Past Narrow Boat Trips 2004

February 2004 was very cold, our first time out at this time of year. now moored at Kate Boats at Warwick every trip started with a hat full of locks. We headed off through Leamington Spa and Stockton locks towards Braunston.

Climbing Stockton Locks.

During our overnight stop at the top of Calcutt locks we became frozen in although we where snug and warm in the boat.

Frozen in at Calcutt Locks.

We tried to get away but the boat would only plough a straight line in the ice.

You can just see the straightish line the boat took from the mooring,
straight to the opposite bank, it would not turn.

We had an enforced extra day stay here until a BW work boat cleared a way to Braunston. We only made it to Braunston that day where most moorings where taken and the Marina area was thick with ice so we had to reverse back to the North Oxford moorings. Tricky with the ice.

Braunston Mooring.

The following day we where told that the South Oxford was passable so we headed for Napton locks, there was still a bit of ice about, tinkling away on the hull.

Path through the ice.

After over nighting at Marston Doles we carried on along the summit, plenty of loose ice about, roughly an inch thick.

Ice.

On through Fenny Compton and the opened out tunnel, through Claydon locks our destination being Cropredy.

Fenny Compton "Tunnel"

Claydon locks.

We then winded and made our way back to Warwick where on the last night we had snow.

Snow covered NB Centurion.

Other trips that year was a cruise down the Grand Union to Cosgrove, Another trip up the Leicester arm to Welford and a trip to just before Shirley on the Grand Union.

Too Many Convertibles?

How many convertibles is too many, we seem to be collecting them.

1 Convertible. The original.

2 Convertibles. New one for me.

3 Convertibles. Gills convertible.

Is that too many? No room for any more at the front of the house.
Yep Triumph Friends I have now gone over to the Dark side, I have now got a MG TF 135 in Le Mans green, originally I wanted a Mazda MX5, but after driving a few 1.6 and 1.8 Mk2's and a Eunos I decided they where too small for my frame, I spotted a couple of MGF's and the TF, the TF drove very well and seems more comfortable and certainly cheaper than the Mazda. Really I should have got a cheap Yaris or similar, but then life would be over!

Past Narrow Boat Trips

With nothing much planned lately I thought I would do a few quick picture posts of previous boat trips to remind us of where we have been with share boat NB Centurion since it was launched in 2003.

Launch Day 2003 at Rugby.

Our first trip on NB Centurion in 2003, Braunston locks.

In Foxton Staircase Locks.

Near Watford Locks on GU Leicester Section, now our
favourite stretch of canal.

Foxton.

Market Harborough.

No proper Digital camera in those early days so these are from a early Canon Sureshot on a boots cd. You would be surprised how quick these load into Blogger.

Later in the year we cruised the Grand Union via Calcutt, Stockton, and Hatton Locks to Kingswood Junction, and on to the Stratford, I remember it was our first Autumn on Centurion, first 2 weeker, and hard work with a small crew.

Me lock wheeling at Hatton.

Turning into Kingswood Junction.

Turn Made.

On the Stratford Canal.

Leaving Lowsonford lock on the Stratford.

Edstone Aquaduct on the Stratford Canal.

Stratford Split Bridge.

If memory serves me right we winded at Wilmcote before making our way back to Rugby.

Henham Steam Rally

Pleasant day out today, I visited Henham Steam Rally at Henham Park near Southwold. Had a nice drive out through the Suffolk countryside via Bungay and Halesworth. Lots to see here as usual at this Steam and Country show, there where Traction Engines and steam rollers, vintage and classic cars, classic tractors and farm machinery, classic trucks and military vehicles,vintage and classic motorbikes. Other items of note where a model engineering display comprising large scale steam engines, lorries, scale miniature beam and pumping engines, etc.
The event seems to get bigger every year, the various trade stalls, small displays, country craft and food outlets covered a larger area this year.
There where quite a few car dealers displaying new cars and used cars.
I enjoyed wandering around for a few hours watching the various displays, there where 3 or 4 show rings with various country style events and parades of the classic vehicles.

Showman's Engine

Some of the Classic Cars

1912 Tractor - paraffin fuelled

Early combine harvester's

Think this may be a Healey Tickford, 1952.

Early Ford Escort.

Used to catch the Suffolk tractor boys?

