A Shark Infested Canal?

Friday 31st August, 2012 in Newbury.
At 7:00am, R was rudely awakened from his slumbers by M, who had spotted a shark in the canal! Had MM floated off to the tropics in the night? Actually, no!  R was able to return to his rest, safe in the knowledge that the shark was of the rare "cobaltus aereus" species - i.e: blue and full of wind!

No tropical shark would have been very happy, as Radio 4 announced that it had been the coldest August night on record. This has certainly been a year of record-breaking weather. In desperation, we turned on the central heating!

M watched some pigeons feasting on a breakfast of elderberries and a late brood of ducklings arrived with their Mum, cheeping eagerly for their "daily bread."

As we set off for Newbury, the trip boat skipper was winding (turning) the trip boat. Without an engine, this means a lot of hard work with a long pole, "punting" 25 tons of wide-beam. We asked him to give our best to Fred the horse but he said that it was Fred's day off and Monty was pulling the trip boat today.

We paired up through the first two locks with two Americans and two Canadians on a hire boat "Turtle Dove." They were admiring the beauty of the English countryside, which was truly looking its best in the sunshine.

They stopped for lunch and we continued on our own. For some of the way, M walked the towpath between the locks and it was a delight. She discovered yet more unfamiliar waterside wild flower species that she brought back to the boat to identify in her wild flower guide. Some of their names are curious indeed; today's species were the Somerset Skullcap, the Imperforate St John's Wort and the Water Figwort!!!

We arrived in Newbury in mid afternoon and found a mooring west of the town in the same spot as where we had moored on our way down in July. We washed MM down ready for our visitors tomorrow and then set off for the usual "few bits." R needed a large caramel latte at Costa to gird his loins for the Herculean task of carrying the two huge carrier bags back to MM. It's amazing how much you can get into two "bags for life!"
Today: 6 miles, 7 locks and 4.0 hours.
Trip: 248 miles, 255locks and 209.6 hours (360.7 total).

Two Wonderful Walks.

Thursday 30th August, 2012 in Kintbury.
As it was a lovely day, we decided to walk to a local Farm Shop that had come highly recommended. The walk was delightful. The path took us across Freeman's Marsh, a nature reserve well known for its wildlife and plant life. M had a great time identifying all the wild flowers and photographing the ones she didn't know.

This one turned out to be a Monkey-Flower (Mimulus Guttatus).
The Marsh is criss-crossed by footpaths with kissing gates, stiles and even a couple of fords.

The little River Dun winds its sparkling way through the Marsh on its way to join the Kennett at Dun Mills. It was crystal clear. Such a contrast to the muddy waters of the canal.

The pretty star-shaped white flower thriving in the water is the curiously named "Grass of Parnassus." All the way from Greece? (Panassia Palustris).

We also saw a beautiful example of "Robin's Pincushion."

Cobbs, the Farm Shop was impressive; not only did it have a "pick-your-own" but it offered an excellent array of fresh produce, both home grown and from the surrounding area.

After the obligatory coffee and cakes in the cafeteria, we staggered back with two large (and heavy) carrier bags full  of goodies including rasberries, broad beans, runner beans, home-made bread and a lamb and mint pie.
We said an affectionate farewell to Hungerford soon after midday and, after filling with water, sailed on down to Kintbury. We found a mooring close to the lock there next to nb "Mr. Bojangles" with appropriate musical decoration.

Kintbury is the home base of a horse-drawn trip boat and shortly after we arrived the trip-boat came in, pulled by "Fred," who stood happily munching grass while the trip-boat went through the lock.

It was a lovely sunny day, so we decided to go for another walk towards a place called Avington Manor. Neither of us has been doing enough walking and the countryside is so beautiful that we wanted to see more of it. We set off along a good footpath past a large farm caled Baron's Court. As we approached Avington, we ran into two small problems. One was that it started to rain and the other was that the path seemed to peter out as we were surrounded by notices saying "Private - No Footpath." What to do? We certainly didn't want to turn round and retrace our steps, not least because much of the way we had been battling with stinging nettles growing across the path. However, there was an old church at Avington (mentioned in the guide books) and a notice saying "Visitors Welcome." So we walked through the churchyard up to the church. At this point there was a path  which did not have a "Private" notice on it - so we followed that.

It led us alongside the River Kennet on beautifully maintained grassy paths, across little bridges and a vast complex of water meadows.

