Well, it's been quite busy since I was last here! We went home on Thursday evening and sorted a few things out, we returned to the boat on Friday evening, then walked up to Odiham High Street for a meal with all the kids at the 'Next Door' restaurant, it was good to see them all together, and was kind of 'in lieu' of my birthday as I'll be in Morocco for that. A good menu, good food, and boy was it all going off in Odiham!! There was some sort of parade, hundreds of people in costume and very busy pubs and restaurants, when we left the street was still busy with people drinking and such. We and some of our offspring returned to the boat where cake was provided, that explained why nobody was too keen on having desert!!
Trying to remember what happened on Saturday? I went to see Galleon Marine to confirm arrangements for them to look after the boat while I was away, chatted to many people, society members, John Pinkerton crew and other boaters, then got ready as I was skippering a birthday charter on the JP in the afternoon.
Charter went really well, we had 48 on the way out and 50 on the return, 2 were held up in traffic. I was amazed as to how much was going on at Odiham Castle, there were tents and people all over the place, a couple of the crew went off for a quick look about, we allowed the passengers about 45 minutes. We met the 2 steamboats on the way up and Dawn on the return trip, really good to see everything so busy.
After a bit of dinner on the boat there was a bit of a sing song for the boaters, even free beer!! Not really my thing, but it was ok.
Today, well, took a walk about Colt Hill which was being set up for the rally, bought me some Basingstoke Canal plaques, then we blagged a ride on JP down to the Castle to see what was going on. There was lots of living history stuff, really interesting, an archaeological dig, birds of prey and lots of people checking it all out, really good to see. We had a beer and some hog roast for lunch while watching a sword battle.
We walked back to Colt Hill along the tow path and checked out what was going on there. Penny took up her advertising role and was trying to attract new customers, I had more beer and wandered about, ended up showing someone (sorry I can't remember his name) who was very involve with the restoration our barn, which was apparently a cheese store in the day! A very interesting chap.
Back at Colt Hill we moved the boat to a vacant bit of Tow Path and packed up to come home, I'm off to Morocco for 3 weeks tomorrow afternoon.
The return trip will start on Tuesday 16th June. That's all for now.
Sunday 24 May 2015
Thursday 21 May 2015
Onto Familiar Water
Our third day on the Basingstoke dawns, the sun is shining and we again appreciate the mooring at Mytchett Lake. At 8.30 we set off, having removed the petunias from the roof and leaving the water cans inside, more on why later.
We cruise through Ash and come across our first interesting feature of the day:
I have no idea as to how many times I've driven under this, I can only ever recall seeing 1 boat passing over.
Very shortly afterwards we encounter our first, and only lock for the day, Ash Lock, then we cruise through and past the vast army barracks at Aldershot, there were soldiers out practicing shouting and stamping of feet. Then the very pretty Queens Avenue Bridge:
Just after this we get to Farnborough Road Bridge, it looks a bit low! So I slow down and head for the higher looking side, it appears to slope downwards from left to right. I virtually stop and get the bow into the bridge, there seems to be about 1/2 inch clearance, then 0 inch clearance then a bit of a ripping sound, bugger! Penny has the good idea of going to the front to try to lower it a bit, this seems to work and we inch our way through, a helpful Nepalese gentleman on the towpath is also showing us the clearance. We get through with no further damage. There is a small tear in the cratch cover at the front of the top plank, oh well, have to get some tape to try to make it waterproof.
Now we're on water we've cruised before on the John Pinkerton trip boat, we pass the notice telling us that an angry swan will attack the boat, it doesn't!! I was kind of disappointed, had the camera ready too!! We pass one of the few treeless areas at Runways End where we enjoyed last years air show from the roof of the trip boat and cruise on to Fleet.
Penny points out a note about Fleet in our Nicholsons guide:
"Useful for its shops and services, but little else of interest"
Gave me a bit of a chuckle.
The Pondtail Bridges (also very low) are passed without incident, about a whole inch to spare! The Reading Road South Bridge is also passed (with maybe just a tiny scrape but no further damage) We will remove the cover and plank for the return journey.
I jump off at Malt House Bridge and walk down to Zebon Copse Swing Bridge to open it, both boats pass through, I close up and jump back on at Poulter Bridge. Dick stops for lunch at Church Crookham, we carry on and have ours on the move.
It's very pleasant at Tundry Pond:
We cruise through Ash and come across our first interesting feature of the day:
Very shortly afterwards we encounter our first, and only lock for the day, Ash Lock, then we cruise through and past the vast army barracks at Aldershot, there were soldiers out practicing shouting and stamping of feet. Then the very pretty Queens Avenue Bridge:
Just after this we get to Farnborough Road Bridge, it looks a bit low! So I slow down and head for the higher looking side, it appears to slope downwards from left to right. I virtually stop and get the bow into the bridge, there seems to be about 1/2 inch clearance, then 0 inch clearance then a bit of a ripping sound, bugger! Penny has the good idea of going to the front to try to lower it a bit, this seems to work and we inch our way through, a helpful Nepalese gentleman on the towpath is also showing us the clearance. We get through with no further damage. There is a small tear in the cratch cover at the front of the top plank, oh well, have to get some tape to try to make it waterproof.
Now we're on water we've cruised before on the John Pinkerton trip boat, we pass the notice telling us that an angry swan will attack the boat, it doesn't!! I was kind of disappointed, had the camera ready too!! We pass one of the few treeless areas at Runways End where we enjoyed last years air show from the roof of the trip boat and cruise on to Fleet.
Penny points out a note about Fleet in our Nicholsons guide:
"Useful for its shops and services, but little else of interest"
Gave me a bit of a chuckle.
The Pondtail Bridges (also very low) are passed without incident, about a whole inch to spare! The Reading Road South Bridge is also passed (with maybe just a tiny scrape but no further damage) We will remove the cover and plank for the return journey.
I jump off at Malt House Bridge and walk down to Zebon Copse Swing Bridge to open it, both boats pass through, I close up and jump back on at Poulter Bridge. Dick stops for lunch at Church Crookham, we carry on and have ours on the move.
It's very pleasant at Tundry Pond:
Then we get to Dogmersfield and the slippage which stopped us from making this trip a couple of years ago:
We pass a visiting boat at the Barley Mow, the only one today.
We are now on very familiar water, we must have cruised between the Barley Mow and Odiham Castle, well a lot!!
We pass Colt Hill and are surprised to see no boats there, we continue on to the castle, Penny walks down from Colt Hill and works the North Warnborough Lift Bridge.
Odiham Castle:
North Warnborough Lift Bridge:
Wildlife on the way back:
There was also another in the same field with a very small fawn, couldn't get a piccy though!
We return to Colt Hill, I get out the John Pinkerton and perform pump-out duties, Dick helps with the water, I take the opportunity of a free pump-out for us!! We put it all away, boats and equipment, and tie up:
We've gone home for the evening, so I'm writing this at home, I need to sort out my gear for my Morocco trip which starts on Monday. We're back to the boat tomorrow evening and have a family meal at 'Next Door' in Odiham.
Today: 17 miles - 1 lock - 8 hours
So Far: 144.5 miles - 74 locks - 75 hours
So Far: 144.5 miles - 74 locks - 75 hours
Wednesday 20 May 2015
The Basingstoke Day 2
Five boats were lurking in the Brookwood Park area, and all 5 set off at about 8.45 headed for the 3 Brookwood Locks. Song & Dance and Rowan made it first, then Winter Lily followed by us with Dick & Brenda, Water Lily took the hit and went up on their own. After a bit of a wait it got to our turn, we set the lock and in we went and up we went, the bottom gates were a bit of a faff to get closed, but this was managed, then I noticed the pound above was about a foot down, here we go again I thought! But at least the weather was doing nice things.
The queue for lock 12:
That's Phil & Carol on Winter Lily.
The 3 Brookwood locks turned out to be quite hard work, gates wouldn't quite shut, pounds were low because of this and there was a lot of debris, weed, bits of tree and such like that all needed to be fished out to aid progress, it was 11.00 when we got to the top of lock 14, and I must admit I was thinking if the Deepcut flight is anything like this I'm not sure I want to do them!!
