Alvecote - The Final Evening In the "Samuel Barlow"

Very retrospective post for Monday 31st August

(Boat Flamingo - posted  by Alan)

No boating pictures for today, but the final evening was a rather fun music session catering for the raw novice beginner (me!) through to people used to giving live performances.

You are spared pictures of me "mangling" a melodeon, because I took all the photos in this post, although the first shot does seem to at least feature my Trilby and my pint!

Alvecote Historic Working Boats Event

Very retrospective post for Saturday 29th August

(Boat Flamingo - posted  by Alan)

Finally rather more than a month and a half late, a few pictures from this event.

In practice these all relate to the Saturday of the three day event - the best of the days weatherwise.

Clover

 

Replica Blisworth steam tunnel tug Hasty

Lindsay

Admiral

I take a ride on Birmingham - a favourite boat of mine.

Minnow

Otter

Monarch & Badger

Auriga preferred to reverse out of the marina entrance

Atlantic

Minnow winding outside the "Barlow"

Admiral & Minnow

Star

 Passing Alice Lapworth on Nuneaton

Lindsay

Monarch

Telford

Whitby

Badger

Badger

Whitby

To Alvecote in Flamingo - Day 5

Very retrospective post for Friday 28th August

(Boat Flamingo - posted  by Alan)

Just a very short distance was left to our destination, leaving us loads of time on the Friday to prepare for the Bank Holiday weekend's Historic Boat Festival.

(It was a short enough trip that the cameras do not seem to have come out this day).

Bottom Of Atherstone Locks to Alvecote Marina

Miles: 5.1, Locks:0
Total Miles: 53.3, Locks: 28

To Alvecote In Flamingo - Day 4

Very retrospective post for Thursday 27th August

(Boat Flamingo - posted  by Alan)

Usually on this part of the trip on the Coventry Canal the most noticeable bit of the day are the 11 locks at Atherstone, and that was the case on this day.  We stopped mid flight to replenish the water tank on "Flamingo", as we have yet to get the measure of how fast the ridiculously large bath is emptying it!  (The bath will go eventually, to be replaced by something more practical, once we have time to fully refit the bathroom which we have already decreased in size very significantly).

Most of the Atherstone flight is rural and picturesque.

At the moment I still seem to be the one at the tiller in Lock flights.

Getting towards the end of the flight and our overnight stop.

All Oaks Corner (Near Brinklow)  to Bottom Of Atherstone Locks

Miles: 6.7, Locks: 11
Total Miles: 48.2, Locks: 28

To Alvecote In Flamingo - Day 3

Retrospective post for Wednesday 26th August

(Boat Flamingo - posted  by Alan)

A fairly leisurely trip up to Alvecote continued, and gave me my first attempt on a full length working boat at the well known 180 degree turn at "Sutton Stop" or Hawkesbury Junction.  (It is easy enough on shorter boats, but with full length ones it gets a bit harder).

My excuse was that my approach to the turn was hampered by a boat coming the other way, so I never started from an ideal position, (well I would say that wouldn't I!).

I didn't get around in one on my first attempt, but it wasn't a bad first try.

 

Trying to position for the "180" at Hawkesbury, not helped by other boats!

I never managed to get into an ideal starting position......

So had failed to get fully round in one by this point!

All Oaks Corner (Near Brinklow) to Springwood Haven
Miles: 15.6, Locks: 1
Total Miles: 41.5, Locks: 17

To Alvecote In Flamingo - Day 2

(Exceedingly) retrospective post for Tuesday 25th August

(Boat Flamingo - posted  by Alan)

Well the blog managed to founder far more spectacularly than we have ever achieved before!  Nothing posted afer just the first day of quite a major trip, and indeed there have been further trips since.

Rather than leave a complete void, we will attempt to retrospectively add a few pictures, even if it is now, in general, a bit too late for many words!

Here, only about a month and a half after it happened, is a flavour of our trip to take Flamingo to Alvecote for the first time

EDIT:  Second attempt at this day, after Adam correctly pointed out that my days didn't match my photos!

This was actually a short day due, in part, to a very scary incident we were involved in at Hillmorton Bottom Locks, and about which I am still awaiting a response from CRT.  I have decided not to further discuss details until CRT have finally made their response.

Hillmorton locks

 

Four "Town class" boats at Hillmorton - passing Fulbourne.

 
Hillmorton to All Oaks Corner (Near Brinklow)

Miles: 9.0, Locks: 3
Total Miles: 25.9, Locks:16

To Alvecote In Flamingo - Day 1

(Retrospective post for Monday 24th August))

(Boat Flamingo - posted mostly by Cath, completed by Alan)

It rained a fair amount!

We've been working around the clock to finish the bulkhead move, install the Morco water heater, and to reinstate the bath and the Thetford Cassette toilet.  We  will attempt to add some posts later about all the work we have completed, once we are organised with some photos and more time.

Buckby flight

Because we had so much to do we decided that we really wouldn't have time to take Sickle along to Alvecote this year - it moors two days further south than Flamingo, and we didn't have two days, as it was we got home at 11 pm on the day we returned home for essential washing of clothes, shopping, picking our son, David up, etc. before leaving again.

Buckby flight again.

We arrived back at the boat on Sunday evening, and loaded on board. There seemed to be an awful lot of stuff, given that we still have a lot of material for the refit on board. Obvious stuff that could be left in the car was moved, but otherwise we just moved skips around.

Buckby top lock

We set off at about 10:30 on Monday morning, made a brief stop in Weedon for milk and bread, and set off again towards Whilton Locks, which passed without incident, (although subsequently there has been a major gate failure, initially closing the navigation, but currently with CRT allowing limited supervised passage - we wonder what will be the situation when we need to return!).

Posed picture?  Surely not!

At the top Cath quickly prepared a meal which we ate hurriedly before arriving at Braunston tunnel. As Odin has started to get stressed in tunnels Cath walked him over the top, and then we worked down the locks with another boat.  We got to the bottom at about 5:30, and had originally intended to moor up soon, but realised that if we kept going for a while we could meet up with a friend for the evening. We stopped just south of Hillmorton locks, and had a meal and pleasant company in the Old Royal Oak.

Leaving Braunston tunnel

Overnight stop (Photo: David)

Boat "Flamingo"
High House Wharf (Grand Union) to Hillmorton (Oxford Canal)
Miles: 16.9, Locks: 13
Total Miles: 16.9, Locks: 13