Saturday 1st January 2011 - Another year comes around and in 4 months time we will have completed 6 years living on board Ramyshome.  2011 promises to be another great adventure and you can follow our ramblings by going to the 2011 page.  Click here

Sunday 19th December - Kent Green Wharf - Today we had intended to write about the strangely pleasant, or possibly the pleasantly strange effect of feeling Ramyshome rocking on her moorings.  With temperatures climbing just a little above freezing and with a couple of boats taking the opportunity to shift moorings the canal water around us and for several metres north and south had returned to its liquid form.  But after 3 weeks of being stuck fast freedom lasted barely a day and last night the ice sealed us in once again.  Grey water became white sheen as Friday's snow fell onto the ice.  Fortunately the hard, tarmac roads have not suffered to the same degree so we have been able to motor away occasionally for shopping and visiting.  Christmas present shopping almost complete now.  Ramyshome's central heating boiler has been working overtime as the temperatures outside have kept low but on the inside the stove and hot radiators keep us warm.  Our biggest problem is condensation, particularly on the metal window frames.  An early morning job is to mop up the drips or if it has been very cold outside, clear the ice that has built up on the inside frames.  At least there have been no burst pipes, unlike our house where we and a very nice plumber found 16 splits in the water and central heating pipes.  Having been without tenants for several months we got to it too late to get the central heating on sufficiently to stop pipes freezing and then bursting.  Fortunately the damage was confined to the kitchen and we think we have salvaged the carpet.  So just re-decorating required in the New Year before we put it on the market for sale or, if necessary for rent.  Anyone looking for a home?  It's dry and warm now!   Friday evening we walked to our first Christmas party in the company of the staff at Heritage Marina and several of the boaters who live aboard or just moor here.  A splendid evening in the pub just a few yards down the road and no concerns when snow started to fall as we ate and drank.  We have also had visits from Taylors & Coles and Carol Trasler with Altrees due tomorrow.  Christmas has been slowly catching up with us and on 22nd we shall be loading up and heading away to Harrogate for the holiday.  We send Christmas greetings to all our readers and hope you will come back in the New Year for more ramblings.  We'll be here looking forward to another cruising year.

Winter sun on the edge of the Cheshire Plain

Sunday 5th December - Kent Green Wharf - It is rare, if not unique for us to receive a suggestion for another rambling on this website but in a spirit of grovelling to our readership we thought we would give it a go.  The suggestion, possibly made in jest (it's not always easy to tell with Geoff!) is that we should describe a typical day aboard and around Ramyshome.  So........

The first stirring to be heard, now temperatures have dropped, is the click of the central heating as it begins its start up sequence.  At this time of year the benefit of having a timer clock comes to the fore as we are saved the masochistic dive out of bed to switch on the heating before the cold gets to us.  Instead we can remain snuggled under the duvet until the air starts to warm through.  However that click is also the signal to our alarm clock, or Molly the dog as she is better known, and very soon a cold wet, nose and two paws appear in view.  If we are lucky she will obey the instruction to return to her bed by the fire but this snooze button only works twice at best and then it's time for one of us to rise, if not necessarily shine.  We have slipped into a routine of alternating the morning walk with breakfast duty, one day out in the cold the next a few more minutes to enjoy the whole of the warm bed.  Walk is a bit of a misnomer for being part whippet, maybe small greyhound, Molly is built to run and especially to chase a ball.  Fortunately she has learnt to retrieve it so once we have reached the field, just a short walk over the bridge and along the towpath, there is very little exercise demanded of the human other than a good throwing arm.  The thirty or forty minutes these two are away provide a period of calm for the third crew member but the expectation is that on their return there will be a bowl of dog food and a pan of porridge waiting to be consumed, according to taste.  By now it will be at least 9.00 a.m. and the Today Programme has given way to the Chris Evans show.   As Maureen enjoys playing with fire it is generally she who will attend to our stove prior to or soon after breakfast is complete and then we are set for the day ahead.  Unable or unwilling to cruise in the cold there are still chores to be done.  At least once a week there will be two toilet cassettes to empty, a 150 gallon water tank to fill and on a regular basis, rubbish to get rid of.  The advantages of mooring at a marina mean all this can be done easily unless, as this week, the water taps are frozen.  Somewhere between early and late November lunch morphs from salad to soup with bread and cheese but remains a moveable feast, anywhere from 12:30 to 3:00 pm depending on what else we are up to.  With no freezer and only one double cupboard for food storage shopping is a fairly regular activity.  Now we have the car back we can fall in with the normal supermarket shoppers but we still pack everything into our haversacks and re-useable bags not to be green but because we still have to carry everything the 50 yards or so from car park to boat.  Once lunch is cleared away it will be time for more Molly exercise.  Like most boaters we enjoy living outside so we try to ensure we get a least one good walk each day; it just requires more clothing in the winter time.  So far we have managed little more than to go north or south along the towpath, the challenge of Mow Cop still awaits, but both offer an opportunity to stretch our legs, fill our lungs with cold, fresh air and at some point reach a field for ball chasing.  Molly is still the champion but occasionally needs help finding the ball in the snow.  Life afloat also makes one acutely aware of the days shortening.  On a grey day cabin lights are on before 4 pm and then we are hunkering down for the long evening.  That is usually the time to catch up with emails and for Roger to do some paperwork.  He is now officially the Exhibitions Officer for RBOA, booking stands at the two big boat shows and is also arranging a weekend cruise for the RBS canal club.  Tea (not dinner or supper, well we are from the North) usually happens after 6 pm and at the end of the evening the fire will need banking up for the night, Molly will need one last walk, check the batteries to see if we need to plug into the mains and re-charge them overnight then lights out sometime after 11:30 pm.  Add in occasional trips to see Roger's mum, check on our house (still unoccupied and pipes currently frozen), at this time of year some Christmas shopping or as we did yesterday a trip to an attractive farmers' market at Rode Hall and that's pretty much the daily life aboard Ramyshome until the weather starts to warm up and we can begin to tackle some of those maintenance jobs we had planned.  A fairly ordinary life unmoved for now. 

Sunday 28th November - Kent Green Wharf - If this is a life unmoved then when do we get some rest!  Although Ramyshome has remained tied to the mooring rings here at Heritage Marina her crew have been a travelling.  On Friday 19th Maureen headed off from Liverpool Airport with her sister in law Carolyn and best friend Carol for a girlie weekend in the south of France.  It also gave her the chance to visit her Mum & Dad who live in a little village below the north eastern Pyrenees.  Roger acted as taxi driver triangulating between Scholar Green, Stockport and Liverpool.  On the Saturday he drove to Barton Turns Marina for an RBOA meeting and on the Sunday went up to Marple to visit his Mum and Dad.  With grocery shopping in Congleton and another trip to Marple during the week there has been little time to explore the countryside here but over the next few months we hope to do some of that.  Having offered to help with decorating daughter Heather & husband Chris's home the call came a little sooner than expected, so we spent most of last week away from Ramyshome working hard with paintbrushes and rollers. We are pleased to say the house looks much better than when we arrived and the busy newly weds much appreciated our efforts.  Our return journey was via Chesterfield where we were able to catch up with son Stephen.  Whilst in Harrogate we saw the first snow of the winter albeit only a light covering but when we returned to Ramyshome on Friday afternoon we found her sitting hard in the ice.  Yesterday morning a gentle snow fall turned the canal into a white road.  A pretty winter scene.  But it is still November, far too early to be frozen in and the forecast suggests no thaw soon.  At least with our electric hook up and diesel supply on hand we have no qualms about running the central heating but the coal stocks are going fast.  There are a couple of hardy boaters further along the canal obviously trying to survive the winter out on the Cut.  We don't envy them one little bit, just glad our winters out there were relatively mild.  Yes, we are getting soft, we admit it.  We have found a pleasant back lane walk to the local Co-op shop and Molly's need to burn off energy is keeping us moving.  Even with the sunshine and clear blue skies the temperatures barely climb above freezing but at least that means a fairly clean dog comes back after charging around the fields.   The walk going north along the towpath, passed Ramsdell Hall offers wide views across the Cheshire Plain.  If we go south then the open vista is to the east climbing up to Mow Cop and its folly.  It is calling out for us to scale its peak once again.  Maybe this week we shall find the time and the energy to do so - or maybe not.  Well we are supposed to be resting!        

