Tag: Leighton Buzzard

The Final Stretch

elainehayesblog

The first day of June and another sunny morning and a quick turn round Waterhall Park. We were surprised how different it looked compared with our last visit in October …

… and even how warm, so decided I should keep Mr Hayes company …

… and there was no time like the present … only to be caught in the act!

We made our way back, enjoying the sunshine. Just a couple of things we noticed … a pipe bridge so bright we don’t know how we haven’t noticed it before …

… and another fuel boat moored up – easy when you know what to look for!

Realising we’d not take many pics of the actual hard work, we took a few at a Stoke Hammond lock as we had it to ourselves.

At Soulbury, help was at hand from David and John, Canal Trust volunteers who man the triple lock to try to save water, so we actually had to wait a while for boats to come down before we could up, but at least we had help with the locks.

I sat at the front for a while, surprised how quiet it was and watched the world float by, listening to the gentle plink of water. We’ve seen lots of people sitting in the front, usually the women, with the men huddled round the tiller, but since there’s just two of us, we usually sit companionably at the back together. I saw a couple of boats from the Leighton Buzzard Navy, as we’ve heard Wyvern boats described, starting out on their holidays, just as we return from ours.

It was soon time to moor up for the night, leaving just a short distance and one lock to navigate in the morning. Dinner tonight is truly gourmet, Tesco tinned vegetable curry with potato wedges and Haloumi! We have a great little freezer compartment in the fridge on Daisy and brought four frozen home cooked stew dinners with us which we’ve mixed up with sausages, pies, pasta and an evening out in the pub. We’ve managed to buy groceries on the way in 7-11 type stores where milk and bread is easy but fresh food is harder to find.

As I was getting this ready, I noticed a well turned calf outside the window, and found Chris recording some video for his next camera club audio visual.

Our trip has turned out just as planned with a total distance of 72 miles, 28 locks and 2 tunnels (since we did them both ways!). We’ve certainly found a pace that suits us, around 6 miles a day, which gives plenty of time to take everything in our stride, stop to explore and walk and not feel we are on a mission. We’re getting better at judging angles and speeds and which bit of bank looks tricky to moor close to. We’ve experienced a tunnel, a flight of locks and a fouled propeller and all were fine, but are mindful getting on and off as while a slip into the canal is unlikely to be fatal, it certainly wouldn’t be pleasant.

All the housekeeping was quite straight forward and we only had a couple of minor bumps along the way. Even though we’ve had the coldest and wettest May in ages, the weather perked up halfway through our trip and the last few days have been glorious. The towpaths are so pretty with the white hawthorn and cow parsley and fields have been full of buttercups, clover and speedwell. I’m not sure another time of year would be so lovely.

I’m sure we’ll give this another go sometime … maybe Daisy south to Kings Langley since our map covers this direction too … or another waterway entirely!

Needless to say, there’s been a fair bit of downtime too and I found some great books to keep me company, a couple of autobiographical accounts, firstly Waterways by Jasper Winn who was sponsored by the Canal & River Trust to travel 1,000 miles round canals by narrowboat, bike and kayak to explore their history and present day life and write a book, then Afloat by Danie Couchman, an account of her six years living on the water, mainly as a constant traveller on a narrowboat but also on a mooring in a wider boat. After that I lightened up a bit and read a couple of novels, Three Women and a Boat by Anne Youngson about Eve and Sally who collide on a towpath and agree to drive Anastasia’s narrowboat to Chester and The Cosy Canal Boat Dream by Christie Barlow which was a feel good romance set in a canal side marina and have just started Murder on the Oxford Canal, investigated by DI Hillary Greene who lives on a narrowboat.

I also brought a bag of yarn scraps and a crochet hook and in odd moments have been making a kaleidoscope of butterflies as a summer makeover for my craft tree once we get home. I’ve got a dozen in the bag and it’s going to look lovely!

We’ve been checking out boat names all trip, and while many are fairly standard, a few have floated to the top of our list

We’re so pleased we’ve been afloat again, seen all we had hoped to see last trip … and more … thank you Daisy!

Map


A Very Good Start

elainehayesblog

We picked Daisy up at lunchtime and she immediately felt like home from home. We’re travelling in the same direction as our last trip, so we repeated our route through the three locks at Soulbury …

… before mooring near Bridge 106 at Stoke Hammond.

The biggest difference is that I had the helm for much of the afternoon, and did a pretty good job! Don who came with us to begin with encouraged me to steer and I must have felt more relaxed because I finally got the hang of it. Having said that, Chris steered through the locks while I manned the windlass, but we went through with another boat so we shared the work.

