The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 44

Reading to Marlow

Still waters at the Thames and Kennet Marina

The boat had enjoyed a perfectly lovely week in the Thames and Kennet Marina. This is my favourite marina – they’re so friendly and the visitor moorings are very reasonable. £10 per night gets you a secure marina with all services, a pump-out for £5 (a £5 discount) and a discount on diesel which brought it down to 80p per litre. There was even a hefty credit on the electricity meter so we got free power as well!

We had a horrendous journey down by car on Friday night. Richard left Croydon at 3pm and we got to the boat at 8.15pm – for heaven’s sake, it’s less than 60 miles. We got snarled up in a closure on the M4 – it was interesting to see the air ambulance coming down to land right on the motorway but horrible to think how serious the accident must have been to warrant it. We had a unique experience as Richard did a 3-point turn on the M4 and drove down the

The Thames just downstream of Reading

motorway the wrong way to get back to the junction onto the M25 (with the police’s blessing, you’ll be relieved to hear).

It was a joy to get to the boat – a chinese takeaway made the world a better place and we had a sound night’s sleep in the marina.

The following day we could barely see the other boats in the marina for the thick fog. Not that it mattered to us – we spent the most leisurely morning mooching round the chandlery, getting a pump-out, diesel and generally chatting with other boaters. Blue and Lou got a lot of fuss and while all this was going on, the bright sunshine burnt off the fog and we were ready to go. Except we didn’t go very far – out of the marina then right onto the Thames then up to the left bank just past the entrance to the K & A to get to the mega-Tesco by the canal.

This a popular spot – no wonder – it’s got to be the most convenient superstore mooring on the Thames. It was an obligatory stop – we’d run out of dog food again! I stocked up while Richard took the dogs for a walk. Along with dog food I was also seduced by the krispy cremes and by a hot chicken which the four of us shared for lunch. The hot chickens are so cheap – I couldn’t cook one for that money. It’s probably morally corrupt to buy one but they are convenient. Richard was musing whether it

Sheer opulence....

would be cheaper to feed the dogs on hot chicken rather than on premium dry dog food at £3 plus per kilo. Blue pricked up his ears at this – his life was looking up! But I vetoed the idea – premium dog food sits in their bowls until they’re too hungry to ignore it, whereas a hot chicken would disappear so fast it would be as if it had never existed.

After lunch we finally got going properly – it was a stunning afternoon on a stunning river. The River Thames is my absolute favourite waterway – there’s nowhere quite like it. If a river was food then the Thames would be a bowl of thick double cream with all the towns and estates arranged like chocolate-covered strawberries around it. It’s so opulent here – the river carries it’s wealth with arrogant ease. Cruising down here exposes my hidden Viking – I wonder at the richness of the plunder to be had if a marauding pirate came along here. 🙂

Stunning views

I will run out of descriptors for the river – there are great views everywhere – ranging from richly wooded slopes to soft green lawns and eccentric mansions. In all fairness, there are lovely views along the Severn, but where the Thames wins out is having a lots more interest (and mooring spots) along its banks.

It was such a lovely day that the walkers and picnickers were out in force. The first bit of interest was spotting potential dog-walking spots for future visits. Just downstream of the marina there’s extensive dog-walking on the right bank – sadly there are no moorings here (too shallow) but you could walk back to it from the Tesco moorings. There are moorings a little further down just above Sonning bridge – we’ve stayed here before

Sonning Bridge - take the centre arch and watch out for the flow from your left just after the bridge!

and found it to be quiet and secure.

Sonning bridge adds a bit of a frisson to the trip – there’s a very lively flow from the weir just below the bridge – it’s not so bad going downstream. But if you’re going upstream then hang on to your tiller – the weir flow will try to sweep you into the bridge pier! We’ve never noticed them before, but there are good looking moorings below Sonning bridge – £10 a night and lots of dog-walking potential.

Mooring on the Thames is plentiful but, unlike canals, very few are free of charge. Most of the land seems to be privately owned and, given the value of land here, I can’t blame the owners for trying to make a bit of money. Charges seem to vary from a reasonable £6 to £10 a night but whether anyone will come and collect the fee from you is another story!

Busy waters.....

As we approached Henley we noticed that the lock moorings were full. They’re particularly short with only room for maybe three cruisers, so we ended up hovering midstream for quite some time. The only problem is that there’s a fierce flow which tends to pull the boat towards the weir. Richard’s top navigation tip here is that if you can’t get to the lock moorings then stay upstream of the boathose to avoid the weir flow. Somewhat to the indignation of the cruisers, the lock-keeper let us into the lock first. I was relieved – if we’d sayed in the stream much longer we’d have taken the short-cut over the weir 🙂

Ok, ok, not really, the Thames weirs have big barriers to stop that from happening so I don’t think you’ll ever see a narrowboat surfing over one (unless there’s a serious flood) but it is disconcerting to be caught in their flow.

A view of Henley

Henley is Clapham Junction on the water – particularly on a sunny saturday. There are plenty of moorings on the left below the lock – £6 a night and very convenient for the park so safe for dogs. We hadn’t realised that there was also mooring on the right between Henley Bridge and Temple Island – looked to be really excellent dog walking and a reasonable £6 a night again. We were tempted to moor here but we wanted to cruise a little longer – partly to enjoy the river in the sunshine and partly to get away from the random flotilla of canoes, skiffs, launches, cruisers and bathtubs that litter the river in Henley. One paricularly erratic bucket, carrying four children and two adults, was lurching haphazardly all over the river. We soon spotted why – the two adults seemed to be playing ‘pass the parcel’ with a small baby and neither was attending to the steering wheel!

Donwstream of Henley Bridge

We were glad to leave Henley behind us – much as we love the town and its celebration of river life, it was a bit too much today.

On we went through some tremendous countryside – the water and shore were packed with people – as if they only had one day to catch the sun before going hibernation – maybe they were right!

We got to Marlow and were contemplating gong on to Cookham when we spotted a vacant space at the end of the moorings on the right, upstream of the bridge. There’s a £10 fee payable a few boat-lengths down but it seemed to be free right at the end of the line where we were. A cruiser obligingly moved up a bit for us and we settled in for an early-evening (5pm) rest.

Views upstream of Marlow

When I say rest, what I really meant was a long dog-walk for me and a boat-polishing session for Richard. I set off with Blue and Lou for their first half-hour rummage and we met two other greyhounds – Dottie and, ah, the name’s gone. We walked back to the boat together genially chatting about our respective hounds and the joy of owning greyhounds. In the meantime, mine were unusually good and walked sedately with Dottie and her mate (who are 9 – 10 years old).

When we got back to the boat I was surprised to see a little crowd of onlookers. But they weren’t admiring the Indigo Dream, they were entranced by a shrew who was dancing along the edge of the path by the boat. He seems oblivious to the audience and was totally unaware of the the two great greyhounds looking down at him interestedly from a great height!

Bold shrew..

When the shrew darted across the path and started a repeat performance in the undergrowth I decided to take the dogs out for another walk. This time we went via the park which allowed Blue and Lou to have a splosh in the stream. Blue lost me briefly and the kids at the skateboard park just stopped to watch him racing back to me at top speed. They seemed to be gobsmacked by his speed and grace. But this wasn’t the end of the walk, oh no, we had a way to go yet. Just past the park there’s a quiet lane, we turned left and followed it for a while – its a good place for rummaging. But then we met some walkers who informed that “if you follow the lane right to the end then it gets back to the river”. Aha, a circular walk, my favourite. Looking back, it probably would have been sensible for me to ask how far the ‘end’

Slightly blurred but a great view of the shrew

was. We walked and walked, the lane becoming progressively narrower until it ended up as an overgrown footpath adjacent to an excellent open field. But by this time even the dogs were a bit worn out – Blue kept stopping and looking back at me incredulously – he obviously didn’t believe I knew what I was doing. Lou was trailing behind me disconsolately, the little bells on her collar a mournful refrain to the rapidly setting sun. But I was determined to find the path back to the river so I drove them on mercilessly. Then there was the sound of loud shotguns in a nearby field – Blue ran back towards me but I caught him on the lead and on we went. By now they were both looking at me as if I was mad – dragging them through unknown territory full of homicidal farmers with shotguns. We finally found the river – we’d inadvertently walked back as far as the lock! We turned back towards the boat but although they were now off the lead they trailed quietly behind me – it had been a rummage too far (though Lou’s curiosity was sparked by some sheep in an adjacent and very well-fenced field).

View towards Marlow - good moorings on the left.

We got back to the boat at 7.15pm – between our first and second walks we’d been out for almost 2 hours! As we approached, the last of the daylight gleamed from Indigo Dream’s polished paintwork. She looked marvellous – a deep burnished blue – Richard had done a great job with the polish. We really must try to polish her at least once a year …

Blue and Lou didn’t stop to admire the finish – they were beyond of weary and couldn’t wait to get to their duvets. They barely noticed us leaving for the town.

