George
Stourport on Severn – What’s not to love?
We went to Stourport-on-Severn today for the first time ever but by car, not by boat. What a fabulous place! The town had the feel of a seaside resort about it without having a seafront. So for me at least, being in a compact area on a hot sunny summer’s day with a canal, some canal basins, a river, a funfair with traditional rides and a Wetherspoons, I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. I knew that I hadn’t because there was no sign of a sausage roll tree anywhere. No more text, just a few pictures.
Back to the marina
After another peaceful night’s sleep, we got up and got dressed around nine o’clock. Rather than go on to bridge 107 to turn, I thought that I would reverse the 400 yards or so back to the winding hole which nestles almost hidden in the middle of offside long term moorings. The towpath side behind us was completely empty and I almost considered pulling Caxton back by hand but decided against it, preferring to use engine and bow thruster. No sooner than I had untied, a GRP cruiser appeared under the bridge in front of us so I waited until it had passed by before engaging reverse gear. Unbelievably, they pulled in about twenty feet behind us and started to tie up! This meant that I had to get mid channel before I could pass them and in the meantime two narrowboats appeared from the front and one from behind. I patiently waited until everyone had gone past and started my move into the middle of the cut, as soon as I had, the couple on the tupperware boat cruiser, untied and set off again, unbelievable behaviour again!!!
After that, it was a relatively easy reverse back to the winding hole where we turned Caxton around and headed back to the junction. It was warm and humid as we chugged past the line of boats moored opposite the Boathouse although the pub moorings themselves were empty, maybe not too surprising as it was only 10.30am.
As usual we entered the marina from the private entrance and then reversed on to our berth. After securing Caxton to the pontoon and doing the necessary chores, we took a walk up to the Admiral Nelson and had lunch. By the time we returned, the washing machine had finished its cycle so Sue hung the washing out to dry in the cratch. We then gathered the very few things that we needed to take home, locked the doors and left the marina by car.
Susan’s Bread Recipe
Sue loves baking and in particular, she loves making bread. She has produced all sorts of flavoured loaves and used lots of different flour, however my favourite is a good crusty white loaf so I’ve persuaded her to share the recipe here.
Ingredients
500 grms good quality strong white flour
1 sachet Hovis fast action yeast
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon Coffee whitener(optional)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
300ml tepid water
Method
Mix all of the dry ingredients together before adding the water and the oil then mix it altogether using a knife.
Flour the worktop and put the dough on it then knead for ten minutes.
Place the dough into a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. This should take around an hour.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for a few seconds to knock the air back out.
Form the dough into a ball and place on a well floured baking tray.
Cover with a clean damp tea towel and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size again.
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7 (200 C)
Using a sharp knife, make a couple of light cuts across the top of the loaf.
Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes until the crust is brown.
Remove the loaf from the oven, turn it over and tap it underneath and it should have a hollow sound. If it doesn’t have a hollow sound, return the loaf to the oven and bake for another five minutes.
Once the loaf is baked, Sue usually turns the loaf upside down and returns it to the oven for another five minutes to give the loaf a good crust on the bottom as well.
Animal Husbandry
Yesterday evening as we sat in the cratch, Sue became aware of a cow lying under some trees at the bottom of the field on the opposite side of the canal to us. She was very concerned about the animal’s welfare whereas I was convinced that it had just found a shady area to lie down in.
We went to bed and slept until 4am when we were awoken by a thunderstorm. Eventually we got back to sleep and didn’t wake up until nine o’clock. It was still raining so we had coffee in bed while we caught up with the news and checked out the weather forecast. We eventually got up, showered and dressed and Sue discovered that the cow hadn’t moved since the night before. It was clear to see that the BBC/Met office were completely wrong again (heavy rain forecast, blue skies above) so we untied and set off until we reached bridge 79 where we were able to tie up and walk up Barby hill to the farm where we reported that we had seen a cow in some sort of distress. The farmer confessed that he had not checked his herd the night before but he knew which cow it was because he said that it had been sick for the last couple of days. As we walked away from the farmhouse, the farmer zoomed past us on a quad bike, driving in the direction of the stricken animal.
