To Tenby via Saundersfoot

When we were dreaming and planning our trip to the UK we expected we'd have lots of grey, gloomy, rainy days.  We had one of those today.  It rained from when we woke until about 4.30pm.

After not the best sleep, we had a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled egg.  Overall the accomodation at Monmouth was ok.  The owner was very helpful and friendly.

From Monmouth we headed towards Swansea and stopped for a walk at The Mumbles.  I'm sure it would be a busy place on a sunny day but it poured rain the whole time we were there.  We wandered around and got soaking wet shoes.  There were some interesting shops to look at.  It wasn't much in the way of a beach.  The tide was right out... and a long way too... but without a sandy shore it's not the prettiest.

The roads driving between were in some places like driving through the Otway Ranges at home and some so dark it was like driving into a tunnel.  We did notice that the countryside was a more lush green than where we've been in England lately.  There must be more rain here.  We stopped at a lookout but it was so cloudy we couldn't see much.  We spent an enjoyable half hour in a salvage yard looking around and chatting to the fellow there.

We were about an hour earlier than our check in time as we approached Tenby so made a stop at Saundersfoot first.  That was well worth a visit.  There was a nice sandy beach and a little harbour.  There were also a lot of people seeping out from every nook and cranny.  The rain had eased just a bit.  The lifeguards were out and there were children playing on the beach!

We didn't really know much about Tenby... only that it was a seaside place and somebody told us it might be busy.  It is, and it is, but it was also a pleasant surprise.  It's a lovely little place on a bit of a hill with winding streets and stunning views of the harbour below spied between buildings.  We even saw some swimmers. There were people out in force when we went for a walk to find something for dinner.  I'm looking forward to getting up early and going for a walk in the quiet of the early morning.

By car to Monmouth

This morning we did our last minute preparations for leaving the boat with Lynne and Marie for a few days.  They arrived about midday and we spent an hour having a chat and telling them some essentials that they needed to know.  It was a drizzly morning and we had lots of bags to carry back and forth between car and boat.  When I glanced back at their mountain of bags in the galley and dinette I wondered where they'd put it all!  There's no space whatsoever in our wardrobe and not much in the galley cupboards either.  Oh well... they'll work it out.

Off we went in the car.  We intended to stop at Warwick on the way to check out the moorings in the Saltisford Arm.  We had though it a possibility for Winter seeing we know a couple of people living within a short distance.  We'd heard a couple of things lately that put us off the idea - firstly that it could be a bit gloomy, and secondly that the power provided wasn't sufficient to run a washing machine.  That would be a real problem.  Added to the fact that we knew we'd have to be breasted up against another boat we were fast going off the idea but thought we'd look for ourselves. 

There was traffic chaos in Warwick.  It was dreadful.  We must have spent nearly an hour trying to get through the centre.  There was some road work and temporary traffic lights.  With such heavy traffic the system just wasn't coping.  Sometimes a single car would manage to squeeze through when the green light was our way but most changes of the lights nobody got through at all.  The traffic coming the other way filled the single lane that the traffic lights were controlling so when it was our turn there was no way through!  In the end we gave up, had lunch at Tesco, bought a few things we needed and drove on our way. 

Lynne had suggested that we stop overnight at Monmouth so we made our way there.  The countryside got prettier and prettier and we began to notice signs in the the crazy Welsh language.  However do you pronounce those words! We arrived just before dinner and have B&B accomodation above a restaurant right in the middle of town.  We had dinner at an Italian restaurant... nice change from pub meals.

Passing time in Napton

This morning we moved around the corner to be closer to the water point.  After winding at the winding hole Mick reversed back to the first couple of moorings. Tomorrow we will move back to the water point to file the tank for our visitors.

Within a couple of hours of mooring up there was chaos in Napton.  I think every hire boat in England wanted to go up those locks.  The stream of boats just didn't stop.  I spent an enjoyable time helping fend off boats that were hovering against the row of moored boats.  What interesting people you meet chatting this way.  Almost every moored boat had an owner out doing the same.