It must have been a huge private estate as we didn't see a soul. Whoever owns it certainly looks after it beautifully and we definitely had the feeling that we should not really have been there. This feeling was confirmed when the only way out was over a stile that again said "Private - No Footpath." It was, however, a beautiful walk.
Supper was a dish of delicious scallops and crevettes, broad beans and French beans, all purchased this morning at the Farm Shop.
Today: 3 miles, 3 locks and 2.4 hours.
Trip: 242 miles, 248 locks and 205.6 hours (356.7 total).

The Perfect Shoe Basket!

Wednesday 29th August, 2012 in Hungerford.
A very wet morning, certainly not one conducive to cruising! Whilst we didn't plan to move on from Hungerford today, we did have to move to a different mooring as we were on a "24 Hour" mooring last night.

By mid-afternoon, the rain had eased and the skies cleared. R walked into the centre of town past the Town Lock and found that there was a free mooring there, so we decided to go through the lock and moor up there. Going through the lock we had a scare. When M was closing the bottom paddle, it slipped and the windlass spun round at great speed and flew off into the air. She got a cut and a nasty bruise on her arm and another on her leg from the flying windlass. It just goes to show how careful and vigilant we always need to be. Luckily no serious damage done - but a good object lesson.
When we moored up again, we found that the boat moored close to us was called "Eleytheria," which means "Freedom" in Greek. How unusual!

We walked up to the Tutti-Pole Tea Rooms, where once again the "comely waitresses" promised in the guide book were conspicuous by their absence but the quality of the hot-buttered teacakes made up for it!

Walking back to our mooring, we were even more suprised to see nb "Barneswood," another Kingsground boat that was being built in the workshop with MM and was launched not long before MM. Canal Boat Magazine had featured "Barneswood" as their "Boat-of-the-Month" in its January edition this year. We exchanged greetings and compared notes with her owners who are on their way down to Devizes before returning back to Oxford - so we expect that we will see them again on our travels.

R walked back in to town, as we had seen a shop selling very attractive wicker baskets and we wanted one to go under the steps to put our boating shoes in. Up to now, we have been using a cardboard box and it was getting a bit tatty. He found a lovely basket that was exactly the right size!

Today: 0 miles, 1 lock and 2.1 hours. 
Trip: 239 miles, 245 locks and 203.2 hours (354.3 total).

A Unique Visit from "Hobbs"

Tuesday 28th August, 2012 at Hungerford.
A clear morning turned into a beautiful day, sunny and breezy. Our "no plan" for this week is to get as far as Newbury by the weekend, where we will moor MM in the marina while we go back to Reigate for a few days.
Last night, Karen and Jim had said that they would like to move on at about 8:30 in the morning, so we were breakfasted and ready to move well before that.  Jim came across to wish us "Good Morning" and, to his surprise, their cat "Hobbs" came too. Hobbs came right down into MM; Jim said that he had never seen Hobbs do that before on another boat. We felt very privileged!

Karen and Jim are planning to stay a few more days around Bedwyn, so we untied MM from "Ruffian" and they moved down to the water point while we re-moored MM in their space. We walked down to say cheerio to them and they showed us round "Ruffie", as they call their boat.  Hobbs is a very handsome, affectionate black and white cat, and he was adorable. How we would love to have a "ship's cat" (or two!) but our constant travelling back to Reigate makes it impossible. One day...?

There were nine locks down to Hungerford and it was pleasure to do them in sunshine and in our own time. At Cobbler's Lock (yes, that is really its name!), M met a couple out walking who told her of an excellent farm shop just across the fields, so we might walk there tomorrow - weather permitting.
The next lock was Marsh Lock, which is unique in having a swing bridge right across the middle of the lock so you have to open the bridge before entering the lock.

On the outskirts of the town was a final swing bridge and M walked ahead to check for mooring space. She didn't get far as she fell into conversation with Eileen and Dave on nb "Camali;" they remembered us from further down the canal. They were just leaving to go on to Kintbury, so we moored up in their space.
M had been running the washing machine as we were moving so once we were moored up, R put up her much loved rotary clothes line and as we set off for the town, all the towels, bras, knickers and socks were gaily flapping in the breeze. Narrowboaters have to be quite relaxed about privacy!!
It was good to shop in a large supermarket again after 10 days around little villages with only one small shop if you were lucky. Surprise, surprise we bumped into Karen, who had taken the train into Hungerford from Bedwyn to do some work - long time no see!
We had a nice relaxed evening, enjoying for supper some of the lovely home-grown vegetables given to us by Gay on Sunday, watching a couple of episodes of MASH (sadly we have come to the end of "Open All Hours") and fell asleep to the sound of the local brass band rehearsing in the Village Hall beside the canal. They were very good!
Today: 5 miles, 9 locks and 3.9 hours.
Trip: 239 miles, 244 locks and 201.1 hours (352.2 total).

