Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

SPRING & SUMMER EVENTS IN LONDON

Part 2 - May Half Term 1996

We resume the story with the boat at its home mooring in Uxbridge

MAY HALF-TERM - AWCC AND THREE MILLS RALLIES

We had an interesting journey to the boat with the minicab's engine threatening to pack up at any moment. Arrived at the Club, we moved the boat up to the Clubhouse to use the facilities, then had some difficulty winding in the slipway (99-point turn) with the wind determined to take us alongside the finger mooring. We went into the Paddington Branch and moored at Willowtree Park for the AWCC London Region Rally as third-boat-out outside a couple called Ian and Mary (also from HCC) on Nemesia. There were lots of dogs at the Rally, but fortunately for our cats, not on the two boats we were moored with. We had leisurely drinks & dinner then went into the beer-tent for the quiz. We were in Vernon & Marie Draper's team which won the General Knowledge quiz and came second in the music quiz.

We made a lazy start to the day, idly trying the quiz papers provided by Marie Heritage. Wendy decided to go to Tesco for a few things we'd forgotten. She found that cabs there don't pick up at the signposted pick-up point but at the place marked "No parking at any time". She took a short cut back across the field and had a fall that twisted her ankle badly but didn't break the eggs. The combination of a lot of birdsong but omnipresent dogs was proving very frustrating for the cats.

We had a long lie-in. At 12:11 Ian and Mary wanted to set off from inboard of us, so we backed down to Willow Tree Marina for a pump-out and a chat with Arthur, the manager. We then moved the boat along a few yards to let somebody else get to the pump-out point. I visited the chandlery to replace a worn-out copy of Nicholson and ended up buying several other books. After lolling around for a while we decided to stay at the park overnight for the cats to enjoy it after the dogs had gone. We were back there at 15:48, happy that we'd made the right decision. We were moored near a little copse, which was good for hunting.

Orinthia came back rather later than we had hoped, after a swearing match with two crows, a jay and a magpie. We set off at 08:17 and made for Paddington Stop. While we were taking on water, the first boat on the visitor moorings moved off so we decided to stop there and use the launderette in Clifton Road rather than going round to the Basin and using the London Street one. En route back from it, Wendy fell to the temptation of a posh greengrocery. I went off to a work appointment near Euston and on my return, collected the washing and we set off for Sainsbury's at Kensal Rise, where we arrived at 18:45. After shopping and a chat with a friendly but tipsy bystander (including fishing his bag out of the other side of the cut), we decided to stay there for the night. It wasn't a very good idea – noisy until quite late with a lot of yoof courtship.

The day started with shopping for a paper and a few oddments we'd forgotten yesterday. We started boating at 09:09 and stopped at Paddington visitor mooring s, whence I went home for various bits of work & an IWA Branch Committee. In early evening, Richard arrived on Tarn. When Dorothy arrived from work we juggled boats to put Tarn inboard as they're leaving a day later than us. The cats liked Tarn's tug deck as a landing stage. Ian F was on his way with Panacea but didn't arrive until very late; at 21:00 we heard that he was just turning through Bull's Bridge.

I was delayed at home, so we didn't manage to start until 12:19. We crossed Browning's Pool and entered the Regent's Canal for some uneventful cruising in nice sunny conditions, with a good road for most of the way. We continued straight ahead at Duckett's junction and went on to Limehouse Basin where we moored at 17:24 on the overnight moorings, then took the boat over to the service point to check the facilities. The pump-out takes tokens which we'd have to get in the morning. We went back to the overnight mooring, then Wendy went home (with the cats) for a work meeting early next morning.

While Wendy was at work, I did various jobs around the boat including getting some pump-out tokens and booking us into the Marina for a couple of weeks. When Wendy arrived, we went over to use the pump-out. It was so windy that I couldn't turn the boat 90º one way and had to go 270º the other. At 13:31 we set off down the Limehouse Cut and past Bow Locks to join IWA N & E London Branch's Three Mills Rally. We arrived at our mooring at 14:00, about half-way between Three Mills Bridge and Bow Locks. There weren't many boats there yet.

Most of the boats arrived during the morning. We were the inboard boat this time with Kitty (Peter Ward & Peter Cocup) & Galatea (Denise Kier) outboard of us. There was a nice reception at lunch-time, followed by a splendid sight of lots of boats rafted up across the Mill Pool for the opening ceremony. I was photographing like mad.

IWA N&E London Branch's Three Mills Rally

Then a lot of boats went up Abbey Creek. In the afternoon there was a Bow Back Rivers Cruise (not the complete loop because Marshgate Lane bridge was being rebuilt and causing a stoppage). I'd offered to lead a walk but had no takers, so went for a recce for next day's walk. The City Mill River towpath had been restored to use. I photographed some of the boats on the cruise.

In the evening, Wendy went back to the boat to rest her bad ankle, while I sat drinking on the Bar Boat with some other old lags and enjoyed the boaters' sing-song from a judicious distance.

I photographed the best-decorated boat award : Kitty won and Panacea was also placed. My guided walk in the afternoon had 25 customers and met several of the boats on a Waterworks River cruise. At 18:29 we set off to take the boat back to Limehouse Basin, mooring in the marina at 19:01. We stayed on board overnight and got a very early cab home.