Some might have noticed my lack of words lately. Here’s the story…

I was very fortunate to meet up with several friends, quite by chance really, while in the Braunston area. I spent a few days cruising onto the Oxford Canal with Martyn and Amanda, and then had some laughs with Guy and Rose, and finally a great pub visit with my nephew Eric and his family Lisa and Tilley. It was all fantastic, but I managed to make it not last.

One of the things I repeat to myself constantly is to be careful in locks. I’m usually by myself, in the middle of nowhere, and quite vulnerable. This day I ignored that… First thing in the morning, remote lock, wet surfaces, etc etc.

To make a stupid story stupider, I did a glorious swan dive from the roof of the boat, landing chest-first on to the stern railing and busting some ribs.

If you’ve never done this, DON’T! I’ve had a few injuries, mostly skiing, some doing other silly things. but this is the most pain-in-the-ass injury ever. Almost impossible to do anything without cringing with pain. And sneezing is now my mortal enemy. I’m sure glad it’s not hay fever season.

One of the worst parts was that I was at the beginning of a long day of locks, the first of 22. I managed through a few, slowly, before being caught up by another boat. Once they realized why I so slow at working the locks, they came to my rescue. Heather mostly, leaving her brother-in-law Brian to help with her own boat. She did all the locks for me, all day! Refused to let me get off the boat. What a champ… Got me to Nantwich where Phil helped me through the final four the next day to my winter mooring location.

That’s it then, just chilling in the marina where I have everything close at hand and easy (water, food, power, etc). No locks for a while.

I want to thank everyone for all the help. Brian and Heather for getting me through the locks. Phil and Angela, you’re always there for me. Eric & Lisa, Guy & Rose, Martyn & Amanda, and everyone else that have offered so much help.

And here are some pictures just because…

///allergy.tops.originals

I think I’m going to have to revert back to “this sooo awesome!!” mode for a while. I’ve been moving a lot, not doing much sightseeing or taking too many pictures. I’ve simply been revelling in movement, not being confined to four walls any longer. One of the best parts of this is that I’m able to be out without endangering myself or anyone else (at least as much as possible in this weird world). I’m not going to pubs or restaurants, I’m not going into shops except for essentials, and I’m not getting close to anyone. That’s actually pretty easy to do on the canals, it’s only at locks that there’s any chance of close encounters and it seems that we’re all pretty aware.

Now this might seem like it’s dimishing the enjoyment of the canal system, and I suppose it is. However, if I compare it to what I’d be doing back in Sidney, it’s fantastic. I had only just begun mountain biking before I left, and I am anxious to do more of that as I really enjoyed it, but if was back there I’d only be staying home, fattening the curve (no, that’s not a typo).

Okay, here’s today’s adventure. As I mentioned previously, I’m on the Ashby Canal. It’s a short (22 mile) section that connects to the Coventry Canal. It used to go further, to the coal mines around Moira, but the northern sections were progressively shut down due (at least in part) to subsidence as the coal under it was extracted. Several miles of old canal are being restored north of Snarestone, hopefully this will be completed in the near(ish) future.

Along the Ashby is a village that many will recognize, Market Bosworth. If that name seems familiar, it’s near a notorious battle of the War of the Roses (no, not the movie) in 1485. In fact, this is the location of the last significant battle, where Henry Tudor defeated and killed Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth Field. As a further reminder, Richard III’s body was found a few years ago under a car park in Leicester.

Unfortunately, the Visitor Centre is presently closed, as are the guided walks around the area. I might have to return when things get back to normal, I’d love to explore more. This had seemed like a highlight of coming up the Ashby Canal but I guess I should have expected it.

Oh, and here’s how NOT to go through a tunnel…

It turns out the breaker for my tunnel light was off. It didn’t trip, I had just missed it when turning them all on when I first came aboard. Going the other way was a bit more organized. The damn bend in the middle didn’t help but it’s pretty wide so all was well…

 

 

 

///towers.daily.brains

 

Well, things are about as back to normal as can be expected. I’m not going to talk (much) about how different things are, I’ll just say that people are very calm and mostly cooperative with the rules over here. It’s not quite like nothing’s happening but close, once out on the canals,

So. I left the marina and headed straight to Natwich. It’s a beautiful town and my good friends live there. Stayed a couple of days and had my first pub meal! Fish and chips, of course.

 

When I left there I really got down to business. I’ve spent so long sitting in one place, whether it was on the mountain, in Sidney, or in the marina, I couldn’t wait to really move. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Not a lot of stopping to see any sights, just enjoying being somewhere different every day. I think once I’ve got it out of my system I’ll stop and smell some roses.