Kerry, Phil, Ben, Sam and Joe Visit.

Monday 27th August, 2012 at Crofton and Bedwyn.
A cloudy day, with rain forecast throughout. Our visitors today were our next-door neighbours from Reigate, Kerry and Phil and their three boys Ben (7), Sam (5) and Joe (4). Thankfully, the weather turned out to be better than forecast with only the odd shower rather than continuous rain. They arrived just after 10am, and over tea and coffee we had our traditional "Badge Ceremony", each of us picking a badge from the box. We have a dozen badges ranging from "Captain", through "Tiller Girl" and  "Gate Crasher" to "General Dogsbody."
Then we set off on the same trip as yesterday towards Crofton Pumping Station.
Everybody had a turn at steering MM.

There were predictably fewer people at the Pumping Station but the staff were very happy because Sunday had been a great financial success for them. David, one of the engine "drivers" told M that all the cakes and pies were baked on the premises and, having sold out completely on Sunday, they had stayed up all Sunday evening baking more cakes and pies for Monday! All the "crew" are volunteers in the cafe and in the engine house.
We had lunch in the cafe again. Joe decided to have a jam sandwich and we were surprised to see that it came with the usual salad accompaniment!

We told the children not to touch anything but we don't think that Joe did as he was told!

After lunch, we all toured round the engine house. We are getting to know it quite well now and getting to know some of the volunteers.

We set off back to Bedwyn with the boys helping at the locks, They were able to open the gates but, not surprisingly, found the paddles a bit too difficult.
There were no moorings back at Bedwyn but Karen and Jim on "Ruffian" had said that we were welcome to moor up alongside them - so we did.
We all had tea, coffee and cakes and then walked them back to their car and waved them off. They said how much they had enjoyed their day.

Later, Karen and Jim arrived back from their walk to The Swan at Wilton and we invited them to join us on MM for a drink. A drink turned into a bit of supper and lots of laughter, so they stayed the whole evening with us. We really enjoyed their company and hope to bump into them again as we progress up the K&A and on to the Thames.
Today: 3 miles, 8 locks and 3.9 hours.
Trip: 234 miles, 235 locks and 196.3 hours (347.4 total).

Emma, Charles, Penny, Gay and Chris Visit.

Sunday 26th August, 2012 at Crofton and Bedwyn.
We awoke to a peerless morning, with mirror image reflections.

We walked up to the station to meet Emma, Charles and Penny from the train. It was lovely to see them. How Penny has grown!

Chris and Gay arrived by car soon after; lovely to see them too. After tea, biscuits and a family "catch up," we set off for Crofton Pumping Station. Penny (her badge reads "Cabin Boy"!) fell asleep on the floor while Charles and Chris "crewed" very competently.

Charles steered MM through a number of locks while R walked on the towpath (that's a first!).
Moorings at Crofton were in demand, but we managed to squeeze in at the far end by the bottom lock after winding (turning) by Crofton lock. The Pumping Station was buzzing with activity as one would expect on a bright and sunny Bank Holiday Sunday. We decided to have lunch first, before taking the tour, and managed to find a table in the crowded cafe for the seven of us.
This time, on the tour, we were able to wander around at will.

The two beam engines are run alternatively for an hour each. On the hour the second engine is started and the two run together for ten minutes before the first one is stopped. We watched the careful and laborious process of starting the engine. It apparently takes two years' training before you are let loose to start an engine on your own! M was astonished at how quiet they are when they are running.

After the tour, we sat on the grass and each had an ice-cream. We saw many boating friends there including Angela, Jim and Karen, and then to our delight we bumped into Lizzie and Richard from "Dragonfly." We last saw them in Bedwyn weeks ago on the way down. They had gone on to Bristol and had become trapped there by the closures - so it seems we did make the right decision to turn at Bath!

Gay joined the team "crewing" at the locks while R steered and we were soon back at Bedwyn in good time for tea and cakes before Emma, Charles and Penny caught the train back to London.
We had suggested to Gay and Chris that we should have dinner together in Bedwyn but one pub was still closed for refurbishment and the other wasn't serving food on a Sunday! What to do? The Royal Oak at Wootton Rivers was favourite but it was 8 miles away and Chris had bought the Porsche. Necessity being the mother of invention, we discovered that you can get four people into a Porsche!
At the Royal Oak, dinner was as good as ever (the second time this week!).
As we came out, the moon was bright above us, waxing into her third quarter, and we all stood for a moment remembering Neil Armstrong who died today.
Today: 3 miles, 8 locks and 3.3 hours.
Trip: 228 miles, 219 locks and 189.1 hours (340.2 total).

