Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

A LONG SUMMER, May to October 1995

Part 1 : The run north

I didn't keep any photos from the early stages of his cruise, as we were in territory I'd already good quite good coverage of.

FIRST WEEKEND OUT

Wendy & I came up from home on the Friday evening to Felis Catus II at its new home mooring at Hillingdon Canal Club in Uxbridge, and I went for a few drinks in the Clubhouse after supper. [Click here for information about the boat.]

The next morning brought our departure for the run north for the Summer. Our plan at this stage was to go to the Wendover Arm Festival, get as far north as possible before starting our main cruise, and then travel the whole length of the Leeds & Liverpool before heading for the "National" at Chester. We set off in dry but cloudy weather. It was definitely Spring: excellent flowers, greenery, and even cuckoos. Copper Mill mill-race wasn't as fierce as when we'd had a nasty incident there a few weeks before, so we had no problems with it. Most locks were against us and there was no-one to share with, although we did meet some downhill traffic.

We stopped at Tesco at Frogmoor wharf, the site of the former Walkers' boat-building yard at Rickmansworth. The Ricky Festival was in full swing, so when we set off again early in the afternoon, we had to wait quite a while for Batchworth lock which we then shared with Brian Nichol on Arcturus, tripping for the Festival. He winded immediately below the next lock (after having been up our exhaust pipe the whole way!). We shared Cassiobridge lock with Gemini I from the Hillingdon community group, but they stopped for water. We waited for her and locked up Cassio Park Two together, after which she winded and we were on our own again.

We stopped for the night at Hunton Bridge, mooring just above the bridge, rather arse-out. While taking the mooring line off the tiller, I managed to drop the tiller-pin in the cut. Tried to get it with the sea-searcher (was the shank ferrous?) but no luck. Good job we carry a spare. Must (a) look for another one with a cat (b) get a split-pin or something to prevent a recurrence.

On Sunday we set off at 08:17, not as early as we had hoped, on a sunnier day than the previous one. Because of the closeness of the locks, we decided to stop for breakfast above Nash Mills locks, then stopped again to take on water at Apsley sani station. Then it was on to Berkhamsted, where we stopped at about 16:30 at Bridgewater Boats for diesel & pump-out, but there was no room to leave the boat here, so we moved over to the Crystal Palace: not bad as it's close to the station. We stayed on board overnight (I went to the pub) and travelled home home on the 06:29.

SUMMER HALF TERM

Work meant that we arrived later than we had hoped on Friday evening, and felt too tired to do any evening cruising, so stayed where we were.

On Saturday we set off at 09:03, somewhat later than intended, but that meant we'd missed the rain. We stopped briefly at Cowroast lock for water, then went on to Bulbourne junction to join the Wendover Arm at 12:42. Passing through the Rally site we found as many boats as ever at this always well-attended event. We winded at the Tring feeder and returned to our Rally mooring east of Gammel bridge, New Mill, next to some old friends on nb Festina Lente, with a new dog, Lucy (their previous dog, Bella, died over the winter). They also had a pregnant cat with them, about whom they were worried as she fell in the water that day.

The rest of the Bank Holiday weekend we were at the Rally until we decided it was time to move on at 16:09 on Monday. We went back to Bulbourne junction and Marsworth top lock, where we waited, while many boats came out of the arm & turned south, until there was another boat to share the locks. This turned out to be Bridgewater hire-boat Growltiger with a fairly experienced family with two teen-age sons, so the locks became easy work.

We reached one of our favourite overnight moorings, the Ship Stores, Marsworth at 18:16. I went to the Red Lion before dinner, where I had a drink with the family from Growltiger and some of their wider family who had joined them for the evening. The pub was as good as ever, surely one of the system's finest canalside pubs. The cats enjoyed this mooring more than the Rally one : probably because there were fewer dogs around.

On Tuesday we were slow getting up, as had been our habit recently. We found ourselves locking with Growltiger again. We stopped at Leighton Buzzard sani station to take on water, then moved round the corner to the shopping moorings to re-provision and use the launderette. Rumours that the latter had closed turned out to be false, but we were too late for a service wash. I went up into the town to fax some quiz questions to a colleague for Friday evening's end-of-season Waterways Quiz at the IWA South London Branch social. Back at the boat, while I was waiting for Wendy to return from the launderette, Orinthia brought a sparrow on board, released it, chased it round the cabin, lost it under the stove, lost it again behind the charcoal box and finally followed it back into the bushes.

At the chores were done by 18:32 and we decided to go on to the top of Soulbury 3 locks , arriving there at 19:33, too tired to bother going to the pub. Saw Steve Pitt on Gary Sheerin's nb Pamela II heading for the BCN Marathon weekend. Orinthia brought back a mouse and ate it.