I was also a little footsore (the paths here are unforgivingly stony) so we walked across the park towards town and settled on the first pub we came to. It was a great choice – the George and Dragon had very efficiently and firendly service and truly excellent food. We truly understood where we were when we overhead the denizens of the table behind us having a conversation about the comparative merits of the Economist and Telegraph. We were definitly in the stockbroker belt now…..

Photoblog..

just a few more of our favourite views….

Sign at Temple Lock - you have been warned!

They must be Welsh! Picknickers enjoying a fine churchyard...

Lots of houses around Henley have intergral boat houses - lush!

Fine riverside houses (on the flood plain?!)

Luxurious landscapes...

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 43

Woolhampton to Reading (Thames and Kennet Marina)

We knew that there were restrictions on the opening of Aldermaston liftbridge during the rush hour so we had a choice – get up at 6am and beat the rush or get up at 7.30am and get there just afterwards. You can guess which one we chose! Absolutely no-one on board Indigo Dream is a morning person, especially Blue and Lou.

When we looked for details of the Aldermaston Bridge restrictions we couldn’t find any on the web, but they are clearly marked on the bridge itself. Here they are for future reference:

• Open from dawn to 8am
• Closed 8am to 9am
• Open 9am to 4.30pm
• Closed 4.30pm to 5.30pm
• Open 5.30pm to dusk
• Closed dusk ’til dawn

So it’s just as well we didn’t push on last night – the bridge would have been shut anyway!

Lou enjoying the soft grass and the sunshine

We headed off for Aldermaston – it’s a lovely rural stretch though there was tremendous traffic noise from the A4 which runs parallel here (though some distance away). We got to Aldermaston Lock
at around 8.30am – perfect timing. I like Aldermaston – we’ve moored here before and it’s a very pleasant spot (though too close to the main road for dogs to be unrestrained). The lock is very large and has attractively scalloped sides. There’s a useful service point below the lock where we got rid of a load of accumulated rubbish. At 9am precisely we were ready for the bridge and went through without inconveniencing too many drivers.

We had a classic incident at Theale swingbridge. It’s an electrically operated bridge. Now most of you will know that first the red lights go on to stop the traffic, then there’s an interval before the barriers come down before the bridge finally opens. Just as the barriers were coming down a small red car came shooting over the bridge and had to stop abruptly before hitting the barrier at the other end. Richard was highly amused but also worried as he had hit emergency stop and wondered what would happen next. The young girl driver said “I didn’t jump the lights, honest” as Richard ducked to avoid getting hit by flying pigs. Anyway what to do next? Electric swingbridges tend to operate in a sequence and I wasn’t sure we could reverse it in order to get rid of the errant car. In the end, Richard got the car to creep forward until its bonnet was just under the barrier and the back wheels were off just off the bridge. He then hit the open button again and the bridge swung open behind them and I dashed through. It was such a bizarre sight – the car (with 2 nervously giggling girlies) perched precariously (but safely) between the open bridge and the closed barriers. Again, our problems with the datacard has deprived you of a classic photo!

The rural landscape downstream of Aldermaston is punctuated by road bridges so the dogs were more constrained today. There is good rummaging below Tyle Mill swingbridge and there is an open field by Sulhampstead swingbridge. Richard, Blue and Lou had a good walk between Garston Lock and Hissey’s bridge – the towpath leaves the canal and wanders through a bit of woodland – top rummaging. Too much so, reported Richard, as Blue showed a great reluctance to follow the pack. The path goes under the M4 and Blue was keen to find a way up to the motorway but fortunately didn’t! Lou got spooked by the traffic noise under the bridge so all in all Richard had a stressful walk! In the meantime I was moored up under Hissey’s Bridge (our pre-arranged pick-up point) wondering what had become of them all!

Blue on a mission....

Richard decided to cycle on to Burghfield Lock. It was a bit far for the dogs to follow him on the bike so they came back on board. Had they been able to walk with him, though they’d have a great time. The path runs through open scrubland and the river meanders drunkenly. If your crew’s onboard then it’s a good idea to have a lookout on this section. Richard tried to give me directions from the shore but our radios weren’t working too well and I was pleased that there were no boats coming upstream.

Along the next section, the map shows that Reading is gradually closing around the canal, but it’s still surprisingly rural. I was pleased about this as Richard’s sister, Danusia, was going to join us at “The Cunning Man” pub just upstream of Burghfield Bridge. We arrived at exactly the same time – what great co-ordination. We were making good time so we stopped for lunch at the pub. They do very good

Vast lakes near Shenfield/Garston Locks

food here – dogs aren’t allowed inside but they can go into the garden. Not a problem – it was a fine day and we enjoyed a great meal outside in the sunshine. (Another day’s cruising restained by a pub lunch …)

Danusia had brought her adorable dog Polo with her. Polo gets on with everyone – I’ve never known a dog (or human) that didn’t like him. Even Lou dispenses with her usual robust greeting when he’s around, mind you, Polo sensibly didn’t try to jump onto the sofa with her! Blue and Polo were a right pair – following each other around the locksides and generally having a ‘boys adventure’ while Lou spent the whole afternoon sleeping. We watched the boys very carefully – they both have criminal records – many convictions of running away when

Garston Lock - the second of the two turf-sided locks

called and causing their mums acute stress and embarrassment.

We do try not to take advantage of the fact that Danusia’s a vet but we did welcome her opinion of Blue’s bite wound. You’ll be glad to know that it’s healing well and isn’t infected -phew!

We left the pub soon after 2pm and the schedule was looking good. But then we hit a snag, literally! At Southcote Lock (No. 104) as Richard opened one of the lock gates it just wouldn’t open fully. The other gate could be opened and I could slip in – so far so good. He closed the errant gate but then he couldn’t get the paddle down – something had jammed in the sluice. Subsequent investigations with the boat pole revealed that something, probably a log, had been swept under the open paddle and become jammed. This prevented us from shutting the paddle and it was the piece protruding out which

Heave.....

was preventing the gate from opening fully. By this time we’d been joined by the crew of a boat hoping to come up the lock. Everyone tried various ingenious ways of unsticking this obstruction while I got on the phone to BW. I reckoned that whatever it was would be too much for our primitive tools. I have to say that BW were very efficient – they rang back and let us know what was happening and had a crew to us within 20 minutes. Equipped with forks, they managed to get a firmer hold on the obstruction and pulled it out. No wonder we couldn’t move it – it was an enormous log.

Despite the delay we still got to Reading in good time and passed through County Lock with a week to spare! We’d been warned about the river flow at County Lock but it’s not such an issue going downstream. It seems bizarre that the closure of County

That's a BIG log!

Lock will essentially isolate the K & A for a month – it only drops the level by about a foot!

While we were in the lock we sent Danusia forward to press the button on the ‘pedestrian crossing’ lights that control the passage through the Oracle. To our amazement they changed to green immediately and we had to rush to get through before they changed back again. Reading’s waterfront is great – beautifully developed with numerous restaurants and bars. It would be enhanced by a few visitor moorings though. We spent our whole time waving at people on the canalside enjoying their cafe lifestyle.

Soon after this I left the boat. If you turn into the loop after High Bridge and the unnamed footbridge immediately afterwards then that takes you to the

Part of Reading's waterfront

nearest point to the train station. Richard dropped me off just before the bridge (there’s only one on the loop) and off I went to pick up the car from Portishead. Richard and Danusia took the boat through Blake’s Lock and across the river to the Thames & Kennet Marina. There they met up with Danusia’s friend, Martin, who was to gave her a lift back to the Cunning Man. A quick drink was called for but as Martin is on an Atkins Diet it had to be wIne!

Apparently Portishead is the largest town in Britain without a train station – what a nuisance! I took the train to Bristol then a cab to Portishead then drove back to Reading. I was knackered at the end of this and couldn’t contemplate the drive from Reading back to Surrey. However by the time I got back to the boat, Richard had already stripped it bare so he took over the driving and took us home.

It’s been a tremendous 10 days and I was so sad to leave the boat. I was musing on whether to have my long hair converted to dusty dreadlocks and drop out of society and loaf around on the boat. The idea appealed but, as my wise friends pointed out, you need a lot of money to drop out of society, why else would we bother with pensions 🙂

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 42

Bridge 73 (below Kintbury) to Woolhampton (just below the swingbridge)

Copse Lock - "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.." (Robert Frost)

As expected, we had a quiet night at our countryside mooring and woke to a beautiful autumn morning – crisp and sunny with a faint mist over the water. I took the dogs out to the field and once again they enjoyed an ecstatic run. I do love it here and wish we could have stayed longer. I’d have been quite happy to have a few days here just enjoying the peace and watching the dogs having fun. But Richard was quietly grumbling about ‘no pubs’ and we were still out to beat the stoppages so we reluctantly (for my part) moved on.