So we cruise the mile from 14 to 15 and get face to face with the 14 Deepcut locks. What a contrast, all 14, with maybe the exception of lock 24 which has some dodgy paddle gear are in really good condition, maybe some of the best I've ever worked through.
Deepcut Locks:
And to cap it all, the top 2 or 3 are in a really pretty setting, they could do with some moorings here. As we climb up the flight I reflect on the past months of looking at the flight from the train window on my way to or from work, or the numerous occasions that we've walked the flight, usually with many empty pounds when the flight was closed a few years back. The flight done, I'm feeling a bit knackered, I've not set foot on the boat for a while now, we cruise through the Deepcut cutting and onto Mytchett. We decide to call it a day at Mytchett Lake on the new moorings recently provided by the canal society, it's a really nice place to spend the night.
Tonights mooring:
Dick arrives having dropped Brenda at Ash Vale station, we go over for drinks and chew the fat, then return for a chilli for dinner, I fall asleep watching an episode of 'House of Cards'
Today: 6 miles - 17 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 127.5 miles - 73 locks - 67 hours
The queue for lock 12:
The 3 Brookwood locks turned out to be quite hard work, gates wouldn't quite shut, pounds were low because of this and there was a lot of debris, weed, bits of tree and such like that all needed to be fished out to aid progress, it was 11.00 when we got to the top of lock 14, and I must admit I was thinking if the Deepcut flight is anything like this I'm not sure I want to do them!!
So we cruise the mile from 14 to 15 and get face to face with the 14 Deepcut locks. What a contrast, all 14, with maybe the exception of lock 24 which has some dodgy paddle gear are in really good condition, maybe some of the best I've ever worked through.
Deepcut Locks:
Tonights mooring:
So Far: 127.5 miles - 73 locks - 67 hours
Tuesday 19 May 2015
What We Came For!
At last, the great day has arrived, we get to cruise the Basingstoke Canal. Oh, and new ground for me, more canal to 'tick off'
So at 8.20 I can't wait any longer and set off, a slow cruise along the 1/2 mile of the Wey to Woodham Junction:
I see Dick and Brenda turn into the Basingstoke from the other direction, we cruise along the short section to lock 1, we go straight into the lock, Dick follows, and we wait, and wait and we wait a bit more! The BCA are supposed to turn up at 9.30, eventually with both kettles on and Dick calling the BCA, our 'lock monitor' shows up, Unlocks the paddle gear and up we go. We get our visitor licences and information packs too, I decide to look at mine later. It's a really nice day at the moment - more on this later!!
We ascend the 6 Woodham locks with surprising ease, passing the house boats between 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 with care.
Lock 3 had quite a bit of rubbish preventing the gates from opening fully, but Dick & Brenda had come equipped and fished it all out.
Exiting lock 6 we picked up some weed, but it span off easily with a burst of reverse, so we continued the 3 miles or so through Woking to St John's at a fairly gentle pace, the canal is quite shallow so no point in pushing along. Woking itself looks quite uninviting from the canal, only a couple of potential mooring spots & the lock opening times don't really encourage a stop here!!
We had sporadic bursts of rain, but nothing to get too excited about, had a spot of lunch on the move and arrived at lock 7. St John's is a flight of 5 locks, a bit closer together than the Woodham flight. The first 2 are negotiated without a problem, then we get to lock 9!!
Ok, here goes with the saga of lock 9:
It all starts innocently enough, in we go, gates closed, paddles open. I take a look at the bottom gates and think "hmm.. that's a bit of a gap, I look closer and think "there's a lot of water coming through these gates" I have a chat with the others and suggest that we shut the top paddles, empty the lock and try to remedy the situation, maybe something is stuck there. We do this and try again. Maybe it's a bit better, I'm not sure, so we open the top paddles fully and hope for the best. While this is going on all hell breaks loose, there are claps of thunder, flashes of lightning, hail stones and rain, lots of rain!! Dick dives inside his boat for his and Brenda's waterproofs, this causes his boat to drift forwards and his bow gets stuck under the front gate, a potential sinking situation!! This spotted we drop the top paddles - again!! and open the bottom - again!! I slide along the top gate to try to kick the bow out, eventually it moves back, we close the bottom paddles. I'm left sitting on the top gate and have to side shuffle to the lock side, not so easy with the boat gone!! and the beam covered in hailstones. Anyway, we resume locking up, the rain / hail still pelting down. All this has resulted in a dramatic drop in the level of the next pound, but hey ho, we'll deal with that if we have to. Penny takes our boat out, I advise her to go slowly and keep to the middle, which she does. About 2 boat lengths out it grinds to a halt, bugger!! Off I go to the next lock to let water down, this I do, the rain is still pelting down, I'm quite pleased with my new North Face waterproof, £180 very well spent ! I let water down until the boat appears, then close the paddle. The boat grinds to a halt again, so down goes some more water. Eventually we get both boats into lock 10 and ascend without difficulty. Trouble is, it's not quite over!!
Lock 10 done, we head for 11, remember we were taking water for our previous difficulties? Well, as Penny gets to the lock 11 entrance, it stops again. So more water until we force our way over the cill, Dick joins us and up we go, last lock of the day. Wandering down the towpath comes fellow JP skipper Phil to see how we're doing, all nice and dry, they've been tied up at St John's for shopping.
On we go to Brookwood Park for the night, I make use of the nice mooring and water point, all provided by the canal society. Dick ties up behind, there's another visiting boat in front, also down from Cropredy, Rowan who followed us up both Woodham and St John's pitches up and Phil shows up a bit later, looks like 5 boats for the continued adventure tomorrow.
The weather continues for a few hours, rain, sun, hail, the lot really. Dick and Brenda come over for dinner and bring me port, I love these guys. I even find time to trot down to the garage on the 322 for pasta when I realise we don't have enough.
Actually a great day, this is what boating is all about for me, a bit of a challenge with an edge of adventure, I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Today's wildlife:
Today: 8 miles - 11 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 121.5 miles - 56 locks - 60 hours
So at 8.20 I can't wait any longer and set off, a slow cruise along the 1/2 mile of the Wey to Woodham Junction:
I see Dick and Brenda turn into the Basingstoke from the other direction, we cruise along the short section to lock 1, we go straight into the lock, Dick follows, and we wait, and wait and we wait a bit more! The BCA are supposed to turn up at 9.30, eventually with both kettles on and Dick calling the BCA, our 'lock monitor' shows up, Unlocks the paddle gear and up we go. We get our visitor licences and information packs too, I decide to look at mine later. It's a really nice day at the moment - more on this later!!
We ascend the 6 Woodham locks with surprising ease, passing the house boats between 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 with care.
Lock 3 had quite a bit of rubbish preventing the gates from opening fully, but Dick & Brenda had come equipped and fished it all out.
Exiting lock 6 we picked up some weed, but it span off easily with a burst of reverse, so we continued the 3 miles or so through Woking to St John's at a fairly gentle pace, the canal is quite shallow so no point in pushing along. Woking itself looks quite uninviting from the canal, only a couple of potential mooring spots & the lock opening times don't really encourage a stop here!!
We had sporadic bursts of rain, but nothing to get too excited about, had a spot of lunch on the move and arrived at lock 7. St John's is a flight of 5 locks, a bit closer together than the Woodham flight. The first 2 are negotiated without a problem, then we get to lock 9!!
Ok, here goes with the saga of lock 9:
It all starts innocently enough, in we go, gates closed, paddles open. I take a look at the bottom gates and think "hmm.. that's a bit of a gap, I look closer and think "there's a lot of water coming through these gates" I have a chat with the others and suggest that we shut the top paddles, empty the lock and try to remedy the situation, maybe something is stuck there. We do this and try again. Maybe it's a bit better, I'm not sure, so we open the top paddles fully and hope for the best. While this is going on all hell breaks loose, there are claps of thunder, flashes of lightning, hail stones and rain, lots of rain!! Dick dives inside his boat for his and Brenda's waterproofs, this causes his boat to drift forwards and his bow gets stuck under the front gate, a potential sinking situation!! This spotted we drop the top paddles - again!! and open the bottom - again!! I slide along the top gate to try to kick the bow out, eventually it moves back, we close the bottom paddles. I'm left sitting on the top gate and have to side shuffle to the lock side, not so easy with the boat gone!! and the beam covered in hailstones. Anyway, we resume locking up, the rain / hail still pelting down. All this has resulted in a dramatic drop in the level of the next pound, but hey ho, we'll deal with that if we have to. Penny takes our boat out, I advise her to go slowly and keep to the middle, which she does. About 2 boat lengths out it grinds to a halt, bugger!! Off I go to the next lock to let water down, this I do, the rain is still pelting down, I'm quite pleased with my new North Face waterproof, £180 very well spent ! I let water down until the boat appears, then close the paddle. The boat grinds to a halt again, so down goes some more water. Eventually we get both boats into lock 10 and ascend without difficulty. Trouble is, it's not quite over!!
