1828.

Passing underneath part of Newbold is the short Newbold Tunnel, unusual in having a towpath and even more so for being lit with an interesting range of coloured lights!

And so back to Blisworth at the end of August, where we saw our little unknown duck again. We have since discovered that it is a Ringed Teal, fairly uncommon in the UK but regularly seen on the Continent. (Thanks, Olly!)

Discovering Side Ponds . . . and Avoiding Riots!

2011-11-05T20:52:00.000Z

It was late July and we were heading up the Severn from Tewkesbury. You may remember that we came this way last year and tried to get into the Droitwich Barge Canal. After all the 'hype' and razzmatazz in the boating press about the Barge Canal having been restored, it turned out that it had been open for special visitors for a day or two, and then firmly closed again!

So here was Hawford Lock again – but this time it was open, and we knew that not only could we take the boat up into Droitwich, but also that the narrow Junction Canal had also been restored and reopened and we could go up to Hanbury Junction on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal – just so long as the boat could get under the low-headroom tunnel under the M5!

The Barge Canal was quiet and almost river-like as it passed under the historic Linacre Bridge, one of the few remaining examples of James Brindley's original structures on the canal, dating from about 1770.

Like on most rivers, though, mooring places were hard to find! We got just about close enough to the bank above Mildenham Mill Lock and tied up among the reeds!

At Ladywood Top Lock we met the gentleman who lived in the Lock Cottage and had a chat. He and his wife had been actively involved in the early days of the restoration and had used the canal from here up to Droitwich for many years.

At Droitwich itself, a lovely welcoming canal basin, with free moorings on floating pontoons, in Vines Park but secure behind locked access gates.

Only a short walk into the town centre for essential shopping, and we passed this tile mural which celebrates Droitwich's long history as a salt town.

The Barge Canal passes through the park to join the River Salwarpe and then enters the first of several new narrow locks, into the repositioned section of the Droitwich Junction Canal (the old line has been built over).

When the M5 motorway was built, only a very low and narrow tunnel was left for the (then derelict) canal. It was tight - but we got through OK with the rooftop salad garden brushing the top of the tunnel!

Then through some more new locks: one single narrow lock and a 'staircase' of two. Nicely built, and the surroundings should soon begin to look a little more natural.

The top three locks form the original Hanbury Flight, and have been beautifully restored . . .

. . . including the side ponds! Here is Tom, the local lock-keeper, operating the side paddles. We had not seen side ponds in action before, and they are a very ingenious but simple way of saving almost half a lockful of water every time a boat comes through. Thanks to Tom's instruction, Dave has started looking out for operational side ponds on the rest of the system – there are not many of them!

Up on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, we passed through Astwood Lane Lock and enjoyed the lovely garden and the lock cottage there – always a real picture, and their runner beans were very tasty too!

The next day, Janet came and joined us again and we decided to go back down to Droitwich with her, so here are Janet and Val working on a lock gate together at the same lock.

Back down through one of the swing bridges in Vines Park. We spent the next morning in Droitwich before heading back up again!

Just above Hanbury Junction, the damson trees were so full of fruit that we just had to stop and pick some, despite the rain! Val had plenty for jam and Janet took lots away with her, too.

A really sunny day to make our way up the Tardebigge flight. From Stoke Works up to just below the top lock there are 35 locks in just under 4 miles. It sounds like a marathon, but we had a very enjoyable day and made it in less than 5½ hours travelling time – we stopped halfway for a lunch break!

Just as we had decided to go through Birmingham and out to the north-east of it, news broke of the riots! We waited in the quiet outskirts for a day and then chugged through a strangely deserted city centre,

then out of Birmingham via a route which was part familiar and part unknown to us, down the Farmers Bridge flight of 13 locks, the Digbeth flight of 6 and then left at Bordesley Junction and down 'the bottom road', the old working boatmen's name for the Saltley Cut, an almost forgotten part of the Grand Union Canal, with its five Garrison locks.

Just before this (far from scenic!) canal arrived below Spaghetti Junction, we found some useful visitor moorings on a pontoon next to the 'Star City' entertainment centre. Surprisingly quiet, in spite of the nearby casino, cinemas, bowling and restaurants!

To Stratford and the Avon!

2011-09-30T11:33:00.000+01:00

Just about the only part of the UK waterways system that we had not yet visited was the Warwickshire Avon, from Stratford to Tewkesbury. We had thought about nipping in at Tewkesbury when we were going up the Severn in early October last year, but decided to try to get there in the summer months, and pencilled it in for 2011. So, after a couple of weeks in Blisworth, we set off in early July.

We needed to take a familiar route to get there. Up the Grand Union to Norton Junction, on to Braunston and Napton and then DOWN the Stockton locks before going UP the (in)famous flight of 21 at Hatton near Warwick again. Here we are, going down the Stockton flight . . .

. . . and sharing a lock about halfway up the Hatton flight – see some of the others in the distance! We were really glad to find another couple going up at the same time as us – sharing the work is easier and faster!

We had an unusual welcome as we started down the narrow locks on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. The gentleman with the alpenhorn said that he was from the Swiss Midlands but had lived in the English Midlands for many years. He liked to play the horn here as the lock and the landscape gave him good resonance!

Narrow locks, split footbridges and barrel-roofed lock cottages – with those three factors together, we couldn't be anywhere else but on the Stratford! One story is that the barrel roof design resulted from using the timber formers (which had been used to construct the canal road bridges) as the main roof timbers when they came to build the cottages. The split footbridges allowed the tow rope to slip through without having to detach the horse from the boat.

All along this canal, the purple loosestrife and meadowsweet seemed to combine in colourful bunches along the banks, often interspersed with teasels in flower – this was mid-July.

Another welcome sight, a stoat on the towpath. We have seen a few of these on our travels and they always seem so active – and playful!

And so to Stratford! The day after we arrived and moored on the river, there was a 'Fun Regatta', including this crew dressed up as bees!

Before going down the river, we decided to explore as far as we could go upstream. Under the Clopton Bridge (15th century) and north-east, we had about 1½ miles of river before the last place wide enough to turn around Zindagi's 57feet. By then, it was getting a little shallow as well!

Then downstream the next day and into our first Avon lock, with its unusual steel framework – to resist distortion by 'high ground pressures', apparently.

Lunchtime at Luddington. A quiet spot with a few moored boats, the lock and a gloriously tumbling weir.

The river at Bidford-on-Avon. The bridge dates from 1482.

It looks like a lighthouse and it's even nicknamed 'The Offenham Light', but it's actually a flood-proof lock-keeper's hut at Offenham Lock. A reminder that the Avon is prone to sudden floods after heavy rain. Fortunately we avoided any of that!

We enjoyed a walk around Evesham, doing a little shopping and looking at some old buildings. Here at the market place is Booth Hall (late 15th-C) with the bell tower of the town hall.

As we chugged on downstream, we passed Chadbury and reached Fladbury with its mill between the weir and the lock. Seems like the Avon was once well supplied with water-mills!

Then, as we came close to Wyre Piddle, we were met by a solitary black swan, apparently nicknamed 'Boris' (as we found out later).

For the last few days we had seen Bredon Hill looming up to the south of us and the Malvern Hills over to the west. We took the opportunity to moor at Great Comberton and walk up Bredon Hill, where we could look over the plain to the Malverns.

Downstream from Great Comberton, we passed under Eckington Bridge, which dates from the 1500s and is still in constant use for all sorts of road traffic . . .

. . . and then on to Bredon village with its line of boats that we had often seen from the M5 motorway.

Tewkesbury is where the Avon flows into the Severn – in two channels! This is the 'Mill Avon', with the old mill on the right, and a few boats moored (they can't go any further downstream) . . .

. . . so we came down Avon Lock and into the short reach leading into the Severn.

Dateline: July 28th – sorry we are still 'blogging' so far behind!

Visitors On Our Way Back North

2011-08-06T23:38:00.000+01:00

Heading back up the Grand Union from London and not far from Southall, we were reminded that much bigger boats also travel this way! A lovely looking boat, but it would be quite tricky to negotiate through some parts of the system, wide locks or not!

On through the north-western edge of London, still just within the M25, and swan families with their newly-hatched cygnets were still very much in evidence (late May, remember!)

We have several photos of this unusual little bridge near Hemel Hempstead. Here's an 'early morning' version . . .

. . . and the Rising Sun Lock at Berkhamsted, just a few miles further on.

We soon had visitors again – guess who this is! Yes, Thor had a go at pushing lock gates on his own. This is near Marsworth, after he and Shireen had joined us at Tring station for a few days afloat.

Swans again – is there room for one more on top?

Shireen at the helm of Zindagi, and Thor watching his Grandad watching him!

The day after we saw Shireen and Thor off on the train at Berkhamsted, Colin and Janet met us at Cowroast. Six days together – where should we go?

We decided to go down the little Aylesbury Arm, a 'there-and-back' trip. Val and I have only been this way once before, back in 2007. Here we are going down one of the 16 narrow locks. Val and Colin working the paddles, Janet with her camera on the bridge.

