Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUSYEARS

THE LAST SEASON WITH OUR OLD BOAT, 1982

PART 4 : Early & mid-August

Click on a picture to see a bigger version with a caption

We resume the story with the boat at The Globe, Linslade.

A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MAIN AUGUST CRUISE

On Friday evening Wendy & Ian fetched the boat back to Leighton Buzzard, took on water and shopped. Then I joined and we set off to The Globe, Linslade.

Near Yardley Gobion

Next day we started at 06:41 - a reasonably early start almost cancelled out by Wendy trying to wind the boat in a cattle-wade and getting stuck. I had to leap ashore on the off-side and pole us off., then walked back to The Globe where I re-moored Canakkale which had been cast off at one end. We winded at Old Linslade wharf and went back to Leighton Buzzard wharf for breakfast and the market. My brother Derek, his wife Phyllis & daughter Samara - scarcely more than a baby - (who were over from the States staying with my Dad) joined us by car and we set off again for what was to prove a dry but cool day's cruising. Samara was at first afraid of going down in locks, but became more confident.

We made a lunch stop before Fenny and continued to Wolverton station where Derek, Phyllis & Samara caught a train to return to their car and go back to Dad's place in Marlborough. We decide to go on and joined up with Ray Dunford in Albion. We moored near Cosgrove sani station. Ian & I went to the Barley Mow. Wendy chatted with the man off Sammu and cooked dinner.

Blisworth tunnel closed for a major re-build.

Next morning we had another outbreak of scrapers' twitch while waiting for the camping shop to open. Then we bought a new Porta-Potti & barbecue (Son of Hibachi). Continuing at lunchtime we came across very bad weed in Stoke flight, which we assumed was caused by under-use during the long stoppage. We winded at the winding hole just before Blisworth tunnel and came back to moor near the museum at 16:54, where we christened the new barbecue & terrified some gongoozlers. Then Ian went off home.

On Monday we started down the flight at 06:38, too early for there to be any gongoozlers. We watered at Cosgrove and went on to Wolverton station for what turned out to be rather strange shopping in what the locals call the "Angora" (actually the Agora Shopping Centre). Wendy twisted her ankle. We 'phoned Peter and arranged for him to feed the cats for a couple of days. The pound below Cosgrove was very weedy, and the engine overheated a lot. We stopped and the Black Horse, Linford, and again near Woughton, mainly to let the engine cool down where it was overworking because of all the weed we were meeting. We ended up at The Plough, Simpson, at 17:16, some way short of where we'd hoped to be, because of the slow running. We had dinner at the pub.

The Three Locks

Tuesday was an easy day. We started at 06:47 and watered above Fenny Stratford lock. Our breakfast stop above Stoke Hammond lock was enlivened by a BW foreman (Alan) looking for a sunken boat. We stopped for a barbecue lunch above Soulbury locks and had a pleasant chat with BW lengthsmen Tom & Alf, who we'd got to know quite well the previous summer. Then we went on to leave the boat at Wyvern Shipping, Linslade, at 17:04 .

MAIN AUGUST CRUISE

Wendy, Peter & I came up from London to collect the boat from Wyvern Shipping at Linslade, watered and set off at 15:03. We shopped in Leighton Buzzard, then continued south to moor above Church lock at 19:04 with Ship of Fools, close neighbours from our home mooring.

Near Slapton

Near Slapton

I was up first, woken by a visiting Blue Burmese cat from the house by the lock. I did coffee and served it the right way up! The weather was good and we set off at 06:21. We saw lots of heron before stopping at Ivinghoe bridge for breakfast. Then we went on, locking with Rojane. We stopped at the Ship Stores, Marsworth and got on with more paint-scraping until Ray & Hazel Dunford arrived in Albion. We were surprised to see them as we though Ray was due to be in hospital for a heart by-pass operation, but it transpired that he'd had it sooner than expected and was recovering very rapidly. We lunched with them in the Red Lion & joined them in heading for Aylesbury, which hadn't been part of our original plan at all, but the chance of some more boating with Albion was too good to miss. Before Aston Clinton lock we stopped at 19:33 and had a towpath barbecue with Ray & Hazel.

Marsworth

Wendy was down the weedhatch from 06:30 to 07:00 - revolting! Peter & Wendy walked into Aston Clinton for newspapers and saw some useful-looking but probably expensive shops. We set off at 10:45 to Aylesbury basin, where we used the sani station, watered and bought diesel. I kept up my reputation for an effective full-power wind-in-one in the Basin and we headed back to Marsworth junction with thunderstorms avoiding us all the way back. Back on the main line, the broad flight was lovely and we ended the day at the Grand Junction Arms, Bulbourne at 19:15.

Berkhamsted

We set off at 07:20, pausing at Tring station bridge for Wendy to catch a train home to home to see to the cats. She left Peter & me scraping paintwork, which we were still doing when she rejoined us at Berkhamsted in the evening.

In between we'd had an uneventful run, with breakfast before Northchurch top lock. We reached Berka at 12:03. After her return in the evening we had a barbecue.