The blade hadn't felt right the evening before, so Wendy checked the weed-hatch and found some nasty greasy plastic and string., then we set off at 09:56. We stopped at Willowbridge boatyard to buy gas & have a pump-out. Mooring wasn't easy there, as most of their service mooring was occupied by a 70' boat with its arse in the air to have its skeg straightened after an incident with a lock-cill, which they blamed on a hire-boat opening paddles too quickly.

Continuing north, at Cosgrove lock we noted that the wind was now getting quite blustery. At the foot of Stoke Bruerne locks (at 18:14) we decided it was too late to go up the locks with any reasonable hope of finding a mooring before the tunnel, so reversed back past a couple of moored boats in a very nasty cross-wind to moor almost opposite the Tove. Orinthia went off exploring immediately, but Dido was much more hesitant as short grass makes it obvious that there's water down there between the boat and the bank!

Next morning we were woken about 06:00 by a magpie scolding Dido (who had decided to go ashore after all). We'd been a bit worried about a strong diesel smell from the engine, so checked the system and found a weeping joint on the stop-cock next to the tank, which we managed to tighten a little. We set off at 08:47, locking with nb Florence, whom we had met previously at Braunston locks in 1992. I steered through the tunnel, meeting a lot of boats and having some problems with the lights. The tunnel lamp and the front cabin light switch were simultaneously up to their usual tricks, so for part of the way we had to rely on the courtesy light alone. The tunnel was quite smoky, which didn't help.

Just before Bugbrooke we saw a wonderful bit of shepherding: man, dog & land-rover working together to handle a very large flock, apparently moving from one grazing place to another.

The Old Wharf at Bugbrooke provided an excellent lunch stop, missing a thunderstorm while we were in the pub. We ate in the bar. There is also a restaurant which looks worth trying one evening.(Later note : it is.)

A small shower came just after we set off again, to the foot of Whilton locks, where we had a short wait for a locking-partner, who turned out to be the Calcutt hire-boat Wild Hemlock I, with a fairly efficient family crew. We had hoped to moor on Buckby visitor moorings, but these were in process of being rebuilt, so we went on. Before we got to any of the known good mooring spots on the summit, we were stopped by a congress of BW craft who turned out to be raising a sunken work-boat. There was no decent bank just there so we reversed back through bridge 8 and found good depth just on the Buckby side of it. A pleasant rural mooring which we & the cats enjoyed. Before dark the BW crew came past with the raised boat under tow.

Friday brought an 08:28 start. Wendy was luckier with the tunnel than I had been at Blisworth: no traffic and not smoky. But she still managed to bump into 4 more bends than actually exist! We locked down Braunston locks with nb Albert, a boat with really excellent knobstick-style sign-writing by the owner's brother, who is a friend of Tony Lewery. We met several boats coming up, so it was quite an easy run. Before Braunston stop at 10:29 we found a mooring close to the marina entrance, where we were to to leave the boat and go back to London for the IWA South London Quiz. I walked back to Midland Chandlers to get a shorter mooring rope for the stern, as we were fed up with the present one being too long (but intended to keep it as a spare). I looked for a cat-design tiller-pint but with no luck.

We took a taxi to Rugby station from the marina, noticing a fender-maker whom we decided to consult next day. We have been warned that at Braunston there has been trouble with mink getting onto moored boats and chewing the upholstery.

On Saturday we returned at mid-day without the cats, and went into Braunston Marina to have a new bow-fender fitted. The chap from Tradline Fenders agreed with me that a big Vee is quite unnecessary so fitted us a standard button at about half the price.

We set off at 14:13, took on water and put off rubbish at Braunston sani station and headed north up the Oxford Canal. We found this part of the Oxford very slow compared with the Grand Union because the channel was very narrow and there was a lot of traffic (and quite a few moored boats). We met traffic usefully at Hillmorton locks. We stopped for the night before Newbold wharf at 18:14 and I went The Boat for a couple of pints of Bass before cooking dinner (chicken & ginger wot-we-gots).

Sunday's start was at 09:27. It was windy this morning and we met lots of traffic, especially where the cut was narrowed by foliage. We stopped at Rose Boats at Stretton Stop, only to find that their pump-out machine had broken down! They were also another place without a cat tiller-pin. From here on the channel was rather wider so we could make better speed. Reaching Hawkesbury junction at 13: 52 we turned into the Coventry Canal, which we found noticeably wider and deeper than the Oxford.

