Saturday 30th March

A bit more packing to do, loading the car etc doesn't put us off having a cuppa in bed on the last day. Then back to the jobs. Defrosting the hose being the main one, after half an hour in front of the stove it started to make gurgling noises so we could top the water up. At about 9am Guy turned up and was having a chat with the owners of Dragonfly. We loaded the car as it started to snow again, this was settling nicely on the ice in the marina. Our vacuum bags seem to have lost all their sealability so the car was fuller than when we'd arrived. Final checks and a quick hoover before the lady doing the valet turned up at 10am and that was us done.

A little farewell to WD and then we were off in search of breakfast. When we used to finish at Elton Moss we'd head into Sandbach for breakfast at Peppers, but with no idea of where to head, we aimed for the M1 with the hope we'd find somewhere. Well there's a lot of Tesco distribution centres around but they weren't going to provide a full english. So on to brave the M1 speed and stop at a service station. The breakfast here was better than the one we'd had in Birmingham, a lot more expensive though. Our three weeks of peace and quiet was shattered by all the cars going by, conversations, cutlery on crockery, trolleys going by and the incredible sound of chairs being dragged across the floor! We couldn't help laughing at it all.

Then back onto the M1, M18 and M62 then across the wolds to home to unpack, start on the mountain of washing and collect Houdini (my cat) from her holiday. Normal life in a big house with more than four steps and passing space in the kitchen, Strange!



Our three weeks on Winding Down had been cold, cosy, quiet but excellent and a fitting way to say goodbye to her. Our share in her is for sale and our next planned week not til November, by which time we hope to have sold up and moved onto Oleanna our very own boat.

We would like to thank Father Christmas last year for providing us with pure lambs wool socks and heat holder socks. Other thanks should also go to thermal underwear, fleecy lined trousers, water proofs, gloves, hats, chocolate and banana loaf, boat biscuits and last but not least Taybrite coal!

In total according to canal plan we did
171 miles 3.25 furlongs
200 locks
9 moveable bridges
12 tunnels

Friday 29th March

Our evening with Lizzie had been lovely but had left me slightly fuzzy headed so the morning was going to be slightly slower. We had scrambled egg on toast for Breakfast and hoped that the ice might melt a little before we needed to be off. A cup of tea and the ice seemed to be moving with the water so we thought we'd risk it.

So through the bridge to fill up with water we crackled through the ice. As the tank was filling up we could hear crunching noises coming from down the cut, a boat appeared from Crick Tunnel cutting it's way through the ice. Phew we wouldn't be the first! As the boat drew closer we realised that it was Bittern another Carefree Boat and who was at the tiller.. Artie (who runs the company)! We had a little chat as he crunched his way past, he said he'd broken the ice all the way for us! At least it wouldn't be us making all the noise!
Off we set with the weather intermittently sunny and then snowy. It really couldn't make it's mind up. At the tunnel we couldn't see through to the other end which we had done yesterday, curious! Only got to see the light when we had about 150m to go. At times it made you wonder if there had been a collapse or something, but the air wasn't dusty, just misty very misty!

We kept coming across areas where the sun hadn't melted the ice as yet and Arties trail was still obvious. Turning a bend round a field of sheep the familiar sound of the M1 came back and there they all were zooming by overhead. I took the rubbish to the bin above the top lock and went to check in with the lock keeper,  there were plenty of chaps in the little office, but not the chap we needed. So it was time to walk to the bottom of the locks to find him. One boat was coming up and he asked us to stay above the top lock. Yesterday they were holding a boat below the top lock just before the staircase, but this lock keeper said they never did that. Well he's the boss. Mick went to help with the boat coming up, whilst I waited more lock keepers turned up. We'd been worried that with the increase of boats in the last few days that there would be queues here, as I think CRT had. Apparently last Good Friday they had 54 boats go through, today we were only the fifth.

The last lock of any holiday has a certain sadness to it, poor Lock 67 on the Trent and Mersey used to get called names and have an occasional biff from my windlass as we went up it back to Elton Moss. It was a bit hard to do that with a lock keeper stood seven foot away! Now it was chore time! How we love Fridays!

