Narrowboat Maid of the Mist Blog - August 2010

We hope you enjoy reading about our travels around the British Inland Waterways

Kennet & Avon Canal

1st - Moved as far as Tyle Mill Lock and am still loving every minute. There are 104 locks on this canal and, if I have counted right, about 25 swing bridges. I will be very fit by the time we return to Reading.

2-9th - Sorry not to have uploaded our travels during this period, we have been without an internet signal for the duration. We have been merrily cruising along at a slow pace. We doubled up with NB Flutterbye to do the locks as far as lock 53 (with the exception of a couple). The lady owner is Anita and is normally single handed, however during this week she has had a visitor with her called Margaret - a real character who clearly had never been boating before. We had such a laugh and enjoyed their company.

During our travels for this period we came across a horse drawn trip boat from the Kennet Horse Boat Company based at Hungerford. The horse's name was Freddy and was kilted out in colourful bobbins which is traditional for these working horses.

Here is Freddy waiting to be hitched up once the boat has been pulled through the lock ahead.

It is worth a note to say we are moving along part of the 90 mile long White Horse Trail, named after the chalk horses that can be seen in the hills in Wiltshire. There are 8 chalk horses in all and Devizes is about midway on the trail.

Image is of horse seen from canal between Wooton and Honey Street.

Today we met our good friend Sandy, on NB Carpe Diem, who had been to Bristol and was on her way back to Reading. She too had a friend visiting for a week.

10th-11th - Spent these two days in Devizes. A lovely town with a residential castle in its midst. Now who would live in a castle we ask?

We visited the museum in the wharf which explained how a canal was built from inception to completion. They showed that the people involved where surveyors, engineers, sponsors, navvies, traders etc. Apparently the cost would have been around £4M even in the 18th Century.

We also spent some time in the town centre visiting the charity shops (you may have noticed we love charity shops). We also had a lovely cone of chips each (the nicest we have tasted in a long time).

12th - Did the Caen Lock Flight today. Took us from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm (all 29 locks). The first half we did on our own. Having spotted another boat behind us, we decided to wait for them to share the work load the rest of the way.

It's worth letting any newcomers to the Caen Hill Flight know that after the last boat is allowed up the Caen Hill flight, British Waterways open one of the paddles on each lock to empty them. This is to avoid any flooding overnight as there are no controlling weirs. If you are first down the flight in the morning you will have to close the bottom paddle before you can fill each lock. It's a lot of work. Fortunately we still have Zoe and Ryan with us, so we were able to share the work load.

We are now moored at the bottom of the last lock taking a well earned rest.

13th - Moved onto Semington. Nothing too spectacular today except a lucky plum tree with the most deliciously ripe plums on the opposite side of the canal to the towpath just before Bridge 149. Also I saw a kingfisher just after mooring up. Hope there are a few more soon. They are so beautiful.

14th - Zoe is a slave driver. She wants to cruise all day long - we think she is hoping to get to Bath, but unfortunately that will not happen. We have arrived in Bradford-on-Avon and it is here that Lea will pick her up tomorrow.

15th - Spent a lovely day with the family. I cooked a Sunday lunch (Lea is vegetarian so she likes a sunday roast, but without the meat). They all left at 6pm. Our dog Jack has gone home with Zoe for a couple of weeks as we are going to put the boat in a marina for a short trip to Torquay to see Graham's mother at the end of the month. I was very sad to see him go, but at least I know he will be loved and not just stuck in a kennel. Zoe is returning again for one week about 8th September when she will bring Jack back.

16th - Just moored about half a mile outside of Bradford-0n-Avon. Taking a rest before moving to Bath.

18th - Arrived in Bath and as soon as we had moored up we went off into the town and climbed aboard the open topped city tour bus. This is a lovely town, unspoilt by modernisation. A lot of the properties were designed by architects John Wood the elder and John Wood the younger in the 1700's. Of note are the Circus and Queen Street (Elder) and the Crescent (Younger).