Lock 10 done, we head for 11, remember we were taking water for our previous difficulties? Well, as Penny gets to the lock 11 entrance, it stops again. So more water until we force our way over the cill, Dick joins us and up we go, last lock of the day. Wandering down the towpath comes fellow JP skipper Phil to see how we're doing, all nice and dry, they've been tied up at St John's for shopping.
On we go to Brookwood Park for the night, I make use of the nice mooring and water point, all provided by the canal society. Dick ties up behind, there's another visiting boat in front, also down from Cropredy, Rowan who followed us up both Woodham and St John's pitches up and Phil shows up a bit later, looks like 5 boats for the continued adventure tomorrow.
The weather continues for a few hours, rain, sun, hail, the lot really. Dick and Brenda come over for dinner and bring me port, I love these guys. I even find time to trot down to the garage on the 322 for pasta when I realise we don't have enough.
Actually a great day, this is what boating is all about for me, a bit of a challenge with an edge of adventure, I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Today's wildlife:
Today: 8 miles - 11 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 121.5 miles - 56 locks - 60 hours
The Basingstoke Canal
Background Information:
The Basingstoke Canal is a British canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation.
From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Greywell, North Warnborough, Odiham, Dogmersfield, Fleet, Farnborough Airfield, Aldershot, Mytchett, Brookwood, Knaphill and Woking. Its eastern end is at Byfleet, where it connects to the Wey Navigation. This, in turn, leads to the River Thames at Weybridge. Its intended purpose was to allow boats to travel from the docks in East London to Basingstoke.
It was never a commercial success and, from 1950, lack of maintenance allowed the canal to become increasingly derelict. After many years of neglect, restoration commenced in 1977 and on 10 May 1991 the canal was reopened as a fully navigable waterway from the River Wey to almost as far as the Greywell Tunnel. However its usage is currently still limited by low water supply and conservation issues.
History:
The canal was conceived as a way to stimulate agricultural development in Hampshire. Following a Parliamentary Bill in 1778, problems raising the necessary capital funding meant that construction did not begin until 10 years later, in October 1788 and was completed on 4 September 1794. One of the main cargoes carried from Basingstoke was timber.
The canal was never a commercial success and fell into disuse even before the construction of the London and South Western Railway, which runs parallel to the canal along much of its length. Commercial use ended in 1910 but low-level use of the canal continued.
In 1913 Mr A.J.Harmsworth tried to navigate the canal in a boat called Basingstoke. The journey was motivated by a desire to keep the canal open since the Canal Act of 1778 specified that if the canal was not used for 5 years then the land the canal was built on would be returned to the original owners. It is thought that it proved impossible to navigate the entire canal but despite this the canal was not abandoned.
During World War I the Royal Engineers took over the running of the canal and used it to transport supplies from Woolwich. The canal was also used to train soldiers in boat handling
Mr A.J.Harmsworth later purchased the canal (in 1922) and ran a number of boats on it for a mixture of limited commercial carrying and pleasure cruising. The canal was sold upon his death in 1947 and by 1950 was in the hands of the New Basingstoke Canal Co Ltd. This company continued the restoration of the canal (under the management of the General Manager, Mrs. Joan Marshall) but there was a serious setback in 1957 and a major breach in 1968.By the late-'60s it was essentially derelict despite volunteer efforts to improve the situation.
In 1966, the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society was formed by a group of local canal enthusiasts, with a view to reopening the derelict canal. They were instrumental in running a campaign that culminated in 1976 with the purchase of the canal by the County Councils of Hampshire and Surrey.
In February 1977 a job creation project started with the aim of carrying out restoration work on the Deepcut flight of locks. The work was coordinated with the work of the canal society who organised work parties at weekends while the job creation team worked on weekdays.
After about 18 years of restoration, 32 miles (51 km) of the canal were formally re-opened on 10 May 1991. The western section from North Warnborough to Basingstoke remains un-navigable from the point at which it enters the Greywell Tunnel. The tunnel partially collapsed in 1932 where it passes from chalk into clay geology, and is now inhabited by a protected bat colony making it unlikely that the tunnel will ever be restored. Some of the former canal basin at the western end has also been lost to modern development in and around Basingstoke.
The canal is now managed by the Basingstoke Canal Authority and is open to navigation throughout the year. Lock opening times are restricted due to the very limited water supply in an attempt to postpone summer closures which have plagued the canal since construction. Boat numbers are also limited to 1300 per year due to the fact that most of the canal has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its unique water chemistry, range of aquatic plants and odonata (dragon and damsel flies).
From the midpoint heading east large areas of heathland surrounds the canal which are habitats for reptilian species, such as vipers and lizards, and birds such as Nightjars, Woodlarks and Dartford Warblers. Much of this heath survives today due to its use since the late 19th century as military training areas.
Monday 18 May 2015
The Magna Carta Thing!
Just in case anybody is as poorly educated as me:
Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule. However, buried within them were a number of fundamental values that both challenged the autocracy of the king and proved highly adaptable in future centuries. Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights (1791) and in many other constitutional documents around the world, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950).
What is Magna Carta?
Magna Carta, meaning ‘The Great Charter’, is one of the most famous documents in the world. Originally issued by King John of England (r.1199-1216) as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. Although nearly a third of the text was deleted or substantially rewritten within ten years, and almost all the clauses have been repealed in modern times, Magna Carta remains a cornerstone of the British constitution.Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule. However, buried within them were a number of fundamental values that both challenged the autocracy of the king and proved highly adaptable in future centuries. Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights (1791) and in many other constitutional documents around the world, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950).
Why does Magna Carta matter today?
In 1215 Magna Carta was a peace treaty between the King and the rebel barons. In that respect it was a failure, but it provided a new framework for the relationship between the King and his subjects. The 1225 version of Magna Carta, freely issued by Henry III (r.1216-72) in return for a tax granted to him by the whole kingdom, took this idea further and became the definitive version of the text. Three clauses of the 1225 Magna Carta remain on the statute book today. Although most of the clauses of Magna Carta have now been repealed, the many divergent uses that have been made of it since the Middle Ages have shaped its meaning in the modern era, and it has become a potent, international rallying cry against the arbitrary use of power.What does Magna Carta say?
Although Magna Carta contained 63 clauses when it was first granted, only three of those clauses remain part of English law. One defends the liberties and rights of the English Church, another confirms the liberties and customs of London and other towns, but the third is the most famous:
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.
To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
This clause gave all free men the right to justice and a fair trial. However, ‘free men’ comprised only a small proportion of the population in medieval England. The majority of the people were unfree peasants known as ‘villeins’, who could seek justice only through the courts of their own lords.
Buried deep in Magna Carta, this clause was given no particular prominence in 1215, but its intrinsic adaptability has allowed succeeding generations to reinterpret it for their own purposes. In the 14th century Parliament saw it as guaranteeing trial by jury; in the 17th century Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) interpreted it as a declaration of individual liberty in his conflict with the early Stuart kings; and it has echoes in the American Bill of Rights (1791) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
Much of the remainder of Magna Carta dealt with specific grievances regarding the ownership of land, the regulation of the justice system, and medieval taxes with no modern equivalent (such as ‘scutage’ and ‘socage’). It demanded the removal of fish weirs from the Thames, the Medway and throughout England; the dismissal of several royal servants; the standardisation of various weights and measures; and so on.
Magna Carta stated that no taxes could be demanded without the ‘general consent of the realm’, meaning the leading barons and churchmen. It re-established privileges which had been lost, and it linked fines to the severity of the offence so as not to threaten an individual’s livelihood. It also confirmed that a widow could not be forced to remarry against her wishes.