Yellow water-lilies near Aylesbury,

where we were made very welcome by the local Canal Society.

On our way back, a rare sighting of a water vole – we think!

Do you remember this cottage? Compare with the picture we took back in April!

A courageous moorhen visited us on our back deck one evening near Stoke Hammond, and again the next morning!

When we reached Cosgrove, Bob and Dianne came and joined us for a day on board, up the locks at Stoke Bruerne and through Blisworth Tunnel back home to Blisworth itself.

We spent just over 2 weeks (middle to end of June) moored up on the towpath just outside Blisworth, and it was good to see folks there before we were to set off again. In the meanwhile, we saw this lovely little duck several times, but can't find him in any books or on the internet. Has anyone any idea what he is? Some kind of teal, perhaps?

The Stort, the Lee and Back into London!

2011-07-16T17:14:00.000+01:00

The River Lee had been steadily improving as we crept further out of London but, from our visit back in 2007, we knew that the little River Stort was different again. We had not really done it justice that time, so maybe this was our opportunity to explore a little more slowly. By this time (end of April), Spring was already looking like Summer, as this Brimstone butterfly demonstrates, feeding on the abundant comfrey flowers.

As soon as you turn off into the River Stort, you begin to enter a new world as the river is much narrower than the Lee and seems to burrow off into remote countryside. About a mile upstream, a short walk into Roydon village reveals some beautiful old buildings, including these two houses, both dating from the 1400s and one covered in wisteria.

We moored next to Hunsdon Mead, a local Nature Reserve, and spotted several Small Copper butterflies.

Up to Parndon Mill Lock, and the first of some imaginative plaques – this one 'endorsed' by a Grey Wagtail!

After the bustle of Harlow Town Station, the Stort's charm was re-established almost immediately . . .

. . . and we were joined by two enthusiastic young helpers near Sawbridgeworth!

Michael and Christine joined us there the next day – AT LAST we had been able to find a time when we were close enough to make a visit practical!

Hopefully Michael's exertions on the locks will not deter them from a repeat visit – soon??

The next day, we travelled upstream to the terminus at Bishop's Stortford. There had once been plans to build a connecting canal to Cambridge from here, which would no doubt have given the River Stort much more commercial traffic – but would it still have had its charm?

Back to Harlow again to meet up with Alan and Barbara. They came and joined us on the Lee when we were here in 2007 – this time they were able to sample the Stort . . .

. . . and of course we put Alan to work on the locks!

Here's a Grey Wagtail in close-up, spotted near Harlow the same day.

After our very enjoyable dawdling on the Stort, we came back onto the Lee and decided to travel up to Hertford and back before heading back towards London. A pair of swans with their 7 cygnets seemed to be parading past us at Hertford!

Back down near Stanstead Abbots, a good view of a Gadwall drake. A new duck species for us, thanks to spotting one with David and Gwenda . . .

. . . and a Damselfly resting on willow.

One of the comments we often get as we travel around is "Like your garden!" Zindagi's rooftop kitchen garden consists of 12 x 2ft troughs, plus a few other pots and smaller troughs with flowers in. It looks enormous here . . .

. . . but now you can see the real extent of it, as Zindagi comes down Rammey Marsh Lock near Waltham Cross. That is the M25 in the background – we had come back inside its cordon, heading back into the centre of London again.

At Stonebridge Lock, near Tottenham Marshes, the Lee is still remarkably rural and most of the locks inside the M25 are electrically operated –

pushing buttons on a panel like this is easier than winding paddles and pushing gates!

And so back into London! It was good to see that Lee river barges are being used for work on the Olympic stadium,

before we turned up into the little Hertford Union Canal, taking us to the Regent's Canal with its overcrowded 'visitor' moorings at Victoria Park,

cranes over building developments and generally busy canalside.

We moored at Islington again and became tourists for an afternoon, taking a trip on the Underground, going over the Millennium Bridge and visiting Tate Modern.

Interesting views of St Pauls

and the River.

Adam was in London for a day or two and came with us as we moved up from Islington to Paddington. Jeremy and Laura joined us for lunch but had to 'jump ship' at Camden Locks. Did we tell you they are getting married in October? Looks like we shall soon be chugging back to London again!

Just to give you some idea of how much the blog is running behind real events, we arrived in Paddington on 22nd May – we have quite a bit of catching up to do!

Little Venice, Camden and the River Lee

2011-06-02T23:43:00.000+01:00

Mention 'London' and 'canals' in the same breath, and many people's instant thought is 'Little Venice'. Our friends David & Julie from Devon were pleased to know that we could meet them in Paddington and that Little Venice was only just round the corner. Yes, it IS rather special, but it isn't very big, so we tried to warn D & J not to expect too much. Result? It was better than they had expected – perhaps we tried too hard! They combined seeing part of London's canal system with some more general sight-seeing, and probably needed a rest when they went home after a busy long weekend with us.

Apart from the unique surroundings, Little Venice has its share of wildlife, right in the heart of London, including these Tufted Duck and Pochard and the ever-present cormorants . . .

. . . and the floating restaurant in the flickering canalside shade.

Just a few miles along the canal, we exchanged tranquility for the bustle of Camden Locks and the Market alongside. Instead of being tourists ourselves, we seemed to become part of the tourist attraction!

While David & Julie explored London's sights, we stayed at these 'visitor moorings' in Islington, just a stone's throw from the Angel. Though mooring was supposed to be limited to 7 days, some of these boats had stayed rather longer – or were just moving round from one London mooring to another, trying to stay ahead of British Waterways. Their enforcement of the rules seems to have been rather lax for some years and one result has been this burgeoning community of people trying to live cheaply by shuffling round the capital. We certainly found many more of these boats than last time we were here in 2007!

After another day on the canals, David & Julie had to head back to sunny Devon. We dropped them off at Mile End Station and then, as they made their way back to Victoria Bus Station and Exeter, we turned 'Zindagi' around and stopped for the night – early start the next day!

At the unusually early hour of 8:20, we set off from Mile End, turned into the Hertford Union Canal and down the 3 locks to the River Lee. As we turned left and north-west, we looked the other way and saw the Olympic Stadium, looking very nearly finished.

More evidence of frenetic Olympic building activity lined the east bank of the Lee as we headed northwards, but why our rush? We had arranged to meet our friend Jackie at Enfield Lock about 1:00 pm, so that she could enjoy some of the rather more scenic reaches of the Lee as it shakes off the capital and escapes the M25's cordon. We took her as far as Cheshunt, where the train home was a very short walk away for her. Great to meet up again after too many years!

Two days later, and David and Gwenda met us at Dobb's Weir on the River Lee. We went for a little 'chug' up to Stanstead Abbots and back. Here's David, hard at work on a lockgate at Feildes Weir Lock.

South to London

2011-05-14T17:50:00.003+01:00

Spring blossom was bursting out all along the canal as we cruised 'through' Milton Keynes. We are amazed at the way that the canal goes around MK, even through some fairly busy parts of it, yet seems almost untouched by the city and all its ordered symmetry. It's as if the planners decided to make the Grand Union a 'linear park' along the northern and eastern edges – maybe that's exactly what they did!

Simple beauty as the canalside responds to the warmer weather . . .

. . . and the incredible colours and shapes of this Mandarin duck's plumage! We spotted him and his mate near Leighton Buzzard.

The leaves were coming out on this lock cottage near Marsworth. What will it look like when we come back past it in late May or so?

After climbing up the northern side of the Chilterns, the canal comes down again from Tring and on to Berkhamsted, apparently celebrating its pedigree as an inland port! We were stuck near here in late October 2007 while we waited for a broken lock gate to be repaired, and then had a family get-together there on our way back in late December the same year.

Coming down through Hemel Hempstead the next day, we shared a few locks with a 'coal boat', one of a small number of canal traders who supply many boats and waterside businesses with coal, diesel and bottled gas.

Meanwhile, our rooftop salad garden was getting near to production. Here's Dave planting out a few seedlings.

Passing walkers often stop for a chat when they see a boat working through a lock . . .

. . . and children usually want to help with the lock gates! Here in Cassiobury Park, near Watford.

The next morning, Val spotted a heron in silhouette on a rooftop in Rickmansworth . . .

. . . then later that day we saw a pair of Great Crested Grebe with their youngsters – one in the water, one having a ride – near Harefield.

We had reached the edge of the London suburbs but could still enjoy the countryside reaching in along the canal's 'green corridor'.

Over the 4 years that we have been cruising on 'Zindagi', we have noticed an ever-increasing number of 'seabirds' on the canals and cormorants are probably the most ubiquitous. This one was fishing near Alperton in west London as we made our way towards . . .

. . . Paddington Basin! Here is 'Zindagi' moored at the foot of towering modern office blocks. Rather different from our more usual rural surroundings, but remarkably peaceful and secure in the heart of London.