We saw a fair few boats today – it was a lovely day and we found out later that virtually all the boaters from Newbury were taking advantage of the weather and heading up the canal for the day. Richard was struck by nb Lazy Daisy enjoying the view

Lazy Daisy enjoying the morning

below Copse Lock and I liked nb “Yes Dear” – the man at the helm didn’t look the least bit henpecked – honest!

Because we came this way last year we had the benefit or remembering previous doggie misdemeanours. At Dreweat’s lock we were careful not to let them into the adjacent field – the farmer warned us last year that he’d set snares there. Maybe that was just a story to keep the dogs out of his pasture (there weren’t any animals and it’s open to the canal) – I thought that snares were illegal. At the appropriately named Copse Lock, which is deeply shaded to the point of spookiness, they were confined because last year they managed a devious escape through the canalside fence onto a bit of marshland. Having got through the fence they couldn’t find their way back – it took some time to recover them. Blue and Lou are definitely waiting for us to develop dementia so that we can forget these inconvenient details 🙂

What a view....

I saw a heavy bodied bird of prey gliding low over a field near Benham lock (No. 82) – it took me a moment to realise that it was a Tawny owl. They’re so BIG – I hadn’t realised.

The next bit of interest was Newbury. Again, we’ve stopped here before and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a buzzing market town with a useful park below Newbury Lock (by Victoria Bridge). There are 24 hour moorings between the West Mills swingbridge and Newbury Lock. They’ve always been jam-packed when we’ve been through before but today they were empty. We took advantage and moored up – there’s bit of greenery by the moorings – quite secure as its bordered by the river so dogs could have a mini-rummage here. The reason for our uncharacteristic stop in Newbury was a dreadful event – we’d RUN OUT OF DOG FOOD!

We were going to grab a sarnie from Tesco but we were seduced by the smells coming from the canalside pub “Lock, stock and barrel”. It’s a dog-friendly pub – the garden was full so we went inside where Blue and Lou stretched out for a kip on a rug and we had a splendid lunch. Coincidentally we sat at a table next to a young couple who owned a share in a racing greyhound – Dalcash Taxie – currently racing well in Oxford (apart from a bout of tendonitis at the moment). We asked straight away what was going to happen to the dog when he retired and the young man reassured us that one of the owners was going to keep him at home. Once we’d cleared that up we spent the rest of the time happily talking greyhounds.

There was a live jazz band at the pub but we didn’t stay to listen for long. Lou took great exception to the trombone – she was very disturbed by the slide (bit that extends) so we headed into the high street. What struck me was the sheer number of dogs being walked along the shopping street (pedestrianised). Newbury has to be the most dog-friendly town we’ve ever visited (not inside the shops mind – they’re not that continental yet). As always, the greyhounds were very good in a crowd and drew lots of attention from passers-by.

A woman and her two young children grinned widely at the boat between the rails of Newbury Bridge – Richard got some good photos and promised to put them on the BLOG for her but something’s gone wrong with the memory card. We’re missing a few classic photos so there’s won’t be quite so many today and tomorrow.

When we got back to the boat (much) later we immediatly looked up Dalcash Taxie on www.greyhound-data.com. We’re such anoraks – Blue’s gradfather was Dalcash Taxie’s great great grandfather and in common with many dogs, they share an ancestor in a dog called “I’m slippy”!

We headed out of Newbury, mindful of the tricky flows below the lock. They’re ok if you know they’re there – do a recce before you pas through if you can. Catching the landing stage to pick up your crew can be tricky when there’s a lot of water coming off the river.

Monkey Marsh Lock

Monkey Marsh lock (No. 90) is worth a mention as it is one of only two turf-sided locks left in existence and is apparently listed as an ancient monument. I’m a bit of a heathen when it comes to this sort of thing – just as well I’m not in charge of English Heritage because i don’t see the appeal of this lock. The bottom two-thirds is lined with planks and the top third widens to a muddy bank with a bit of soggy greenery on the top. Because of this widening the lock takes ages to fill though the boat is reassuringly held in the main chamber by steel piles.

We came across some locks in sorry need of maintenance on the next stretch. Lock 91 was down to one paddle – Richard’s pretty sure that this paddle was broken this time last year! Lock 92 has to be on a winter maintenance schedule soon – there are gaping holes in the bottom gate. Lock 93 also had a broken paddle – we would have let BW know but the whole gate’s scheduled for replacement this winter so they must be aware of the problem. There were signs of crude and hasty patching on many of the lock gates and most of the paddle gear looked rusty and unlubricated. My guess is that cruising the K & A might be severely limited by this year’s stoppages – that’s the main problem with a heavily locked section.

Our musings on this sad state of repair was interrupted by thoughts on where we were going to moor for the night. It was late Sunday afternoon and there were benefits to trying to get through Woolhampton and Aldermaston so we wouldn’t have to swing/lift the bridges in the Monday rush hour. In the end we compromised – we’d go through Woolhampton then review the situation.

Now I HATE Woolhampton – it’s such a badly designed bit of water that throws every sort of trickiness for the unwary boater. It’s no better if you’re the ground crew as you have to set the bridge (coming downstream) before the boat leaves the lock and I get bothered by the irate drivers sitting impatiently waiting for this mythical boat to appear. Richard, meanwhile, thinks that Woolhampton is a splendid adventure!

Here’s the trickiness going down – there a lively flow of water (even when the river’s low) from the right which pushes your boat to the wrong side of the canal towards a very inconveniently moored narrowboat bristling with big rubber tyre fenders. But you can’t compensate by steering to the right because there’s a big sandbank there and it’s easy to get stuck. The flow sweeps you towards the swingbridge at speed – unfortunate as the bridge crosses the water on the skew, just as you think you are lined up right you find yourself drifting towards the right bridge abutment. It is at a very awkward angle for boats coming downstream but nothing that can’t be solved with a bit more gas. Finally, the flow is so strong below the bridge and you have hit the gas so you have a fair turn of speed but you have to get to the landing stage to pick your crew up. So steer hard right, then hard left to start the boat swinging, hit reverse and quickly snag your STERN rope on a bollard. If you get the timing right the boat swings in nicely for a parallel mooring and stops just by the bollard. I let Richard drive this bit!

My worst bit as ground crew has been changed though. The controls of the swingbridge used to be really awkward. You had to run across the bridge to manually extend the barrier then run back to do the barrier on this side. The trouble was that if the barrier wasn’t absolutely in the right place then the rest of the electrics wouldn’t work – I’ve had such trouble with those barriers. But HALLELUJA, the controls have been replaced with a simple, one-button to open and one-button to close panel whioch does the barriers for you. This saved me a lot of stress and I started to feel a little better inclined towards Woolhampton! I was so elated I actually managed to leave my fine Dunton aluminium windlass here (didn’t realise ’til Aldermaston the folliowing day) – what a pain!

Our passage through Woolhampton was witnessed by three delighted South Africans who were awed and amazed by the whole process – from simply lifting a padde right through to swinging the bridge. It was nice to have such an appreciative audience.

By this time it was getting dark and we decided to moor up just past Woolhampton Bridge. A boater passing upstream had told us that there was a good dog walking field adjacent to this stretch. Incidentally this boater was also a veteran of the tidal Severn!

It’s tricky mooring in the flow – we needed to keep the engine in tickover reverse just to keep her still enough to get Richard to the bank. But the river’s shallow so once the back grounded we were stable! Still, we used double springs at bow and stern to keep us steady (and to allow for changes in river levels). Sadly there was no access to the fields so we took an evening walk along the slightly creepy towpath instead. Dogs didn’t seem to mind, they’d had such a stimulating day that they hadn’t got much energy left.

I was a bit worried about being so close to the road in Woolhampton – not from a dog point of view but from a ‘youth’ point of view. The river sections of the K & A are not good places to be set adrift. I needn’t have worried – we had a quiet night and the boat was absolutely fine.

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 41

Great Bedwyn to just past Kintbury (Bridge 73)

Prop memorabilia!

I’m pleased to report that the trains didn’t disturb us at all overnight so we can definitely recommend Great Bedwyn as a mooring site!

Our first job was to reverse back to the wharf to fill up with water and get rid of yesterday’s prop memorabilia – a fisherman’s umbrella! Richard nearly caught up with the dogs in the ‘give Sue a nervous breakdown’ stakes having managed on this trip to sprain his ankle, slip and graze his other leg quite spectacularly at a lock and finally stabbing himself with a knife when he was extricating the umbrella from the prop. Just as well I carry a comprehensive mobile ‘man and dog’ pharmacy on board 🙂

As we steadily locked down I started to notice a change in the nature of the canal. There were still

Blue and Lou on the look-out

plenty of rural landscapes but more frequently doted with larger villages and towns. It felt as if London was reaching out to gently tickle the countryside and wake it up in time for the commute to the big city. This meant a little more vigilance with the dogs, who, as you know, have an absolute talent for running into trouble! If you come this way then watch out for lock 68 – there’s a lane that runs adjacent to the canal – no fencing and just enough cars to make them fast and inattentive – Blue and Lou were firmly secured on board (much whinging ensued!). However just after the lock, the towpath is securely gated so they could have their usual lock-side rummage. Once again, many of the towpaths on this stretch are gated from the

Looking towards Little Bedwyn

road – I’m sure that the cyclists will complain but, as owner of two naughty dogs, I was relieved!

