Six cruising days, 37 locks, 19 bridges (of which nine were open) and 32 miles later we arrive at our first mooring in Oxford. I could stop writing now; this kind of sums it up. But of course there is more to tell. We have our first traffic jam for a lock. Not because it … Read More →
Just before we leave Saltisford we find out that the couple on the Black Prince hire boat that is moored behind us… are Dutch. Elly and Ronald, on holiday on a Black Prince boat for the eight time. They’re heading in the same direction so we decide to cruise together for a while. After I … Read More →
And don’t miss. Lawrance, maybe? Him being in Scotland at the moment, playing golf? Well, it certainly enables me to spend a day exploring Warwick. I find a yarn shop, and manage to get half the yarn I need. I also manage to get a hair cut, and once again I look totally different. And … Read More →
After a quiet night (with rain) at Kingswood Junction we turn onto Grand Union Canal, which must be the motorway of the canals. Bloody hell it’s wide! It’s amazing. What a difference compared to, for example, the Trent & Mersey around Acton Bridge. And no traffic… It’s too much for us. After two-and-a-half hours we … Read More →
Audlem, 16-04-2016 “A boat just moored behind us”, he says. “Did you see them?”, she asks. “Yes.” “Did you speak to them?” “No, I think they’re crème brûlée*.” Market Drayton, 18-04-2016 “Shall we moor just in front of that green boat?”, he asks. “Oh”, she says, “That’s them crème brûlée from Audlem.” He says: “But … Read More →
It should have been The Merchant of Venice (because that’s what I read for English Literature in Grammar School), but you can’t win them all. So A Midsummer Night’s Dream it is. An expensive dream (£65 per person), set unfortunately not in Tudor time but in the thirties. Performed at the famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre … Read More →
Because it is called Mary Arden’s House in some of the guides, I assume we will visit just a house; the house Shakespeare’s mother used to live in. But we’re in for a nice surprise: it’s a Living Tudor Farm Museum. We arrive just before one o’clock, and the first scheduled event is a Tudor … Read More →
There is about a week between the Black Country Museum, and Stamppot Andijvie. With (once again) no time to write. Leaving the basin at the Black Country Living Museum it’s my day at the tiller. We take the motorway (i.e. Birmingham Canal Navigations Old Main Line) to the centre of Birmingham: Gas Street Basin. Although … Read More →
I should write about the Black Country Living Museum. But either I write a book about it, or tell you to go on their website and have a look yourself. This is the map of the museum, and I visited everything. Went into the mine, did rope skipping, took the trolley bus (not exiting when you … Read More →
You think we are in the UK? Well, over the last days I’ve seen rocks as in the Dordogne (complete with caves), hills and valleys as in the Black Forest and Danish seats. OK, a short summary. Reluctantly we left Stourport Basin and the extremely nice boaters and locals there. They actually were so nice, I … Read More →