2018 travels

It’s been a while since we were last on our narrowboat.   2017 is a best forgotten year as I was diagnosed with bowel cancer just 2 weeks before we were due to depart for the UK in May.   Radiation and chemo treatment followed by a huge operation in September cancelled out any UK visit.  More chemo followed with some serious side effects and this year’s trip wasn’t looking good.  But after spending most of April and May in the Epworth Hospital with another two operations I was given the OK to travel.   

So....we arrived 28 June, a month later than usual.   We had planned on a very quiet trip on the boat this year and decided to buy a little campervan from ebay in the UK so we could travel around in that without doing any hard locks.  We had a lovely welcome from the girls who got up at 6 am to finish the signs which were in the front window.

When we arrived I stayed with Sooz in London while Terry caught the train up to Sunderland, near Newcastle, to pick up the campervan.   He drove it back to the marina, getting new upholstery and a service on the motor along the way.   He said it drove ‘like a dream’ and was immaculate despite being 30 years old and classed as a ‘classic car’.  However, we ran into a problem when we tried to get insurance which also includes 3rd party insurance here so is compulsory.  All the insurance companies we contacted said we were either .....over 70 so too old!....not living in the UK for at least 6 months every year .....or driving with an Aussie licence.  So reluctantly the campervan is back on ebay waiting for the next buyer.

Because of the long hot spell the countryside looks more like Oz than green England.  Even the London parks are brown.  

We spent a week on the boat - which was back on the water in the marina.  Me doing not much at all and Terry touching up the odd spot of painting and general handyman stuff.   The boat was in remarkably good condition seeing it hadn’t been touched for nearly 2 years.  (I always dread that it might be covered in green slime inside especially as the last winter was so cold but the heaters must have kept it dry and warm.)

We went back to London by train (2 trains and a bus) all a bit exhausting so spent time just watching the Wimbledon tennis on TV.  All of England was in mourning after it was unexpectedly knocked out of the World Cup semifinal by Croatia.  

We have just returned from our trip to Europe.  Sooz and Ten had given us tickets to an Andre Rieu concert to be held in his home town of Maastricht in the Netherlands.  We left London on the Eurostar (which travels at 300 miles an hour) to Brussels then caught another train to Maastricht.  Very old town with lots of cobbled streets - which make for hard walking.   

The concert was fabulous (even though most of it’s predictable).  Sooz had arranged for a dinner/show package so we caught a taxi out to the hotel where we had the most amazing smorgasbord dinner.  There we were presented with our Andre Rieu cushions to use at the show.  1000s there but we had really good seats near the front so didn’t miss anything. 

Dutch clog dance     

Russian medley

Stayed 3 nights at a beautiful B&B which was the whole ground floor of a old terrace house with a lovely walled garden.

Courtyard at Maastricht B&B

Front of B&B building

Then caught a train to Amsterdam for a 3 night stay.  When we arrived we had to catch a free ferry outside the station to go across the River Eye (a 3 minute trip dodging the huge tankers/cargo/cruise ships) to where our B&B was.   Got lost somehow so walked miles trying to find it - turned out to be back very close to the ferry terminal .  

The 3 ferries working there are amazing.  We never had to wait more than a few minutes then just walked on with a couple of hundred people - most riding bikes or motor scooters.  

Bikes on the ferry

We have never seen so many bikes anywhere - huge bike parks at the stations, bus stops or outside any shopping areas each with 1000s of bikes.  All roads have a red lane just for bikes and everyone, from youngsters to the really old, pedal around.  It’s left hand driving in Europe so we found it very confusing when crossing any roads to dodge the bikes and scooters as well as the cars, which were always seeming to be coming from the wrong direction.

3 storey bike park at Central Amsterdam Station

We decided to go on the Hop On/Hop Off Bus and Boat trips so we could see the city which is made up of dozens of canals and waterways with lots of tourist boats darting around.  Incredibly clean city and no rubbish to be seen anywhere on the waterways.    We hopped off the bus to go on the Diamond Tour where we visited a huge diamond workshop to learn how diamonds are cut to show off their brilliance.  It was fascinating.  Of course we had to pass through the retail shop before we could get out but managed to do that without breaking the bank.  Then went to a very large Museum which had lots of the Old Masters paintings on show.    Got told off for taking a photo with a flash of one of Rembrant’s paintings.

Finished off on the boat for a 2 hour cruise around the city.  Remarkable lack of any safety directions or life jackets visible on any of the boats.  

