The Banter Breakfast at Calf Heath

(Boat Sickle - posted by Alan)

Some banters have become quite famous for the breakfast events that take place, usually before all but the most hard core "banterers" start to make their departure.  (Well, being totally accurate, the really "hard core" banterers don't necessarily make it to breakfast....).  We have been to big breakfasts when "bantering" by hotel, not by boat, but had yet to experience one of the big DIY events.

The Marina at Calf Heath had been unable to lay breakfast on for us, but agreed that we could use it's facilities to host it.  So instead the facilities of the many boats on site were used to cook up massive amounts of food, which were then shipped along the tow-path - even Sickle's tiny cabin range providing some of the "veggie" option.

The pictures seem to have come out a bit random, but here are a selection....

Mrs & Mr "Paddy R", "Smudge" & "Mike31"

"DaveL" & "Purple Faerie"

"Postcode" & "Dr Bradley"

The general chaos

Mrs & Mr "Chris B" (aka "Baldock") plus "Evil Edna" and partner

Me with "Paddy R"

"Bazza", "Mike31", "Matty", "Chris B" & "Cheshire Rose"

Well, yes......

Myself, "RLWP" & "Bazza"

Breakfast generally

"Lemontoes" & "Mike31"

"Hedgejog"

"Postcode", "Dr Bradley" & "Chris B" (the boater formely known as "Baldock")

"Mrs Chris B" & "Mrs Strads"

"DaveL" & "RLWP"

The Calf-Heath Banter(s).

(Boat Sickle - posted by Cath)

 Good Friday

After drinking far too much last night we had a late start. Jan took us shopping at Sainsbury's in Cannock, where we bought far more than she did - I suspect she wondered where it was all going to go to in our tiny cabin - so did we!

We spent rest of the day watching boats arriving for the banter, and talking to friends, old and new. In the evening we headed off to the bar again. I was staggered to realise that it was 12:30 when we finally got back to the boat. During the evening an 'adopted banterer', who was moored with everyone else, but "has never been on the Internet", discovered that it was a wedding celebration, and bought Jan and Dave a drink and a snack - Dom Perignon and a bag of pork scratchings.

Saturday

Very bleary start, but more boats were arriving, and people began to turn up by car, to 'camp'. Alan disappeared for hours, drinking coffee and talking on other boats, I had a quiet morning in the boat, tidying up and doing other essential things.
We ate lunch and started the process of washing, both ourselves and our hair. Then into the hold to dig out the party clothes and hats for the evening's banter.
The rest of the banterers strolled off down the towpath to be seen by all on the live web-cam on Matty's boat, but I wasn't yet ready.
About three we headed for the pub. We had a great time, I spoke to so many people about so many things. There was a buffet in the evening, and drinking and singing went on into the early hours. I finally realised that I couldn't keep going much longer at about 10:30, so went back to the boat - to be woken by Alan coming back some hours later.

We Arrive at Calf Heath Well On Schedule

(Boat Sickle - posted by Alan)

I've no idea if it would have been safe to fly this yesterday!

As Cath has already reported, our night at Tixall Wide has to be one of the wildest on record.  After an exhausting day yesterday battling through driving rain, we both could have done with a quiet night, but the reality could hardly have been different.  The winds clearly dropped as the night progressed, but with the counter of the boat sitting right in the line of the prevailing direction, the relentless "slap-slapping" continued even as it became a lot calmer.  I think I slept more than I expected, but this was certainly only because I had managed to get unusually tired before-hand.


This was to be an easier day, but, exhausted, we didn't race to get away, and several boats had passed in our direction before we did.  The canal, (we had now joined the Staffs and Worcs), was unexpectedly busy.  We found several boats queuing for the first lock, and, although it abated a little as the day progressed, for most of the day we  seemed to be in a kind of Southbound "convoy", with very few boats actually travelling the other way.  This meant that virtually very lock was against us, and had to be "turned" - that is the last boat through has left it full, and we have to empty it first, before we can use it.

We first collected Sickle from here less than a year ago.

During the day, we passed "Parkgate Lock", at Teddesley, North of Penkridge, the exact location we picked Sickle up from after purchase, a little under a year ago. Back then we were learning to handle this very different boat, thinking it was perhaps harder than we thought!  Now, passing down the Staffs and Worcs after sampling a fair few others, it became apparent it is actually a relatively shallow canal compared to many, making it a challenge for a deep draughted boat in novice hands.  Today we were running over heaps of goodness knows what on the canal bed, in exactly the kinds of places you might best expect not to be - for example near the middle on a nice straight bit!  Others with deep draughted boats subsequently confirmed similar experiences, so maybe I no longer feel we did too badly with Sickle on our very first day with her!

