C.L. Peache's Blog, page 12

We are going to London! Day 233

Monday 11th March – Day 233

It’s cruising day today and a new canal for us and The Plot. The boat batteries are back to how they were last winter as we’ve have no solar the last few days due to the weather and we didn’t cruise yesterday, so it’s up early as everything needs emptying and filling and we cruise into our first lock just after 8.30am. I walk ahead and set the lock and do a little bit of filming for YouTube as Chris cruises the boat and then it’s quickly into the second and last lock for a while. The first swing bridge announces our departure off the Trent and Mersey canal and onto Coventry canal and the start of our journey to London.

We cruise through the swing bridge and moor up to fill with water and do the usual boat facility jobs. ((wait you only emptied them the other day! You cannot be drinking that much wine!)) we only emptied one of the cassettes and the other isn’t full but you empty them where you can! Boating rule as well as filling the water whenever you come across a waterpoint. Chris seems to have sorted the problem with the travel pack and so I make the first coffee of the day! ((Wait! You mean you didn’t have a coffee in bed?????)) well, I did, sort off. It was one of those packet ones so doesn’t really count.

All emptied and filled up in the right order and it’s off we go! It certainly feels like the adventure and has started. As I’ve said before we aim to cruise up the Ashby ((Sounds like a Carry On film!!)) then down the Coventry so we will hopefully hit it right for the Oxford Canal being open again; if not it will be a change of plan.

We moor up for lunch as all this cruising and being in the cold has made us hungry. I cook the veggie sausages and Chris gets the fire going to get the boat toasty as just before we cruise we decide to use the washing machine for the first time not being plugged into the mains! It works very well and once done, hung up to dry and coffee made it’s back on the stern to cruise again. We don’t meet many boats but the ones we meet are naturally where other boats are moored on near bridges – basically anywhere where there is a tight space.

We eventually find a nice mooring spot as I have an online  meeting at 4pm and tomorrow’s weather looks terrible, so we might stay put and cruise on Wednesday. It means I can have time to work on freelance stuff and get this weeks vlog created and uploaded signal permitting. We also promised ourselves a day of baking bread and banana and blueberry muffins! Day done until tomorrow. x

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Catching up with friends… Day 232

Sunday 10th March Day 232

It really is a grim old day today and the rain is pretty much relentless which is a shame as my friend is coming over to visit but we make the most of it and after she’s had a tour of the boat we head to the pub and enjoy a delicious Sunday dinner; roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, parsnips, carrots, roast spuds and gravy – so so nice. This was in the swan pub which is known as the Mucky Duck, highly recommend you pop in if you’re around for a meal although they didn’t do cappuccinos! ((WHAT? Call the coffee police!)) I know, never mind.

We were going to go for a walk but the rain really was awful so my friend drove us to Alrewas which was only about a mile away. Living this canal life really does make all sense of ‘where you are’ in the country go out of the window. Well, it does for me. We have travelled for months and months. I think the last time we were in Alrewas on the boat was September and here we are only a mile away by car. Blows my mind ((Doesn’t take much))

I wander back to the boat after having a lovely catch up, great food, great company and after doing a little bit of freelance work as we want to cruise tomorrow it’s day done and another week over and closer to warm cruising days. I hope. Until tomorrow. x

Narrowboat life, YouTube and author adventures… Day 233 – 239 /Mon 11th – Sun 17th March.

Monday 11th March – Day 233

It’s cruising day today and a new canal for us and The Plot. The boat batteries are back to how they were last winter as we’ve have no solar the last few days due to the weather and we didn’t cruise yesterday, so it’s up early as everything needs emptying and filling and we cruise into our first lock just after 8.30am. I walk ahead and set the lock and do a little bit of filming for YouTube as Chris cruises the boat and then it’s quickly into the second and last lock for a while. The first swing bridge announces our departure off the Trent and Mersey canal and onto Coventry canal and the start of our journey to London.

We cruise through the swing bridge and moor up to fill with water and do the usual boat facility jobs. ((wait you only emptied them the other day! You cannot be drinking that much wine!)) we only emptied one of the cassettes and the other isn’t full but you empty them where you can! Boating rule as well as filling the water whenever you come across a waterpoint. Chris seems to have sorted the problem with the travel pack and so I make the first coffee of the day! ((Wait! You mean you didn’t have a coffee in bed?????)) well, I did, sort off. It was one of those packet ones so doesn’t really count.