First stop Welton Hyth for Diesel, a pump out and a new bottle of gas. We introduced WD to Mike here who was very cheery, chatty and helpful. Everything took a little while but was done properly and with care. Then up to the office to pay, we did an 80/20 split on the diesel and then had an even longer chat with Mike's wife. This was all very lovely, but we not only had to do our chores today but also retrieve the car from Elton Moss. We eventually left the Marina with Mike giving us a helpful tug round on the bow rope, filled, emptied, replenished and with an electricity pod on board for the hook up.

The short pottle back to Welton Haven was far too short as it meant the dreaded washing of WD couldn't be put off any longer. At least we'd been out for three weeks and only had to do it once. We found a pontoon space between Dragonfly and  Willow started to wash one side. I always have to remind Mick how we do this and he then spends the next hour or so saying "have we finished yet?!".

Guy came and introduced himself and asked us if we could wind WD which we were going to do anyway to wash the other side and then we could hook up easier. He also had a pod for us for the Electricity.  So we swapped pods leaving him to return the one we'd got. Guy checked over other boats that had already been vacated whilst we carried on washing and rinsing. Mick was getting to the point where I would have to redo the bits he was doing, so it was time for him to depart and get the car. We gave my friend Lizzie a quick call as she'd offered to give Mick a lift to the station. It was now 4pm, later than planned, so I waved goodbye and rewashed the back deck!

After dropping Mick at Rugby Lizzie came for a nosy around WD and a cuppa, which meant I got a break from washing windows. My plan was to do my jobs first then work through Micks leaving the worst til last. Time on a narrowboat goes slowly, but not as slowly as when you are waiting for someone to return with a car so that you can get some food after not having had lunch! Five hours after leaving Mick returned, most of the jobs were done (apart from the worst ones!) and my stomach really wasn't happy. So straight into Long Buckby for a curry, which was okay. Maybe Lizzie had meant the other Indian restaurant!? The car was scary. "Too fast!!!! You're going too fast!!!!" I also didn't like being so close to the front of the car, everything was going by too quickly and far too close, another fifty foot away would have felt much better! Three weeks of 4 miles an hour, going at 30 was bad, what was it going to be like tomorrow doing 70!

Back to the boat for a final glass of wine to calm the nerves before bed.

5 miles, 7 locks, 1 tunnel

Thursday 28th March

We were moored just a boat length from a water point so we moved up and filled up with water. The Gongoozler's Rest Cafe seemed to be doing good business for a cold Thursday morning. We then headed off towards Braunston bottom lock. It was very busy round here with lots of moored boats, both shared boats from BCBM and hire boats from Union Canal Carriers.
There was a CRT chap doing some work on one of the bottom gates of the first Braunston lock. Once we were in the lock he helped us through. Some of these locks were in good condition and some were in need of much repair to brickwork. Some locks had two top ground paddles as well as four gate paddles and one lock only had one ground paddle in operation. Consequenty this lock took ages to fill.
After the top lock it is only a short way to Braunston tunnel. In this short distance seven boats came out of the tunnel and passed us. Braunston is a two way tunnel and I was glad we had not met these boats in the tunnel. As it happens we had to pass two boats in the tunnel. There's not much room to spare.
We turned left at Norton Junction and headed up the Leicester line. We has a suss out of the fuel filling and pump out at Weltonfield Marina that we will have to use tomorrow. Then we passed Welton Haven Marina which is going to be WD's new home. It looks very peaceful and the nearby M1 wasn't too noisy.
The M1 Watford Gap services came next on the right although there is no official entrance from the canal. It would however be quite easy to climb over the fence should you so desire although the moorings were not good. 

We then spent a pleasant hour or so going up the Watford flight. They are narrow locks and according to Pip were a joy to operate. The M1 is close by and there is a lot of noise. Pip got talking to the volunteer lock keeper. He said that he enjoys working this flight more than Foxton as you don't get the sightseers only boaters.

