Preamble to the Summer 1

The one thing that stands out over the winter months was the large amount of water that ended up in the canal.  At one stage there was no way to get off the floating pontoon apart from a dingy we borrowed from further down the canal.

The piles holding the pontoon in place was usually about eight feet up in the air.  At its height the water rose by over six feet and the towpath was flooded and the cruisers on the finger moorings were floating over the mooring itself.

The water rushed straight through the lock and the river was only a few inches lower.  At some points on the Water Rail Way the canal was running over the path into the drain on the other side.  If the river had risen another foot it would have gone out into the countryside in general.

The dog was not amused in the slightest by the fact that she could only get to the grassy bits by boat.

Luckily we didn't run out of water as I would not have liked to try and manoeuvrewith that lot rushing past.

Water water everywhere.

Couldnt get to the boat by road either with the bridge flooded and the bins floating.

Lincoln to Woodhall Spa

Its been that long since I did the last blog and put these pics onto the site I am struggling to remember what happened. Still here goes.

We left Lincoln and headed down stream for Washingborough.  As you can see the weather was superb. The actual mooring isdead ahead and only 4km from Lincoln so its hardly long enough to warm up the engine.

Just before arriving at Washingborough the church at Greetwell can be seen on ther opposite bank.  To my mind this must have looked just like thousands of others churchs before the massive rebuilding that took place throughout the country in the 19th century.

The evening view from the bows.  I turned the boat on mooring so facing upstream.  The cathederal stands out on top of the scarp.  Its hard to believe that it is surrounded by houses.

Heading down stream again and another lovely day. The trouble with the canal and river as far as Bardney is the lack of bends and interesting views. Keep an eye out for the sculptures.

Well there are a couple here.  My favourites.  The artist has really captured the look of a cow and its made out of scrap metal some of which you can identify if you get close.

Out of Bardney lock and it all seems quite clear of weed but there are horror stories going about concerning the amount of weed further down stream.

The Lockkeepers house has been sold but is going to be let for holidays if you want a quiet time by a canal.

Very windy.  The wind coming through the bridge almost csught me out.  The boat veered off to the left and and the bridge support got rather close.

Every so often bits of weed turn up.  In the distance is the mooring at Southerey and its from this point the weed gets thicker.

and thicker it gets.

Another piece of sculpture to ponder on.

Woodhall Spa mooring and the thats it for today. 

The weed is coming down stream with the wind. When the wind changes direction the weed piles upin different places.

Off for a wander about Kirkstead and walk into Woodhall Spa to the shop.  Station waiting for the late arrival of a train.

Nice sign on the entrance to the town.  Sadly the Gypsy caravan that was in a front garden the last time I was here has gone.

Walked up to the remains of the Priory nd in the field can be seen the old fish ponds.

Not much left now of the Priory. 

The church is still closed which is a pity. I would love to have a look inside.

There are extensive earthworks in the fields around the remains.  Timeteam would have a field day here.

The little lane leading up to the Priory is a delight and if I had any gin

I would pick a load of sloes that are along the hedge to make a winter warmer :-)

and its back to the canal with the pub on the left for those that have worked up a thirst on the walk.

Only Cormorants

Arrived back at Bardney Lock. There was a lot of wind today so it meant crabbing ones way along. Plenty of divers about with several Cormorants spotted. No Shags on the canal sadly.

The way that the Crested Grebe dive, no more like glides, its way under water is wonderful to watch. It is effortless the way that they just disappear.

Starboard side of the boat is getting the Tim treatment tomorrow.

Time to move on?

After four weeks of tuition 17 pupils walked away with a hand-bound work of art in the form of a notebook. Guaranteed to last a century or your money back. :-) One of the pupils broke out into verse for the occasion.

Bookbinding

We have folded our papers, and bodged and stitched
Continuing on without a hitch.
We have taped and ruled to all intents, and purposes for,
The right measurements.

We have mulled and stuck and pushed into place,
Cut out the parts for the book to face.
We have put on the cover, the books looking fine,
It’s nearing the end, but we are out of time.