All emptied and filled up in the right order and it’s off we go! It certainly feels like the adventure and has started. As I’ve said before we aim to cruise up the Ashby ((Sounds like a Carry On film!!)) then down the Coventry so we will hopefully hit it right for the Oxford Canal being open again; if not it will be a change of plan.

We moor up for lunch as all this cruising and being in the cold has made us hungry. I cook the veggie sausages and Chris gets the fire going to get the boat toasty as just before we cruise we decide to use the washing machine for the first time not being plugged into the mains! It works very well and once done, hung up to dry and coffee made it’s back on the stern to cruise again. We don’t meet many boats but the ones we meet are naturally where other boats are moored on near bridges – basically anywhere where there is a tight space.

We eventually find a nice mooring spot as I have an online  meeting at 4pm and tomorrow’s weather looks terrible, so we might stay put and cruise on Wednesday. It means I can have time to work on freelance stuff and get this weeks vlog created and uploaded signal permitting. We also promised ourselves a day of baking bread and banana and blueberry muffins! Day done .

Tuesday 12th March Day 234

We wake up to rain announcing it’s an inside boat day. I decide to enjoy the cosy feeling in the boat and carry on reading the kindle book I’ve downloaded ((I hope it’s the right one!)) haha, I’m never going to live that down. It’s not for book group it’s just book two in a series by D.E. White so I think I’m safe. Chris ends up getting up as he’s noticed that the bilge pump was on which only comes on when there is water in the bilge/engine bay. One thing you do not want is water inside the boat where it shouldn’t be! He sorts out that problem out and luckily we did’t sink. As a consequence it’s used some of our precious batteries so have to endure a packet coffee again. ((You poor thing)) I know.

Then it’s up. Breakfast. Shower and to the dinette to do a couple of hours freelance work whilst Chris investigates the problem with the bilge and sort the water pump out as the shower wasn’t draining properly. There is always something to solve and a job to do on a boat. Chris then makes the banana and blueberry muffins, well, actually they were supposed to be muffins but turned into cakes as we didn’t have a muffin tin. Then I’m allowed my first cup of coffee and a slice of cake – bliss.

After this I crack on with the vlog. The signal is shocking here and very random. I manage to download the vlog from my editing software canva I use but then it was taking way too long to upload to Patreon and Youtube and the signal kept dropping out so I gave it up as a bad job. We are moving tomorrow so hopefully I will have a better signal.

After dinner we decide to go for a walk to the shops through the muddiest and wettest footpath ever ,to the little village Whittington – not sure if it’s anything to do with Dick Whittington as it’s on the way to London. Milk and bread purchased we don’t quite make it back before it starts raining again. The cratch covers are a godsend in this foul weather as the very muddy wellies can be left outside.

I crack on with my jigsaw and listening to my audio book for a bit before making tea and we decide to make some parsnip, ginger, garlic and onion curried soup ready for lunches the next few days as we might cruise for a few days so it’s not only economical to make a batch, it saves the age old question ‘what are we going to have.’

This done. We have visitors to the duck hatch as a couple of swans have heard about all the baking! Then it’s back to the dinette to finish this ahead of watching a film. I started editing the canal book this afternoon as I really need to get a move on with the editing and whilst I’m waiting for the Jersey mystery book from my publisher and everything else is up to date I thought why not! Day done. Until tomorrow. X

P.S. my wordcount currently stands at 99,217 on the canal book so later this week I will have written 100,000 words since we left in July! ((That is going to take some editing!)) I know!

Wednesday 13th March Day 235

It’s a very early start as I wake up at 4am. I try to go back to sleep but stomach pains prevent it. Just another day in the life of being a woman! At 4.30am I decide, sod it, and get up and hot water bottle made and cup of tea and I plonk myself at the dinette and listen to my audio book and do my jigsaw. Around 7.30am I head back to bed for a couple of hours and then we have a lazy morning playing a board game, eating cake and drinking coffee. Very pleasant. That’s one of the benefits of working ((Peachy uses the term working very loosely!)) freelance from the boat. When I was back in the marina and working at a fixed place it would have been stressful waking up at that time; ye old trying in vain to get to sleep and then feeling knackered at work all day. Now I just think well, I will get up and work later.

