Saturday 19th May 2012
The alarm went off at 7am!
We tidied and packed gave the boat a once over even though we were having a valet. Topped up the water tank as Alcedonia pulled up along side. We had the prime spot for pump outs and diesel so got seen to first. Time for chats with other boat owners, discussions of the virtues of having black gunwhales etc. Ken was doing the change overs elsewhere so wasn't on site this morning for us to explain that the bow thruster had mended itself, but been replaced by the heating being defunct! After we'd been filled with diesel the heating was tried again in case it fed from the tank higher than the engine. But still no joy. We really hope it's been fixed as the Tilburys are on this week and if they are anything like my Dad they'll want it cosy on board. Mick paid for diesel, valet and pump out, oh and the 50p handling charge . Handed in our form and we were off in the car for breakfast at Peppers in Sandbach, our little treat at the end of our holiday.
Smart gauge at start of day 72, 0 locks, 0 miles, 0 swing bridges, 132 litres diesel, 50p handling charge, 1 pump- out, 1 stove ready to light, 1 tea, 1 large coffee, 4 tomatoes, 4 rashers of bacon, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 slices of black pudding, 4 slices of toast and 167 baked beans.
Saturday 19 May 2012
Friday 18th May 2012
Friday 18th May 2012
The day started with breakfast overlooking the flash. Our last day on WD usually involves trying to head to Elton Moss for part way through the afternoon to wash the boat and do the chores and start packing, go out for a meal to then be up early in the morning to pack the car and head for home. Today was going to be a little bit different!
The bow thruster had stopped working in one direction a couple of days ago, we'd reported it to Ken for him to have a look at on Saturday morning back at base. Mick was a bit concerned as he may need it going through the Middlewich locks later on today. He rang RCR (Canal version of the AA) to see if they covered bow thrusters, but they didn't, so he would just have to cope. We headed back towards Middlewich avoiding fallen trees in the cut and dropping most of our rubbish off at the recycling centre. At the water point just below The Big Lock we wanted to top up the water and wash one side of the boat, thus saving winding when we got to Elton Moss. The tow path here is really quite disgusting with dog pooh, so Mick cleared as much as possible and we washed the boat whilst waiting for an Anderson Hire Boat to fill up with water. It was quite pleasantly warm and the hard labour of washing the boat meant that excess layers were stripped. One side done, phew! water was topped up and then we were into the lock which had just been vacated by a hire boat.
Whilst filling Big Lock I had to keep an eye out more than normal for the bow of the boat, occasionally dropping the ground paddles as WD was heading for the top gates with force. After doing the Chester Locks last year, which can be quite forceful, I now raise paddles slower than I used to when filling a broad lock, but this wasn't helping. WD had lost most of her power both in reverse and forwards. So once raised we pulled in and moored up. Mick wondered if it was water in with the diesel so set about checking whilst I went off to Tescos to try and find some high ball glasses as one had broken in the dishwasher a few days earlier.
Middlewich seemed a bit more alive than normal, a nice patisserie and what looked like a refurbished pub that I'd not noticed before, but then we aren't normally in Middlewich mid afternoon, it's usually an evening when we go through. One choice of glasses at the big Tescos and I was back to the boat with Mick having rung RCR about the lack of power. They said they'd ring back. Lunchtime then.
We waited wondering if ringing Ken would have been better, but being RCR members we wouldn't get charged for the call out even if it was just Middlewich. After about an hour of waiting and starting to do chores we had a phone call from an engineer who said he'd be about 45 mins. So chores were started in earnest. I took all the windows out and gave them a good clean. I don't think this had been done for a while as some were almost stuck into the frames, cleaned the stove glass, whilst Mick started to give the oven and grill a good going over. When the chap turned up he checked that the diesel in the tank wasn't too low, phew that was okay! So he then set about changing the fuel filters, both of them. After a trip back to his van this was done and WD was back in working order, all for £8. As he walked away we wondered how much of a Marine Engineers life is spent walking along tow paths!
So we were off again at about 4.45pm, Hooray! Chores put on hold again, Hooray! Back to finishing our holiday. The bottom lock was just being vacated as we approached, so in we went. The second had slightly re-filled. There was a lady who'd only seen Narrowboats on Rosie and Jim so Mick had to explain about locks to her. I popped up to the top lock to open the gates but it was full, so emptied it before Mick was out of the middle lock hoping that that would help with the sharp turn and lack of bow thruster. A walk along to Kings Lock which was also full. The chandlers there actually had space to pull in! But for once we didn't want to stop as the day was getting on. As Micks head appeared above the sides of the lock he noticed the fish and chip shop was open. So we tied up at the lock moorings and he ran across the road. It was just starting to rain so we decided to eat them at the lock, keeping an eye out for boats of course. Not our normal last day evening meal somewhere in Sandbach but the day hadn't been normal.
