34th Meadvale Explorer Scouts, Day One.

Saturday 12^th July, 2014 at Knowle.

A bright, warm day dawned. How fortuitous for the Scouts’ visit! The 34^th Reigate (Meadvale) Scout Group is based next door to our house back home and we have always supported the group as much as possible. Two years ago, we had a party of eight come to join us for a weekend on the K&A . Last year, their busy schedule meant that there was not a free weekend, but they immediately booked themselves in for this year.

This is a very special weekend for them in that it is Spence’s last working weekend with the 34^th after thirty-six years in charge and we feel very privileged that he’s spending it with us.

We moved MM down to the water point above the top lock and filled up with water whilst waiting for them to arrive.

They arrived on time at 9.30am and they were pleased to see the sunshine as they had driven up through thick fog.  The group of six was made up of three Leaders and three Explorer Scouts. Each had a nickname on the back of their T-shirts, the names are chosen by their peers to reflect their image. The leaders were Spence – “Carthorse”, James – “Mechanic” and Mitchell – “Nunn Chuck”. The Scouts were Joe – “Clueless”, Rob – “Harry Potter” and Will – “Fidget”. Both Spence and Will had joined us on MM in 2012.

After a short briefing from R on lock procedures and general safety, we set off down the flight of five Knowle locks.

The lads soon picked up the workings of these locks with their odd, rather drunken looking, paddles, so typical of the Grand Union.

M was certainly glad of their youth and strength because the paddles were very stiff. 

We doubled up with n.b. “Halcyon”, crewed by a very pleasant couple Ian and Sue. They too were very glad of the Scouts’ help as this was their first ever trip on their new shared boat!

At each lock, one Scout took the tiller and steered MM in to the next lock, one held the rope in the bow and the others did the lock. Then they would rotate, so that they all had a chance to do each job.

After the bottom lock, we sailed on down the canal about a mile to the festival site, where R turned MM around and dropped off the Scouts so that they could walk up the towpath and visit the festival.

R had to sail back a quarter of a mile past all the moored boats to find a free space to moor, then he and M went up to join the Scouts at the festival.

The festival was crowded and buzzing; it was a joy to see all the trade boats doing good business. Best of all, was to see that our friends Helen and Andy, on their marmalade boat “Wand'ring Bark” with their new Butty “Jam Butty”, were doing a roaring trade. We bought four jars of their wonderful marmalade and two of their home made cordials.

Spence was bitterly disappointed that the cheese boat, which we had described to him in glowing terms, was not there (despite being in the programme)!

We all spent a couple of hours wandering round the various stalls and chatting to people. M had a “real” hot dog, that she said was delicious and the lads ended up seeking refreshment in the Black Boy Pub beside the canal to accompany their packed lunches.

It was very hot by the time we went back to MM.  The lads took a great interest in the engine and the technical side of narrowboating.

To M’s amusement, a pair of mating dragonflies alighted on Mitchell’s hat – caught in the act, you might say!

By now the lads were old hands at locks but, even so, they were suprised at the turbulence as the lock filled. 

Before we knew it, we were back at the top of the five Knowle locks.

We had to go two miles up the canal to find a winding (turning) hole and, as the lads were keen to try steering MM on long stretches, they all came with us; those who were not steering took the opportunity to relax on the roof in the sunshine.

R turned MM in the winding hole and by 5:30 we were back at the same mooring as last night. The lads went off to their campsite about seven miles away, hoping to get their tents up before the rain which was forecast for later in the evening.

Sadly, we had to say cheerio to James as he was not able to stay for the Sunday, but the other five will be back again tomorrow.

It was an absolutely super day and we hope that they all enjoyed it as much as we did.

Today: 6 miles, 10 locks and 5.0 hours.

Trip: 63 miles, 43 locks and 38.5 hours.