We have pasted inside, it’s the final week,
I think you’ll agree our goal has been reached.
We have a nice notebook, put the finishing touch,
Out tutor is Ifor. Thank you very much.

Jean Bartlett
July 2009

I think I have fixed the leak on the boat engine but now need to see if it is over heating as there is smoke coming of it. This could be from the derv leak but the engine gases are getting into the rest of the boat so I will see if I can fit an extractor fan to help with cooling and ventilation of the engine room.

The lost key on the motor bike meant that I had to hot wire it to get to work. The earth wire didn’t and I think that this blew the lights so another job for the future. Luckily I don’t need the bike at the moment.

Next stop Bardney after a stop in Saxilby to fuel up. I will visit Horncastle from there before moving on to the rest of the canal system.

I decided, what with one thing and another, not to go to Wales this weekend. With so much going wrong I decided not to push my luck with the long journey. I will get a bottle in to toast my brother and sister in law on their Silver Wedding.

Eat up

I left Lincoln bright and early on a cloudy and cool morning. By the time I had got through Stamp End Lock the cloud was breaking up and cleared by Fiskerton Fen. The occasional Heron was on the look out for fish but must have had a problem spotting one with all the weed about.

Between Washingborough I spent a leisurely hour watching the Red Arrows practising their formations. They are quite stunning and a joy to watch.

One of their final formations was a heart in the sky so I took a photo of it for Abz. Not one of the best but the sentiment is there.

Come along kids eat up - Ifor wants a clean canal

The canal out from Lincoln is getting a bit green with weed. The cygnets seem to like it so I hope that they are all hungry and get on with the job of removing it.

Some of the cygnets however get very tired of all that swimming so hitch a lift with one of their parents.

Rubber Duck or Hatted Duck?

During the last week I have slowly pontoon hopped all the way up to Washingborough on my way to pick up derv at Saxilby.

As I moved along the boats that had been to the rally in Sleaford passed me on their way home. On more than one occasion I would have used the radio ‘Rubber Duck we have a convoy’!! but I did manage to contain myself.

Each pontoon gave the opportunity to wander off on the bike visiting the local area. Plenty of interesting items and will have to do a second visit to do a proper job of it.

I spotted the hatted duck on the travels and managed a photo of it. A closer look makes me think that although there is definitely a tuft on its head the bird itself must be a cross of some kind.

On Friday I had a visit to Horncastle after an invitation from some friends who thought I needed coffee and biscuits. They were all behaving themselves and trying very hard to keep Syd in check but sadly were failing miserably. Rumour has it that they are going to gang up on me and visit sometime in the future. I am sure they are only doing it to make sure I clean up and do the dishes occasionally. :-)

As I went through Bardney Lock I met a boater who said that his friend Peta Hill had said to keep an eye out for me – the bike with a green narrowboat attached to it. Oddly enough it was only yesterday that I saw Peta for the first time in ages when I visited Trinity Church in Louth.

As I neared Washingborough I saw that one of the sculptures was still in the process of being made. What I thought last time was a fairly plain outline of a woman is now looking really good and I must get the bike out and have a closer look some time.

A beautiful day for boating.

I decided to head back towards Lincoln first thing. At 0900 the mist was still quite thick as I headed down to the lock and the facilities. Turned the boat round ready to leave and moored up.

The sun was soon trying to break through and by 0930 I was underway. As I went along the layers of clothing were discarded. A very uneventful trip for the most part with bright sunshine and it is now official – summer has arrived – Ifor got the shorts out.

Not far from Washingborough I had to do a double take. I have seen the black swan and the Withern Monster but this was something else. There it was sunning itself on a low branch that stuck out of the water. Can you see it in the photo?




I don’t know whether it is a terrapin or a turtle but which ever it is it seemed quite at home and paid no attention to me as I went past. I had to grab the camera fast and only managed to take the one snap.

As I arrived at Stamp End Lock another boat was just lowering the guillotine gate. To do my bit I opened up the other gate and let them off and set it up for me to go in. What is it with locks? Everyone is a gangoozler and takes great interest in the workings.