Then off again, only 40 swans today. Every lock was set against us and one of the bottom paddles on lock 68 was very stiff and kept slipping. Back to Lock 67 (nasty lock!!!) this signals the last bit of holiday returning from the north. We came under bridge 160 to see quite a few boats moored up, but just the right space was left for us to wash the boat. It always seems weird washing a boat in the rain but it needed doing. It did mean that I wouldn't be able to touch up the gunwales on the port side which was a shame. Mick gave the bow thruster another go and it suddenly seemed to work. So what ever it was must have sorted itself. We tried the hookup cable but the power wasn't on so we'd have to save any hoovering for the engine being on in the morning .
Kallista, Festina Lente were there along with several Northwich Boats. Kallista was empty, but Festina Lente had people packing a car and sorting things. We were still going long after they stopped. We were very glad that we'd booked a valet for the morning so that we wouldn't be up til all hours. A glass of beer in our slightly soggy state and the heating put on. After a while there wasn't the familiar sound of knocking that the boiler makes. Mick tried again, and again, but no luck. No hook up, no heat and not wanting to light the clean stove we got the spare douvet from our car and went to bed before it got too chilly.
Smart Gauge at start of day 45! at end of day 96, 9 locks, 9 miles,1 breakdown, 2 fuel filters, 1way bow thruster, 2 way bow thruster, 56 piles of dog doo, 12 Herons, 40 Swans, 2 wet people, 2 fish and chips, 1 cold boat.
The day started with breakfast overlooking the flash. Our last day on WD usually involves trying to head to Elton Moss for part way through the afternoon to wash the boat and do the chores and start packing, go out for a meal to then be up early in the morning to pack the car and head for home. Today was going to be a little bit different!
The bow thruster had stopped working in one direction a couple of days ago, we'd reported it to Ken for him to have a look at on Saturday morning back at base. Mick was a bit concerned as he may need it going through the Middlewich locks later on today. He rang RCR (Canal version of the AA) to see if they covered bow thrusters, but they didn't, so he would just have to cope. We headed back towards Middlewich avoiding fallen trees in the cut and dropping most of our rubbish off at the recycling centre. At the water point just below The Big Lock we wanted to top up the water and wash one side of the boat, thus saving winding when we got to Elton Moss. The tow path here is really quite disgusting with dog pooh, so Mick cleared as much as possible and we washed the boat whilst waiting for an Anderson Hire Boat to fill up with water. It was quite pleasantly warm and the hard labour of washing the boat meant that excess layers were stripped. One side done, phew! water was topped up and then we were into the lock which had just been vacated by a hire boat.
Whilst filling Big Lock I had to keep an eye out more than normal for the bow of the boat, occasionally dropping the ground paddles as WD was heading for the top gates with force. After doing the Chester Locks last year, which can be quite forceful, I now raise paddles slower than I used to when filling a broad lock, but this wasn't helping. WD had lost most of her power both in reverse and forwards. So once raised we pulled in and moored up. Mick wondered if it was water in with the diesel so set about checking whilst I went off to Tescos to try and find some high ball glasses as one had broken in the dishwasher a few days earlier.
Middlewich seemed a bit more alive than normal, a nice patisserie and what looked like a refurbished pub that I'd not noticed before, but then we aren't normally in Middlewich mid afternoon, it's usually an evening when we go through. One choice of glasses at the big Tescos and I was back to the boat with Mick having rung RCR about the lack of power. They said they'd ring back. Lunchtime then.
We waited wondering if ringing Ken would have been better, but being RCR members we wouldn't get charged for the call out even if it was just Middlewich. After about an hour of waiting and starting to do chores we had a phone call from an engineer who said he'd be about 45 mins. So chores were started in earnest. I took all the windows out and gave them a good clean. I don't think this had been done for a while as some were almost stuck into the frames, cleaned the stove glass, whilst Mick started to give the oven and grill a good going over. When the chap turned up he checked that the diesel in the tank wasn't too low, phew that was okay! So he then set about changing the fuel filters, both of them. After a trip back to his van this was done and WD was back in working order, all for £8. As he walked away we wondered how much of a Marine Engineers life is spent walking along tow paths!