Why was Magna Carta created?
In 1214, a mercenary army raised by King John was defeated by the French at the Battle of Bouvines in northern France. This army had been paid largely by the tax known as ‘scutage’, a payment made to the Crown in place of providing knights for military service, and the focus of much baronial discontent.
King John’s reign was also marked by his strained relationship with the Church. John had rejected the election of Stephen Langton (1150-1228) as Archbishop of Canterbury, and in 1208 the Pope issued a decree (known as an ‘Interdict’), prohibiting people in England from receiving the sacraments or being buried in consecrated ground. King John was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) in 1209, and the Interdict remained in place until John surrendered his kingdom to the overlordship of the Pope in 1213.
In 1213, a party of rebel barons met with Archbishop Stephen Langton and the papal legate (a representative of the Pope) to air their grievances against the King. They also urged that John should agree to confirm the coronation charter issued by his ancestor, King Henry I, in 1100, which had promised ‘to abolish all the evil customs by which the kingdom of England has been unjustly oppressed’. In early 1215, the dispute escalated when King John refused to meet the barons’ demands. In May many barons renounced their oaths of allegiance to him, choosing Robert fitz Walter (1162-1235) as their leader. Their capture of the city of London that same month was a turning point in their campaign.
Once London was in the barons’ hands, John had no option but to negotiate with them. The two sides met at Runnymede, on the River Thames near Windsor in the south of England, in June 1215. The demands of the barons were recorded in the document known as the Articles of the Barons. Following further discussions with the barons and clerics led by Archbishop Langton, King John granted the Charter of Liberties, subsequently known asMagna Carta, at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. On 19 June the rebel barons made their formal peace with King John and renewed their oaths of allegiance to him.
The King’s clerks set about drawing up copies of the agreement for distribution throughout the kingdom. It is not certain how many copies of the 1215 Magna Carta were originally issued, but four copies still survive: one in Lincoln Cathedral; one in Salisbury Cathedral; and two at the British Library. Like other medieval royal charters, Magna Carta was authenticated with the Great Seal, not by the signature of the king.
Was Magna Carta effective in the short term?
Although King John agreed the terms of Magna Carta and the barons renewed their oaths of allegiance, the settlement did not last long. Aggrieved by the manner in which Magna Carta was to be enforced, John sent messengers to the Pope (the overlord of the kingdoms of England and Ireland) in the summer of 1215, requesting that the charter be annulled. In turn, the barons refused to surrender the city of London to the King until Magna Carta had been implemented. Pope Innocent III was alarmed by the charter’s terms, and on 24 August 1215 he issued a document known as a papal bull, describing Magna Carta as ‘illegal, unjust, harmful to royal rights and shameful to the English people’, and declaring the charter ‘null and void of all validity for ever’.
In September 1215, civil war broke out between King John and his barons. The King raised an army of mercenaries to fight his cause, while the barons renounced their allegiance to him, and invited Prince Louis (1187-1226), son of the King of France, to accept the English crown. Louis invaded England in 1216, and England was still at war when John died of dysentery on the night of 18 October 1216.
Magna Carta was effectively dead, but it gained new life in the early years of the reign of the next king, Henry III. Henry was just nine years old when he succeeded to the throne, and in November 1216 a revised version of Magna Carta was issued in his name, in order to regain the support of the barons. Another version of Magna Carta was granted in the following year, after the French army had been expelled from England. In 1225, on reaching the age of 18, Henry reissued a much revised version of Magna Carta which was later enrolled on the statute book by King Edward I (r.1272-1307) in 1297.
What was the long-term impact of Magna Carta?
Magna Carta is sometimes regarded as the foundation of democracy in England. In fact, most of its terms applied only to a small proportion of the population in 1215, and the implementation of the charter in subsequent centuries remained open to the interpretation of the courts.
Revised versions of Magna Carta were issued by King Henry III (in 1216, 1217 and 1225), and the text of the 1225 version was entered onto the statute roll in 1297. Magna Carta had limited the circumstances under which the King could raise money without the consent of the people. The 1225 version of Magna Carta had been granted explicitly in return for a payment of tax by the whole kingdom, and this paved the way for the first summons of Parliament in 1265, to approve the granting of taxation.
In the 17th century, opponents of King Charles I (1625-49) used Magna Carta to regulate the arbitrary use of royal authority. Sir Edward Coke, declared that ‘Magna Carta is such a fellow, that he will have no sovereign’, and in 1628 he helped to draft the Petition of Right, which limited royal power and made explicit reference to Magna Carta. When King Charles was himself put on trial in 1649, it was argued that his attempts to halt the proceedings contravened the clause of Magna Carta which prohibited the delay of justice.
Magna Carta has consequently acquired a special status as the cornerstone of English liberties. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of its clauses have now been repealed, or in some cases superseded by other legislation such as the Human Rights Act (1998). Magna Carta nonetheless retains enormous symbolic power as an ancient defence against arbitrary and tyrannical rulers, and as a guarantor of individual liberties.
So, there you go, google is indeed your friend!! Now to have a read myself. If I can stay awake!!
So, What is this Magna Carta Thing?
Woke up, always a good thing that!! Cooked up a sausage butty, mmmm.... and it started to rain. We had to get to the Wey today so off we went, through a completely different Windsor to yesterday, no people and no boats. Noticed the royal standard flying at the castle!! Romney was on self serve, a bunch of lads on a Kris Cruisers rental were setting it, so we hung about and followed them in. Lockie arrived bang on 9 as we were going down. It was very windy and the rain went from light drizzle to quite hard at times, still I was able to give the new jacket a test run, seemed to do just fine.
Out of Romney, on the right (or star something for those with a nautical bent) there is home park crown estate where the Royal Windsor horse show was being dismantled, I think that explains the flying of the standard at the castle, queenie was obviously giving the show a once over from the window!!
I guess this is what Windsor is all about:
You pass the crown estate land for what seems like miles!! It would make some of the best mooring on the river, even for a fee!! But every few yards is the 'bugger off you boating bastards' sign, interspaced with some bullshit about security, pull the other one queenie, you just don't want the view spoiled!!
The weather remained the same for the whole morning, that cycle of nearly stopping then me having to fight with the umbrella as the wind drives the rain right into our faces.
Then we pass Runnymede and I get to thinking about the Magna Carta, I'd have taken a photo but with one hand on the tiller and the other on the umbrella it wasn't going to happen. Here we are on our way to a rally to celebrate 800 years of the signing of said document, passing the place of it's signing, and I note that there seems to be a gap in my education, I blame the schooling system for this!!
Penny helps me out by explaining that's it's some agreement that the King signed to stop him from running amok and acting all dictator like, sounds like I need to google. Apparently it also has something to do with the basis of the American declaration of independance, more for google methinks!! Anyway, Bell Weir lock, the one just past Runnymede has this on the wall, and the grumpiest lockie on the river award!!
Soon enough we get to Shepperton and turn right to the river Wey, just in time for Thames lock to be closed for lunch, so we tie up and have lunch ourselves. Lockie arrives at 2, locks a boat down, locks us up, relieves us of £14 for a 2 way transit to Woodham Junction and the Basingstoke canal, we admire again some of the houses we went to look at a couple of years back and head up the Wey, now working locks for ourselves again.
Us in Thames Lock:
We get to New Haw lock and decide to call it a day at the top. After dinner we go for a walk along to the Basingstoke Canal and locks 1 and 2, I've never been here before. At lock 2 we take a walk into New Haw, an uninspiring place, but find a Coop to get a couple of bits, and complete a circular walk back to the lock and the boat.
Oh, and a phone call earlier meant we could have gone to Lechlade after all, I didn't get the contract!! Never mind I'm on holiday.
Today: 15.5 miles - 11 locks - 8 hours
So Far: 113.5 miles - 45 locks - 53 hours
Out of Romney, on the right (or star something for those with a nautical bent) there is home park crown estate where the Royal Windsor horse show was being dismantled, I think that explains the flying of the standard at the castle, queenie was obviously giving the show a once over from the window!!
I guess this is what Windsor is all about:
You pass the crown estate land for what seems like miles!! It would make some of the best mooring on the river, even for a fee!! But every few yards is the 'bugger off you boating bastards' sign, interspaced with some bullshit about security, pull the other one queenie, you just don't want the view spoiled!!