Having had lunch outside a pub in North Parade, we decided to hop back onto the City Tour bus as we had gone passed some shops we had wished to visit, however, it turned out we boarded the wrong bus and ended up on the Skyline tour which our ticket covered anyway. So the shopping was put aside for the day.

Boaters will need comfortable walking shoes for their trip around bath as the town is very up and down hill.

19th - Taking advantage of the 48hr moorings we decided to take a bus trip into Bristol, purely to do some personal shopping. However once there we came across John Wesley's Chapel (The New Room) in the town centre. Admission to this Grade I listed building is free and is well worth the visit whatever your religious persuasion is.

The Wesley family were, of course, Methodists and John Wesley had a study and bedroom on the top floor for when he stayed there. The common room was were he and Charles Wesley would often dine together, as did the visiting preachers. Charles of course was the famous hymn writer, with over 2000 hymns and religious poems to his name. From the Common Room John Wesley could look down through the lantern window to observe the visiting preachers whilst performing their sermons. This feature brought light to the ground floor which was lacking in windows.

21st - Arrived in Bristol Harbour at about 3pm after overnighting at the pontoon by Bitton Railway Bridge which is between Salford and Keynsham. This railway bridge is now disused and has been turned over to the Bristol & Bath Railway Path for pedestrians and cyclists, so we had a quiet night.

On arrival in Bristol we cruised right through the floating harbour to the lock which leads into Cumberland Basin and then came back and moored on the new pontoons opposite the Maritime Heritage Museum. Although the port is no longer used for cargo drops, it is still very busy with leisurecraft and marine businesses. It is possible to travel through the port to link up with the Seven Estuary. We do not plan to do this trip and I suspect you need to carry VHF which we do not have. I'm afraid I am not very good when it comes to travelling on the tidal water. Also, as our boat is our home, we do not wish to put it in jeopardy. We'll leave that sort of trip to those that are experienced.

Below is an image of the swing bridge that is very low, but not opened for narrowboats. We nb owners are expected to clear the roof to allow passage. We had to take down all our planters, but after a quick measurement as we went under, we think we can put them back for the return journey.

Prince Street Swing Bridge. We measured a 26" clearance which would have cleared our planters, so we put them back up for the return journey. But as luck would have it, we arrived at the bridge just as it was opening for another boat.

22nd - Back at Bitton Railway Bridge, and guess what, we saw a steam train, so it isn't a totally disused railway line. The pontoon was very busy and we were luck to get in. All boats were double breasted.

23rd - What a night last night. The heavens opened and it stayed like that for most of the night. We set off about 10.00am in brilliant sunshine, but it didn't last. The rain was on and off all day and at times very heavy (usually when operating the locks).

Having said all that, we arrived back in Bath none the worse. On the moorings just passed the Sainsbury's bridge we saw NB Just Jo Ken who used to be moored with us at Otherton Marina on the Staffs and Worcester. We stopped and had a coffee with them and exchanged cruise experiences for an hour. We then moored up ourselves along the wall near the weir. Just so you are aware, these moorings belong to the City Council and they are currently charging £9.00 per day or £4.50 per half day.

24th - We came up the 4 locks this morning to Bath Top Lock and will be mooring there for 48 hrs. After lunch we went out sightseeing again, and this time visited the Roman Baths and the Abbey.

There was a £10 entrance fee per person into the Roman Baths, and whilst I normally complain at such exhorbitant fees, I do believe on this occasion it was well worth it. We saw how the Romans harnessed the natural spring water and how they disposed of the excesses into the River Avon. We were shown how the Roman Baths formed part of their daily lives. They were a very fastidious people and would use these baths not only for cleansing themselves, but for generally meeting people and possibly doing business. There is only one spring active on this complex, but that is sufficient for several pools.

In addition to the baths there were hot rooms that worked on the same principle of today's saunas. They had stoke rooms where furnaces burned and the heat would eminate through the flooring which was built on brick stacks. If more humidity was required they would throw cold water onto the floor or walls, as we do now onto hot coals.