The approach to Hungerford is particularly attractive. We like this town and have stopped here on several occasions. The dogs like Hungerford Marsh but we have to watch out for cows and cow pats. The dogs won’t bother cattle (far too big) but why take the risk? However Blue considers cow pats to be the cologne of the gods – smells wonderful, soft textured and spreadable – it’s got it all. Needless to say we don’t share his enthusiasm!

Blue had a lengthy rummage in the field adjacent to Cobbler’s lock – so lengthy, in fact, that we’d moved on to Hungerford Marsh Lock and I’d sent a search party back to find him just as he reappeared. Blue likes to be independent but his preference is

Reflections.....

to stay withing sight of us – when he has the odd extended rummage I’m never too sure whether he’s thinking “free at last” or “oh no, where have they gone?”. He certainly seemed relieved to see Richard!

Just above Hungerford Marsh lock the canal is very shallow and is a great area for dogs to have a splosh in the cool water. Bearing in mind Blue’s dung fetish he was allowed a paddle on the lead (which almost resulted in me having a paddle as well). Lou had a good splosh – she’s such a good girl (when there’s no other greyhounds and suchlike to chase).

Hungerford Marsh Lock: Don’t forget to swing the bridge over the lock before you move your boat in! Swing bridges this side of the Kennet & Avon seem mostly to have a huge bolt which you tighten or loosen with a quick slap on your windlass. Providing you remember to carry your windlass then it is a lot less fiddle then the padlock system (which needs a BW key).

We stopped for lunch just above Hungerford Lock – there’s good mooring between here and the church. Amazingly there was only 1 boat on the moorings above the lock – where is everybody?

And more views....

It’s a little more secure for the dogs here, though for access to town you can’t beat mooring below the lock. There are lots of friendly passers-by so it’s a convivial place for a break. We’ve moored here previously and it was quiet and secure place to spend the night.

With all the locks on this stretch I easily underestimated how long it would take us to get down the canal. I’d had an idea that Hungerford was only round the corner from Great Bedwyn (and so it is by train or car) but it’s a fair few lock miles. With this in mind, our vague target of getting to Newbury was quickly blown out of the water and we aimed for Kintbury instead. A local boat coming up through the locks told Richard that Kintbury was full and recommended that we should try going a bit further and moor above Dreweat’s lock. It’s apparently very charming there with

The approach to Kintbury

deer coming down to the canal to drink (which would have made Blue and Lou’s day!).

We’d forgotten how nice it was in Kintbury – the approach to the bridge above the lock is so ‘neat’– the houses opposite are so well-maintained and the towpath is positively groomed. This explains why its such a popular mooring spot – that and the water point, pump-out and waste disposal services just above the lock. We toyed with the idea of mooring well back from the lock but thought we’d try somewhere different (we’ve stayed here before).

In the end we split the difference between Kintbury lock and the recommended Dreweats lock. We moored up just before Shepherds Bridge (Bridge 73). The canal is shallow here so it was a ‘plank and machete’ mooring’ (as I like to call them) but this was a truly

Our mooring made vivid by the sunset

wondrous place. It feels so remote it’s hard to believe that there is a village with a train station just a mile away. Although the train line was close, it seemed to lack all power to penetrate the peaceful idyll in which we found ourselves. A few local dog walkers stopped for a chat and they all, without fail, rhapsodised about this little bit of heaven.

This has to be the most perfect dog mooring anywhere on the network. The bridge itself is a footbridge leading over the canal to a footpath across open fields which must each have been 100 acres or more and now dotted with straw bales after the harvest. The greyhounds went ballistic – Lou raced back and forth so joyfully that I laughed with the pleasure of it. Blue was busy rummaging to his heart’s content and I was happy to see that even he couldn’t get into trouble here (unless weeing on a farmer’s straw bales is a cardinal sin!). They spent

Our idyllic mooring....

the evening exploring while we enjoyed the sunset’s vivid light-show. The autumn chill finally forced us inside at around 8pm – the dogs went to bed and slept solidly through to the next morning. Always a sign of satisfied dogs; and satisfied dogs, as you know, means satisfied humans and a quiet night was enjoyed by all!

Photoblog:

I can’t resist just putting in a few more photos of the sunset – it really was special here….

The autumn light show

Blue enjoying the open country

Sunset over the fields

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 40

Horton Bridge to Great Bedwyn

Reporting from the official blog office!

Typical scene from this stretch of the K & A

Our reward for having a heavy day of locking yesterday was a long lock-free start to the day today. And what a lock-free stretch. The countryside here must count as the most beautiful anywhere. The canal is isolated and feels like the most modern component of a landscape that’s been farmed since the bronze age and before.

We’d had a good night’s sleep at Horton Bridge – the only disturbance was the loud hooting and kee-eek sounds of owls hunting (tawny and barn respectively I think).

The following morning the canal meandered its way through the lovely countryside. The canal is very overgrown here which makes for pretty cruising

Barely room for the boat!

but rubbish mooring – you’ll need a plank and a machete just about anywhere between here and Honey Street. A bit further down the canal, BW were out with a digger clearing vegetation form the side of the canal. I cheered when I saw them. Plantlife is all well and good but I don’t think we should forget that canals were built by humans for human use!

I have a soft spot for Honey Street – it’s quite lovely and a couple of years ago we were forced to moor here for 5 weeks while my broken shoulder healed. I remember Richard driving me down here and just spending pleasant days resting in the sun (which did help to soothe the pain).

On a different note, the Barge Inn at Honey Street is, apparently, the headquarters of the crop circle fraternity. More importantly for us (and for you probably), is the fact that the pub does good food and is dog-friendly. The moorings here were nigh on deserted today but we’ve been here near the summer solstice before now and it’s been packed! Honey Street also has a distinctive white horse carved into the hill opposite. I’d always assumed that these carvings were very ancient but apparently landowners in the 18th Century were also keen to carve them into the chalk. The hills in Wiltshire are dotted with them and I think the horse in Honey Street is a later version. It’s still a fine thing though and adds a

The white horse of Honey Street

little magic to a place that’s already associated with ‘supernatural’ happenings.

The crew of nb Pipe Dream recommended a good stretch of dog-walking just beyond Honey Street between Woodborough Fields Bridge (Br. 122) and Lady’s Bridge (Br.120) and so it proved. Just under a mile of countryside towpath opening out onto broad ploughed fields for dogs to have a thorough rummage. It was a wonderfully warm day, probably the best of the holiday so far, and we had this tranquil canal all to ourselves.
We carried on past Wilcot. Although it looks like one house and a lane, there is another good pub here -The Golden Swan – dog friendly and good pub grub. It’s somewhere that we stopped last year – you’d never know it was there from the water!

Graceful Lady's Bridge

Pewsey Wharf provided a bit of relief from the endlessly rolling countryside – there’s a useful water point here. The moorings along this stretch can get crowded and it was no different today. We wouldn’t moor here because the road’s quite busy and the crew of Pipe Dream had warned us that Pewsey bridge was quite dangerous.

After many hours we got to Wootton Rivers and the excitement of the last few locks up to the ultimate summit of the K & A. It is stunning here – the locks are so scenic and I got the impression of a locality lavished by the overwhelming love of generations of people who’ve lived and farmed here.

There’s a road by Wootton Rivers bottom lock but once you get to the top of the lock the towpath is

A loved and lovely rural landscape near Wootton Rivers

gated off from the road and safe for dogs. This ‘gating’ seems to be a feature along most of this stretch and was very welcome with our two reprobates. There’s an open field near Heathey Close Lock which made for superior dog rummaging. We met a 13-year old whippet lurcher here – prancing like a puppy and a joy to see. Lou chased him as usual but he wasn’t having anything to do with her so she soon subsided and ignored him. There was a very low pound between Heathey Close Bridge and Brimslade Lock – we reported it to BW as it was down by about 1 foot. No idea why – there wasn’t anything obvious wrong.

At the summit we kept our eyes open for red kites. We’d been told that they’ve spread out from their colony in Oxfordshire. We did see some magnificent birds of prey circling overhead but I suspect they were buzzards. We did speculate that they might have

A view from the top of the long climb down to the Thames

been black kites but they lacked the characteristic forked tail of the red kites. The other common wildlife in this area is horse flies – apparently Burbage Wharf breeds them for the whole country! However, they don’t seem to have migrated through the Bruce Tunnel!

