On Wednesday Karen dropped Matt at Gatwick for his fourth year of
medical studies in Hradek Kralove in Czech Republic. As no children at
home we decided to have a week on the boat.
Karen went to work in Crewe for the day and Buddy and I drove to
Roydon. We pottered around all afternoon taking in a long walk and
painting the front deck. Buddy was very interested in the sheep, cows
and turkeys. The church was unusual as it wasn’t walled in and it was
next to a house that didn’t quite seem finished. We met plenty of
boaters and their dogs for Buddy to play with. We met one guy who was a
friend of a boater we knew when we were moored down in Newbury.
On Friday Karen WFB and I fitted the mobile broadband receiver
permanently. Tim Garland (a sail and hood maker) fitted our cratch
cover. We now have an extra room!
In the evening we went for a cruise for a couple of miles passing
through Roydon lock on the way. We really hadn’t realised how pretty
Essex could be.
We moored at a lovely quiet and sunny spot by Hunsdon Mead and sat on the towpath for the evening.
Saturday promised to be yet another hot day so we started early so we
could get to Bishops Stortford which was 14 miles and 12 locks away.
Nearly all the locks have, or once had, mills next to them, hence the
names.
The river and countryside was really quiet and pretty even though we
went through places like Harlow. It was very tight and narrow in places
especially for a 70’ narrow boat.
Bishop’s Stortford wasn’t as quaint as we thought it sounded but
still had some interesting old buildings. Bishop’s Stortford is the
furthest North we can travel on the River Stort so we had to turn
round. We stopped for a pump out - right opposite the Michelin starred
‘Chicken Corner’.
The River Stort at Bishop’s Stortford.
We decided to turn round and head South to Sawbridgeworth. On the
way Karen walked a couple of miles with a guy who had two spaniels who
were desperate to play so all three dogs got plenty of exercise.
Buddy had his first accident, misjudging the gap to the bank and fell
in the river. He was a bit shocked but at least we found out he could
swim. He went in again, deliberately, with the two spaniels.
We went under one of the lowest bridges we have come across.
We also stopped at a quiet spot so Karen could do some logging.
In the evening we moored at Rushy Mead. This was the first time we
needed to use a gangplank since we had Buddy. We put two down to give
him confidence but it didn’t help. Karen had to drag him off and once
he realised it was safe he was happily running on and off the boat.
As it promised to be yet another hot day we took it slowly. We christened the washing machine and confirmed it had no leaks.
We went for a walk round Sawbridgeworth, a very pleasant town. We
then cruised through a couple of locks and moored out in the middle of
the country between Sawbridgeworth and Harlow. Buddy seems to have
really settled in and makes friends easily.
We sat on the towpath for late afternoon reading and drinks. A
family cycled past at one point and one of the young lads lost control
and fell in the river. He was stung by nettles and wet through so was
shocked rather than hurt. It took his mother ages to calm him down.
Fortunately it wasn’t one of us or Buddy who had made him lose
concentration.
All in all we have taken some big steps forward on the ‘Jobs to be done before we move aboard’ list over the last few days:
- Washing machine installed and working
- Cratch cover fitted
- Broadband receiver installed and working
We will stay on the boat until Wednesday now when Karen needs to
be back in Crewe. She will WFB for a couple of days whilst I cruise
back down to Roydon so she can get an early train on Wednesday morning.
Up
at 5 this morning to take Karen to the station. It’s her normal mid
week visit to the North West to spend the day at Barclays’ technical
development centre at Knutsford. I’ll be picking her up at 9 this
evening from Hemel Hempstead as we’ll be on the boat until the end of
the weekend.
Big step forwards on the job list yesterday - Monique found a home
for our chickens so we’ll have a trip to Wiltshire in a few weeks so
they can join the animals on Jo’s and Nick’s farm (friends of Monique).
We collected our new boy (his name is Buddy) from the RSPCA a few
days ago and we have found that he is petrified of cars and it’s a
nightmare getting the poor boy in ours so the trip from Kent to Hemel
and then to the boat at Ware later will be interesting.