We had a wander to the locks and to look in the store by the Folly.  Across the pub beer garden we spied a boat load of pirates!  The kids were having a wonderful time.

Braunston to just before Napton

Braunston to just before Napton : 9 miles, 2 locks
To date : 602 miles, 333 locks

What a day!

We saw this morning that the boats ahead of us had gone and there was nobody on the water point.  It had been busy from early morning.  We grabbed the opportunity and moved the boat forward a couple of spaces to top up the water, then winded in the marina entrance before heading off back to Braunston Junction and in the direction of Napton.

Our plan was to turn at Napton Junction to go up the first lock and have the loo pumped out at Calcutt Narrowboats.  As we approached one of the bridges we saw nb Winton's Folly heading towards us.  Throttles in reverse and we both moored up for a cup of tea and a catch up.  We've missed our buddies.  It was near on lunch time by the time we moved on again.  We had a plan cooked up to meet again next Friday.  The wind was really picking up as we went on our way.

No sooner did we get going and Mick said he was hungry for lunch.  I was on my way to the galley to prepare something when I heard him frantically reversing again.  For our non-boating readers...... reverse to slow the boat down.... not actually going in reverse.  I looked out to see we were now slowly passing nb Josephine!  I called out our galley window as we passed their side hatch and Andy and Jean came running out.  We moored up again and arranged to gather on Josephine for coffee once we'd had our lunch.  What a pleasant hour or two we spent catching up on all the doings of the last 6 weeks or so since we saw them last.  Jean had a jigsaw puzzle on a mat on their dinette and sitting there sipping coffee I just couldn't help myself.  I did make sure I left her some to finish.   We've spent more time with Andy and Jean since leaving the marina than all the months we spent in there!

As we made to leave I set the timer on my camera to try and get a photo of the four of us.  There was a couple of false starts before I got it right.  Leaping off the boat left it rocking with the camera perched on the roof!  We got there eventually but we were roaring laughing by then.

Finally on our way again and it was well into the afternoon.  By the time we reached Calcutt it was after 4pm!  Honestly... what happened to the day?!  We had to wait about a bit while they sorted out a hire boat. 

We had a bit of a terrifying experience while we were on the services mooring.  A young chap had moved the hire boat out the way so we could go onto that mooring.  It was windy and he struggled a bit to move the boat himself as he needed to turn it 90 degrees.  The service mooring is along the bank and the hire boats are stored with sterns against the bank and all tied up to each other.  The boat he was moving had been pushed by the wind right out to the other side of the pound on an odd angle.  I don't know what or why but I heard an engine revving and when I looked out the galley window the boat was reversing fast towards us.... not in itself so terrifying.... but there was nobody at the tiller!  The fellow was at the bow!   It was right in line to hit us at about the spot where I was standing  He glanced up and realized what was about to happen.  I crouched on the floor waiting for the impact.  He ran along the roof of the boat and by some miracle managed to throw the throttle into forward gear... spraying the side of our boat... and ended up just touching us.  Oh my goodness.. my heart was thumping.

By the time we'd pumped out and topped up the diesel tank it was well after 5pm as we went back down the lock.  It's not our preferred method to be looking for a mooring so late in the day and the options between the lock and the junction are very limited.  We turned towards Napton but it was actually quite a way before we spotted a section of armcote right before a boat moored by itself.  The moorings along the way were all taken.

The wind was a battle by now and we slightly overshot the mooring before seeing we'd be able to fit there.  It was a bit of a close call.  The wind made it extremely difficult to reverse back to get to the mooring.  The boat was being pushed across to the opposite side of the canal.  I won't mention any names, but one of the people on our boat was getting rather worked up about it.  We eventually managed to get where we wanted to be and the boat moored up.  The folk on the boat in front came to chat..... Cathy from NZ and Murray from Scotland on their share boat nb Verity.  We didn't get inside until near on 7pm.  Much later than usual for us to have our mooring sorted.

We noticed today how much drier the countryside is looking.  A lot of the crops have been harvested and some sections looked decidedly "brown".  It's more what we're used to seeing at home.