Another day we went to a market where most stalls were selling cannabis.  We could have bought lolly pops, biscuits, seeds and even cannabis icecream.  Apparently you can get ‘high’ at most coffee shops as well even though the law is that you have to be an Amsterdam resident.

Caught a train down to Brussels where we spent 5 nights with Sooz, Ten, his mum Rita and the girls.   

We stayed in a very large modern house which was in the huge garden of an old house which looked like an old bank from out in the street.

Brussels B&B

Front of Building

Walked into town - more cobblestone streets - and saw the famous statue of a little boy.  Story is that many years ago the 4 year old was lost and when he was found he was peeing in the street so his dad gave the statue to Brussels in gratitude.  It's a very small statue!

It was still very hot so one day we caught the train to the Belgium seaside which is totally different to our beaches.  All along the beach are fenced off areas with deck chairs and umbrellas which you hire for an hour or more and then food and drinks are brought around so you can buy whatever you require.   Also some areas had rows and rows of small beach sheds like Brighton beach bathing boxes where you could store your stuff.    We hired an 8 seater bike and rode along the beach almost reaching the Netherlands border but it was pretty hard going for the pedallers as the temp was in the mid thirties.   The girls had great fun going up and down huge slides at a water park which was very well supervised with 3 lifeguards keeping control. 

Lunch at The Beach

On our last day we went to the Atomium which was built for a trade fair in 1958.  It’s in the shape of an iron crystal.  Ten and the girls went up the escalators and stairs to some of the lower spheres but we caught the lift to the top one (335 feet up in the air) where there was a viewing deck as well as a 5 star restaurant where we had lunch.   Although most people can speak English they mainly use French, Flemish or the Dutch language.  Most menus did not have English anywhere so that made it hard too and we had to rely on Rita to translate for us.

We caught the Eurostar back to London on Wednesday afternoon and then caught a train up to Market Harborough near the marina.   Sharyn, Terry’s daughter, arrived last Friday for a two week stay on the boat.  Yesterday we showed Sharyn around Market Harborough then cruised for a couple of hours to Foxton Locks (a flight of ten locks rising 75 feet).  Sharyn had her first swing bridge to negotiate - a really tough one that takes a lot of muscle - and then there was a thunderstorm just as we were tying up so we all got soaked.  Today we had to wait until lunch time because it was raining heavily but it cleared up so we set out up the locks.  Even though it was a cool overcast day there were heaps of people watching the boats go through.  Sharyn was a quick learner so I got back on the boat  after 5 locks.   First time I have been a passenger on the boat going through the locks - great.  When we reached the top we decided to return down Foxton.  We took on board a few groups of onlookers for a lock or two so there were some very excited people, especially a group of visiting South Koreans.  

We plan on going up to Nottingham in the next couple of weeks so there are quite a few locks along the way for Sharyn to work on.  The warm weather is predicted to return next week.

Sooz etc are off to Italy for a couple of weeks because it is the ‘big holidays’ so we have booked a campervan (strange system here as we can be aged up to 99 and no worries about us being Aussies).  We will catch a train up to Glasgow where we will stay for a couple of days then have the van for 2 weeks to discover Scotland.

Part 5 - the homeward run

Part 5 - on the homeward run

Leaving Lincoln we left the Witham River and made our way along the Fossdyke Navigations.   This part of the system was built by the Romans in 110AD to link the Witham River with the Trent River.  

TRACTORS CARRYING TRAILERLOADS OF WHEAT GOING NON-STOP THROUGH THE LITTLE VILLAGE

SAXILBY MOORING

Moored up at a little village called Saxilby for a couple of nights to catch our breath. Cute little village very spread out with a lovely old church just out of town.   We caught a double-decker bus to the nearby town of Gainsborough on the banks of the tidal Trent.   Bit of a rainy day but we took a tour of the town and then found the Gainsborough Old Hall which is over 500 years old and is one of the best preserved timber framed manor houses in the UK set in a lovely garden.  It's owned by English Heritage and operated by the Lincolnshire County Council.  The Hall is a large, late-medieval manor house built by the noble Burgh family around 1460. The house boasts an impressive Great Hall and a huge original medieval kitchen.

THEY CERTAINLY ATE WELL!

ONE OF THE MANY TUDOR  LOOS

 Famous visitors (apart from us!) to the Old Hall include Richard III, Henry VIII (with his fifth wife Katherine Howard), John Wesley and the Pilgrim Fathers.   

