Journey Home - Brinklow to Amington

Sunday 11th June 2006
Brinklow to Amington
Oxford Canal and Coventry Canal

30 Miles
12 Locks
11 Hours

A long day of glorious weather interrupted by a thunderstorm as we descended the flight of locks at Atherstone.

About half way down the flight we met a boater coming up who paid an unusual interest in our craft. Don't get me wrong, Wand'ring bark is a lovely boat and is very interesting to me but viewed objectively she is an unremarkable, modern, mid sized boat and why someone would pay her close attention was something of a mystery. All sorts of questions were asked including, as a finale, the question "how much did you pay for her?". I muttered a generalisation only to stand corrected by Jeff to the exact pound (he likes things exact) which elicited an "ah - that's interesting from the enquirer. He then looked at Wand'ring Bark which was lying front on above the lock and said - "that's Piccolo, isn't it?". I am not often lost for words but stood amazed with my mouth hanging open like he had performed a conjuring trick in front of me. "OK, that's amazing" I replied, "you can't see the side of the boat, only the front doors and you know the boats name. Yes, it is Piccolo but how do you know that?" He grinned and told me that they had sold Piccolo to Whilton Marina a couple of months previously and were making a return journey with their new longer (albeit older) craft which they had bought for £44k.

I never did enquire what they sold her for. There are some things that it are better left unknown. I am satisfied with the price we paid and don't need to have a nagging thought in my mind that I paid maybe £2k more than I needed to.

One interesting observation based on this encounter. When we were negotiating with Whilton Marina they held out that they were selling on behalf of the owner and at one stage left the room to "call the owner". That was a crass negotiating ploy which is best relegated to used car salesmen. Whilton Marina were the owners and they were just playing silly bu****s. Buyers beware....

His wife was equally excited at the sight of their old boat coming past them and, when we emerged from the lock, she went somewhat misty eyed reflecting on the three years they had owner her. Having exchanged information about known faults and recent service history, he commented that his big regret was leaving the unusual kettle on board - he had been unable to find a replacement like it. Oddly, Belle had been particularly taken with the kettle when we agreed to buy the boat and I have sometimes wondered if it was the kettle which sold the boat. We had previously ended up buying a tent instead of a camping kettle.... Hmm, something to muse on.

With the weekend over, Tilly and Jeff had school to get back to so we did a quick change of crew at bridge 50, outside Polesworth. Tilly and Jeff left and were replaced by Kevin M, with whom we had made tentative plans to but a narrowboat the year before. With a couple of hours of daylight remaining we continued down the Coventry Canal, finally mooring up at Alvecote Marina, previously home to the Samuel Barlow fleet. Whilst the pub wasn't serving food we downed a couple of very acceptable pints and watched two widebeam boats being craned into the water for RCD testing.

The restored working boat Samuel Barlow was being tested up and down the cut. The crew were taking her up to full speed and with her high torque engine and no load, wow did she shift.

Journey Home - Whilton to Brinklow

Whilton to Brinklow
10th June 2006
Grand Union Canal and Northern Oxford Canal

20 Miles
12 Locks
8 Hours

Wand'ring bark was purchased from Whilton Marina in late May 2006 under the name Piccolo but a family trip to America delayed the inaugural journey to her new home mooring at Calf Heath, on the Staffs and Worcester Canal. Due to pressing OU assignment, Belle's role was confined to taxi driver and the first two days were undertaken by the Captain, supported by Tilly and Jeff.

Whilton Marina had held Wand'ring Bank (nee Piccolo) pending our return from America and we found her lying on the main line, just outside the marina entrance. The location is sandwiched between the M1 and the busy Westcoast Mainline and a mixture of the traffic noise and the excitement of finally owning our own narrowboat resulted in a very broken first night aboard. Saturday 10th was the start of England's 2006 World Cup campaign, with a match against Paraguay. We were keen to watch this match if at all possible and after close reference to our trusty Pearson's aimed for the Old Royal Oak pub at bridge 73 of the Northern Oxford. We made it to the pub with 20 mins to spare, secured excellent seats and settled in to watch a very satisfying England win.

After a 2 hour footballing hiatus we pressed on, finally mooring in a quiet area of parkland near Brinklow (bridge 35) under a clear blue sky. Whilst Wand'ring Bark had performed perfectly during the day, this first trip had highlighted some profoundly irritating features which were deemed unacceptable and demanded rectification before travel resumed. The Capt unpacked his toolkit and removed the TV ariel in an act of constructive vandalism (we never watch live TV on the boat). More significantly, we also took a hacksaw to the tiller arm. The tiller arm was so long that it it threatened to sweep anyone on the rear deck into the cut and was a good twelve inches longer than it needed to be. Ten minutes of sawing addressed the problem and having reattached the wooden handle, the new configuration was a major improvement. The provision of an oversized tiller arm appears to be a feature of Floating Homes, the hull manufacturers, and may suggest that whilst they are metal fabricators of note, that are not boaters.


All in all a memorable first day and one which proved that although the boat needed some significant modification / upgrading, it was fundamentally sound and without significant fault.

