Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

LEICESTER & THE TRENT, SUMMER 1997

PART 1 : WEEK-ENDING

In 1997 the "National" was at Henley-on-Thames. We decided not to take Felis Catus II [Click here for information about the boat] as we thought the extra number of boats would make Thames lock-queues pretty intolerable. So we had no constraints about where to choose for our main summer trip. We'd not done the Leicester Ring for some years and had never explored the Trent beyond Nottingham or the Erewash, so those were the places we decided to go, finishing with a leisurely run back through territory in which we're too often in a hurry to get the maximum of enjoyment from it.

Canalway Cavalcade 1997

Earlier in the season we'd done a bit of local pottering around, and had taken the boat the Little Venice for Canalway Cavalcade. The story starts with the boat on its home mooring at Hillingdon Canal Club in Uxbridge.

As seems to have been usual at this time, I didnt start taking photos until we reached territory where I didn't have many pictures in my collection.

MAY HALF TERM - BUT ONLY A WEEKEND

We had intended to come up the previous weekend for the whole of Half Term, but that wasn't to be because of 'flu. Wendy came up early in order to get the launderetting done and gets a couple of bits of chandlery from Uxbridge Boat Centre. We spoke on the 'phone and I decided to come up the next morning, which I did, if a bit later than planned.

We had to wait quite a long time for a visiting boat to take on water at the Club's water point before we could do the same, then we set off at 11:38. We stopped at Denham Yacht Station (since re-named Denham Marina) , having decided to try them for a pump-out, despite rumours (not apparently true) that their service point was difficult to get on to. They took pity on our small holding tank and charged less than their normal pump-out fee. We filled up with diesel at a good price (95p/gallon for over 20 gallons). Then we headed north in very windy conditions, causing some tricky handling before locks.

Having shared locks piecemeal with various other boats, we found ourselves third in a queue for Copper Mill lock (all boats too long to fit in more than two), so I went for a pint in the Fisheries (now the Coy Carp) while we waited. On my return there was no sign of a partner for us, so we decided to have some lunch on board. After lunch & a further wait there was still no partner, so when a downhill boat had set the lock for us, we decided not to wait any more.

Our energy ran out above Common Moor lock at 19:35. We had hoped to go further had we started as early as planned. However this was quite a pleasant mooring.

Next day we were determined to make an early start (and achieved 06:17), as we wanted to get to Berkhamsted, and not be too late home, as Wendy had to go to work the following morning. At Lady Capel's wide we tied up for breakfast next to a contingent from Dunstable & District B.C. It was a hard day's run in increasingly windy conditions, mostly without a locking-partner and facing a bad road. We crossed some friends on Sophie No.2 at Apsley : they were returning from the Wendover Arm Festival. We had wondered if we'd cross some other friends on Auntie Barb doing the same thing, but didn't.

From Winkwell there were a couple of boats on our heels, but they were happily locking together so there seemed no point in waiting for one of them to catch us up. They were very understanding about the way gates were blowing open as soon as we had shut them. The wind got worse : at one point (above Sewerage lock) I managed to get both ends of the boat stuck simultaneously on mud-banks on opposite sides of the cut.

We'd arranged by 'phone during the day to moor at Bridgewater Boats at Castle Wharf, Berkhamsted, and reached it at 17:58. We hoped they might do a few maintenance jobs for us. Mike Foster (the boss) seemed to think they wouldn't have time, but Roger (who works for him) was more hopeful, so I briefed him on what needs doing. Might this mark the end (for now) of our running problems with the loo light? Off home about 20:00.

A WEEKEND WITH AN UNEXPECTED MEETING

We travelled up on Friday evening. We had a barbecue & socialised with Lindy Foster. Roger had cured the loo light problem & changed the engine oil, but can't sort out the gas-sniffer, so we decided to leave the latter permanently disabled.

On Saturday morning we paid Roger and set off at 08.45. Our first stop was at the recently-opened Waitrose, by the footbridge above Kings Road lock. Wendy was impressed with the store.

Then we were locking with one of Mike & Lindy's boats with first-time hirers. They stopped on the summit, so at Bulbourne we had a brief wait for a lock partner, who turned out to Tissy Wissey from the River Wissey. Its crew were very experienced river-boaters, but not used to flights of locks. At the foot of Startopsend lock Wendy went down to buy some side-fenders from Derek Pearson while we were working through the lock. Unfortunately she left her windlass behind, which she didn't realise for a few minutes, so she walked back to fetch it while I pottered slowly on. As I passed Marsworth Junction, Dave Dent & Ann Tilman on Albatross 2 came out of the Aylesbury Branch, and we decided to lock through with them for the rest of the day.

At 17:33 both boats moored before Slapton bridge. Dave & Ann invited us to dinner at the Carpenters' Arms : an excellent restaurant but perhaps not the place to go just for a quiet drink.

Sunday brought an 08:00 start and an uneventful day's cruising, apart from a rattling great hailstorm at Great Linford. We decided to stop near the Barley Mow, Cosgrove at 16:43. did a slow clear-up, then went to the pub to 'phone for a taxi to Milton Keynes Central.

A WEEKEND WITH BEN

We arrived from home on Friday evening via Milton Keynes Central (from Clapham Junction) & taxi. We meant to cruise to the foot of Stoke Bruerne this evening, but cold, wet weather put us off. Ben & I went to the pub. We needed to light the cabin stove.