Preparations

2011-05-12T20:32:00.000+01:00

When we came back to the boat at the end of January, we had two specific events on the horizon. First was that 'Zindagi' needed to have its first 4-yearly safety inspection. We were recommended to Richard as a good local Boat Safety Examiner, and he came on 7th February and gave the boat a thorough check over, asking quite a few questions and needing to calculate things like whether we had sufficient fixed ventilation for our woodburner, oven and hob. As we have no gas on board, that saved quite a lot of checks and questions, and he was soon on his way, telling us that our certificate would be in the post.

Next was the need to re-black the bottom of the boat. Last time we did this was up in Skipton (Yorkshire) in July 2008. 2½ years had passed and, though Zindagi's hull didn't look too bad, we knew it was time to go ahead with it.

Fortunately, Gayton Marina has its own crane and a large hardstanding where three boats can stand out on old sleepers while they are pressure-washed and re-coated with bitumen. So 16th February saw us nose out of our moorings and along to the crane, sliding Zindagi into the sling suspended from the crane.

Then it was up, up and away as the crane lifted the boat out of the water and round onto the sleepers. Just a little scary to watch, but it all went smoothly, and soon Richard (in the hat) was pressure-washing the hull.

You can certainly see the difference between 'before' and 'after', but we all agreed that the hull seemed to be in quite good order.

We weren't allowed to use the pressure washer as we had done in Skipton, but could certainly get on with applying the bitumen! As before, we put the first coat on with stubby brushes, working the bitumen into any little crevices, and then put the second coat on with a roller.

There had been a delay with getting us out, as the weather the previous few days had been terrible and the boats that were out for blacking just couldn't be finished on time. Now we had another delay. The crane broke down! It could still lift and turn, but the drive to the caterpillar tracks was broken.

As we were furthest away from the canal side, we could not be moved until it was fixed, so we stayed 'up in the air' a bit longer, which gave us the opportunity to get a bit more paintwork touched up – 'Zindagi' was starting to look pretty trim!

No sooner were we back on the water than we made another attempt to get our balloon flight. We drove over to Shrewsbury the day before, only to be told (again!) that the conditions were not favourable. We still had an enjoyable time, and met the latest addition to Adam and Rachel's household – Lottie, their young Rottweiler, very friendly and becoming well-trained.

March turned into April and Spring began to move on, with blossom and the first ducklings to prove it. Our plans to travel down to London and on to the Rivers Lee and Stort firmed up, and we chugged out of the marina on the 8th of April.

So here we are, mooring up at the canalside again. It may only have been half a mile along the canal from Blisworth, but we were on the move again!

Winter Scrapbook – Gayton, Glasgow, Shrewsbury and Devon!

2011-02-24T22:51:00.006Z

It may seem obvious, but life on board 'Zindagi' changes dramatically when we are moored up for the winter. We still live in the same (fairly small) space and, because we are not constantly travelling, you might think that we have nothing much to do. Experience shows otherwise, and the fact that the blog has not been updated very much says as much about full days as it does about lack of travel. Let's give you a little idea . . .

First of all, when we are moored up we have our car and so become paradoxically MORE mobile. Our first trip was up to Glasgow for Thor's third birthday, going via Shrewsbury as Adam travelled up with us, sharing the driving in our little old Peugeot 205. Here's Thor getting a swing from Adam and Shireen as we go for a walk in the park.

Back in Gayton Marina, late November presented Val with the subtle shades of fallen leaves floating next to the boat. We also enjoy being able to spend time with a few friends we have made in Blisworth village, as well as going to some of the meetings at the Baptist Chapel.

Dave's morning walks often take him along the Northampton Arm and sometimes he can help work the locks for boats coming up or down the locks – like this working boat breaking through the thin ice.

And then the first real snow came at the end of November. Here we are in the Marina with Zindagi's wind turbine clearly visible. Unlike in Blisworth Marina, where we have been for the previous 2 years, there seem to be very few people who visit their boats here, so we see more boatyard staff than boaters. As the weather gets better and spring seems to get closer, gradually more boaters turn up (especially at weekends) to check up on their boats and tackle the odd maintenance jobs.

A week after the snow, the frosts! The frozen canal and locks, looking down towards Northampton. That isn't snow on the trees, it's hoar frost, right to the tip of ever twig. It was COLD! (We keep warm on board, though, with central heating and our woodburning stove – cosy!)

Just look at the length of the ice crystals on these leaves, catching the morning sunlight . . .

. . . rabbits playing on the frozen canal . . .

. . . and snow stacked on the twigs and berries.

Here's an unusual sight – an island of ice, gently spinning in the canal as the lock overflow 'bywash' feeds in (top left).

This handsome male Goosander came nice and close on the Severn at Shrewsbury. There were two pairs on the river there and another two pairs have visited the locks near Gayton Marina. They are fish-eaters, so must have found some food there.

So what were we doing in Shrewsbury? Having a family gathering! Adam and Rachel kindly invited us, along with Jeremy & Laura, Shireen & Thor, so we were quite a houseful! Here's Adam remembering his boyhood skills with Thor's new marble game!

Shrewsbury's deserted riverside on a misty December morning.

We were glad that the ice and snow held off for our trip there and back, but it reappeared a few days later when we were back on board. Teasels in the canalside woods.

Hope you can see these two Long-Tailed Tits all right. They are lovely little birds, but move through the hedgerow so fast that getting a picture is not very easy.

We made our regular January visit to Devon to catch up with doctors, surgeons and dentists, and took the opportunity to meet up with quite a lot of friends. Our diary filled up fast while we were there, staying the first week with Colin & Janet in Lapford and the second with David & Mary in Okehampton. Only a very little dental work to be done, medical checks OK and the surgeon was very happy with Val's replacement knees, so all very positive there. The picture? Looking down towards Lapford village, our bungalow hidden to the left, Dartmoor in the distance and a 'sea' of mist filling in the low-lying land between.

We took a fairly leisurely walk on Buckland Beacon with Peter and Rachel and enjoyed some lovely Dartmoor views, and also visited Peter and Joy (Taylor) who are obviously delighted with their house in South Brent – well worth all the waiting and planning!

And so back to the boat at the end of January, starting to think a bit more about where we might travel in 2011 . . .

Birmingham to Blisworth – for the Winter!

2011-02-05T21:09:00.001Z

Leaving Birmingham's Gas Street Basin by the same route as a few weeks earlier, and having done battle with crosswinds just round the corner as we pulled in for water, we soon found ourselves looking at the new aqueduct at Selly Oak, which had progressed greatly since we were here just a few weeks before.

You might like to look at the website that describes the project – the aqueduct is 'Project 3B' at http://www.sellyoaknewroadphase2.co.uk/4.html . You will need to scroll down a long way to find the pictures of the aqueduct, as the rest of the project seems to have also rolled ahead well. Try comparing this photo with the picture gallery of progress – looks like the new aqueduct has been in use for some time now!

From the new to the old . . . We turned off the Worcester & Birmingham Canal at King's Norton Junction, joining the northern section of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, and passed through the (now disused) stop lock with its characteristic guillotine gates.

We last came this way in 2007, on our first southward journey with Zindagi and had forgotten how attractive it is, despite being right on the edge of Birmingham.

Two days after leaving Birmingham, we reached Kingswood Junction, where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal continues (right) down to Stratford itself but we branched off left to join the Grand Union. Our last narrow lock for a while! We aim to be back here later this year, to go down to Stratford again and (this time) onto the River Avon, one of the last remaining sections of the connected waterways that we haven't visited.

The rest of our journey to Blisworth would be on the Grand Union Canal, with 59 broad locks on our way – 21 of them concentrated into 2 miles at the Hatton flight near Warwick. Last time we came down, we shared locks with another boat, which shared the work and made for speedy progress down the flight – 2½ hours. This time, on our own, we still didn't do badly, getting down the 21 in just over 3 hours. This picture shows you only 6 of the locks, and they are a little further apart than it seems – telephoto lens effect!

Having come DOWN the 21 Hatton locks (plus 2 more soon after), predictably the next task was to go UP some more! 12 of them scattered along the canal from Leamington Spa onwards, then 8 all together at Stockton.

Another couple of days, and we arrived back near Blisworth as planned. When we enquired about a winter mooring at Blisworth Marina back in October, we had been surprised to learn that it was fully booked up, but we tried the nearby Gayton Marina and were able to get a good space when we arrived.

That was back in November, and we are still here! We should have a little more of an update for you soon . . .

Sandstone, Physios and Déjà Vu!

2010-12-20T18:57:00.000Z

It was back on 9th October that we arrived in Stourport from the River Severn, so you can tell how behind this blog is! In case you wonder where we are NOW, please just click on the 'Where Zindagi is Now' link. We expect to be here near Blisworth for a month or two, so hopefully that will give us a chance to get you up to date!

We have enthused before about the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, especially this southern part. Just a few weeks earlier, we had made our way down to the edge of Wolverhampton on the northern section, and here we were heading north to the same destination! Val's appointment at Shrewsbury Hospital Fracture Clinic was booked for the 19th, so we had time for a relaxed cruise up through pleasant countryside, following the seam of red sandstone like this cliff at Caldwall Lock on the outskirts of Kidderminster.