Sicle passes historic pair Monarch and Grimsby

About to pass under into Gailey lock

Eventually Southbound boats started to pull over, and finally we were arriving at locks that did not also have boats waiting ahead of us.  This only happened late in the day though, so it felt a long day for the relatively low mileages covered, without a particularly large "lock count".

The distinctive lock house at Gailey is a famous canal landmark.

Sickle after arrival, opposite Hatherton Junction.

We eventually arrived at our target "Calf Heath", near Hatherton Junction, (which for many years has not been a junction with another canal).  I guess around half a dozen of the boats expected to attend the event we had come for were already present, interspersed with others not involved.  On our first attempt to moor we couldn't get any part of Sickle within three feet of the bank, but moving on down we did find a spot where we could float without jumping a gap - a good idea, if planning to have a few beers!


We then commenced our first evening of practice before the main party - something we would get another crack at tomorrow, before the real thing!

Tixall Wide to Calf Heath
Miles: 14.6, Locks: 12
Totals for extended trip....
Miles: 121.9, Locks: 55

Fradley to Tixall Wide on a Wild Day.

(Boat Sickle - posted by Cath)

Fradley Junction - We were going to Great Haywood

A relatively relaxed start to the day, although we hadn't slept particularly well as the boat kept banging against the piling of the towpath. We knew that we needed to use the laundry facilities at "the Swan", and when we peeped out of the cabin doors there was a blizzard outside. After breakfast Alan headed off to the showers and I went to find the washers/dryers at the pub. One of them appeared not to be working, and was filled with loose washing powder, but the other was OK, although the 'conditioner' dispenser was completely clogged and would not yield to poking and prodding. I put the washing on (£3) and then went back to the boat for half an hour. The dryer was £1 for 20 minutes, but it needed twice that to get it dry enough to pack away.

Wood End Lock - Not far from Fradley and already soaked!

After I'd had my shower we set off into what was now sleety rain for a very windy and wet day.  We took it in turns, with the other one staying inside to try to dry off a bit before the next lock or changeover of steering. Fortunately, Sickle is far less affected by the wind than our other boat, Chalice, which presents a much more sail like profile.

Through Armitage, then onto Rugeley, where we tied up near bridge 66 for the local Morrisons supermarket.

Moored at a windy and very wild Tixall Wide

By the time that we got to Great Haywood Junction it was no longer raining hard, but was still very windy. Turning left we decided to moor in Tixall Wide, largely because it has a reputation of being very attractive. We hadn't taken account of the wind, which was still very strong, and coming from directly behind the boat. The wavelets across the lake-like area of the Wide spent the whole night crashing under the counter of the boat, making regular booming noises - another disturbed night. We realised later that all we needed to do was to turn the boat with the bow into the waves - hindsight, eh?

Fradley Junction to Tixall Wide
Miles: 13.7, Locks: 5
Totals for extended trip....
Miles: 107.3, Locks:43

Held up by a "Spot of "Bovver"

(Boat Sickle - posted by Alan)

We decided to get going reasonably early, which, considering how the day panned out, proved to be a good decision!  Having knocked the 11 Atherstone locks on the head last evening, the plan today was mostly to just cover miles, with just a couple of locks to do.  We badly wanted to reach Fradley Junction, because we were hoping to find both shower and launderette facilities there, as well as us thinking we were due for another pub meal in the evening.

Passing "Jaguar" at Grendon dock.

As you progress up this stretch of the Coventry, you pass both Grendon and subsequently Alvecote, both of which can always be expected to yield a working boat or two, (or ten!), most usually those associated with the South Midland fleet, but often others.  At Grendon we noted the Josher "Tench", owned by former owner of Sickle, Matt Parrott, wonderful repainted into a Fellows Morton & Clayton livery.  As expected not many of the "fleet" were at Alvecote, presumably because there are about to be big historic boat gatherings at both Ellesmere Port and Droitwich.


Sickle is throwing a lot of exhaust our way, and neither of the exhaust stacks, ("pipes"), that we currently have is suitable to throw it upwards, and still be short enough to pass under the low bridges on these canals.  I stopped at Alvecote to see if we could rectify this, but apparently "pipes" for 3" diameter exhausts differ from the more modern narrower bore items, and need making to order.  So, after a brief chat with Sam Noon, who was busy making a set of side cloths, we pressed on with no pipe on. as this seems to be the best compromise  to avoid excess exhaust in our faces.

Deep joy!