We returned to Caxton, untied and carried on with our journey. It was warm and humid as we travelled along the Barby straight before we turned around at the winding hole next to the B&B next to the Kilsby lane road bridge. Once turned, we opened the bar and then Sue made some bread, the granite worktops being ideal for kneading dough on.
When we reached Onley and the spot that we had left earlier in the day, we saw that the cow was no longer there, we’ll never know what it’s fate was but at least we know that one way or another, it’s suffering is over. Sue of course is still feeling that she should have done something last night that would have prevented the beast lying in the field overnight.
We carried on with our journey and then reached Braunston turn where we took the right hand fork on to the G.U. Oxford section. We pulled up just beyond the winding hole and moored for the night, there has been the odd shower since but nothing to merit the amber warning issued by the Met Office for this area.
Gone to jail!
Not quite, we’ve just moored near Onley, that’s all!
As has become our recent custom since we brought Caxton to Braunston, we travelled to the marina on thursday evening. Unlike our time with Phoenix III when we used to cart bags and bags of stuff between house and boat, we now manage with just a few bits from the fridge and maybe a small bag of other belongings, so well set up is Caxton. We were late to bed but were awoken just after three by the sound of torrential rain and loud thunder which was backlit by a terrific lightning show. I was in a deep sleep when my alarm went off at six and I wasn’t at all happy. It’s not that I mind going to work, it’s just that when I am at home I very rarely hear the alarm because I usually wake up before it goes off. I enjoy a better quality of sleep on the boat and in fairness, the same was true on Phoenix III, I’m not sure of the exact reason but it’s a fact. The only facts that I was sure about this morning was that I had to get up for work and that I didn’t want to! I did get up of course and like a good boy, I went off to work.
A mid morning downpour preceded the start of the warmest day of the year so far with the temperature on the outskirts of Coventry reaching 30.5 c.
I got out eventually and made my way back to Braunston where Sue was waiting. She had washed and dried the bedding, been up to the village shop and still had time to spend with her friend Jane before Jane had to collect her children from school.
I got changed into shorts and T-shirt, we made ready and escaped from the marina. Once out on the cut, we made our way on to the North Oxford and headed in the direction of Rugby. There were a couple of boats ahead of us, too close together really and they came to grief when they met another two boats heading south at bridge 83. The first of the northbounds got through but the second had to make an abrupt stop to let the southbound boats through the bridge. The first through could have passed quite easily but headed into the bank for some strange reason causing a log jam. While this was all going on, I brought Caxton to a halt on the offside and waited. With both southbound boats through the bridge and the northbound boat on the towpath side getting entangled with them, a clear path opened up for us so I eased Caxton into forward gear and just gently left them all to it. A short while later we found our mooring for the night close to the prison and YOI at Onley.
There is another storm forecast for tonight so we might be in for another spectacular show.
Yet another lazy weekend!
Regular readers will have realised that we are dividing our time almost equally between living in our house and on board Caxton. We stopped off at the marina on Thursday morning before continuing our journey by road to Pinewood studios to watch the recording of an episode of “Through the Keyhole” which will be broadcast next month. We arrived back at Braunston around 9.30pm, settled in and went to bed.
Friday dawned and I got up and went to work, well one of us has to! Sue, meanwhile pottered around and did some shopping in the village. On her way back she spotted nb Yarwood being tied up just outside the marina by Joe and Lesley who of course were the original designers and owners of Caxton. We had briefly made their acquaintance on the weekend of the Braunston Historic Boat Rally so Sue said hello and was invited in and enjoyed a glass of wine with her hosts. I of course was oblivious to all of this as I toiled away at work trying to keep the country going. Eventually I finished what I had to do and returned to Braunston where Sue was waiting, sunning herself in the cratch with a glass of wine. Our plan had been to take Caxton out but we popped back to Yarwood and spent a few hours with Joe and Lesley instead. The conversation flowed well and we covered many subjects from Scottish independence to life afloat. We got a great insight into the economics of being a liveaboard from our new friends, reinforcing our belief that our plans for the future are the right ones. Joe gave me the stem to stern tour of Yarwood and I have to say that it really is a superb vessel, completely different to Caxton in most ways but with some of the same characteristics evident. Eventually we had to say goodbye but not before we made some tentative arrangements to meet up next week and go out for a meal with the pair. The time had flown by so when we returned to Caxton it was after seven o’clock and a bit too late to venture out. We had dinner in the cratch, lit by the late evening sunshine.