So we were off again at about 4.45pm, Hooray! Chores put on hold again, Hooray! Back to finishing our holiday. The bottom lock was just being vacated as we approached, so in we went. The second had slightly re-filled. There was a lady who'd only seen Narrowboats on Rosie and Jim so Mick had to explain about locks to her. I popped up to the top lock to open the gates but it was full, so emptied it before Mick was out of the middle lock hoping that that would help with the sharp turn and lack of bow thruster. A walk along to Kings Lock which was also full. The chandlers there actually had space to pull in! But for once we didn't want to stop as the day was getting on. As Micks head appeared above the sides of the lock he noticed the fish and chip shop was open. So we tied up at the lock moorings and he ran across the road. It was just starting to rain so we decided to eat them at the lock, keeping an eye out for boats of course. Not our normal last day evening meal somewhere in Sandbach but the day hadn't been normal.
Then off again, only 40 swans today. Every lock was set against us and one of the bottom paddles on lock 68 was very stiff and kept slipping. Back to Lock 67 (nasty lock!!!) this signals the last bit of holiday returning from the north. We came under bridge 160 to see quite a few boats moored up, but just the right space was left for us to wash the boat. It always seems weird washing a boat in the rain but it needed doing. It did mean that I wouldn't be able to touch up the gunwales on the port side which was a shame. Mick gave the bow thruster another go and it suddenly seemed to work. So what ever it was must have sorted itself. We tried the hookup cable but the power wasn't on so we'd have to save any hoovering for the engine being on in the morning .
Kallista, Festina Lente were there along with several Northwich Boats. Kallista was empty, but Festina Lente had people packing a car and sorting things. We were still going long after they stopped. We were very glad that we'd booked a valet for the morning so that we wouldn't be up til all hours. A glass of beer in our slightly soggy state and the heating put on. After a while there wasn't the familiar sound of knocking that the boiler makes. Mick tried again, and again, but no luck. No hook up, no heat and not wanting to light the clean stove we got the spare douvet from our car and went to bed before it got too chilly.
Smart Gauge at start of day 45! at end of day 96, 9 locks, 9 miles,1 breakdown, 2 fuel filters, 1way bow thruster, 2 way bow thruster, 56 piles of dog doo, 12 Herons, 40 Swans, 2 wet people, 2 fish and chips, 1 cold boat.
Thursday 17 May 2012
Thursday 17th May 2012
Thursday 17th May 2012
Mick came back from the shops this morning with the Guardian that we were getting messages about. There was a photo of the Queen on a wide beam called The Pride of Sefton 2, We'd seen this boat last Thursday near Scarisbrick. It had headed to Burnley where it surely must have been repainted before her majesty got on board.
We had a big breakfast, it's time to start eating up supplies. As the drizzle came down we set off. My Dad has spent some of this week unexpectantly in hospital but returned home yesterday so it was time to check up on him at home then relay the info to my brother. All seemed as well as it can be when you are 87.
Numerous Herons escorted us today as we pootled along the remains of the Bridgewater Canal as the weather dried up. Just what do they do in that secret building other than secret handshakes, drink secret milkshakes and keep secret squirrels?
We stopped off at Midland Chandlers by the M56 for some nuts and sandpaper. It's a big shop with an awful lot of boat toys, so we spent sometime browsing. By this time we'd realised that we'd missed Preston Brook Tunnel for a while, so stopped and had a cuppa and I sanded down the gunwhales on the starboard side to touch them up later on if the weather held. Everyone makes scratches on the gunwhales, but we seemed to have managed to aquire a T and an F from somewhere.
Off through the tunnel taking 15 minutes and to Dutton Stop Lock. I heated up some pain de chocolate that we'd bought yesterday as a snack and on we pootled to Saltersford Tunnel where we arrived just as it was our turn to go, perfect timing. There were so many more boats all of a sudden on the Trent & Mersey than had been on the Bridgewater or Leeds and Liverpool Canals. Going into Liverpool was unusual as there are no moored boats on the outskirts that go on and on and on as they do elsewhere. Also we have spent the last week amongst boat owners and no hirers, we've had comments such as "Well you're doing a dash, we only do two hours a day!" We are now so used to seeing the hire boats go out from Middlewich knowing that most are dashing to Llangollen or doing the Cheshire ring in a week that we don't concider ourselves dashing anywhere, But it's all comparative. We are very jealous of the Continuous Cruisers that we've come across, it will be us one day.