The weather remained the same for the whole morning, that cycle of nearly stopping then me having to fight with the umbrella as the wind drives the rain right into our faces.
Then we pass Runnymede and I get to thinking about the Magna Carta, I'd have taken a photo but with one hand on the tiller and the other on the umbrella it wasn't going to happen. Here we are on our way to a rally to celebrate 800 years of the signing of said document, passing the place of it's signing, and I note that there seems to be a gap in my education, I blame the schooling system for this!!
Penny helps me out by explaining that's it's some agreement that the King signed to stop him from running amok and acting all dictator like, sounds like I need to google. Apparently it also has something to do with the basis of the American declaration of independance, more for google methinks!! Anyway, Bell Weir lock, the one just past Runnymede has this on the wall, and the grumpiest lockie on the river award!!
Soon enough we get to Shepperton and turn right to the river Wey, just in time for Thames lock to be closed for lunch, so we tie up and have lunch ourselves. Lockie arrives at 2, locks a boat down, locks us up, relieves us of £14 for a 2 way transit to Woodham Junction and the Basingstoke canal, we admire again some of the houses we went to look at a couple of years back and head up the Wey, now working locks for ourselves again.
Us in Thames Lock:
We get to New Haw lock and decide to call it a day at the top. After dinner we go for a walk along to the Basingstoke Canal and locks 1 and 2, I've never been here before. At lock 2 we take a walk into New Haw, an uninspiring place, but find a Coop to get a couple of bits, and complete a circular walk back to the lock and the boat.
Oh, and a phone call earlier meant we could have gone to Lechlade after all, I didn't get the contract!! Never mind I'm on holiday.
Today: 15.5 miles - 11 locks - 8 hours
So Far: 113.5 miles - 45 locks - 53 hours
Sunday 17 May 2015
Well, It Was Quiet!!
Hmmm... Windsor we thought! Seems like a nice place to stop! But more of that in a minute, now where were we? Oh yes, Marlow, it already seems a long time ago. Lots of activity this morning, rowers everywhere, I suspect the statue of Sir Steve here is responsible for some of them and most of the overnighters are leaving the moorings, as are we! A short trundle to the lock, and what's this? It's a queue!! Not seen one of those before. The lock filled, gates opened and out poured about 100 canoes, whatever happened to portage for such craft?
Anyway, in we went, lockie joking about Universes and the like, no idea why? And down and out we went, no sign of any damage to the bottom gate which was hit by my Tom last year. Passing the Longridge National scout boating centre we find our first regatta, rowing races, dragon boats, you know the sort of thing, then what looked like a 1000 canoes, some sort of army canoe marathon going on, then some sort of music festival at Cookham with many plastics in attendance, there was one raft of 4, had we known we may well have come here too, not that I'm a fan of Rick Astley, but I'm sure some of the others would have been worth a listen, maybe we'll take a look next year?
So, Cookham lock and another queue, not sure I like this, but down we go and along Cliveden Reach, I was born about a mile or so from here, the reach has some islands with the most idyllic mooring spots, really quiet and peaceful.
Looking along Cliveden Reach:
And before we know it Boulters Lock, probably the first lock I ever saw, and guess what? No queue!! A bunch of boats lock up, the gates open, the gates close again? There's a bit of commotion and rushing about, the gates open again and 4 or 5 boats come past, but one at the back remains? It transpires that the guy fell in and was now in his boat changing into dry gear, why his wife, who was driving the boat as it went past us couldn't have done this while he changed I shall always wonder, still a bit of excitement for once and a report for the lockie to fill out no doubt.
Onto Bray, passing another regatta and all the expensive houses, the Waterside Inn, Monkey Island Hotel and much more! Straight into a nearly full Bray lock, well it is now! and onto Boveney where we encounter a bit more confusion, no self service board up and no lockie!! I was signalled in by another boater to join the 2 plastics, big ones at that, a bit of a worry that we might no fit, but there was acres of space, well a couple of feet anyway.
Went for water at the bottom to find a pump-out and no tap, than looking behind saw it was in the weir stream at the side of the lock, so a bit of nifty reversing (or lucky if you prefer) against the stream and we topped off the water.
The final bit to Windsor, passing some wildlife:
And so to Windsor, we tie up on the Island just before the railway bridge, lots of boats of all sorts going up and down and all over the place, lots of people in the park on the island picnicking and stuff. great to see it busy.
One of the types of boat:
Off we go into town while it's all still open, about a million tourists to navigate around, but I cope quite well with them, do a bit of shopping and get a jacket I was after from Cotswold Outdoor, didn't know there was one here - honest! £40 off too!! Back to boat to find an enormous family camped out by the boat, a bunch of others shouting rather loudly, and as all the boats go by, well, we were rocking constantly, I was getting a bit fed up with it all, but eventually it all calmed down, people went home and normality is restored, I'll rethink any plan to stop here in future, a nice town, but on a sunny Sunday?
And to cap it all we incur our first mooring fee, not bad I suppose for our fifth day on the river, but £8 a night!!!
Today: 12 miles - 5 locks - 5 hours
So Far: 98 miles - 45 locks - 45 hours
Anyway, in we went, lockie joking about Universes and the like, no idea why? And down and out we went, no sign of any damage to the bottom gate which was hit by my Tom last year. Passing the Longridge National scout boating centre we find our first regatta, rowing races, dragon boats, you know the sort of thing, then what looked like a 1000 canoes, some sort of army canoe marathon going on, then some sort of music festival at Cookham with many plastics in attendance, there was one raft of 4, had we known we may well have come here too, not that I'm a fan of Rick Astley, but I'm sure some of the others would have been worth a listen, maybe we'll take a look next year?
So, Cookham lock and another queue, not sure I like this, but down we go and along Cliveden Reach, I was born about a mile or so from here, the reach has some islands with the most idyllic mooring spots, really quiet and peaceful.
Looking along Cliveden Reach:
And before we know it Boulters Lock, probably the first lock I ever saw, and guess what? No queue!! A bunch of boats lock up, the gates open, the gates close again? There's a bit of commotion and rushing about, the gates open again and 4 or 5 boats come past, but one at the back remains? It transpires that the guy fell in and was now in his boat changing into dry gear, why his wife, who was driving the boat as it went past us couldn't have done this while he changed I shall always wonder, still a bit of excitement for once and a report for the lockie to fill out no doubt.
Onto Bray, passing another regatta and all the expensive houses, the Waterside Inn, Monkey Island Hotel and much more! Straight into a nearly full Bray lock, well it is now! and onto Boveney where we encounter a bit more confusion, no self service board up and no lockie!! I was signalled in by another boater to join the 2 plastics, big ones at that, a bit of a worry that we might no fit, but there was acres of space, well a couple of feet anyway.
Went for water at the bottom to find a pump-out and no tap, than looking behind saw it was in the weir stream at the side of the lock, so a bit of nifty reversing (or lucky if you prefer) against the stream and we topped off the water.
The final bit to Windsor, passing some wildlife:
And so to Windsor, we tie up on the Island just before the railway bridge, lots of boats of all sorts going up and down and all over the place, lots of people in the park on the island picnicking and stuff. great to see it busy.
One of the types of boat:
Off we go into town while it's all still open, about a million tourists to navigate around, but I cope quite well with them, do a bit of shopping and get a jacket I was after from Cotswold Outdoor, didn't know there was one here - honest! £40 off too!! Back to boat to find an enormous family camped out by the boat, a bunch of others shouting rather loudly, and as all the boats go by, well, we were rocking constantly, I was getting a bit fed up with it all, but eventually it all calmed down, people went home and normality is restored, I'll rethink any plan to stop here in future, a nice town, but on a sunny Sunday?
And to cap it all we incur our first mooring fee, not bad I suppose for our fifth day on the river, but £8 a night!!!
Today: 12 miles - 5 locks - 5 hours
So Far: 98 miles - 45 locks - 45 hours
Saturday 16 May 2015
23 Years? You Get Less For Murder!!
First thing today is to turn the boat round and head back downstream, this having been done I see our first parrots of the trip!! More parrots than kingfishers now. There are some menacing black clouds in the vicinity, but these soon morph to dark grey, light grey, white and then clear blue sky. It's quite windy making us crab along a bit from time to time, but quite manageable.