No sooner than we were out of the tunnel than we started the long process of locking down towards the Thames. From this point onwards there’s hardly a lock-free mile! There is good dog-rummaging along the Crofton flight as they can’t get onto a road until quite far down.

This is where Blue won the sympathy vote and a repreive from the threat of going back to Battersea. We met nb Rattling Garland coming up a lock – they had two dogs loose on the towpath. Blue was also out and about minding his own business – he doesn’t pay any attention to other dogs unless they’re greyhounds. Anyway, he must have crossed some invisible territory line as the woman’s border collie cross suddenly launched a vicious attack – Blue was shocked

What a beautiful country we live in.....

and at first just walked away then had the sense to run back to the boat when the attack got serious. It was only later I noticed that the dog had stripped a bit of skin off his shoulder and left a shallow wound around the size of a 20p piece. Fortunately Lou was in bed during this incident – she’s a bit more forthright with aggressive dogs. I can’t claim any moral high ground as my dogs are so random but I can honestly say that they’ve never bitten anyone or anything on the towpath. I just wish that she’d warned me that her dog was viciously territorial beforehand (rather than after) – I could then have kept Blue further away.

There’s an interesting pump house at Crofton – we’ve always managed to pass through here either a week before or after the open days when they run the big steam pump. We will get to see it one day – it sounds very impressive and the volunteers that keep the place going seem to be a dedicated crew.

But we’re on a mission – we have to get through County Lock in Reading before it closes for a month on 29th September. It was a shame as the K & A is certainly a canal where you could loiter.

Crofton is also a good place to wave at trains. Drivers are great, often playing a tune with their horns. No idea if any passengers see us or wave back as the windows are often coated. When we’re on the train, we always wave back to boats to the amusement of our fellow passengers while we’re secretly thinking ‘b*£$%*^ds out on their boat whilst we are on this train ….’

As the evening drew in we locked our way steadily down to Great Bedwyn. There are useful services at

Another rural scene along the way....

the wharf and good moorings just after the Bedwyn Wharf Bridge (Br 95) opposite the train station. Richard consulted last year’s log and reminded me that we’d had a good time in the Cross Keys pub last year. It seems to be a very popular place – very welcoming staff, very good pub food and a lively atmosphere. Dogs came with us, settled onto their sheepskins and dozed the evening away. We were pleased to see that the pub dog – a young boxer, was well and happy. When we came last year he was just a tiny puppy who wasn’t allowed on the pub floor because he hadn’t finished his vaccinations. This year he was prowling hopefully around the tables – there was no chance that Blue and Lou would share their haul of sausages with him though!

We were a bit worried about noise from the train station which is literally a canal width’s away. But we needn’t have worried – either the trains don’t run late or we were just too fast asleep to notice!

Botanical Blog

A change in the landscape - cascades of red berries

I was musing today at how different the landscape is now to when we first set out the June – the seasons have turned and the riotous blossom has given way to the mellow reds of berries and hips. But the flower show’s not quite over. The cut was livened by drifts of orange flowers which I believe are ‘touch-me-not balsam – a relative of the Indian Balsam. I was impressed, according to my plant book this is rare in Britain but there was plenty of it on this stretch. There were also spots of vivid blue from wild gerarniums (Crane’s bill) – I think this is Marsh Cranesbill but I’m not sure. Richard got some great photos for me – a nice reminder of the summer that’s passed us by this year.

A bee tasting the last of the summer's nectar

Touch-me-not balsam

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 39

Seend to Horton Bridge (134)

The famous view up the Caen Hill flight

The crew of nb Somerset Joy proved to be boaters after out own hearts – they like to start cruising at 10am! That suited us perfectly so we set out for a day’s locking with Phil and Christine. It was ‘wife swap’ but without the drama – Phil and I drove our respective boats while Richard and Christine did all the hard work!

I do like this stretch of canal – it’s very rural again and dogs had a very busy morning running around the locks above Seend and Sells Green. There’s particularly fine rummaging to be had at Bridge 150 which leads to open fields where they could have a good run. This maybe explains why they were so quiet on the main flight itself!

We made good time up to Foxhangers but with the main Cean Hill flight towering above us (and a slow single-hander in front of us) we stopped for lunch and prepared ourselves for the toil to come. This is really the only place you can moor once you get into the flight and seems to be a welcome stop for the boaters who have just toiled down!

Some crew members toil more than others on the Caen Hill flight!

Actually, I say toil, and it surely is for the ‘ground’ crew, but Caen Hill is a beautiful place. The views unfolding below you are magnificent and looking back from the top is a sheer joy. Although it was a weekday and relatively quiet, there were still plenty of affable walkers along the flight. People are so interested in the locks and the boats. I retained my reputation as the font of all knowledge when Richard referred a walker to me to identify a snake he’d seen swimming through in one of the side-pounds. Out came the wildlife books, and, as I suspected (of course!) he’d seen a grass snake, which can grow to over 4 feet and are consummate swimmers.

Phil suggested that we move the boats in sync through the flight. Adam from Debdale recommended this technique for flights of double locks but I hadn’t tried it before. I wasn’t sure of the proprieties – do we rope up? Who decides on speed? Would we stick together on longer pounds? As it happened it was surprisingly easy – all you need is a co-operative frame of mind and a forgiving attitude to the odd rub (though we didn’t really have any!). [Richard’s note: Actually it was really impressive as most times they got into the lock whisper quiet and somehow stopped dead straight]. We did not rope the boats together, we just moved off together and kept an eye on each other’s relative speeds and adjusted as necessary – easy

Tandem boating!

peasy! I don’t know whether it saves time, it certainly relieves a certain amount of stress. I hate being first into a wide lock because then there’s the drama of getting the boat steady against the lock wall which inevitably involves rope and Richard lying full out on the ground to catch it! Some of the locks here are a tad narrow to we both removed some of our fatter pencil fenders.

Note: there is a lock about one-third of the way up where the tandem boating doesn’t work as the lock is slightly narrower than the others. Two boats can use the lock but you need to enter/leave separately or it’s easy to get jammed! There’s a clear sign on the lock so you’ll know which one it is.

We had a good trip up Caen Hill. Somerset Joy were good company and good crew. For the record, Phil and I weren’t just doing nothing – we were exercising great skill and judgement in manoeuvring our boats. I thought I’d tell you because NONE of the passing walkers believed us!

Bit crowded for a short pound!

We had to cross over two sets of boats on the flight – this is always entertaining – like an old fashioned western gunfight but without the guns. The gates open and your respective boats face each other – who’s going to draw first? Who’s got the guts to go for it? It helps if your crew has talked to their crew – having a plan saves a lot of messing around. We found two ways to solve the problem:

• Somerset Joy vacated the bottom lock and tucked into the side while the first oncoming boat took her vacant spot in the lock. Somerset Joy then moved into the vacant spot in the top lock and we repeated the process with Indigo dream and second boat.
• Somerset Joy vacated the bottom lock and tucked into the side while the first oncoming boat took her vacant spot and Indigo Dream moved into the vacant spot in the top lock. The second boat then took Indigo Dream’s place in the bottom lock and Somerset Joy moved into the final vacant place next to us. All sorted!

Bit blurred but I hope you get the picture!

The first technique means that your locks briefly end up with two boats pointing in different directions – I thought this was quite droll!. Funnily enough, where we did the exchange with a pair of hire boats the plan worked perfectly (they obligingly did as they were told). When we did it with a pair of what should have been experienced owners the plan went pear shaped. Mainly because oncoming boat no. 2 drifted all over the lock, blocking Phils’ access and generally getting in the way. I just sat in the bottom lock until they’d got sorted – sometimes you have to stand still to move forward – zen boating at its best!

I mentioned earlier that we had been behind a single-handed boater. We let him get a good head start and then proceeded behind him. Curiously, though, we started to catch up even though he now had a mate with to help with the locks. Richard, who was lock-wheeling, noticed that they had not moved whilst we did 4 locks and we were getting a bit close. So he went up to ask if they were ok, they simply replied “lunchtime” and then looked shocked when Richard suggested that we overtake them. Fortunately they moved on before they were nudged in the behind by the inimitable combination of Somerset Joy and Indigo Dream.

Look at that view - priceless!

As always, we had the chance to chat and chew the fat as we went up the flight. We found that we had odd things in common – Christine’s dad was Polish and so was Richard’s (his mums still is!). We seemed to share a common concern about ageing parents and I hope that my mum is still fit enough for me to be fretting about her when I’m retired. We may also bump into them over the winter – they’re in the process of moving to Willowtree Marina on the Grand Union – just up the cut from where we used to moor and a short hop from Cowley Peachey where we’ll be overwintering.