At Barnton Tunnel we nearly met a boat part way through but luckily he
heard our horn as he was entering from the east so backed out. After
passing the Anderton Boat lift I started to touch up the paint on the
bow as we went along, then I put a stew in the oven for tonight. We
stopped off at the services to drop rubbish off and carried on to
Billinge Green Flash where two other boats were moored. Tied up Mick had
a shower as I finished touching up the gunwhales on the starboard side.
Stew was ready with a glass or two of wine. On the news tonight we watched the Queen in Liverpool on a yellow marine duck. Ashley and Sam had told us that she would be on one today, but really didn't expect her to be launched into the dock where we had moored for three nights! Bet she didn't sing " We're all sitting in a Yellow Duck Marine, a Yellow Duck Marine, a Yellow Duck Marine".
The rooks have mooved on mass into a tree next to us bickering away as the sun goes down and geese keep squabbling. Just hope we manage to get some sleep tonight!
Smart gauge at start of day 51 at end of day 100, 1 lock, 0 swing bridges, 3 tunnels, 23 miles, about 20 herons, 2 birds of prey, 5 bats, 6 cygnets, 2 maybe more glasses of wine, 1 secret milkshake.
Wednesday 16th May 2012
Wednesday 16th May 2012This morning we had breakfast and then Mick wanted to check that the bitumen wouldn't cause any problems.So he opened up the engine bay, got the fire extinguisher from the galley and started the engine up. We really didn't want to set anything on fire so we waited about half an hour, Mick checking the exhaust and it stayed really quite cool. Decision made that we were safe to continue with our journey, but the fire extinguisher was kept near by just incase.
As we neared Plank Lane the bridge was up but just starting to close, phew I hadn't missed my chance for a new record! Kath and I went and took our positions at the control panel. We waited until there were no cars in sight and turned the key. A bus arrived, stopped at the lights and then was let through before the barriers were lowered. As this happened a lady in a car came from our left and stopped at the lights, she must have a problem with her brakes being attached to her horn as it went off and didn't stop for quite sometime! The bridge had started to do it's thing so we let it carry on. Mick brought the boat through and we lowered the bridge, The lady with a problematic horn got to go over the bridge first and seemed to be thanking us as she went! We did a quick count up of cars which was 38, not a new record unfortunatly. We checked to see if we could see the mallet that Frank had left amongst the fishermen last week, but nothing was there.
Pootleing on we were aiming for The Bridgwater Marina hoping for a pump out. Mick tried ringing several times and left a message. Legs were crossed that someone would be there and they were, Hooray! Tied off to other boats I took the opportunity to use the onboard facilities before we were emptied just as Mick needed the boat moving, I wasn't able to assist but it was sorted out and it cost £12.. So onto Worsley to top up with water. As we turned the corner there were two boats at the water point next to the tupperware from yesterday. Luckily the narrowboats were just setting off so we managed to do a little dance with them and got moored up. Topped up and postcards posted we were off again. Kath took a turn at the tiller so Mick could eat his sandwich, this meant that Kath got to drive over the Barton Swing Aquaduct at which she was very excited. Mick and I noticed that there are gates under little huts at either end of the bridge which is where they must close off the water when it needs to be swung.
On past the Trafford Centre again, there was a boat moored there this time, a chap having a cuppa possibly whilst his wife was shopping, he just needed a newspaper to make the scene complete. Straight on towards Sale, not enough time to drop off in Castelfield. Then it was time to drop Kath off at Timperley Bridge where she could get a tram. She was heading back to Liverpool for the night which took her about two hours! Traveling alone for the first time since last Monday morning was a little strange at first, I had to keep checking to see if anyone was on board, but I found no stowaways. Our aim was to reach Lymm for the night which we successfully did after emptying the ash pan in the hedges on the outskirts and lighting the fire.
As we pulled up between Lymm Bridge and Brookfield Bridge I said Good Evening to a chap looking at hanging baskets outside the house by Lymm Bridge. I did a double take and looked at the windows of the house,but there was no Sooty and Sweep peeking out. The chap was Matthew Corbett and he seemed quite peturbed by his baskets for some reason, they looked newish to me and quite posh, just not in flower yet.
We went shopping for the next two nights when I got a phone call from my 5year old nephew who seemed to want to carry on talking, but hadn't anything to say so I ended up telling him what our cat was doing on her holiday, catching an Elephant in India to bring home of course.
The fire made the boat very cosy whilst we had our tea and a Crabbies Ginger Beer.