Other characteristics of this canal are its lock cottages and the frequent use of round weirs. This one is at Debdale Lock, where we noted the rock-carved stable in February 2008.

Whittington Lock near Kinver shows off its pretty cottage.

We soon came to the Bratch Locks near Wombourne, and were helped up them by the young lock-keeper. Seems like we may have seen his father when we first came this way in 1976! Since then, the octagonal lock office has lost its layers of white paint and been returned to the original brick. These locks are fascinatingly different from any others we know. Though they look like (and were originally designed as) a set of 'staircase' locks, they have TWO sets of gates between each lock chamber, but impossibly close together, just a few feet! The secret is in the large 'side pounds', where water is stored, which are connected by channels to the space between the gates. Hard to explain, quite like the arrangement at Caen Locks (Devizes) on the Kennet and Avon (which are also not staircase locks), but contracted into shorter spacing between locks. A bit daunting for the newcomer (like us in 1976), but OK when you understand how they work!

Predictably, we arrived back near Wolverhampton (and so within reach of Shrewsbury) a day or two earlier than necessary, so we simply 'mooched' on a little further up the Staffs & Worcs before returning to our rendezvous with Adam for a lift to Shrewsbury.

Val's arm came out of plaster on 19th October and the medics were pleased with the healing process, but of course then the physios needed to help her to get it mobile again, so we couldn't go away for a while longer! They wanted to see her again a week later, so we took another little trip up the Shropshire Union, this time going as far as Goldstone Bridge before turning back to Wheaton Aston. Here's Boat Inn Bridge at Gnosall Heath.

The next week, the physios were happy with Val's progress, though they still wanted her to come back after another 2 weeks, but that would give us plenty of time to get on our way to our intended winter mooring at Blisworth. So, guess what? Up the Wolverhampton flight for the fourth time, just 5 weeks after we last went up – and we have never been DOWN these locks, only up them!

Our route was then an exact copy of the last time. We stopped overnight in the same place at the top of Wolverhampton Locks, and again in Gas Street Basin, for the third time in exactly the same spot. On the way, Birmingham's Main Line treated us to its own display of autumn colours.

South West On The Severn

2010-12-17T12:05:00.001Z

Coming down the Severn from Worcester, we were exploring one of the few remaining parts of the English waterways system which we hadn't visited – apart from the disconnected bits! The Severn has a bit of a reputation for strong flows after heavy rain, but the levels were OK and there was no immediate prospect of HEAVY rain, just the persistent drizzly stuff.

We left Worcester's Diglis Basin after filling up with water and getting an early lunch, down through the wide locks and out onto the river, then almost immediately into our first Severn river lock, also called Diglis Lock. The lock-

keeper 'did the honours' for us and asked where we were planning to stop that night. When we told him, he said, "I'll see you at Upper Lode Lock tomorrow, then."

An uneventful 2½ hour trip down as far as Upton-on-Severn, where we found space for the night on the mooring pontoon, and were rewarded with beautiful, slightly misty light the next morning.

Spiders' webs in the nearby field were suitably adorned with water droplets too!

Setting off in the morning, we were down in Tewkesbury before 11:30, going under Mythe Bridge and then past the entrance to the Stratford Avon. That's another waterway we haven't visited yet. We had wondered about tackling it this year, but decided to leave it until we can enjoy it in sunnier weather! (So it's pencilled in for 2011)

Just a few minutes later, we were in Upper Lode Lock, where the same lock-keeper greeted us and also gave us a leaflet about the approach to Gloucester – special precautions needed. We had heard about them before, and had plenty of time to read the leaflet over the next 14 miles or so. About 2½ miles north of Gloucester, the Severn divides into two channels, with boats taking the narrower East Channel – and that's where the fun begins!

The unusual feature of Gloucester Lock is that you come DOWNstream on the river and then the lock takes you UP to the level of the Docks and the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. In a more normal situation, boats coming downstream would pull into a short length of canal leading to the lock, while the river pours over a weir to a LOWER level, where boats arrive having gone DOWN the lock.

As the previous picture shows, at Gloucester the lock looms high ahead with no approach canal, while the river flows vigorously off to the right – and you have to wait for the lock-keeper to open the lock! That's where the chains on the long wall are absolutely vital; you have to hang onto those (preferably with the engine in reverse) until the lock is ready, the signal changes to green, and you enter the lock quite quickly to avoid being pulled past by the river current. Not as scary as it may sound, but you need to have some idea what you are doing! As this picture shows, we made it OK without a problem and were soon on our way up into . . .

. . . Gloucester's historic Dock basin, surrounded by tall former warehouses which are now business premises, flats, a waterways museum and Council offices, not to mention British Waterways offices and a specialist in wooden-hull boats!

We were just in time to witness the arrival of the former lightship 'Sula', which had been towed up from Sharpness and was about to start a new life as an 'alternative therapy studio', moored just outside the docks.

A couple of days later, David and Mary joined us for a few days, and we set off down the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. No locks, but quite a few movable bridges – all operated for us by bridge-keepers, so very leisurely travel! Talking of which, we met up several times with the 'Edward Elgar' cruise ship, which we had already met further up the river near Tewkesbury. The weather was fairly bleak and grey, so the view down the estuary to the two Severn road bridges did not look specially inviting! It is possible to take narrowboats down the estuary, into the Avon at Avonmouth and then up to Bristol, but you need a pilot and good weather. We hadn't planned to do that trip this time, and simply turned round at Sharpness and headed back to Gloucester.

David and Mary headed back to Devon and we planned our return upstream. Apparently, while we had been down to Sharpness, the Severn had been in flood and was only just returning to navigable condition. The lock-keeper told us that, if the level was down enough, we could leave through the lock at 8 am the next morning, and that the incoming tide would help us upstream.

All was OK, and we left with another narrowboat as scheduled. The tide had not started rising yet, though, so we were battling against the river flow UP the narrow East Channel, plus we also met the 'Edward Elgar' again, coming downstream. Several miles upstream, at about 10 am, we suddenly found ourselves accelerating as the tide reached us and took us nicely up to Upper Lode Lock just on the high tide time. The levels above and below the lock and weir were the same and we could almost have cruised straight through!

Upstream to Worcester again, but not to turn off the way we came! We came under the new Diglis footbridge, through the lock and past the entrance to Diglis Basin, mooring up next to the racecourse. The next morning it was Saturday, and the river filled up with rowing boats!

On our way upstream, we thought we might just visit the Droitwich Barge Canal and go up into Droitwich itself. Dave had walked into the town from the other end on our way down, and the waterways press was full of the fact that the Barge Canal had been restored and re-opened, so we were pleased to see Hawford Lock apparently ready to welcome us – only to find that the top gates were padlocked shut! The story goes that yes, the canal was restored and yes, some boats had been up to Droitwich but no, we couldn't go in as the necessary Health & Safety signage was not in place. No notice explaining anything, we just met someone who knew. After all the razzmatazz, rather an own goal, British Waterways!

And so to Stourport! We had been here before, but only via the canal, so it was nice to come up the two pairs of staircase locks and into the upper basin.

Tackling Tardebigge!

2010-10-28T18:04:00.016+01:00

Our original plan after visiting Adam and Rachel (and taking the balloon flight) had been to go up into Birmingham and then down the Worcester & Birmingham Canal to Worcester, which goes down the longest flight of narrow locks on the whole system – 30 locks in a little over 2 miles, with another 6 in the next mile! Oddly enough, it was part of the (over ambitious) route we had planned to take on our first ever canal trip in 1976 – thwarted by the effects of drought closing this canal! Now we were taking it on with Val's left arm in plaster – was this crazy too?

The first test of that came with the need to climb the 21 locks up to the centre of Wolverhampton, and it went quite well. Val was not totally incapacitated and could handle the boat in the locks, though Dave had to take it on from one to the next. We began to develop a modified lock-working system. If you look very carefully at this photo, you may be able to see Val waving her purple-plastered arm as we work up the Wolverhampton flight!

From the very pleasant visitor moorings at the top of the flight (and right next to the centre of Wolverhampton), the canal follows Brindley's 'Wolverhampton Level' all the way into Birmingham – the route we followed the first time we came this way. Last time, at the end of 2008, we took the very circuitous route via the Wyrley & Essington and other less used canals. This time, as time was limited, we opted for Telford's New Main Line, which cuts off 7 miles of Brindley's original route.

This route took us down the 3 Factory Locks at Tipton Green, a route we had not followed before, where we spotted an ingenious solution to the old problem of passing a footbridge without disconnecting your horse from your boat. We hadn't seen this option before!

We passed the junction for Netherton Tunnel, where we had turned (back in early 2008) to take the Black Country route via Dudley and Stourbridge to the Staffs. & Worcs. Canal. Then past this interesting spot, where the old Wolverhampton Level crosses the newer Main Line on an aqueduct, the railway runs alongside the Main line and crosses the Wolverhampton Level, and the M5 motorway sails high above them all.