I thought that Somerset Joy looked very fine but Phil was concerned that the paintwork was looking a bit tired. I forgot to mention this at the time but 3M do a great boat polish which is perfect for refreshing paintwork as it contains a mix of cutting compound and very good wax finish. It’s 3M Marine Ultra Performance Paste Wax. Unfortunately the cost will make you cry (£21 a tin) but that will do 2 – 3 polishes and we think it’s worth every penny.

Tandem boating away from the main flight.

I was also touched by the story of the name ‘Somerset Joy’ – it’s a poignant tearjerker that belongs to the boat’s previous owners. As Phil pointed out, they’re not from Somerset and his wife’s name isn’t Joy! But the previous owner’s wife was, and the boat was named after her. Unfortunately a short while after the naming, the marriage failed and the romantic gesture of naming the boat after his wife was wasted. Aaaah! Richard and me are not at all romantic (never have been!) and the notion of calling the boat after either of us just made us laugh incredulously!

The main flight went smoothly and we continued to cruise with Somerset Joy to just past Devizes Town Lock. We both tied up there – Somerset Joy for the night and Indigo Dream just for a break. By this time Richard was hobbling badly on his sprained ankle and needed some chair time and I needed to find a supermarket for some milk – our latte’s were under threat (and Blue’s bedtime drink)! The Nespresso machine from Richard’s generous sister is working really well with our 2.5kW invertor (we now even heat the milk with it) but Richard is thinking that we will need something like a smartguage so we know how many latte’s we can have when the engine is not running. Don’t want to ruin our nice new shiny batteries.

There’s a choice between Sainsbury’s and M & S – the easiest route (if you moor by the town bridge) is actually to walk past the wharf to the next bridge, cross over, carry on ‘til you reach a T-junction then turn left – walk on over a mini-roundabout and you’ll get to the shopping area. If you need to shop then it’s well worth trying for a mooring on the wharf – it’s the right side of the canal and is a much shorter walk as well as being easier to access with your shopping! The wharf has 48-hour moorings which were unusually empty when we passed by.

We said goodbye to Somerset Joy at this point. We wanted to get a little further down the canal as Lou had won herself the ‘worse behaved dog on the canal’ award earlier by chasing another greyhound down the towpath right onto the road bridge – the traffic fortunately stopped and both dogs were unhurt and unrepentant – I think they both enjoyed it immensely. I think my heart will take a week to get back to normal speed. The greyhound was a dainty black retiree out for a walk with her foster mum who tried hard to persuade us to give Lucy a home. I was game but Richard went a bit monosyllabic and I think that Lou had the final word. We decided we needed to moor a little further away from the road and cruised on quickly……

We moored up at Horton Bridge (Br 134) – there’s a fine pub here (The Bridge Inn) with good overnight moorings. They do very good pub grub and they allow dogs in one of the bars and are very dog-friendly.

It was here that Blue narrowly beat Lou for the ‘worse behaved dog’ award. The moorings are well-fenced but Blue didn’t rest until he’d found a cunning cut-through to the pub car park back by the residential moorings, followed by Lou who’d picked up that there was mischief afoot. I’d almost caught them in the pub car park when they took off – out of the car park onto the road then down the lane until they found a way into the adjacent ploughed field. They’d spotted rabbits to chase and instead of squiggling safely under the fence by the mooring they’d decided the road route was best. I ran after them just in time to see them leaping into the field just a short way down the lane – thank heavens they did – at least they were out of the traffic. I went off in hot pursuit (though slower by about 25 miles per hour) and by the time I got into the field they were joyfully racing around at the far end. When I did catch up with them I was absolutely at the end of my tether. I dragged the pair vengefully back to the boat promising them that if we’d been closer to London they’d have been back to Battersea Dogs home that very instant. They ignored me – they’d had a grand adventure, they were unharmed and not the least bit remorseful.

Richard wisely decided that the only way to soothe my nerves was with beer, so we spent a convivial evening setting the world to rights with the crew of nb. Pipe Dream who were moored up behind us. We also had a very good meal here. It was a good end to a good day. After a pint I eventually forgave the dogs and they finished off a splendid day (from their perspective) by scoffing a few sausages and getting a load of fuss (and biscuits) from the pub staff.

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 38

Bathampton to Seend

The view from Dundas Aqueduct

I think that any adrenaline that had permeated my system over the weekend finally evaporated today as the reality of being back on the K & A hit home. I was niggly all day, not helped by the fact that we cruised in tickover for hours on end because of miles and miles of online mooring. To add insult to injury, we encountered several ‘barking dogs’ – boat owners who run to their hatches to shout ‘slow down’ as you go past, regardless of the speed that you’re actually doing. It’s tedious and unpleasant (being as couldn’t get any slower without turning the engine off!). Richard tried to explain to one boat that several feet of slack in a mooring rope will mean that a boat will move when another passes it but they were convinced that our 800 rpm counted as speeding. I do believe that there are moorers on this stretch who don’t want anyone but them to use the canal. Maybe if the waterway was allowed to grow over then BW wouldn’t want any licence fees – I suspect that would suit many a continuous moorer down here!

Antother view from Dundas Aqueduct

Having said that, BW’s promised purge on unlicensed boats seems to have worked – there are far fewer unlicensed boats than when we cruised here last year.

The trip from Bathampton to Seend is certainly scenic. It’s stunningly rural for most of the way. The canal follows the gentle contours of the landscape and, at the bottom of the valley beneath you, the Avon meanders unseen and the railway quietly goes about its business. There are several swingbridges here – excellent opportunities for dogs to jump off and have a rummage. The swingbridges are fine for a crew of two but must be immensely awkward for a single-hander as the mechanisms are on the opposite side to the boat landing.

Looking across the valley to the Somersetshire Coal Canal

We stopped for water at Dundas w

Wharf – this is a useful service point with reasonable water pressure which also has a pump-out facility and waste disposal. Even if you don’t need the services then stop here – the views down the Avon valley are particularly lovely. You’ll also see the entrance to the short stretch of the Somersetshire Coal Canal here. As the main canal winds around one end of the valley you’ll get a good view of the coal canal perched on the far side.

The stretch from Dundas to Avoncliffe is quite breathtaking – the canal follows the contours and above you is a steeply wooded embankment and your right is an equally steep drop down to the Avon. The whole canal is cool and shady, dappled green and lovely. The air was chilled here, as if the sun hadn’t had a chance to warm it since the winter. Richard thought I made it sound so sinister, as if some dark god had cast his shade over the water and condemned the cut to everlasting night. I’m not sure about that but I’m sure a fantasy writer could be inspired by this landscape…..

A view along the stretch between Dundas and Avoncliffe

We’ve passed this way three times before and each time I’ve taken a fancy to a house overlooking the canal – high enough no to worry about flooding and to have a magnificent view over the trees, but with an immaculate garden leading down to a generous canal frontage (perfect for mooring). Well this time we noticed it was for sale! It’s such a good spot that I did wonder whether I could overcome my antipathy of the K & A in order to come and live here. The decision was made for me when I looked up the details (hurrah for the internet) – it was on sale for £825,000. A tad out of our price range…….

I walked the dogs along this stretch – there’s no roads for miles and there’s good rummaging to be had in the strip of woodland by the towpath. We met a lurcher puppy here – 9 months old and utterly gorgeous. Blue ignored him and Lou chased him round a bit but the puppy wasn’t bothered!

Avoncliff Aqueduct, and no, I don't think you're allowed to moor there!

The Avoncliff Aqueduct takes you back over the Avon and out of the shady trees. The next stretch into Bradford on Avon is slow with on-line moorings but Bradford on Avon itself is a good town for exploring. We’d recommend mooring below the lock – more room, better access to the town and the towpath backs onto parkland which is excellent for dogs. We didn’t stop this time but we spent a week here last year – it was a great holiday destination! Oh, and this is where we bought the two pieces of sheepskin (for £5 each) that have proved so useful as dog beds when taking Blue and Lou to the pub!

There are a few locks and swingbridges to make the canal interesting between Bradford-on-Avon and Seend. We met up with nb Somerset Joy at Semington swingbridge and shared the last four locks up to Seend. They were very good company and we hoped that we could co-ordinate our cruising so that we worked the Caen Hill flight together. They gave us the useful information that the flight was closed on Friday for emergency repairs (only for 1 day) so it was essential for us to get through tomorrow or we’d be stuck again!

Sunset in Seend

We moored up opposite the Barge Inn at Seend. There are good facilities here (pump-out, water, waste disposal) and the pub does very good food and allows dogs. We ate on board this evening though and enjoyed the gentle sunset while the midges, in turn, made a meal of Richard!

Richard had sprained his ankle a couple of days ago and was hobbling around. So I took the dogs for a late night walk – the lane running parallel to the towpath (down from the bridge) seems to be used as a footpath and gives greater rummaging potential. It’s well worth walking down to Seend Park swingbridge (Bridge 155) where the path leads to the open fields full of rabbits beloved of the greyhounds. After all this activity, a quiet night was had by all on this most silent of moorings.

