Rachel did the engine checks/lubrication this morning before we pulled pins about 10.45 ish. Today was always going to be a shorter day based on where we needed to be and also the weather. In the end the weather won and we stopped in a small cutting close to Little Onn.
The only thing of major note was the number of boats moving when we were... lots ! Most going north but there is a canal festival at Norbury this weekend so I expect it'll be chocker up that way. We need milk and petrol so a stop tomorrow in Gnosall will be the order of the day...
I always underestimate the lead in to Brewood it's still a nice canal village and was full of boats - all no doubt waiting to get off to Norbury tomorrow !
The persistent cold ( still) wind was a constant menace today, I hear tales of warmer weather.... its long overdue
Some photos;
Some do not like the Shroppie - I like its cuttings and embankments, it could not be more different from the Staffs and Worcester
Brewood looking very english village
These two are still floating - I'd love to know the story of who owns them. The second boat had rusted holes under its windows.
The obligatory A5 shot
We unloaded our waste at the Wheaton Aston services and filled up with red at Turners. A long conversation was had about triathlons - quite interesting. We brought some coal - 25kg £18.50 FFS and a fiver for some sticks I have loads at home in the workshop so my bad I guess !
For the record 96 litres with the engine counter on 1017 . Last time we filled up it was on the Ashby at 967 so that's 50 hours for 96 litres or just under 2 litres per hour. That surprises me I though the Lister was more like 1.5 litres and hour - shallow canals for you I recon or someone had dipped out tank!!
Our mooring - I moored here on my Heaven and hell cruise in 2018
October 2018 ....
Not long to go now I'm sure those who know the blog me and the boat have guessed.
... Ok so it's day three of the relocation cruise but this thought played around my head most of the day.
Anyone who's owned or hired a canal boat will be aware of the slow pace of the boat and the slow change of scenery. When you consider your days travels and start off it all seems rather slow but nice all the same. From the start it feels like it's going to be a long day but as the day progresses before you realise it you have made you destination, you have a nice reflection on the day and you (I) reflect on how you have arrived.... Well to me that's how life is... be it a day, a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime. Looking forward it seems such a long way away, looking back it all seems to short !!
Make memories, don't hoard money, make it work for you, make it make you happy. Arrive at the end of that day week month, year, life etc happy and contented, anything else is a waste of the time gifted to you.
Ok, I've got that off my chest. Another slowish start and as I put the tiller arm on the boat behind waited for a training boat that seems to live at Gailey to pass, then he went then I untied and set off.
As we approached the chemical factory the training boat pulled over just before the no mooring sign (well done all who were being trained - as one of them took Percy's index number I presumed they were C&RT) so we passed and the other boat motored off as they seem to !
Then nice cruising with the sun trying its best to beat the northerly wind. Rachel brought tea and we took that then I stepped off and walked for a couple of miles and was able to get this video....
As we went under the M54 ( for the first time) a push me pull me tug came round the bend and the rear hopper swun right across the canal .... he got it corrected only just in time as I'd slowed. I was so pleased I'd not met him in the narrows a mile of so ahead.
Then the two fails of the day .... Just before the turn onto the Shroppie Rachel came up and said she's flooded the kitchen - well let the filter water tap overflow a jug she was filling for the kettle. I said I'd do the stop lock and as I stepped off onto the stone bank it was algiefied and I slid and went over - no harm done a few more aches and pains to ignore !
The stop lock needs some attention - it was like it when came this way nearly 20 months ago the 'top gate' does not fully open and scrapes the side of the boat as you exit... goodness knows how the really wide working boats get by.... I'll report it again to C&RT.
Then a lovely cruise up the Shroppie to just before Bridge 9 - we call it Mandy's mooring as we have a good friend who loves to moor here.
I had a couple of hours fishing - first of the year and caught well just on white bread - Bream, chub Roach and even a Perch on a maggot shaped piece of bread.
Not sure of where we will target tomorrow - we have three days to get to our destination but that also has to include me cycling back to Great Haywood to get the car !
Lilly our cat is being a bit of a drama queen on this trip.... basically hiding under the sofa all the time. So when she did come and sit with us this morning we delayed the start by a good hour to give her some 'family time' !
A lovely start to the day, still cold in the wind but lots of warm sun. Headed off around 10.45 am and had a good trip to Penkridge arriving just after 1pm...where we stopped for food and a top up shop.
There was a surge of water as we started prepping the boat to leave indicating someone was coming down the second lock there was a boat in the lock by the services but he/she seems to be waiting for another boat already on the services - so we untied and took the just empty lock.
The M6 is ever present in this area of the canal.... I ride it a lot on my blood bike from Stoke hospitals to the Birmingham hospitals. Nice to get some landmarks to know where the canal is next time I'm on the motorway.
Ten locks dispatched today so only two left for the whole trip as we are now at the end of the Gailey straight. As the weather is set to not be so good Thursday and Friday we are going to get to Brewood tomorrow - ok I know by some standards that's a light day but we try not to exert ourselves nowadays.
I was supposed to be raining now but it's still nice sunshine (7pm as I type) let's hope they are wrong for the rest of the week.
Yep, part of the news alluded to in a blog a few back - we are relocating our mooring.
We've been in the marina prison for about 18 months - a lovely open prison for narrowboats but if there ever was a reminder of why we don't like marina moorings it was yesterday when we arrived at Percy. I opened the galley blind and there was our neighbour at her sink peeling spuds with her tongue out in focussed concentration ....