And so to the bustling heart of Birmingham's Brindley Place – and just round the corner to Gas Street Basin, an amazingly pleasant place to moor overnight. This must have been our third visit.

It was here that the old 'Worcester Bar' used to separate the newer Worcester and Birmingham Canal from the older Birmingham Canal, and goods had to be transhipped across from boats on one side to the other. The bar remains, but a 'stop lock' was built in 1815 to join the two systems, though its gates have long since been removed. The bridge over it is a modern copy of a typical local canal bridge – apparently there used to be just a swinging plank bridge over the stop lock!

Out of Birmingham, then, on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. We had turned east at King's Norton Junction on our way down south in April 2007, but now we were heading south and west into new territory for us. (We did come a short distance down this canal in 1986, our last hire-boat holiday).

9 miles, 3 tunnels but 0 locks from Kings Norton, we came to the top of the Tardebigge flight, went down one lock and enjoyed the moorings there for a day before setting off down the remaining 29. It was NOT a marathon, NOT a struggle at all – just easy locks in pleasant countryside – and Val was developing the knack of controlling the throttle lever with her elbow!

On our way down Tardebigge, we had discovered that our super Sterling battery charging system had developed a fault, but the address we had for them was in Worcester, so Dave emailed them for advice. By then, we were on the edge of Droitwich, and it turned out that they are now based there, so Dave uninstalled the unit, walked (a few miles!) to their factory, where he was promptly given a replacement unit. Then back, refit the unit, and off we could go – thanks, Sterling! Meanwhile, an opportunity to look at the restoration work on the Droitwich Junction Canal. Not very much more work to do before there is a link from Hanbury Junction down to Droitwich, then on from there to the Severn via the newly-restored Droitwich Barge Canal. The picture is the view through the junction bridge at Hanbury.

Our way down to Worcester passed through more 'quiet' but pretty countryside, including Church Farm at Oddingley, before we started making our way round the suburbs and then into the heart of the city.

Through Worcester to the Severn, where the signpost at the river's edge showed us where we had come from, where we were going next, and also our planned return route . . .

Going Up? Not Just Yet!

2010-10-09T22:24:00.009+01:00

Back in January, we had a surprise email, telling us that our 'kids' had given us an unusual present – a balloon flight – exciting! The main questions had been when and where to take it, and we had opted for late summer or autumn, near Shrewsbury. We eventually finalised the date for early morning on 5th September, subject, of course, to satisfactory weather conditions.

We left Kidsgrove on 28th August, joining the Trent & Mersey and almost immediately plunging into Harecastle Tunnel, on the tomato-soup-coloured water caused by local iron ore. We remember this well from our second canal holiday, back in 1978, though we have travelled through this 1¾ mile tunnel a few times since then.

Then on through Stoke-on-Trent and down to Stone, where we enjoyed lunch in the Star Inn and then locked down next to it.

Not long before we reached Great Haywood and turned off onto the Staffs. & Worcs., which would take us in the right direction. Through Gailey, its distinctive Round House commanding a good view of the canal above and below the lock.

We found a good spot to moor, not far from Wolverhampton, where Adam could come and collect us the night before the balloon flight and contacted the company on the afternoon of the 4th September, as required. Unfortunately, the flight had to be postponed due to strong winds, and the next available date was 21st September, so we booked for then. We would be able to take a short trip in Zindagi for a couple of weeks and come back for the flight.

Adam and Rachel invited us to come over for the weekend anyway and came to collect us. While we were in Shrewsbury, we took the opportunity to do some supermarket shopping, and Adam took Val in their VW camper van. Unfortunately, as she was getting back into the VW, she slipped and fell on her wrist. We went out to lunch as planned, but a visit to A & E in the afternoon revealed that Val had in fact broken her radius bone. They plastered her arm and wanted to see her again the next day. Needless to say, the balloon trip has been postponed until Val's arm is healed!

Without dragging the story out too long, Val had to go back a third time after another week, when they put her arm in a lightweight resin cast, and again a week later, when they said 'all doing OK – see you in 4 weeks' ! For the first week, we took a short trip up the Shropshire Union, and spotted this kingfisher near Brewood.

After that, we stayed at Adam & Rachel's for 10 days, house-sitting for them for a week while they were on holiday, so it worked out quite well, especially as we had the use of their car as well. We drove out to some land-locked parts of the Montgomery Canal, including the picturesque Brithdir Lock.

Once we had the OK to 'disappear' for 4 weeks, we decided to carry on cruising more or less as we had originally planned, so we set off again . . .

Mills, Hills and Stately Homes

2010-10-03T17:14:00.000+01:00

Having spent several weeks on the Rochdale, and months leading up to that on the Trent and connecting waterways, we found the constant bustle of narrowboats at Marple quite a novel experience, seeing more boats in one hour than we were used to seeing in several days.

The Macclesfield Canal is justifiably popular. It runs through lovely countryside, passes some enormous old mills and concentrates all its locks into one flight – plus it has its own distinctive style of 'turnover' bridges, or 'snake' bridges as they seem to call them here. This is the one right at the junction with the Peak Forest Canal. Turn left under this one and you are right at the top of the Marple flight of locks – which we had just come up.

Goyt Mill dominates the canal as it leaves southwards. Once a busy cotton mill, it now houses a wide variety of enterprises, from a children's soft play centre to a saddlery – and many more!

In Bollington, both the Adelphi and Clarence Mills (photo) have been adapted in the same way, but don't get the idea that this canal is all old industrial buildings!

Looking back northwards, we could still see the Pennines, and a ridge of hills to the east followed us down towards Bosley Locks and beyond . . .

. . . and of course there were more 'snake' bridges . . .

. . . and the opportunity for a good chat with other boaters as the locks were emptying!

Mow Cop was the last big hill on the east of us as we approached Kidsgrove and Stoke on Trent. Rising to about 1100 feet above sea level, and so about 700 feet above the canal level, it looked like it was worth a visit, so we started walking up to see how far we would get.

We reached the top and spent a little while looking at the 'Old Man O' Mow' (a 65ft gritstone pillar) as well as the 'castle', a folly built in 1754. Then back down the hill – by a slightly more gradual route!

Our activities the next day were slightly less strenuous! We moved the boat on about half a mile and moored up opposite Ramsdell Hall, right on the canalside.

Then we walked over the fields to Little Moreton Hall, an amazing Tudor timbered house (we have lots more photos!), and enjoyed a fascinating tour before walking back to the boat and moving on towards Kidsgrove and the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Through the shallow (1') Hall Green Lock, we chugged on and moored on the aqueduct which takes the Macclesfield Canal over the locks of the Trent & Mersey as it rises below.

(We were here on 27th August)

. . . And Back Up To 500 Feet!

2010-09-20T09:00:00.001+01:00

We could have just carried on down the next 9 locks on the Rochdale to Castlefield Basin, which we visited back in August 2008. Very pleasant there (here’s a picture), but then we would either have needed to take the long route to the Trent & Mersey via the Bridgewater Canal, or go back UP the 9 locks to the start of the Ashton Canal, where we already were. We decided to leave out the 9 locks – Dave had already walked that bit from Castlefield – and go on up the Ashton!

Just a few hundred yards up from our mooring, under a busy modern bridge, what could we see? A NARROW lock! You know we always feel that we have come back ‘home’ when we get back on narrow locks, but it had been a long time since we left them – Foxton, back in May!

The Ashton fulfilled the promise of an old narrow canal keeping its old charm as it passes almost untouched through rapidly modernising Manchester suburbs, and the two cultures seemed to harmonise well.

It rained quite a bit as we made our way up, passing under the ‘Camel’s Hump’ bridge just before Fairfield Junction, where we stopped for lunch and filled up our water tank.

Then on up to Ashton-Under-Lyne to stop for the night, with two unusual events: 1) We were going so quietly as we approached a line of anglers that the first one didn’t know we were there until we had snagged his line – which we couldn’t see because he wasn’t holding his rod! He was not happy, but there was nothing we could do. 2) Soon after we arrived at Dukinfield Junction (Ashton), a group of lads decided to throw eggs at us – for no apparent reason. We moved on a little to moor up – no further trouble!

The next day, we just ‘ambled’ for 6½ miles along the Peak Forest Canal, mooring just below the Marple Flight of 16 locks, which would take us back up to 500 feet above sea level. The Marple Aqueduct crosses high above the River Goyt here, alongside the railway viaduct – even higher!

This is a lovely flight, rising up through a wooded hillside to gradually blend into the streets of the town, and the locks all have a characteristically low footbridge immediately below them, so that the beams of the lower gates are at shoulder height as you walk over the bridge. Unique as far as we know.