On through ever quietening countryside as the M1 heads away from the canal. I had to make an emergency stop just south of Crick Tunnel as a boat came through a bridge hole on a blind bend. Then into the tunnel and this time we didn't meet anything coming the other way. 
Our destination for this evening was to meet one of Pip's long time friends Lizzie who lives on NB Panda, moored at Crick Marina. As we passed Panda we knocked on the roof and said "Hello". We have been invited for an evening on board Panda and made arrangements to meet up later.
A bit further up the canal we winded and then moored up on the visitor moorings opposite the Marina.
We had a lovely evening with Lizzie talking about Panda, WD and our own boat that is yet to be built. There was also reminiscing about the times Pip and Lizzie worked together at Watford.
A late finish, the canal looked like it was getting ready to freeze over as we walked back to WD.

9 miles, 9 ordinary locks, 1 staircase of 4 locks, 2 tunnels.

Wednesday 27th March

This morning when I went outside to check that the stars had gone to bed,  the chap on NB Noisy Horn was taking down his TV aerial.  We had a chat and it turned out that he was heading to Braunston today to where he has a permanent mooring waiting for him and it would be easier if he could head up the locks with us as he has mobility problems. Fair enough, always willing to help, just a shame it would mean opening and closing both gates on the lock, more work for me.
We had our breakfast whilst he went to buy some kindling down the cut and then set off for the locks.Luckily the first lock was empty so in we went , Mick did his bit of closing one side of lock gates whilst I did the other side and the paddles, whilst chappy bobbed in and out of his cabin for another can of special brew. All the time we were at the locks he talked at Mick very loudly! Occasionally he'd make a phone call, very loudly!

Today everyone seems to have come out onto the cut. There was a boat behind us coming up and we passed at least four going down. So in the short pounds there was a lot of jigging about to be done. At the fourth lock in the flight as I climbed over the top gates to go and close the off side Chappy told me to wait and he'd close it. He climbed up, when reaching the lock side he put his hand on his back with an "Oooo!" Then we all realised that his boat was heading backwards out of the gate, he'd managed to knock it into reverse, so he jumped back onto the roof to rescue it, leaving me to close the gate as I'd intended to. Now it most probably was just a mishap, but strangely enough he didn't offer at any other lock and we didn't really want him to help from then on. He offered to lash the two boats together so that Mick could help with the locks and he would drive the boats. But strangely Mick turned down his offer, especially as he quite often rammed the top gates as he came into a lock and then would disappear into his boat again. As we neared the top of the flight there was a lady readying the last lock for us and I could tell Micks' tether was about to end so I opened everything up as quickly as I could.

We stopped just above the flight to have a cuppa and biscuits and said farewell to NB Noisy Horn. Our tea took quite a while to drink,by which time the boat that was following us up had passed and then another half hour just sailed on by before we started out again for the Calcutt Locks.


As the afternoon passed and we pootled along we saw no sign of NB Noisy Horn or the boat that had been following us we just saw some more snow for a change. Just how many boats are there at Calcutt and the other marinas there! Thousands!

Going up through the locks I suddenly realised why a top gate was open on one of them, I'd stolen a lock! OOps! But when the boat came out from the next lock they winded and then shimmied back and forth back and forth. He apologised for closing the gate as we apologised for stealing the lock.

Left onto what used to be the Oxford Canal and on to Braunston. To warm up we stopped for a late lunch of soup and then carried on. At Braunston Turn we turned right hoping that there would be a mooring somewhere. We came through here a few years back on a hire boat and got the last mooring then, so we hoped it wasn't as busy with the cold even though the number of boats moving had increased today. We passed NB Firefly ( another Carefree boat) and waved. After Bridge 91 there was the familiar view of NB Noisy Horn, we carried on past long term moorings and eventually came to a 48hr sign by the water point where there was space. Phew!

As we were tying up Chappy came by, he wasn't happy someone was in his mooring, he'd nearly thrown them in the cut! Oh dear. In the morning he'd told me it was his birthday, "55 today", then seconds later he said the same to Mick "54 today"! So hopefully he had got a mooring sorted, or maybe not!

Mick has cooked sausage slop and mash  for tea and

a few glasses of wine will finish off the day just nicely.