It was a pleasant morning watching the sun rise, although it’s a very windy day today and when we set off after consuming our parsnip, ginger, garlic and curry soup it takes a few tries to get the boat off the bank as the wind keeps pushing it in. It’s a pleasant 3 mile cruise to Hopwas village and we find a nice mooring with rings to tie the ropes to; the Holy Grail of moorings along with Armco. ((Peachy didn’t say they nearly hit another boat)) Nearly, but we didn’t!

((You’re forgetting about the fire!)) Oh yeah, because it’s so windy we had a backdraft of smoke into the boat from the coal fire! I came out of the bedroom to the boat filled with smoke which set off the smoke alarm off! Good job it’s happened before, so we quickly shut the coal knob thingy which controls the airflow and even then it was still chucking some out! There is always something happening on the boat; but at least we have more experience now so it didn’t send us into a panic! Day done. until tomorrow. x

Thursday 14th March Day 236

We caught the bus into the market town of Tamworth for a wander around the charity shops and get some shopping with a little visit to Costa for a coffee. As with many towns and cities in the UK we have visited you can see the lack of investment and the clear vision for many of these places which are stepping away from shoppers to residential. There really has been a marked change since probably covid and lockdown, which is not surprising as many people’s shopping habits changed to online and without a push from people to get back into shopping in person it looks like many centres are going to suffer.

Back from shopping there is not much else to report today as we are staying put and not cruising today as I cracked on with the usual dinette work. I did finally have a few sales of my fantasy books – the book sales are very slow to come this year. It’s a bit disheartening after all the work and time that goes into writing a book but hey ho, not as if I’m going to stop writing so will just have to keep going and hope that hard work really does pay off because some days it just doesn’t feel like it. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Friday 15th March Day 237

Hold the phone! We meet canal boat royalty today as we bump into Country House Gent or CHG! He’s one of the original vloggers we binge watched on YouTube during lockdown which ultimately led us to buying our narrowboat ((Are you sure you just ‘bumped’ into him??)) Yes! Totally random event which came about due to another set of events; let me take you back to this morning.

We set off from Hopwas at 9am with the idea of cruising about an hour to Frazeley Junction to make use of all the boating facilities only to arrive there and it’s moved onto the Birmingham canal ((Should have checked your guide!)) and there was only a water point which was being used and later another boater told us only one of the water points were working. Apparently, you can use the ones at the marina but that involves going down the Birmingham arm of the canal and we are not going that way. So, we carry on and try and figure out what to do. ((wait for it peachy is about to talk about the toilet)) Well, we do need to empty the toilet but should be okay until tomorrow so we decide to cruise as far as possible today and then hopefully we will cruise to the facilities tomorrow and then we have the Atherstone flight of 11 locks to do ((Oh, you got it right this time. Peachy kept saying 15 on her videos! Amateur!)) it’s a funny old weather day as one minute it’s raining and the next bright sunshine, coats off, sunglasses on and beautiful.

We ended up doing a couple of locks and then filling up with water so that’s one job done and cruised a total of 3 hours today before mooring up. It’s in a lovely area with the ruins of a priory so we wander up the towpath to have a look after dinner. Annoying the footage I took ended up being in slow-mo so we will have to go back! But on the way back from this we met Country House Gent – so weird seeing someone you recognise off the tele! We had a proper good natter with him and he’s  a thoroughly nice bloke. Proper chuffed to have met him ((Are you stalking famous canal vlogger – remember Peachy met Fran and Rich from Floating our boat!)) Not on purpose but I suppose it’s inevitable we will meet these folk the more we cruise.

I have super, duper, speedy, fast signal again! Cannot believe it, so now it’s back to the dinette for four hours, watch today’s videos, edit and upload ready to create my next vlog. I even managed to sync to my icloud ((that means you cannot use going to the pub for the wi-fi as an excuse!)) it really does make such a difference having a good signal. Then book group. Shower and chill. A busy but fab day. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

6miles / 2 locks
P.s. I’ve just noticed I’ve passed 100,000 words on this blog. 100.458 words!!!!!!!!!