We set to prepping the boat, water, cleaning, cooling the fridge on shore power (no money back on that) I popped over to pay for the 24 days of April just under £300 ! In fairness it was that for the month but we were leaving a week early. We paid for last year April to March just a few pounds shy of £3,000 I noticed next years fees are about £3,300 - not a poor person's passion !
Nice chat with Steve and I have to say the staff have been excellent as have the facilities and other moorers, that bit we liked. The nail in the coffin was to get a email from Lakeland Leisure who own the marina telling us that HS2 had exercised their 'right' to take the land they would need to bring HS2 over the side of the marina. This is effect takes all the lovely wood and hillocks to the north of the marina including the car park for our pontoon C.... that was with immediate effect and the real nonsense was HS2 then said they'd not be working in this area for over 2 years.... they want the land and remove the ammeniety of the woods etc for the boaters but nothing will happen for two years... shocking. HS2 will ruin this part of the canal and this marina.
Anyhow we did the slow maneuver out of the marina ( I'll not miss that) and headed south turning with a good air horn signal onto the Staffs and Worcester only to be met by a hire boat coming past the Great Haywood Anglo Welsh fleet. He panic'd I stopped and reversed out of the junction to allow him to turn North.
All this is being taken by HS2
Percy waiting to get her Freedom
Bye Great Haywood marina, lovely place nice people
Glad we are not 70 feet !
Then it was what I reflect to be one of the most travelled by us bits of canal. That's no hardship as this canal is one of the best from Great Haywood to Stourport. The only bit I don't like is the Pendleford narrows.
Met a boat as I was coming off the aqueduct he was coming far to fast and ended up stuck as he could not make the turn ... that's happened a few times. As I approached the Moorings at Milton I watched a heron dive in and bring out a very big Roach. He/she then flew off to the far bank to consume its breakfast/dinner/tea in one and promptly dropped the fish back into the canal - as I went past 'if looks could kill'!
The top end is quite lovely
Click on the picture below and you'll see the fish ....
Deptmore lock had the largest pi$$er from the top gate. Anyone going down on a big boat would get wet through. We held back coming up the lock.
Rachel expertly bringing Percy into the lock in the early spring evening
We've moored here a few times. Nice as the cold northerly wind was blowing the M6 noise away from us. never a real problem here but nice to not hear it.
Rachel works on an annualized contract so gets lumps of time and one such lump was for a trip on Percy to the Peak Forest during March. As the time approached we were keeping an ever constant watch on the short medium and long term weather forecast.... now it's history you will know the short medium and long range weather forecast for March was rain... and more rain.
Now we have our foul weather qualifications and experience so not keen to be motoring in the wet and miserable weather - as well as muddy tow paths - boaters you know, non boaters well it's not nice - even with Percy's useable and versatile back cabin and warm engine room - we still need to install a stove in the back, cruising in the wet isn't our first priority.
So we opted for a visit to the south to Chichester to see our dear next door neighbour from West Ashling who was poorly in hospital. As we would not be visiting her at home at Cottage by the Mill we opted for a Chichester stay and decided to stay in the cathedral complex in the Dean's house - he having long vacated it. Suffice to say it was a lovely few days, in the complex walking the cloisters at night is an atmospheric thing. We had to lovely meals out, Rachel met up with ex colleagues. We also visited Bosham on the way back and took a walk around the water as we did many times when we lived done there - lovely.
A few photos to tell the story.
Yes you will notice how accurate the weather forecast was !
No point in trying to put everything into one long blog rather I will get back to blog land and detail a few things that have happened or will happen over the next few days in separate blogs….. but a flavour;
Chichester, Wales, moorings, cars, batteries, HS2, sump pumps, Nantwich, Macclesfield canal ….. to name some of the things popping in and out of my mind right now.
I'm only just catching up after a whirlwind return to land living after our short three days on Percy.
We were above Tixall lock and had a very quiet night setting off at 10.30 am back to the marina. I never understand some people's lack of planning when approaching locks - case in point was our exit from the lock at Tixall when as we started off ( lock gates closed as normal) a boat came round the slight bend, however instead of slowing with a bit of reverse she kept the power on and tried to steer around us and onto the lock landing but massively overshot and then hit a load of reverse. This pirouetted the boat anti clockwise into the shallows of the off side and left her crew member who had been walking down the gunnels to the bow isolated. We couldn't do much other that slowly cruise off trying not to look back at the unfolding delays all caused by that speed and lack of planning. Slow down to speed up came to mind.
I guess he who is without sin cast the first stone etc etc.... but we don't cruise fast and try and anticipate, however I'd be wrong to give the impression we (I) were faultless in our cruising approach and technique, so therefore a good reminder!
We turned onto the Trent and Mersey and were soon on the approach to the marina.... it's written elsewhere in this blog about my dislike of marinas and much of this is associated with entering exiting and manouversing. The wind once again was getting excited at our arrival but had made the mistake of blowing towards the exit at maybe 45 degrees to our berth, so with the same person watching who had complimented me on the turn into the marina - no mean achievement on a 60 foot boat with the wind trying to stop me ...( no bow thrusters on Percy of course) I/we got the stern onto the end of the jetty and let the now disappointed wind blow the bow ever so slowly in a 60 foot arc and at the right time we put percy in reverse and slid backwards into our mooring - if it was only this easy every time !!
It seems from the mooring gossip there had been drama the night before with police and assaults and boaters told to move off and the office closed.... all very sad in what should be such a safe and quiet place. But there is no accounting for the effects of emotions and other consumed substances - all marina telegraph of course !
We set to closing down the boat and got home to a week of events that have only just stopped - but kick off again with a flight to Inverness on Sunday that will expanded on maybe later !
