Chancing the Ashby!

We have had a weekend of being static and we have watched all the sport on tv as always..
Its funny how you have that itch to move and just have a change of scenery. We set off on Monday at 8.00am and there was a very slight drizzle, which to be honest was a bit annoying lol.

By 9.00am it had cleared up and some blue skies were beginning to show.

We have done this section up to Hawkesbury so many times but it never gets boring.

The boats have now died down a bit, but it still is busier than when October gets here and the fires are lit.. We still haven't had to light our fire which is amazing really, but as we don't have a roof loaded with wood yet, maybe its a good thing!
We planned to get water at Sutton stop lock but two boats were already on there, so we went straight in the lock as a boat came out in front of us..

We turned at the pub and then met the Coventry canal and moored on the water point there. Al walked over to the shop and Del got rid of the rubbish while we filled.

We were soon on or way in half an hour and made it up to The Ashby canal junction.

This is a tricky turn, but you just need to take your time and get lined up to go through the bridge and then the narrow after it.. We are taking a chance going up the Ashby as it is always so shallow, but we want some peace and quiet for a bit.

We got to bridge 3 and moored up on some moorings we like here. Derwent6 pulled in to our surprise, very easily, and Tooty was off in a flash..

We had good signals here and chilled in the afternoon and evening.

Music and Service

We have been in the marina for a couple of days as we had loads and loads of washing to do..  The weather didn't look too good and it was an opportunity to use shoreline and also have a bit of luxury. The first day Del went back to the Podiatrist to pick up his new moulds for his walking boots. After a quick foot test, and Del walking more upright, he was back in training to walk again.. We then took back the hire car we had from Enterprise and got a lift back to Derwent6.
The washing machine and tumble drier went into overtime as we cleaned our camping clothes, bedding & towels.
At 5.00pm we took a walk down to friends Louise and John on n.b Ploddin Along and a cold beer was waiting.

We then took another walk down to the Bulls head in Brinklow, and found a table with a good view to the Open Mic night for the evening.

Before that we ordered some food and stuffed our faces before we had a singalong with Eric from the marina.

We had a fantastic night and walked out of there at 11.30pm. We got back to Derwent6 at midnight a little worse for wear.
The following day Del planned to do the engine service. He started at 10.30am and changed the engine and gearbox oil, followed by a new fuel and air filter and the draining of the water trap. Then the cables and driveshaft were lubricated and a quick check of all the bolts for tightness.

Then the antifreeze was checked and topped up and a little hint of oil was found in the water (a bit worrying)
After checking the prop, as the locking nut had come loose, it was time to get to the pulleys. The front cover came off and a inspection of the pulleys for tightness.

Remember we had a problem with the crankshaft pulley nut coming loose due to the fact that the keyway had worn with the load from the generator, and a modified clamp had to be fitted to the end of the splined shaft..
Since then Del has lost confidence in the engine, so now he checks it on every service. The pulleys were removed and the nut was checked.

The good news was it hadn't moved from when he re-torqued it. The clamp was refitted and will have to be checked after a hundred hours again, but we think its worth checking as we now have all the equipment to do it.
So the plan is to move tomorrow, North or South?

Camping, Health, Friends, Films, and BBQ's

We haven't forgotten the blog we have just been busy again.. So what have we been up to?
Del has had to sort out his aches and pains due to the fact that he has not been walking right.. He went to a great place, Rugby Podiatry (http://rugbypodiatry.co.uk/) They did a very intensive check on his walking and found that one of his legs is longer than the other. Moulds had to be made for shoe inserts and we could pick them up in a weeks time. We then hired another car from Enterprise and took Tooty (the cat) to the cattery. We then left very early on the Wednesday morning and made our way to Southwold, stopping for breakfast on the way in a lovely little Deli.

We met up with our friends Zoe and Greg and as we turned up it stopped raining.. This was a big deal because we were camping for a few days, which was a little out of Al's comfort zone..
At midday some other friends Steve and Susi arrived and we all set up on our pitches.

Zoe and Susi are old school friends, and as Del was going out with Al while she was still at school we all know each other very very well.

We had never been to Southwold and had heard so many good reports we just had to try it for ourselves.

They weren't wrong, it was lovely and of course it is the home of Adnam's brewery.

 It has a lighthouse, a pier and sand dunes with lovely beaches.

 The weather was great too, with rain only overnight, which was quite nice..

We did bucket loads of pubs and ate too much..  It was so much fun!
We then drove back to Kent and met up with Bernie and Sarah, who had more beer and more food available, but friends Steve and Erica had arranged for us all to go out to the Bluewater complex. We had a catch up first and something to eat, and then the boys went out and saw the film Hurricane (a film about the polish fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain, who if not for them we all might not be here).. and the girls went and saw a film called Festival

We all enjoyed the evening so much we arranged to meet up on the Sunday.
The boys were up early and went to the Southern Model Show at Headcorn. Late in the afternoon Bernie fired up the BBQ and the beers were soon flowing. A big thank you to all you lovely people for giving us all a fantastic week..