Saturday 16th March Day 238

What a glorious day as we wake up to blue skies. There is still a nip in the air but once that sun is out it’s wonderful! We decide to go back to visit the Priory. I’ve already explained why and I’m so glad we did. Not only was it a lovely morning walk as we also had the delight of listening to a woodpecker in the trees – how lucky to have seen and heard that, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t messed up the filming ((Don’t try and justify it Peachy!))

Back at the boat it’s 9am and we untie the ropes and off we go. We have the intention of stopping at the services and then possibly two locks but we get chatting to a couple on another boat we met yesterday and they advised it’s best to go through 6 locks as there are mooring near a pub and all the shops in Atherstone. They also said that once they moored in a small pound ((This is the area between two locks)) and someone must have left a paddle open and the water had all but drained in the morning so good advice.

I enjoy getting back into doing the locks and as usual, end up doing 2 of them twice as when I rock up there are some solo boaters and it’s a lot harder on your own as you have to climb up the ladder in the locks, so I always offer to do them. Also, the couple behind us have been shutting the gates for us so everyone is doing their bit and it’s nice to have a bit of a natter as we do them. We realise afterwards that one of the boaters is a chap we met at Beeston – he was the first boat we had moored alongside when we were waiting to use the water point and facilities ((Lucky him!))

Locks done and very pleasant day it is to cruise and we remark on we are now doing what we were talking about last year and cruising into Spring and seeing the buds and greenery appearing. We just get the covers up as it’s starts raining ((You’re so jammy!)) then we have lunch and I sneak off for a well-deserved power nap – it’s really nice to have a nap because I’m physically tired rather than being ill for a change. There is nothing better than slipping in the bedroom for a nap in the afternoon.

Nap level achieved we then wander into Atherstone which is a lovely place, lots of nice shops and the smell of takeaways tempting us but we have a quick nosey as it’s nearly 5.30pm so most of the shops are shut or shutting. We then nip to Aldi for essentials ((Wine and beer!)) before back to the boat to chill and watch tv. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Miles 6 locks 6

Sunday 17th March Day 239

After a fab nights sleep – fresh air and exercise really is the key we are having our traditional coffee in bed and Chris sees an update on the Oxford canal landslip and uh oh… they have changed the date from beginning of April until mid-May! We were planning on going up the Ashby and down to Coventry and by then it would be open but we think that is too long to hang about even for us! So, we are looking at the alternative and going back up the flight which means I think finishing the last 5 before we have to turn around and do the lot again ((think of the muscles!)) we don’t mind. This is all part of canal life and one of the reasons we try not to have fixed plans.

It’s difficult to explain to people how difficult it is to arrange to meet up. It’s hard to know where you’re going to be at what time as in an instant something could change but that’s canal life or you might arrive somewhere but there are no moorings.

Right, off to get ready now. Chris is trying to get the bloody travel pack to work for the washing machine – why do these things never work when you need them too! Everytime we think we have sussed this out it does something it shouldn’t.

We end up deciding to cruise in the afternoon and have a wonderful cruise in the sunshine and tackle the last five locks of the Atherstone flight. There are beautiful daffodils at the sides of the locks and there are a few other boaters on the move who we have a natter with. One of them very kindly waits for us to come through as the lock was empty when they arrived so they opened the doors and let us cruise in and I left the lock gate open on the one we came out of so they could cruise in. proper boater etiquette in action.

We arrive at the top of the flights and it’s probably just the fact it’s beautiful sunshine and blue skies but it feels like a proper spring cruising day. We cruise under two bridges before finding a lovely mooring spot a little away from the really muddy towpaths at Tavener’s Bridge and it’s only a short walk into the other end of Atherstone town. 