A chap called William Rose, who was a tenant at the Hall, invented the world’s first mechanical packing machine and set up Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited. Because of the close relationship and use of Rose’s packing machines, Cadburys gave the name ‘Roses’ to one of their popular products.

The Grey Lady walking the Ghost Corridor upstairs has been part of local legend from before the Victorian era. Dressed in grey and in Tudor style, the grey lady walks the length of the corridor and turns right before the end to disappear through a wall. In the 1960s the lath and plaster removed from this wall revealed a Tudor doorway – at the exact spot where the Grey Lady walks through the wall!  Local legend says the Grey Lady is thought to be the daughter of the Lord of the Manor who fell in love with a poor soldier and planned to elope with him. Her father discovered the plan and locked her away in the tower where she died from a broken heart. Supposedly the girl’s spirit still wanders the tower and the corridor endlessly waiting for her lover to arrive. She was not around on the day we called so we missed out on seeing her though!

THE HAUNTED PASSAGEWAY

Gainsborough Old Hall was given to the English people in 1970 by descendants of the Hickman family.

Next morning we set out towards the mighty Trent River.  We stopped overnight at Torksey to wait once more for an incoming tide.  After going through the Torksey Lock we travelled along the Trent (wearing our life jackets) and just couldn't believe how big this river is and the amount of water flowing past.   Stopped overnight on a mooring just past Cromwell Lock which is the largest lock in the UK.   It was beside this lock a few years ago that 10 RAF volunteers died when they took a wrong turn and were swept over the sluice at the side of the lock.   We were told not to fall over overboard "as they never find the bodies".  We were very very careful!

HUGE TRENT LOCKS

TORKSEY LOCK GATE

LIFE JACKETS - A MUST ON THE TRENT RIVER

Next it was Newark-on-Trent where we moored up at a lovely spot opposite the castle.   Oliver Cromwell fought battles against the Royalists just outside Newark and King John was poisoned and died at the Castle.

DREDGING NEAR THE NEWARK LOCK

It was great returning to this town which was where we shopped for most of our boat's essentials when we bought it 5 years ago.   It's one of the prettiest towns with a large Georgian market square and lots of cobblestone laneways surrounding it.  

  

We spent a night at nearby Farndon Marina where we caught up with Paul and Janet, the owners, and also Peter and Dave who both were on boats at the marina when we first got our boat.  They were all so helpful and gave us lots of clues when it was all new to us five years ago.

MORE BIG LOCKS ON THE TRENT

SPILLWAY AT SIDE OF ONE OF THE LOCKS

Next stop was Nottingham.    It was lovely to get back onto a canal after the big rivers.   We moored up just near Nottingham Castle.    We were heading down to London for the weekend but when our suitcase came out of the wardrobe it was wet on one end and we discovered the water pump was leaking.  This pump sends the water from the front tank (600 litres) around to the taps on the boat.   Luckily we were moored up right outside a marina so it was just a case of buying a new one and swapping it over.    

ARRIVING IN NOTTINGHAM

NOTTINGHAM CASTLE BUILT UP HIGH ON A HUGE MOUND OF ROCK

OLDEST INN IN ENGLAND

ROBIN HOOD OUTSIDE THE CASTLE

DODGING THE LOCAL YACHT CLUB

  FOUR FOOT SNAKE SWIMMING ON THE TRENT

In London we took the girls to a show 'The Scarecrow's Wedding' on Friday then had the Peckham Dog Show on the Saturday which was organised by Sooz's vet clinic.   Nearly 200 dogs were entered and I was the 'International Judge' along with the Southwark Deputy Mayor.   Nothing too serious - the best 'Golden Oldie', 'Best Fancy Dressed' dog, Best Puppy, etc.     Great fun and patted every dog (except one dog that was nearly blind and 'a bit touchy'.   Quiet days at home recovering on Sunday and Monday.  Tuesday the girls went back to school after the 'big school holidays' - Olive in Grade 3 and Iris in Grade 1.

LUNCH IN CHINA TOWN

PECKHAM COMMON DOG SHOW

We trained it back to Nottingham where surprisingly we had an extra passenger - a toy life-size husky dog which was on the front of the boat.   Asked around but nobody knew where it came from.   Funny thing - next morning a lady was walking along the towpath with two dogs that were identical to 'our dog'.  They kept walking around and sniffing it - couldn't make out what it was.    