11 locks 9 miles

Tuesday 26th March

It was a cold windy morning again. We wrapped up warm again, the amount of layers we are putting on on each day is becoming tedious. This morning I had seven layers on top and three on my legs along with two thick pairs of socks. The cold still gets through after a couple of hours at the tiller. The washing machine was set going to make sure we had more clean layers tomorrow.
We were moored a short way from lock 23 (Radford Bottom Lock) on the Grand Union. The locks are broad locks so it is possible to get two boats in side by side. This saves a bit of the workload when working through the locks and also saves CRT some water. We saw two boats go past us before we were ready to set off. We got to the first lock and saw a boat already just about to exit the lock. We worked out that they were single handing (only one person on the boat). We didn't want to share with a single hander as this would increase Pip's workload rather than decrease it. He went off, leaving a top gate open behind him. We emptied the lock and worked our own way through it and the next two locks with no sign of the single hander ahead except that the locks were full and a top gate left open.
A bit further along we spotted a bird of prey. Not being bird watchers we've no idea what it was. We took a picture but the new cheap camera Pip bought yesterday doesn't do as good quality pictures as her old broken one.

Then I spotted an old twin propeller engine aeroplane. It looked very much like a Dakota DC3. 

There was a water point at bridge 32 so we stopped for a fill up. This bridge carries the Fosse Way Roman road over the canal. I popped up to have a look at it. It was of course quite straight and cars were speeding fastly by. It reminded me of a time when I once drove along it most of the way from Bristol to Lincoln so I must have gone over this bridge then.

When we got to the next lock we spotted a boat approaching behind us and a chap walking along the towpath with a windlass in hand. It turned out to be the Germans that we had met in Warwick yesterday when they had given us a cup of mulled wine. So we shared the next five locks with them followed by a staircase of two locks. There was no mulled wine on offer today however they were making good inroads into a supply of German beer. 

We said goodbye to the Germans at the top of the staircase and they pootled off in front. They wanted to do the Stockton flight today and we didn't. We stopped for some warming soup and a sandwich then headed off towards Long Itchington. I'll resist the urge to make stupid comments about the name of this village. We went up through two more locks. There was a boatyard at the 2nd lock so I went off to buy our 5th bag of coal of the holiday! 

We wanted to moor in the next pound which was reasonably short. If we didn't we would be committed to doing eight more locks. There were no visitors moorings on this pound at all. Only long stay permit holders moorings. There were some moorings on the off side belonging to the pub the Blue Lias. These moorings were only available to customers of the pub. So we moored up there. Oh well, we'd HAVE to go and have some beer later then.

Moored opposite us on the long term moorings was a tatty looking boat we recognised from one of last year's trips. Pip had named it NB Noisy Horn because of his tendency to use the horn freely. A link to that day's blog is here:

http://goingtothedocks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sunday-6th-may.html

We ate a nice pasta bolognaise cooked by Pip and then went off for the compulsory beer, some very nice Adnams Broadside.

5.5 miles, 10 locks, 1 staircase of 2 locks.

Monday 25th March

So mission today, Hatton flight. Whilst we were getting bowls of porridge ready this morning a boat went past us in the direction of the locks, then another just as the porridge bowls were emptying. On going outside it seemed that there might be a boat with definitely more than one person on board which looked like they were keeping an eye out for another boat. Our plan this morning was to head to the top of the locks to fill with water and hope another boat would come along that we could share the locks with, but it looked like we wouldn't have to wait. It took at least 5 minutes for me to force the rope at the front of the boat into submission as it was totally frozen again.As we neared the boat one of the crew asked if we were heading down and it turned out that there were six of them aboard, Brilliant!

With one steering on each boat it meant that three locks could be set up by a pair of crew. Easy going. There was a comment to me that they hoped we'd got a large kettle! But as I'm not an ordinary girl I was not going to miss out on the locks and just make tea for all the chaps.


The paddles are hydraulic and of a design I've not seen before with a strange locking mechanism. Quite hard work in fact and the gates on icy ground were a little bit tricksy. The thought of only having to do a minimum of seven of the twenty one was a relief, even though I ended up doing more.