Soon enough we see Marsh Lock and the keeper taking off the self service board, perfect timing yet again!!
We cruise slowly through Henley and take careful note of the sign telling us to keep right and cruise along the regatta course, I was paying particular attention to this because when we came this way last year there was a bit of an altercation with a rowing crew, I wanted to avoid another one.
It was quite difficult as the wind was blowing across and I was trying to keep to one side to allow the two racing eights coming up behind as much room as possible.
A very posh day launch overtook us, in it was a picnic basket with the lid open, showing us the anchor butter and tesco packaged meat, didn't quite live up to the initial expectation. We caught it up again in Hambledon lock, a bit nervy jockeying 20 tons of steel in close proximity to a wooden day launch!!
Below the lock by the old Aston Ferry, (we used to launch our canoes here in days past) there was a cruiser looking for something, no idea as to what, it just kept running search patterns with boat hook on standby. We trundled on quite slowly to Hurley lock where we were signalled in to join a much larger cruiser, I didn't think there was room for the two of us, but there was, keeper always knows best!
Then the short run to Temple lock where old school acquaintance Dave Hemingway was on duty, then in no time at all we were weaving through all the rowing crews to try to get over to the moorings in Marlow. This done, I cleaned assorted wildlife droppings from various parts of the boat and gave the port side a good wash.
The view from our side doors:
Off to Waitrose to replenish stores yet again, we (well Penny really) also had to check out most of the clothes shops in the area, there were quite a few!!
Around 7 our friends Stephen & Tessa appeared, we were off to the George & Dragon for dinner, and very nice it was too. It was also their 23rd wedding anniversary!! Congratulations to them.
Found it a bit tricky getting back to the boat in the dark, one of these days I'll remember to take the torch!!
Today: 10 miles - 4 locks - 4 hours
So Far: 86 miles - 40 locks - 40 hours
Soon enough we see Marsh Lock and the keeper taking off the self service board, perfect timing yet again!!
We cruise slowly through Henley and take careful note of the sign telling us to keep right and cruise along the regatta course, I was paying particular attention to this because when we came this way last year there was a bit of an altercation with a rowing crew, I wanted to avoid another one.
It was quite difficult as the wind was blowing across and I was trying to keep to one side to allow the two racing eights coming up behind as much room as possible.
A very posh day launch overtook us, in it was a picnic basket with the lid open, showing us the anchor butter and tesco packaged meat, didn't quite live up to the initial expectation. We caught it up again in Hambledon lock, a bit nervy jockeying 20 tons of steel in close proximity to a wooden day launch!!
Below the lock by the old Aston Ferry, (we used to launch our canoes here in days past) there was a cruiser looking for something, no idea as to what, it just kept running search patterns with boat hook on standby. We trundled on quite slowly to Hurley lock where we were signalled in to join a much larger cruiser, I didn't think there was room for the two of us, but there was, keeper always knows best!
Then the short run to Temple lock where old school acquaintance Dave Hemingway was on duty, then in no time at all we were weaving through all the rowing crews to try to get over to the moorings in Marlow. This done, I cleaned assorted wildlife droppings from various parts of the boat and gave the port side a good wash.
The view from our side doors:
Off to Waitrose to replenish stores yet again, we (well Penny really) also had to check out most of the clothes shops in the area, there were quite a few!!
Around 7 our friends Stephen & Tessa appeared, we were off to the George & Dragon for dinner, and very nice it was too. It was also their 23rd wedding anniversary!! Congratulations to them.
Found it a bit tricky getting back to the boat in the dark, one of these days I'll remember to take the torch!!
Today: 10 miles - 4 locks - 4 hours
So Far: 86 miles - 40 locks - 40 hours
Friday 15 May 2015
Or Worse?
Another double post, don't stop in Goring if you want a good connection!!
Thursday 14th May
Well, a lot of rain has been forecast for today, so we have a number of plans, one of them, as the weather actually looks ok at the time of waking up, is to set off for Goring and reassess the situation there, so set off we did, in pretty overcast conditions, but no rain, and to Goring we went. There was a space on the (quite limited) moorings there, so we tied up, had coffee and watched the rain start, not as heavy as we were led to believe, but persistent nevertheless!!
The view from our side doors:
So, what to do? Only one thing for it, walk up to the station, umbrella in hand and go and kill some time in Reading, we wandered about, bought some bits for the boat that we needed, and some we didn't know we needed!! Had coffee and returned to Goring, it was still raining!! It only eased off and stopped as we went into the evening.
Today: 5 miles - 2 locks - 2.5 hours
So Far: 59 miles - 31 locks - 29 hours
Friday 15th May
Woke up to sunny skies, hooray!! A bit chilly though, had to put on my fleece and wear gloves. Some really good news though, all of the sticky tree sap stuff that we collected in Oxford has been washed off!! The port cabin side is a bit messy from where the rain was splashing dirt from the bank, but on balance a win I think.
A few more boats on the move this morning, I guess some are making up for not doing too much yesterday?
Still pretty peaceful though, cruising by Beale Park, I remember being taken there as a child in the late 60's / early 70's. Through Whitchurch lock, I see they've finished the bridge works here, then to Mapledurham where we made good use of the pump-out facility, and bought a spare card to prevent future occurances of the Abingdon incident. On down past Tilehurst and into Caversham, strange how yesterdays train took 15 minutes and today we take about 3 1/2 hours for the same!! Tied up above Sonning lock for a break and a spot of lunch, then onward.
Sonning Bridge:
Penny was looking out for George Clooney, just in case he was out mowing his lawn or something, but no sighting, didn't even know which house it was!!
We topped off the water above Shiplake lock and ended up of some fairly isolated EA moorings between Shiplake and Henley, just past Paul Daniels place, didn't know which one that was either!! Apparently some famous singer lives in one of the houses opposite, but the guy on the boat in front didn't know who!!
Shiplake Lock:
The houses opposite:
A quiet place, maybe a walk along the river in a bit.
Today: 17 miles - 5 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 76 miles - 36 locks - 36 hours
Thursday 14th May
Well, a lot of rain has been forecast for today, so we have a number of plans, one of them, as the weather actually looks ok at the time of waking up, is to set off for Goring and reassess the situation there, so set off we did, in pretty overcast conditions, but no rain, and to Goring we went. There was a space on the (quite limited) moorings there, so we tied up, had coffee and watched the rain start, not as heavy as we were led to believe, but persistent nevertheless!!
The view from our side doors:
So, what to do? Only one thing for it, walk up to the station, umbrella in hand and go and kill some time in Reading, we wandered about, bought some bits for the boat that we needed, and some we didn't know we needed!! Had coffee and returned to Goring, it was still raining!! It only eased off and stopped as we went into the evening.
Today: 5 miles - 2 locks - 2.5 hours
So Far: 59 miles - 31 locks - 29 hours
Friday 15th May
Woke up to sunny skies, hooray!! A bit chilly though, had to put on my fleece and wear gloves. Some really good news though, all of the sticky tree sap stuff that we collected in Oxford has been washed off!! The port cabin side is a bit messy from where the rain was splashing dirt from the bank, but on balance a win I think.
A few more boats on the move this morning, I guess some are making up for not doing too much yesterday?
Still pretty peaceful though, cruising by Beale Park, I remember being taken there as a child in the late 60's / early 70's. Through Whitchurch lock, I see they've finished the bridge works here, then to Mapledurham where we made good use of the pump-out facility, and bought a spare card to prevent future occurances of the Abingdon incident. On down past Tilehurst and into Caversham, strange how yesterdays train took 15 minutes and today we take about 3 1/2 hours for the same!! Tied up above Sonning lock for a break and a spot of lunch, then onward.
Sonning Bridge:
Penny was looking out for George Clooney, just in case he was out mowing his lawn or something, but no sighting, didn't even know which house it was!!
We topped off the water above Shiplake lock and ended up of some fairly isolated EA moorings between Shiplake and Henley, just past Paul Daniels place, didn't know which one that was either!! Apparently some famous singer lives in one of the houses opposite, but the guy on the boat in front didn't know who!!
Shiplake Lock:
The houses opposite:
A quiet place, maybe a walk along the river in a bit.
