Na, just a new outlook on things. Sorry for the Star Wars reference.

When I decided to change my long-term goals and head toward Liverpool/Chester/Wales directly instead of taking the long way around through Leeds, my outlook on things became somewhat brighter. Without the looming trek northward through innumerable locks and industrial areas, I now feel more like I did last summer. Carefree and relaxed.

The weather has had a bit of a turn as well, finally. The last couple of days were bluebird sunny (although not particularly warm) so I decided to take advantage and do a couple long ones. As I had friends wanting to meet up for dinner, I spent Thursday and Friday high-tailing it from Marple to Rode Heath.

Those two days were long, difficult, and tiring. The weather was perfect, but 35 miles and 25 locks in two days is a lot. It might not sound it but it meant a couple of 9 hour days, back to back. The locks are the toughest part, especially single-handed and with other boats waiting behind. Most people are very generous, patient, and helpful however. I had tons of help from Rob in the Bosley flight, he came ahead from his friend’s boat to speed me through (he’s on the left, more about his friends later).

Upon finally reaching the bottom of that flight, friends from the northward trek moved their boat to make room for me on the Dane Aquaduct moorings (see previous blog), where we had a very pleasant evening together. Thanks again Alan and Helen on Thomasina! On my way down the flight, and while we were relaxing canal-side, we were joined by two unusual guests.

These two goats had been hanging around the locks all day, just following random people on the towpath. They were extremely clean, very calm and friendly, and didn’t seem distressed at all. I’m sure they were someone’s pets. We called the RSPCA and the CRT, as well as sending various tweets, so there’s lots of awareness and I’m sure they’ll get home soon. Aussie-boater (a youtuber) was spending a couple of days there so he’s keeping an eye on them as well, thanks for that!

I left early the next day, but not without a morning hello! Yes, they were waiting for me right outside my window.

Friday saw me arrive onto the Trent & Mersey and turn northward. This stretch of canal is a bit different that any other I’ve seen, as many of the locks are ‘doubled’. I’m not clear on the history of it but there are very few examples on the system, most are on this stretch north of the Harecastle Tunnel. At each lock location, there are actually two locks side-by-side. This allows boats to travel in opposite directions simultaneously, or two at once in the same direction. Quite efficient actually.

I went through a lot of these with Neil and Sue on their boat Chrissie and they were ever so helpful! It’s quite common for crew to help other boaters through locks, especially when one is single-handed (as I am), but they went a step beyond and I’m very grateful.

Having reached the bottom of this flight (knows as “Heartbreak Hill”), I found a nice, quiet mooring. This where I met Cate and Bob at the Broughton Arms pub, and where they treated me to dinner and drinks and we had a good ‘ol catch-up. I hadn’t seen them since the Kennet and Avon last year where we did the Caen Hill Flight together (downhill). They were on Guy and Rose’s boat (see post 25 – Caen Hill). Lovely people who became good friends in a very short order, and we stayed in touch all winter. It was wonderful to see them again, hopefully we’ll do some cruising together in a couple of weeks.

So, I’m continuing on the Trent & Mersey Canal, heading toward the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal where I’m planning on putting into a marina for a bit and getting solar panels installed. I survived well last year without them since I was running the boat almost every day and the batteries stayed well charged but in the rain this year, that’s not the case. So I’ve decided to go for it and spend Robbie’s inheritance. Sorry buddy.

More soon, I’m getting back in the groove now and loving every minute. Please don’t hesitate to comment or send me a note, I love to hear from everyone back home…

Forget what I said before. No, seriously. There’s now been a major change of plans. I’ve decided to not go further north, not do the Huddersfield Narrow Canal or the Leeds and Liverpool, at least not this year. For various reasons, not the least of which is the weather, I’m going to head toward Wales now instead of later in the summer. There are a huge number of locks between here and Leeds, and I’m rather enjoying sitting inside the boat when it’s pouring, rather than struggling up and down flight after flight in the rain. Call it lazy, call it wimpy, but I call it retired.

Further to this calculation, much of the next stretch of canals (in the original plan) goes through parts of cities that I’m continually warned against stopping in, for security reasons. Too many ‘yutes’ with too much time on their hands and they cause trouble for boaters as a hobby. Without being able to cruise every day (or do long days) due to the rain, I’d just rather not stress about stuff like that.

