27
August - 11 September 2005
Calcutt to Stratford on Avon, Tewkesbury, Worcester, King's Norton, Kingswood,
Calcutt
(146.25 miles, 209 locks, 92.9 engine hours,
90.5 travelling hours)
Saturday 27 August
We're back on Per Angusta after far too long away - we've been busy with other things like sailing, Ruby Wedding Anniversary, Wedding, 80th birthday party, etc. but we have 15 whole days on board, plus what's left of today now we are actually here.
It's been 7 weeks since we were last on board and apart from some cobwebs and the odd dead fly, she's in pretty good nick. The plan was to get up early Saturday and depart for the boat. Well, we did get up early but spent all morning doing errands and packing. We got up to the boat mid-afternoon and abandoned any plans of going anywhere today. Just unpacked, got settled and went shopping - we've enough food on board for a fortnight; the freezer is working just as we expected it to, all our milk is in it plus supplies of meat. We will pick up fresh veg along the way. Settle down for the night, still pondering where to go on our holiday. It does feel good to be back on board.
Sunday 28 August
We have decided that we are going to go down to Stratford on Avon, whether we will go out onto the Avon itself we haven't decided yet. But it does mean that our first stretch of canal will have a lot of locks as we go down the Stockton Flight. The boys are going to be a bit too excited today to let them off around locks so Ian takes them for a walk after breakfast whilst I wash the boat floor (and the side of the boat on the pontoon) - will have to do the other side sometime this trip but I'm not going to hang off the gunwhales now. Fill the water tank, fill the diesel tank, empty the black water tank and we're ready for the off at 11.20.
Down through locks as far as
the Blue Lias pub and Warwickshire Fly Boats and moor up. The Blue Lias
is teeming with people but we don't want to eat, just get a Pearsons and
a Nicholsons for the Stratford on Avon Canal (these are the standard maps
for the canals - great debate as to which is best, we prefer Pearsons
for navigating, but Nicholsons gives the wider environs and so helps us
pick mooring spots which are not too close to main roads or railway lines
if we can help it). Succeed with the Nicholsons, not the Pearsons but
no doubt we'll be able to pick one up later on. If we are going out onto
the River Avon, we'll need to get an anchor as well. Cruise on for just
a little way, but it is time for lunch so we moor up just past Bridge
25 on the Grand Union at about 14.10.
Depart at 15.40,
intending to get to Radford Semele for our evening mooring but things
don't go quite according to plan. Down the Bascote Locks and the Welsh
Road Lock and I am kn*****ed. I've been a real couch potato these last
few months and these heavy double locks are taking their toll. Beginning
to wonder whether I should go all weak and feeble on Ian and get him to
moor for the night, when things are taken out of my hands. Jasper, doing
his usual trying to drink from the canal, misjudges it and ends up in
the canal. Luckily he had his Petfloat on and our theory about its large
handle making it easy to pull wet dogs from the canal proves accurate.
A rather stunned Jasper waits for the boat to moor up so he can be dried
off.
We moor for the
night just before Bridge 31 - dry Jasper off and put his 
Petfloat
on the roof to help it dry and then settle down on the towpath in one
of ournew chairs to read as the sun goes down. I'm going to borrow a habit
of Sue and her No
Problem blog and put a picture of our 'backyard' each night. So here's
the first (I'm also trying out my new camera - birthday pressie from Ian).
5 miles, 15 locks, 4 hours 30 min travelling
Monday 29 August
Awake to a beautiful morning and we are off to a, relatively, early start at 8.20. I'm full of good intentions for this trip - to keep a detailed log, to make notes of time and distance - but we'll have to see how well I've done at the end.
We begin the run into Leamington
Spa and once we get past Bridge 35 (Radford Road Bridge) we're into new
territory - we've never been past here. Leamington Spa merges with Warwick,
I think there were only a couple of fields separating them.
Take on water at the top of Cape Locks and moor up just past the Cape
of Good Hope pub for lunch at about 12.30.
Depart at 2.30 knowing we face
the Hatton Flight - 21 double locks! They will lift us over 146 feet in
total. We have been surprised at how little traffic there has been, we've
seen a few boats coming down and they say Hatton's quiet. We've had virtually
nobody going our way and I was hoping for some company to help with the
work. We get to the first lock and realise that this must be a spectator
sport for the locals as there is a car park by the bottom lock and people
set up for the afternoon in their camping chairs. Wait around in the first
lock for a few minutes in the hope that another boat will come along but
to no avail so off we go. We do the first 3 locks in about 40 minutes
- they are all against us and there's no-one coming down - if a lock is
'against you' it means that the water in it is the wrong way, so if you
are going up a lock, you need the lock to be empty so you can cruise in
and fill it with water to lift you to the next level. If you are going
down a lock, you need it to be full so you can cruise in and let the water
out so you are lowered to the next level down. 
So
as we are going up Hatton Flight we need the locks to be empty, but they
are full. This means that I have to empty each lock so Ian can cruise
Per Angusta in, then I fill the lock. It's wasteful of water and twice
as much work, but I will not be beaten - onwards and upwards.
There are plenty of people
strolling up and down the towpath on this very pleasant afternoon and
the children are curious and eager to help. After the first 8 locks we
pass a moored boat pointing in our direction, but the crew look as though
they have just settled down with a jug of Pimms and some nibbles. True
to form, the lock is against us, so I set it and as Ian brings Per Angusta
in, he tells me that we are going to have company - apparently help going
up the flight is more appealing than the Pimms so nb Rufford joins us
in our climb. We make steady progress, aided by the odd boat coming down,
but all the boaters are surprised at the lack of traffic for a Bank Holiday.
The closer we get to the top, the more gongoozlers (onlookers) there are.
Rufford and her crew are aiming to moor just before Lock 43 so that lunch
can be eaten, but decide that they will push onto the top. With their
help we exit Lock 46 at 5.30 - that's 21 locks in 3hr 15min, not bad going.
I'm
pretty kn******d again so we want to moor up fairly soon. However, we
don't stop until just past Bridge 61 when we moor up for the night at
about 6.15. So here is our backyard for tonight - what we didn't realise
was that if we had gone just a bit further round that bend we would have
had a fantastic view. If you're on the Grand Union,
then the moorings just past Bridge 62, going towards Bridge 61 would be
a good place to stop.
12 miles, 27 locks, 8hrs 40 min (17 miles, 42 locks, 13 hours 10 min)