Next morning Ben & Wendy set off at 06:10 while I was still in my bunk. Before starting Wendy saw a huge thrush on the lawn at the Barley Mow. The weather was quite stormy for some of the time (not all of it, fortunately). We went up Stoke Bruerne locks single, meeting some traffic in the flight, and moored for breakfast just past the Museum, next to Roger & Sue Burchett's nb Nackered Navvy. Roger was off at a WRG work-camp on the Bude Canal and Sue was packing up the boat for a rare 2 weeks at home. As she had hardly any food on board, we invited her to breakfast with us. She returned the compliment by giving us some sugar as we'd forgotten to buy any.

Ben seemed to enjoy steering through the tunnel. The rain had stopped for a while, but that didn't mean the tunnel was dry. At Bugbrooke bridge we made a beer stop at the Old Wharf. We were too late to get onto the pub mooring, so we had to moor in the middle of some very muddy towpath improvements on the other side. They were in process of back-filling after piling, and the nasty clayey, claggy mud got everywhere.

Later we stopped at High House wharf to buy gas. We started up the Whilton/Buckby flight with Slow Coach, then discovered a Concoform Boat running single ahead of us with a crew of two first-timers (Wendy & Doreen), so from the second lock on we paired with them and Slow Coach was joined by another boat.

We arrived at the top of the locks at 17:51 before the padlocks were due on and moored on the visitor moorings. Ben & I went to the New Inn before dinner. Ben had meant to walk to Long Buckby station (he was taking his daughter to the airport the next day), but it came on a mighty storm and he decided to call a taxi instead.

On Sunday we overslept and only managed an 08:05 start, not as early as Wendy had hoped. At Norton Junction we turned into the Old Grand Union Canal (a.k.a. the GU Leicester line) and made for Watford locks We needed to wait before the staircase for a group of boats to come down. We had a useful chat with the lock-keeper : partly gossip, (to our surprise he told us that Eric, the previous lock-keeper, was got rid of for rudeness to boaters) and partly about possible moorings where we could leave the boat between trips. He reckoned that Husbands Bosworth, Welford and Foxton top are all feasible and advised us to chat up the BW office for Welford or the husband-and-wife lock-keepers (Mick & Crystal) at Foxton.

Crick tunnel was a nightmare for Wendy at the helm, as in front of us was what turned out to be a pair of boats towing (one with an engine break-down), who were excruciatingly slow. With several boats coming the other way, this wasn't a lot of fun. We stopped at Crick Marina to buy Homefire and loo blue. We mis-remembered how much we'd got in the coal locker and ended up with one bag too many which cluttered up the well deck. If the current weather were to last another weekend, we'd have room for it in the locker.

We soon caught up with the queue of boats behind the towing pair: We were third boat. Eventually the tow let the three of us past, but the boats ahead of us were still quite slow. Even more eventually we were the front boat and could set our own speed. The state of dredging on the summit gets better every time we come here. There were still a few narrow and shallow bits, but not the whole length as there used to be. At North Kilworth wharf we stopped for a pump-out and to have a look at their chandlery, which I wasn't very impressed with. They only had stern-gland grease in tubs, not tubes, so we decided to make do with what we'd got.

We had originally thought of leaving the boat at Husbands Bosworth, but decided to carry on as (a) we were now making good time and (b) the moorings at Hus Bos didn't look very good, especially knowing that our boarding plank is badly warped. So we went on to the top of Foxton (arrived 17:46) where Mick, the lock-keeper, told us to moor on his bollards (ouch!). I booked a taxi while Wendy filled the stern-tube greaser. Then we went by taxi to Market Harborough station and were highly amused by the Midland Main Line guard on our train, who ought to have been in panto!

A DAY TRIP

We had planned to come up on Saturday morning, but I had a hangover so we came in the evening instead.

Sunday was a very wet day. As we hadn't got up as early was we'd hoped, there were already boats coming up the flight by the time we stirred. Mick & Crystal were working 3-up-1-down. There was news that the Soar was closed because of floods. We started down the locks at 09:15 and at the foot of the locks joined the Leics & N'hants Union Canal with its broad locks. We locked most of the way from there with a boat from Watford (Leics), 4-handed and very experienced, so we managed to travel quite a bit faster than expected.

We reached Kilby Bridge at 15:28 and found a good mooring just past the bridge. The first section of moorings at this end appeared to be unrestricted : after that they were 48-hour moorings. We went to the Navigation for a beer & to 'phone a taxi to Leicester station. As the taxi wasn't available for a while, the beer stretched to 3 while we chatted with a couple of locals, so we caught a later train than we had hoped.

ANOTHER DAY TRIP

We came from home early in the morning, finishing the journey in a taxi from Leicester station. It was a very hot, sunny day. We got under way at 08:39 and as we moved off from the mooring, another boat was also setting off just in front of us. When we caught up with it at the lock, it turned out to be Cameo from Rose Narrowboats, with a pleasant crew of 4 from somewhere over the Atlantic. Their previous boating had been in broad-beam craft in France and Ireland so, after a week, they still felt they were getting used to narrowboats. They were working with such extreme caution that we all travelled quite slowly. They were worrying about whether they would finish their ring cruise on time (at their present rate they wouldn't). Wendy was suffering with a headache, which she blamed on a cup of hot chocolate on the train which she suspected of containing milk powder, to which she is allergic.

From Leicester we were on the Leicester Navigation and we continued to just before Thurmaston lock, where we arrived at 16:26. We moored at the south end of the moorings above the lock. It looked pretty safe there. The village street had bus stops (but no timetable), a Post Office and a minicab firm. The latter couldn't get us a car in time for the 19:30 train to Leicester, so we waited in the Prince of Wales and had a couple of beers until a taxi was available, and came back on the 20:30.