Smart gauge at start of day 71, at end of day 100, 0 locks, 1 swing/ lift bridge, 23.5 miles, 1 aquaduct, 1 heron, 1 loud car horn, 38 cars, 0 mallets, 0 Sootty, 0 Sweep, 0 fires in the engine.
Tuesday 15th May 2012
Tuesday 15th May 2012
Today the weather was meant to be a bit rainy and chilly, so long johns and fleecy waterproof trousers were the order of the day. We pootled along towards Scarisbrick ringing ahead to see if we could have a pump out, but no-one would be there so we'd have to find somewhere further on. All the visitors over the weekend had moved the gauge on the tank so we weren't confident on getting back to Elton Moss without the use of bushes!
The first swing bridge had been swung by a hotel boat so we passed through saying Thank you. The next we did holding up 3 cars, it now started to rain. Were we going to get a major down pour at Burscough Bridge? No the sun came out as we pulled up. The smell from the bakery hit my nostrils and we all started to drewl. But first things first, rubbish and water. Chores done Kath and I ventured round the corner, a few loafs on the shelves and cakes on the counter, but a sign on the door "Closed due to staff illness" WHAT!!! We could smell the wonderous smells but not sample their lovely pies. Disappointed two trips were then made to the Co-op for bread and their pies ( nice but nowhere near as good). An ice-cream each banished the sulks, so we headed on in the sunshine.
Straight on past the Rufford branch, one day we'll do the Ribble
Link. It was now alternating between being wet and sunny, We swung a
bridge and at another a chap was looking at the screen and not
doing anything. I jumped off to see if I could help. It was one with
manual barriers and I think he didn't realise he had to do them
himself. The sun looked like it was shining straight onto the screen
which does make it very hard to read. So I closed the towpath side
barrier for him and we went through onto the locks.
At Appley Locks we had to empty it, 12ft of water. Kath had
difficulty with the handcuff key, but we got up the lock in the end.
We had almost constant rain with a little bit of hail thrown in for
good measure as we came to each lock in turn. Most of them were
against us . The kettle was put on for a cuppa and a slice of
chocolate bananna cake, but someone had moved a lock closer than we had remembered, so tea
was put on hold. On through Wigan past the waiting lady, who from
the cut looks like a man, and the little chap stood peering over the
bridge. When we reached the bottom lock a chap in a white shabby
tupperware wanted to lock up with us, so we waited for him. Up the
next one to the service station where we all used the facilities and
had our long awaited for cup of tea and cake. We turned the corner
to now head down Poolstock Locks. The tupperware was waiting for us
there, so we locked down with him.
In the Bottom Lock Mick had the tale of how Tupperware man had fallen out with a mate he'd been travelling with and didn't want to catch him up as his mate really didn't get locks. The tuperware had a really noisy outboard motor and we could tell that Mick was hoping that he was making the right noises to the chap. We carried on hoping to get to near Dover Bridge for the night before stopping, the sun came out and it turned into a lovely evening, slightly burning Micks ears.
On arriving at Dover Kath wanted a go on Micks Brompton bike as the tow path was in good condition. I thought I would check what paint we had to try touching up the gunwales. Pulling out items from the rear locker I came across an almost dried puddle of Bitumen. So I started to pull everything out of the locker to find the offending tin. When I eventually reached it I picked it up and it had no bottom to it, but still plenty of Bitumen which increased the puddle by three! The locker was emptied a whole roll of kitchen roll used to mop up as much as I could reach. Laytex gloves found when it was too late and my right hand had turned dark brown. In the rear locker there is a wide pipe that the cables from the controls go through, Bitumen was gradually dribbling down to below. I managed to stop the flow of black gooey stuff down into the engine bay. By this time it was getting quite late so Kath started to prepare our tea as Mick and I cleaned off tins of paint and trottle cables. The engine bay was inspected and the bitumen had been dribbling onto the exhaust. So Mick did his best to clear as much up as possible, the locker lid was left off so that hopefully the puddle that still remained would eventually dry up. Then we set about cleaning ourselves up.
I finished cooking our chicken tagliatelli avoiding touching any food. It was really quite late by the time we got to bed.
Smart gauge at start of day 49, at end of day 100, 8 locks, 5 swing bridges, 18 miles, 4 cars held up, 1 bike held up, 1 bike ride, 1 noisy tupperware, 1 bottomless tin of bitumen, 1 very black hand, 0 herons.