Saturday 13th November - Kent Green Wharf - When people discover we have been on all the contiguous waterways in England a question that crops up early is "which one is your favourite?".  That's a bit like asking which of our children we prefer.  They all have some attractive features, well maybe not the Walsall Canal, and we want to return to them all again, perhaps not Walsall, before we even begin to contemplate retiring from this watery life.  Responding we may mention the attractive parts of the Trent & Mersey, talk about the summits pounds of the K & A, the South Oxford or the Rochdale, hint at the rural beauty of the River Soar, even extol the majesty that is the Thames.  But always we will make reference to the Macclesfield Canal.  Now, along with the Upper Peak Forest this waterway used to be our "local" and maybe we were seeing it through those rose tinted specs. Having returned to it this year, been up and almost all the way back down again do we still want to say the Macclesfield is our favourite - well probably!  So, especially for the woman who blocked our way at Hardings Wood Junction and couldn't believe we wanted to turn up "that ditch", here is our brief homage to the Macc.

Canals live in and occasionally shape their landscape thus for those of you who have never visited we should start with some geography.  Being one of the last canals to be built the Macc is a Telford-esque canal, long straight stretches created by cuttings, embankments and occasional grand aqueducts.  Yet it has a some of the Brindley style in that it sits on two shelves divided almost equally by its twelve locks.  Running north south these shelves sit betwixt hills and plain.  To the east, first is Mow Cop with its folly, next The Cloud, then Croker Hill with its BT tower, the oddly shaped Teggs Nose, Kerridge Ridge with White Nancy and finally Lyme Park.  These crests resemble way markers leading the boater north but in reality are the southern foothills of the Pennine Chain.  Westward the Cheshire Plain stretches at times to the horizon, tree copses and rolling fields full of black and white cows making Cheshire Cheese.  On a clear day the far off view is of the low hills south of Chester but on a crisp, autumnal morning the first hills of Wales and Lancashire are visible borders.  In between, the man made structures of Crewe and Greater Manchester, the most striking and unusual of which is Jodrell Bank Telescope, the giant white saucer often gleaming in the sun.  Congleton, Macclesfield and finally Marple interrupt the vistas but are towns worth exploring for architectural as well as retail excitement.  If Bollington is a gem, the clearest signal you have arrived in The North, then Bosley and its locks is the jewel in the crown.  Can there be a more picturesque setting for a group of locks, your labours watched over, perhaps admired, by Bosley Cloud.  It's a long way up but worth the walk, as are Mow Cop and Teggs Nose.  Like all the best canals there's a disagreement.  For the Macc it's about where it begins.  Turn off the Trent & Mersey at Hardings Wood and the bridge above says "Macclesfield Canal" and 1829, in romans.  So that makes the Canal 27¾ miles long but the first milestone says 26 miles to Marple and by now we have come over 2 miles.  Although the Macc was obviously going to steal quite a bit of the Manchester bound trade, the T & M Company seemed unable to wait for the connection and built the first stretch to Hall Green themselves.  Here both companies put in a stop lock and put up a lock cottage, hence the differing styles of the two buildings.  The T&M's lock has gone, just the narrows remain, whilst the Macc's little lock still proudly bears its number 13.  Quite why the T & M put the junction on the south side and thus had to construct an aqueduct over their own canal is beyond our understanding.  We are just pleased they did and very grateful to the Macc pioneers for creating such a wonderful waterway.

One of the 98 crossings of the Macclesfield.  Click on the picture to see lots more of our Macc Gallery.

And having come back to Heritage Marina this week, it will be our home for the next four months.  The 2011 schedule will follow just as soon as the final pieces are in place.  For now look at our Macc Gallery and make your own plans to come (back) to this beautiful canal.

Saturday 6th November - Bosley Locks (almost) - Short, grey days, long dark nights. The russet red leaves clinging to their branches, all in vain as the wind and rain deposits them on to the towpath or into the canal.  Since the turn of the month it feels like we too have been falling, out of autumn into a gloomy winter.  Two months ago we left the Thames for the last time, five months ago this week we came to the River for the first time.  Where have the days gone?  It seems so long ago.  Now it's just eight weeks to Christmas and 2011 will arrive before we know it.  At least the temperatures have been holding up and as we came back to Higher Poynton on Thursday the rhododendrons were starting to flower again.  And we have managed to avoid the heaviest rain, mooring up at Marple on Tuesday lunchtime before the heavens opened.  We had planned to go shopping in the afternoon but instead hunkered down by the fire reading our books.  With the cabin lights on early Ramyshome's batteries are being worked harder now but that is why we have lots of amps.  Although the hire boats have all gone there are still several hardy boaters on the move.  We are seeing five or six a day, most of them shunting around the popular moorings but a few coming back to their home moorings after a summer cruise or, like us, still enjoying the last few days before winter maintenance starts to close down the canal system.  On Thursday morning we started the final run to Heritage Marina and our winter mooring.  We are doing it slowly, what other way is there, moving our car at the same time.  So we have done short hops to Poynton, Bollington and today almost to the top of Bosley Locks.  Having moored up, one of us walks back to collect the car.  Driving a car gets you fit.  Beat that!  On Friday night we were able to drive back to New Mills for a gathering at the United Reform Church.  A funding raising effort for a charity supporting children in Nepal and another opportunity for us to meet up with old friends.  It has been a social three weeks and hopefully it will continue through the winter.  And today the sun has shone, long may it do so.           

Sunday 31st October - Disley - It's been a week of pottering and if you had been looking you would have found Ramyshome cruising slowly somewhere between Bugsworth and Bollington.   We joined up with Nb Halcyon Days and Andy & Sue Altree on Monday morning outside Lyme View Marina and then headed north to Marple before overnighting at Furness Vale.  It was a beautiful, blue sky autumn day with the sun drawing out the golden colours.  There is always a price to pay for such beauty and for boaters this time of the year brings leaves in the canal, the waterway equivalent of leaves on the line.  Drawn up by the propeller as it turns through the water the leaves form a ball around the blades reducing their thrust and steadily slowing the boat.  The answer is to take the engine out of gear so the propeller stops turning.  Thereby the leaves fall out and a quick blast of reverse then forward will send them away to stern in our wake.  It  all makes for slow progress, 9 miles in 4 hours, but then nobody is rushing on such a lovely day.  The rain came Tuesday morning but by midday it had moved on and we two moved on into Bugsworth Basin to find space to moor side by side in the hideaway of Middle Basin.  Just a short step to the Navigation Inn where we enjoyed an evening's dining for seven, the Thornelys and Ms Trasler arriving by car.  Back to Marple for some family time we were joined by Roger's cousin, John and wife Joy on Friday for a cruise as far as Bollington, overnighting again at Lyme View where the Miners Arms provided excellent repast.  Tonight we are back on the Peak Forest at Disley ready for a meal at the White Horse with the crew from Nb Lady of Hay, Colin & Kath, who live aboard here.  It's hard work socialising we'll have you know.  If going back and forth sounds a little dull then you have obviously never been boating in these waters at this time of year.  We recommend them to you as the perfect way to spend autumnal days.  Especially in the company of good friends and family.                 