Fab end to the week. Next week we will hopefully be onto a new canal. Day done. Week done. Until tomorrow. x

Miles: 0.7 – Lock: 5

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Cruising kinda day… Day 231

Saturday 9th March Day 231

Up early again today as we need to cruise as the toilets are reaching maximum capacity. ((Thanks for sharing that. Put me right off my cornflakes)) It’s been a nice quiet mooring and a lovely spot. The weather is threatening rain and there was some this morning as we enjoyed a coffee in bed – no cappuccino from the machine though as the batteries didn’t charge fully as the travel pack didn’t charge them. ((You mean you had instant coffee???? Instant???)) well, it was a coffee bag so a step up from instant.

It’s a nice cruise with only one lock to do so pretty smooth going and although cold, the weather is kind to us and we find a lovely mooring just above one of the locks overlooking a field and just about right from the Fradley junction facilities without going through the locks. We deploy the CCV – cassette carrying vehicle – the electric bike, tie the cassette to it and off we go. We really need to empty both of the cassettes as we have a spare but that can wait until Monday when we are cruising past the facilities. ((once again, oversharing))

Job done, it’s back to the boat and I try and get some work done but the signal is not so good so do what I can so I give the boat a clean instead. Day done. Until tomorrow. xx

Miles/Distance: 3 / Locks: 1

I make a stupid mistake… Day 230

Friday 8th March Day 230

Cruising day as we are on route to possibly Fradley Junction to see if we can get a mooring for the weekend. A few reasons for this; it’s a good place for one of my patreons and pals to come over as they have a carpark, pub and café at the junction. The weather looks dodgy and MotoGP motorbike racing is starting and so we want to watch that, and then we will start the week off cruising a new stretch of canal.

We set off and I head inside the boat to get this blog updated and answer some emails. I have some online training at 11am as part of the freelance job and just hoping we get moored up in time and I have a signal!

We end up stopping in handacre as there is a chippy ((fish and chip shop)) and it is Friday, so basically the law in the UK to have chips. We moor up with 5 mins to go and I make my meeting with not a bad signal and then it’s off to the chippy for the biggest bag of chips I’ve ever seen – they defeat us.

We decide to stay here as the weather has turned cold, windy and rainy and will cruise to the junction tomorrow. I faff about getting some uploading and downloading done whilst we watch MotoGP and then have book group at 3.30pm. It’s been a challenge to get the book finished as it’s massive ((Oh this is a good one… wait for this…)) Alright, you only like it when something bad happens to me. We started the book discussion and all was going well. There was a few bits people were saying that I couldn’t remember ((Nothing new there)) but there were quite a few discussion points we agreed on… anyway, my signal went dodgy and couldn’t reconnect which was annoying but I’d promised Chris we would finish fitting the trims on the shower room vinyl it wasn’t until later on that the penny dropped and I’d realised I’d read the wrong book ((Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Brilliant)) I know! It’s just ridiculous. I did think about not saying anything but I knew it would give everyone a good giggle!

That was it for the day. I’m off to read a different book. Day done. Until tomorrow. x

Miles/Distance:  3 /Locks: 0/ Tunnel : 1

Boat DIY… Day 229

Thursday 7th March Day 228

We stay at Rugeley for the day and I wake up not in the best of moods ((That will be the wine you drank yesterday!)) Hey, it wasn’t my fault we had to go to the pub! ((unbelievable!)) I’ve said that it would have taken me about 3 days to sync all my videos and photos and it took only two glasses of rose in the pub! ((Next you will be offsetting that against expenses!)) well, funny you should say that we did wonder that since we were there so I could get a good signal and I had a cracking idea about my plans for my canal book and who I might try and submit it to then I reckon it could be classed as a business meeting. ((I’ve heard it all and more than once!))

Chris decides that we need to fit the vinyl flooring in the shower room because it’s just getting in the way all the time having the roll in the lounge. Like I said, I am not feeling in the mood and we did agree to have a week off DIY but hey ho. It’s got to be done.

It’s a faff as we need to cut the curve for the shower cubicle but we manage it and in the end and it looks great. We get it stuck down and fit the trims. We still need to do the varnishing and snagging jobs but that is absolutely it for a while. Anyone who has done DIY for months will know you get to the point where you’ve just had enough. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s even harder on a boat due to the small space but that is another big job ticked off the list. Day done. Until tomorrow. X

We have to go to the pub… Day 228

Wednesday 6th March Day 228

It’s a lovely start to the day as the mist and fog rises from the canal and the fields and the blue sky tries it’s best to come through.