Quick shop in Lincoln in the sunshine then off again to pick up some firewood and on to Saxilby for the night. It has been a long day and I finally stopped the engine at around 1700. if this is climate change – bring it on. I should last the summer if this is the weather for UK.

Passed a couple of boats moored at the pub just after Burton Water and the BBQ was going full blast and the smell drifted down the canal. Music on, beer cans open and sunshine with the BBQ. You can’t ask for much more.

Then three came along at once!

I had a quiet night at Washingborough. During the day carried out some of the odd jobs that needed doing to fill in time.

While having a skive down below with a cuppa I heard a boat horn going off and went out to have a look. It was the first of three boats from Blue Water Marina in Thorne that were returning from a trip to Boston. They had moored at Saxilby behind Abigail Jenna for lunch on the way down but everyone was out at the time with myself at Barton and Karyn and Andy out visiting. One of the things they attempted while at Boston was to have a look at some of the drains and in the course of which one boat had to be towed stern first to get out.

Some of the bridges are rather deficient in headroom and everything had to be cleared off the roof. They were very nearly stuck on the wrong side of the bridge when the water rose slightly and the clearance became even less. Chris has decided that drains are not fun.

After the three were moored up a long pontoon chat ensued and another three boats came around the bend. These were trailable and they had also been down the drains with no problems. Using outboard motors they are highly manoeuvrable and nip about quite happily.

First thing this morning its off to Bardney Lock to take a look at fixing the name plate on to the boat. I had only just arrived when I had a text saying that Heidi and Syd were enjoying a bit of ‘gangoozling’ at the lock. After letting them in to the mooring I made a cup of tea to go with the Red Cross Parcel of hot cross buns Heidi had brought. And very nice they were to. So as I was to turn the boat around I took them back to the lock were I dropped them off and made my way back to the pontoon.



Fitted the name plate this afternoon but I shan’t put the other on as I don’t really like the effect with the lettering on top of the green paint. I think it needs a white background to show it off. That and the fact that as I got to the end the plastic stretched and I ended up with a few wrinkles in it means that at least it will be better next time.

Bit Blowy

I have stayed at Bardney Lock for today. I was going to move on but the problems presented by by the wind when I turned the boat to head back to the lock gave me pause for thought. Do I want the 30+mph in my face and when it started raining I gave in and stayed put.

The canal at this point is a long straight of about 3 km and with the wind blowing directly along it. By the time the waves get to this end of the straight they are between 12 - 18 inches in height. Consequently there is some movement in the boat.

With luck I won't be seasick this evening.

My delightful assistant of yesterday is now at home and back to school. The place is very empty without her to brighten up the day.

Restoration Project

While I was cat sitting I thought I would pick up some more gear from Grasby. To get it back on board I needed to be able to get the car as close as possible.

From Southrey I headed for Bardney mooring. A wild life morning. I spotted a small deer on the starboard side – that’s the right hand one – but it swiftly disappeared. One bird I have seen a lot of is the Redshank. One very rarely gets close to it but it soon lets you know how disgruntled it is with being disturbed. The view you usually get of it is just the dashing flight as it vanishes away from the boat.

The mooring at Bardney is quiet but a bit remote from the road and the footpath which runs next to the canal has a gate on the end of it that is chained. Along side the footpath there is still evidence of the railway line. Sleepers and rails are still to be found and there is a solitary chimney stack standing which is all that is left of a bothy. A mile further on is the lock and I know there were cars here so that was the next port of call.



Access to the lock is a sharp left hander under the old railway bridge. Immediately in front of you at this point is the old course of the River Withern. Along that route there is a marina and caravan park.

Through the lock and whilst in the lock used the facilities all of which are next to the Lockkeepers cottage.



Moved along the line of moored boats and noticed a restoration project. While I am all in favour of a restoration I feel that this time someone might have bitten off more that anyone can chew. Most of the wood seems to be rotten and the boat is full of water. The best of luck.

I have my favourite assistant onboard this evening to help with the polishing.