Saturday 16th October - Lyme Green, Macclesfield - The town of Stone is rightly the birth place of the English canal system.  The Bridgewater & Sankey canals were already in operation and several rivers had been canalised many years before but in 1765 Josiah Wedgwood, James Brindley and the initial subscribers came together in Stone to begin planning the Trent & Mersey Canal, which was to become the top part of Brindley's "Grand Cross" joining the ports of Hull, Liverpool, London and Bristol with the industrial heartland of Birmingham.  The T&M of course never made it to Liverpool but the advantage of transporting goods by water rather than packhorse was quickly grasped by others and the canal building age was underway.  We present day boaters will always be grateful for their foresight and investment.  Stone is an interesting town, some attractive buildings and useful stores just a stone's throw from the canal although thankfully the locals seem not to be stone throwers.  Sadly, The Star Inn, the old dry dock and neighbouring warehouses excepted, the canal is nothing special.  The journey on to Stoke is likewise not spectacular although the short flight of locks at Meaford are attractive and there are good, rural moorings below the current Wedgwood factory.  Surprisingly Stoke looked better than we had remembered.  Perhaps it was the bright sun in a clear blue sky that gave it a shine we had missed before but the canal's surrounds looked tidier and greener than when we came this way at the start of 2006.  Facilities for the boater remain disappointingly limited but the moorings alongside Westport Lake are pleasant and the lake now sports a smart visitor centre and cafe.  Here we moored for the last time this year with Nb Brindley and her crew Tina & Klim Corke.  On Thursday they followed us up to the Harecastle Tunnel portal where they winded in readiness for their journey back to Fazeley.  There was just time to say our goodbyes before we headed into the blackness of the Tunnel.  We have made this passage many times, this the fourth aboard Ramyshome but it remains an uncomfortable ride.  As well as being narrow it is also very low in places, barely high enough to stand up straight on occasions.  At almost 3000 yards it's a long time in the dark for the steerer, especially when there is a slow boat in front.  Back in the light after 50 minutes the same lady boater is blocking our way as she queues for the next T & M lock.  She seems shocked to learn we want to turn under the bridge and onto this dark stretch of water.  She obviously doesn't know this is the way to the prettiest canal of the whole system, the Macclesfield - at least in our opinion!  We moor for the night beyond Poole Aqueduct from where we can look down on the same unknowing boater as she descends to the Cheshire Plain, then next morning we cross high above the road that leads to Tesco's Kidsgrove and head on to the little Hall Green Lock, the original start of the "Macc".  A canal that requires a full section of this journal to itself, soon.                 

Monday 11th October - Stone - After a fabulous 10 days away from Ramyshome the crew returned last Monday to find her sitting in the water displaying her shiny new bottom, all black and just a little sparkly.  Two days later we were underway again returning to Fradley Junction.  The trip eastward cancelled, the heading was north for the final journey of the year.  If two weeks ago it felt like we had come home then this week it's been like meeting people in the street you haven't seen for ages.  First it was Carol & Chris Daniels who we eventually met up with in the pub at Alrewas.  Then just above the top of Fradley lock flight along came Matilda Rose with Jackie & Dave aboard.  We stopped mid channel for a chat and a promise to keep in touch.  Passing Kings Bromley Marina we remembered Nb Saltire who had been our neighbours at Barton Turns all those years ago.  A few miles on at Handsacre there she was moored up.  We stopped again mid canal to chat with Ian & Sue.  As we sailed into Tixall Wide yesterday Nb Miss T was sitting on a mooring.  Neighbours from our time at Pillings Lock Marina, once we had moored up we just had to go back to call on Lynn & Dave who we had not seen for two and a half years.  And for the last three days we have been sailing in the company of Nb Brindley sharing chat, food and wine with Tina & Klim Corke.  It does feel good to be back in familiar surroundings.  Familiar but much enjoyed.  We stopped two nights in Alrewas, still one of the nicest canalside villages.  Fradley remains a junction full of interest with good moorings and, so we are told, a much improved Swan Inn.  Once the River Trent crosses to the port side, beyond Rugeley the scenery improves dramatically.  The run all the way to Stone is another of our "top ten" stretches of canal.  A wide river valley with horizons some way off to east and west, interesting interruptions like Great Haywood and Weston on Trent, locks placed at just the right distances apart to keep the lock worker alert but not overworked and plenty of moorings to guarantee finding a space except perhaps on the sunniest summer weekend.  By contrast, we seem to have sailed into Autumn, the leafs on the trees turning through yellow to red, the nights much cooler with misty moorings that, until yesterday, the sun never burnt away.  Summer has gone now, winter awaits but there's a lot of cruising still to enjoy, especially if this sunny weather holds.

Friday 24th September - Barton Turns Marina - It is difficult to describe the Coventry Canal as pretty.  There are some pleasant rural stretches either side of Nuneaton, north of Atherstone and again on the way from Fazeley to Fradley but scenic is not a word that easily fits this waterway.  Of course it has to be remembered this canal was built to serve the old Warwickshire Coalfield, which it spends a lot of time crossing so the comparison should more fairly be with the likes of the Sheffield & South Yorkshire, the northern end of the Bridgewater Canal or the Chesterfield Canal.  Whilst much of the landscape has been reclaimed and regenerated the towns and villages are still to gain the full effect of such transformations.  Gone is the coal dust but a greyness and general down at heel-ness still pervades.  As a result we suspect most boaters view the Coventry as transitory canal rather than one to explore in depth.  Probably the passengers on the West Coast main line trains have a similar experience as they follow the canal for much of its length.  A testament surely to Mr Brindley's surveying skills.   And this week there seems to have been as many boats as trains travelling this route.  Having given up the descent of Atherstone's flight of 11 locks last Sunday barely halfway through because of queues, we had expected the "road" would be clearer on Monday.  Whilst we made it down the final 6 locks with little delay, when we arrived at the 2-lock Glascote flight, to the east of Tamworth, there were several boats waiting to descend.  Reward for our patience however was to moor at Fazeley in front of Nb Liberty Belle and a shiny, new Nb Brindley.  We had just missed Liberty Belle and her crew Brian & Shelia when we left Devizes in April and had not seen Tina & Klim Corke for several months so it was good to meet up with them all and to take a tour of the Corke's smart, new boat.  We sat in the sunshine nattering as only boaters can, enjoying a drink or two and finally squeezing into Ramyshome for dinner.  Sadly, we will not see Brian & Shelia again for many months but we have agreed a short trip along the eastern end of the Trent & Mersey with the Corke's at the start of next month.  That should also give us time to sort out 2011's joint cruise.  It seems a little disloyal to all those people we have come to know in the south but sailing on from Fazeley, through Fradley Junction and down to Barton Turns did feel like we were coming back to home waters.  It's 4 years since Ramyshome was last this way but having spent her formative years here everything looks very familiar; little has changed apart from a new sign on the Swan Inn at the junction.  As we came to the Marina we passed a boat heading towards Fradley and a cry from the stern announced themselves as readers of this website.  Didn't hear crew or boat names but that definitely makes 4 of you bothering to read this "rubbish".  Very heartening.  And for being so good you can now have a break as Ramyshome comes out of the water to have her bottom blacked and the crew take to the black tarmac.  Let's hope we get those the right way round, could be very nasty for all concerned if we don't.  Our destination is Burnsall in Wharfedale where daughter Heather's wedding takes place next Friday.  But as someone once said, almost, "we'll be back".                      