The other boat was a hire boat from Alvechurch, six chaps of varying ages who go on holiday every year February or March and have done for the last twenty six years, They've been narrowboating for the last ten. So we were with people who knew what they were doing. I paired up with their leader, who after a while realised that I wouldn't be putting the kettle on and went off to make his crew a brew. This occasionally left me at a lock to set it by myself, but that didn't matter. Mick said the chap steering their boat was a bit gung-ho at times, this was evident when we came to the last few locks!




As you come down through the top few locks you can see the task ahead, but also the spires of Warwick below, the sun just started to show it's face for the first time in days, quite a sight. The ice gradually melted away, but this left some very muddy walking between locks. We started the flight at 9.45am and finished 12.15pm. Not bad as a few had to be filled and we only passed a couple of boats going up. At the last lock we said our goodbyes and thank yous and headed onwards on our own. They were going to wind and go to the pub for a few pints, do a bit of shopping and then head back up tomorrow.


We turned left and pulled up at the water point just by The Cape of Good Hope pub. The smells were good coming from there, but even though it had come highly recommended it was a bit early in the day to stop. It is going on the list to do when we have more time for definite.
There was a hire boat moored very close to the water point and a German chap came to have a chat as our water tank filled. After chatting for a while he invited us to join him in a glass of mulled wine that his friend on board was just preparing. Well how can you turn an offer down like that! We were offered a top up, which we declined as we still wanted to do two more locks and breakfast had been quite some time ago.

On we pressed stopping at Kate Boats to fill up with diesel, have a pump out and buy some more coal. They had no diesel, no coal and no-one who could do a pump out, but we could do it ourselves for £15. So pump out completed and only £14 cash in our pockets we got let off the extra £1. Tescos is just a short while on by bridge 46 and quite close to the canal. You can't quite take your trolley back to the boat but nearly. We stocked up on essentials and a new camera, mine broke two days ago, the new one was cheap so we'll see how it goes.Then we pootled along through Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa passing a Lidl (where you could get your trolley to the boat) and a new huge Morrisons which looked like it was going to open soon (they haven't put any moorings in though!).

We are now moored just after bridge 35 where the canal leaves the road behind for a while and a lot of other boats are moored. Most of the snow has gone now, hard to think that two days ago I was trudging through a foot high in some places. Mick is cooking Kedgeree for our tea. Hmm Yumm!

8 miles 23 locks

Sunday 24th March

Our 3rd week out on WD. We've never done three consecutive weeks on a narrowboat before. It is nice not having to work again tomorrow.

There was another inch or so of snow outside overnight. Our personal picnic spot outside our window looked very wintry. 

After breakfast we set off. Well, we tried to but the ignition lock to start the engine was frozen up and I couldn't get the key in. I warmed the key up with a lighter and this did the trick. Co-owners of WD will recognise this photo:

Then we found that our ropes were frozen solid and we couldn't untie them. Eventually we got them untied and set off. Within a few yards we turned right onto the Grand Union Main Line and headed southwards in the direction of Warwick. It was very cold and windy with snow blowing in strongly from the east. Fairly soon we noticed that we were being followed by another boat. We thought this was a good thing as it meant we would have someone to share the upcoming Hatton Flight of 21 broad locks with. Fairly soon after that we noticed another boat behind that one. These two boats seemed to be having a "see who can use the horn the most" match. This match continued for most of the way, especially so in Shrewley Tunnel. It was still very cold and windy and when we got just short of the Hatton locks we pulled over and tied up. We had already decided that we didn't want to share 21 locks with the lads behind. The two boats behind were both from the same hire company and were full of young lads who obviously knew each other and were having a good time involving beer. We let them pass and they brested up together and set off down the locks. It was still snowing and still blowing a strong wind. In the absence of another boat to share the locks with we decided to call it a day even though it was only 1PM. We had a cup of tea and a sit down. Later we went for a walk to look at the locks. 

And here is Pip looking forward to tomorrow:

Then we went back to the boat and settled down by the fire and watched the first Harry Potter film. They all looked very young.
Meatballs for tea.

Five miles. Zero locks.