Last night at bedtime the Braunston Church was a picture in the distance.

Braunston water point moorers

We were expecting a visit from Lois today.  The forecast was for quite a hot day and it proved correct.  It felt muggy and increasingly hot throughout the day.

Yesterday after dinner a hire boat moored up on the water point and it was still there this morning.  They made no attempt to move off early and at 10am they were still there.  With so many boats on the move early to avoid the heat of the day we thought it rather inconsiderate.  When Mick took the rubbish down to the bins he pointed out the sign to them and they said they were about to go. 

I saw a pair of legs walking along the towpath and they stopped by our window.  I peered out to see Lois standing there.  She'd forgotten the name of the boat and hoped she had the right one.  We had a catchup over a cup of coffee and a bit later as we prepared some lunch we noticed another hire boat on the water point.  They seemed to be taking forever.  We had our lunch, chatted for a couple of hours and decided to sit in the cratch where there was a nice breeze.  A second hire boat had moored up on the second water point while we had our lunch so now there was two of them there.  They had lunch, they had a walk, they had a drink, they had a chat and by the time it got to after 3pm Mick could stand it no longer and walked up and told them it was time to move on.  The first boat had been there 3 hours and the second one about half that time.  So many boats had gone past, slowed down and moved on.  Not fair.

I walked Lois up to her car and goodness it was hot out in the sun.

The bells of the church in Braunston have been ringing for ages.  What a lovely sound!

Hillmorton to Braunston

Hillmorton to Braunston : 7 miles, 0 locks
To date : 593 miles, 331 locks

Having arranged to meet up with our friend Lois on Thursday in Braunston, we headed on again.  It was a drizzly old day but the golf umbrella solves the problem so off we went.  About an hour from Braunston I noticed a missed call on my phone.  It was Maggie and Ray who just moved house on Friday from West Sussex to Warwickshire.  They fancied a bit of a drive so would meet us at Braunston in an hour.  We haven't seen Maggie and Ray since arriving in the UK we were glad to be having the opportunity of a catchup.

We get no phone reception at Braunston on the canal.  We moored up and I walked through the marina and up to the road above where I got a weak signal but enough to ring them and tell them where we were moored.  They arrived at the boat not long after I did.  After an inspection of the boat we sat down to a cup of coffee and a catch up.  It must have been 4 years ago that we last saw them and there was lots to talk about with a series of false starts on selling their previous house and buying the new one. 

Ray had his first lesson in canal etiquette as he was facing the window on the canal side and all the passing boaters kept waving at him.  He got the hang of it after the first couple of times.  Next thing we knew Mick was all but leaping up from his chair.  He'd spied nb Winton's Folly gliding past!  They hit reverse when they spotted us and stopped behind us for a quick hello, introductions of our friends and theirs, inspection of each others boats by our visitors, and arrangements made to meet up again Friday night. 

We're meeting our friend Lynne on Sunday at Napton to exchange the boat for her car and we'll head to Wales for a few days.  Barry and Carol are having some work done on their boat next Wednesday and we'll be back onboard Thursday so by the following weekend we'll all be ready to head off together to tackle the locks on the approach to Royal Leamington Spa.

We had lunch at the Boathouse with Maggie and Ray... the service was a bit slow today but it was rather busy.  We walked them back to their car and then stopped to give Tyson the fender shop dog a pat... or a "fuss" as they say here.  We realized then that we'd forgotten to take a photo with Maggie and Ray.  We'll see them again in a couple of weeks time so we'll have to remember then.

While we were at Rugby we bought some picture frames and put up the four narrowboat cartoon sketches we'd bought the week before and also a few photos.  Feels a bit more homely.  We made sure to choose things that can stay on the boat when we sell it... even if they change the pictures in the frames.  We've been trying to cover the holes left from the previous owners pictures.

As I was taking these photos today I was reminded of a funny comment from one of the Canadian hire boaters we met the other day.  We have our omni directional aerial sitting upside down in the metal ash bucket.  She asked me about our washing machine and it took me a minute to work out what she was pointing at - she thought the aerial was an agitator for washing in the bucket!