Highs/lows and other stuff

The summer high for me, without a shadow of doubt, was the spotting of a Bittern on the   Staffordshire and Worcester Canal, followed by the repeated sightings of brand new, shiny Airbus "Guppies" in the Chester area ( later attributed to their production nearby ).

We had an excellent meal at Sutton Hall, on the Macclesfield canal, and another at  La Dolce Vita        (Italian)  in Stone on the Trent and Mersey.  Sutton hall, in addition to a large menu, offers tons of history and lovely gardens, whilst the Italian has lovely food and service to die for.

Whilst on the subject of food my return weight is the same as on my departure, whilst my body shape has changed for the better with a lot of my old muscle returned. Lynne has lost weight too and changed body shape, again for the better. Healthy living and healthy food, eh?

The lows have to be the loss of Sadie, (who remains unaccounted for) and Lynne Phoebe and myself falling in. (But we can laugh about it now)

Marina, home and review

RWe have an unusual view from our windows this morning

We are on a pontoon space very close to the marina workshops. The boat pictured is waiting to enter the workshops and is tied to a tree, but will move soon apparently. It has stopped raining too.

The day turned out to be great for cruising, warm and sunny. Typical of our luck. In fact it was so warm I had my hair cut ( which one? I hear you say ) and spent the afternoon de-weeding the garden. Both hair and garden look much tidier, even though I do say so myself. As expected the car failed to start this morning ( flat battery ) but jump leads, the workshop battery and fitters quickly rectified the problem, allowing us to get most of our clothing and parafinalia home, including Phoebe, who seems to take absolutely everything in her stride.

As a result of our travels during the summer, which covered canals new to us and others re-visited after many years, I have changed my canal recommendations as follows;

1) Macclesfield

2) Peak Forest

3) Llangollen

4) Bridgewater

5) Monmouthshire & Brecon

6)Shropshire Union

7) Coventry

9) Birmingham and Fazeley

The above are personal choices by myself and Lynne, but obviously everyone has their own preferences.

Canals best avoided ;

1) Worcester and Birmingham ( unless you are a lock/fitness fanatic and appreciate that teenagers will be teenagers.

2) Birmingham ( as above ).

Coventry, Fradley and thermals

Following yesterday's debacle I prepared myself fully for cruising In freezing rain, fully encased in the thermal suit (old man Steptoe style) thoughtfully bought as an Xmas present by Lynne. I can confirm it works brilliantly, although toilet trips are something of an adventure to say the least, but at least I can feel my extremities at all times.

Today is warmer and windier than yesterday, but unfortunately just as wet. Making the most of dry spells we cruised to Fradley Junction and beyond for lunch in very windy sunshine on the Trent & Mersey, having received an uninvited lesson on lock use from one of those "I know everything about everything" people you occasionally meet when you least want to. I play deaf and nod a lot, which seems to boost their ego's, if not their intelligence.

We have decided to address our electrical problems head-on and taken on board (sorry) lots of advice and contact numbers for the end of our trip.

Talking of the end of our trip we are back in the marina and it is raining heavily. We intend eating in the Waterfront pub and sleeping aboard tonight.

It was noticeable on the way back the lock paddles on the Trent and Mersey work so much better than those on prevous canals travelled this summer, so congratulations where it is due, Canal and River Trust. Next target Tardebigge flight? Not that we intend repeating that exercise anytime soon.

CC Huddlesford .

Light rain greeted us this morning so we opted to cruise towards Fradley Junction and, ultimately, home. Drizzle and monsoon downpours alternated until we capitulated near Hopwas. Once we had stopped the rain did also but we delayed responding to it's beckoning initially as we required more substantial evidence of it's intentions.

Once convinced we set off again and, of course, it rained again. I opted to continue but had to stop when I began suffering with severe cold and poor balance, making my being on the stern unsafe. A routine blood test confirmed I was on the verge of a hypo, stuffed with chocolate and dispatched to the warmth of my bed while Lynne continued our journey.

I awoke somewhat confused, expecting breakfast, but in fact it was late afternoon and still lightly raining. We are moored near Huddlesford. Bad light prevented moving on so we have opted for an early start, weather permitting. I am fine now I know I am in present time. I'll sort out my thermals for the morning.

Coventry canal. Fazeley

Cold, wet and windy, but enough of my troubles. The weather is identical. During a dry break we slunk away from Bodymoor Heath, our home for two days, and cruised to Fazeley Junction where we joined the Coventry canal in pouring rain. Bizarrely we waited for the rain to ease before filling with water , disposing of rubbish and emptying the cassettes before the mother of all heavy showers arrived to fully test our wet weather gear. I can confirm It all works well, but Wellington boots are not ideal for gripping boat metalwork. The last pit stop this trip? We moved on to more salubrious moorings during the next cloud break.

An unusual footbridge on the Coventry canal.

Bodymoor Heath to Fazeley

A boaters nightmare, we were greeted with heavy rain and winds this morning. The forecast says it will brighten-up later this morning so we will need to be patient. Has my early night replenished my batteries? It is too soon to say. Mentally I am tickety- boo, it was my physical condition needing replenishment, but I have had little opportunity to test it yet.

By mid-afternoon there was little improvement so we have opted to stay put. I returned to bed after breakfast and got up for lunch, it's a tough life this retirement. Those Tardebigge locks and subsequent Birmingham locks obviously took their toll. Yesterday we cleared another 8 locks and have another 3 to get through before a long cruising section, maybe tomorrow? The Birmingham & Fazeley appears to be entering a pleasant countryside location from here on, which will make a pleasant change from suburbia and industrial units over recent days.

Our old electrical problems have mysteriously returned, with insufficient power left in the batteries to trigger the central heating boiler into life in the mornings, however long we have cruised for during the day. Where possible we try to run the engine for half an hour before retiring to bed at night, which seems to overcome the problem but this is not always convenient if moored close to another boat. Hence our preference to moor alone in the middle of nowhere ( very anti-social but at least we wake with warm extremities ) The logical conclusion is to let MCC investigate under warranty, but as their electrical knowledge you could fit on a post-it note we have little confidence in their conclusion, if any.  Frustrating and annoying are under- statements.

Birmingham & Fazeley

Birmingham had the last laugh (or two) before we made our escape. Firstly it chucked it down with rain. So keen were we to leave that we dressed in our waterproof gear for the first time this trip, but as soon as we hit spaghetti junction, dripping wet and cold, we were bathed in warm sunshine. Secondly we collected a black refuge sack, a shoppers carrier bag and contents around our propeller. Almost as if Birmingham was sticking two fingers up at us.

We are moored on the change between suburbia and countryside on the Birmingham and Fazeley canal, which has been an enjoyable experience so far, and only 3 locks, one of which I dragged 3 very worn car tyres from and a dead tree from another. A good Sunday lunch in the Dog and Doublet with two boaters met this morning, Pauline and Gary, which "lost" the afternoon with exchanged boating stories. Prior to lunch we had tackled 8 closely grouped locks, by which time I was physically drained. 

An early night is called for.