Now, for some readers (you know who you are), here’s the route I’ve been taking, in terms of the towns and villages rather than the canals:

Nantwich, Audlem, Market Drayton, Norbury, Gnossall Heath, Wheaton Aston, Brewood (pronounced Brood because, well of course it is), outskirts of Wolverhampton, Four Ashes, Penkridge, Acton Trussell, Walton-on-the-hill (outskirts of Stafford), Great Haywood, Rugeley, Handsacre, Fradley, Tamworth, and Atherstone.

Whew. And lots of spots in between, as long as the canal runs through them.

The weather has certainly cooperated since I’ve been moving. Not a lot of rain, mostly perfect temperatures until the last couple of days. It’s damn hot now. Had an amazing lightning display off to the north last night, and there’s hints of another tonight.

Okay, it’s a few days later… I’ve still been travelling like crazy, not stopping except to eat and sleep. Well, that’s an exaggeration but I have been putting the miles in. I’ve made it to the Ashby Canal, which was one of my goals since I’ve not been on it before and I’ve heard good things. It’s seems very nice so far, nothing special but that might be because the weather has turned. Rainy, cool, and windy. It’s much more rural than most of the areas I’ve been through lately, which I like. There’s still a couple of days to go on it so we’ll see. I’ve done some calculating and I’m well ahead of whatever schedule I had in the back of my mind, so I might slow down along here…

///elevates.populate.fuse

 

 

 

I had to think seriously about whether to write this post. As many of you already know, I’m back on my boat, back on the UK canals (sort of). I finally managed to book a flight that didn’t get cancelled, 5 times lucky it would seem. There’s been a bit of soul-searching, deciding whether to fly over to the UK or not. There’s lots of reasons <not to>, but in the end the reasons <to> go won out. I even splurged for business class (I blame Robbie).

The reason for my hesitation in writing about it is that I wasn’t sure how welcome I would be. With the rather vitriolic rhetoric coming from many Canadians toward US travelers (somewhat justified I must say), I thought maybe I’d get a bit of that over here. There’s sometimes a sort of a blending of Canada and the US in the minds of overseas people but I haven’t yet had any problems. Everyone has been very matter-of-fact and accepting, often asking how Canada was doing. It’s nice to tell them the truth and ease their minds.

In fact, Heathrow Airport is the only place I’ve seen anyone wearing masks. Once out of the London area, there’s been little sign of them. People are very serious and precise about physical distancing though, so that’s good. Face coverings are to be mandatory in shops soon so I’m sure they’ll become more common.

I’m now doing a 14 day quarantine on the boat (in the marina) as Canada wasn’t included on the ‘safe’ list of countries not requiring isolation upon entry. I’m not sure why, since our numbers are better than several countries that are on the list. I attribute it, at least in part, to our close geographic and social association with the US (we’re all ‘American’ to many over here, as I said). I have a bit of work I’d like to do on the boat before leaving, so it’s not a huge hardship. The chandlery is going to deliver supplies to me so I can get on with the jobs, and I’m allowed to walk the fields next to the marina for an hour a day. Having said that, the entry into the country was very strange at such a time. I collected my bags, put my passport into a machine, then just walked out. I didn’t see or talk to a single border or health official. I had previously filled out an online form giving my contact information, so I assume they can reference that to check up on me.

I’ve started writing the occasional article for an online magazine, you can read them at canalsonline.uk/author/doug-yelland/ . I’ll be adding more once I’m actually moving, or if something interesting happens.

I want to thank my good friends Phil and Angela for driving all the way to Heathrow to collect me, deliver me to the boat, and bring me a huge load of precious groceries! I can’t wait to be able to get out and cruise with them in August. What incredible people… I had a couple of offers of a ride, the people I’ve met on boats are truly amazing. Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and help. It’s so good to be back…

I sincerely hope everyone is coping well. I know it’s been harder on some than others; I’ve heard from friends that are struggling, others that are doing fine. Seems that many like working at home and there’s lots of discussion about a ‘new normal’ for many different aspects of our life. Let’s keep the good parts even as we shed the bad.

On the blog front there’s, again, not much to add. I’m back in Sidney now, the mountain isn’t that great in the spring when the rains start. Foggy and soggy. My condo renovation in Sidney is done and it’s very nice… It took me some time to get my stuff sorted and put away but I’m enjoying it now. Plus it’s convenient to be near the shops, I don’t have to buy enough food for weeks at a time. Most things are open in Sidney, it’s almost like nothing’s happening except for sidewalk service at some places, instead of inside shopping. Everyone is very respectful of the distancing so life goes on. Restaurants are mostly open for take-out, lots of groceries on the shelves, and I even found some hand sanitizer.