So, here I sit at the end of the Peak Forest canal, at a very cool place called the Bugsworth Canal Basin. It’s an amazing spot, formerly a major location for transshipping lime from trains to the boats and on to Manchester. Much of it is derelict of course, but the boat channels have been restored, there’s a little visitor centre, lots of mooring space, and a pub!

It’s been a very pleasant trip up the Macclesfield Canal, and I’m looking forward to going back the way I came. I can stop at some nice mooring spots that I bypassed, and perhaps try an additional pub or two. I’ve talked to a few boaters but not really stayed with anyone; it’s difficult when we’re all hiding inside our boats, staying dry. However, it might be that we’re going to get a bit of hot weather soon! The weather service is notoriously ‘wrong’ but I’m hoping this time will be different (I can hear your laughter).

This is kind of funny…as I was passing through a small industrial area, I was hit by a very sweet smell. Very sweet. I thought I would get a toothache, just from the fumes! Turns out it’s where they make “Swizzels”, a range of sweets that include Love Hearts (remember them?).

The majority of this area has been mainly quite rural, with many lovely homes along the canalside. Some with a sense of humour…

Of more general interest (or not) here’s an tidbit that I need to research more deeply: Canada Geese are very common and successful here (much to everyone’s chagrin), and a couple of the reasons seem to be behavioural. First, they tend to aggregate into mult-family groups, presumably for security. A group of several large, adult geese is pretty intimidating to a fox or dog. In addition, I’ve noticed that there is always a ‘lookout’ goose. The group will often be head down in the grass or water, eating. But no matter what there’s always at least one with his/her head held high, on guard constantly. Always.

I’ve even noticed that if a different one picks up their head, the original lookout may then proceed to feed. But there’s always one looking out. The swans and ducks don’t seem to do this. End of biology geekiness…

 

I’m well on my way now up the Macclesfield Canal toward the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which I have decided is my choice to reach Leeds. It’s been a fairly uneventful passage, even the weather isn’t worth much note. I’ve had rain (while on the Bosley Flight, of course), sun, and wind. I’ve not had, however, the predicted thunderstorms. Seems the UK weather forecasts are much like Canada’s…not to be trusted. I have had some nice moorings, including this pretty place on top of an aquaduct, right over a pub!

And in that pub I met a boatload of Aussies (and a couple of Kiwis) that were touring around. We had a great evening together comparing national traits and systems, and generally trashing everyone that wasn’t from Canada, New, Zealand, Australia, or the UK.

I have to mention Alan (on the left in the photo), he gave me the coolest hat! I’m going to be sending him some Canadiana when I get home!

The Macclesfield seems to have more ‘roving bridges’ than any other canal. For some reason the towpath occasionally changes sides, and back in the day they built these bridges so the horses that were towing the barges could also change sides but not have to be unhitched. They are simple but very elegant, and I was quite taken with them…

Speaking of aquaducts, here’s the Dane Aquaduct (over the River Dane, obviously). It was pretty impressive from below, even if I had to jump some fences and dodge some sheep to get there!

And, some more random photos…

As you may have noticed (or not), I haven’t written much on this blog lately. Since Crick, I’ve had an amazing few weeks travelling with new and old friends. I met Ian and Jane shortly after leaving and we had a great time moving along together. Fans of Roald Dahl will appreciate their boat name!

While they stayed behind near Leicester, I continued north and met up with friends from last year on the Kennet & Avon. Like last year, we had far too much fun! Jane even went for a swim…at least I assume that’s what she was doing… We enjoyed some great pubs, pleasant (if chilly) towpath evenings, and good cruising. Rich is always ready with a story and a laugh, and his sister Jo gives it right back to him whenever necessary.

Once they turned around to deliver their hire boat, I continued on through Stone toward the Caldon Canal. This is a spur canal that goes through some beautiful countryside. Before reaching it I met Mark and Sarah at a lock. They were considering heading up that way so we decided to travel together. Again, wonderful people and a wonderful time. So glad to have met them. We very nearly won Quiz Night at the pub too!

They had to return their boat so they headed back out of the Caldon before me. While in Cheddleton I had a visit from Guy, another friend from last year on the K&A! We had a huge pub dinner and spent the night shooting the breeze, mostly about narrowboats, of course.

Okay, the visiting is over for the moment I think. I’m now heading north again, toward Leeds where I’ll cross westward to Liverpool. In the meantime, I’ve had to go through the Harecastle Tunnel (or the Scarecastle as some know it). Not that bad of a tunnel actually considering the hoops you need to jump to go through. Sign in, a safety briefing, equipment checks, etc. I found it actually easier than others, primarily since it was one-way, no having to negotiate oncoming boats. It was very low in places however, and some people actually wear hard hats.