Sure we will have shown you this before, when we came DOWN this flight in 2008, but Lock 13 has 2 unusual tunnels under the road below it. One is straight and high, ideal to lead a horse through to meet up with the boat below the bridge. The other is a quick ‘nip-through’ for the boatman wanting to get back on board immediately below the lock, but still under the bridge. There is only a very narrow way to get out back onto the towpath!

Adam and Rachel managed to fit in a day’s visit, and they also brought 2 very welcome packages with them – Dave’s cameras, repaired by Canon under special warranty due to a latent defect. We had been sharing Val’s camera since Sheffield!

We took the opportunity to pop up to Bugsworth, look around the historic Basin and have a good meal at the Navigation Inn. Last time we were here, it snowed – in April! Then we turned ‘Zindagi’ around and came back to Marple. Adam & Rachel had to get on their way to the Lake District!

Only 4 weeks behind now – nearly there!

Rushing Down To Manchester!

2010-09-19T11:36:00.004+01:00

After our enforced dash down from West Summit Lock, it was good to take it slowly for another day – but we knew another marathon was coming soon!

Down through the seemingly forgotten backwaters of Rochdale, through a short stretch of countryside near Slattocks, and we were getting into the Manchester suburbs.

We moored on Monday night just outside Chadderton, but not before we had done battle with a faulty lock! There was either damage to the bottom gates’ sill, or else something was stuck against it – either way, there was so much water getting OUT that we couldn’t completely fill the lock! In the end, we rigged up a rope between one of the top lock gates and a bollard and Val used that leverage while Dave pushed the gate itself. It opened – against about 3" of water! When we emailed BW about it, they said they were due to look at it on the coming Friday – so the canal would be effectively closed for 4 days!

We had a deadline to meet, though. Once again we were required to ‘book our passage’ through some locks – 19 of them, from Failsworth down to Ducie Street in Manchester, and were supposed to be at the top one for 8:30 am! We allowed the recommended hour but were still late. Fortunately our ‘shadow’ had not given up on us and was grabbing a bite of breakfast as we arrived!

Much as we would have preferred to take our time down these locks, we couldn’t have asked for a better ‘shadow’ – Billy was great company, a real enthusiast for his work, and the locks flew by as he and Dave worked them and Val took the boat on through. If anyone at BW is reading this, please make sure that Billy gets a permanent job with you – he is a genuine asset!

We made good time – not surprisingly – and said goodbye to Billy at the last lock before Ducie Street Junction. Just round the corner to the left, under the brick building in this picture, we moored up at the beginning of the Ashton Canal.

We ARE catching up – this was only 4½ weeks ago!

To The Summit – And Beyond!

2010-09-18T09:00:00.006+01:00

Back in Todmorden after Shireen & Thor had left us, we turned 'Zindagi' around, did some shopping and waited for our next visitors – Jeremy and Laura. Meanwhile, time to get some more nearly aerial pictures from the steep valley sides. This is the wharf, with the green guillotine gate of Library Lock at the top of the picture, and 'Zindagi' at the bottom right.

And here is 'The Great Wall of Tod' from the top!

No sooner had J and Laura arrived, than we started up the locks out of Todmorden again. This was not going to be another 'there-and-back' journey, though. They had opted to move the car on as we travelled up to the summit and began the journey down the western side. An ideal stretch of canal for this tactic, really, as the actual distances covered each day are not great as more time is taken up with lock working.

With more 'hands on deck', and especially without so many other boats on the canal, we made rapid progress as far as the chippy in Walsden – just nicely in time for tea! We had phoned British Waterways to book our passage over the summit for the Sunday morning, so that left Saturday for us to travel the remaining 8 locks and 1½ miles.

That should have been easy, but we had quite a delay as part of the canal was nearly dry! We had to let some water down to fill the curving wide section where we had moored with Shireen and Thor a few days before, and needed to let more down from higher above that as well. All good practice and quite interesting – if time-consuming!

In the end, thanks to dedicated lock work by J & Laura (more than the pictures show!), we approached the summit lock by lunchtime, crossing the county boundary just after the previous lock.

. . . but surely it should be 'Greater Manchester' now? No, don't go and change it, 'Lancashire' is just fine!

For the first time in miles, we could see the hills on the skyline getting lower! We had reached the 'pass' through the Pennines which the canal surveyors and engineers had identified as their way through seemingly impossible terrain.

After lunch, clear skies tempted us all out for a walk up the hillside. Two of us walked up, sat for a bit and walked back down. Two others just walked and walked . . . What a view, though! You can see the short summit level and 'Zindagi' is just hiding behind the trees below the lock at the bottom right of the picture.

We had been warned to be ready for 8:30 the next morning and, sure enough, the lock-keeper appeared, emptied the lock for us, saw us through and said "See you at the West Summit Lock". So off we went, chugging along at 600 feet above sea level . . .

. . . only about half a mile before we reached West Summit. This must be one of the shortest summit pounds on the system – no wonder they have sometimes had water shortages. In fact, the 'lockie' said they had been OK for water through the summer, despite the earlier fears, and he was surprised how few boats had been coming through the summit.

As the Leeds and Liverpool Canal had closed from early August, we thought more people might have diverted to the Rochdale. Perhaps some boaters were put off by false rumours of the Rochdale closing too? We had been told once or twice that it was closed, but had the reassurance of the British Waterways email updates to know that it was definitely staying open!

The only 'down' side to the western side of the Rochdale is the need to keep moving. Due to water supply problems and maybe lock conditions, no boats can stop from the East Summit (Longlees Lock, No.36) all the way over and down to Sladen Lock (No. 44). That's 9 locks (but only 1½ miles!), where it would have been nice to dawdle a bit. Having taken our time UP the Yorkshire side, dashing down the 'Lancashire' side came as a bit of a shock!

We had known about that in advance, so J and Laura had moved the car on to Littleborough, where we hoped to find an overnight mooring. A good quiet spot, just below Lock 48, the last lock for 3½ miles. Time to moor up and find a nice place for Sunday lunch together, before they had to drive back to London. Just 3 days from Todmorden, but we had been through some stunning country and really enjoyed our time together.

We ARE catching up with the blog story! We crossed the summit on 15th August.

Getting Near The Top!

2010-09-17T09:00:00.001+01:00

From Hebden Bridge, the Rochdale seems to engage a lower gear as the 'lock density' increases. In the 5½ miles from Sowerby Bridge, we had come up 7 locks. In the next 4 miles up to Todmorden, we faced 10 more, but it really isn't a problem if you're not in a hurry! And, as the saying goes, if you're in a hurry and on the waterways, then you're in the wrong place!

Of course, lots of locks means just one thing:– big changes in ground levels. And gradients like these go with the stunning scenery through which the canal passes. Again, it seemed incredible that canal boats, perhaps more often thought of on placid canals, should be up here in steep-sided rocky Pennine valleys. Well done those canal pioneers in the 1790s!

We were dawdling again as we reached Todmorden. Shireen and Thor were coming to stay for a few days and meeting us there. Once again, we had arrived early, so we stayed a couple of days outside town before moving in and mooring up at the wharf, right in the centre of this bustling community.

Thor, now 2½, soon settled back into life on board, and was very happy with the life-jacket we had borrowed for him. Shireen, of course, is an old hand! We set off on a 'there-and-back-again' trip for the next couple of days, which would take us further up the valley towards the summit level.

On our way out of Todmorden, we passed below 'The Great Wall of Tod', a massive wall of blue engineering bricks which supports the railway line high on the hill above the canal.

Sometimes it looked like we were coming to a dead end as the hills rose like walls around us. These locks at Gauxholme (just outside Todmorden) sit right below steep rocky outcrops, but of course there IS a way through!

The view DOWN from these precipices gives you a better idea. No camera trickery here, just a telephoto lens! The railway bridge in the photo carries the line on from the 'Great Wall' (to the left), and the lock nearest to it is where the boat was in the last picture.

On our way up, we met a traditional horse-drawn boat on its way down. One of only five left in the country, we were told. So as not to get in the way of the rope, we passed the boat on the 'wrong' side, i.e. on the left instead of right. That must have been quite a skill in the days when ALL boats were horse-drawn – making sure that boats and horses passed in such a way that ropes never tangled!

After a good day's cruising and lock-working, we stopped in a lovely wide section, 7 locks and just over a mile below the summit level. Shireen and Thor needed to get back, so we couldn't go any further – this time!

The next morning, we all walked further up the canal in the morning, took the boat back down 2 locks near to an excellent chip shop (for lunch!) and then headed back down to Todmorden. Here's Thor outside the chippy, having a drink while he waits for his lunch!

Yes, it had rained quite a bit, but we had all enjoyed our time together – and it had gone too quickly. Shireen told us that Thor was a bit sad on the train back home. We all look forward to their next visit!

Yes, we are still ahead of the blog, but it's gradually catching up. Shireen and Thor visited us in early August.

First steps up the Rochdale

2010-09-16T10:11:00.021+01:00

Our blog is STILL rather behind our travels - sorry! We arrived in Hebden Bridge in early August. We are catching up slowly. CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

The character of the Calder & Hebble was already changing as we made our way up to Salterhebble, just 2 miles from Halifax and where the little Hebble Brook joins the Calder. A railway bridge spanned the canal as the hills gathered closer either side and we made our way up the valley, still alongside the now much smaller River Calder.