Sunday 19th September - Atherstone - It is probably a truth to say that 90% of the UK population has never heard the name Braunston.  Those who live in or near this pretty Northamptonshire village or regularly drive the A45 between Coventry and Daventry will know it well as does every canal boater, who has either visited it or can readily locate it on a canal map.  Why is Braunston a more famous canal junction than say Marston, Barbridge or Stourton (you struggled to recall at least one of those didn't you)?  Of course, it was once a busy meeting place for the old working boatmen.  Today it remains a busy spot and a place that still feels like a border.  Everywhere below it is in the South, everywhere above it isn't.  We came to the Junction along the boundary line from Napton Junction where the waters of the Oxford Canal & the Grand Union Canal mix.  It is an attractive stretch of waterway, probably still in our top ten despite the much increased boating traffic.  Another, definitely in our top ten is the long winding summit of the Oxford from Fenny Compton to the top of Napton locks at Marston Doles.  The twists and turns are a real challenge to the steerer, particularly on a windy day, almost boxing the compass on more than one occasion.  The views are extensive and rural although sadly the towpath hedges need some trimming to open up the vistas.  The punctuation mark that is Marston Doles with its house, warehouse and lockkeeper's store is a pretty place to stop for lunch or to take on water and to ready the crew for the work descending the Napton flight of 9 locks.  Sadly we have rushed through all these delights this week as we have climbed up to the summit; stopping by Cropredy where we moored for 15 days in August, just overnight this time; down to Napton and Braunston and on to Rugby where our passenger, Roger's mother, who returned with Maureen on Monday, caught the train homeward.  Whilst Roger travelled with her, Maureen called in at Tesco, tidied up the boat and caught up with some laundry.  This weekend we have motored on to Hawkesbury Junction, where the Oxford Canal finally ends at Sutton Stop, then north along the Coventry Canal to the locks at Atherstone.  Almost 60 miles in 6 days.  The Oxford nearly ends under a mass of dreary pylons but has a final jewel, the little stop lock and the sweeping iron bridge over the actual junction, which requires a 180 degree turn in front of the drinkers at the Greyhound if one is not going in to Coventry.  The creamy waters of the Oxford have been replace by the darker chocolate colour of the Coventry Canal.  A Bourneville sort of colour, well we are back in the West Midlands now.                   

Sunday 12th September - Banbury - We made it into Banbury a day earlier than planned coming to rest on the 14 day moorings below the town centre on Wednesday afternoon.  Not the prettiest of moorings, with a row of grey industrial units to view across the canal but so close to the station we would have been covered in coal dust had the old steam trains still be in service.  This was the spot almost 29 months ago where Roger disembarked from Ramyshome and headed off to start his new job with Foxhangers Canal Holidays.  A lot of water has flowed under a lot of canal bridges since then and life for us has turned full circle.  At the first lock on Tuesday we joined a queue of seven narrowboats all waiting to take their turn to ascend.  Now maybe it us but have the days gone when everyone went to help with paddle turning and gate pushing?  Maureen enjoys her locking and in such circumstances she will be off to help the other crews.  As Confucius says "Many hands make light work and chatting passes time whilst boat lise or fall".  But not for the first time this trip, when it is our turn to enter the lock where are the crews from the boats still waiting behind us.  In the end it was a single hander who came up to help. We thought canal boating was supposed to be a social activity but it seems the modern boater prefers to stay in his/her own little world, probably moaning at having to wait.  Ah, the first sounds of grumpy old boaters!!  Banbury, being the only place of any size on the South Oxford is a useful place to stop, not just for Maureen to take the train north to daughter Heather's hen do but also to sample the extravagancies that are Marks & Spencer, Dagenham's and other high street stores.  It does still have a good open air market on Fridays.  For Roger however there is an even better attraction.  The Spencer Stadium, just a long goal kick from the canal, is the home of Banbury Town FC and on Saturday they were playing Chippenham Town in the F. A. Cup.  OK, First Qualifying Round but we all have to start somewhere.  Sadly for Banbury this is where they ended as well, losing 2 -1.  It wasn't high skill but is was entertaining with Chippenham scoring the winner in the 85th minute.  It's unlikely you will see them running out for the Wembley Final next May.  Well, you'll probably be busy that Saturday.  It was a pleasant way to spend a sunny, September Saturday afternoon and brought back happy memories for Roger, as a young boy following his local amateur side, Hallam FC.  Half time hot Bovril has never tasted better.  Being stationary for these few days has allowed most of the boats from the IWA Show to pass us by.  Of our fellow RBOA crews, Nb. Clarence is still moored about 300 yards behind us, Nb. Brandywine stopped on the 48 hour visitor moorings in the town centre on Friday but went on north sometime yesterday and there is still no sign of Nb. Thistle who are probably getting closer after their diversion up the Thames to Lechlade.  Boats and their owners making their own journeys at their own, slow pace, saying hello, waiving goodbye and all heading in the same direction, winter on the Cut.  It's being repeated on all the canals of the Midlands and South and those in the North of England that remain open.  Hopefully the vast majority are still sharing the locking with their fellow boaters.                                     

Monday 6th September - Somerton - And so, with continuing symmetry, we finally left the Thames, via Duke's Cut on 4th September having come to the River at Reading on 4th June.  Discounting the diversions to Cropredy and along the River Wey we have spent almost 55 days cruising this magnificent river.  In that time we have travelled its navigable, non-tidal waters in both directions apart from the last few miles down from Hampton Court to Teddington and the stretch from Reading to Beale Park, which we only cruised up stream.  Of course the weather has played its part, not only warming the backs of the crew but keeping the flow in the river to little more than a trickle.  But it has been a wonderful summer cruise and one we would recommend to all boaters.  To our minds there are four, even five Thames.  From the start at Lechlade to the outskirts of Oxford it is a river to test the skills of the steerer as it winds across the flat, somewhat uninteresting landscape.  It never comes close to any civilisation but the locks and their gardens are pretty and the lockkeepers hardworking as they manually push and pull the gates. No button pushing for them.  After the interlude of Oxford, where the river seems to creep down the back alley to the grand frontage of Christ Church Meadows, it begins to widen as it heads on to Abingdon.  For the next 30 miles to the outskirts of Reading the Thames is at its best.  Sweeping its way through still flattish, but much more attractive scenery it goes on passed Wallingford to where the hills close in and the river carves through Goring Gap.  Below Reading it becomes the boundary of many grand houses, flowing through Henley and on to Marlow.  From there to Maidenhead a second beautifully rural stretch takes the boater passed Bourne End, Cookham and the heavily wooded reach below Cliveden House.  Beyond Maidenhead the scenery becomes more urban with many grand houses, culminating in a stunning view of Windsor Castle.  After the history of Runnymede more modest abodes line the banks downstream from Staines but the grand palace of Hampton Court is anything but modest and the moorings below the golden gates perhaps the grandest on the River.  And finally the Thames has given us some Red Kite and Kingfisher days.  The Kite is a rare treat, its v-shaped tail and its effortless soaring so distinctive.  We have seen two pairs between Wallingford and Abingdon.  Are these the same two that were wheeling above us on the way up to Henley in July?  Well it is isn't that far to Henley as the kite flies.  If you have never seen a kingfisher then you still have the pleasure and excitement of seeing your first.  The orange breast feathers and the blue of its back as it skims just above the water before climbing up to a branch, ready to dive in for its lunch.  It is a unique and unmissable sight.  You know when you have been kingfishered!  Even for those of us who have seen so many it remains a thrill to catch sight of another one.  Across from our moorings at Wallingford we watched what seemed to be a family of three flying back and forth.  Going up to Abingdon we saw another two, opposite our mooring at Abingdon a third and even as we sailed beside the Port Meadows beyond Oxford a fourth flew across our bow and turned down stream.  If only we had had the camera ready.  A special goodbye from a special river.      And now we have left it all behind, as we head north up the Cherwell Valley.  Just beyond Thrupp the canal mixes its waters with the actual river for about a mile.  The fifth river Ramyshome has dipped her bows into this year, but not the last.     

