Monday 8th to Sunday 14th June 2009
Monday is our last day of cruising on the Kennet & Avon for tomorrow we shall leave it behind and start climbing northwards to the Midlands.
Turf sided and scallop locks are just two oddities that will be discussed when we’re out of here. Actually now that the paint on the side of the boat has all gone I can definitely say that scallop locks are much better than flat sided brick and stone locks, they’re great for stopping in a straight line. This is handy when there’s another boat coming in beside you. There must be something else to compliment them but I’m out of ideas for the moment.
The day brightened as we reached the straight bit before Fobney Lock. Shears came in handy as the undergrowth had turned into overgrowth and stinging nettles reached my armpits. Needless to say the towpath was brilliant, a yard wide, gravelled, flat and perfect for cyclists. The verges were different, I doubt most towpath walkers could see the canal through the dense forest of green that used to be cut in the good old days of the ‘veg-pledge’.
I’d recommend a long handled machete or an industrial strimmer for those planning a cruise on this canal in the next few days. It’s either that or tunnelling equipment, if you want to get ashore.
Tuesday.
We found Reading’s upper lock (County Lock) very much as we left it, in need of some urgent repairs to its floating walkway approaches. Someone has taken the trouble to hang Defra rash and danger tape on it but those over 12 stone or anyone with a high centre of gravity better not attempt the walk without a life jacket.
Out the other side of the lock Mike pressed the river’s traffic lights button. When the light turned green we set off together and cruised through town. Little in the way of water flow meant a quiet passage downstream unlike those poor souls last year when a raging torrent meant risking contact with the concrete walls.
Finally Blake’s lock dropped us to the same level as the River Thames. There’s nothing much to say about the last few hundred yards of the K&A, no goodbye signs, no walkers waving, no certificate or plaque to collect from the last lock keeper. We left as quietly as we’d entered and so closed another chapter in our book.
Rounding the corner where the K&A joins the Thames we noticed a drop in speed as we headed upstream but we managed 3.5 mph which would get us most places.
Tesco missed out on two visitors because they’re charging £4.80 to moor through the summer, from April onwards. Pity because we had time and money to do a half decent shop.
Now that we’re back on the Thames we need to pay the toll.
I’m not saying where but when asked how long a licence I required I replied one day.
Oh, so you’ll be off by midnight tonight?
No, I’ll be off by midnight tomorrow.
Then you’ll actually want a two-day licence.
No, I want a one day licence because what’s left of today is not chargeable so I want to pay for one day and that will cover tomorrow.
No, you want a two day pass, for which we only charge one day.
Oh really?
Yes, that will be £35 for a 60 foot long by 6 foot ten inches wide boat, thank you.
I can only think of one reason to charge one day for a two day licence and that’s because it leaves open the possibility of calling it a reduced charge which could be changed to a full charge at some time in the future. I wonder if anyone can explain things to me.
The first thing I noticed about the Thames was how lovely it was. It’s deep and wide and is lined with interesting houses, boats and notices saying clear-off.
I’ve probably photographed this boat a couple of times before but isn’t it nice to see it again.
One day, maybe she will be mine, sigh….
Then there’s the boat houses, amazing places to house a boat. I’ve posted a picture of this before but isn’t it lovely.
V asks “Why do you have to take a picture of that again? You’re filling the computer with pictures of the same thing”. I know, I just can’t help it.
Mike pointed out a hobby sitting in the branches of a dead tree beside the river. He’s got eyes like a hawk, Mike and the hobby.
Talking about sitting in branches, we laughed when we saw a plastic garden chair sitting in the shelter of an upturned tree on its own little island on the Thames. Perhaps EA use it to spot licence dodgers on the river.
After a long day, 12 hours by my engine records, we pulled over for the night at Abingdon.
The towpath side was full, some boats doubling up for the night, so we took to the park moorings next to a bunch of noisy lads doing what they do in the evenings when parents aren’t around. Mike looked doubtful but I assured him they would all go and leave us in peace. We’ve seen it before and you’ve only got to look at the untouched spindly trees and undamaged park furniture to know they mean no harm.
Sure enough the park went quiet and the only noise in the night came from the other side where three Anglo-Welsh hire boats played music and talked loudly at some unearthly hour.
Wednesday. Still rubbing eyes we hit the road, well the water. I miss the Thames with its electric locks and cheerful lock keepers, always ready with a story to tell. One guy held my attention as he described his cruises up and down the Severn between Sharpness and Bristol in the days before the K&A was restored. These days he’s busy doing the English Channel.