Near Rickmansworth

We overslept, watered and set off at 09:13 with almost all the locks against us, despite meeting boats coming the other way. We stopped for breakfast below Winkwell top lock and later used the Apsley sani station. We had a tea-time snack on the move and passed Ram Jam, wondering whether we had been "porpoising" her all day. ("Will you move a little faster, said the whiting to the snail. There's a porpoise close behind us and he's treading on my tail"). We moored before Springwell lock at 19:24. Ram Jam came past again almost at once and we made a tentative arrangement to meet her at Copppermill at 07:00 next day and cruise with her.

Springwell lock

Copper Mill lock

Wendy thought we'd never get started, but we did at 06:40. There was no sign of life on Ram Jam, so we decided to go on. At the Swan & Bottle, Uxbridge, we stopped for minor shopping, then Wendy cooked breakfast. We watered at Cowley lock, by which time it was raining heavily. Wendy steered, and chased off an impending migraine with rain, wind & vulgar 18^th century songs. Through Bull's Bridge junction into the Paddington Branch, we noticed that the haws were very forward - was Autumn coming on apace? We made a lunch stop by Lyon's Dock, then went on and arrived at 16:36 at Paddington stop, where Peter left for home.

I was up first again, this time without feline assistance. Coffee was still the right way up. We had a morning of shopping & carpentry, before setting off at 13:57 down the Regent's Canal, eating lunch as we passed through the Zoo. We waited after City Road lock for Cascade (previously Alex Prowse's gallery-boat, which he'd now replaced by a larger one) to join us. We were still with them as we passed through Duckett's Cut in fairly foul weather, which turned pleasanter towards evening. We moored at 19:39 at Walthamstow marshes, knowing that the edge had been dredged here for the1980 National Rally. There was some fairly good birdsong.

Edmonton

Edmonton

We hoped to buy some exterior grade ply and Elsan fluid at Springfield Marina, so didn't start until 09:22, after breakfast. We watered and used the sani station at the marina.

We had a nice chat with the lock-keeper at Pickett's who had adopted 17 cats and a small dog, all abandoned by motorists.

We locked through from Pickett's lock for the rest of the day with cruiser Tordivel (owned by John & Shirley Hebbert whom we were to get to know much better through the IWA a few years later). We also shared one lock with Cascade and several with Spring Willow. Pounds were very shallow indeed in places.

Dobbes' Weir

We stopped at lunchtime at the Old English Gentleman, Waltham, soon after I'd seen a kingfisher. In the afternoon we went on to just above Dobb's Weir lock (arriving there at 17:52), a pleasant mooring with good birdsong, at times drowned by competition from crickets.

A pretty but rather battle-scarred red and white cat visited in the evening, insisting on sitting on me while I was scraping the roof.

Roydon lock cottage

Hunsdon Mill lock

Parndon Mill

We were woken early by the visiting cat wanting to go out. We assumed he'd come in through the kitchen window but not been sure of it as an exit. We made a leisurely start to the day. Wendy washed her hair and then spent 40 minutes getting fishing line, complete with lead shot, off the blade. We stared cruising at 07:53 on a beautiful morning, with friendly anglers. Again I saw a kingfisher. At Fielde's Weir junction we passed onto the Stort, then stopped at Roydon, where Wendy shopped (good village shops) while I cooked breakfast. So far that day neither of us had suffered from scraper's twitch, a disease which had affected all crew members since the end of July, and had resulted in an alarmingly piebald boat!. We stopped again above Harlow lock and before Sheering Mill lock, then moored for the night at 19:21 above Spellbrook lock, where I cooked while Wendy scraped.

Eastwick Church

Between Latton & Burnt Mill locks

Tail of Harlow lock

Wendy went to look for a newspaper, a bad move since the sole supplier was a gnome on a bicycle, and the sole supply consisted of right-wing scandal-sheets. She bought a Sunday Telegraph because the gnome was kind and he seemed hurt when the Sunday Express was refused. We set off at 09:28 and met a nice informative canoeist at the final lock before Bishop's Stortford, where we moored at 11:13 at the head of navigation. We walked round the town : very pleasant, and it seemed to have good shopping facilities. We found a wider selection of newspapers. One could moor to Sainsbury's car-park and take one's shopping trolley right to the boat. I did some carpentry & Wendy put a coat of primer on the roof. We decided we needed to leave a.s.a.p. tomorrow to find a sani station.

Sawbridgeworth

Pishiobury Park

South Mill lock

Bishops Stortford

Somewhere on the Stort

Sawbridgeworth

We started at 07:05. There was beautiful light on the first stretch and we saw many little grebe and swallows, the latter letting us come really close. There was much comfrey and poor man's orchid along this stretch. We stopped at Sawbridgeworth to water and look at the town, which we thought attractive but not good for shopping (at least on a Monday). It was cooler in the afternoon. We saw many swans and cygnets on our way to Roydon Mill where we moored at a camp-site at 16:52 and used its sani station. There were lots of other facilities as well at the camp-site, including fish & chips.