Next we went into the Abbey. This is free to enter, however you are asked for a donation circa £2.50 per person before you enter. I loved this abbey. It looked so clean inside and the stained glass windows were fabulous. We took part in the hourly prayers which only took a couple of minutes.

There is a window commemorating the crowning of King Edgar in 973. King Edgar was the first effective king of all England and Queen Elizabeth II visited the Abbey to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of his crowing, and there is a plaque on the floor to mark this visit.

There is also a wall plaque in honour of Richard 'Beau' Nash (1674-1762) who was the Master of Ceremonies in Bath in the 18th century. Beau Nash was most noted for breaking down the rigid manners barrier which divided the nobility from the middle classes and the gentry. He was quite a dandy and had numerous mistresses.

25th - Moored overnight at Bath top lock as Bath Boats preferred we did not stay overnight in their yard.

26th - 28th Torquay visiting Graham's Mum and her boyfriend. Had a pleasant time.

29th - Now on our homeward journey to Chester.

30th - Today we did 34 locks (5 at Seend and the 29 Caen Hill locks). We were on our own at Seend and for the first three at Caen Hill, and having spotted another loan boat starting the flight, we decided it would be a good move to wait. And along came Sandra and Barry on Northern Pride. They were a couple of New Zealanders, over here for five months. We enjoyed sharing the locks with them.

Being a Bank Holiday Monday, there were a large number of gongoozies at the locks and we appeared to engage the help from two young children, Tyler (age 10) and Ellie Louse (aged 5), who were both keen to assist us closing the gates. It was hard work for them so as a reward, with permission from their parents, they had a ride up a couple of the locks and both had a go at steering. I think they really enjoyed the experience and am sure they will be keen to tell all their friends at school.

31st - Arrived in Devizes last night and moored up just after the last lock. Being very close to the Wadworth Brewery Visitor Centre we decided to take in a combined lunch and tour. This involved lunch at the Crown pub (owned by the Brewery), which we thoroughly enjoyed, followed by a guided tour of the brewery and associated workshops - signwriting and cooperage.

The Wadworth Brewery employ the only Master Cooper (Alistair Simms), along with 3 Journeyman Coopers, reportedly left working within the brewing industry in the UK. To make the barrels they use English Oak (imported from France).

Throughout the tour we saw the different stages of beer making and how the company have managed to combine some very old equipment with the new, enabling them to maintain tradition whilst being both economical and eco friendly. Locally (within a 2.5 mile radius of he plant) they still use Shire horses to deliver the beer. They have 4 horses (Monty, Percy, Max and Prince), and every weekday morning around 9 am, they are harnessed up and their drays loaded for their journey around town. Tomorrow we hope to see this event, so will have to be up early.

Author: Jean Beven

Ryan, our grandson, saved this frog as it was being attacked by a fish in a lock.

Maid of the Mist coming out of Bruce Tunnel on the Kennet & Avon

Top of the Caen Hill Lock Flight

This is the Royal Crescent, Bath designed by John Wood the younger, as seen from the City Sightseeing Tour bus.

North Parade Gardens, Bath

This is the Bus Station in Bath. In my opinion, whilst this is a very futuristic building, it is a bit out of place in Bath.

This is the famous Sally Lunn's just off York Street near North Parade. It is the oldest house in Bath and now a free to entry museum.

We spotted this whilst eating our lunch. But thought it a very romantic way of seeing Bath. The charge of this trip was currently £10 per adult and £5 per child. Didn't see where it started from and don't know how long the journey is, but what a lovely mode of transport.

John Wesley Chapel, The New Room, Bristol. Note the lantern window at the top of the image from where John Wesley used to look down on the visiting preachers.

Bristol Steam Ship Great Britain

This is me taking a rest following our strenuous ten minute wait for a bus that never arrived.

Wadworth Brewery Visitor Centre

Lunch at the Crown, which is owned by Wadworth. Lunch is an optional part of the tour price.

Prince, one of the Wadworthshire Shire horses.

Three of the special, occasional brews from the Wadworth Brewery.