The Thames

Hi everybody,

Sorry it's been a while, we've been back on the wild stretches of the K&A where the phone signals are all but non existant.

We left you at the foot of the Caen hill.



Though we had the help of Celtic Dream and her happy crew, thanks guys !




It being a Sunday and glorious weather there was no shortage of gongoozlers to watch proceedings.



Just as we entered the last lock of the day our relief crew arrived, nice timing Mr B.We finished the run up to Devizes and went for a well deserved pub lunch. After a very pleasant afternoon Mr B left on his bike, hope you had a good ride home.




The next morning it was time to go in search of the mystical laundrette, well not so difficult to find this time as we'd walked past it on the way to the pub! Then resupply the ships stores.




Then it was time to be underway again. Where an old form of transport met new.




Then old met even older!



We rattled through locks and places we passed through on our way in, it all seems so different in the other direction. We had a closer look at the pill boxes,



Most have been left to nature but this one has been converted into a bat roost, if you look closely you can see their entrace holes in the smaller gun slot.



There are many stories to be told on the cut. Some may be true but they don't all have a happy ending !


We were getting close to the end of the K&A now it's been hard work all the way!





But the final lock eventually arrived and we were back on the Thames

yes I know it's not a good look, but long coat, shorts and crocs mean no wet trousers, socks or shoes. Though you do feel a bit of a pratt walking through Reading town centre.



Oh what a pleasure to be back on the river. Plenty of room for everybody, no crashing through the undergrowth. Best of all when you get to a lock, a nice man opens the gates for you and does all the hard work.




We have just passed through Henley on Thames,




Found a lovely mooring and stopped for the day. Five minuets later the heavens opened. We have been very lucky so far on this trip. It has only rained for a whole day on us once and that was yesterday. Otherwise we've missed it like today.

Back tracking

Hi blog watchers,

Not alot to report as we are just back tracking our way up the K&A. So there is nothing new to report other than we are covering the ground quickly.

Though there are all the usual suspects,



Locks and curious cows.



Plus the odd, very odd, why would you ?????? Lifeboat.





Then on the other hand you have this beautiful hand painted narrow boat.





Tomorrow Caen hill flight again.

Bristol fashion

Ahoy there mateys,

We're proper salty sea dogs now we've been to Bristol. Passing through Netham lock and onto the feeder canal to the docks.



We arrived yesterday lunch time. Just before high water. We sat and watched the boats go by and listened to the chatter on the marine radio, who needs telly.




It had been a wet old morning but it cleared in the afternoon so we got the bikes ashore and went to find Cliffton suspension bridge, not at it's best in the gloom.




Then we had a ride around the harbour stopping off at the cathedral as we went.




Calling at the chandlers too, wow what a place, handed my wallet straight to the captain as we stepped through the door to save me from myself. Did some laundry at the marina too. May not sound exciting but just finding a laundrette is an accomplishment these days. Then back to Maya to watch the sea cadets crash into each other in dinghies. The captain was on the phone to a friend, just for Mrs H, here is what interrupted your call.

Spot the mistake?

a sailing ship underway with no sails, spoils the whole effect.








This morning we went to see the SS Great Britain. The first iron, steam powered, screw driven ship in the world and the forebear of every modern ship.




It's a bit intimidating being stood under so much iron!


Though I could have played with rope to my hearts content, Hey captain why don't we get a yacht................... ouch! OK then maybe not.

But I'm fickle and fell in love with the big orange propeller when we went around the stern who wants a yacht anyway.




Then it was up to the weather deck and do the tourist photo thing.




Then the captain found here rightful place and took control,




Then it was back to reality with a bump,


Maya is a smidge smaller, though with pirates off the port quarter you can make believe.

Bath time

Hi gang,

We were in Bath but now we are somewhere between there and Bristol.

We arrived in Bath yesterday, after traveling through one of the deepest locks on the network at 19'5".



Got a lovely mooring right in the town centre. Then did the tour bus thing. Got a feel for the place and it's history and our bearings. Hopping off at the Abbey we had a walk around the shops.



Then back to the Abbey for a look around, where we found they do a tower tour. Well that was the captain sold and off we went up 212 steps. Seemed like more at the time.

We got to sit behind the clock face,


and see the bells, which just happened to strike quarter past the hour while we were stood right next to them.



Then up onto the roof, the views were stunning.




The captain got told off for climbing up the stone work, you guessed it, to get a better view. Then clambered all the way back down. Even more precarious than going up.

Next we spent a wonderful evening at the Thermae spa. The only one in England using a natural hot mineral spring. Relaxed and prune like we headed back to the boat to watch the sun go down and enjoy the view.







Then this morning it was off to the roman baths. We'd spied them from the top of the tower and thought £12.50 to walk around a pool, no thanks. The boat next to us said we should go it was superb. So we took him at his word and he was dead right. It's not just the bath but a whole museum and it's brilliant.



