Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

AUTUMN & WINTER 1994

AUTUMN POTTERING

This was our last trip from Cowley, as we were about to take up our new mooring at Hillingdon Canal Club in Uxbridge when we came back from this trip to Berkhamsted. Paul had given us a pump-out but hadn't had time to mend the woodwork on the galley side-hatch. We set off from the mooring at High Line, Cowley Peachey at 10:16 and had the usual slow run out, because of moored boats and a bad road.

At Frogmoor wharf, Rickmansworth we stopped for shopping at Tesco and took the opportunity for a meal while we were moored. We stopped for the day below Cassiobridge lock at 18:48, just about before dark!

We had breakfast before setting off at 08:32, not quite as early as we had hoped. We weren't away by first light, because of a thick mist. We had no partners at any of the locks, but some fortunately-timed meetings with boats coming the other way. At the Albion, Apsley we moored to the pub garden. The pub was too crowded to attract us to eat there, so we had a quick drink & then ate on board at the mooring. When we set off again we were slower than before. We arrived at Castle Wharf, Berkhamsted at 18:54 with just about enough light to see what we were doing as we moored. We stayed on board overnight and paid a quick visit to Lindy (late because she'd had IWA Conservation Committee with her all day), but didn't stay long as we were both tired out.

Wendy set off very early in the morning to go to work. I stayed working with Lindy on the Environment Agency Bill and seeing the boat up the slipway for bottom-blacking etc. The hull seemed in good order. We needed new anodes and a back fender.

AUTUMN HALF-TERM CRUISE

We came up from home a couple weeks later than planned because of 'flu, and collected the boat with its bottom blacked, new stern fender etc. Mike & Lindy were out so we chatted with Roger. We had an excited reception from Tov, the dog. Wendy shopped: Waitrose was horribly busy with families shopping democratically.

We set off south at 16:02, sharing locks with Lilly Lou and stopped as it was getting dark, before Sewerage lock at 17:14. Lilly Lou continued. Several other boats passed after what we called dark.

We set off at 08:14 in beautiful Autumn weather. We rejoined Lilly Lou at Bourne End bottom lock. At Hemel Hempstead we stopped by the old lime juice wharf and Wendy went into the town to go to the bank and do a few more oddments of shopping. It was quite a long trek & she didn't find a lot when she got there apart from a small Sainsbury's, although she didn't want to waste any time searching too extensively.

As we set off again, the Autumn colours were very beautiful. We stopped at Apsley loo point to deal with Elsan, water & rubbish. Then we made a pub stop between Nash Mills locks for me to go to the to the Red Lion, where I had a very good lunch. We went on again, and stopped at 15:31 before Home Park Mill lock for me to go home to a Mottingham IWA social meeting. We had to moor arse-out because the dredged mooring was pretty short.

There was fierce rain at 3 am, so Wendy got up to check the ropes, to find that Orinthia had been attacking the kitchen blind. So Wendy took out the kitchen window for her, only to be blamed for the weather. I came back about 12:15, delayed by 'phone calls, and we set off at 13:07. We saw lovely colours through Cassiobury Park. We stopped below Common Moor lock at 16:20. It was a dark & cloudy afternoon, so we stopped there because the light wasn't going to last much longer & we didn't want to get stuck among all the long-term moorings below the next lock. From past experience we knew the depth wasn't much good immediately below Common Moor lock, so we tried further down the pound and did find a spot with the right depth.

We set off at 07:41, a later start than hoped because I took a long time to get started. We had a reasonable run, despite threatening rain, until the first fishing match, above Copper Mill lock. Then we were the tail of a procession. It took us two hours from Black Jack's to leaving Uxbridge Town lock. We paused at Uxbridge Boat Centre at 12:32 to buy gas, diesel & Phurnacite. The threatened rain arrived and soon set in solidly for the rest of the day. Then we went on to our new mooring: the second-to-last on the Hillingdon Canal Club moorings, where we tied up at 13:25. It was very good to have a side-on mooring, and it seemed good for cats. (Later note : it has lived up to that promise.) We spent the afternoon in the clubhouse sorting out payments etc with Vernon Draper. We had a late lunch on board then cleared up. Because of weather, cats etc we decided to be extravagant & get a taxi all the way home.

I came to the boat a few times in the next couple of months, twice to sleep aboard after Middlesex IWA meetings at the Club, and once to do some odd jobs on the boat.