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 37

Bristol to Bathampton

Old brewery ready for development in Bristol Floating Harbour

We had a bit more energy this morning so we set off on the long trip towards home. It was a bit sad to leave Bristol. Richard went to university here so he’s had pleasant trips down memory lane; I’ve just enjoyed the buzz of the harbour. You could have a good holiday here – maybe a 2-centre break with a cruise down to Portishead and back…..

The floating harbour is surprisingly large and the route out towards Netham Lock winds its way through a mix of regenerated buildings plus a few old sites that are just biding their time for the developers. Bristol really has made something of its waterfront.

Netham Lock is generally open unless there’s a very high tide. We’d expected it to be open when we arrived but it seems that not only was there a spring tide but they had dropped the level in the harbour slightly. The lock gates could only be opened with the aid of a tirfor! Once they managed to open the lock gate there was a strong flow of water from the river. Richard and Blue had gone for a nosey -I had to use 1000rpm just to stand still in the lock to pick them up! As you come out of Netham lock do watch out for this flow – the tide was running out and the water was pretty fast. Use lots of revs and stay to slightly to the left coming out (with a look out) until you’re onto the river proper. Go too far to the right and you

The lovely river Avon

can get caught in the main river flow to the weir. Nothing that a big engine can’t cope with but why take the risk?

After the drama of the lock the river was fine – water levels were high and there was a strong flow in places (especially below the weirs) but it was all very manageable. There’s particularly strong cross-current from the weir below Swineford lock. It’s a pleasure to be on this stretch of river – from Bristol right up to the outskirts of Bath the scenery is just stunning. There are several locks – all are very rural and great places for dogs to have a rummage. They had a very stimulating day!

What struck me most was the high wooded banks looking lush in every shade of dark green. I’d love to see it in October when it has its autumn colours. Mind you, by then we’ll be on the Thames and that’s quite magnificent in the autumn as well. There was lots of bird life around – we saw several streaks of irridescent blue flashing past – kingfishers – almost too fast to register on the eye before they’re gone. We also saw four buzzards circling lazily above the river. In fact, it might have been in Africa as the local cormorants did their best impression of vultures sitting atop dead trees!

Visitor moorings are few and far between on this stretch. We did like the look of the pontoon just before bridge 211 – a huge disused railway bridge that now carries the Bristol to Bath cycleway (and footpath). The moorings looked like they backed onto top rummaging territory for the dogs. If we come this way again we’ll have to work the schedule so that we stay the night there.

Just after Kelson lock we had cause for envy. As you know, Blue’s obedience, in particular, lacks a little something. Just above the lock we saw a load of chickens leaping off their coop and running up the path. We thought they were being

Useful visitor moorings on the Avon

attacked, but no, they were running towards their owner who was whistling at them to come. I hate to admit it, but that flock of chickens was better trained and more obedient than my dogs. I hung my head in shame and cruised by quickly!

After the lovely run up the Avon it was such a disappointment to come to Bath. Here’s a city that’s done nothing with its waterway. The watersides are bleak and there are few visitor moorings until you get well out of town up the Bath locks. I know that there’s a bit of brightness if you venture up to Pultney Weir but I think that the city really has turned its back on the river. It makes me cross – it could be such an asset for boaters and city coffers alike.

We made it to Bath in good time so we carried on

Bath - drab from the water

up the Bath locks, eager to escape this drab city (from the water). We shared the last few locks with an unlicensed continuous moorer – he had asked politely if he could share the locks with us and we couldn’t really refuse. By the end we felt exploited – I respect anyone’s ‘freedom’ to choose a lifestyle but not if I have to pay for it. As the solitary young man said “I just move between Bath and Bradford-on-Avon – BW don’t like it but there’s nothing they can do about it, so there”. With a £150 hike in license fees for continuous cruisers in the offing I wasn’t amused. That’s the trouble – BW don’t seem to think it’s feasible to enforce the rules on mooring but they think a hike in fees is manageable. But all that means is that the people who ‘honesty’ pay now end up paying more and those that don’t pay now won’t care! I was glad to lose our freeloading companion at Bath top lock.

We cruised on to Bathampton – there’s a particularly fine canalside pub, The George Inn, by bridge 183. There are good moorings by the pub but these are generally full unless you get there early. We took the earliest available towpath mooring – you’ll need a plank and a machete but they’re otherwise fine! We had an enormous meal at the pub – truly excellent and went back on board in good spirits.

Photoblog:

I thought I’d add a few more views of the Avon though the pictures don’t do it justice. If you’re ever cruising down here then don’t stop at Bath – do the last bit down the Bristol. I promise you won’t regret it! I’ve also thrown in a few photos of the dogs because I think they’re cute!

Lou adapting to the pace of life onboard!

A thriving habitat on the Avon

Lou being a poster girl for Kelston Lock

Views from the Avon

Views from the Avon

The Odyssey Summer 2008 – Day 36

Bristol Floating Harbour

Mooring pontoons by Peros bridge - the 'ears' are counterweights for the liftbridge

It seemed a bit surreal that this is day 36 of our odyssey. Day 34 seems so much more than a day ago, if that makes sense. Day 35, spread over 3 posts feels like it must have occupied at least a month!

After our epic day yesterday we decided to have a rest day today. Bristol’s a good place for a gentle mooch around. In fact, the harbour’s a good place just to sit on your back deck, drinking the beverage of your choice and watching the world go by. There’s a real buzz to the place.

We didn’t get up ‘til 11am – a combination of tiredness after our long day yesterday and being woken up at 1.30am by a drunken man shouting across the harbour at the top of his voice. Sound really does carry over the water! He was well away from the boat though – although there’s no security gates, people just don’t seem to come onto the pontoons. I was surprised – it’s as if there’s an

A view of the harbour and Tall Ship 'Matthew'

unwritten rule there that’s even understood by the merry revellers (!) in all the clubs opposite….

Dogs were also tired – they didn’t get up until 11.30am!

The first job of the day was to get a pump-out. The sullen red light had been on since Sharpness – Richard had been concerned that the weight of the tank would drag the stern under when he was coming down the Severn 🙂

The floating harbour is a bit shy of pump-out facilities. As far as we can make out, the only one currently operation is at Baltic Wharf (a marina facility rather than Bristol Council). You get tokens from the chandlery. There’s water and diesel here as well – didn’t check the price but the water’s free if you buy diesel or a pump-out. Don’t panic over water – there are lots of FREE water points dotted around the harbour! There are two Council pump-out facilities in the harbour – one isn’t open yet and the other’s been

Old heritage preserved - oh, and the new pump out facility!

shut for maintenance for over a year! That’s not many facilities considering the number of boats that are moored here. It led us to some unsavoury speculation as to how many use the ‘bucket and chuck it’ technique!

Later in the afternoon we went for a long walk with the dogs. If you moor on the pontoons by the Arnolfini, then there’s a square of greenery (Queen Square) across the road behind the gallery. It’s fine for the essentials but it’s not big enough for a proper off-lead rummage.

If you’re up for a longer walk then you can cross over the swing bridge to the other side of the harbour and walk down the wharf towards SS Great Britain. The quay side is littered with interesting remnants of the harbour’s shipping heritage.

More preserved heritage!

SS Great Britain and the tall ship ‘Matthew’ look amazing from the water – apparently they’re well worth a visit. However SS Great Britain doesn’t allow four-footed visitors so at this point we walked away from the harbour towards the river. There’s a good riverside path which overlooks the water, or the mud, in this case – the tide was out and it was fascinating to see. We walked along the river past the old bonded warehouses ‘til we got to an old disused railway then crossed over the river to an extensive park and ‘towpath’ walk. Dogs had a great time here and I walked down far enough to get a view of the lock that we’d come through the night before. It looked so very different now without 32 feet of water lapping up to its walls. The photos at the end will show you what I mean!

Blue and Lou on the ferry!

We walked back towards the quayside – just past the bonded warehouses you can cut left towards Underfall Yard and find yourself back in the harbour. We caught a ferry back from the Cottage Inn – the ferry allows dogs and cost a weighty £2.20 for all four of us – bargain. It saved us the best part of an hour’s walk back to the boat and deposited us close to a fine ice-cream stand. When we used to take Blue and Lou to greyhound obedience classes we were taught a command – “watch me”. Well, with a large tub of ice cream in my hand I was guaranteed their complete and total attention!

By now it was 6pm and we were tired again. But being as we were in the big city we thought we should eat out. Sadly we just dragged ourselves aimlessly into King Street and went to an Italian Restaurant (Trattoria?) which wafts amazingingly appetising smells across the street but sadly fails to deliver them to your plate. Actually, that’s a little

The jolly crew of the Jade running round the harbour in their inflatable

unfair, the meals were fine, just unmemorable for the price. What we will remember is that 3 peronis and a bottle of mineral water came to £16! If you’re in Bristol then there must be better places to eat. From previous visits I can recommend the chinese buffet restaurant on the junction of Queen Charlotte Street and Baldwin Street.