We have been impressed so far with our solar as we seems to be in gigawatt as we call it; meaning it’s not going much below full! I’m not sure what the change is as last year, especially overnight it was going down to between half and three quarters hence me not using my coffee machine but now the batteries seem fantastic. I don’t know if it’s being hooked up the electric for so long has somehow conditioned the batteries, because it isn’t much colder than it was towards end of last years cruising. The sun is higher in the sky so we are getting a decent amount of solar so maybe that’s all it takes to make the difference.

I work on my freelance job in the morning as I managed to get ahead of myself with the vlogs ((Miracle do happen people)) I’m going to try and aim to get a few weeks ahead now we are cruising again and the DIY is almost at the end! Chris makes some lovely roasted parsnip soup and then after lunch we cruise the few miles to Rugeley. No locks today, so just a nice gentle cruise passing a few other boaters on the move. Very pleasant.

Arriving into Rugeley, we snag a nice little mooring close to the supermarkets. Chris’s knee is still a bit swollen so it’s good to be a bit closer to the shops. We decide to head straight in and have a wander around the charity shops. I but some nice jigsaws before going to the pub ((You’re not on holiday you know!)) There is a very good reason for us going to the pub actually ((What other than cheap booze?)) the wi-fi! I’ve been trying to back up my icloud for days and it’s just not having it with the signal I have, even though it’s better for videos; maybe half as good as home wi-fi at the moment. It won’t back up my icloud. ((Well, I’ve heard it all now!)) 

It only takes 2 glasses of rose to get my icloud up to date. it would have taken probably 3 days on the boat! Day done. Until tomorrow. x
2 miles/ 0 locks

Back on the cut… Day 227

Tuesday 5th March Day 227

After a good nights sleep due to all that fresh air and lock work, we wake around 7am to the sounds of the geese making their presence known. I’m not sure if they are kicking off and wanting breakfast, fighting over territory or just a bloody nuisance. Still, it’s a nice way to wake up when it’s a reasonable hour. We weren’t sure how it would be without the little heater in the bedroom on overnight, but in fact it was fine and the weather reported it was at the lowest 3 degrees. Maybe we were just tired enough to sleep through it.

The batteries seem to be on full this morning, normally they decrease overnight so I don’t know if that’s from being conditioned so well being hooked up to electric for 3 months or the fact it’s not freezing but we all know what this means ((You can have coffee using your machine!)) You got that right, so we lounge in bed chatting about how lucky we are to be living this life.

Since we have decided this week we are on holiday ((Wait a minute. On holiday?? From what exactly??)) I’m not sure really, as today I manage to get a decent signal out on the stern so get this weeks vlog created and uploaded to YouTube for Sunday and early access to Patreons tomorrow. ((I feel like we are living in a parallel universe. You can use the coffee machine on the cut and you have a signal!)) We also did a couple of little boat jobs; just putting the towel rail back up etc in the shower room.

We decide to stay here overnight so have a walk to Wolseley nature reserve which is a fabulous place to explore. It was a lovely day today; blue skies and warm when the sun was out. It’s really is so nice to be back on the cut and exploring new places again.

I also make the most of waiting for the vlog to upload to read my latest book which needs to be finished by Friday afternoon for book group ((Oh you poor thing. I didn’t realise you were this busy! And on your holiday as well! Also, hilarious what happens re the book!)) When I opened my kindle it said there was approximately 10.5 hours reading time yesterday so I better crack on. With that in mind and the sun setting on a wonderful first full day on the cut its day done. Until tomorrow. x

Time to leave… life back on the cut… Day 226

Monday 4th March Day 226

Today is the day we leave the marina after just over three months! It’s a strange feeling when you’ve been living in one location and your home is movable. We could have untied the ropes at any time but as you will know if you read this blog, we were away for 20 days in Jersey, visited family and friends at Christmas and then the boat DIY commenced! We are very pleased with everything we managed to get done, of course, there is lots more to do but back to leaving day…

I pop up to the office and agree we will swing the boat around 11ish so we can fill up with diesel before we go and get coal and logs now we are out on the cut we want to make sure we have enough. Then it’s toilet emptying time, hooking the battery back up, unhooking from the electric ((It’s like cutting your umbilical cord!)) it is!