Tuesday 31st August - Wallingford - Perhaps the best thing, for us, about living on a boat is being so close to the landscape and the elements.  Even when we are not cruising we spend a lot of time in the open air and when inside the boat one of the side hatches and/or the top half of the front doors will be open, cratch sides rolled up.  In a house we never had doors and windows wide open, except on the hottest of days.  We get to experience the highs and lows of our weather (pun fully intended) in a way one never does whilst working in an office, factory or living in a house.  One of the nice things about a flattish landscape like the Thames Valley is the big sky and massive cloud formations, a picture missed in a city or in upland regions unless you get up very high.  Of course those big clouds are the harbingers of rain but the sight and sound of a storm with thunder rumbling around and lightening jagging across the sky can be very dramatic, providing the storm passes just far enough away so one avoids the downpour.  The darkening of the sky, temperature dropping and wind rising, sheets of rain visible but not felt and then a brighter sky appearing out of the west as if to save the day.  We have seen quite a few storms come and go this week, no thunder and lightening but heavy rain falling directly on us.  Fortunately we were able to shelter inside the boat until last Wednesday when we caught the beginnings of the rain just before we reached the moorings at Beale Park.  As a consequence of the rain, so sorely needed by the gardeners of the south east, there has been more flow in the River and with some of the rhymers having been opened the weirs by the locks are more active and attractive. The 40th IWA National Festival & Boat Show was a great success according to the boaters who attended.  Over 400 boats moored, many six abreast along a mile and a half of river bank.  By the Bank Holiday weekend the weather was much improved and although we had a few showers there was no mud on the scale of Cropredy.  We did our stints on the RBOA stand, spent some money with the traders, put a few pennies into some of the canal restoration groups, drank a few pints whilst listening to the evenings' entertainments.  But the best thing about the National is the opportunity to meet up with friends and fellow travellers who you haven't seen for maybe a year or more.  It still is a boaters' rally and we got to catch up with many RBOA members and other boating friends.  Especially good was to see Richard & Irene Chapman and Chris Jones & his partner Jayne, part of the Foxhangers crowd, and to catch up with the news from Devizes.  A good time was had by all.  We awoke this morning to the first autumn mist, so thick it was difficult to see the opposite bank of the river clearly.  As the first boats slipped their moorings, headlights and navigations lights on, they appeared rather eerily out of the fog to disappear again just as quickly as they headed away upstream or down.  We were soon following those that had turned upstream, sailing on as the sun burnt off the dampness.  Here at Wallingford Fran & Geoff Beavan came back for one last visit this year.  It was nice to see them as well.  But the shows are over now and tomorrow we go on to the North of England and winter.

Just a few of the moorings at Beale Park for the IWA National Festival & Boat Show

Sunday 22nd August - Day's Lock near Dorchester on Thames - Boats, boats and more boats.  Leaving Fairport's Cropredy festival, going to the IWA National Boat Show or just holidaying on the water, the waterways are full of boats moving or moored.  Having let the first rush of boats get away from Cropredy last Sunday, on Monday morning we joined the queue at the first lock and made a slow journey back to Banbury where the moorings were almost full.  We had a little food left for a light lunch before walking to Morrisons to re-stock a very empty larder.  We have two rucksacks and some large re-useable carrier bags and except at a few canalside stores we do have to carry everything back to and along the towpath, sometimes quite a step.  The trick is knowing how much weight you can manage and good packing to achieve balance.  Once the muscles had recovered we headed on for a quiet countryside mooring.  On Wednesday afternoon we grabbed a mooring at the little village of Thrupp just a mile or so away from Blenheim Palace.  There we caught up with Val & Michael Lee aboard Nb Thistle heading for the Boat Show.  They had moored alongside us for a night at Cropredy and in the meantime Val had sorted the timetable for the RBOA stand.  We now have our duty roster for the Show.  Also visiting were Anne & Doug Shields, on a short break that included taking afternoon tea at Blenheim on Thursday.  Cucumber sandwiches and fairy cakes though nice were not very filling so later they drove down to Osney Bridge for a meal aboard Ramyshome.  Whilst they were sipping champagne and nibbling the sandwiches we were queuing at locks again as we came slowly back to the Thames.  It took over 5 hours to travel 9 miles and as we cruised beside the Port Meadows above Oxford, for the 3rd time this year, we didn't expect to find a mooring at Osney.  We needn't have worried, there was room for several boats.  Where had they all gone; Abingdon that's where.  We got the last mooring in the town on Friday lunchtime.  It was only a 24 hour mooring but after a negotiation with the lockkeeper we stayed a second night moored on the outside of Nb Thistle who had arrived that afternoon.  Another shopping trip here as it will be 10 days before we get to the food shops again.  Today we are back at one of our favourite Thames moorings; even here we couldn't get on the best section of the field moorings but we were still able to get out the deckchairs and sit in the sun.  A welcome rest after all that queuing and locking, interrupted only by the need to wave to all the passing boats.               

Sunday 8th August - Cropredy - For those of you who come to this site to read the latest instalment of our big adventure or just to see how far we have travelled in the last week we are sorry to say we haven't and next week we won't.  Cruise that is, although that's not strictly accurate.  Having completed all the necessary shopping by Sunday morning we decided to forgo the flesh spots of Banbury any further and head on north.  And so by Sunday afternoon we arrived at Cropredy - (which for no logical reason other than the English language, appears to be pronounced "Cropredy" by those in the know).  That too is not strictly accurate as Ramyshome is moored about a mile south of the village, against a nice solid edge that allows painting and polishing to proceed, at least on the starboard side.  The advice we had received to arrive well before the Festival was sound.  There were already a number of boat here when we arrived and as the week has progressed so they have continued to come until today there are almost a hundred boats lining the canal for a good mile either side of Cropredy.  We kind of feel sorry for the hire boaters and others passing through who were expecting to overnight around here, it's a long walk back to the pubs.  Almost as far for us to trolley a toilet cassette to the elsan point and return with a 25 litre container of drinking water - sort of re-cycling in reverse, three times a week.  On the positive side we have a pleasant view across open fields to a low horizon, the weather has been fairly kind, the village shop sells Marshfield ice creams, one of our favourites, and we have been getting to know our neighbours, Del & Al on board Derwent 6, fellow bloggers.  Although Ramyshome has not moved for a week the crew has not been idle.  As well as morning ball chasing sessions for Molly we have undertaken several long walks, achieving almost 10 miles yesterday across the field to Chipping Warden, another pretty yellow stone village, this time over the border in Northamptonshire.  Ramyshome's brasses are shining again and the starboard side gunwale now has a non-slip surface.  Yes, it has taken 3 years to complete but that's canal time and there is still the other gunwale to finish when we find a suitable portside mooring.  All in all we have enjoyed the stationary life this week and in the next few days it will have a musical accompaniment.     