Today: 17 miles - 5 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 76 miles - 36 locks - 36 hours
Wednesday 13 May 2015
It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This!
Wow! What a superb day weatherwise, I'm feeling the sunburn now as I type.
But what a state the boat's in! We've been moored under a tree and now we're covered in sap and all sorts of muck, it needs a right good clean.
I was keen to get back to cruising after a day and a half, so off we went at 8.30, into Isis Lock along the Sheepwash Channel and onto the Thames, immediately faced with Osney Lock, time to change routine to the keeper operated Thames Locks, and of course rope throwing practice!! We were sharing with an Anglo Welsh rental:
We let the rental go at Abingdon as we wanted to water and stuff at the services there, water we did, but no lockie on duty to sell me a pump out card, good job we're not desperate!! After locking down we tied up for lunch and a visit to Waitrose.
Us tied up:
There was also a bit of wildlife about:
We also saw our first kingfishers of the year, but alas, no photo's!
After restocking of the fridge and the port cellar, we decided to press on for a good bit as the forecast for tomorrow is for the end of the world!! So we don't want to have to cruise too far if the world does happen to end!! We pretty much had the river to ourselves and ended up in Wallingford, a bit of a dodgy mooring, but there wasn't much space left at 6.00 so we had to make do, we also met up with the AW rental again.
Kebabs and stir fry for dinner.. yum!
Now to await the 500 inches of rain forecast for tomorrow!!
Today: 23 miles - 8 locks - 9.5 hours
So Far: 54 miles - 29 locks - 26.5 hours
But what a state the boat's in! We've been moored under a tree and now we're covered in sap and all sorts of muck, it needs a right good clean.
I was keen to get back to cruising after a day and a half, so off we went at 8.30, into Isis Lock along the Sheepwash Channel and onto the Thames, immediately faced with Osney Lock, time to change routine to the keeper operated Thames Locks, and of course rope throwing practice!! We were sharing with an Anglo Welsh rental:
We let the rental go at Abingdon as we wanted to water and stuff at the services there, water we did, but no lockie on duty to sell me a pump out card, good job we're not desperate!! After locking down we tied up for lunch and a visit to Waitrose.
Us tied up:
There was also a bit of wildlife about:
We also saw our first kingfishers of the year, but alas, no photo's!
After restocking of the fridge and the port cellar, we decided to press on for a good bit as the forecast for tomorrow is for the end of the world!! So we don't want to have to cruise too far if the world does happen to end!! We pretty much had the river to ourselves and ended up in Wallingford, a bit of a dodgy mooring, but there wasn't much space left at 6.00 so we had to make do, we also met up with the AW rental again.
Kebabs and stir fry for dinner.. yum!
Now to await the 500 inches of rain forecast for tomorrow!!
Today: 23 miles - 8 locks - 9.5 hours
So Far: 54 miles - 29 locks - 26.5 hours
Tuesday 12 May 2015
And a Bit More Oxford
Just returned from our outing to the Jersey Boys, not really my thing, the singing was good, but I was disappointed as I thought most of the music was recorded, turns out it wasn't, the band was just kept out of sight, spoilt it a bit for me as I like to watch musicians strut their stuff!
No pictures today, it was interview day!! Had a laze around first thing and cooked the desired sausage butties with yesterday's market purchase. A really good train service to Reading from here made getting myself to aforementioned interview simple. I think it went well, but who knows? It's not me that has to think it went well!! Watch this space, I should hear something next week.
Got back about 4 to hear about Penny's tour of Oxford's shops, them off for a pre theatre meal and back to the start of the post!!
Some missing Spanish vocab from yesterday:
esclusar
puerta de esclusar
esclusaroesclusera - can't wait to hear my tutor have a go at this one!!
Finally, I can't believe there's been another quake in Nepal! I've spent time in Namche Bazaar too, really brings it home. I'd like to end with a note from my friend Mani in Nepal which I received on Sunday:
"Still we feel earthquake two-three times, everyday"
He is off to his home village as his home has been damaged, he, with his company is helping as volunteers with earthquake victims in another village. Please, if you are able, donate something to help.
No pictures today, it was interview day!! Had a laze around first thing and cooked the desired sausage butties with yesterday's market purchase. A really good train service to Reading from here made getting myself to aforementioned interview simple. I think it went well, but who knows? It's not me that has to think it went well!! Watch this space, I should hear something next week.
Got back about 4 to hear about Penny's tour of Oxford's shops, them off for a pre theatre meal and back to the start of the post!!
Some missing Spanish vocab from yesterday:
esclusar
puerta de esclusar
esclusaroesclusera - can't wait to hear my tutor have a go at this one!!
Finally, I can't believe there's been another quake in Nepal! I've spent time in Namche Bazaar too, really brings it home. I'd like to end with a note from my friend Mani in Nepal which I received on Sunday:
"Still we feel earthquake two-three times, everyday"
He is off to his home village as his home has been damaged, he, with his company is helping as volunteers with earthquake victims in another village. Please, if you are able, donate something to help.
Monday 11 May 2015
Oxford
A slight change to our original plan! We were going to turn right at Duke's Lock into Duke's Cut and head upstream on the Thames to Lechlade, but owing to me having to attend an interview for a potential contract position at the end of June, we find ourselves tied up in Oxford so I can get a train to the interview tomorrow morning.
Set off at around 9 this morning, after a much better nights sleep. I really fancied a sausage or bacon butty for breakfast, but owing to us not having either in stock and me not being able to face any more granola, I settled for just coffee. A beautiful morning and a complete contrast to yesterday afternoon as we only saw 3 moving boats on the cruise from Thrupp to Oxford. Nothing really of note to report, other than we filled with water at the slowest tap in the world, still we were able to make coffee while we were filling. We arrived to our pick of moorings above Isis Lock in Oxford just before 12.
Looking towards Isis Lock:
After emptying the fridge of potential candidates for lunch, we set off for a walk, firstly along one of the Thames streams to Christchurch Meadows via Folly Bridge, then into the City proper.
Folly Bridge:
Christchurch College:
There really is some stunning architecture in Oxford, 99% is college related.
We picked up a few essential provisions, including a stunning looking pork pie from the market, paid our regular visit to the fudge shop, managing to restrain ourselves to just 2 slices this time. They were in the process of making a new batch, watched it being poured onto the slab to cool.
We passed the theatre, Penny bought 2 tickets for the Jersey Boys which is opening tomorrow night, we checked out the cinema, were off to see Spooks tonight, followed by a meal out! Well, we are on holiday.
El miercoles, iremos al Tamesis. Pasaremos cinco dias en el Tamesis, dirigiremos a Shepperton.
Algunos vocabularios:
el barco
los rios
los canales
el puente
la cuerda
amarrar
el pato
los patitios
el cisne
la oca
Today: 6 miles - 4 locks - 3 hours
So Far: 31 miles - 21 locks - 17 hours
Set off at around 9 this morning, after a much better nights sleep. I really fancied a sausage or bacon butty for breakfast, but owing to us not having either in stock and me not being able to face any more granola, I settled for just coffee. A beautiful morning and a complete contrast to yesterday afternoon as we only saw 3 moving boats on the cruise from Thrupp to Oxford. Nothing really of note to report, other than we filled with water at the slowest tap in the world, still we were able to make coffee while we were filling. We arrived to our pick of moorings above Isis Lock in Oxford just before 12.
Looking towards Isis Lock:
After emptying the fridge of potential candidates for lunch, we set off for a walk, firstly along one of the Thames streams to Christchurch Meadows via Folly Bridge, then into the City proper.
Folly Bridge:
Christchurch College:
There really is some stunning architecture in Oxford, 99% is college related.
We picked up a few essential provisions, including a stunning looking pork pie from the market, paid our regular visit to the fudge shop, managing to restrain ourselves to just 2 slices this time. They were in the process of making a new batch, watched it being poured onto the slab to cool.
We passed the theatre, Penny bought 2 tickets for the Jersey Boys which is opening tomorrow night, we checked out the cinema, were off to see Spooks tonight, followed by a meal out! Well, we are on holiday.
El miercoles, iremos al Tamesis. Pasaremos cinco dias en el Tamesis, dirigiremos a Shepperton.
