It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining, it’s hot already when we start our final stage. Home tonight? Well, maybe not. Just as we come out of Pagefield Lock we see two breasted up boats, and a man and a woman with both a rope in their hand. The usual greeting around here is: … Read More →
After we wave goodbye to Swansong and Ian, we start the last stages of this year’s adventure. With nobody to help us, and nobody to join with, we have to do the Wigan Flight on our own. Me on the tiller, Lawrance doing the locks. The locks are as hard as four days ago, some … Read More →
Over 2½ years we’ve been in contact, mostly via social media. We’ve kept each other informed about our adventures. But we never met… But finally we do. On the 7th of September 2016, in Wigan. Around midday Swansong moors herself just in front of me. After kisses and hugs we immediately start yapping, while Ian, … Read More →
We’re on familiar territory now. So we think we’re in for a couple of boring days. But cruising is never boring. There is a lot of traffic on the canal. As well as in the canal. And one wonders: does Anderton ever lift boats? I’m joined on the boat by hundreds of illegals. And there … Read More →
Although we’re leaving the Potteries, it’s still potteries al around us, for a while. Kilns, factories, museums. Then it is about to get dark. Very dark. And very noisy. Tuinkabouter, the little guy with the red pointed hat inside the life belt, is a bit nervous. It’s Harecastle Tunnel, 2,926 yards or 2,675 metres long, with low … Read More →
No, the title is not about boating. It’s about ceramics. China, porcelain, tableware, whatever you want to call it. And the bottle kiln, the ovens that produced the products. Ever seen a 250 years history of tableware? I do, and it is impressive. From cups and plates of 1760 via the dinner sets my friends … Read More →
It’s a dark, rainy day (the shape of things to come) when we visit the National Memorial Arboretum. The Arboretum is an evolving, maturing woodland landscape featuring 30,000 trees and a vast collection of memorials. The 150-acre site is a living, growing tribute to those who have served and continue to serve the UK, and … Read More →
When you’re in a truck, the only things you see is motorways and industrial estates. Being on a narrowboat is not that much different. The canals are the motorways of the past, and they used to go through…? Yes, industrial estates. Some of them are still there. Derelict, but impressive. Like the Wilson & Stafford … Read More →
I think it’s time for a confession. All the posts on this blog between the 5th of July and today… are written today. You really think I have time to write every second or third day? No way! Cruising down south is hard work, with all the locks, all the bends and all the hire … Read More →
We leave Napton and Dubbel Dutch and are heading for Braunston. We need to go to Midland Chandlers to get some odds and sodds. I’m on the tiller. First I get attacked by horseflies. Then, all the sudden, I’m covered in tiny little flies. They are all over the boat, and me. I need to … Read More →