Saturday 24th July - Folly Bridge, Oxford -  It's not just people who fall in rivers.  After seeing off our visitors on Sunday we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the sun watching the last of the air display.  Disturbed by a loud thump we turned around to find a cow, most of which was in the water between bank and boat.  It did look like it had been pushed in by a mooing mate.  No obvious damage to Ramyshome and seemingly none to the cow but she was stuck, unable to climb out.  By untying our mooring ropes and floating the stern out into the river we created enough space for her to turn around.  Then with a little encouragement she worked her way downstream until finding a shallow spot she climbed up on to the bank and ambled away none the worse for her mis-adventure.  On Monday after some grocery shopping we cast off again, sailed under Ha'penny Bridge and turned around to begin the journey back downstream to Oxford.  Going slowly into the second lock, Buscot, another splash and this time it was Molly in the water looking somewhat ill at ease.  The lifejacket we bought her several months ago finally came into its own as Roger eased off the throttle then reached down to grab the jacket handle and haul out a very wet dog.  Since then she has been a little reluctant to ride on the back deck!   After those events the week has been fairly run of the mill.  Uncertain as to the weather we sailed on to the meadow moorings at Rushey on Monday then, stopping for ice creams at Shifford Lock shop, to Bablock Hythe on Tuesday.  There are several 24 hour E.A. moorings here plus a big field for ball chasing but the pub still seems to have very limited opening hours.  Just a mile or so on to Pinkhill moorings on Wednesday allowed us to walk the 4 miles round Farmoor Reservoir and still no rain to speak off.  We spoke too soon.  Sailing beside the Port Meadows on Thursday those dreaming spires ahead disappeared into the storm.  With the wind in our faces we knew we couldn't escape the coming deluge.  There comes a point whilst steering a narrowboat through a thunder storm when the seeping rain overcomes the risk of putting up the umbrella.  By the time we reached the moorings below Osney Bridge there was almost as much water on the bank as in the river but at least the rain was easing now.  A damp cow, a very wet Molly, a drowned Roger but today Maureen bought a new bathing costume.  Could that be forward planning?                          

Sunday 18th July - Lechlade - It's a little over the top to claim the Red Arrows air display team came to celebrate our arrival at the navigable head of the River but they did follow us in as we came to Lechlade on Friday.  Whilst we moored up they continued on to RAF Fairford in readiness for the weekend's Air Tattoo.  From the pleasant meadow moorings below Lechlade bridge we had an excellent view of the airborne spectacle, an unexpected reward for our struggle through the wind and rain this week.  Having returned Maureen's parents to their car in Oxford and Roger having completed a quick trip north to deal with family matters Ramyshome slipped away from Osney on Tuesday morning.  Under grey skies we were required to take to the Oxford Canal again because of problems with the river banks above Osney.  Back on to the Thames via Dukes Cut, the upper river soon announces its character with two U-shaped bends.  Above Swinford Bridge more sharp bends and now the river is narrowing, many sections no wider than the K & A Canal.  The landscape changes quickly, wide open flood meadows to tight, tree lined reaches; the views all or nothing and the predominant colour, green.  Although there are few boats on the move there are plenty taking up the limited moorings and we have to push on in the rain through Eynsham and Pinkhill Locks for a first evening tied to a tree, a second narrowboat squeezing in behind us.  At least the moorings above Rushey Lock are more suitable for narrowboats and ball chasing dogs but Wednesday's rain is worse and the breeze is getting stronger.  Thursday more sharp bends, heavy showers and strong wind makes for a challenging day and to end it the moorings at Kelmscott appear to be occupied by unoccupied and unlicensed boats.  Fortunately we squeeze on to a high bank just upstream, still close enough to stroll back to the pretty village and Manor House, the country home of William Morris - the 19th Century Arts & Crafts man not the motor manufacturer.  Friday, the skies are brighter and the wind gentler but the river still has a few tight meanders left to challenge the steerer before it arrives at the wide open meadows and moorings below Ha'penny Bridge at Lechlade.  £4 per night to moor, shared with the cows and with lots of room for dogs to run.  Add an air show five miles down the road and we are lucky to get a mooring but having squeezed in we take pity on the next narrowboat and let them tie up alongside.  The added advantage of Lechlade is a car park for visitors nearby and on Friday evening daughter Heather and fiancé Chris arrive for a weekend visit.  They travel 200 miles in about 5 hours, we are now just 30 miles from Devizes.  We left there the first time two and half months ago.  How time flies when you are having fun.          

Friday 25th June - Reading - Tonight we are back on the Tesco moorings at Reading, not the prettiest place but with two attractions, the second being one of Reading's huge river meadows where Molly can run and chase her ball.  Very important that she gets her exercise each day, preferably before the temperatures rise to unbearable levels.     The decision to make shorter hops up river proves to be the correct one as temperatures soar and growing numbers of boats take to the river this week.  As we had expected moorings are becoming a little harder to find and we have to look for overnight berths by 3 pm or, if England are playing in the World Cup, even earlier.  First is Laleham then Windsor, returning to the same backwater, and here we welcome on board again Ken Fountayne, another RBS Sailing Club member.  In the afternoon we carefully reverse out to the main river and then go upstream passing all the posh houses at Bray to a very pleasant mooring just below Maidenhead Railway Bridge.  Back up Cliveden Reach to Cookham and Bourne End, we had hoped to moor at Marlow on Wednesday but that football match seems to have pulled the boats in early and we have to go on another 7 miles to find moorings at Remenham, below Henley.  We make it just after England score but at least TV reception is good enough to watch the rest of the then goalless game, sweating like the rest of the country with the tension or just the heat.  It was still £4 to moor in Windsor, £9 at Maidenhead, £6 here and £9 again at the Mill Meadows upstream of Henley Bridge where we stop on Thursday.  Henley is a little spoilt by all the traffic but the farmers' market offers a few goodies and the jug of Pimms and food at the Angel on the river terrace make for a relaxing afternoon.  We also find time to visit the River & Rowing Museum which sounds a little dull but in fact proves to be really interesting, well put together with a fascinating section all about the Thames.  The Rowing Section also holds the attention with a couple of hands on activities and makes two mentions of Bert Bushnell, an Olympic Champion whose name should be known to all RBS Sailing Club members.  Next week is Regatta week so no doubt traffic and prices will rise significantly.  £40 to moor.  Today we are joined by Ken's friend Lorna for the cruise on past Shiplake and Sonning to Reading.  It's just a short step to the Railway Station so they can return to collect Lorna's car.  Does that make a third attraction to mooring here?                   

Saturday 19th June - Shepperton - What a contrast is the Wey with the Thames; the latter wide and gently meandering, the former narrow and winding with several turns that test the steerer's skills. Locks to be worked yourself with a borrowed windlass and, because the Wey Navigation is owned by the National Trust, a licence fee to buy.  At £59 for 7 days we thought it a little steep but such a pretty river it is hard to match and the effort well rewarded.  Although its start is a little unpromising, once it escapes the surrounds of Weybridge and slides under the M25 the Navigation becomes altogether more charming.  At once engulfed with trees, soon there are wide flood meadows that spread halfway to the horizon, occasionally cows but more often horses grazing.  These meadows provide some ideal mooring spots.      We like Guildford.  Any city where you can look out from the High Street and see green fields gets high marks from us.  Look up instead of away to the horizon and there is also some splendid architecture on view.  Sadly the shops are pretty much what you can find in every town but few have a castle and pretty gardens just round the corner.  Sad too that the city presents such a poor face to the river but slip through Millmead Lock, negotiate another couple of tight turns and there are more of those flood meadow moorings.  Still an easy walk back to the High Street.     Its less than 2 hours cruising to the end of the "line" at Godalming although that assumes you can get under Broadford Bridge.  There are several low bridges on the Wey but this is the lowest, just 6 feet 4 inches in normal river conditions. We have to remove our chimney and TV aerial but still watch as the flowers in the roof boxes bend under the bridge beams.  It's very tight!  Godalming is a pretty place with riverside gardens and more interesting architecture in the High Street.  And although the moorings aren't spectacular you can wheel the Sainsburys trolley almost to the boat.     And all of this with visitors.  This time around our first overnighter is Geoff Beaven who arrives on Friday afternoon with wife, Fran and shares the cruise from Byfleet to Guildford.  The fee is a bag of laundry, which they return duly washed and ironed - the laundry that is - the following Thursday, plus a short car ride to RHS Wisley, a spectacular series of gardens, glasshouses and eateries.  On Wednesday we also provide bed and board for daughter Heather who has been working close by.  And now we are back to the Thames ready for the long journey upstream.  It won't be any prettier than the Wey.