Today the weather was meant to be a bit rainy and chilly, so long johns and fleecy waterproof trousers were the order of the day. We pootled along towards Scarisbrick ringing ahead to see if we could have a pump out, but no-one would be there so we'd have to find somewhere further on. All the visitors over the weekend had moved the gauge on the tank so we weren't confident on getting back to Elton Moss without the use of bushes!
The first swing bridge had been swung by a hotel boat so we passed through saying Thank you. The next we did holding up 3 cars, it now started to rain. Were we going to get a major down pour at Burscough Bridge? No the sun came out as we pulled up. The smell from the bakery hit my nostrils and we all started to drewl. But first things first, rubbish and water. Chores done Kath and I ventured round the corner, a few loafs on the shelves and cakes on the counter, but a sign on the door "Closed due to staff illness" WHAT!!! We could smell the wonderous smells but not sample their lovely pies. Disappointed two trips were then made to the Co-op for bread and their pies ( nice but nowhere near as good). An ice-cream each banished the sulks, so we headed on in the sunshine.
Straight on past the Rufford branch, one day we'll do the Ribble
Link. It was now alternating between being wet and sunny, We swung a
bridge and at another a chap was looking at the screen and not
doing anything. I jumped off to see if I could help. It was one with
manual barriers and I think he didn't realise he had to do them
himself. The sun looked like it was shining straight onto the screen
which does make it very hard to read. So I closed the towpath side
barrier for him and we went through onto the locks.
At Appley Locks we had to empty it, 12ft of water. Kath had
difficulty with the handcuff key, but we got up the lock in the end.
We had almost constant rain with a little bit of hail thrown in for
good measure as we came to each lock in turn. Most of them were
against us . The kettle was put on for a cuppa and a slice of
chocolate bananna cake, but someone had moved a lock closer than we had remembered, so tea
was put on hold. On through Wigan past the waiting lady, who from
the cut looks like a man, and the little chap stood peering over the
bridge. When we reached the bottom lock a chap in a white shabby
tupperware wanted to lock up with us, so we waited for him. Up the
next one to the service station where we all used the facilities and
had our long awaited for cup of tea and cake. We turned the corner
to now head down Poolstock Locks. The tupperware was waiting for us
there, so we locked down with him.In the Bottom Lock Mick had the tale of how Tupperware man had fallen out with a mate he'd been travelling with and didn't want to catch him up as his mate really didn't get locks. The tuperware had a really noisy outboard motor and we could tell that Mick was hoping that he was making the right noises to the chap. We carried on hoping to get to near Dover Bridge for the night before stopping, the sun came out and it turned into a lovely evening, slightly burning Micks ears.
On arriving at Dover Kath wanted a go on Micks Brompton bike as the tow path was in good condition. I thought I would check what paint we had to try touching up the gunwales. Pulling out items from the rear locker I came across an almost dried puddle of Bitumen. So I started to pull everything out of the locker to find the offending tin. When I eventually reached it I picked it up and it had no bottom to it, but still plenty of Bitumen which increased the puddle by three! The locker was emptied a whole roll of kitchen roll used to mop up as much as I could reach. Laytex gloves found when it was too late and my right hand had turned dark brown. In the rear locker there is a wide pipe that the cables from the controls go through, Bitumen was gradually dribbling down to below. I managed to stop the flow of black gooey stuff down into the engine bay. By this time it was getting quite late so Kath started to prepare our tea as Mick and I cleaned off tins of paint and trottle cables. The engine bay was inspected and the bitumen had been dribbling onto the exhaust. So Mick did his best to clear as much up as possible, the locker lid was left off so that hopefully the puddle that still remained would eventually dry up. Then we set about cleaning ourselves up.
I finished cooking our chicken tagliatelli avoiding touching any food. It was really quite late by the time we got to bed.
Smart gauge at start of day 49, at end of day 100, 8 locks, 5 swing bridges, 18 miles, 4 cars held up, 1 bike held up, 1 bike ride, 1 noisy tupperware, 1 bottomless tin of bitumen, 1 very black hand, 0 herons.
Wednesday 16 May 2012
Monday 14th May 2012
Monday 14th May 2012
We woke early for us and filled the water tank. Sam timed his arrival just as cheese scones had been warmed up for breakfast. We were just about ready to set off when other boats started to pull out from their mooringsat 9am. There were six boats due to leave this morning ( we had booked the last slot 2months ago) we ended up being fifth out of the dock.