Coffee made and I do a piece to camera for the vlog ((Get you! What do you think you are? A news reader?)) well, how else do I say it? And explain the plan for the day ((Which you don’t stick to anyway!)) then it’s TIME. The cratch covers are taken down, the tiller slotted into place and off we go. I must say Chris executes the perfect manoeuvre from our pontoon and around to the docking area to fill up with diesel and go and pay our bill. It all goes well, and a hug and a handshake later we say goodbye to a very nice marina and lovely people.

We leave the marina with big smiles on our faces. It’s a cold day but the sun is out, and despite being about 5 degrees, we have our sunglasses on. It seems to take a age to reach the 5 minute walk to the first lock and I grab my windlass and the memories of all lose locks come back ((like riding a horse or a bike. You never forget)) We are soon through the first lock and cruising past Shugborough estate; an area we have gotten to know well and it starts us wondering where we will end up this winter.

After cruising for about an hour we moor up for lunch. Our first mooring goes well although I forget what Armco is called ((That’s the metal bar at the side of the canal which boat use their pins to tie to. I will try and remind Peachy to add a pic)) After coffee, we decide to crank it and soon arrive at the next lock where there is someone setting the lock. I go over to help and end up doing the lock for the couple ((That’s generous of you, Peachy)) well, I need to get my lock fitness back and honestly don’t mind. People have done the same for us before it’s how it works on the canals. Anyway, they leave the lock and then another boat is on the way so it makes sense for them to come in as the gates are open and saves wasting water. It’s a solo boater so I offer to do the lock again. It’s easier for them as they can stay on their boat and other than the gates are stiff it’s an easy enough lock. He tells us Rugeley is busy but Wolseley Bridge is quiet after the bridge and this is where we end up mooring as it’s about 3pm and to be quite honest, we can do as we please as we have nowhere to be.

It’s 6pm on this very day ((Wait……………………………. You’re actually writing this on the day…. As in today…….. so it might actually be true because even you can just about remember what happened! I need to lay down.)) Rude. I used to do this when we were cruising as no way I would remember this if I waited a week to write it up. Anyway, it’s been a wonderful day getting back to cruising life. We feel so happy to be starting our cruising adventure again and cannot wait to share it. I’ve just remembered we haven’t put the screens up in the windows – now we are back on the cut these stop people from peering in! A very fabulous day done! Until tomorrow. xx

2.5 hours / 2 locks ((although really should be 4! also a much more interesting blog I’m sure everyone will agree. Now I’m off for a nap after reading it!))

Our last day in the marina… Day 225

Sunday 3rd March Day 225

Today is our last day in the marina. I’m really glad we stayed an extra few days as at least we managed to get the boat straight and Chris’s knee is feeling a little better even if he is still hobbling around.

We fit the matting into the bow so that we can transfer all the bikes, coal and logs back where they belong as the stern needs to be clear for cruising tomorrow. Hopefully the paint will have had long enough to dry and we won’t have too many bits to touch up. It’s really nice to get everything back in there and it all fits perfectly. I think we might end up just using it a storage area rather than a seated area as we thought, as other than the roof, there is nowhere else for it to go. It’s essentially like a shed to us.

The stern looks really nice now it’s clear although I wish we’d had time to paint it. ((I think it’s well known Peachy that it doesn’t matter how much you do there is always another job!)) isn’t that true! Anyway that will be a job for another day to finish that off.

I wander up to get rid of the rubbish as Chris is still trying to rest his knee and I pop into a couple we met last year as they had come into the marina to fill up on diesel etc. It was really lovely to see them and feels nice to making friends on the canal network who we see every so often. A good old chinwag was had and it was nice to see them before we left the area.

Back at the boat I crack on with some of my freelance work as I want to make sure I keep tomorrow free for cruising as you never know what is going to happen. Day done and we are excited and a little apprehensive about tomorrow but definitely more excited! Day done. Another week done. x((I cannot wait for the cruising blogs again. Be gone fowl DIY! Let the adventures begin!))