Papercourt on the River Wey

Friday 11th June - Hampton Court - The Thames is the most egalitarian of rivers.  Whatever the depth of your pocket there is a riverside dwelling and a craft to suit.  Got a tent, here is a campsite, with tent provided if you require.  Just there a wooden shack, needing a little TLC.  Next a beautiful riverside house and further along a grand palace with garden to match.   From Shiplake all the way down to Hampton Court the Thames is at its grandest.  First comes Henley with its fine bridge and rowing regattas, preparation for which is well underway as we find our way amongst the rowers, obviously in training and hoping for success next month.  A long, winding reach takes us to Hambleden and after Hurley & Temple lock another sees us passing Bisham Abbey and a mooring above Marlow bridge.  Considerably less precarious than when we moored here 4 years ago, tied to the trees.  Delaying our arrival on to the Thames until after the Spring Holiday week clearly worked as the river is fairly quiet and moorings not difficult to find.  The next reach to Cookham Lock is one of the nicest, unusually rural for this part of the world, the views much broader now across the flood plain.  Bourne End looks like a pleasant place to live, the river full of moored boats.  The next reach is steeply wooded on the east side and looking back above the tree line the top storeys of Cliveden House can be seen, famous for that 1960's scandal.  Next comes Boulters Lock at Maidenhead made famous by a much older picture showing the lock full of skiffs and punts with blazered boaters and their ladies.  At Windsor we moor again in the little channel on the south side of the river and pay the same £4 as we did in 2006.  Still £6 cheaper than the all day ticket in the car park over the wall.  On Thursday we go on to Laleham, a pleasant mooring and village and today we have cruised on to Hampton Court, where as last time, we are moored below the golden gates.  The grandest mooring on a very grand stretch of river.  This is the furthest point downstream for us this year but we have thoroughly enjoyed our first taste of the Thames and will be ready for more when next week's Wey journey is complete.              

Saturday 5th June - Wargrave - One of the nicest moorings on the K & A is to be found alongside the meadows above Tyle Mill lock.  The trees on the north side of the River Kennet try hard to shut out the noise from the A4 and the occasional train whilst on the south side the cow chewed fields run half way to the horizon.  A more rural scene it is hard to find.  With winding holes marking each end of this reach, it is possible, when a better mooring comes free, to do as we did, simply turn around and go back.  On the first evening we lit our stove to relieve the cool, damp weather but by mid-morning of the following day we were sweltering as the temperature soared.  And there it has stayed, still almost 30 deg C at 7:30 this evening.  After the urban interlude of Newbury and Thatcham, as it approaches Reading, the scenery surprisingly becomes more pastoral again.  The valley floor spreads itself and the river begins to meander, like us, delaying its meeting with the Thames.  But finally, on Friday we said goodbye to the K & A as we rushed through the centre of Reading and on to Blakes Lock.  It has been more than 5 weeks since we set out from Lower Foxhangers.  In that time we have travelled 142 miles and passed through 127 locks.  The eastern half of the K & A is too much hard work to say it is delightful but it was enjoyable and we shall miss this oft maligned canal.  And so to the River Thames, which as always seems first alarmingly wide; full of big boats that create big waves but thankfully very docile, at least until the weather breaks.  The moorings beside Tesco's are Ramyshome's first resting place whilst the crew take to the store for supplies.  Although trolleys are not allowed to come as far as the towpath, as in other places, unloading takes place just a few yards back making it a good place to stock up on those weightier groceries.  Today we have made a start on our royal river cruise, passing by the first of many riverside and floating palaces.  Little sign of financial belt tightening here.  Ramyshome is getting used to the freedom and flow of the river and Roger to being addressed as "Skip" by the lockkeepers who do all the work.  Long may it continue - and it will, all summer long.

Regal living beside the Thames at Wargrave

Sunday 30th May - Woolhampton - We have been going downhill all this week (for years, we can hear lots of you chorusing) as we head inexorably to the River Thames.  29 locks, plus several swing bridges, in 22 miles.  Some of the locks and most of the bridges quite a challenge, with little evidence of maintenance since last we came this way.  For long stretches the canal is tree lined, allowing only snatches of the farther countryside.  However all is still green and pleasant and for a while we are accompanied by the growing River Dun.  Hungerford is the first town the canal engages with since Devizes. Although architecturally interesting and a good place to restock the larder it offers little to hold us more than overnight.  Just east of the town we get our first sight of the River Kennet and at Kintbury we dip our toes into its waters as one of its many streams crosses through the canal.  Kintbury is a pretty place with two pubs and two or three useful shops. The moorings, despite the proximity of the railway, are good and there are tracks for Molly to explore across the flat valley of the Kennet.  A horse drawn trip boat operates from Kintbury.  Trade must be good as for two days we meet up with them and watch how they negotiate locks - ropes everywhere.  On through the trees, in company with a another boat, we reach Newbury and moor above the lock in West Mills.  In contrast to Reading, Newbury has embraced the navigation, much of it river, and there is a choice of moorings on the fringes or close to the centre of town.  New buildings don't quite dominate the old and again there is some useful shopping to be had, as well as the K & A Museum.  We also take on more diesel, as we anticipate prices will be somewhat higher out on the Thames.  The short stretch of water through the town can be tricky when the flow is strong but although noticeable, it causes no problems.  We had hoped to stop before Thatcham but sadly there was nowhere to our taste along the way.  Not a very exciting mooring and the walk in to town not worth the effort.  Neither, sadly, was the walk back along the towpath to the Nature Reserve.  A rather sad and deserted spot in yesterday's damp conditions.  We saw a kestrel, a cormorant, several house martins and a grebe with three stripy youngsters.  But only the latter were actually in the reserve and all were spotted from the canal.  At least we got to hide away from the rain and spent much of the day reading the papers.  In sunshine again today we have pottered on to Woolhampton, sharing the lock work with another crew out just for the holiday week.  Poor souls.  Here four years ago we first met Klim & Tina Corke and they still haven't shaken us off!  On our journey from Devizes we have already passed two crews we count as friends.  Who will we meet this time around!  Just one of the many pleasures of boating.          