CHRISTMAS CRUISE

We had intended to come up the previous day, but the weather was bad, work at home drew on, and finally Cosycars couldn't provide an estate car until Saturday morning. The journey was very foggy in places, and we found everything under a very heavy coating of frost. I fitted a new filler-cap to the cooling water header-tank and at 08:45, we brought the boat up to the water point mooring at the club-house to load up, then lit the stove, recommissioned the water system and emptied the elsan. It was ages before the cabin was properly warm. We set off for Little Venice at 09:41. Cowley lock was treacherous with ice, as were our gunnels until the steel of the boat warmed up. There were lots of good photo opportunities of frost scenes, but I was too busy to take any shots. At High Line, Cowley Peachey, we stopped in the hope of a pump-out, but Paul was on holiday until 3 January. We stopped at Bull's Bridge Tesco to get the last bits of shopping: inevitably slow on Christmas Eve and full of obstructive children.

As we started again, Tony Gould on Foxglove followed us through the junction bridge. We joined the Paddington Branch and stopped at Willowtree Marina. Beth and Arthur were also away so Graeme Heap was in charge, but their pump-out was frozen up! We had drinks with Graeme and a friend (John). The cabin was now up to a comfortable temperature, and the ice on the outside of the boat, including the gunnels had melted and was starting to dry. Many heron were seen during the day. Resuming our travels, we kept on through the dark, so as not to have too long a run to Little Venice next morning. We passed Foxglove moored at Horsendon Hill. There was quite a bit of ice in the water at places, although it had been broken by somebody ahead of us. We stopped just past the North Circular aqueduct at 16:52. We needed to use the back cabin fire, a rare event.

The weather was a lot milder than the previous day, and there was no ice at all in the cut. We had a leisurely breakfast before starting boating at 09:44. We saw a kingfisher and several heron. We picked up some grot on the screw, but when we stopped to deal with it (at Kensal Rise Sainsbury's) it had cleared itself. Where Wendy sits to do the weed hatch was bitterly cold and she almost froze to her seat! We arrived at the Little Venice visitor mooring and found a mooring not too far from the Toll Office. Alison and Rupert Smedley on Shirley were here with an engine problem. I went for a stroll and ended up drinking Bucks Fizz on Isis with Tim Clarkson, George and other friends.

There were surprisingly few boats in the Pool: with the NBOC gathering at Marsworth we guessed that a lot of people would be there for Christmas and here for New Year. Later I went to the Bridge House: almost empty and the beer not in good condition. Later I learnt that this is the third or fourth landlord since Alan Grace left. So I went on to the Warwick Castle, where I found a good gathering of local boaters including George, Tim and Phil Gavigan. Back aboard for Christmas lunch that seemed to take the rest of the day.

We moved off at 08:44 and stopped at the sani station to deal with Elsan & rubbish. Then we passed through Browning's Pool and onto the Regent's Canal. I steered to Camden then we swapped over for the locks. It was a pleasure to come through them when the market was closed! We arrived at Battlebridge Basin. If the museum was open we were going to moor there, but it wasn't, so we winded and went back to the nearest set of bollards on the main line, by Maiden Lane bridge. I sent off to join Michael Essex-Lopresti's walk: a very good turn-out with something over 40 walkers.

Because the time had been misprinted in Excalibur, some people might have turned up for a 2.30 walk, so I went to look after anyone who did, but was rather relieved to have no takers. We set off again and stopped at Gloucester Avenue bridge, Camden, at 15:58, choosing that mooring so as to be on the right side to have the galley window as the cats' exit. The bollards here are not very conveniently-spaced for our length of boat. I went looking for an early evening pint, but nowhere was open. The Engineer (now more of a restaurant than a pub) was taking a four-day holiday. After dinner I tried again; this time the Albert was open and proved a pleasant pub, if the customers were a bit chi-chi.

There were rain & gales all night, with the boat banging badly because the mooring ropes were at a bad angle. We set off at 10:11 via Browning's Pool. It was still rainy at times and quite windy. Joining the Paddington Branch we encountered what appeared to be a fishing match. Was the season open? We stopped at Willowtree Marina at 13:35. There was no sign of Graeme when we arrived, but by the time we had lunched, he was in evidence. The pump-out pipe had thawed and so we were able to empty both loos. We decided to stay overnight and invited Graeme to share our last-night what-we-gots. This became a very sociable evening.

As Graeme had said he was expecting to an early pump-out for somebody, Wendy moved the boat along a few yards before I was awake. After breakfast, we had a nice session socialising & drinking on the towpath with Nigel & Carol Manley from Polyanna, along with Graeme & Ron Hearn. Ray Bowern was expected for some boating with Nigel & Carol, but hadn't turned up by the time we decided to leave. Bob Bush came by on Forester while we were there but didn't have time to stop. We set off at 11:05, through Bull's Bridge junction onto the Grand Junction main line, seeing several boats on the move, including the Bannons on Aquinas. We reached our mooring at Uxbridge wharf at 13:07, cleaned ship then went home.