He’s perfect in every other way though and, like Diesel (who died a
year ago), does not bark. It did occur to us on the way to the station
this morning that he may well be scared of the boat as well.
It also occurred to us that we will have an issue getting him on the
boat this evening. We left it in a relatively safe spot in Ware town
centre. As can be seen below we have to clamber over railings to get on
board. Looks like we’ll be lifting Buddy over - could be fun if it’s
dark and he’s struggling.
Our plan of not drinking during the week get’s tested and is
difficult to stick to when we are on the boat so tonight and tomorrow
will be interesting. Still, the long hot sunny evenings have gone so we
won’t be encouraged to sit outside.
Weather looks like being kind for the next few days so I’ll get some
painting and odd jobs done whilst Karen WFB on Thursday and Friday. I
need to fix up the new 4G antennae first though. I have knocked up a
temporary solution to hold it upright until we decide the best place on
the roof to put it. I usually rush straight into jobs and then a week
later decide that I did the wrong thing. I definitely don’t want to
drill holes in the wrong place in the roof!
We fancy walking into Ware first thing on Saturday and then cruising
into Hertford basin where we have to turn round (or wind [rhymes with
binned] as the working boaters used to pronounce it) in a winding hole.
We will then make our way back south down the River Lea for about six
miles until we hit the junction with the River Stort. The plan then is
to go north up the River Stort to its navigable limit at Bishop’s
Stortford. Apparently the locks on the River Stort are just under ten
feet wide, so wider then a narrow boat but not wide enough for two to
lock together.
The River Lea tends to be fairly wide whereas the Stort is narrower
and has lots of tight bends so it will be a nice change of scenery and a
challenge to navigate.
Getting Buddy to and onto the boat is going to be interesting this evening, so watch this space…
Friday
Friday promised to be a lovely day so I set off for Hertford to turn
round at the limit of navigation for 70’ boats. My task was then to
find somewhere to moor whilst Karen finished work. First we filled up
with water at the tiny Hertford marina:
Then we cruised past some pretty cottages and the Old Barge pub
before reaching the sign on the bridge saying the limit of navigation
had been reached. We then turned the boat round watched by a party of
old people drinking wine in their garden and some school girls. Both
parties were waving. By the way people who watch canal boats,
especially at locks, are called gongoozlers.
Buddy has settled in
After two days on the boat Buddy is now completely at home and can be
off the lead. He hops on and off without thinking - on Wednesday he
had to be dragged onto the boat. When we come back from walks he will
run ahead as soon as he spots our boat and jumps onto the deck first.
He is also happy around locks now as can be seen below.
Saturday
We decided not to walk into Hertford to visit the market because it
was yet another lovely day and we would rather be on the river. So we
planned to head for Roydon on the River Stort in Essex. This entailed
going back down the River Lea for three miles/two locks and turning
left.
Karen was feeling a bit guilty as she had baked cakes for Catherine
and Jo to take back to university but not baked anything for us. She
decided to make some bakewell slices and disappeared below. The next I
heard was a shout, we had run out of ground almonds. We stopped at a
place called Rye House to find a grocers. It was a really rough area
probably why it has a large go kart circuit on the river.
Water pikies and other things
Here we are waiting above Stanstead lock as we wanted to go down
after these boats had come up. The guy standing on the left was drinking
a can of Red Stripe, I had met him before and helped him (the green
boat) through the lock as I thought he was on his own. Then we heard
blaring music coming upstream. The guy standing on the blue boat was
coming up to the lock with the grey boat strapped alongside and the
rowing boat behind. Note the ghetto blaster speakers on the grey boat -
there was yet another large speaker to the left of it. Blue boat man
was on Special Brew - you can see the pile of empty cans building up on
his deck!
The same lock is unusual as it is one of very few that have a swing
bridge over it. The guy putting his hand up was stopping his wife as he
knew I wanted to take a picture.
Here we are at the junction where the River Stort enters the River Lea from the left.
The River Stort is completely different to the Lea; it is narrow and
twisty and feels quite rural. The locks are also narrower but not as
narrow as those on narrow canals such as the Oxford canal. It is
because of canals like the Oxford that broad beam boats cannot get up to
the north - doesn’t affect us fortunately.