Thinking I was clever I told one keeper that I’d noticed the river was down a foot in places and guessed they were lowering the weir sluices in expectation of heavy rain. Oh no, said he, we’re running out of water, we’re desperate for more rain. Bong!!
Bumped into Iain and Myra on nb.Martlet at one Thames lock. Only had a few moments to talk as the top gates opened but Iain was pressing the right buttons for me when he mentioned the Pass of Balmaha and her sister ship Pass of Brander, both tankers in coastal waters during the 1970s and early 80s. Must catch up with them another day and find out more.
Rounding the corners on the wiggly bit above Oxford as we approached King’s Lock I could see the cows, or maybe bullocks (I can’t tell without seeing the dangly bits) paddling in the shallows well below their knees. I can say knees can’t I?
Talking of shallow water we have discovered an announcement following the stranding of a Dutch barge near Bull’s Lock east of Newbury. BW state the maximum draft in the vicinity is 0.8m, far less than what we’d expected on the K&A considering how many deep drafted boats use the canal. Those planning such a journey please be warned.
Seeing as how I’d let a slow hireboat go ahead of us at the previous lock, wrongly thinking they’d bought their two day licence to cruise up to Lechlade, I told Mike by walky-talky that we might be better off slowing down to a crawl so that he could clear the next Thames lock before we arrived. In that way he’d be long gone when we arrived at Duke’s Cut. Some Thames locks are too small for three narrowboats together so rather than get split up and have to wait for each other we’d hang back until we were on our own again.
But I didn’t reckon on the efficiency of the Thames lock keeper’s telegraph. Well overdue after dawdling for fifteen minutes we rounded the last corner and there was the same hireboat sitting in the lock with the gates wide open waiting for one of us.
Our lockie explained that they all knew how many boats are on the river at any one time, and she put it down to lock keeper’s ESP. Now we know why they have a phone glued to their ears all day long.
And so our second day on the Thames was over and we were back onto canals again.
We ended up next to ironwork on the quiet side of Kidlington Green. Well kept canals do have their uses when it comes to uncomplicated moorings.
Thursday.
Back on familiar ground we studied a few back gardens in Kidlington. I wonder if residents realise how many boaters appreciate their gardening efforts. One garden has sprouted chickens since we were here last. No ‘Eggs for sale’ signs so we didn’t stop.
Today would have seen us make an appointment with Mark Paris at Thrupp for a boat safety inspection but he’s off doing other things on the day we pass through.
We met Mark P and Mortimer Bones outside Annie’s Tea Rooms, across the lift bridge at Thrupp and over tea and cake we discussed, as you do, the merits of mole’s claws. None of us had studied moles that closely so Bones’ specimen received close scrutiny and prompted questions like why would a mole need a tail?
As if this wasn’t enough nature for one day, Mark padded off in his net curtains to deal with swarming bees. Thrupp always seems to have something going on when we stop here, there’s never a dull moment.
Making this a convenient end to our adventure with Mike and Jo on Sarah-Kate we celebrated with a glass of bubbly before dining out at The Boat.
We had a splendid meal with smashing company (no reference to breaking bones and computers) and I made a note in Balmaha’s diary to fix another joint cruise before too long.
We have thoroughly enjoyed their company and through them our knowledge of canals and nature have come on in leaps and bounds since we joined up 2 months ago. We shall miss the company and the socialising and I just hope we don’t get hung up on a cill again without them.
Friday saw us separate from Sarah-Kate at the water point at Thrupp. Chugging up the Oxford we passed Dusty on his coal boat (diesel 66p) and moored near Somerton overlooking open fields of cows and bulls and with the odd duck or moorhen for feathered company.
On the way we came across this recently fixed bollard at a lock which tells its own story.
Sited somewhat below ground level this handy rope anchor will soon be overtaken by mud and grass and become useless except for breaking toes or tripping the unwary.
Saturday brought sunshine and Sarah-Kate. Mooring behind us on this excellent countryside vista Mike and Jo joined us at barbeque in spite of the drooling jaws of cows and the roar of bulls across the canal.
A quiet night passed with the occasional padding of feet across the roof and the sun arose on yet another promising dry day. Departing at 7.30 Mike and Jo set off for new pastures leaving us to enjoy the sunshine, the walkers and the inevitable weekend boats.
From here we shall head off back to Leicester hopefully spotting Chas and Ann on Moore-2-Life somewhere along the way and where we shall no doubt drink tea and natter.
At Leicester we shall open the summer cruising diary where someone has written “River Trent and the North”.
