While lock repairs progress around us we are reduced to cruising the Grand Union, Leicester Line between Birstall and Cossington. This period of relative inactivity has given us time to monitor battery drain, measure our water tank capacity and complete the builder’s final touches (the snagging list – special thanks to Sandhills, M&G).
While the weather changes every day there has been no repetition of the ice and snow that we experienced in January as we branched towards Leicester from the Grand Union main line. True, the storms forecast in these parts after the freezing weather across the Atlantic were a concern but nothing, apart from a couple of heavy downpours at night, disturbed the calm.
Weekends have seen visitors (T&C from around these parts, followed by John and Jean from Southampton) and the excitement of negotiating the only working lock for miles around and refreshment at the Hope & Anchor with its Hungry Horse meals.
In company with T&C we partnered the two ends of the boat, T working the tiller while I operated the engine controls. This gave added interest when entering and leaving the lock because one had to guess the intentions of the other. Scratches were noted for a later paint party.
Girls sat in the pointy end and did locks. This is only natural as it’s not as technical as men’s work and doesn’t interfere with solid conversation.
Further on down, the upper reaches of the River Wreake looked inviting but a well placed footbridge meant we could only wind and return the way we came.
With J+J it was a little different. Same lock, same Hungry Horse but the place was packed and we resorted to taking our plates to the boat where we ate in style with “free” wine.
As you can imagine, Balmaha’s dinette struggled with four huge HH plates and it was a relief not to have to wash up. Judging by the extensive moorings this is a popular place in the summer but on this day it was just us and a BW boat loaded with old lock gates. Too big for our stove I’m sorry to say.
Passed nb.Ardea near MGM’s boat yard (ex Nimbus Narrowboats).The owners had been kind enough to show us around when we were looking for a boatyard to build Balmaha. Nimbus came highly recommended and took second place on our favourites list 20 months ago.
Having married a teacher I recognised the activity of a young couple, with a primary school child, photographing a Teddy Bear at the lock. I discovered that Teddy had been around the world with parents and teachers and there was very little he hadn’t done but he’d never been on a narrowboat. Well he has now and when he returns to school after half term his album will be the richer for having sat on Balmaha’s bows.
An unavoidable encounter with a group of bored pre-teens on the way back through the lock gave us some tension but trouble was avoided by channelling their energies into lock gate closing.
The challenge of a race along the tow path gave us space to leap aboard and disappear out of sight.
Funny how you always think of solutions to problems an hour or two after the event. Perhaps we’d let them down by not taking an interest in their world. Vowed to give them a jolly good listening to next time we meet.
We were privileged to see BW going about their business with the tree shredder and butty, keeping their “Veg Pledge” along the Leicester Line.
The morning of 14th February saw Mike and Pat (nb.Hyperion) visit us on their way back home from a shopping trip.
They were kind enough to bring us shelves from IKEA and cold germs from Stockton (get well Mike),
We certainly enjoyed our time with them, sharing a light lunch over an exchange of views on solid fuel stoves, LED lights and of course the ups and downs of narrowboat loos.
We took the decision early on to fit LED lamp clusters wherever possible, using parts from Midland Chandlers for general lighting and LED light strips from IKEA for under cupboard lighting. Compare 30mA for a ceiling light with 800mA for a 10W conventional lamp.
We may not see Mike and Pat before the summer season since we are heading different ways in preparation for the May holiday (us to Brookwood on the Basingstoke Canal, them to Crick) If you spot Hyperion buy them a drink, get yourself invited back to their boat, enjoy excellent hospitality and of course use their loo. They’ll love you for it.
Our marina “holiday” will soon be over. Repairs to Birstall Lock are complete and we feel the urge to travel south. Despite official assurances that Leicester is a much safer place than it used to be, we have succumbed to popular advice not to travel through Leicester on Saturdays and Sundays. This decision was reinforced by the news that a lone boater encountered serious bother at Belgrave Lock last November. This will be our second lock going south.
Recent rains had noticeably raised river levels so a visit to Birstall Lock was in order to check the coloured marker post.
Well outside the green band and fast approaching the red “danger” level we were minded to watch the weather forecast before setting off. Water overflowing the new set of bottom gates showed they were doing their job.
Don’t know what the locals do in these parts but someone had left a perfectly good pair of underpants on the grass next to the canal. Not my colour.
On the way back to the marina we made a note of Birstall Locks’ watering hole “The Mulberry Tree” which looked very inviting.
Pity we couldn’t say the same about the attractive picnic site opposite.
