A review of 2014

Hi There

I've been meaning to get around to doing a review of our 2014 travels so here we go.

Firstly, our colour coded map of the waterway network with blue showing our travels in 2014. (Yellow = 2015, Green = 2013 and Pink= 2012)

We started off the year north of Wigan on The Leeds and Liverpool Canal and headed east with the intention of doing some of the north-eastern waterways. That was until we got to Burnley where a wall had collapsed into the canal and it had been blocked off and drained whilst the work to sort it was underway. Faced with the choice of waiting for a month for the canal to reopen, we decided to backtrack and our journey for the rest of the year went as follows:

Down the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, onto The Bridgewater Canal then down The Trent and Mersey Canal, cut across The Middlewhich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and then down The Shropshire Union Canal, east along The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and back onto The Trent and Mersey Canal to the end of it before doubling back to go down The Coventry Canal taking in The Ashby Canal on the way past then onto The North Oxford Canal cutting across a section of The Grand Union Canal before heading down as far as Oxford on the South Oxford Canal, then backtraking back up it to connect again with The Grand Union Canal and headed north then west up the Stratford and Avon Canal towards Birmingham and then, finally, down The Worcester and Birmingham Canal to Alvechurch where we moored up Badger Sett whilst we went back home to Jersey for Christmas.

So putting the above into some sort of context, it took us 307 days to cover the 630 miles and 341 locks. The journey took us 322 hours, so roughly one hours travelling a day at about 2mph. Our general cruising hours pretty much covered our electricity needs (charging up the batteries) as our solar panels looked after the rest with us only clocking up 27 hours of running the engine throughout the year to specifically charge up the batteries. Our solar panel setup cost us a little over £2,000 in January 2013, but will have paid for itself during the course of this year.

As to some other utilities, we emptied our cassette toilet 84 times, filled up with water 74 times, went through 5 bottles of gas and 34 bags of coal.

The rest of this post is a little easier as its just a selection of photos from 2014.

Who says I'm not a caring husband, I brought Nicky a washing machine didn't I?

Our wood store for the winter.

Bink's, one of The Boys on Tour, aka our travelling companions.

Trying to get a group shot with The Boys took some time.

The aforementioned collapsed wall and drained canal.

One of Nicky's sunsets.

My attempt at French bread.

Benji, the other Boy on tour with us.

Yup, another Nicky sunset and believe me there are many many more, but I've left it to two in this selection of photos.

All in a flap.

Nicky's attempt at Brioche (much better than my French bread)

The windmill near Napton junction on the South Oxford Canal.

Whose for the stocks then?

Okay, one more sunset, but the last one, honest.

Hitching a lift.

Last play of the day for The Boys.

Our solar panels, wouldn't be without them, could do with one more.

Back from a walk.

Chilly out, but worth the early morning walk.

At the top of the Ashby Canal.

And that pretty much sums up 2014 for us.

As far as 2015 goes, we are currently just north of Worcester and heading down to Gloucester after which we will heading back up towards Birmingham as we plan to cover the network in and around The Midlands until about July/August way when we then hope to head up to the north-east again, baring of course any walls falling into canal obsticals!

And so in signing off,

Day 730 in the Badger Sett Narrowboat - 1409 miles, 796 locks and 740 cruising hours further on from when we started.

Winter Visitors

Hi There

A frosty morning and visitors at the hatch, mum, dad and a single signet going through the change to white. The signet is a really grumpy bugger and hisses at The Boys every time we walk past him. Now a hissing swan isn't that much of a strange thing, but it's usually the protective parents not their babies. I guess this one must have had some bad experiences since spring time.

The swans weren't our only winter visitors though as our son Aaron came to stay with us for a week with his girlfriend Emma.

Monday was 'home alone' day for me whilst they all set off to Birmingham for the day. Emma was full of smiles on the way back, possibly looking forward to seeing me . . . .

Or more likely, a successful days shopping judging by the amount of bags that came aboard.

Now my 'home alone' day consisted of walking The Boys followed by getting some tree rings with our trolly from about fifteen minutes up the canal and then splitting them into logs. Each trip (walk up, load up, bring back and then split) took about 45 minutes and I did four trips in all, but the end result was worth it as I think I probably got about five weeks worth of logs to add to our existing stock of part seasoned logs 😁 so should be okay for part of the 'Artic Winter' that's apparently on its way.

Travelling up the Lapworth flight of locks and it's amazing the difference a few extra pairs of hands make and managed to do fifteen locks in a little over two hours. We are back onto nice single ones now and they weren't overly deep either that makes life a bit easier and quicker.

I was relegated to lock duty whilst Aaron did the boaty bit and it was quite strange to see Badger Sett from the tow path as I very rarely don't do the boat.

It was a cold day so we put The Boys coats on as they would be hanging around a bit. During a normal walk though they never have them on, even in temperatures around zero as they keep on the move. And a final shot of Emma before she disappeared on board under the pretence of making tea and coffee.

Badger Sett in center of picture in her mooring spot at Alvechurch marina where we left her whilst we went back home for Christmas and the New Year. Back onboard now and just spending a few more days on the mooring whilst we get some bits done on the boat before we set off on out 2015 travels.