Saturday 22nd May - Crofton Pumping House - We finally left Devizes 753 days after Roger first arrived in readiness for his job with Foxhangers Canal Holidays.  It was a good move for us and we have enjoyed living and working in this part of England.  It enabled Maureen to re-connect with the Salisbury arm of her family and with Niki, her college friend.  We have also made several new friends here; we hope to meet them all again sometime soon.   The last thing we did before leaving was to take the visitor tour of Wadworth's Brewery.  We had been promising ourselves we would do so since about day 53 and it proved to be another worthwhile activity, not least the tasting session at the end.  Having tried six of their brews, and all before lunch, we sailed away from Devizes somewhat tipsy; perhaps the best way to leave this delightful town. The Long Pound, all 15 miles to Wootton Rivers is one of the prettiest and longest rural lengths of canal in the country.  Escaping the confines of the town, the landscape opens out as the K & A winds through the Vale of Pewsey.  It has been Spring each time we have cruised this stretch.  In high summer it must be gorgeous and the harvest colours will give an altogether different feel.  For now it is green and very much alive, although hardly a house, car or even person is to be seen for several miles.  We moor at Honey Street on the north side of the Vale so the chalk downs rise up almost immediately from the canal, their lumps and bumps not completely natural.  The White Horse, one of three to be seen along this route, stands gleaming following its re-whitening last year.  As the sun descends after a first hot day, two guitars are playing on the boat in front and 8 signets with their mum and dad take to the water for their own evening cruise.  Bliss.      As it reaches the pretty village of Wilcot the canal changes fashion, now lined with trees through which the occasional grand mansion can be glimpsed.  Passed Pewsey Wharf, we have visited the town and the French Horn pub several times, and on to Wootton Rivers where the final four uphill locks begin.  The summit pound is short hence the need for the Crofton Pumping Engines, alongside which we are moored tonight.  They used to pump water up from Wilton Water, six locks below. Now it is all done by electricity, much less attractive.  On the summit is the Bruce Tunnel, only short but seeming to be a full stop on the last 2 years of our lives.  In a few days we shall be gone from Wiltshire altogether.

Overnight mooring at Honey Street

Saturday 15th May - Foxhangers Wharf -   We came back from Bristol to Bath in one long afternoon.  Not the original plan.  It was gone 11 am before we left having made the required cruise around the harbour and stopped to empty toilets.  We made such good progress up river that when we stopped briefly for lunch at Hanham we decided, under brightening skies, to push on through Keynsham.  There was not quite enough room for us on the pontoon moorings at Bitton Railway Bridge so on we went, committed now to cruising all the way back to Bath.  Doing fine until the last lock, we came upon two damsels in distress with broken engine in need of our help. How could we do otherwise but as a result it was 8 pm before we moored again below Poulteney Weir.  Much too long a day for us.  Slipping up the 6 locks to Sydney Gardens on Monday morning we lounged for the rest of the day and on Tuesday we gently explored the delights of Bath, Bath Bun and all, topping it all off with an evening session in the bath house, better known as Bath Spa.  An expensive but very relaxing activity and a somewhat surreal experience, dining in one's swimming costume and bathrobe, trying to look suave and sophisticated!  Back to Claverton on Wednesday, by far the nicest moorings on this section of the K & A.  On Friday we pulled into The Boatyard at Hilperton to buy coal and diesel, our first experience of having to declare how much tax we wished to pay on diesel fuel.  What a crazy system.  The coal we required, having got through our stock because of the continuing cold weather.  Of course today, temperatures have started to climb and the forecast suggests we may well be carrying this coal all the way to Autumn. It makes for good ballast.  Climbing back up Seend Locks the landscape opens out to north and south revealing a vista bounded by Salisbury Plain and the looming chalk hills that indicate the start of the Marlborough Downs.  We shall get in amongst them in the next week or so.  Tonight however we are back where we started this journey.  Our mooring for the last 2 years is already occupied and Foxhangers Canal Holidays seems to have survived without us so tomorrow it will be onward and upward, quite literally as the first lock of the Caen Hill 29 lies immediately in front of us.

Saturday 8th May - Bristol Floating Harbour - Illness is never pleasant and the confines of a narrowboat seem to intensify the malaise.  With constant wheezing and sneezing caused by heavy head colds, this week has been tiring and not helped by a cold north easterly that has been blowing constantly. Nevertheless on Sunday we left Bradford and travelled on as far as Claverton, another 5 miles completed.  Following the River Avon and with the railway for company, the canal proceeds through a heavily wooded valley as far as Dundas, where for the second time it crosses both railway and river on a grand aqueduct.  A mile or so later having cleared the trees and with the valley widening are good moorings.  Down beside the river is Claverton Pump House, a water driven pump built in 1813, which for 150 years pushed water from the Avon up the valley side and into the canal.  Now restored by the Kennet & Avon Trust but no longer providing the service it once did, a few days a year the water wheel turns to drive the big pumps in demonstration of its former glory.  Well worth the visit, at least for the boys.  Higher up the valley, beyond the canal is the pretty village of Claverton.  An obviously wealthy place built of bath stone but in a range of architectural styles.  Further up the hillside stands Claverton House and the slightly surreal American Museum.  Why, in 1963 two Americans should wish to set up a museum of American social history in a large, English country house 4 miles outside Bath is not entirely clear but the result is fascinating and interesting.  Another "well worth the visit" sort of place.  3 miles passed moored boats brings us to Sydney Gardens moorings with rooftop views across Bath.  A very attractive city but in our current lethargy we plan to give it better regard when we return next week.  Instead we expend our energy descending the 6 locks to the river and after overnighting below Poulteney Weir head downstream.  Escaping the confines of Bath the valley is wide and winding with extensive views to the north as we descend 4 river locks to an overnight break at Keynsham.  Another two locks bring us to the tidal stretch and a 4-mile, closely wooded reach to the outskirts of Bristol.  The final 2 miles begin grimly but the entrance to the City Centre is better than most and the Floating Harbour almost unique.  From ocean going yachts to the humblest narrowboat we share the open water with a wide range of craft and moor looking across to The Matthew, a replica of Cabot's little ship of discovery.  On Saturday the ferry shuttles us across the harbour to the SS Great Britain, Brunel's first great liner.  From the decks we can look back to our own humble Ramyshome.  With a visit to Bristol's Hippodrome theatre in the evening we are in cultural mode once again.  In racing terms it feels like we have trotted down to the starting post ready for the "race".  And what better place to start a new adventure than Bristol.  Unlike Cabot however, for us, all is East from here.

Claverton Pumping House

Friday 30th April 2010  - Bradford on Avon - On the 28th April 2008 Ramyshome sailed away from Banbury to begin the second part of her journey from Loughborough to Devizes.  At the same time Roger was making the journey by car in readiness to start his employment with Foxhangers Canal Holidays the next day.  With a certain timely tidiness, Ramyshome slipped her moorings at Foxhangers Wharf on the 28th April 2010, turned around and headed west to begin another big adventure.  Two days later we have travelled 10 miles and passed through 8 locks.  Although geographically it is down hill all the way to Bristol this is a very pleasant part of the world.  The sunshine since Easter has brought out the May blossom whilst the occasional daffodil still trumpets.  Continuing the yellow theme, there are millions of dandelions along the canal and further off oilseed rape is flowering in a few of the fields.  To the south the edge of Salisbury Plain is slowly slipping away whilst behind us Roundway Hill still watches us go.  We stop for lunch opposite the Barge Inn at Seend Cleeve and later potter on to Semington, where we find the moorings full of visitors and "Crusty" regulars.  For the first time in years we have to use the plank to reach the bank.  Molly copes well with this bridge, perhaps more easily than the rest of the crew.  Unusually for us we are up early the next morning, well soon after 7:00, and after giving Molly the chance to run off some energy chasing a ball in the fields we cruise on towards Staverton and darkening skies.  After flirting with the northern edge of Trowbridge the canal becomes bounded by trees, emerging just a few miles on into Bradford on Avon.  By now the rain has come and we are very wet as we descend the lock to find a mooring amongst the towpath dwellers.  Bradford is called a mini Bath and with its yellow stone buildings tumbling down to the River Avon it is a very attractive town.  We have explored it several times in the last two years so are not encouraged to venture far whilst the rain continues to fall.  With its rail connection to Bristol it makes for a good spot to stay whilst Maureen takes our car north for its summer holiday in Harrogate.  She will return on Saturday ready to set sail again on Sunday.  But it kinda feels like we are on the move again.