Cotton Boot wharf, Nuneaton, was reached at 15:17. We left the boat with Trent Marine (Harry Glover), who was going to replace the locker-lids and fit a new top-ring to the stove. Harry gave us a lift to the station.

MID-SEASON WEEK-ENDING

We had hoped to travel up on Friday, but circumstances prevented us. Harry picked us up from the station on Saturday. He'd made a good job of the two things we'd asked him to do. After a chat with him & his wife, we paid him and set off at 13:38. He told us that Hartshill is no longer a safe place to leave a boat unattended.

We stopped at Valley Cruisers, Atherstone, for a pump-out, after some delay. A pleasant woman there advised us that Polesworth is not a good place to moor unattended and that the Swan at Fradley does good food, including on Sundays. We were slow down Atherstone locks, as they were a bad road most of the way (hardly any up-hill traffic) and slow fillers. We moored below the locks at a good deep mooring with mooring-rings. We thought it would be a good mooring for cats.

Next morning we were off at 07:50. There appeared to have been a lot of spot-dredging around Polesworth, and there now appeared to be good moorings either side of the village. From Hopwas onwards we met a lot of canoeists taking part in a rally starting & ending there. We moored between bridges 79 & 80 at Whittington in not very good depth. (Later we saw what seemed better moorings past bridge 80.) We walked into the village to find a pub lunch. The second pub (The Bell) was the only one doing Sunday lunch & was very good.

After lunch we continued to Streethay wharf where we bought coal (Homefire Ovals). We saw the last of the canoeists just before Fradley. There were a lot of red campions, foxgloves and Queen Anne's Lace (of the various plants of that name, this one is 1 ft high with many-headed pale mauve flowers), yellow irises, deep purple comfrey. We passed through Fradley junction at 17:19 and headed north on the Tent & Mersey, slowed a lot by shallows. In the woods on the off-side above Wood End there were banks & avenues of rhododendrons in full bloom. They look lovely, but are they taking over?

At the Plum Pudding at Armitage we moored on the pub "patron's only" mooring with the intention of moving over to the towpath next morning (or just possibly going on to Spode). I went to the pub to see if they were serving meals that evening. They were and I got chatting to some boater-friendly locals. They said that here is a much safer mooring than Spode. We had a very good meal in the pub and chatted with the landlady, who is a boater. She suggested that in the morning we should pull the boat back alongside the fence just before the pub mooring rather than crossing to the towpath. We did this and went home mid-morning after a lazy start, as neither of us was due at work until the afternoon.

Wendy & I arrived mid-evening on Friday to find all well with the boat. We had another good meal & a few beers at the Plum Pudding. My brother Derek and his family were over from the USA, and planned to join us for the day on Sunday.

Next morning we set off at 07:18. At Rugeley Wendy shopped while I wrote letters. We found bridge 66 was very near Safeway, and had good visitor moorings both sides of it. Under way mid-morning, Wendy black-leaded most of the stove, but ran out of goo before she'd finished. At Haywood junction we stopped for water, rubbish & elsan disposal. We didn't ask for a pump-out as Anglo-Welsh were turning their fleet round. Looked for a cat tiller-pin, again without success.

By Weston village at 16:20 we were both feeling rather tired, so weren't sorry to moor early. I found poor Cellphone reception here, so I walked into the village to 'phone Derek to fix the next day's rendezvous. There were a flock of very vociferous ducks here, and Guinea-fowl and exotic poultry on the mini-village green by the bridge. Wendy wondered whether comfrey changes colour with the soil like hydrangeas.

On Sunday we set off at 08:31, slowish because of anglers. Just before Aston we crossed a boat steered by an old college fried, Ted Ellis, but didn't have time to stop & chat. We moored at Aston (bridge 90) at 10:50 and the family joined us about 10 minutes later. We all drank coffee before setting off.

We needed a pump-out, so stopped at Stone. There was no room at the wharf of the first boat-yard, where the pump-out lorry was highly visible, so we stopped at the second yard who "didn't have it here today". We assume it's one pump-out lorry shared between the two yards. Above Stone top lock Derek & I went for a pleasant pint of Banks' at the Rising Sun before lunch on board. The younger kids enjoyed the pub playground.

When we set off, my younger nephew, Brian, tried his hand working locks for the first time. These narrow locks were just about light enough for him to manage. We decided to stop at Barlaston and moored near the Plume of Feathers. Despite misgivings from a cruiser owner Wendy had talked to at Meaford locks, the mooring looked safe enough. There are other boats around, good depth and mooring rings. Phoned for a cab for Derek & me to do the car shuffle, after which the family dropped us off at Stafford station for the journey home.