Saturday 23rd March PM

Breakfast consumed, ropes found we were off. Passing a house a lady looked on wondering what we were doing. So did I when we reached the lift bridge! I tried to lift it but after major huffing and puffing and only managing a foot in the upwards direction, I lowered it back again and went to Mick on the boat. maybe if we swept the snow off it might just be possible. Mick did the honours, but a tractor had been across at some point during the morning so quite a bit had got compacted and was hard to remove. I then gave it another go, more huffing and puffing and eventually it was high enough to get under.Winding it back down wasn't that much easier, but we were determined to make some progress today no matter how slow.

The first lock came a bit too soon for my liking. Very pretty it was though. A couple were returning to their boat with their dog that had snowballs for ears. They'd already defrosted it once this morning. They had been to check on the locks and reckonned that you could moor after the fourth one. So we thought we'd head for there and see how it was before carrying on. Mounds of snow on the gates made it hard to climb from one side to the other with little legs safely and I certainly wasn't going to jump from one bottom gate to the other today. The first two locks I had to fill before we could proceed. On reaching the small pound between the fourth and fifth lock of the flight we checked in Nicholsons, there was another nine before a possible gap to moor in. Okay lets go for it.

I get great pleasure in walking in virgin snow and got the chance to do this lots today. Everyone was staying nice and cosy inside.
The slush puppy on the cut turned out to be tripe flavoured! It creased up like fabric in the locks as the boat came in. Tripe was better than ice.
Walking round and round the locks is okay but being very aware that you just don't know if there are any holes under the snow makes you wary of where you tread.Gradually it stopped snowing which made it more pleasurable even though my gloves were starting to drip.

We were originally going to be joined by Marion and John today to help us down the Hatton flight, but with the weather as it was, travelling up from Eastbourne was going to be a feat in itself. So they stayed at home with their supplies of cake. Never mind we had a bag of chocolate mis shapes from Cadburys to keep us going. After the ninth lock in a row we stopped and had a bite to eat and assess the afternoon. Only another six locks til we would reach Kingswood Junction where we would turn onto The Grand Union Main Line and head to Hatton. So just as it started to snow again we set off.

Someone had been down these locks today so there was no virgin snow for me to trample in. We stopped before lock 19 to fill up with water which took a bit of doing as the bow thruster locker where the hose is kept was frozen shut, but we managed in the end. Around here there was definitely more signs of life with walkers and other boaters about the place. Then the tricky navigation around the junction. If you had a short boat you could go round in circles here admittedly you'd be going up and down locks all day. With it being 5pm we decided to call it a day and moored before turning right onto the Grand Union just by a service block. Showers to spruce ourselves up, gloves rung out and drying by the stove we headed out for a meal at The Navigation. It was slow going on the tow path there, Mick had Lamb and I had duck in the very warm pub then back along the road for one last glass of wine before bed.


2.5 miles, 1 very heavy lift bridge, 19 locks

Saturday 23rd March am

Well it's snowed a bit during the night. We might need a spade to dig WD out at this rate! Mick with some assistance has found the broom and managed to clear the rear part of the boat. More snow is forecast with big winds around here today and the geese don't sound too amused!

Breakfast first and then see how we do. There is a lift bridge up ahead and the weight of the snow may just make it that little bit difficult to lift. Canal plan suggests that we can get to Welford Haven in three days if we do 39 locks today! Now on a normal day I'd be up for the challenge, but I'm not so sure about today.

The canal is turning into one big slush puppy and I think the locks might be just a bit more work and slippier than normal. At least next years Christmas card is now sorted.

Look back later to see if we've dug ourselves out, if the lift bridge would lift, if the slush puppy is strawberry or bubble gum flavoured.

Friday 22nd March

We awoke to a covering of snow. So we had a bit of a lie in. We decided that seeing as how we were moored actually outside the Cadbury factory we really ought to at least go and take a look at the shop there and stock up on Easter eggs. So we braved the snow. Here are Pip's boots.

The walk through the factory grounds was longer than expected but there are some spectacular old factory buildings. Lots of things were painted Cadbury's purple including the street lights on the main road and the fixtures and fittings in the nearby railway station. 

In the shop there was quite a lot of purple chocolate around. Not a Kit Kat in sight! The site did smell quite a lot like York frequently does. We stocked up on essentials then headed back to the boat.