We finally arrived at Roydon and found a spot to leave the boat opposite the railway station.
And just below this very low bridge with a rather nice old wooden cruise.
We are right next to a driveway that leads to the large Roydon
Village Marina with 300+ boats and a caravan park. The driveway is
quite a bit higher than the river but we feel safe…
Buddy’s
first night on the boat went really well. He slept from 11 until the
alarm went off at 6.15 (it’s like talking about a baby). He is
completely at home on the boat, just doesn’t like the decks so has to be
lifted on. I’m sure he’ll sort himself out.
Went for a walk along the tow path this morning through Ware. I
hadn’t realised that one of its claims to fame are the riverside gazebos
built in the 18th century. Ware was a brewing town and the main street
was consequently smelly and noisy. The wealthier high street property
owners built gazebos at the bottoms of their gardens overlooking the
river to get away from it all. After WWII plans were afoot to build a
new road between the high street and the river. Consequently the
gazebos fell into disrepair. Many were lost over time but a dozen or so
have now been restored, making for an interesting walk along the
towpath.
Slightly different style but reminded me of this modern gazebo on the river Thames between Reading and Oxford.
This again reminded me of this house south of Hemel Hempstead on the Grand Union canal - old and modern in one.
Every few miles since leaving London we have come across the New
River. I had never heard of this before but came across its source in
Ware this morning. The information board below explains its history and
purpose.
This picture shows the start of the New River as it leaves the weir at Ware.
After
24 hours Buddy is completely at home on the boat and leaps on and off
with no fuss or trepidation. We just have to get him used to traffic
and sudden loud noises. Last night we cruised from Ware to about 1/2
mile short of Hertford. We kept him on his lead for a while but after
15 minutes he was quite happy to be free and look at the ducks and cows
etc. We had to go through Ware lock which was Buddy’s first. Here he is
tied to a post - he has a special collar/muzzle on sometimes to stop
him pulling; he was really bad when we first got him but is improving
all the time.
It was getting quite dark when we got to Hertford lock so we decided
to moor on the lock moorings overnight. A bit naughty we know but we
are happy to let anyone tie up alongside if they want to use the lock.
Also, as we are on a river the banks are very high and reedy and we are
not really ready to use gangplanks with Buddy.
The weather looked promising this morning although these photos of Karen’s office for the day were taken before sunrise!
Buddy loves meeting other dogs and is quite submissive. Here he is on his morning walk meeting a black labrador.
As we were on lock moorings I cruised up through Hertford lock, the
last/first lock on the river Lea. It took me about 30 minutes to get
through as the bottom gates were badly leaking. I was naughty again, I
had to nudge the top gates open with the boat.
Emptying the lock before we could go in:
Nearly at the top:
We have now moored for the day just below these pretty canal-side
cottages in Hertford. Hertford looks a pleasant place and plenty of
opportunity for Friday evening drinks. It also has a Saturday market so
no doubt we’ll take a wander round tomorrow before turning round
(winding) and heading south to the river Stort.
Anyway, I have jobs to do so can’t spend all day blogging…
It
feels a bit strange starting a blog of our year aboard when we haven’t
even set off. Just thinking about writing a blog makes me realise how
many topics there are but I have also realised that I don’t have the
supporting material (just as well probably).
For example - canal side pubs.
We are fortunate in that our leisure time enables us to visit a
greater variety of pubs than most people. We have seen all extremes and
I now wish I had recorded the good and the bad for fun and memories.
Sometimes we find a pub we are at home with so we stay in the area
for a while. We love rural pubs that still have local clientele rather
than those converted to chic food establishments.
Watching and mixing with locals is fun as each character often
reminds us of a particular character in our village local back home,
sometimes even down to the type of dog they have.
We have been to our fair share of grotty pubs. I remember going
through Banbury in Oxfordshire. For some reason Banbury sounds like it
should be a lovely place and, indeed, it does have some redeeming
features. We went to a pub one evening - Chiltern stone and thatch -
the sort that looks inviting. It was a bit dark inside and the guys at
the bar were pretty rough. My pint was under £2 and Karen’s lager just
over - should have realised then I suppose. Anyway we sat down and
noticed that everyone sitting down were girls. Then we saw the posters:
‘Karaoke every week night 9.00 - 1.00’. It was five to nine - we drank
up and fled!