Not much further to Sowerby Bridge, where the C & H comes to a graceful stop in the Canal Basin and the Rochdale Canal begins the serious climb! A brilliant sculpture near the basin shows us how to work a lock gate – clothes from an earlier time, but the technique is unchanged!

These mileposts were now to become part of our daily scenery, but the figures leave out one important fact: It may be only 13 miles from Sowerby Bridge to the summit level, but there is also the little matter of 36 locks on the way! No worries, we were going to dawdle and enjoy the magnificent countryside along the way.

But first we had to pass what had been a blockage for many years. When the Rochdale was derelict, the connection to the Calder & Hebble had been cut off by infilling under a busy road junction, losing 2 locks in the process. The imaginative restorers not only managed to tunnel UNDER the road junction, but also built a double-depth lock immediately after it, completed in 1996.

Rob the lock-keeper told us that, when excavations under the old bridges started, they found that, although the old locks and canal bed had supposedly been 'filled' so as to support the road structure completely, only the outside edges were concreted and the loose rubble inside had sunk, giving no support to the road above for all those years! Well, at least it's all been done properly now!

As we shared the 19'8½" vertical journey with another boat, Rob told us that we were in the deepest canal lock in the country, and we had to agree, although the 19'5" double-depth lock at Bath is only just shallower. He also told us about some delicious wild raspberries next to the lock, so we helped ourselves!

About 3 miles and a couple of locks later, we decided to stop and moor up. We were near the little hamlet of Brearley, on the side of a widening valley, with hills ahead and either side. Val's knees are so much better now that we were able to go for a walk up the southern side.

After a couple of nights at Brearley, we chugged on a mile to Mytholmroyd, visited the Methodists there, had a nice lunch and moved on to Hebden Bridge. Only two locks in those 2 miles, and we found ourselves in this attractive town. It somehow seemed impossible that a canal should have reached up here, where the town sits in the valley surrounded by rocky walls, with moors above.

Hebden has plenty of delightful aspects, like these canalside cottages, but we also took the opportunity of a local bus service (and our bus passes!) to go to Haworth and visit the Brontë family museum.

Up the steep main street (this would have been impossible for Val a year ago!) and then an interesting tour of the former vicarage (no photography!)

Then (more walking) we took the footpath over the hills to Oxenhope, which brought us out right by a bus stop – and back to Hebden and the boat.

Pushing Northwards Again

2010-09-04T10:14:00.009+01:00

APOLOGIES! OUR BLOG IS RUNNING BEHIND OUR TRAVELS. We came up the Calder & Hebble at the end of July. We are trying to get up to date as soon as possible, but don't want you to miss out on any part of our travels! CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

Leaving Sheffield, there were no more 'diversions' to distract us from heading for the Rochdale Canal and the Pennines, so we set off back down the Don Valley until we came to Bramwith, where we had come in from Keadby. This time, we took the left fork to take us along the New Junction Canal towards the Aire and Calder Navigation.

We were soon rewarded with a most unusual sight – 3 'Tom Puddings' being towed along! These are the last survivors of the floating coal hoppers once used to take coal from Yorkshire's collieries down to Goole. They were designed to run in 'trains' of up to 30 compartment boats, but apparently 19 was the norm on the Aire and Calder. Fully laden, of course, they would have been much lower in the water, with only inches of freeboard.

The next morning, one of their modern-day equivalents passed us, equally low in the water with sand and gravel on board on its way into Whitley Lock. We were soon through the lock and on our way to Castleford, where we took the opportunity to walk over the new footbridge made famous by Kevin McCloud on Channel 4 – very good, but difficult to capture adequately in a photo!

Now we were back on the Calder & Hebble Navigation, with its unique lock-gear operated with a piece of wood. Simple and quite effective, but not loved by everyone. This would lead us past where we came in from the Huddersfield Broad Canal in 2008 and on to join the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge. At this point, we were hearing rumours that one or more of the Pennine canals might need to close due to lack of water, but we pressed on in hope.

Another characteristic of the Calder & Hebble is that the navigation keeps changing from river to canal and back again, with the channel turning away from massive weirs to take you through locks. All very well signposted and protected, but you need to keep your eyes open!

At Brighouse, that all changed. We were now on the canal, pure and simple, and the locks started to become more frequent as the valley gradually started to close in on us – the climb up the Pennines was beginning!

A Week In Sheffield

2010-09-03T16:25:00.011+01:00

APOLOGIES! OUR BLOG IS RUNNING BEHIND OUR TRAVELS. We left Sheffield in mid July. We are trying to get up to date as soon as possible, but don't want you to miss out on any part of our travels! CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

We arrived in Sheffield Basin, filled up with water, turned around, and moored just outside the main basin, but very close by. Really convenient to walk into the shops, but remarkably peaceful for such a central location.

On our journey northwards on the Trent, up the eastern side of the country, whenever we branched out we seem to have travelled largely south again, and Sheffield was no exception. In fact, we had been very close to it when we went up the Chesterfield Canal.

Apart from just going wherever we can take 'Zindagi', we had other reasons for visiting Sheffield – meeting friends – but in the meantime we could enjoy the canal basin architecture. The 'Straddle' Warehouse (1895) stands across the basin and behind it are the Grain and Terminal Warehouses (1819), plus a row of Wharf Cottages.

Noona, the daughter of our friends in Jalandhar, Punjab, was just coming to the end of her studies in the UK and wanted to see us before she flew out, so she very kindly made the trip up from Birmingham and we met her at the station and enjoyed a day together.

Our friends Geoff and Pauline (who live in Sheffield) were away for a few days, so we just stayed on our mooring – and the day after Noona's visit, the canal basin became the centre of a Family Fun Day, including these waterballs for the children!

It DID rain quite a bit while were in Sheffield – sudden, sharp downpours! However, we had a good day when we took the bus to the Botanical Gardens – here are a few snapshots!

The next day, Geoff and Pauline came to see us. Geoff & Dave shared a trip to India back in 1981, but we have hardly seen each other since then, though we have remained in touch. It was good to spend some time together, remember old friends and get a little more up to date with what the others are doing these days.

. . . and then it was time to start moving on! Dave the lock-keeper had told us that we could move down to Tinsley and moor there if we wanted to, so we made the short trip there in time to meet up with Dan and Dianne, who were on their way from Peterborough to Stoke-on-Trent – the long way round! They came on the Friday, and we headed down the Tinsley locks the next day, under Dave's watchful and friendly eye again – it was great meeting you, Dave!

From The Trent To Sheffield

2010-09-01T21:27:00.000+01:00

APOLOGIES! OUR BLOG IS RUNNING BEHIND OUR TRAVELS. We joined the South Yorkshire Navigations on 2nd July. We are trying to get up to date as soon as possible, but don't want you to miss out on any part of our travels! CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

The River Trent had been our link route northwards from the Erewash Canal through Nottingham, down to Newark, out to Boston and up the Chesterfield Canal, but now we were heading west again and would soon be heading south-west, before turning north again and up to cross the Pennines.

The South Yorkshire Navigations include the River Don Navigation, the New Junction Canal, the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal and the Stainforth & Keadby Canal which we had just entered from the Trent. Almost immediately, we came to the most unusual Vazon railway bridge, just a few feet over the canal. It doesn't swing, it doesn't lift – it SLIDES! An amazing piece of engineering, built in 1915 and apparently one of only three in Europe (or the world?)

We were going to face quite a few opening bridges on these canals, most of them electrically operated with the turn of our British Waterways key and pushing buttons. Lifting an enormous bridge and holding up the traffic just to let one narrowboat pass seems a little strange, but there is no alternative – and most of the motorists are understanding.

It's not all mechanics and engineering on the canals – by no means! Here's a Comma butterfly enjoying the sunshine near Thorne.

The Stainforth & Keadby Canal now carries almost exclusively 'leisure' craft, but it joins the River Don Navigation near Bramwith, where the New Junction Canal brings larger traffic up from Goole and the Humber ports.

We were soon in Doncaster's enormous lock, even needing to keep an eye open for oil tanker barges (like the 'Humber Princess') on their way to Rotherham.

After the bustle of Doncaster, we followed the River Don up its unexpectedly quiet and beautiful gorge, stopping overnight at picturesque Sprotborough and passing under the Conisborough viaduct.

Gradually the valley opened out and we re-entered 'civilisation' as we came through Conisborough and Swinton and approached Rotherham. We passed the 'Humber Pride' (sister ship of the 'Humber Princess') at the oil depot and came into Rotherham Town Lock – we were back to shorter locks again, with no chance of meeting the tanker barges for a while!