We set the washing machine going then headed off southwards King's Norton Junction. Here we took a sharp left off the Worcester & Birmingham Canal onto the Stratford-on-Avon Canal. There is a remnant here of a bygone age when different canal companies were very protective of their water supplies. The Stratford canal was built later so the W & B insisted on a stop lock so that the new canal wouldn't nick all their water. This stop lock is unusual in that it has guillotine gates at each end. Nowadays the canals are all run by The Canals & Rivers Trust so a stop lock is not required. So the gates at both ends of the lock are left permanently open.

So, onto our 6th different canal of our trip so far. We are still travelling trough the outskirts of Birmingham but gradually the houses thin out (although they get bigger too) and then we are out into countryside again for the first time since Tuesday. We stop for a top up of water then head on in worsening weather. The snow is falling now although it is still quite a wet sort of snow. Pip goes inside to do the important job of baking some biscuits (we may have visitors turning up tomorrow, weather permitting). The snow worsens during the afternoon although it is still quite wet snow and not settling much. 

At one village there is what looks like a new canalside development  that rather surprisingly includes a waterfall cascading down a staircase into the canal. A bit over the top. Sorry there's no photo of this, Pip was inside and so was my phone.

We pass under the M42 during heavy snow and there is queueing traffic on the motorway. Although the weather is foul it's sort of nicer to be out in it on the back of a narrowboat than stuck in traffic on a snowy motorway in a warm car.

We moor up just past a little village called Hockley Heath. We haven't done a lock since Wednesday afternoon 24 miles ago. Locks in abundance tomorrow though.

It's nice to get inside next to the stove and have a cup of tea. Then Pip cooks some meatballs, very yummy. 

The weather forecast for tomorrow is pretty dire. More snow and cold. We've plenty of coal for the fire and plenty of diesel for the central heating. But our main worry is getting iced in again. It's not looking good weather for our visitors.

11.5 miles, zero locks again, 2 lift bridges. 2 inches of snow outside this evening.

Thursday 21st March

We decided last night that we'd try a breakfast on a narrowboat cafe just around the corner from where we were moored, then do a bit of shopping, see what was on at either a concert hall or a theatre. So breakfast was had which was okay, but not up to Mick's standards ( but they rarely are!) then  went for a wonder around Gas Street Basin. Of course we found a cafe that most probably did a really nice breakfast, but hey ho!

Compared to the way into Birmingham it is really lovely round here even though the Olly Murs concert last night had ended with an awful lot of horn beeping in the early hours! Off to a small Sainsburys to stock up on a few things. Then  back to the boat. I was feeling very weary as a result of not that much activity, we needed to fill up with water and none of the plays or concerts were that alluring. So whilst I closed my eyes for a few seconds Mick looked at the routes we could take.

Birmingham has lots to offer, but with weather forcasts as they are we got itchy feet and wanted to be on the move again. We can always come back and take advantage of being in the centre of Birmingham when we haven't got somewhere to be. So route amended to have fewer locks we headed into Gas street basin to fill with water. There was a boat that looked like it had been moored there for sometime right next to the water point.A lady came to check over the toilets, she spent quite a bit of time on the phone obviously reporting the other boat. He apparently moves from service station to service station pinching the loo roll and leaving his rubbish where he shouldn't. She wasn't happy with him!

Off we set with Bournville in our sights for mooring for the night. There is a handy big Sainsburys just by bridge 80 with moorings. We took advantage of these and the short walk to stock up on heavier items, wine and potatoes, oh and Hot cross buns! A short while on we reached the sight of the chocolate factory with only the railway in our way. Here there are moorings on the tow path but also an area set aside off side with railings around it with gates etc. The sign suggests that the area is very dodgy and if you leave your boat it will be broken into! We pulled over to take advantage of the offside moorings but the wind had got up and was refusing to let us cross the canal. So we moored up tow path side inhaling the chocolaty aroma. Hmmmm! Just like York. We had no intention of going anywhere so felt this would be okay. Constant trains went by and we watched another boat move from the tow path to the cordoned off moorings, this gave us impetus to beat the wind. There was just space for one more boat and it had our name on it. Tied up off side a suitable distance away from the railings we settled down for the night listening to the wind whip up around us.