We got back to Derwent6 on the Monday afternoon, as Al had a hospital appointment that morning. We picked up some food and the cat and then warmed up Derwent6. In the morning Del went back to the Podiatrist and got his moulds and now has to try them to see how things go. The first impressions were very good, with him walking much straighter and not going round and round in circles with his longer leg lol.
So where do we go next? We have a few options!

What! moving on a Saturday

We decided to move on a Saturday and on the busiest stretch of canal on the system. We needed to get a few bits in the chandlers and we planned to top up with water as we had done a lot of washing. Finding a gap to go in proved difficult but we managed to set off during lunchtime and it was a good move.. We got to Braunston and then hit all the boats trying to get a mooring, so made the decision to blow out getting water and moored up on the Midland Chandler Customer moorings..

We got what we needed as the engine is due another service and set off out of the gaggle of boats around..
We headed towards Rugby again and followed a boat (keeping our distance) all the way to Barby marina, where they pulled in, all clear, or so we thought..
As we got to the marina entrance another boat pulled out right in front of us and the guy on the tiller looked very worried about steering..

They offered us to pass but on the Barby straight by moored boats was not a good idea as we waved them on.. We went on tickover all the way to Hillmorton Locks and we just had to smile as the queue of boats gathered behind us.

The locks were a good thing, as it split us all up and we passed the slow boat at the bottom of the locks..

We carried on to Newbold and pulled over for the night. The water levels here have been great but we are hearing rumours that the Daventry Reservoir is very low. It looks like it could be a very dry September and things might get tricky later on.. As a continuous cruiser its difficult to know which way to go next..  So we are here for a bit with football and the Grand Prix to watch, planning our next adventure..

Sunshine cruising

We hung around Napton for a few days as there was an Open Mic night in the Folly pub and they always get a good turn out..
So we did some cleaning and relaxed for a few days..
We set off today quite early although it was a busy start.

It is still very shallow here and with the timed locks you have to pick your moment when you go. We joined a line of boats all heading towards Wigram's turn and had to avoid a wide beam boat moored in this nice spot..

This is when you're so pleased time is your own. and just drop to idle and follow the leader..

We were lucky enough to see a mooring we use here and pulled over in the sunshine.

Tooty was off like a flash, and Al followed putting her washing line up to get things dry. It was nice to have left early and getting moored up early, giving you all the afternoon to do what you like..

Busy times with friends

Gosh, we've had a busy few days. Al took the opportunity of Banbury station to go down to Surrey to see her Sister Jo, and on Saturday we were in Reading visiting Joy & Steve for dinner, and a lovely time was had by all.
We were up early on Sunday as we wanted to get to Cropredy and beat the rain that was forecast. We set off at 6.15am and crept past the moored boats at Banbury.

After filling with water, it was the town lock and lift bridge. We carried on through the lovely countryside and the next three locks making our way to Cropredy.

On reaching Cropredy lock it started to drizzle. We waited for a boat to come down the lock and Al had spotted a space at the top that we would fit in. With the rain now starting to get heavy, we moored up just in time!

We needed to be here to meet Steve & Deb who were coming up to see us for a couple of days. They arrived just after lunch and we hunkered down in Derwent6, catching up and chillin' out. We had booked a table at the Brasenose for the evening and luckily when it was time to go the rain had stopped. We had a lovely meal, and with full tummies we walked back to Derwent6 ready to crash.
Bank Holiday Monday dawned bright and we set off to take Steve & Deb on a trip. We got to the Claydon flight and we were number five in the queue, Steve was soon on the tiller.

The first time we have queued for locks this year! So we put the kettle on!

Once in the flight they were easy going as there were so many boats coming down as well.

Good job we had a horse with us...

We got to Fenny Compton and there was one space left, just perfect for Derwent6!
After a quick change we walked down to the Merrie Lion as they had a sausage & cider festival on for the weekend.

There were loads of ciders to try, and good they were too! Steve & Deb treated us to a lovely meal, thanks guys!
We waddled back to the boat and decided to move on for an hour and moor up in the countryside. We got to the Ariel's, and there was plenty of space albeit a bit shallow. We got moored up and then had a few more drinks and some cheese and biscuits to finished off a lovely day.

Steve & Deb were leaving us the next day, and had a taxi booked from the Folly to take them back to their car, so we set off for the Napton flight and were pleasantly surprised to find no queues.

With extra crew to help, we were down the flight with ease and moored up at the Folly in time for a spot of lunch on board.

We have had a really lovely weekend, lots of fun!