Algunos vocabularios:
el barco
los rios
los canales
el puente
la cuerda
amarrar
el pato
los patitios
el cisne
la oca
Today: 6 miles - 4 locks - 3 hours
So Far: 31 miles - 21 locks - 17 hours
Sunday 10 May 2015
Thar.. Be Treasure!!
Saturday 9th May
Couldn't get any internet signal last night, so a double post tonight!! Can you take it?
So, Banbury, I quite like Banbury, it's got some interesting old buildings and seems to have a lot of history.
After breakfast we decided (it wasn't raining!!) to do a treasure hunt, we've had one on the boat for Banbury for a while now and today seems the opportune moment. For those that don't know, myself and Penny are quite fond of these (www.treasuretrails.co.uk) we find it a good way of exploring some of the towns and villages that we pass through, quite often getting to see bits that we would otherwise ignore, and no, we're not on any commission!! It was all pretty straightforward until clue 18, which turned out to be underneath the fruit & veg stall in the market square, so it was a bit of a thing, me crawling under the tables moving empty boxes about to get at the answer. Anyway, hunt successfully completed, we returned to boat for coffee and then set off. No problem through the lift bridge and lock, then it started raining rather a lot!! Penny retired to book reader and I put up the umbrella. It was heavy but didn't last too long and by the time we got to Grants lock it had stopped and the sun was out. Very windy though, making the boat handling a bit awkward, I was actually quite impressed with Penny's steering into a couple of the locks in the wind, she seems to be doing
things instinctively!! how times have changed!!
We stopped early, in the middle of nowhere, good views, nobody about, peace and quiet, lovely!! So, I set about continuing the works to our dinette, got on really well and it looks a lot better. Still quite a bit to do to get it right, including a trip to Andover in the hope that my good friend Chris will help me make a new table, I understand he's got every woodworking tool known to man, so that should make it a doddle!!
Some nice cod fillets for dinner, some wine, another good day with lots more to come.
Por mis amigos de clase Espanol, vi un barco se llama chubasco, que raro! El tiempo es muy variable, a veces hace sol, a veces llover!! Pasamos un buen tiempo, hasta pronto. Estaremos en Odiham el 23 y 24 de mayo estareis bienvenido venir alli. Espero comprender mi espanol!!
Somewhere I'd like to buy and convert to living accommodation:
Some Goslings:
The revised dinette:
A typical Southern Oxford Canal Lift Bridge:
Today: 8 miles - 5 locks - 4 hours
So Far: 13 miles - 9 locks - 7 hours
Sunday 10th May
Neither of us slept particularly well last night, no idea as to why, so inevitably we eventually fell asleep and didn't want to get up!! Get up we did only to find that one of our aquatic friends had spent the night on the back, literally spreading muck all over the place!! So job number 1 was to clean up.
Mysteriously, the lift bridge we were moored near had been dropped overnight, I wonder why? As I was getting ready to go, I noticed a boat approaching, so, perhaps naughtily? rushed to get going in front of it, after all Somerton Deep lock was just around the corner and I didn't want to wait while we turned it round.
A bit windy and overcast this morning, but no problems with the boat handling. A few more boats about today, but straightforward cruising..... until pigeon lock where we arrived to find 3 boats queued to go down, where the hell did they all come from?? There was no room on the lock landing so we had to hang around alongside a moored boat, when we moved onto the landing we took advantage of the delay and had a bit of lunch. There were a couple of boats waiting to come up at Bakers lock, and all of a sudden the canal felt very busy, lots of boats about. Nearly had a bit of a moment on the twisty bit of the Cherwell below Bakers with an oncoming rental that didn't see us, they went aground and we sailed off into the distance.
Arrived at Shipton Weir lock:
An unusual shape, built like this to allow extra water into the pound below, as the next lock is much deeper.
Arrived at Thrupp, there was a bit of an incident where I thought my foot was going to get badly crushed when we tried using it as a fender, but no harm done, a reminder that care must be taken at all time though, canals can be dangerous.
Tonights mooring in Thrupp:
Penny took me to Annies for cake, the nice sounding coffee & walnut was so nice there was none left, so I settled for double chocolate. Some dark clouds about now, but it still hasn't rained, I even had to water the petunias.
No works to the dinette tonight, a quiet night in, looking forward to gammon steaks for dinner, no Spanish for my classmates either, maybe tomorrow!!
Today: 12 miles - 8 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 25 miles - 17 locks - 14 hours
Couldn't get any internet signal last night, so a double post tonight!! Can you take it?
So, Banbury, I quite like Banbury, it's got some interesting old buildings and seems to have a lot of history.
After breakfast we decided (it wasn't raining!!) to do a treasure hunt, we've had one on the boat for Banbury for a while now and today seems the opportune moment. For those that don't know, myself and Penny are quite fond of these (www.treasuretrails.co.uk) we find it a good way of exploring some of the towns and villages that we pass through, quite often getting to see bits that we would otherwise ignore, and no, we're not on any commission!! It was all pretty straightforward until clue 18, which turned out to be underneath the fruit & veg stall in the market square, so it was a bit of a thing, me crawling under the tables moving empty boxes about to get at the answer. Anyway, hunt successfully completed, we returned to boat for coffee and then set off. No problem through the lift bridge and lock, then it started raining rather a lot!! Penny retired to book reader and I put up the umbrella. It was heavy but didn't last too long and by the time we got to Grants lock it had stopped and the sun was out. Very windy though, making the boat handling a bit awkward, I was actually quite impressed with Penny's steering into a couple of the locks in the wind, she seems to be doing
things instinctively!! how times have changed!!
We stopped early, in the middle of nowhere, good views, nobody about, peace and quiet, lovely!! So, I set about continuing the works to our dinette, got on really well and it looks a lot better. Still quite a bit to do to get it right, including a trip to Andover in the hope that my good friend Chris will help me make a new table, I understand he's got every woodworking tool known to man, so that should make it a doddle!!
Some nice cod fillets for dinner, some wine, another good day with lots more to come.
Por mis amigos de clase Espanol, vi un barco se llama chubasco, que raro! El tiempo es muy variable, a veces hace sol, a veces llover!! Pasamos un buen tiempo, hasta pronto. Estaremos en Odiham el 23 y 24 de mayo estareis bienvenido venir alli. Espero comprender mi espanol!!
Somewhere I'd like to buy and convert to living accommodation:
Today: 8 miles - 5 locks - 4 hours
So Far: 13 miles - 9 locks - 7 hours
Sunday 10th May
Neither of us slept particularly well last night, no idea as to why, so inevitably we eventually fell asleep and didn't want to get up!! Get up we did only to find that one of our aquatic friends had spent the night on the back, literally spreading muck all over the place!! So job number 1 was to clean up.
Mysteriously, the lift bridge we were moored near had been dropped overnight, I wonder why? As I was getting ready to go, I noticed a boat approaching, so, perhaps naughtily? rushed to get going in front of it, after all Somerton Deep lock was just around the corner and I didn't want to wait while we turned it round.
A bit windy and overcast this morning, but no problems with the boat handling. A few more boats about today, but straightforward cruising..... until pigeon lock where we arrived to find 3 boats queued to go down, where the hell did they all come from?? There was no room on the lock landing so we had to hang around alongside a moored boat, when we moved onto the landing we took advantage of the delay and had a bit of lunch. There were a couple of boats waiting to come up at Bakers lock, and all of a sudden the canal felt very busy, lots of boats about. Nearly had a bit of a moment on the twisty bit of the Cherwell below Bakers with an oncoming rental that didn't see us, they went aground and we sailed off into the distance.
Arrived at Shipton Weir lock:
Arrived at Thrupp, there was a bit of an incident where I thought my foot was going to get badly crushed when we tried using it as a fender, but no harm done, a reminder that care must be taken at all time though, canals can be dangerous.
Tonights mooring in Thrupp:
Penny took me to Annies for cake, the nice sounding coffee & walnut was so nice there was none left, so I settled for double chocolate. Some dark clouds about now, but it still hasn't rained, I even had to water the petunias.
No works to the dinette tonight, a quiet night in, looking forward to gammon steaks for dinner, no Spanish for my classmates either, maybe tomorrow!!
Today: 12 miles - 8 locks - 7 hours
So Far: 25 miles - 17 locks - 14 hours
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