Hire boat holiday 2009 (honeymoon with seven of the children)

Karen and I got married on 8^th August 2009 and spent the following week with seven of our children on the western end of the Kennet & Avon canal.  We hired an Alvechurch boat from their Hilperton marina.

Our hire boat decked out with wedding ribbons

To start the trip we headed to Bath as most of the children had never visited the city before.

One of several bike sculptures on the way down to Bath

There are a couple of fine aqueducts across the River Avon but their true majesty can really only be seen from the river level.  Sorting through the old photographs I could only find ones taken as we crossed the aqueducts.

Crossing the Avoncliff aqueduct (Sophie driving and Jake reading – both ignoring the newlyweds!)

Crossing the Avoncliff again on our way back (Polly keeping look out and Joanna reading)

Dundas aqueduct (Polly and Joanna pointing out which way to go)

We bought our first narrowboat after this trip and were based on the K&A for a couple of years before becoming ccers and venturing farther afield.  We have fond memories of Avoncliff as it is one of the best places we have found for ransoms (wild garlic leaves); the best we have found is near Preston Brook at the top end of the Trent & Mersey canal.

Pretty houses at Avoncliff (the Cross Guns pub and microbrewery sits behind the houses and is well worth a visit)

Most of the bridge and bankside stonework is quite ornate in Bath and very different from most other cities that canals pass through.

Sydney gardens footbridge in Bathwick

In the background of the picture above is Cleveland House sitting on top of Cleveland House tunnel.  Cleveland House was the headquarters of the canal company until 1864.  Tolls used to be collected through a trapdoor into the tunnel roof.

Karen musing on a stone bridge

The number of boats using the Bath end of the K&A has vastly increased since 2009  and places like this would be full of double moored boats now, just like London.

The quieter mooring times around Bathampton

Not sure what Catherine was doing here

Looking at the picture above reminds me that gangplanks are required at most mooring spots on the K&A.  Some people find this annoying and put the canal down because of it.  As we cruised mainly the K&A and Thames in our early boating years it was the norm for us and we found it strange once we started going farther afield onto waterways where gangplanks are not required.

Once we had been to Bath we turned round and headed hack east to visit Devizes.

Bottom of the main flight at Caen Hill in Devizes.

We didn’t have enough time to do the flight but walked up to the top to get ice creams.

Side pond with heron on the walk up the flight

Karen with Catherine and Joanna

Jake, Sophie, Polly & Lauren

Each lock in the flight has a side pond to help conserve water – great views across Wiltshire

Colourful boats moored above the top lock of the main flight

We travelled 40 miles through 31 locks during the holiday.

Hire boat holiday 2007 (Gayton to Braunston and back)

During August 2007 we hired a narrowboat, with six of the children, from Gayton marina just at the start of the Northampton arm of the Grand Union.  We headed north, through Weedon and Buckby then through Braunston tunnel and down the Braunston flight.  We turned at Braunston Turn, which is the junction with the Oxford canal, and then headed back to the marina. 

During the week both Matthew and Lauren had their birthdays and, as usual, Karen managed to decorate the boat including fairy lights.  I probably wasn’t worried about the effect on the batteries in those days as it was a hire boat and I didn’t know any better.

Loading up at Gayton marina, including eight bikes on the roof.We'd even brought a trailer full of stuff!

Looking back at the pictures they are nearly all of the children and only a couple of the canal.

Polly in a lock – she’s not driving honest – I was ducking down for something

We covered 34 miles through 26 broad locks on the holiday.  Even though it was summertime we only managed to share a couple of locks with another boat (nb Grace which can just be seen in the picture above).  Maybe the other boaters were keeping clear of the mad hire boat family!

Here are a few pictures of the children:

Jake in a pub garden

Polly and Joanna in a pub garden

Matthew in a pub garden

Catherine in a pub garden

Me in a pub garden - just look at that old Nokia phone!

Me and Joanna

Our old lab Diesel - he loved getting wet unlike Buddy but they both share(d) a penchant for sticks

Karen and Matthew outside in the dark

Me and Lauren outside in the dark

Some of Karen's party decorating

Matthew and Lauren's birthday dinner

Polly and Joanna

Catherine and Lauren

Pary time!

Polly and me

Jake and Polly

Catherine

Alvechurch (hire boat holiday - summer 2006)

In the summer of 2006 we hired a boat from Alvechurch for a week with our friends Lyn and Barry.  We fancied cruising a mini ring taking in Birmingham.

Our 50 mile and 50 lock mini ring

We were very fortunate and had no rain all week and it was t-shirt weather nearly every day. We set off north up the Worcester & Birmingham canal to its junction with the North Stratford canal at Kings Norton where we turned right down the North Stratford towards Lapworth.

Barry and me at one of the top locks at Lapworth making sure we are keeping away from the cill

Looking at the photo above you will see the centre line coiled up on the roof.  We’ve learnt a lot since then and always have two centre lines, both running to the stern, one each side.  We invariably use a centre line when mooring and it avoids having to traipse down the gunwales to get hold of the line.

The pretty lock cottage near the top of the Lapworth flight

Some of the locks at Lapworth

Lyn looking happy as we’re nearly down the flight – the pipework is eco-friendly and landscape friendly green nowadays

Barry and Karen setting a lock but I can’t remember which one

When we reached Lapworth junction we turned onto the Grand Union and headed north for Birmingham.

Lyn cruising along the Grand union

Karen and Lyn discussing Knowle locks or maybe which pub we would be stopping at that evening

The weather was exceedingly calm when we went up the Knowle flight on the Grand Union.  Every time we have been up or down since, there has been a breeze or wind and as the lock flight is so exposed it is easy to get blown off course between the locks.  The trick is to wait in a lock until the gates of the next one are open and then make a dash for it.  We have seen boats spun round by the wind whilst waiting in the open pounds between the locks waiting for gates to open.  Many people avoid Knowle locks if they can; however, they are well worth a visit on foot as they are quite remarkable.  

Diesel, our previous dog, enjoying the holiday

The locks through Birmingham were pretty dingy compared to today.  A lot of tidying up and renovation has been carried out over the last ten years making most canals in Birmingham a pleasant place to visit.  As we got close to Birinhgham we joined the Birmigham and Fazeley canal and followed it all the way into the centre.

Karen setting one of the Farmer’s flight locks in Birmingham

Another one of the Farmer’s flight locks

In the centre we joined the start of the Worcester and Birmingham canal and headed south back to our start point at Alvechurch.  Karen and I had work the next day so we set off home and left Barry and Lyn on the boat whilst they had a couple more days cruising on their own.