'WOOF' AND FRIENDS

BEACH AREA SET UP IN THE NOTTINGHAM CITY SQUARE

We started out the next day and went slowly past the moored boats outside the marina but then had no power either forward or reverse for the next few hundred yards.   We pulled the boat back to the marina with ropes and called the RCR (River and Canal Rescue).   Only had to wait a little while for Steve the mechanic to come with a new accelerator cable and then we were on our way again.

LEAVING THE TRENT ONTO THE RIVER SOAR

Back onto the River Trent for a short trip until we turned onto the River Soar.   Made our way south until we reach the town of Loughborough where we have been a couple of times before.   Moored up in a lovely canal basin surrounded by restaurants and a Travelodge hotel.   Sooz, Ten and the girls were coming up on a late train on Friday night to travel down to Leicester with us but that morning we crossed the basin to fill up on a water point and then found the boat had no 'reverse'. Pulled the boat back to the pontoon and called the RCR again, thinking it was a related problem to the accelerator cable.   But no ...when the mechanic came he said it was the gearbox which he would have to take away to get looked at.   Said it may not be fixed until Tuesday.    Sounded expensive!!   (They say things happen in three's!). 

Rang Sooz and told her the situation but they decided to still make the trip.  They arrived after 10.00pm and we woke the next morning to steady drizzle.  We spent the morning on the boat and then explored the town when the rain eased.   Called in at a very 'kid-friendly' museum and then the girls went to see Pete's Dragon at the local cinema which they said was a fabulous show.  Had a great dinner at a Lebanese restaurant that night which even had a belly-dancer performing.

AT THE LOUGHBOROUGH MOORING

TEN AT THE HELM

Luckily the mechanic appeared at 9.30 on Sunday morning with the gearbox which they were able to repair.   After the gearbox went back into place which took about an hour we were ready to go.   The family was due to catch the 3.30 train back to London from Leicester but with quite a few stiff locks to get through and then held up having to untangle a plastic bag containing a 'Frozen' fancy dress outfit from around the propeller they had to get a taxi from Thurmaston - a little village about 10 miles north of Leicester.   Had trouble finding a mooring there where they could get off to meet the taxi so they eventually just managed to catch the later 4.00pm train.    All exciting stuff!

That afternoon we were supposed to be meeting Amie, a friend of Sharron, a neighbour from Ruffy, and daughter of Peter who minded the farm when we were away a few years ago.   Amie was going to spend the last few days on the boat with us before we got back to our home marina.   We kept calling her to let her know where we were but eventually had to moor up in a different place to usual in Leicester because it was so busy.

SOOZ WORKING A LOCK ON THE TRENT

Spent Monday looking around the city and then started out on the final stretch.  Poor Amie - the Leicester section of the Grand Union Canal has some of the stiffest locks and gates on the whole system.   Still.... she seemed to enjoy the journey and said it was a 'good workout'.   Not many villages along the journey so we moored up in the middle of nowhere on two nights but managed to collect some lovely blackberries along the towpath for dessert.

AMIE (ON LEFT) AND WOOF'S DELIGHTED NEW OWNER

LEAVING LEICESTER CITY

AMIE PULLING A LOCK GATE CLOSED



BLACKBERRIES EVERYWHERE!

ONE NIGHT TO GO

Thursday we arrived at Foxton Locks on a glorious sunny day.   While Terry patched up some lost paintwork on the boat we walked up to the top of the locks and then Amie spent some time at the museum and inclined plane site (where they used to drag the cargo boats up the hill instead of going through the locks).   On our last night on the boat we had dinner at the Foxton Locks Inn.

FOXTON LOCKS INN

We were only about 20 minutes away from our marina but Friday morning there was a massive thunderstorm so it was a very wet pack-up of the boat before we caught a taxi to Market Harborough station to catch the train back to London.

Raining heavily when we reached London and it was lucky that Sooz was able to pick us up from the station or we would have been soaked.  Spent the last couple of days in the UK with Sooz and the girls (Ten was away in LA) and flew out on Monday night for a two night stopover again in Brunei where we stayed last year.

So it has been rivers this year rather than canals.  We have been on the Nene, the Middle Level Navigations, the Great Ouse, the Cam, the Witham, the massive Trent and Soar Rivers as well as the Grand Union Canal, (including the Leicester Arm) and the Northampton Arm going through more than 200 locks.   Many of these were huge river locks with some mechanised and others just hard work.   And........... going out to sea over The Wash was certainly  a highlight.