Though the bath is the centre piece.



Just thinking that 2,ooo years ago a roman could have sat in the exact same spot is quite amazing.

Then it was time to be on the move again, back on a big lazy river. Where thankfully the locks work properly. I won't be coming back and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody else, just because it's such hard work and the locks take the brunt of the blame for that. All the same for the things we've seen along the way it's been worth the effort.

One peculiar thing of note,



This is the third life boat we've seen on this stretch ???? They are being lived on too. Which can't be much fun as they don't have windows. Love the colour though, hhhmmmmmmmm I wonder, Captain how about............... ouch! that'll be a no then.

What happened ?????

We set off this morning and all was as normal, the canal quiet and wild as ever. Then we got to Bradford on Avon dropped down through a lock and had lunch. Got the best seats in the house too.



Then carried on our merry way, it dawned on us that things had changed.

The canal was well maintained, no over hanging trees or encroaching reed beds. The tow path was wide and properly made up. There were many more boats moored up and there was a holiday boat around every corner. What happened? what a difference a lock makes.



We can only think that to most people the Caen hill flight is just too much like hard work so they don't bother going that way.



This was more like what we expected of the K&A, pretty and full of holiday boaters. We've moored at a little place called Limpley Stoke, daft name but we are in Somerset now you know. We got on our bikes and rode to Dundas aqueduct, apparently the key feature of the K&A, though we've never heard of it or seen a photo of it ??? What about Caen hill, now that's impressive.



Though you have to admit it is a fine structure.



Though the captain does have a heart stopping habit of climbing over things like this to get a better view.



Tomorrow we'll be in Bath and we'll find a spa to calm her down and settle my nerves.

Locked out

Hi everybody,

Only five miles covered today, but in those five miles we've come through 34 locks and 2 swing bridges.

We set off after breakfast from Devizes basin at 9:15 and straight into our first lock. Of course it was empty and so were the next three we came to. This worked in our favour though, as another boat caught up to us. This was great as they had a crew of 14 souls. Just in time to help us down Caen hill. Quite a sight from the top.



We worked up a good rhythm and soon we were ticking off the locks at a respectable rate.




The lock keeper has a new nemesis, the Wigan flight is easy after this lot. Plus everything works on the Wigan flight and the locks fill quickly. Not here they don't





By 1pm we were at the bottom.


If anything the view back up the hill is even more stunning.

The captain was pleased,





but that's not the end of it.



There are another 7 locks waiting for you round the corner and we had to do these by ourselves. They were all running in our favour and we soon got through them. Which lead us onto a lovely two mile lock free stretch with just 2 swing bridges, one of which was stuck of course!

Then came another flight of 5 locks, we got through them by 5pm and called it quits for the day. Not many miles covered but we've had to work for them.

On the plus side there are now only 15 locks left between us and Bristol.

Life on the wild side

Hi blog watchers,

Sorry it's been a while but the Kennet and Avon is a wild canal, not in a dangerous sense but in a back to nature unkempt way.




We haven't passed through many big towns, just small villages and therefore mobile phone signals have been weak or non existent for blogging.

The last big place we passed was Newbury.




This used to be, two hundred years ago, as far as you could navigate. So to this day there is no tow path under Newbury bridge.



It's been hard going too. We've been stopped in our tracks by a broken swing bridge, a tree across the canal and yesterday a closed lock. Fortunately this was at Crofton, home of the worlds oldest steam engine still performing it's original task. So we went and had a look around. They should say " occasionally " performing. Only fires up once in a blue moon.




Even when the locks are open they seem to take an eternity to fill up. The winding gear stiff and awkward to operate and the gates heavy and unyielding. They seem to have been borrowed from any number of other canals. After all this you don't even get a good nights sleep because the railway line is only ever six feet away and it's not a sleepy branch line either, express trains and huge freight trains thunder by every five minutes.

We made it to the summit pound, through Bruce tunnel



and dropped down the other side into a blissful 15 miles of lock free cruising through the land of the large white horse.



It's also crop circle country and we stopped at the Barge inn, an international crop circle centre. With maps showing all crop circle locations, full of hippie drop out types drinking cider. Any connection ????????????

Apart from being a wild canal it's also a very heavily defended one too. There are many pill boxes and tank traps along it's length obviously from the war, but why so many ? they are every half mile or so.

We arrived in Devizes today and had a look around the K&A trusts museum. They had a section dedicated to the war. The Kennet and Avon was designated as a stop line, if the Germans had made it across and we failed to hold them on the beaches. It was known as the blue line. There were 170 pill boxes along it's length of which 130 still exist. The K&A would have become the next front line.

Tomorrow we descend the Caen hill flight 16 closely packed locks with another 13 either side. A total of 29 locks in a little over two miles. Big breakfast will be needed.

PS, Mr B don't be late!