Soon afterwards we moored and went for a walk to stretch our legs. The hawthorn is blossoming in abundance, but there were lots of other white flowers like cow parsley, white dead nettle, garlic mustard and even the dandelion clocks.

And there were sheep …

… inevitably some sheep bottoms …

… and also Daisy’s!

After dinner we sat listening to the sound of sheep in the field and a cuckoo calling, pleased we’d covered the 4 miles we’d planned.

Next day rain was forecast later so we got a good start, taking turns to steer through the locks at Stoke Hammond and Fenny Stratford then into Milton Keynes. It started to get showery so we stopped for a sandwich in the hope it would pass, then cracked on, past the winding hole where we turned last trip and Campbell Park to new territory.

After covering about 7.5 miles, we moored up at Willen Lake where we had planned to walk, but heavy rain threatened and instead we just took a short walk in search of a frog.

There is lots of public art in Milton Keynes and this stretch of the towpath hosts the Gyosei Art Trail, funded when the site of a Japanese School was redeveloped. The eight pieces relate to Japan, the canal and natural history and we came across this little chap sitting on a bench. Entitled “What lies beneath”, the frog is sitting, peacefully unaware of the food chain below in the canal … but he did look like he wanted some company … and we are allowed to hug again now!

Chris was delighted to be back in time for a mug of tea and LFC’s final game of the season v Crystal Palace that he was able to watch on his phone … even more delighted when they won 2-0, so Champions League football again next season.

I was surprised how few snaps I took today, just a couple of fallen soldiers …

… and a trio of bridges.

Map


Chris & Elaine Afloat Again 2021

elainehayesblog

As soon as we returned from our last trip on Daisy, we were inspired to try a longer trip and a lucky cancellation gave us the opportunity.

So here we are, preparing to set off afloat once more, from the same place and in the same direction but further! We are looking forward to actually reaching Cosgrove and seeing the viaduct and aquaduct in Ouse Valley Park, and based on our progress last time, we hope to get to Weeden Bec before we turn round.

There will be a bit more housekeeping involved in a longer trip, things we didn’t have to consider before like fuel, water, rubbish and groceries and the forecast is mixed, but I have a nice new waterproof jacket, and we are really looking forward to a bit of an adventure.

Journal Entries

A Very Good Start

A Tale of Two Aqueducts

A Flight of Locks and a Haunted Tunnel

Weedon Wharf and the Northampton Arm

Stoke Bruerne to Cosgrove Revisited

The Greenest City

The Final Stretch

Map


Homeward Bound …

elainehayesblog

We took a turn round Waterhall Park before we set off. The park seems to mark the end of Milton Keynes and the beginning of the countryside.

Just the other side of the towpath is an avenue of Lombardy Poplar trees which have been planted either side of a footpath which run from here, all the way through Milton Keynes.

It gives access to an almost uninterrupted stretch of parks which I wish we had explored more fully and we kept catching glimpses of the these tall trees all along the canal.

Once we set off, I had another go steering, but still couldn’t get the hang of it and even managed to collide with a parked boat … albeit very gently!

As we approached Stoke Hammond lock, we looked out for the unusual double arched bridge which we’d missed on the way up.

At one point, duplicate narrow locks were built to take smaller boats saving water and time. They have since been filled in but the second arch shows where it was.

We caught up with the boat we had started out with, also making their way back and worked the lock together.

We stopped for lunch then refreshed, continued to Soulbury and the Three Locks. As we arrived another boat had just come through, so they were in our favour, and if they could come through just a single boat, then so could we. It was hard work though, working all three locks on our own, with Chris on the boat steering and me working all the paddles and gates. I did manage to get Chris to close one set though … just so he could have a go! At the end we were quite pleased with ourselves!

A bit later we moored up and went for a short walk past St Mary’s Church in Old Linslade and along the towpath.

We moved a short way further and moored for the night beside the site of Bridge 112, carefully chosen as far from the railway as possible and leaving just a short run back to Wyvern Shipping in the morning, setting a daily record of 6 miles, 31⁄4 furlongs! We polished off the last of the cake and a well deserved cuppa!

We came away, prepared to self cater throughout and brought enough with us so we didn’t need to shop, after all we are only on Daisy for four days and keeping our distance seems sensible at the moment.

We had thought if we passed an appealing pub at lunchtime we might stop for a bag of chips but it didn’t happen, and by choosing secluded moorings we were too far from a pub for dinner. We’ve had homemade soup, sandwiches and beans on toast for lunches and the dinner menu has comprised sausages with roasted sprouts and potatoes, Higgedy Pies and veg, homemade chilli and on our last night we have pesto pasta. This has worked out really well and meant we could both enjoy the whole experience and spend our time watching the world go by rather than slaving in the galley.

