Ashby Canal October 2005

This was our first ever holiday on a narrowboat - in fact, our first ever holiday on the water. I'd done some googling and turned up the Ashby Boat Company in Stoke Golding, based on the quiet, rural, lock-free Ashkby Canal.

We booked to hire Measham, and after ringing Julian a couple of days beforehand to check everything was still OK, we were all set.

Friday 07-Oct-2005 - arrival and introduction

On arrival, we had a cup of tea and a look around the yard. Julian asked us if we wanted to unload our car and put the stuff in the boat, then he'd come and give us a tour.

Starting at the front of the boat, he pointed out such things as the propane tanks, fresh water tank etc. Working backwards, all the storage spaces (or most of them) were identified, then as we got nearer the business end, things like instructions for the toilet, fresh water water pump, fridge, cooker, heating thermostat, central heating, invertor, bilge pumps, engine controls etc.

A quick chat about regular "system checks" - engine water and oil levels in the morning, bilge pump running, and in the evening, stern tube greasing and checking the prop and shaft for weeds and other debris.

We then waited for one of the engineers to take us on a trip down the canal to show us the ropes as it were. I think it helped us considerably because I pointed out that we'd read the Boaters Handbook and watched the DVD (copies of which were on the boat anyway) and that I'd got RYA levels 1 -4 on dinghies (Caroline has 1 & 2). This indicated some sense of water safety and mooring etc.

Julian also helped us out with a plan for the weekend because we'd planned on meeting up with my sister Alli and the two kids. He suggested a suitable meeting location and cruising plan which worked down to a tee. The only thing that went wrong was the weather, but I doubt he has a deal of control over that!

Friday 07-Oct-2005 - Casting off

The engineer (Steve) took the controls as we left the boatyard. The idea was that we'd head down to the Trinity Marina, turn round and come back up, heading for Dadlington for the night.

It went more or less to plan. Steve jumped off after about 10 minutes at Basin Bridge (22) and left me in complete control. I'd quickly found out that a 52' narrowboat has a lot of inertia when it comes to turning so was taking things steady. I knew that it pivoted from roughly the middle from readingthe book and watching the DVD, and I also knew that you could only steer it when it was in gear moving forward. Never the less, it was with considerable trepidation that I watched Steve head off back up to the boatyard.

It was interesting as we headed south, especially as we passed the back of what looked like a Tesco distribution depot - talk about the old and the new transport methods.

Julian had said there was a winding hole (wind as in what blows) just before the marina. There isn't one on the map, and surprisingly, there isn't one in real life either. As the next one is at Marston Jabbett, we ignored the "No Turning" signs on the marina entrance and turned there.

We retraced out steps back north, waving as we passed the boatyard at Bridge 25. According to Julian's plans we should aim to moor up between bridges 27 and 28. We did so just shy of Bridge 28 and booked to eat at the Dog and Hedgehod in Dadlington.

So ended our first day.

The only dark spot on the horizon was that I'd started with a real stinker of a cold. Caroline and Daniel already had one, so that made a boat full of coughing, sneezing people.

I was awake several times in the night, and every time I woke, I felt an urge to look out of the window, just to make sure Measham was still moored up to the canal bank. Needless to say, it was. Eventually, around 5am I drifted off to sleep for a couple of straight hours.

Saturday 08-Oct-2005 - Dadlington to Shackerstone

The idea was that we'd get up to Shackerstone, meet up with Alli, Jack and Leah then go to the end of the navigation and back down to Shackerstone.

One of my visions for the holiday was eating bacon sandwiches whilst underway with a steaming mug of tea at my side. Caroline made that happen, and it was superb. We cast off around 9:30.

The first test came a Sutton Cheney Wharf, just after bridge 34. Julian had recommended we top up with fresh water daily, and this was the first suitable location. I think because of the prior research and reading we'd done, docking and mooring proved to be one of our better activities on the boat. Also, as Caroline said, it can't be as difficult as doing a "man overboard" drill or picking up a mooring buoy in a dinghy.