When we came back on board we chatted with the cheery crew of yacht ‘Jade’. We’d overtaken them on the river, shared the lock with them and now they were our next door neighbours on the pontoon. We gave them a CD the photos that we’d taken of them and had a general chinwag. They’d popped over from Barry (in South Wales for the uninititated) and were going to pop back again the following day. It certainly cut us down to size. What had been such an epic for us was just an everyday walk in the park for the motor yacht crowd!

Photoblog

I just wanted to show you a few photos of the difference between high and low tide here. It really bought home the importance of getting the timing right. Apparently it’s ok to sit on the mud outside the lock if you mis-time your journey, but can you imagine 6 hours or more on the mud. It would have to Richard’s worse nightmare – stuck in a confined space with a chorus of whinging from Sue, Blue and Lou!

Approaching low tide...

An hour or so from high tide...

Approaching low tide...

An hour from high tide

Escape from Sharpness (3)

View back to Portishead Marina

As I mentioned in the last post, we spent a very convivial afternoon in Portishead marina but our adventure was only halfway through – we still had the tidal Avon ahead of us.

I can’t say I was sorry to be moving on. While Portishead Marina is lovely, the town itself is a mess – the whole area round the marina is in the process of being developed into horrible high-density housing. The bit that’s been completed has brand-new 10-storey rabbit hutches with narrow windy streets and only 2 visitor parking bays!

We had two main objectives for the afternoon – walk the dogs to exhaustion so we’d have a quiet trip upriver and fix the VHF aerial. We found some good dog-walking on some scrubby ground behind

Big lock!

the marina. There we met two greyhounds and a lurcher – they were utterly gorgeous and totally well-behaved. I got a chance to give them a big fuss while our two ran away after some creature or other in the undergrowth. Objective 1 achieved!

Our VHF aerial was erratic (mainly because of a dodgy connection) but unfortunately the local chandlery didn’t have the right bits to fix it. Fortunately for us, the marina office couldn’t have been more helpful. They got in touch with Bristol VTS on our behalf. They also gave us lots of hints for the journey and recommended that we locked out of the marina at 5pm. The berthing manager at the marina (which was all yachts and us!) has a narrowboat and that may have made him particularly sensitive to our needs.

I'm so handsome!

I’d already looked down into the lock at low tide – it is so deep. No, deeper than that! I started the whole ‘getting scared’ process there and then. The only reassuring thing is that by the time we got into the lock the tide was rising and the drop wasn’t quite so acute. One great feature in the lock is that you tie your boat to proper mooring pontoons that move down with you. This means that you miss out on all the turbulence and movement that you get in a conventional lock. Nonethless, I was still startled when the gates jerked open – just a little bit – in order to let the water out of the lock – I’d feel safer with paddles myself!

I was happier once we’d secured Blue & Lou in their life jackets. Lou wasn’t bothered and went straight back to bed – “warmer than PJs” was her verdict later. Blue strutted around on deck for large parts of the

Can I go back to bed now?

trip – “Look at me I’m so handsome” was his opinion!

When the lock opened, oh my goodness, what a view. There was the sea in front of us (ok, the estuary but I challenge you to tell the difference when your small boat is as insignificant as a hair in a bathtub!) I was sort of ok with it until we got out past the headland then the sheer scale of the water struck me. I was alternately completely awed then totally disorientated. This is why I let Richard do the driving. On the tidal Thames I really like being on the helm but I know what I’m doing there! This was something else again. There’s no boundaries somehow and I had no sense of where were were on the water or where we were going. Fortunately Richard kept his head, though he’d done a recce of the turn into Avonmouth on his way down. When I said to him “are you honestly telling me you weren’t even a bit scared on the way down” he answered, wryly, “I couldn’t see this big expanse on the way down or I might have been””

Although we knew that Portishead had told Bristol VTS about our transit plans, we rang them anyway

The mighty Severn estuary

and got the news that there no-one coming out from Portbury or Avonmouth so Richard hit the gas and enjoyed.

Note: If you’re going from Portishead to Avonmouth to get up the Avon stay near to the shore but DO NOT, on any account, cut the corner into Avonmouth. There’s a very large mudbank on the south side which has grounded many an unwary boater.

The mudbank was very easy to spot early in the rising tide though I did wonder whether it was submerged at high tide. As you go up the Severn from Portishead you’ll see the huge lock gates at the entrance to Portbury Dock. Don’t turn there – the entrance to Avonmouth is between the 2 piers with white lighthouses on top, one large and one

Head for the (smaller) lighthouse and turn just before it.

small,don’t turn in there. To turn into the Avon you leave the small lighthouse on your left and the mud bank and Portbury on your right. Remember, keep going until you’re virtually on the Avonmouth pierhead opposite the mudbank then turn into the Avon.

You’ll get a rough chart showing you what to do, but if you’re not sure then talk it through with the Portishead lock-keepers or employ a Bristol pilot to take you up. It’s a tough call. The entrance to Avonmouth was potentially tricky, especially if you hadn’t had a chance to look over the the river entrance on your way down. On the other hand, once you’re on the Avon there’s no drama. Provided the tide is right then it’s a straightforward cruise up a narrow river. In the end, we’re glad we didn’t have pilot for this bit – £100 more to spend on….dog treats probably!

The M5 crossing the Avon

Once we’d safely negotiated the turn then we had the leisure to look around. We were fascinated by Tate & Lyle’s dock with its huge storage sheds and vats. There’s a big Tate & Lyle facility on the tidal Thames near the barrage. It was a reminder of how sugar used to be such and exotic and luxurious commodity, travelling here all the way from the sunny carribbean. Judging by these facilities, it still does!

Then the Avon passes almost insignificantly under the mighty M5. I’m sure the drivers were oblivious to the daily drama of the tides going on beneath them. With his confidence buoyed by the fact the Indigo Dream was still afloat, Richard overtook a little motor-yacht – Jade. Their cheery crew waved us on and we briefly had the river to ourselves.

A view of the Avon

The next bit is neither one thing or another – it’s green without being particularly scenic, punctuated with little side- channels and tributaries without being especially interesting. But by this time we had some traffic on the river to keep us ‘entertained’.

It’s a long story but today there was a ‘stopgate’ tide at Bristol, which restricts the availability of the lock. This meant that a load of boats came out early and punched the tide. Some hog the wrong side of the channel where the flow is slower but the big gin palaces just commandeered the centre of the river and raced downriver. They were moving very fast and created some large waves – the river was choppy for some distance after they’d gone by. Having them go past was the worst bit of the trip, but again, no drama, we just steered the bow into the waves to minimise the rocking and got on with it.

Climbers in the Avon Gorge - I

Once the rush of boats had gone by we had the river to ourselves again. Ahead of us was the magnificent Avon Gorge with matchstick people waving down at us from the clifftops. We also spotted several rock climbers. They helped to put it all into perspective – we’d had an adventure but cruising Indigo Dream along a tidal river was still better than dangling from a bit of string off a cliff-face! The Clifton Suspension Bridge is just unbelievable!

The entrance to Bristol Docks is just after the suspension bridge – the lock is on your far left (there are three channels in front of you as you approach). The gates opened just as we approached and in we went. The lock-keepers take your ropes and slip them through mooring rings attached to chains that dangle down the lock wall. Just as well – we were in for a long wait. On a ‘stopgate tide’ you

Awesome!

sit in the open lock and wait for the tide to carry your up to appropriate level. This was another new concept for us. We were joined by a few other yachts and after about 45 minutes they opened the top gates and in we went to Cumberland Basin.

We had another wait here for the tide to bring us up to the level of the main floating harbour. This time it would be more than an hour so we went off to the Harbourmaster’s office to sort out our licence and mooring fees. Their office is to the right of the swingbridge past the pub and through Underfall Yard.

It must have been almost 8:30pm when the water levels in the basin finally matched those in the

Almost at the end of our journey - entrance lock at near high tide

harbour and they opened the gates to let us through. They also swung the bridge but that was more for the benefit of the tall-masted yachts! We were tired by now so it seemed to take ages to traverse the harbour to the visitor moorings by Peros Bridge (opposite the Arnolfini if you know Bristol). As we moored up it felt as if we’d really come full circle – it was a year ago that we’d arrived in the same spot – coming down from Bath that time though!

Photoblog:

It’s been a remarkable day and once the fog cleared we took a load of photos. Here are a few just to round off today’s blog.

Looking back towards Portishead

No boundaries!

We are so handsome, well Blue is

Matchstick people waving from the top of the cliff

Looking back down the Avon Gorge