TRIP REPORTS

SUMMER 2005
Our last long cruise in Felis Catus II

Part 4 : A week-end with a lot of interesting boats

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Another weekend

Up from home by train. The boatyard had done the engine oil-change we'd asked for. It's a nice -place, but expensive. Off at 10:43 in grey, slightly drizzly weather. At the top of Braunston locks we crossed paths with my London Canal Museum colleagues Mike Gee & Alison Jessop, then found ourselves waiting for either a partner to share with, or for somebody to come up. The latter happened, so we set off down the locks solo. A couple of boats caught us up but decided to stay in company. Around Braunston Stop the FMC rally was taking place, so all was congestion and complexity. I photographed many ex-working boats, and a few who still work. At the stop, we had to wait while President & Kildare winded and moored, then singled out. George Hopkins was in President's engine hole, so we exchanged pleasantries with him. As we approached the Turn, we met another boat steered by David Blagrove, so passed the time of day with him.

By now the weather had dried out but was still grey & threatening. At Braunston Turn we joined the Oxford Canal. By Shuckburgh it was so cold and windy that I (at the helm) got Wendy to make me a hot toddy. Through Napton Junction, we passed onto the Warwick & Napton section of the G.U. At Calcutt locks, there were three boats waiting below the first lock to go down the second. Then one of the two boats in the lock-full behind us decided to go into the wharf for a pump-out, so their partner asked us to wait for them to share the last two locks, which we did. This was Mike Pinnock (from Enfield) on Alder, who is a Cavalcade regular and knows a lot of people that we know. One of his crew had just finished GCSEs and obviously felt liberated and full of pent-up energy, which was very handy. Down the flight there were loud sheep noises from just beyond the towpath, and after the locks we saw a lot of swallows, mostly juveniles, we thought. At 17:50 we tied up before the bridge at Birdingbury wharf. Later we found that there would have been a space with mooring rings beyond the bridge. I went to The Boat for a couple of pints of Hooky before supper.

We started once again at 07:47 in grey conditions, but with sun forecast for later. We started down the locks solo, but near the bottom were caught up by Nimrod, whose sign-writing proclaimed it as being from Aylesbury, although the people told us that Aylesbury was their home rather than the boat's. While we were going down Stockton locks, the promised sun arrived, and the weather was hot and sunny for the rest of the day. As we came past Warwickshire Flyboat Company, I noticed Sean Neill's steamer Laplander among the boats moored there, and as we came out of the bottom lock I said hello to Sean himself who was on his way to pick up the boat and head for Hatton. We stopped at Bascote to use the water point and rubbish disposal. Nimrod went on, as they wanted to catch the Tesco below Cape locks.

Just as we'd finished taking on water, Laplander appeared, crewed by Sean and somebody we'd not met before, called George, so we agreed to share locks with them. At the foot of Radford bottom lock we were making good time, so I 'phoned the Saltisford Canal Centre to book a mooring for the week. This was the most optimistic of several possible end-points we'd considered for the weekend. Below Cape locks, two very colourful magpies had found a sloping bit of bank coping and were paddling and throwing water over their backs. Both boats stopped at the Cape of Good Hope for the crews to have a quick drink together before we went on our separate ways, us to Saltisford and Laplander up Hatton. We reached Saltisford Basin at 16:50 to a pleasant welcome from the warden (or whatever) and were allocated a lovely mooring at the end of the arm. There were cuckoos and noisy geese. Weather permitting it will be a good spot for a barbecue on our return. Warwick Parkway station, which has opened since we were last here, is within walking distance, so we walked there to catch a train home.