One incident which somewhat blighted the rest of the holiday was that the area around the freshwater standpipes at Sutton Cheney was covered in dog s**t. We didn't notice it until we'd dragged our moring ropes through it. Fortunately I think we kept the water hose away from it. It did mean that we had to enforce a hand washing after every time we used the mooring ropes. Bearing in mind other water-born nasties like Weils Disease, I don't suppose it's bad practice anyway.

From there, non-stop to Shackerstone. The route takes you past Bosworth Battlefield and Market Bosworth over a couple of little aqueducts.

Alli, Jack and Leah were waiting for us on the bank at Shackerstone. I stopped the engine for a few minutes because I was pretty certain that we'd dragged the bottom a few time on the way up and wanted to check that there wasn't anything wrapped around the prop. There was a bit of plastic and a handful of weeds - probably nothing that made a deal of difference to performance.

By now, the weather was turning wet, but we soldiered on. The idea was that we'd go through to Snareston, under the tunnel turn around and back down.

The scenery gets better and better (as Julian said it would) as you get further north on the canal. The rain also got heavier and heavier.

I think is was around Bridge 59 (Pare's) that I spotted someone with worse boat handling skills than me! A Canaltime boat coming down from Snarestone tried to stop as it approached the bridge to let me through. Unfortunately the crew ended up with the boat diagonally across the cut. I stopped (under control!) shy of the bridge and waited for them to get sorted out. I suppose that did nothing to kerb their embarrassment. They eventually got under control and passed under the bridge. I could just picture husband getting grief from wife.

The tunnel was a great diversion for the kids. It's only 225m long with a slight dogleg, but it's dark and great fun was had with the torch.

There's a couple of bridges topside of the bridge then a winding hole and a dead end.

Unfortunately, I made a right hash of winding, but there was no-one around to watch. Alli jumped out to help push the bows around and went up to her ankles in deep thick mud! I should have started turning sooner to get the bows into the V, but left it too late. I'll know better next time.

By now, it was p**sing it down. I was soaked. I'd got my waterproof top, Tilley hat, shorts and boots on, finished off with my favourite pair of hand-knitted socks. The latter meant my feet were warm, but that was about the only bit that was.

If we'd been on our own, we would probably have moored up there overnight, but we had to get back down to Shackerstone so Alli could get her car back. Now though, I'd got the rain and wind into my face and I was getting cold.

Somewhere round Gopsall Wharf (Bridge 58) (where apparently Handel wrote The Messiah), there were a couple of red cars with four youths in. I may have had a sheltered life, but I'm pretty certain that what they were smoking wasn't tobacco! At least I gave them a laugh. By the time we'd got back to Shackerstone, my knees were knocking, I was perished and soaked through. Fortunately, with the engine having been running all day, there was a tank full of hot water so I warmed myself up with a long shower.

We tried to get a table at the Rising Sun for our group. It wasn't to be and they don't start serving until 7pm on Saturday, so we parted company with Alli and the kids and returned to the boat.

Caroline and I did manage to get a table for 7:30, so we played with Daniel for a while then went out for tea. Suffice it to say that the Dog and Hedgehog at Dadlington was a better meal with more friendly staff and if we're ever up in that vicinity again, we won't be visiting the Rising Sun.

So endeth the second day.

Sunday 09-Oct-2005 - Shackerstone to Dadlington

More like Shackerstone to Dadlington and all stations inbetween...

After my soaking the previous day, I was still keen to get under way. Problem though... no milk, Grommit. Well, not enough for a day's cruising. Dan and I set off to find out if there was a local shop. After asking a couple of the locals, we determined that there was one a mile or so away, but it didn't open Sunday. So, back to the boat, complete the pre-start checks and get under way. Bacon sandwiches and tea with the last of the milk for the beleagued helmsman.