And so in signing off,

Day 707 in the Badger Sett Narrowboat - 1396 miles, 664 locks and 728 cruising hours further on from when we started.

A Frosty Start

Hi There

Well we've had a good run of mild weather, but I suppose winter was always going to find us !

First sub-zero temperature of this winter, about -2 I think it was, with the resulting morning frost.

Can't take the credit for this photo, it was taken by our son Aaron

And so in signing off,

Day 691 in the Badger Sett Narrowboat - 1379 miles, 675 locks and 723 cruising hours further on from when we started.

Well I'm Back

Hi there

Well, actually, I haven't been away, just AWOL on the blogging scene that probably won't come as much of a surprise to my regular readers of my non-regular blog.  . . . . .

I have got a new toy call a hudl that is a tesco tablet. I don't find the keyboard as easy to use as it is on a laptop, but luckily enough I can just talk and it types in what i'm saying, which I have to say is quite good. Whilst my laptop is still alive I find I can only get about an hour's use out of a full battery. It is less of a problem in the summer when there is plenty of light for the solar panels, but in the winter months we need to charge up whilst travelling and sometimes we don't travel enough. As we can only use it for about an hour we can also only watch part of a film, part of football match or formula 1 if we watch over the Internet before having to plug it in to charge it up again. 

And so far, at the price of £129, it seems like it is a very good buy.

Anyway, back on to the boating bits and to bring you up to date on what has been happening and where we are now.

Having been so long it's a bit like a time warp going back over these 'old photos' that reminds me that I keep meaning to go back to the start of my blog to reminisce one day.

Benji getting bored when we were Skyping one day, all they could see was a hairy chin.

When we eventually got down to Oxford Nicky's mum came for a visit and here they are before they set off on their day out around Oxford, whilst I was allowed to stay home alone with The Boys ☺. Well I say stayed home, but I took The Boys for a quick walk that ended up as about five miles of the River Thames and that was one way. . . . . . .

And here they are with a have to be done selfie whilst on their open top bus tour.

When I was allowed to join them on one of their outings we came across this item sticking out of the water. Any guesses at what it is.

Unfortunately for the chap in the punt it was his pole that got stuck in the mud and was left behind. Not wishing to embarras the guy further we quickly moved on (NOT) and just stood there watching him paddle back to retrieve it.

No photo or video, but there was one other couple that had given up on the punting and decided to just paddle, unfortunately for them something had got lost in translation and one was paddling forwards whilst the other was paddling backwards! I wonder if they're still there.

Grooming time for Binks.

But Benji prefers to take his lying down.

Getting cooler so the stove is starting to go on now for a few hours and here is our tea cooking in the ash tray. Jacket potatoes if any one is confused.

Nearly off the Oxford Canal now, having spent about five weeks on it and have to say it is a very pretty and rural canal. Food wise though, if you are planning a trip, Banbury is the only place where there are proper supermarkets so be sure to stock up. So here's our mooring spot for our last night and with a probably well photographed wind mill in the centre of the picture.

And a close up to make it a little easier to see.

We have hummed and haared (don't know if this is how it is spelt but hopefully you'll know what I mean) about getting a 'pram hood' for Badger Sett since we brought it and finally decided that we would. We think we have got about four more years before we would have completed the whole network and sell Badger Sett and felt that we needed to get it now or not at all as they are not cheap to buy.

For anybody who is wondering, the next instalment of our travels will see us move from boat to motorhome and swap England for Europe, but that's a couple of years and a few blogs away yet. That is unless I get my way and do 50/50 now with the summer here and the winter away, but the boss is saying no at the moment.

Oh what to do when there are two dogs and only one patch of sun.

We clocked up our second year of living aboard on 4th October so had our anniversary meal at a place called the Blue Lias on the Grand Union Canal. Our last anniversary was spent way up north on the Lancaster Canal and there was me thinking that we didn't travel far. And look, they even put the flags out for us. . . .

Okay then, not funny, who took the water away last night?

Ended up securing extra ropes in the night to help us not go over, but in the end the bottom was fairly level so it was okayish, although some stuff was falling off shelves.

Took a walk up the Hatton Flight with our friends Alan and Tina from Jersey who came to stay with us for a week in Warwick. Still good weather for November.

Dragonfly sculpture just off to the side of one of the top locks.

Looks like The Boys have had a better offer so we are dogless tonight.

And of course, the Narrow Boat game had to come out. Guess who won, yes Alan, guess who came last, yes again . . . .me 😬



Don't know if it was the boring company or too much beer (probably the latter), but it's forty winks time for me.

Warwick Castle on another glorious November day.



And that just about brings us up todate and finds us moored at Lapwoth where we are meeting our son Aaron and his girlfriend Emma tomorrow who are staying with us for a week.

And after that it will be a quick chug to Alvechurch Marina where we are leaving Badger Sett whilst we go back home for a month over Christmas and the New Year. I will endeavour to get a post done before we go back and then a year end roundup when we are back home.

And so in signing off,

Day 687 in the Badger Sett Narrowboat - 1377 miles, 645 locks and 718 cruising hours further on from when we started.