Haven't been able to post for a few days as no signal in Lowsonford, but are now in a better area, so post below.
Tuesday 16th June
We set off from Wootton Wawen today with a tear in our eye
as we waved goodbye singing we’ll meet again some sunny day!! Back up the canal we went, we have 8 locks
and 4 miles to do today, so a strenuous day ahead!
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| Lovely sunny morning on Stratford canal |
We were following two boats and it was really slow going as
the first boat was a hire boat and apparently the lady didn’t like doing locks,
strange holiday to go on then, but then there’s nowt so strange as folk, so we
worked our way through the locks nearly losing the will to live at some of
them.
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| Leaving lock and Yarningdale aqueduct behind |
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| Kev asking iron man to help! |
At Bucket lock, you go up the lock then over Yarningdale
aqueduct with the towpath at the bottom of the trough. Eventually we were at Lowsonford, stopped for
water before the lock then into the last lock for the day. Anthony Gormley’s man was still there staring
down at Kev as he bought the boat into
the lock. Kev offered him a windlass
instead of standing there idle, but he declined, lazy so and so!
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| Gordanneus and Anthony Gormley Structure |
We moored up just after the lock in a nice sunny spot
opposite the Fleur-de-Lys pub. When we
were here last there was a boat on the long term moorings selling free range
eggs, so we decided in the evening to walk down to see if they had any. Unfortunately they didn’t, but we spoke to the
chap and he said that they have a small holding where they keep the chickens
and his wife would be bringing some eggs back tomorrow, so we ordered a dozen
for tomorrow night.
We walked back up past the lock and sat on the bench there
in the peace and quiet, then a boat came into the lock, well half way and
stopped dead. The elderly lady (we found
out later they are both in their 80’s!) opened the top paddles to try and float
the boat. It was then discovered that
they had their fenders down and that was what was jamming them in the lock.
The old guy instead of backing out the lock tried to climb
on the roof with a lot of difficulty and pull the fenders out which were jammed solid. He did pull the boat back a bit, but kept
going down the side of the boat pulling at the fenders and tottering about on
the back of the boat, how he didn’t fall in was amazing. Meanwhile the paddles were still open
emptying the pound above which we were moored in. Eventually he got the boat in the lock, we
shut the gate and they came up the lock.
He hadn’t managed to get all the fenders up, so when the boat was coming
up the lock, he then scrambled up on the roof again, nearly falling in the
process, Kev said to him why didn’t you wait until the boat was fully up
instead of taking unnecessary risks, he just laughed.
We chatted to them and they had set off from Stratford at 8.30am
and this was 7pm at night when they got to Lowsonford. That made us laugh as this is our fourth stop
since we left Stratford!
They went past us and then we saw the boat going all over
the canal, both of them on the side and no one steering. We went out and he had dropped a fender in
the water and was trying to recover it. They
then decided to moor up in front of us.
We helped them. The bank was
sloping a bit where they moored and when he went to the edge to put a chain on
to tie up, he nearly slipped, then he couldn’t get back up, so we all had to
help him. We were really glad when they
were tied up and inside. They were
really nice people, but far too old for that sort of boating, they usually do
12 or 13 hour days!
We are having a day off tomorrow and just chilling out here.
There is a farm shop just up the hill from the canal which sells Gloucester Old
Spot Pork and Dexter Beef so we will walk up there for a few supplies.
Wednesday 17th
June
Had a leisurely start as we are staying put today, Kev did some work on his note boards cutting
out different shapes ready to paint and hopefully sell, then we walked up to
the Farm shop which is just up the hill.
It is only open on Tuesday and Saturday, but if you ring them like we
did and they are there, then they will open the shop. It is a farm that rears and sells Gloucester
Old spot pork and Dexter Beef. When we
went there on the way down, we bought a pie which was filled with Dexter beef,
it was really delicious, so we bought another one and some bacon and sausages.
We walked back down to the canal, then decided to go over to
the pub, the Fleur-de-Lys. It is a
really nice pub and right on the canal.
We got a drink and sat in the gardens watching a few boats go by and had
a meat platter and chips to share. It
was really good, one of the best platters we have had, there was belly pork,
pulled pork, mini sausages, home made pate, chicken tikka pieces, bread and
dips. The food is very good in this pub
and the staff are all really friendly, we would definitely recommend it.
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| Beautiful sunset at Lowsonford |
We did have a bit of rain early evening, but nothing too
much. We went down to the boat on the
long term moorings who sold the eggs and got a dozen, they are £1 for six, so a
good price.
When the sun set, the sky was a wonderful red colour, really
beautiful, it didn’t last long though, but luckily I got a photo before it
disappeared.
We are staying put again tomorrow.
Thursday 18th
June
Last night our water pump kept coming on every 45 seconds or
so, so this morning Kev looked to see what the problem was. He checked under the sink first to see if
there were any leaks, but all dry, so then he looked at the calorifier and it was
leaking from one of the fittings that is joined to it. As we are moored in the middle of nowhere at
the moment, we keep the water pump turned off and just turn it on when we want
water. We also don’t have any signal
where we are moored, so when we chug on tomorrow, Kev will phone a boat yard to
see if the fittings are fixed in or whether you can tighten them. Also Kev is going to try some sealant which
sets underwater (hopefully we won’t be under that much water to see if it
works!) and go from there.
It is another glorious sunny warm day and we have just
chilled out, not really done much. We walked down to the bench by the lock as
that is one of the places you can get a signal and internet, although very
slow, but at least it works.
We are off up the canal to tomorrow to Kingswood Junction
where we will stay for a few days before heading off on the Grand Union canal
towards Warwick.
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| Moored at Lowsonford |