Honey - Whittington to Rugby

Whittington to Rugby
May 2006
Coventry Canal, Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, Oxford Canal (northern section)

40 Miles
14 Locks

2 Days

With Florida looming, we decided we would divide to conquer. Belle would stay at home packing and studying, leaving me to complete the trip with Tilly and Jeff.

On the Friday evening Belle returned us to Whittington, where Honey was moored all safe and sound (prayers of thanks).

We were off with the larks the following morning, up through the slow Goscote locks and then the long Atherstone flight.

Honey behaved herself and the two days passed in a blur, burrowing under the M62 and then the M6 before emerging in Ansty and on to Rugby.

As we approached Rugby we received a phone call from Mr Truth wondering where we were. We soon realised that we were about 200 years apart and that he had found a good mooring in a park, opposite Tesco. Crucially, it was close to a beefeater pub and the next phase was clearly a booze cruise!

Mrs Truth swapped husband and two cronies for the Captain plus children, dropping us off at home and the prospect of two weeks in America.

Honey did indeed make it to Little Venice and this time without significant mechanical mishap. I am advised that one crew member went for an unexpected swim near Whilton but the less said about that the better.

The return journey was again undertaken by Messrs Whately Snr and Jnr who reached Stone as the closest achievable point to the Tatton Festival. Her stern gland problem reared its head again on the return journey, and I paid her a quick visit at Tamworth with Mr Whateley to apply remedial treatment, and pump out the many gallons of water which had found its way into her bilges.

That was the last I saw of Honey. Her engine seized and extensive work was required at Stone boatyard. I think she has since been sold on to a friend of Mr Primrose so if you see a very scruffy springer, now painted British Racing Green, clock her location and let me know if she is still afloat.

Honey - Calf Heath to Whittington

Calf Heath to Whittington
May Shuttle 2006 - phase one
Staffs and Worcester Canal, Trent & Mersey Canal and Coventry Canal (detatched section)

31 Miles
17 Locks

Honey was off on her travels again, returning to serve as accommodation for the 2006 Chelsea Flower Fesitval. A relay team had been sorted out, organised by the Captain. The bulk of the trip south would be undertaken my Mt Truth, supported by a variety of friends and conscripts.

Due to a holiday to Florida, The Captian's contribution had to be limited to two weekend shuttle trips, getting Honey as far as Rugby before handing her over.

Phase one, Calf Heath to Whittington, was undertaken by The Captain and Belle, whilst both Tilly and Jeff were elsewhere, a rare weekend alone.

Saturday started with a two car trip to Whittington and a mooring identified during the previous year's hire boat (Conrcrake from ABC Leisure) Black Country Ring trip. The first day way ideal spring weather, bright and fresh, but with a nip in the evening air. We made our way down the Staffs and Worcester mooring up below Gt Haywood lock, eating in the nearby pub. The night was particularly memorable as we lay snuggled under our duvet with the stove chugging away beside us.

As we started to doze off Bell observed what a perfect day it had been and how much she had enjoyed it. I think her actual words were " I am amazed, I have found this absolutely lovely and Honey is a horrible boat (a bit harsh in my view but not that far wide of the mark in reality). If I like boating on Honey how much better would it be in a nice boat of our own". With that she fell asleep and my mind went into overdrive.

The next way was cold and blustery. We made our way through Armitage and Fradley Junction, turning down the disconnected part of the Coventry Canal passed Seethay wher we refilled with diesel. During this stage we talked about buying a boat, what it would cost and what would have to happen to make the dream a reality. We concluded that it would need an income uplift of £200 pm minimum and left it at that.

We made it to Whittington and our parked car by 3.00pm leaving Honey securely moored and sheeted down. I left her with a prayer for safety.

Honey - Easter 2006

Easter 2006

Calf Heath to Stone and back

46 Miles

32 Locks

I had worked on Honey over the winter, readying her for her BSC and sorting out the practicalities of her dry docking with Phil Jones. As a reward, Mr Primrose agreed to let me use her for an Easter trip and the plan was to do an anticlockwise trip round the Four Counties ring in the company of Jeff and Tilly. Belle was poorly with a bad cold and leaving her to some peace and quiet after a difficult winter seemed like a good idea.

We made it to Tixall on the first day, mooring on the wide with very little company. It was bitterly cold so we maintained a fire in the grate all the time. Tilly was in the cabin up front and I shared the cross bed with Jeff - all cosy and warm.

Our destination for day two was supposed to be Eturia in Stoke on Trent, but in the event I received a call from Belle just south of Stone. Far from feeling better she was much worse with a terrible temperature and her sister (Bag lady) coming to look after her. I spoke to Bag Lady - what should I do? Well, Belle is really ill, you really need to get back asap was her reply.

I agreed to rush back but the words rush and canals are not comfortable bedfellows.

I had to press on to a winding point just short of The Star and retrace my steps with all speed. We pressed on and on, finally running out of light and energy two locks below the top of the Gailey flight where we were forced to moor. An early start saw us back at the marina by mid morning and home by noon.

Belle was indeed really ill and was confined to bed for a week.

I have since made numerous forays around the Four Counties Ring, which is on our back doorstep. I have covered every mile, some bits many times, but to this day I have never actually made it all the way round in a single uninterrupted trip. Maybe 2009 is the year!

Update 10.1.2010 - 2009 wasn't the year and I still havn't done it!