Each boat left in turn blasting their horn as they entered Albert Dock. We turned right out of Albert Dock and into Canning Dock where we joined the holding pattern of narrowboats waiting for the Lock Keepers to arrive. At about 9.25am the lock was opened and the first two boats entered it leaving the rest of us to continue circling in the wind. Then it was our turn to enter the lock along with the last boat. Sam had brought lots of serious camera equipment with him and after five minutes decided that putting things off for the morning had been well worth while. He has lived in Liverpool for around twenty years and was seeing things from angles he'd never seen before, going places you can't go on foot and some of the views made him feel that he was in a different city. As we headed through the docks there were bubbles rising from the depths, not sure what it was but it was slightly unnerving. It was just as good going back through the docks as it had been on Friday coming in. Kathy came to join us at Stanley Locks on her bike. I helped a lady from the other boat we shared the locks with to fill them, Kathy helped with the gates, whilst Mick, Sam and Kath stayed onboard. At the top we put Kathys bike on the roof and followed the other boats out of Liverpool, towards Litherland. Here we said our farewells to Kathy, Sam had decided to stay with us for an hour or so longer. The other boats were well out of sight and we thought that we'd be holding them up at Netherton Swing Bridge. When we arrived they were all sat waiting in line, but no BW staff to let them through. It gave us the opportunity to have a bite to eat and check the prop which had collected several plastic bags.
The BW chaps turned up and off we went again. Sam was wanting to jump off where he could get a cab back to Waterloo so we tried identifying a suitable bridge, which turned out not to have a way up to the road, so he stayed on til the next one, where he jumped off in style heading straight into a hedge. He regained his stance quickly and waved us farewell. When we reached Hancocks Swing Bridge we joined the queue to go through which gave Mick a chance to give the lock keepers a tip. It's really hard at this bridge to count how many cars you hold up due to the road bending, but there were an awful lot of patient drivers as we all passed through.
So we were now three on board and free from the British Waterways Lock Keepers. On we headed playing leapfrog with the other boats at the swingbridges. The wind was quite strong and gradually there were only two boats left. We headed on to Halsall to moor up for the night. I cooked us meatballs with carrots instead of celeriac which worked okay.
We went to sleep as the heavens opened.
Smart guage at start of day 100, at end of day 100, 6 locks, 8 swing bridges, 19.5 miles, 0 herons, 3 stowaways, 1 bike, 1 hedge, lots of photos taken.
Sunday 13th May 2012
I apologise for
delays in writing, this is due to lots of visitors and stowaways!
Sunday 13th May 2012
The dock was quiet this morning and our
view from the kitchen window was better as our neighbours had left
yesterday morning. The duck boats didn't start until well after
10.30am so we had a very calm start to the day.
Being on mains power you just have to use the washing machine! So it was put on and plans for showers to follow, but oh dear, the water pump wasn't making the right noise. We turned the tap on in the kitchen and we'd run out of water. Hose pipe out and with a handy tap we filled the tank to the top, this took approximatly 30 mins. Then the washing could commence. We realised that we must have had 5 showers, 4 dishwashers, and numerous kettle fulls of water since last filling, so not really a surprise to be empty, but being near to a tap had made us a little complacent.
Whilst waiting for the washing to finish we counted 6 jellyfish around our boat of various sizes. The water is so clear you can see the bottom of the dock which must be around 6m deep. We had a full cooked breakfast and then decide to go shopping to stock up for our return journey which is two days shorter. We went on the hunt for celeriac and goats yoghurt, which I don't think have hit Liverpool as we had no luck, carrots would have to do. Whilst shopping I had a phone call from a friend of Kathys we'd shared a villa with for a few days in Lanzarote last year. We had bored Ashley and our other house mates with tales about WD, so he and his partner wanted to come and have a look. We had an hour to finish shopping before more visitors. We got back to WD to watch 4 narrowboats and 1 widebeam arrive into the dock.
I was glad that I'd made more biscuit dough on Saturday so popped biscuits in the oven which had just cooled before they arrived with Kathy. Tea, chats, guided tour of WD and lots of biscuit eating later and we were left by two very envious boys, Sam trying to work out if he could come with us out of Liverpool in the morning. So what could we cram in of the museums before they closed?! Museum of Liverpool had about half an hour left open when we walked in, we only managed to wander around the groundfloor and shop before they started to kick people out. Then we tried the Tate, they closed at 5.50pm so we should have a bit more time in there. The first Gallery had an exibition by Martin Creed. The four TV screens with people vomiting kind of put us off his exhibition, so we headed upstairs to "This is Scupture" exhibit. This was less stomach churning than the ground floor and had a varied mix of work. Announcements started that they were closing the gallery, so our cultural hour was up!