Mick cooked chicken tagliatelli a favourite. The wind has gradually got stonger, not quite white horses on the canal, it started to rain and now the snow has started. Here's hoping we manage to get some sleep tonight in between the gusts of wind and trains.

4.5miles 0 locks

Wednesday 20 March

There were some pork and black pudding sausages in the fridge which had been purchased on Sunday at Aston Marina. They needed eating today so whilst they were cooking I set off on the Brompton to reccy the moorings at the Black Country Museum. After eating the sausage sandwiches we set off the half a mile to the Museum. I knew that we were not allowed through Dudley tunnel and there is no winding hole shown in Nicholsons after the junction of the BCN Old Main Line and the Dudley branch. We turned left onto the main line and moored up there on the corner. There were mooring rings but we couldn't quite get into the side. But we were near enough. We found out later in the day that it would have been fine to go on towards the Dudley Tunnel and moor up actually inside the museum. There is a suitable winding opportunity there too. This would have saved a bit of a walk but we'll know next time.
The museum was great. Well worth the £15.50 each to get in. There's all sorts to see:

We decided not to go down the mine, it would have been full of screaming school children!
But we wondered around the rest of the 26 acre site and even had a half of mild in a 1920's pub. There was even sawdust shavings on the floor.

The Workers Institute

Inside a radio repair shop. 

A 1930's street

We got chatting to one of the museum workers in one of the sheds. He was into narrowboats in a big way. Not namby pamby narrowboats like Winding Down but proper old ones that could carry cargo. By mistake I mentioned that we have a bow thruster. He told us off!.
By this time we were about ready to leave and this chap let us out onto the towpath via the back gate which meant a 50 yard walk back to WD instead of about a mile round via the main entrance. The back gate only needs a British Waterways key but ours was on board the boat!

We had a quick cuppa then set off in the direction of Birmingham with the intention of getting about halfway before mooring for the night. There are lots of choices of routes and we chose to go along the Old Main Line, then left down the Gower Branch and onto the New Main Line. The Old Main Line was surrounded by industrial decay. We crossed over above the Netherton Tunnel Branch.

Then soon turned onto the Gower Branch. This involved a staircase of two locks at the top.  The top lock of this staircase was completely empty of water but we soon had it filled from the pound above. A chap appeared from nowhere (like they do) and commented that these locks are used very infrequently. Well, they seemed in reasonable working order even though there was quite a lot of rubbish in them. A few more coconuts were spotted, I wonder where they come from.
We then turned right onto the New Main Line. By this time we were looking for somewhere to moor but there was nowhere very appealing. There was lots of industrial wasteland on both sides so we kept on going. The New Main Line is very straight, wide and deep. So I opened up the throttle to about 1300 revs and we soon had a turn of speed going. Occasionally there were little islands in the middle which made me slow up a bit.

New Main Line

We still couldn't find anywhere to moor so we pressed on towards Birmingham. Some of the signposts said Birmingham 6 miles, some of them said 4 miles. They couldn't really make up their minds. We reckoned it was about 5 miles and we should just about have enough daylight to get there. Pip had more serious navigating to do. At Bromford Junction we kept right on the New Main Line thereby staying on the same level.

If we had turned left we would have still got to Birmingham but would have had to go up three locks then down another three to get back to the same level. 

We passed under the busy M5.

It was still wasteland around. Under a couple of the bridges there were people having little meetings, we didn't stop to say hello! There were some more coconuts in the canal. Then just as the street lights were coming on we arrived in Birmingham city centre and easily found somewhere to tie up. By then we were COLD.
I had a quick shower then we decided that it would be wrong to eat on board in the centre of Birmingham so we went out for a wander about. We ended up at Pizza Express. The couple at the table next to us talked about Orange Wednesday when they were paying their bill. It turns out that you get two pizzas for the price of one if you have an Orange phone and it is a Wednesday. I have a Orange Phone and it was a Wednesday. Bargain! 
We then went and had a look at the top of Farmers Bridge Locks which we plan to go down on Friday. There are also moorings there at Cambrian Wharf which we might move to tomorrow when we have filled with water nearby.

8.5 miles, 1 staircase of 2 locks, 1 lock.