And from galley to gallery, just in case I’ve not included enough photos already, here are a few more, including some of the quirky views from the canal …

Next morning we were out on the water at 8.15 to ensure we were back on time. Just Leighton Lock to go through …

… and 31⁄2 furlongs to travel and we were back at the boat yard, handing Daisy back.

We caught up with others who had been out for a midweek trip like us, some making Cosgrove and the tunnel at Stoke Bruerne beyond, a lady who had dished up a full roast dinner one night and a chap who had backed into the winding hole by mistake, but a good time was had by all.

We’ve really enjoyed our first trip afloat and it was a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary, especially this year with options being limited. We may only have travelled a total of 22 miles, 1⁄2 furlongs and 12 locks with a revised destination of Campbell Park but we were obviously a little too ambitious thinking we could get further! Daisy is just lovely and we’ve already told her we hope to see her again soon … maybe we can get to Cosgrove next time and see the aquaduct!

Maps

Actual Route

The Adventure Begins …

elainehayesblog

We enjoyed our 90 minute drive to Leighton Buzzard, noticing how some of the leaves are turning already. We stopped briefly at Tiddenfoot Waterside Park to stretch our legs and eat our sandwiches …

… and caught the first glimpse of the Grand Union Canal.

We were at Wyvern Shipping at 1.30 on the dot to collect Daisy, and were quite surprised to see lots of other boats were going out as well.

While Chris brought the car over to load our things, I quickly took some snaps of Daisy.

Simon gave us a full tour inside and out, together with operating details and safety. It seemed a lot to remember. Then we set off with Simon showing Chris how to manoeuvre the boat and me how to work the first lock, Leighton Lock. The locks here are big enough to take two boats, and another of the Wyvern boats had come down the canal behind us so we went through together. Chris might have the most technical task but I seem to have the most active, having to use the windlass to raise and lower paddles and my back to push the gate open and closed. Simon suggested we proceed to the three locks at Soulbury and go those together with the other boat and with all the instructions fresh in our mind, it seemed a good idea. We had thought we might moor short of the locks for the night and do them fresh in the morning, but it is best not to do this set of 3 locks on your own, and we could end up waiting a while for another boat the next day.

Our induction complete, Simon returned to the boatyard and I put the kettle on for a cuppa. The canal meandered through the Ouzel Valley past farmland & woodland and under several bridges …

After around 3 miles, we approached Soulbury and moored up to survey the scene, with the flight of three locks ahead, a road bridge, a historic cottage and pub on the left and the old pumping station on the right.

Even this was easier said than done as drawing the boat in to the bank at the right angle to end up alongside in one go looks like it will take a little practice! I went with the chap from the other boat to look at the lock and figure out what we needed to do and we quickly established we weren’t too confident at all! A couple of other boats had moored up behind us and Jim came forward to rescue the situation. He had also hired his boat from Wyvern, but had done this before and got us organised as to who should do what when and I even managed to take a few pictures along the way …

Relieved that we had survived the three lock ordeal, we looked for a safe spot to moor for the night as it had started to spit with rain and ended up stopping quite soon,just short of Bridge 106 and a total of 4 miles, 11⁄4 furlongs from Wyvern. After a little backwards and forwards, the hefty hammering in of stakes and tightening of ropes, we were securely moored and we scuttled in to the dry.

We did a bit of unpacking, made more tea and put the oven on for dinner then tucked in to pies and veg and a bottle of red wine in our cosy cabin. Any worries we had that it would be chilly were unfounded as the heating is very efficient. After all the excitement, we had an early night and could hearing the rain falling on the roof of the boat as we fell asleep.

Maps

Chris & Elaine Celebrate Afloat 2020

elainehayesblog

Covid 19 has stopped us all in our tracks this year and we’ve stayed at home, cancelling or postponing all the travels we had planned. In August we thought a modest little trip might be possible and an article in the newspaper gave us the idea to book a narrowboat for our wedding anniversary. It ticked all the boxes, one of the most important being to celebrate our wedding anniversary on a boat as we have every year, while still keeping our distance and having a bit of an adventure.

Daisy is moored on the Grand Union Canal near Leighton Buzzard and we hope to travel north as far as the Ouse Valley Park in Cosgrove, so we can admire the viaduct and aqueduct, before returning … just 37 miles and 1⁄4 furlongs with 12 locks in total … not a very demanding route as we are new to this lark and goodness knows what the weather will be like.

We’ve not wanted to plan, look at a map or make a list to early, just in case this trip also had to be delayed … but so far so good and fingers crossed!

So this is the plan, but anything could happen along the way … join us and find out!

Journal Entries

The Adventure Begins …

Finding Our Feet …

Celebrating In Campbell Park …

Homeward Bound …

 

Maps