It was all going pretty well until Tamworth, where the amount of "flotsam" in the canal suddenly increased, and the "bottom was too near the top" in many of the bridges.  Suddenly Sickle's engine laboured like hell, but was producing very little forward motion, (and even less attempt at stopping!).  Clearly we had picked up a "blade full" on the propeller, but all normal attempts to throw it off by judicious use of alternate forward and reverse gear produced no improvement, (perhaps because "reverse" seemed to have gone missing!).  We laboured on to the two locks at Glascote, where I attempted to clear the blades with the cabin shaft, (old working boats like Sickle lack the concept of a "weed hatch" - a removable cover that allows access to a fouled propeller from above - on Sickle you only have the option of trying to reach under the counter stern in whatever way you can).  We got a fair amount of old rope and plastic off, along with the all too common pair of jogging bottoms, but there was clearly stuff that was going to be far harder to shift.

A present from the good people of Tamworth.

We pressed on at reduced speed to Fazeley junction, to allow Cath to shop, whilst I refilled water supplies, and tried again to clear the prop.  Attempts to pull stuff off with the cabin shaft failed - whatever it was there was simply too strong to be pulled away.  When I did manage to get hold of the end of a piece of underwater rope, it could not be wound off by hand turning the propeller shaft, as rotating that either way was winding it on, implying it was "knotted" not just "wound" on.  With Cath now hanging in to the shaft pulling a loop of the offending rope, I was able to reach under and sever some of it with an old break knife, but still only small pieces would come off.  I eventually found that hung over the edge, with one side of my face in the canal, I could reach under just far enough to start to untangle stuff, and pull it off by hand, albeit at full stretch.  Finally it felt that most was off, and I could clearly feel the whole blades with nothing hanging off them.

Finally reached Fradley Junction - The best mooring there!

This, of course, is the point on any other boat you would go and take a shower, but, Sickle doesn't have running water, let alone showering facilities, so Cath rinsing through the bit of my hair I had had to give a dunking was the best we could achieve.  A bag of wet clothes meant the launderette at Fradley was even more in demand, but the whole episode had cost us well over an hour.

View from the pub window

What came of the blades would have simply stalled Chalice, but Sickle is made of sterner stuff, and had managed to keep going.  However the difference once it was removed was spectacular, and we fair shot away from Fazeley, onto what is a very curious stretch of canals.  For historic reasons, the first half of the Fazeley to Fradley run is part of the Birmingham and Fazeley canal, that we had just joined, but after that switches to a curious "detached" portion of the Coventry, again.


We made good progress after this, and took a decision to try and get on the very restricted mooring space right by the junction with the Trent & Mersey.  This worked, meaning we were best placed for all facilities, and the pub - result!

Newbold to foot of Atherstone Locks
Miles: 19.4, Locks: 2
Totals for extended trip....
Miles: 93.6, Locks: 38

Newbold to Atherstone

(Boat Sickle - posted by Cath)

Another cold morning, but this time we had managed the range better, and it was quickly brought back up to hot enough to make coffee. Outside, as the sun rose the mist began to rise on the canal.

The sun rises over Newbold

As we were on schedule we were a bit more relaxed about getting started. I went down to the local Co-op store for supplies, and we got going. We weren't sure how far we would go, probably slightly short of Atherstone, as there is a flight of 11 narrow locks, and we didn't want to get caught in the middle of the flight overnight.

Tree surgeons in All Oaks Wood

A lot of miles without locks, we took it in turns to steer, while the other did other things inside the boat, tidying, cooking, washing up, there is always something to do on a boat.

Sickle turns onto the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction

At the 'stop lock' at Hawkesbury (only six inches, the remains of a boundary between two canal companies) we turned right, onto the Coventry Canal, through the old Coventry Coalfields. The canal maps are marked with references to the old 'arms' out to the coal fields, where the boat people used to pick up loads for factories in the South. All of these arms are nothing more than 'site of...' now.



Nuneaton proved to be far worse to travel through than a year ago. At every bridge hole 'Sickle' slowed and lurched, with graunching noises coming from under the hull. What are they throwing off the bridges there? With the amount of slowing, and the heaving of the hull it seemed like we were going over car bodies at least - but probably nothing more than shopping trolleys.




For me, this has been a difficult journey. Only last year we took Chalice up this route for our summer holiday. Every few miles I found myself thinking, "this is where I walked Charlie the dog", "this is where he kept jumping in", "this is where we talked to those people". I am very torn, he was ill, we had no choice, what he did was unsupportable, but I do so miss my dog. This journey is a constant reminder.

Passing 'Pelican' on its way to the Droitwich Festival

We got to the top of Atherstone locks and decided to set off down them, planning to stop somewhere towards the bottom if it began to get dark. I got my bike off, which speeded things up quite a bit, and very soon we began to meet with boats coming up, meaning that almost all locks were ready for us.

Making good time down Atherstone Flight

Spring Blossom

Sickle on the Atherstone Flight

We stopped at the bottom of the flight, moored and then ate the dinner that I had put in the oven at the top.



Newbold to foot of Atherstone Locks
Miles: 24.6, Locks: 12
Totals for extended trip....
Miles: 74.2, Locks: 36

A Good Day - The "Cunning Plan" Is Working.