I’m going to go off on a bit of a rant now. I have loved nearly everything about the canals and the life on them. Something that keeps cropping up however, are swing and lift bridges. They have been in place for literally hundreds of years, yet they often STILL have the controls on the opposite side of the canal to the landing. To clarify, when approaching a lock or movable bridge, you have to temporarily moor up and walk ahead to operate it. The ‘landing’ has bollards to tie to, and is on the towpath side. Usually the ‘offside’ (non-towpath) is inaccessible, being overgrown, shallow, or otherwise blocked off. So, if the controls to move the bridge are on the non-towpath side, a single-handed boater has no obvious or easy way to lift the bridge and get back to move their boat through! Why, oh why has this continued for so long?

There is an awkward but possible way to do it of course. Nosing the boat up to the control side and climbing off the bow, then (after moving through) doing the same from the stern to lower the bridge again will work. But it’s dangerous and tedious. If there’s any current or wind, the boat is basically out of control and often ends up jammed across the canal. Not a pretty sight. Rant over…

I hope it’s been a good summer for everyone so far. I hear the weather in BC is much better than over here, although that doesn’t bode well for the fire situation. Certainly no danger of that over here. With the flooding on most of the rivers, at least the canal water supply situation is looking better. In fact, there have been a couple of breaches where the canal has over-topped it’s banks and started washing it away. This is about the most serious problem a canal can have. A breach last year on the Middlewich Branch took months and many millions of pounds to repair.  It’s quite unusual since the canals are designed to stay at the same level (not like rivers, obviously). I’m presently on the Macclesfield Canal, and will have to make a decision up ahead about my next canal. Unfortunately, both options are at present closed to me! One has a broken lock, the other a small breach. Good thing I’m not in a hurry.

As expected, and like last year, there have been some amazing sights along the way. Here are some photos to peruse…

 

There’s something about boat shows. People go to them to dream, to plan, to wander around and just feel the vibe. I go to buy stuff. And party.

The Crick Boat Show is the largest show for canal craft on the UK system. It’s held each year at the Crick Marina, a small village near to Rugby in the heart of England. There are narrowboats of all varieties…old, new, vintage,  and even a couple of the few remaining ‘working’ boats. Many of the businesses associated with narrowboats have displays and marquees so it’s a great place to pick up those essentials that just aren’t available in a ‘normal’ store. Since I don’t have a car over here, I’m reliant on shops that are close to whatever canal I happen to be on. So this was my big chance to spend too much money.

I was, of course most excited to reconnect with friends I met at the show last year. And since there’s a fun music festival included it gave lots of opportunity to reconnect (it’s also a beer and cider fest). Last time the headliner was an ABBA tribute band, this year it was Dolly Parton. Not quite my first choice but lots of fun nevertheless. Some of the other bands and singers were fantastic, and the music went on all day and into the night. Not all of us were into Dolly however…

I had some furnace trouble on the boat the previous week, and was told about the Hurricane, made in Canada, supposed to be great. So I checked them out and sure enough, I met Marchello from Langley. He was happy to meet another Canadian too, we had some good laughs and I told him I’d make him famous!

Ultimately the show was fun but I was also very glad when it ended and I was able to start travelling again. I made my first day out a long one, all the way back to Foxton where I had started the season. So, the new adventures begin now! Well, in the next blog post that is…

 

 

Oh my god that is a big, happening city. London has so much going on, so many shows, so many people, and so many shops! We were only there for a few days (and I’ve been a couple of times before) but still didn’t do or see nearly enough. It was amazing to be there with my son Robbie for the first time as an adult. We sampled several (!) pubs together, visited some museums that he wasn’t the least bit interested in the last time he was there, and just enjoyed each other’s company.  It’s not much use adding too many words, pictures tell a better story for this post…

One of the highlights for Robbie was to see Sunflowers by Van Gogh. It’s normally in the National Gallery so we made a beeline upon arrival. Here’s what we saw:

Needless to say, we were then required to make a trip to Tate Britain. Due to timing issues (late in the day), we had to go twice! We did eventually see the show, it was pretty amazing…

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We also ‘had’ to visit Savile Row to check out the clothes. Turns out there was actually something on that street I could afford:

Another of the ‘must do” things includes a trip to the original Hard Rock Cafe. So much memorabilia and history…

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I would like to just comment at this point to Jill. I’ll get you back, somehow, someday…

The fun had to end eventually of course. Robbie headed back home but I’m staying on to continue my travels and adventures.