When we awoke on Saturday it was already very warm inside Caxton, a bit too warm and a quick glance outside revealed why. The sun was beating down from a clear blue sky so we got up and got dressed and by nine o’clock we were pulling out of the marina and on to the Grand Union. We had a brief conversation as we left with Paul, the marina manager, mainly about the lemon drizzle cake that Sue had made for the office staff last week.
This was the sort of day that we all love boating and as a result there were a lot of us about. We made our way on to the Oxford and headed towards Rugby and eventually reached the locks at Hillmorton. The descent was easy with enough boats moving in each direction between the locks to reduce the work for everyone. Once clear of the bottom lock, we passed the long term moorings and the water points before finding our mooring at the end of the armco piling. We toyed with the idea of walking into Hillmorton but it was so hot that we decided to sit in the cratch where there was a bit of shade instead. The afternoon slipped by and slowly gave way to an early evening which in turn made the transition to a sunset which at last brought a coolness to the air. So that was it, we had managed to while away yet another day doing bugger all!
Before bedtime, I switched on my iPad and tapped on the Newsify app. This is a news aggregator which picks up a series of RSS feeds of the users choice. I have a number of boating blogs that I follow and I find that this is the easiest way to keep up with my “correspondents” as I like to think of them. I read that Steve and Chris on board nb AmyJo had begun their big cruise which would move their boat from Crick to Tattenhall. They had reached Braunston where, like us 24 hours earlier, they had found Yarwood and spent some time with Joe and Lesley.
After a good night’s sleep we awoke to see that the weather had changed again and we faced a dull and damp morning. It was dry so we got ready and set off again hoping to turn just beyond Clifton wharf which is marked in the Nicholsons guide as a full length turning point. It isn’t as we found out when we tried to wind Caxton there half an hour after we had untied, perhaps there were no boats moored in the old arm when the guide was written. We motored on until we reached Rugby wharf, yet another disused loop from the original canal but one in which we were able to turn Caxton around. I thought that it might be worth trying to buy some diesel so once turned, we headed into the arm itself. This was our first time down there and we were surprised at how far it was before we reached the end. Sue got off and went to find some signs of life, she returned with the news that there is no-one around to sell diesel on Sundays. Unfortunately the heavens had opened and with me in the process of turning Caxton in the winding hole, we both ended up getting wet. As soon as Sue was back on board, the rain stopped of course but with it being warm, we both dried out soon enough. We re-emerged onto the cut and turned again in the winding hole, our third turnaround in fifteen minutes! We began our journey back to Braunston by picking our way through the bridges and moorings between Brownsover and Clifton. The sky remained cloudy until we reached the bottom lock at Hillmorton and as soon as we pulled up on the lock landing, there was a sharp shower so we donned our raincoats and started our ascent. Since Sue had her operation, she isn’t allowed to work the locks so I took my windlass and got to work. Sue recognised the lock keeper who we had met at Foxton last year and who was moored in Market Harborough basin, he has now been promoted and is based at Braunston where he is in charge of 126 volunteer lock keepers as well as the locks between Hillmorton and Buckby.
Fortunately there were more boats coming down the flight than going up so our progress was fairly good. When I walked up to the top lock there was a restored working boat already in the chamber with the crew just about to open the bottom paddles. It took some time to drain the lock, the boat left and Sue began her approach. In the meantime a boat had arrived on the top lock landing and I recognised its distinctive colours, it was nb AmyJo and striding towards me was Chris with windlass in hand. Of course we’ve never met before and I had the advantage of seeing their boat before she saw ours but I went to her and said hello. Steve brought AmyJo into one lock as Sue brought Caxton into the other and we all had a bit of a disjointed conversation as we worked the two locks together. The photos of AmyJo look great but in real life, even under a dull sky, it looks amazing – a fantastic paint job. Sadly we didn’t get to spend any more time with Steve and Chris but we will continue to follow their exploits through their blog posts.