We were in Bristol harbour two summers ago and found some really
great pubs; however, the area shown below was alive each and every night
with hen and stag parties.
So we moored further down in the harbour opposite the SS Great Britain.
I take a picture of each lock we go through for a personal record and
to help prompt memories in the future. I now wish I had recorded the
pubs we visited.
FIXTURES & FIXINGS
When we took the boat through London recently we were amazed at the
number of people who thought narrow boats have to be kitted out with
‘miniature’ versions of furnishings and white goods. Even though narrow
boats are less than 7’ wide they can accommodate standard sizes such as
kitchens. When we replaced our kitchen Lauren and I fitted a flat pack
one from Wickes. We left a space equivalent to one cabinet so that
Diesel had somewhere to sleep.
Anyway, when we decided we were going to move aboard full time we
realised it would be better to install a washing machine in the space we
left for the dog. As could have been predicted (based on my lack of
DIY skills) the space we left wasn’t quite wide enough for a standard
washing machine. We shopped around and found that all smaller machines
were twice the price. Fortunately I got an unused one from eBay for
about half price as it was marked on the sides.
FRESH WATER
We have an 800 litre water tank for fresh water. Hot water is held in
a tank called a calorifier which is heated by the engine cooling system
so we cannot have hot water unless the engine has been running. We top
up the water tank at water points along the way. Invariably the
pressure at these water points is very low and therefore we often spend
an hour or two topping up (ideal time for a food or beer break of
course!). The two white posts on the left of our boat (below) are water
points - we have our hose connected to the closer one. This is at
Napton on the Hill which can be seen in the background. We walked to
the top where you can see seven counties on a clear day (second picture
down shows just 120 degrees of the circle of view). It is also where
locals watched the bombing of Coventry.
And this is a view of the hill from the north with a strategically placed windmill.
GAS
This water point is just north of the M25 at Watford. The lid open
at the front of the boat gives access to the gas bottle locker where we
have two 13kg bottles for cooking on a standard oven converted to use
LPG. When we bought the boat it had gas central heating but I have
since ripped the system out as we were getting through a bottle a week!
We now just have a multi-fuel stove to burn logs and coal.
DIESEL
We support the floating traders by buying gas and diesel from the
fuel boats that ply their trade in hard fought stretches of the canal
system. We have a 300 litre fuel tank which uses red diesel. The UK is
the only European country that still allows the boating community to
use red diesel. The EU are fighting this at present so costs may well
rise from 80p a litre to the price charged at petrol stations.
Here is a fuel boat we locked up with on new year’s day 2014 on the Grand Union - gas bottles can be seen at the front.
The enterprising couple below (Steve & Liz whose patch is River
Lee and Regents Canal) have a butty (unpowered boat) attached to their
fuel boat. They use the butty as a mobile chandlery - we took advantage
of this when we had to replace three of our batteries recently. Much
easier than trekking off to a shop somewhere and lugging them back along
the towpath.
ELECTRICITY
Most electrical appliances run off the bank of 12volt batteries. We
also have an inverter that converts the 12v to 240v for items like
washing machine, slow cooker and wireless router. We also have a
generator for emergencies.
WASTE
On the less savoury side - grey water (wash and shower waste) is
pumped straight into the canal. Black waste (from toilet holding tank)
has to be pumped out at pump out stations along the way - a lovely job.
When we first bought the boat it had two bathrooms/toilets as it was a
hire boat for 12 people. Jake and I removed one bathroom and toilet to
make more space. Here is the hole left after removing the toilet and
holding tank.
The upright oblong white object on the pontoon on the right is the pump out station at Limehouse basin.
SHOPPING
Shopping is easy when in towns as many supermarkets have canal-side entrances.
Redeveloping the basin at Aylesbury with Waitrose.
HEATING
Coal for the stove is purchased from the fuel boats and logs picked
up from the side of the canal by Karen and cut up with the chainsaw.