To make our way from Rotherham up to Sheffield, we needed to liaise with the British Waterways lock-keeper, as the Tinsley locks are kept locked (to protect against vandalism and water loss). We phoned ahead and arranged to meet Dave Walker at Holmes Lock, from where he would 'shadow' us up the Tinsley flight. That all went very smoothly, and we arrived in Sheffield Basin about 4 hours later (13 locks + 5 miles = 18 'lock-miles', an average of 4½ 'lock-miles' per hour – well above our average!)

Farewell To The Trent Tideway

2010-08-06T17:41:00.000+01:00

APOLOGIES! OUR BLOG IS RUNNING BEHIND OUR TRAVELS. We left the Trent in early July. We are trying to get up to date as soon as possible, but don't want you to miss out on any part of our travels! CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

On our way down from Torksey to Stockwith, we had needed to 'punch the tide' from about Gainsborough onwards but this time, on our way down to Keadby, Sue (the lock-keeper at Stockwith) timed our departure so that we would have an easier run, all the way with the ebb tide.

We had begun to get used to the Trent by now but, the further downstream we went, the wider it became. It certainly must be an awesome sight when it is in flood, but we are quite happy to have been acquainted with it in quieter mood!

There was precious little to see as we cruised down on the ebbing tide. Perhaps there was more chance of meeting larger craft, but the river was wider and less twisted into tortuous curves than it had been upstream, so the dangers were probably less. We didn't meet any, anyway, though there were one or two large boats moored near Keadby Bridge.

In fact, there were only these two bridges in all the 12¾ miles from Stockwith to Keadby. The M180 was 2 miles before Keadby Bridge, and then Keadby Lock was about half a mile after it.

But Keadby Bridge is worth a closer look. When it was built in 1916, the eastern span was made to lift open on a rolling counterweight. According to our waterways guide book (Nicholson's), this is a tank which was progressively filled with water, causing the span to lift. Other sources say that it was electrically powered, initially by a battery and generator and later by mains electricity. Perhaps there was an electrically-powered pump for the water . . ? The span was last opened in the 1950s and was subsequently fixed in the closed position. Before the construction of the M180 bridge, Keadby Bridge was the only bridge into the Isle of Axholme.

And so into Keadby Lock, and off the Trent for the last time on this trip. When the lock-keeper had brought us up to canal level, we had to wait for him to also open a swing bridge, and then we were on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, part of the South Yorkshire Navigations.

As a fitting farewell to the Trent ('Power Station Alley'), what should be there on the canal but Keadby Gas Fired Power Station – !

The Chesterfield Canal – A Forgotten Gem?

2010-08-05T23:21:00.002+01:00

APOLOGIES! OUR BLOG IS RUNNING BEHIND OUR TRAVELS. We were on the Chesterfield Canal at the end of June. We are trying to get up to date as soon as possible, but don't want you to miss out on any part of our travels! CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

We knew we would get to the Chesterfield Canal eventually! Back in 2005, when we first had the idea of a canal-based 'sabbatical', and long before we started our travels on 'Zindagi', we had been in email contact with Marion, a friend from our time in Romford, 20 - odd years ago. She had moved near Retford before we moved to Devon, and we knew the Chesterfield Canal went near there, so we said that we hoped to come that way and perhaps take her for a trip.

Then last year we met a couple on a boat, who had travelled down to the Nene from the Retford, and they sang its praises. We had been looking forward to getting on the Chesterfield since starting down the Trent, and here we were at last!

We emailed Marion again when we arrived at West Stockwith, and began to make provisional plans to meet in a couple of days.

From West Stockwith, we chugged westwards through the edge of Misterton and then on into open countryside. Some of it used to be less rural, and we spotted the chimneys of derelict brickworks, one completely shrouded in trees and another in a field.

Through the top lock near Gringley-on-the-Hill – picturesque, despite the sticking top gate – and along the foot of the ridge until the little Drakeholes tunnel took us through it.

Then on to a lovely little mooring near Hayton for our first night stop.

Where was everybody? We seemed to have this canal almost entirely to ourselves!

Next day, we chugged into Retford and not only met Marion, but also her younger son Joe and his wife Amie, plus their 3 daughters, Zea, Maia and Laila. Marion and the 2 older girls came with us for a little trip up the canal and back, and we moored up again outside a neighbour's house, very kindly arranged for us.

In the morning, we set off on our further exploration of the Chesterfield Canal. Only 2 miles out of Retford, we found ourselves in a remote area around the 'Forest Locks', and the water weed was getting rather thick – was this going to be a repeat of the 'Kyme Eau experience'? Fortunately not! Though it was weedy in places and progress was a little slower, we pressed on towards Worksop, passing under the busy A1 at Ranby and then next to this cottage in rural isolation at Osberton lock.

Our arrival in Worksop was very well-timed, as we arrived at Town Lock just as Marion and her elder son Simon came to meet us. Simon soon got into working the locks, and we had a good afternoon together, working our way up to Shireoaks, where Marion came and met us again.

The next day looked like a marathon – 23 locks in just 4 miles! But they were fairly shallow, some of them in 'staircases' of 2 or 3, and set in lovely peaceful countryside. A really excellent bit of restoration work to this section of the canal, a real joy to travel through. And it only took us 4 hours 20 minutes. (Average 'speed' : 6.23 lock-miles per hour, nearly double our overall average of 3.51!)

We had reached the limit of navigation, and it was Wimbledon week, so Val stayed on board to watch while Dave set off to see if he could find the other end of the Norwood Tunnel. One bricked-up tunnel looks much like another! There is talk of re-linking the isolated parts of the Chesterfield Canal, but some uncertainty about whether re-opening the 3102 yards of the tunnel would be viable. The remnants of locks on the western side certainly pass through very pleasant surroundings.

Marion came and collected us from Kiveton Park so that we could go with her to Poplars Church in Worksop. It was great to meet with the others there – they really made us feel at home. Thanks, folks! Then back to the boat after a meal out with Marion.

From Kiveton Park, of course, it was all downhill – literally! We came down the locks about as fast as we had gone up them, passing through Turnerwood and back to Shireoaks again.

When we returned to Retford, there was just enough time for Marion and Amie to join us for a very short trip, together with Zea, Maia and Laila – and then we were off again. (only Joe seems to have escaped having his photo taken!)

Then back to the basin at West Stockwith, ready for the final 'leg' of our journey down the Trent. We had really enjoyed our time on the Chesterfield but why were there so few other boaters? We suspect that many don't come because of needing to navigate the Trent, but it is really worth the effort. For those who can't spare the time to get there by boat, there is always the hire fleet based at West Stockwith.

Flushed Out From Torksey!

2010-08-01T08:00:00.002+01:00

APOLOGIES! OUR BLOG IS RUNNING BEHIND OUR TRAVELS. We were here in late June. We are trying to get up to date as soon as possible, but don't want you to miss out on any part of our travels! CLICK ON 'Where Zindagi Is Now' to find our latest location.

After our escape from the weedy Kyme Eau, we stopped at the first opportunity to de-weed the propeller and then made an uneventful return journey to Torksey, though we did pass an interesting house near Southrey, another remnant from the days when the railway ran all along the banks of the navigation. The former signal box seems to make a lovely first-floor conservatory with a view over the river.

Time for our next 'leg' on the tidal Trent from Torksey to West Stockwith, some 14¾ miles downstream. We phoned the Torksey lock-keeper, who suggested that 12 noon would be a good time to go down the lock, so we dawdled along from our overnight mooring at Saxilby 5½ miles way, filled up with water and waited. As we approached Torksey, Cottam Power Station, a mile or two away on the west of the Trent, announced its presence with its own personal home-made cloud!

Soon after 12, we were in the lock and ready to go down, but the lock-keeper seemed a bit concerned. The tide might be a bit low now, so we might have some difficulty getting over the bottom sill, but "let's try anyway, me duck". We did try; it was a bit low and we couldn't get out, so he went to Plan B: He would partly refill the lock, then open the bottom gates as quickly as he could and also open the top sluices, so as to send us out on a wave to lift us over the sill. It worked, and we were 'flushed out', but not without rather a bump as we crossed the sill – and then we were back on the Trent!

Heading downstream, we could snatch a glimpse of the ruined Torksey Castle, unusually built of brick above the lower levels of stone, and standing here abandoned since the 1500s . . .

. . . and then a Shelduck with its solitary duckling, before the Trent resumed its snaking course.

We had been warned, both by books and people, to always keep an eye open for large boats using the river. They are much bigger, they are moving faster, they need the deeper water and cannot manoeuvre very well, so the advice is to navigate your narrowboat in the expectation of meeting one of these giants round the next corner. So, with plenty of corners, we stayed alert!

Fortunately, we met the 'Battlestone' on a straight section as it was coming upstream on the tide and the captain kindly slowed down past us before swinging into the next bend – nice timing!

Yes, by now the tide was flowing quite noticeably, so we had to 'punch' it from Gainsborough to West Stockwith. No problem, just more engine revs for not much forward movement!

And so into West Stockwith Lock and up into the Basin, where Sue the lock-keeper welcomed us and showed us where we could moor overnight.