Tea and Unlimited Cakes!!

Saturday 25th August, 2012 at Great Bedwyn.
Dawn revealed the Pumping Station, above where we had moored last night, in a more sinister guise reminiscent of England's "Dark Satanic Mills."

After breakfast, we walked up to the Pumping Station as they were advertising a flower show and M hoped to buy some flowers for MM. The show was just being set up, but sadly the flowers were not for sale. However, it was very interesting to see the Pumping Station in the process of firing up and there were lots of chaps bustling about in white overalls looking very knowledgeable or standing in a sort of expert looking contemplation.

We are looking forward to seeing it in full operation tomorrow.
Moored up next to us was nb "Free Phase" with a Redhill area postcode on the side. It turned out that the owner had been building the boat for 12 years in a field next to his house in Copthorne just south of Reigate and had launched her last November! She is an all electric boat, hence the name - a pun on Three-Phase electricity.
We set off eastwards towards Bedwyn in weather that was alternatively bright sunshine and heavy rain. Luckily the rainy bits came between the locks, when R could shelter under the umbrella and the sunny bits as we went through each lock!
As we approached Bedwyn, we spotted nb "Ruffian," and to our delight, the side hatch opened and two familiar, smiling faces popped out to greet us.  Not "Rosie and Jim", but Karen and Jim!

We had seen "Ruffian" yesterday and, as Karen and Jim were not on board, M had nipped on and left a note stuck to their back door to say hallo.  Unfortunately, they hadn't found it as they had come in through the front! They told us that there was a great place to have tea in the Bedwyn Church, so we arranged to meet there at 3:00pm.
As we approached the Bedwyn moorings, we saw a black cat on the towpath and quickly recognised nb "Red Geranium." It was lovely to see Angela again and she very kindly invited us on board for a cup of tea. I think the cats were also as pleased to see us as we were to see them!

Just before 3pm, Angela joined us as we walked up towards Bedwyn Church. On the way we saw several classic cars parked in the centre of the village, including an old "AC" Royal Roadster. R's Grandmother, Mimi, used to have a beautiful AC Saloon; they were made in Thames Ditton close to where she lived in Esher, so R has fond memories of them.

Then onward to St Mary's Church, where a welcome notice proclaimed that tea and home-made cakes were to be had!

We met up with Karen and Jim from "Ruffian" there and found that there was tea, coffee, scones and lots of delicious looking cakes. To our surprise there were no prices, you could help yourself to as much as you wanted and then make a donation of as much as you felt appropriate. All the tables were laid with checked tablecloths and pretty flower vases. The five of us spent a very happy couple of hours drinking tea and coffee and sampling one lovely cake after another!
We were so full of cake that we only had a very light supper, and then sat down to watch the broadcast of last Sunday's performance of "Yeoman of the Guard" that we had seen last Sunday at the Albert Hall; it was a real treat to see it again.
Today: 2 miles, 4 locks and 2.1 hours.
Trip: 228 miles, 219 locks and 189.1 hours (340.2 total).

Pam and Trevor at Crofton Pumping Station.

Friday 24th August, 2012 at Crofton Pumping Station.
A much cooler morning; what a contrast to last weekend when Saturday was the hottest day of the year. The weather has certainly had a "yo-yo" effect this summer.
Our friends Pam and Trevor from Aylesbury visited us today. We got to know Pam when we used to visit Kingsground while MM was being built last year. She works at Waitrose on the M40 where we always stopped to buy cakes and biscuits for "our lads."  Pam and her husband Trevor came down to Guildford last year and we took them out for a short trip, but Trevor always said that he would have liked to try more "driving" so we planned a trip for him to "drive" this afternoon.
At midday, they arrived at the Crofton Pumping Station, where we were waiting for them in the cafe, sampling the excellent cakes sold there. They started off with a tour of the Pumping Station, which was venting excess steam but was not yet fully operational. After that we returned to MM, which was moored close by and we set off towards Bedwyn. Trevor did most of the steering between the locks and Pam had a go too.

They both did very well and Trevor also helped a lot with the four locks on the way to Bedwyn. Between the second and third lock we stopped for a light lunch with an excellent bottle of wine courtesy of Pam and Trevor.  At Bedwyn we turned around and went back up the four locks again and returned to Crofton. A very gentle and enjoyable day.
In the evening we sat down and watched "Chariots of Fire," just a brilliant film, very moving and so appropriate after the Olympics.
Today: 3 miles, 8 locks and 4.3 hours.
Trip: 226 miles, 215 locks and 187.0 hours (338.1 total).