After Hillmorton we plodded along without incident, the sky gradually clearing as we made our way back to Braunston. Six hours after we had untied, we were tying up on our pontoon in the marina, a weekend that had seen us make new friends who share the same interests as us and who write about their adventures on blogs like this. We bumped into our favourite lock keeper and we explored an extra bit of the Oxford canal in the form of the Rugby Wharf arm.
Singing in the rain
It’s the weekend of the Braunston Historic Boat Rally so we moved on to Caxton on Wednesday evening, stopping off at The Boathouse for dinner. We could see that there was some sort of private function going on in one of the marquees but otherwise it was quiet.
On Thursday morning I got up and went to work in Coventry for the day. It was gone five o’clock when I returned to the marina and I could immediately see how Sue had spent her day, the port side of Caxton reflected light like a mirror, it looks like the Greased Lightning product is as good as its reviews.
I got changed and then turned Caxton around on its mooring, a tricky move but it was executed beautifully and of course there was not one single person around to witness it. Once we had re-tied, I gave the starboard side of Caxton a good clean down ready for a coat of Greased Lightning.
We had dinner and then walked over to the beer tent to watch the play, a production call “The Bad Pennies”, performed by the Day Star Theatre Company. It was a very good show as usual but we were pretty tired and were glad to return to Caxton once it was finished.
I awoke briefly at 2.30 to the sound of torential rain battering on the roof of the boat but by the time my alarm went off at 6am, it was dry again. I went to work in Coventry again and despite my best efforts, didn’t manage to escape any earlier than normal. It had rained for most of the day so Caxton’s starboard side remained un-polished. We had dinner and then walked over to the beer tent where we met up with Mike, Jane, two of their three children and Jane’s dad, John. Mike and Jane live in the building that was once the Braunston bakery (it is the house with the Hovis sign on it for those who know Braunston). We had a drink then gave them a tour of Caxton before returning to the beer tent where we listened to the band playing there. The heavens opened again and the tent quickly filled with revellers from outside escaping from the rain. We all had a good singalong with the band until they had to stop at half past eleven.
It was overcast but dry when we got up on Saturday so I got up and emptied the cassettes before too many visitors arrived. We filled the water tank before we got ready and ventured out just after ten o’clock. There didn’t seem to be as many traders this year and there definitely wasn’t as many artists displaying their works. We returned to Caxton where Sue cooked some bacon and sandwiched it in a couple of bread buns that she had baked the day before. We took up our position in the cratch where we could watch the parade and shelter from the rain.
It absolutely hammered down for the duration of the parade and as the time went on, the crowds just dwindled and dwindled until there was only a handful of stalwarts left on the bridge. Like the number of traders, there seemed to be far fewer boats on parade than in previous years at this event. Within minutes of the parade ending, the rain stopped and shortly afterwards the sun came out. We watched the second parade with the cratch covers rolled up but it wasn’t too long before the rain came again so we called it a draw and retreated to the comfort of Caxton’s lounge where we just dossed for a while before we watched the Brazil v Chile match on television.
We knew that this year, the Mikron theatre group were performing in the beer tent at five o’clock and assumed that there would be some sort of musical act following on into the evening. The group turned out to be a very noisy tribute band. We didn’t go to listen to them, we didn’t need to, we could hear every word from inside the boat. I walked over to see what was going on at about nine o’clock, the noise was unbelievable and the tent was nowhere near as full as I would have expected.