As I write this, I’m back on the boat preparing for the Crick Boat Show. It’s more of a party actually, but also a good chance to pick up things for the boat all in one place, to catch up with friends from last year, and to learn more about narrowboat life. It should be an interesting weekend!

Even after the winter on snow, getting back into the groove of the canals has been easy. It does require a slowing of expectations to return to 3 miles per hour (not that I ski fast) but the pace is the best part of it. Robbie has embraced some aspects of this life, mostly the locks (something to do?), he’s really enjoying them and often helps out other boats.

On the way from Foxton south to Crick we had some cool evenings, and as luck would have it the furnace quit working. No problem, we just picked up some coal and lit the stove!

We managed to stop at Crick on a Sunday so couldn’t miss getting a Sunday Roast at a local pub (noticing a theme here?).

Now, before anyone makes any comments, I will say I ate all the ‘real’ food on the plate.

I should also mention that this particular pub would have been perfect for Pip…

After leaving Crick, we went south along the Grand Union Canal as far as Weedon to connect with some wonderful people we (myself, Peter, and Jill) met last year over on the Hatton flight. Martyn and Amanda drove down and joined Robbie and I for a great dinner and a catch-up at one of Weedon’s four pubs (almost within sight of each other). Another amazing time was had…

(I’ll work on my selfie technique).

So to catch you up on my location a bit, here’s a couple of tracks to follow…

We’re now heading back toward a marina where we’ll leave the boat for a few days to go down to London to do some touristing…this should be fun!

 

Hello everybody from jolly old blighty. No, seriously, I’ve made it back to England, onto the narrowboat, and loving every minute, just like last year. The boat survived quite well through the winter, with only some minor issues to deal with. I’ll see if there’s more serious stuff once we get moving on the canal, I suspect if a problem is going to show up it’ll be there. Most likely at the worst possible moment, in the worst possible place. No matter, I’ll deal with it. Or rather, <we> will deal with it! I have my son Robbie here for a couple of weeks, someone to work the locks and take out the garbage (as if). We’re having a blast together so far, getting things unpacked and working. It’s still early spring so the heating system has been tested, no serious problems yet but some strange noises that I’ll have to look into. There was an intermittent beeping but it turned out it was the boat next door. It had been left here for three years and the CO alarms’ batteries were all dead. The lady is from Australia but her (now late) husband was ill and they couldn’t come back.

The trip here was quite uneventful, although it was as tiring as usual. The inside cleaning and dusting is done (goodbye cobwebs!), the outside washed down. That job was delayed a bit however, because instead we cruised a mile along the canal to Foxton Basin, moored up at the pub and had a late lunch!

We (he) did get around to it however:

Foxton locks is a flight of 10 locks, two sets of five ‘staircase’ locks. There’s no space between them so it’s a quick run through (considering the length and height drop). I went through at the end of last year’s cruising, it’s quite an experience. I think going up will be less dramatic…

Here’s the view from the top, pretty spectacular actually (except for the two photobombers):

Alan and Abigail were with us for a few days, we had a great time together. It was fun to share my ‘other’ life with a ski buddy.

No, we didn’t JUST visit pubs, here’s Abi doing all the hard work…

We’re going to miss having them aboard!

Robbie and I have headed back down the way I came last year, toward Crick (the big boat show) and Braunston. Not sure how far we’ll make it, we’ll have to turn back to leave the boat for a few days while we go to London to ‘tourist’ a bit.

I hope everything back home is going well for everyone. Please feel free to comment or send me a message, love to hear from you!

Okay, Year 2 on the British canal system is about to begin. I’ve had a great winter on the mountain but it’s now time to return to England and get the narrowboat going again. Having said that, I was up the hill last weekend and it sure was nice to be ‘home’! Looked awfully skiable too, just a few dirt patches. And luckily for the Snow to Surf race, it was a gorgeous day. I was sorely tempted to strap on the planks and hike a bit for a few turns (just tempted…as if I’d actually walk UPHILL!).

I have a cruising plan (as outlined in the previous post and below), my flight and train arrangements are made, my stuff is mostly packed, and all the goodbye visiting that I could do is complete. Since I left everything over there last fall, I don’t have much luggage anyway. Carry-on only!