As for the plans to get to the UK, that’s pretty much still on hold. The canals are gradually opening up for cruisers so that’s really good news. However, as of June 8 incoming foreigners will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. If staying on the boat is allowed, that works fine but they will likely need an address where they can check on me to make sure I’m not going out. We’ll have to see if the boat location (even in a marina) is acceptable. There’s a remote possibility that by July this might be lifted for Canadians, there’s quite a push over there to get tourism going again. London is in pretty good shape with a big drop in new cases, and much the rest of the country seems to be going in the right direction (except for a few locales). If the boat isn’t allowed, I’ll try to make other arrangements. I won’t go until the canals are totally open though, I don’t want to be ‘unwelcome’.

On that point, at the present time the hire boat companies are planning on starting nearly regular rentals in early July.  This was sort of my indication of when it might be acceptable for me to be on the canals. There will continue to be some restrictions to cruising however; for instance if you want to travel through a ‘controlled’ lock (where a lock keeper is needed) there will be limitations and usually a booking needed. It’s likely to be pretty open however. There’s a huge amount of pent-up energy and if this happens, I’ll look into going over in July. Fingers crossed!

///beggar.puppet.dispersing

 

 

While I’ve been self-isolating I’ve been going through pictures and videos that I took over that last couple of summers on the canals in England and Wales. I started with mostly scenic shots, lovely bridges, peaceful stretches of canal, cows and sheep on green fields, that sort of thing. But they all started running together and after a few went by they began looking all alike.

I quickly realized that it was the people I shared my adventure and sometimes my boat with that drew my interest. Some I had met along the way, often spending several days with them sharing locks and pub nights. Others were friends from home who made the huge commitment to travel to stay with me for a few days. And there were even several that I had met in 2018 that I was able to reconnect with in 2019.

So that’s the focus of these slide shows, showing some of the people that have come to mean so much to me on my canal travels, and in my life. Of course, there were many others of whom I didn’t get a photo. There’s also a few scenic pictures, of places with particular memories. If you’ve been following the blog you might recognize some of them.

Enjoy…

 

 

I’m not going to go on and on about the hardships and annoyances during this weird time. I also don’t want to minimize them, but we’ve all heard so much about it. I’m just writing to keep busy. Now, that implies that I have nothing to do…nothing could be further from the truth! I’ve got lots of cleaning waiting, I need to wax and put my skis away, I should get some exercise, the list actually is quite long. But I am getting way too used to not <having> to do anything! It’s quite freeing. Perhaps it’s not all that useful or productive, but there it is. I’m just too busy doing nothing.

I also understand that many people are still working, often putting themselves in danger in order to help the rest of us or to simply pay the bills. I honour them all, particularly those on the ‘front lines’, in the health care system, in the grocery stores, and many other places that are considered essential. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. I know we’ve all been saying that, but it’s a very important thing to keep saying and to keep in the front of our minds.

Now, since this is a narrowboat blog, I’ll talk a bit about narrowboating. The situation in the UK is a bit dire but fortunately they have an amazing health care system. I’m hopeful that this will help balance the slow start they got to help produce better outcomes. On the canals it’s a strange situation. The Canal & River Trust, the charity that administers the majority of the system, has issued instructions for boats to remain in place if possible. Only ‘essential’ movement is allowed. This is primarily moving to get water, dispose of waste, and get groceries. People that live full-time on their boats but don’t have a ‘home mooring’ are called continuous cruisers. Normally they are allowed to stay at most mooring locations for up to 14 days before moving on but under the present circumstances that limit has been lifted.

The biggest issue being discussed is use of the towpath. Over the last couple of years the CRT has been promoting the use of the towpaths by non-boaters as a healthy place to be (“Life Is Better By Water”). Walkers and bicyclists are encouraged to make use of such a beautiful resource. At this time however, they’re being discouraged from doing so in an attempt to reduce the crowding on a narrow pathway, to try to keep the boaters and themselves safer. It’s causing a lot of controversy and some heated exchanges. 

I know of a similar situation in North America, mostly concerning travel to holiday locations (such as ski hills). I hope this doesn’t turn into a ‘them and us’ situation, we’re all in this together no matter where we live (hear that Donald Trump?).

One of the things I have been doing is going through video that I’ve taken along the canals. I have no intention of trying to compete with the ‘boat tubers’ out there, many of them are very talented and work hard at creating high quality videos. I am, however, putting some crappy videos up on YouTube. It’s been fun and interesting and I thought others might get a laugh out of the attempts. My YouTube channel is, of course, called “Canuck on the Cut“. Please don’t expect much, but there is the occasional nice scenery shot.

 

 

As always, thank you for reading, keep in touch, and take very good care.

 

First and foremost, I’d like to extend the hope that my friends, family, and all of our loved ones are healthy and remain that way. All other considerations are a distant second. 