On returning to Caxton I did a bit of boater’s blog reading and saw that our boat’s original owners, Joe and Lesley were at Flecknoe and heading towards Braunston. I left a comment on their blog to the effect that their old boat was in the marina and that if they were passing on Sunday, maybe they could stop by and say hello. I neglected to mention this to Sue so she was rather surprised on Sunday morning when there was a knock on the side of the boat, the penny dropped quickly when she saw Lesley and recognised her from pictures on their blog. We chatted to them and to their two friends who were with them for a little while and then said our farewells and let them go and enjoy the boat rally.
The weather had greatly improved by comparison to the day before so we just spent the morning looking at the boats before walking along the towpath to Braunston turn. This of course is where the rally boats have to turn around so we lingered for a while and watched the action from on top of one of the twin iron bridges that span the junction. All that was left to do was to call in at Midland Chandlers to buy a new chimney and a cartridge for the water filter. This done, we stopped off at the Boathouse for a refreshment or two before making our way back to the marina. We spotted Mike, Jane, Olivia and John who were sitting in the sunshine having a drink. We joined them and listened to the live music until everything finished at five thirty. That was it, the Historic Boat Rally was over for another year so we wandered back to Caxton and sat in the cratch, faced the west and took in the beautiful evening sunshine.
The Road to Hell
Is paved with good intentions, or so they say.
Our intention this weekend had been to stay in the marina so that we could wash and polish Caxton. We changed our minds and decided to go out and take advantage of the warm, sunny weather. We arrived at Braunston just after four o’clock and emerged on to the cut less than an hour later.
The weather was absolutely glorious and perfect for boating. The Boathouse looked busy as we passed by but once again the pub moorings were completely empty, very strange. As we turned left at the junction, a Napton boat was just passing under the other bridge, heading north on the Oxford – or so we thought. The boat went straight across so that the bow rested on the opposite bank where a crew member jumped off and started wrestling with the bow line. Perhaps they had intended turning towards the locks and taken the junction like a road junction? We’ll never know because neither they nor the boat that had been travelling towards the turn from the north appeared under the arches of the cast iron bridges by the time they were out of view to us.
We plodded on until we reached the spot where we had moored the previous Saturday. We soon located the rings and secured Caxton’s mooring lines to them. We ate dinner in the cratch and enjoyed the evening sun until it disappeared and the air became chilly.
Saturday, the longest day of the year dawned and as the sun rose, the boat started to warm up so we got up and dressed and then prepared for our departure. In contrast to the stillness of Friday, a welcome breeze accompanied us as we journeyed towards Wigrams turn. Sue made me a nice bit of bacon and egg and then took over the steering while I sat down to eat, a good Captain knows how to get the best out of her crew!
The top lock at Calcutt was full and as we descended, two boats left the middle lock heading up so we made easy passage. The same thing happened for us in the middle lock, one of the boats ascending was a Willow Wren training boat but we didn’t get a chance to witness any instruction. We had to close the bottom gate of the third lock as there was nothing approaching it but we had been lucky and despite having no other boat to partner us through the locks, we had passed through very quickly.
Once we were clear of the last lock, Sue took the opportunity to stretch her legs with a walk to the next bridge where I picked her up again. We motored on until we reached the recently renovated Nelson’s wharf and the home of Willow Wren Training. We made use of the wharf, winding Caxton and then reversing to the nearest available mooring spot with an unobstructed view of the canal. We sat in the cratch, partially shaded from the strong sun, listening to music and just basically lazing the afternoon away. At six o’clock with the fierce heat of the sun having subsided, we wandered down to the Blue Lias and had dinner in the beer garden there. On returning to Caxton, I crashed out on the settee and that was it for me for the night. I did wake a couple of hours later and drag myself into bed!
After a good thirteen hours asleep, I awoke refreshed. As Sue said, I must have needed the sleep. We got up, got showered and got dressed before having a cooked breakfast on the front deck in the mid morning sunshine.