We'd hoped to travel up on Friday evening but (yet again) work delayed us until it wasn't worth it. We arrived on Saturday morning in good weather that was to last all weekend. The boat was safe when we arrived, but the fridge was very reluctant to light: we had to run it off the elex for a while and it wasn't until well into the afternoon that the gas would ignite. The problem seemed to be with the piezo-spark gadget : we'd have to get it seen to some time.

We set off mid-morning but at Stoke-on-Trent, by bridge 115, we had an enforced stop when the gear-cable broke. Neither of the boatyards in Stoke did breakdown work, but they told us of a firm called Marine Tec who do, but are expensive. While waiting for them to come, I went for a walk to buy a paper. On my return we had lunch, at the end of which the chap arrived and fitted the new gear-cable and we were off again.

At Etruria I had run some water down from the summit to fill a low pound just below. Later I got chatting with a local who may or may not work for BW here. We were heading up the Caldon, but first went past the junction to Stoke-on-Trent Marina for a pump-out because there wasn't a pump-out station anywhere on the Caldon. Wendy had problems with the wind as she manoeuvred out of the Marina.

Then it was back to Etruria junction and into the Caldon. We took on water and emptied the porta-potty at Etruria sani station. We both had a long chat with our possibly-BW friend from earlier, who offered to help work us up the staircase. We agreed and were also joined by a helpful couple of local youths. We reached Hanley Park at 18:32. We'd hoped to be further on than this, but stopped here as we remembered the next stretch as pretty unsuitable for mooring. Even here we had to moor rather arse-out. But we were able to barbecue.

Sunday's 09:05 start wasn't as early as we had hoped (again)! We were slowed by anglers (many of them belonging to the cheerful persuasion). Once out of the built up area we were in good scenery (although there had been plenty of flowers growing on & around the mills in the town). Banks of foxgloves, wild roses, honeysuckle, meadowsweet and small purple orchids. Lots of song-birds.

There was a delay in Stockton Brook locks as the boat ahead of us (Water Damsel, a co-ownership boat from Nantwich) was having problems with a very low pound until a down-hill boat let down some extra water. We had though of stopping at the pub at the top of the locks, but the banks didn't look very inviting. So we stopped at Park Lane wharf, for lunch & a rest.

Continuing at 15:05 we commented in the log that most of the Caldon is shallow, with a lot of blind bends and bridge-holes. The River Churnet section is very different : much deeper and one could get along it very quickly indeed if one wasn't constrained by a lot of tight bends. At Consall Forge we noted that the moorings here were 48 hour ones, so went on to leave the boat just before Froghall tunnel . We overshot the winding hole so had to back up to it. Amazingly, we found there were no restrictions on mooring at Froghall. We barbecued. Should Froghall remind one of Flanders & Swann or Kenneth Grahame? Next morning we walked along to the end of the cut and 'phoned for a taxi to Stoke-on-Trent station to go home.

Term had finished, and I had a meeting on Saturday, so we ran this "weekend" a day later than usual.

We arrived at the boat separately on Saturday, me at about tea-time from a meeting at Chester (preparing for the "National"), Wendy in the evening from home.

Next morning we had considerable difficulty in starting the engine. It turned over OK but didn't for a very long time want to fire. When we finally did get going, at 09:17 we found it easier running than the last trip, because there was less rumbustious wind to fight. Once again we took on water at Park Lane wharf, Endon, after which we had no problem with the engine this time, which indicated that the problem is to do with starting from cold.

Before Engine lock we were delayed by a 70 ft Dartline boat in the tail of the lock arguing (in Italian) about where they were. It appeared they had taken the wrong turning at Etruria junction! We finally interrupted their screaming match and resolved what to do by offering to tow them backwards to the next winding hole at Foxley junction. We found towing on cross-straps not at all easy with a heavier boat and on a narrow and fairly winding cut. I'm not sure how much of the other steerer's attempts to help with his engine and rudder were productive or the reverse. We were working the engine fairly hard, but the temperature gauge didn't move. Dead gauge?

We cast off the other boat at the Foxley winding hole and went on to Hanley, where we deliberately stopped near a road bridge in case that morning's engine trouble was repeated tomorrow and we'd need help. Barbecued. We didn't get a good night's sleep because of road noise.

Next morning at 09:38 the engine started with no problem. We both felt tired, despite having had an early night., but it had been disturbed by road noise. After getting rid of rubbish at Etruria sani station we continued north on the Trent & Mersey to Longport wharf , where we arrived at 11:43, leaving the boat with Stoke-on-Trent Boatbuilders (a) for a secure mooring (b) for them to sort out the temperature gauge and look at the engine staring problem.