The first stop was Market Bosworth Wharf, just before Bridge 42. We filled up the fresh water tank and asked someone we saw wandering down the towpath with a supermarket plastic bag in hand if there was a shop nearby. She turned out to be Deb Jones of n/b Keeping Up. Whilst we we waiting for her lift to come, we had a pleasant chat. We dropped the boat a bit further down the canal under the bridge, mooring up in what we suspect was private British Waterways moorings, but we weren't gone long...

It gave Caroline time to go into Market Bosworth to get some pizzas, milk and tea bags. (We usually use leaf tea, and Measham didn't had a tea strainer - we'd been using the sieve all weekend).

I caught Caroline up a few minutes later and we picked up a few conkers for Daniel on the way back.

Under way again with more tea, we were aiming for the Battlefield Moorings between bridges 36 and 35. Heading in that direction, you need to moor on non-towpath side. There's a flight of steps down to the Bosworth battle field site (hence the name no doubt) and beyond to Shenton Station on the preserved Battlefield Line. The battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 was the last battle in which the English crown changed hands and the last in which knights on horseback fought - according to the information in the field. It marked the start of the Tudor dynasty - Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and all that...

Caroline, Daniel and myself had a trip on the train back up to Shackerstone (the terminus at the other end) and back. Travelling time: less than 30 minutes, compared with two to three hours by water. I know which I prefered though! It was back on to the boat and off down the canal again.

It might have been just under the next bridge where I had my big mishap. I completely misjudged the bridge and subsequent left-hand bend and didn't have enough room to make the turn, bumping in to a Britosh Waterways maintenance boat just under the bridge. In my defence, I was in full reverse and it was a narrow angle. However, I did have an audience. Comments from the bank were similar to "Get some revs on son, it will bring the back end round quicker!"

We moored up for the night just past Bridge 28 in a nice spot where the canal was wide and there was tree cover.

Caroline decided to go for a walk. While she was gone, Margaret shouted out "The boat's moving". I checked because you get some movement from passing boats, and one had recently gone past. This time however, the undergrowth was fair whoosing past. The bow rope had come adrift. I ran to the front of the boat, hauled in the bow rope and threw it onto the bank, belted to the stern, jumped ashore and grabbed the bow rope as Caroline came around the corner. I knew the boat wouldn't drift away because it would have held on the stern rope, but I was concerned that we might have ended up with the thing diagonally across the cut.

Once we'd got things under control, we identified the problem. The mooring spikes have a loop on the top through which the rope passed. I'd noticed that one of the welds had cracked on one, but hadn't given it any further thought. When we recovered the spike, it was minus the loop. Presumably the movement brought about by one of the passing boats had broken the other weld and the rope had come adrift. We fastened the road around the bank retaining wall for the night.

I fished for a few hours but caught nothing. A retired farmer who'd moved to Dadlington was out on the towpath for a walk and stopped for a chat. He was hosting a dinner party and had got a bit bored so had excused himself and taken a constitutional. It must have been a pretty bad dinner party because he was talking to us for a good 20 minutes then stopped to talk to the owners of the next two boats up from us.

Pizza and wine was consumed and a restful night ensued.

Monday 10-Oct-2005 - Dadlington to Stoke Golding

This was our last day. We set off just after 8:00 to make sure we were back at the wharf in plenty of time for the agreen 9:30 arrival. We made it with a trouble free trip with 30 minutes to spare. The boat was refueled, and as we waved goodbye to Measham, it was being prepared for another set of holidaymakers.

In summary

What a fantastic time. I know Caroline wasn't initially looking forward to it, but once she'd got used to the experience and movement, she enjoyed it. As she said, one of the beauties is being able to moor up more or less wherever you want. Just pick a nice spot. As for me, I can't wait to get back on the canals. It was the most relaxing break I can remember, and I can think of a few friends I'd like to introduce to it.

Although there was a lot of material in the folders on the boat, I'd bought the Geo map and the Nicholson guide a few weeks earlier, and had taken along the appropriate OS map, so we were well armed with all the information about water points, moorings, bridges etc. This helped, as did spending the couple of quid with BWB to buy the Boaters Guide.