Shortly after eleven we decided that we should probably make a start on the four hour trip back to Braunston so we untied and set off. These are the sort of days that we all imagine when we think of boating, blue skies and gentle breezes. It took us about an hour to reach Calcutt and we shared the first two locks with a couple who moor in the marina there, they were going for diesel so we let them leave the middle lock first and waited while they manouevered into position. We swapped over with a pair of boats leaving the top lock and because there was a day hire boat waiting to come in, our ascent of the three locks had been as quick and easy as our descent had been the day before. A small Sea Otter boat arrived, decided that they didn’t fancy bouncing around in the lock with the similarly sized day boat and so turned around. We had a bit of lighthearted banter with them about chickening out and creating a “plan B” and we all had a good laugh. They followed us for a short while and then turned again back towards the lock, presumably to try again with a different boat to partner them.
We soon reached the junction and held back as an American crewed Viking boat took a very wide sweep. As they passed, the steerer commented on how tough the turn was until Sue pointed out that the Kate boat following them had executed the turn much tighter.
We turned left at Wigrams and started on the very familiar route back to the marina. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of boats on the move and we eventually found ourselves in the middle of a convoy which broke up when we reached Braunston turn. We reached our berth in the marina just after three o’clock, driving in rather than reversing so that when we return on Wednesday we can wash and polish the port side of Caxton. It will then simply be a matter of turning the boat around so that we can clean the other side and have Caxton in the perfect position to view the Historic boat parade at the weekend.
Bridge 102 G.U.
We’ve tied up in exactly the same place as we did last Saturday and here is the view from the cratch. First the scenic view, then the not so scenic view.
Scenic View
Not so scenic!!!
Flecknoe
After yet another busy week travelling, we went to Braunston on thursday evening. It was quite late when we arrived but we unpacked the few bits that we had and then went shopping in Daventry. It was after nine when we got back from Tesco so not much else got done that day.
It was an early start for me as I had to drive to Basingstoke, I usually avoid travelling on Fridays, the morning traffic is normally alright but the afternoon can be problematic. This trip had to be done so I was hoping for good fortune, I’m not superstitious so the fact that it was Friday the thirteenth didn’t bother me.
Maybe it should have bothered me! The drive down took me just 90 minutes, the drive back? 4 hours! As I left Basingstoke at 1.30, I learned of a serious accident which had closed part of the M40 so I decided to try the M3/M25/M1 route but that was just as bad. Congestion on the M25 and then a big accident on the M1 forced me into the decision to leave the motorway and try the cross country route. Driving up past places like Wendover and Aylesbury took my interest but it’s a long slog and by the time I eventually reached Braunston I was knackered! Average speed – 30mph!
We decided to spend another night in the marina and let Saturday take care of itself. I should point out that Sue hadn’t been idle while I had been away, she had once again cleaned the inside from end to end. She had also been in to see Paul in the marina shop so we now know that we have a leaving date of October 20th.
It was warm but overcast when we got up on Saturday, we had coffee as usual, made our preparations and then weaved our way between the pontoons until we reached the exit on to the Grand Union. We had a slow chug past all of the boats moored between the marina and the twin bridges at the junction. Once we were round the turn, we made reasonable progress to our destination near Flecknoe at bridge 102.
We spent most of the day in the cratch with the covers up, occasionally having to close them to fend off the rain showers. There was a steady stream of boat traffic in both directions and with the bridge only a hundred yards in front, we were entertained throughout the afternoon.
We had eaten a tasty “brunch” at eleven so it was gone five before the need to eat returned, Sue producing a Caesar salad – just the job on a summer afternoon.
After dinner we locked up and took a walk up to the village of Flecknoe where we had a short refreshment stop at the Old Olive Bush.
Sue took a few photos along the way, you can see them here.
Back at the boat we just chilled for a few hours as we waited for the football to start at eleven.
We were a little bit later in waking up after our late night. We showered and had lunch before setting off and finding space to turn at Bridge 107. We were a bit concerned with so many boats around and with the bridge sitting between two blind bends but we were fortunate in having experienced boaters in front and behind us. After turning, we started our short journey back to the marina. Despite it being cool, breezy and overcast, the trip was both pleasant and uneventful and we were back on our pontoon for half past two. I completed a couple of small jobs before we gathered the very few bits that we needed to take from the boat, dropped them in the car and drove home. Next week we plan to wash and polish Caxton ready for the following weekend and the historic boat rally.