Back on the canals

Catch up after my week at home.  A very enjoyable week, including a game of golf, a hospital appointment, car through its MOT and a visit to Andrew Barclay (my superb butcher at Wincanton) for some vacuum packed meat to bring back to the boat.  A little aside.  When we first moved to Henstridge Andrew was recommended as a good butcher.  When we first went to his shop we looked at each other and there was a sort of “I know you” look but nothing was said.  After a couple of visits we were chatting and I mentioned we used to have a village shop.  Yes, he said, “at Woodgreen – I used to sell you your meat!”.  We had only been in the butchers in the next village, where he worked, a couple of times as the order was placed over the phone.  Hence only the initial vague recognition.  It is indeed a small world.

Although I enjoyed much of my week at home, I was very glad to get back to the boat.  It felt right.  Also, while at home, I felt the loss of Lisa greatly and there was quite a lot of sadness, including a very blubby phone call to my cousin, Margaret (thank you).  Confirms I made the correct decision to buy the boat and get on with the rest of my life.

On with the blog.

Monday 29 April

In the morning, before taking the car back, I finally got round to cutting off my fenders.  Some of the narrow locks (and especially on the Llangollen, where I was heading next) are a bit tight so it is necessary to lift the fenders (mine are pipe fenders about a foot long and a couple of inches diameter).  Trouble was they kept falling off the gunwales and dropping back down.  In fact I had got a bit stuck in the last lock going down to the marina and had had to give her the full welly to get out.  I had bought new rope and spring clips to enable the fenders to be easily attached and detached, so job done.

It was pretty windy (canal boats being flat bottomed do a good impression of a sail when it is windy) and reversing out of my mooring and turning in a tight space between other moored boats was not going to be easy.  The tiller has no effect when reversing so to control the boat one has to give a quick burst forward to get the boat turning in the desired direction, then back into reverse, while the wind either aids, or seemingly more usually, tries to do the opposite.  Some boats are fitted with a bow thruster, which shoots a jet of water out of either side of the bows, much aiding manoeuvrability - unfortunately, I do not have one.  Anyway, I managed pretty well and as I completed my turn and started up the canal a moored boater, who had been watching, asked "Have you got a bow thruster?".  Rather proudly I replied "No".

Made the short trip to the Barbridge Inn to partake of another helping of their excellent belly of pork, followed by a half portion of the cheeseboard (I had seen how big it was on my previous visit).  The helping of 4 grapes was a bit mean, though!  The food and a couple of glasses of wine means my weeks eating out budget has almost been blown!

 Amusing entertainment was provided by a dog, from a boat moored across from me, wanting to play with a swan.  The dog would jump at the swan in the way that dogs do.  The swan would reach up and try to bite the dog.  The dog then runs to the other end of the boat, the swan follows on the water, round the boat.  Repeat in other direction.  The boat owner told me the swan (which is named Hector) lost his mate a little while ago - swans usually mate for life.  This was his new friend to play with!  At least he gets very well fed.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 30 April

Not far until the turn onto the Llangollen and the immediate flight of 4 locks but there is a hire boat right in the middle of the lock moorings and no-one in sight.  Manage to get tied up behind them but my stern is sticking out a bit into the main channel.  Fortunately the helmsman returned before any more boats arrived.  He is Finnish and does not speak English.  Oh dear.  Some hire companies really do not give enough instruction.  With a bit of sign language and the boat pole I manage to get him off the bank and, more importantly, stop him hitting my boat.  After a few bangs he manages to get his boat into the first lock where, fortunately, the volunteer lockie has arrived to assist.  Turns out they had asked a boat about to come down what they had to do and they had suggested they go and seek the lock-keeper's assistance – hence no-one on the boat when I arrived.  More of them later.

A lovely day and the wind has gone so I found a nice spot to sit out with my lunch of ham salad rolls.

Pleasingly, the canal was much quieter than I thought it would be with very few boats on the move.  Undoubtedly it will be busier next week with the bank holiday.

 Saw my first ducklings and did my good deed for the day.  

There was a lamb in the canal, vainly crying for its Mum, who was calling out "I'm here come this way".  To no avail, as there is a flow on the Llangollen and lambs are not renowned for their swimming ability. It could not fight the flow and would gradually get further and further away until the inevitable happened.  I moored up but the lamb moved away to the other side of the canal as I approached.  I heard a tractor in the adjacent field and managed to attract the farmers attention.  "Sh**, I had to wade in to get the last one out".  Fortunately, he managed the retrieval without full immersion and lamb and mother were soon reunited.  The lamb was not standing but he thought it was just cold (and probably exhausted) and would probably be OK.

I had chatted briefly to the couple on the next boat and later they knocked on the door and asked if I wanted to go for a pint.  Very nice couple and I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours chatting with them and the friendly locals.  Even missed my favourite TV programme, Stargate SG1.

7.5 miles, 9 locks, 1 lift bridge

More soon.