We wandered back towards WD around Albert Dock and found a new way into the moorings at the bottom of the slipway the Ducks use. We were half expecting to return to a stowaway (Kath, Micks sister) but she hadn't arrived. We retied the ropes as the wind had got up again and adjusted the button at the back. Kath arrived, cups of tea and showers, and then to try out The Baltic Fleet for a pint and some food.
The pub is a micro brewery and the beer was very nice, unfortunatly they only had three pies left from the day, so we decided to try elsewhere. Sam rang during the evening and said he would join us in the morning before 9am.
A walk around the corner brought us to The Hub, which had a varied menu and seemed quite busy. We enjoyed duck, hot pot and a pie between us and a pint followed by puddings. The wind on our return to the boat had really got up so we checked the ropes again.
Luckily Kath is quite happy sleeping on the sofa with both cushions on top of each other, so no bed masterclass was needed.
Smart Gauge at start of day 100, at end 100, 0 locks, 0 miles, 6 jellyfish, 1 stowaway, 3 visitors, 1 museum and 1 gallery needing to be revisited,16 biscuits baked and consumed.
Sunday 13th May 2012
The dock was quiet this morning and our
view from the kitchen window was better as our neighbours had left
yesterday morning. The duck boats didn't start until well after
10.30am so we had a very calm start to the day.Being on mains power you just have to use the washing machine! So it was put on and plans for showers to follow, but oh dear, the water pump wasn't making the right noise. We turned the tap on in the kitchen and we'd run out of water. Hose pipe out and with a handy tap we filled the tank to the top, this took approximatly 30 mins. Then the washing could commence. We realised that we must have had 5 showers, 4 dishwashers, and numerous kettle fulls of water since last filling, so not really a surprise to be empty, but being near to a tap had made us a little complacent.
Whilst waiting for the washing to finish we counted 6 jellyfish around our boat of various sizes. The water is so clear you can see the bottom of the dock which must be around 6m deep. We had a full cooked breakfast and then decide to go shopping to stock up for our return journey which is two days shorter. We went on the hunt for celeriac and goats yoghurt, which I don't think have hit Liverpool as we had no luck, carrots would have to do. Whilst shopping I had a phone call from a friend of Kathys we'd shared a villa with for a few days in Lanzarote last year. We had bored Ashley and our other house mates with tales about WD, so he and his partner wanted to come and have a look. We had an hour to finish shopping before more visitors. We got back to WD to watch 4 narrowboats and 1 widebeam arrive into the dock.
I was glad that I'd made more biscuit dough on Saturday so popped biscuits in the oven which had just cooled before they arrived with Kathy. Tea, chats, guided tour of WD and lots of biscuit eating later and we were left by two very envious boys, Sam trying to work out if he could come with us out of Liverpool in the morning. So what could we cram in of the museums before they closed?! Museum of Liverpool had about half an hour left open when we walked in, we only managed to wander around the groundfloor and shop before they started to kick people out. Then we tried the Tate, they closed at 5.50pm so we should have a bit more time in there. The first Gallery had an exibition by Martin Creed. The four TV screens with people vomiting kind of put us off his exhibition, so we headed upstairs to "This is Scupture" exhibit. This was less stomach churning than the ground floor and had a varied mix of work. Announcements started that they were closing the gallery, so our cultural hour was up!
We wandered back towards WD around Albert Dock and found a new way into the moorings at the bottom of the slipway the Ducks use. We were half expecting to return to a stowaway (Kath, Micks sister) but she hadn't arrived. We retied the ropes as the wind had got up again and adjusted the button at the back. Kath arrived, cups of tea and showers, and then to try out The Baltic Fleet for a pint and some food.
The pub is a micro brewery and the beer was very nice, unfortunatly they only had three pies left from the day, so we decided to try elsewhere. Sam rang during the evening and said he would join us in the morning before 9am.
A walk around the corner brought us to The Hub, which had a varied menu and seemed quite busy. We enjoyed duck, hot pot and a pie between us and a pint followed by puddings. The wind on our return to the boat had really got up so we checked the ropes again.
Luckily Kath is quite happy sleeping on the sofa with both cushions on top of each other, so no bed masterclass was needed.
Smart Gauge at start of day 100, at end 100, 0 locks, 0 miles, 6 jellyfish, 1 stowaway, 3 visitors, 1 museum and 1 gallery needing to be revisited,16 biscuits baked and consumed.
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