Just to start things off right, we’ve managed to arrange for my son Robbie to join me for the first few weeks! I’m excited about that as I was hoping he’d eventually get to hang out with the old man in some pubs (and work the locks for me). There are lots of other visitors planned too, I think my constant raving about canal life is having an effect. The first to arrive are Alan (sans Jane, sadly) and his daughter Abigail. From ski hill to canal in a month. I’ll also be catching up with Rich, Jane, and Joanne on the Trent and Mersey Canal, great people I met on the K&A last summer. Later on, several others are planning on meeting up; some are ski friends, some are lock-buddies from last year. More on those adventures as they arrive.

I’ll be attending the annual Crick Boat Show again this year, along with awesome friends Chris, Julie, and Poppy. I had the good fortune of meeting them while camping at the show last year, they were in the tent next to me. This year we’ll actually be staying on the narrowboat so it’ll feel like we’re part of the ‘in’ crowd. Look out Crick, it’s going to be quite a party.

Overall it looks like it’ll be a long trip if I manage to complete the plan. Fewer locks than last year, but more mileage (yes, they use miles over there). I’ve been tweaking the plan daily, looking at Google Earth to make sure I’m not in urban areas too much. I’ll have a big decision to make later in the summer about whether to take a ‘shortcut’ across the River Mersey from Liverpool to join the network at Ellesmere Port. It’s not that far, but it’s a huge waterway with large ships and a tidal component. Not something a narrowboat is made for. Lots of people do it however, they flotilla together and pick a good day. Since I’m not likely to be in a rush, I might just take the risk. It’s either that or backtrack to the Bridgewater Canal. The tough part of this decision is that the Bridgewater looks well worth doing as well. Nice to have two good options! If I’m early enough getting over the Leeds to Liverpool Canal, I might just do both.

As the summer goes on and I write more blogs posts, please sign up for email notifications and send me lots of comments! Don’t worry, there’s no spam or advertising. I’ll reply to all the comments I can (eventually) but I’m not sure if you get notification of that so check back often. I love hearing from all my friends back home as well as those I meet along the way. I’ll try to update other social media stuff more often this year, I’m still figuring it all out. I’ve also made up a business card to make finding me easier:

And as you can see I’ve got a new logo, and have made a name sign that I’ll be putting on the side of the boat:

 

 

 

Winter finally arrived (a while ago now). After a couple of months waiting the snow eventually arrived and I moved up the mountain (Mount Washington on Vancouver Island for my UK friends). Although it started a week late, the skiing has been pretty good. And while there were some “damp” days, often following a heavy snowfall, I still managed to have fun. All good to build a base though. I don’t go out every day, but most days. It’s great having the freedom to choose, to pick the good days, or to just not ski if I don’t feel like it (which seldom happens). As the season’s gone on, the weather has been very cold and dry. This has made the conditions very stable so even with little new snow, the skiing has been great. Even better, there’s been lots of sunshine!

I have a job on the mountain, or should I say a “job”. I volunteer as a Snow Host one day or so a week, which entails helping people with directions, locations of rentals and tickets, organizing queues, and acting as a tour guide for newcomers to the mountain. It’s a great way to meet people and make new friends, and the Resort offers some great perks for the time I put in. And it gets me up early at least one day a week…

Other than skiing and “socializing” (read: pub time), I spend a considerable amount of my time planning my upcoming summer canal cruising. I’m in touch often with several friends that I met last summer and we’re hoping to meet up again. I had thought the ski season would temper my enthusiasm for the narrowboat life at least a bit, but nope, I’m just as excited to get onto the canals this year as last. Maybe more, now that I know how much I enjoy it.

The present plan is to go north through Leicester, west on the Trent and Mersey canal, north to the Leeds and Liverpool, then eventually stopping in Chester and Llangollen in Wales. Overwintering is planned on the Shropshire Union canal (Middlewich Branch). This is about 650 miles, and 450 locks. I calculated my distance last season as 378 miles and 446 locks but that was a short season since I spent the first few weeks outfitting the boat and then came back to Canada a month earlier than planned. So I think I can manage the longer distance if I don’t sit around too much and have the whole six months.

Stay tuned (if you are interested), I’ll be flying over on May 4 to get Cool Change in the water and moving. I hope to continue the blog on a regular basis, with fewer pub references and more miles under the hull. After all, there’s still at least 1700 miles left to explore!