(Boat Sickle - posted by Alan - with little bits from Cath)
We awoke to find the front deck covered in frost, and the little Epping range nearly out, it was cold, but turned into a glorious sunny day.

This was the kind of critical day, the progress of which would determine how well we could stay on schedule for a planned arrival at Calf Heath, before next week-end.

Ascending the Buckby flight.

We were already well aware that the limited opening hours at the Buckby flight of locks was going to halt us last night, and they were not going to be unlocked until 10:00 a.m. today.  The critical part was whether we could avoid enough hold ups to guarantee we also passed through the Braunston flight today as well, with last entry to these from the top stated at 2:30 p.m.  This would be easy enough if all went well, but if faced with volunteer lock keepers being trained, (slowly!), and strict enforcement of waiting long periods at each lock, or if there were long queues, the plan could have failed.

We need not have worried.  We were first boats up the Buckby flight, with the padlocks taken off dead on 10:00 a.m.  Working efficiently with another boat, we were obviously quicker than the boats we were told had started from the top a bit before us, because, by the middle lock, we had still not passed them.  We eventually met them three locks from the top, (our fifth going up). However, as we were setting off there was a row brewing with the boat crews behind us, as to who had been there first. One crew said that they had been waiting since yesterday afternoon, but as they had been waiting in the marina next to the lock flight the other crews didn't think that it counted as waiting at the bottom of the flight.

Braunston locks are a much easier prospect than those at Buckby

Although we needed “services”, we had decided not to stop for water, loo emptying, etc, until we had passed Braunston, so pressed straight on.  It doesn’t seem to matter how far ahead the boat in front is in these long tunnels, or how restrained I try to be, I always seem to catch them up, and end up having to drop “Sickle” in to neutral gear, to avoid “running them down”.  Sickle is frankly excellent when in tunnels alone, but often a bit too quick, even in tick-over, if restricted to the speed of others.

There were only two boats ahead to go down Braunston locks, and by the time it was our turn, another North-bound boat had turned up behind us that we could share with.  Operations here were being controlled by a BW lock-keeper at the top, who was strictly enforcing that each filling or emptying of a lock was with boats in.  Although this meant some moderately long waits, as, for example boats had to reach you through a couple of locks, before you could go down, in practice it was all very controlled, and progress was fair.  Again we were with a competent crew, although it has to be said that, eventually, when setting locks ahead was required, because no more boats were coming up, it was Cath doing most of the work.

Hillmorton, with Sickle's hull looking rather scruffy!

We boated on through Braunston (with an enthusiastic wave to our friend Polly who was 'breakfasting' in the floating cafe) – there are always interesting old boats here, including “Vesta”, the tug I would like to own if I didn’t have “Sickle”, “Angel” my brother’s old Butty, and “Renfrew” and “Betelgeuse” at Pete Boyce’s yard, just before “the turn”.  We stopped at the “facilities” just onto to Northern Oxford, and had a fair bit of a “sort out”, but in the meantime several other boats had headed up the Oxford, one of which was to slow our progress very significantly for many miles later on.  There was no excuse for their behaviour, really, as at places like “Barby straight”, you could easily wave faster boats past you, but the lead boat seemed happy to slow those following down to their preferred speed.

Passing Badsey outside her owner's Bistro at Hillmorton locks

Before Hillmorton the slow boat pulled over, and things speeded up, and by the locks, only we intended to go down, so got a straight run through with no delays.  This is somewhere, with one set of locks out of action, that could have been another hold up.  The passage between the lower pairs of locks was “interesting” though, particularly as we only just bounced through the bridge hole in that pound.  I had expected trouble, and doing it very slowly seemed to just get us over the hump.

We decided with a clear run to see if we could press on around Rugby, and by now I was in my element, actually feeling like I had the measure of the boat for once, staying in channel, and hence seldom fighting with “Sickle”.  It was quite chilly by now, but I had a real blast to blow away the cobwebs after what had been some quite slow bits in the afternoon.

We moored at Newbold, and decided to have a pint.  Whilst I can recommend the pint of guest ale I had, the fact there was no “real” draught cider, and the fact we paid fairly high prices to sit on ripped dirty seats make it somewhere I’d be unlikely to rush back to.  Cath has been getting more adventurous with cooking using only our tiny Epping range, and a delicious meal based on stuffed peppers and stuffed mushrooms was the result.  I’m amazed at what she can already pull off, but then I’m the sort of “cook” who would consider I had done well if I managed to heat a tin of beans on it!

Bottom of Buckby Locks (Grand Union) to Newbold (Northern Oxford)
Miles: 17.2, Locks: 16
Totals for extended trip....
Miles: 49.6, Locks: 24