At this uncertain and increasingly difficult time, we must all pull together (with appropriate social distancing!) to get through what is a strange and scary event. I have faith in our health care professionals and the systems they are putting in place to keep us as safe as possible. If there is anything I can do to help anyone here on Vancouver Island (I’m presently still up the mountain), please let me know. And yes, I have enough toilet paper and pasta. And wine.

As for my cruising plan for the UK (since that’s what this blog is about, after all!), it’s completely up in the air. The original plan was to go over in early May but it’s likely that’ll be delayed if not cancelled all together. Right now the issue is that at present I’d have no health coverage since the Canadian government has issued a warning against all international travel. It’s a strange situation; my insurance will not cover me even though I bought my tickets and the insurance before the announced restrictions, but I can’t get my money  back for the insurance that I may no longer need and won’t even cover me! Hopefully they’ll figure that out.

Now, in addition to all that, Mt. Washington has just suspended its ski season. It’s not likely they’ll open again but as always, I live in hope. It’s more than a bit disappointing as the weather forecast says it’ll be the best spring skiing in years! I’m very thankful for the last few days with great friends and awesome conditions, and for a successful season (no injuries). This sudden closure is just another aspect of a very strange winter. I’ll be staying up here since there’s nowhere more beautiful to be anyway. I’m getting significant pressure from some old friends to go mountain biking with them, and I’m running out of excuses! Maybe the next post will be about a different sort of mountain sport. Or I’ll be back on my favorite crutches.

As I said, it’s so beautiful up here. When I got up this morning and looked out, the moon was hanging over the sun-touched mountains and it took my breath away. I never get used to it, and I never take it for granted.

Finally, here are some memories of the season…

 

 

I hadn’t planned on doing another blog post until I was closer to returning to the boat, but here is short one. I’m presently still on the mountain, skiing each day and looking forward to returning to the canals in the UK. Cool Change has been blacked and serviced and will be back in the water and ready to go when I return in early May. More on my plans later…

What I’m writing about today is concerning an interview that I did with the lovely and talented Annamarie and Kath, vloggers who are known as The Narrowboat Experience on YouTube. It’s a fantastic channel, with informative and interesting videos about life on a narrowboat and many other subjects. In this case, they have a series where they talk to various people about what life on the canal is like and how they began their journey. They called me and asked if I’d like to participate as my story was a bit unusual. I was quite willing since I never really mind talking, as many of my friends will attest to.

The resulting interview has now been published on YouTube. I think they did a great job of editing and producing it, it’s not as embarrassing as I thought it might be (not because of them, but because I hate seeing myself on camera).

Having said all of that, I’m writing now to thank everyone that has recently read, subscribed, and commented on my blog and the interview video. There are so many nice people out there, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. And thanks to Kath and Annamarie for making it fun and easy. Sorry about the lousy tea.

In addition to making great videos (with Kath) and being an awesome cat mom, Annamarie is also a watercolour artist. They have the website ArtbyAnnamarie.com and I highly suggest you check out her beautiful paintings and their other items.

As for my 2020 cruising plans, that’ll have to wait. There have been some major storms throughout the UK this winter, causing considerable wind and flood damage. At least one major canal is completely blocked, likely for a year or more while it is repaired. As I had hoped to go through that area, a rewrite of the plan is underway!

(photo credit: David Thompson)

As always, I try to answer all the comments I receive here on the blog so please keep in touch and give me feedback whenever you like. I also post occasionally on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I hope you continue to enjoy my meandering writings…

Stay tuned…

I haven’t posted much lately, it was a bit of a slow homecoming. I knew I’d have over a month before the ski season started, which turned out to be true, but it was a long month (and turned out to be even longer than that). I moved up the mountain right away and it was fantastic weather for hiking and scenery but not so good for the ski season. There was no significant snow until well into December so opening day was a couple of weeks late.

Mt. Washington Resort has installed snow-making, but even with the cold temperatures not much snow was produced. Like so often happens in construction, they had to  wait for several inspections and certificates. Once that occurred, they were able to make some snow but it had started naturally by then.

Meanwhile, I’ve got lots of writing done, been looking at the piano occasionally, and have bought a gym membership. Maybe I’ll even go there today. Or tomorrow. Ya, tomorrow…

With some poor weather now and then, I’ve been going through my photos and videos. Up to now I haven’t posted many videos, mostly because I’m not good at taking and editing it! I do have quite a bit, some of it quite interesting so if anyone would like to suffer through it let me know and I’ll post some on my YouTube channel.

I’ve also had an article published in Waterways World, check out the February issue. There might be more to come.

For my boating readers, my apologies for no boating talk. I miss the boat, and the canal life, more than I thought I would. It’s become such a big part of my life that I feel strange being back on land for so long. But skiing daily helps, I love this part of my life too.

One more thing, if you’ve read this far please leave me a comment or message. It would really help me if I knew that there are still people interested!