Homeward bound down the Henham dirt road, raised a bit of dust:-)

Rocks by Rail

Whenever we are with Father he finds unusual places to visit, Bank Holiday Monday it was the ironstone area around Corby. We first visited a country park for lunch near Corby, here where relics from the site of the Stewarts and Lloyds Corby Steelworks and some history of steel making and iron ore extraction from this area.
We then drove to Rocks by Rail, previously the Rutland Railway Museum, an unusual take on a preserved railway, this was the former 2 mile Midland Railway Ashwell to Cottesmore mineral branch off the Oakham and Stamford line from Ashwell Junction and is been preserved as an industrial line. The line was connected to various quarries around Exton and Cottesmore before closure in the 1980's. All the locos are ex industry from coal mines, steel works, and some loco's I remember from Barrington Cement Works, the last quarry to use industrial locos in 2005 near where I used to live in Cambridgeshire.

Collection of industrial locos.

Wagon stock under preservation.

Iron Ore Wagons.

The site has a workshop where locos and wagons are stripped for restoration along with a cafe and small museum. A nature trail follows the line which will be nice on a fine summers day, the line crosses the course of the Oakham Canal which was abandoned as long ago as 1897.

Abandoned course of the Oakham Canal from
Oakham to Melton Mowbray.

At one end of the line is a quarry with wagons and diggers that used to work in the quarry system.

Quarry, ore wagons, and digger.

Small Drag Line Digger and Dumper Truck.

An unusual museum, but interesting non the less.http://www.rocks-by-rail.org

On the way back to Market Harborough for father to catch the train back to York he wished to visit the longest viaduct in the uk, this is Harringworth Viaduct, also known as Welland Viaduct or Seaton Viaduct and crosses over the River Welland between Harrington in Northamptonshire and Seaton in Rutland. Its impressive span of 82 arches stretch for three quarters of a mile and having been completed in 1878 by the Midland Railway makes it over 131 years old. With its impressive length, Harringworth Viaduct is the longest masonry railway viaduct across any valley in Britain and carries a grade II listed structure status. Situated on the Oakham to Kettering line the viaduct carries double track across its entire length.

Harringworth Viaduct.

Foxton Locks and Market Harborough

Bank holiday weekend we met up with father, picking him up at Market Harborough station after his journey from York, we left Norfolk in the car at 7 to reach Market Harborough at 9-30. No lie in for us.
We drove into the town, had a quick breakfast then walked up to the Market Harborough arm of the Grand Union Canal and down the arm to Union Wharf to look at the basin, first time here without a boat so today we are gongoozlers (Definition: A gongoozler is a person who enjoys watching activity on the canals of the United Kingdom. The term may have arisen from the Lincolnshire dialect: gawn and gooze, meaning to stare and gape)
The visitor moorings where not very full, different when we last came here when they where chock full and we moored in the basin on the permanent moorings.

Nice boat with riveted detail on the visitor moorings.

Union Wharf.

Pristine Jag Mk 1X parked outside the CaRT offices.

Market Harborough's most famous building, The Old Grammar School.

We then drove up to Foxton Locks, a flight of locks in 2 staircases of 5, again, first time for a long while we have visited here without the boat, it has changed a fair bit, there is now a Canal and River Trust car park at the bottom of the locks which must be quite a money spinner, the car park at the top of the locks is Leicestershire Council owned so no income to CaRT.
Foxton locks has changed since our last walk round, obviously some of this is health and safety related, tarmac paths and railings for example, it is now a very commercial enterprise, with shops at both top and bottom lock, and a boat moored selling sweets where the lock keepers used to moor.
The museum and inclined plane has been tidied up, and the chuggers where out for both CaRT and the Inclined Plane Trust with prominent gazebos, trying to sign up new members. The Foxton Lock Inn seems to be have been extended and has a planning application in to turn a residential garden into a beer garden. It used to be easy to get a meal here, but no more.

New paths up to the inclined plane and exhibit description plaques.

View down Inclined Plane to trough basins.

Gongoozlers galore watching a boat go down the staircase locks.

Looking up the lower staircase of 5.

Entrance to lower arm.

View across side pond to Inclined Plane Engine House, housing the
 revamped museum.

Bottom lock, canal to the left goes to Leicester and the River Soar, to
the right the arm to Market Harborough.

It was a dull day, but plenty of people about watching boats up the locks.