Tue 1 Sept 2015 down Caen Hill in the sun
Hoorah! The sun was shining this morning, so John walked down and set the first four locks, then checked that Rob and Nick on Westie, our companion Springer narrow boat today, were ready. We found a handful of Canal and River Trust (CRT) volunteers ready to help, so this made our descent much easier. Start 0845, sixteen locks later at 1040 we were down the 'thick' and onto the last six locks before Foxhangers marina.
The sun beat down on our backs for a change, so Liana and I filled Annie with water before mooring and enjoying a well deserved lunch at the Three Magpies. Ellie and Michael Alderdice should be joining us tomorrow, for a trip towards Bradford on Avon. Meanwhile, red wine and a good book seem a good idea!
Rain poured all night and so we delayed our departure and visited the town centre to enjoy the Carnival and shop for a few bits. By late afternoon we were able to take Annie down six locks and moored yards from the top lock of the famous Caen Hill flight of locks (6 then 16 close together in a 'thick', then 7 down to Foxhangers. The evening sun allowed us to take a few photos as we walked around and enjoyed the view from the hilltop. Rob and Nick asked us to go down with them tomorrow at 0900.
Sun 30 Aug 2015 Pewsey to Devizes
Thursday 27 Aug Newbury westwards
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| Annie at the beautiful moorings at Victoria Park, Newbury |
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| horse boat Kennet Valley |
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| horse boat Kennet Valley |
Wed 26 August Woolhampton to Newbury
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Liana on the long cut, Thatcham
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| Liana with Annie and Mistral VII moored at Victoria Park, Newbury |
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| Liana at Newbury Lock |
Tue 25 August Burghfield to Woolhampton with Damian
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| The Cunning Man pub moorings, Burghfield |
Leaving the car at Burghfield Island Boat Club by kind permission, John bumped the boat at Burghfield lock, which must be one of the cheaply restored locks, as it is made from heavy duty pilings with a large balk of timber sticking out before and after each gate to protect it - oops! You can see one below.
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| I banged against the other outer big timber post which sticks out to protect the gate |
We met Damian Wilson and his cruiser Mistral VII. Damian came with us through the nine varied locks today, so John had to be careful to rope Annie to protect his fragile craft.
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Garston Turf sided lock
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| Rails or scrawny bollard to tie onto |
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| Sheffield lock - scallop sided |
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Liana and Damian Wilson with his boat Mistral VII at Padworth Lock
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We learned that Damian is a musician and singer with a prog metal band called Threshold, and was heading to Frankfurt to perform in a few days. I promised to look them up, and I have - they have some good musicians and write good songs, much more musical than many metal bands; and Damian has an excellent voice. Personally, I think the more lyrical numbers and his acoustic work show off his voice best, both with Threshold and the Damian Wilson Band. (Led Zepp fan talking here ....)
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| Damian and Mistral VII |
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Liana in the rain at Padworth Lock
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| Dutch Barge at Aldermaston Wharf |
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| Aldermaston lift bridge |
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| Aldermaston Lock and lift bridge, looking back |
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The tree comes first!
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Woolhampton Lock was definitely dodgy! As John brought Annie towards the lock the strong cross current swept her sideways, so he had to gun the engine and point into the current to zoom into the lock, which had both gates wide open, ready.
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| The strong current sweeps in from under the bridge below the lock at Woolhampton |
Mon 24 Aug Family visits and back to Annie
Leaving cat Jessica at home, we popped in to see Flo in Nottingham and daughters Sarah and Rachel in Leicester, including Rachel's new house. Rachel and her friends are working hard for her and friend Annie to move in this week with dog Honeypie.
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| Annie moored at Burghfield Island Boat Club |
We were both ready for bed at Burghfield after a very wet and hectic journey down M1, M25 and M4.
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