Saturday 6th July- Tuesday 9th July
We slept reasonably well after the very long day before but still had one eye on whether the boat was staying put! It did, and although the weather was still a bit random, we needed to move on. Luckily, another narrowboater was also leaving the pub mornings, and he yelled something to me about turning around as he tootled off in the opposite direction. We waited a bit and he came back and slowly came past us, explaining that it would be good to buddy up in the big locks. Yes! We had had a rough time the day before on the last lock of the day as they are double wide locks on the K & A. The locks are big enough to take the barges, and therefore they take twice as long to operate, and if you are on your own you can bounce around in them a bit.
Marcus, a live-aboarder, was with his girlfriend Ellie, and they were both fantastic. We learned so much from them in those first few locks together. Tips for Dick about controlling a boat in a big lock on his own, and for me about keeping him safe and not losing the windlass which opens the lock! Dick had also taken the cap off the diesel to check the level the previous morning and had forgotten to put it back on. Luckily we still had the cap but he was worried what the effect would be if some rainwater had got into it. Marcus was a marine engineer, and he said it was likely only a small amount and that it would be fine. Phew!
Marcus and Ellie
Marcus and Ellie epitomize the kind of people we meet on narrowboats. Always willing to help, share tips and friendly. An extra pair of hands or two always makes a big difference too. It makes getting through each lock twice as quick. Sometimes you need two people to open a lock gate if the force of the water is also very strong as it was after all the rain the day before.
One of the big locks
Once the sluices are opened in the locks, the water gushes through very quickly and you can flood a boat if you get too close to it. We learned to only open them part way to allow the lock to fill more slowly to start with. Working with Marcus and Ellie was just what we needed after the previous day's experience.
Later, to add to a much better day, our old friends Ian and Julie drove down to join us too and help work the locks. We hadn't seen them for a very long time but it felt like yesterday. They have hired lots of boats and are seriously considering buying their own boat, so their help and experience was also invaluable.
Ellie sent me this picture later and I love it!
Marcus and Ellie were not going quite as far as us that day but with Ian and Julie's help we made it to Aldermaston in time for tea at the CRT cafe. After that, Ian and Julie took the train back to where they had parked their car. That is another good thing about the K & A- you are never far from a train station. Before we moved on we fueled up with diesel but we hadn't used as much as we had thought.
After leaving Ian and Julie, we went through a lift bridge and moored a little further up the canal for the night. That was when I realized that I had left my CRT key, which opens all the facilities and bridges etc. in the control panel of the bridge. I went back to get it but it was already gone. What to do now? It was our only one.
We went to the Butt Inn pub (pub number 6 if you are counting) in Aldermaston, and met another live-aboard narrowboater who said they were easy to buy at any chandler, and there was one on the wharf at Aldermaston. The next morning I went and bought two new keys. One for the boat key ring and a second one which I added a string to- to wear around my neck. I am not losing another key! We've almost lost other things since though...
Our view - not bad!
We stayed at Aldermaston for a couple of days. On Sunday, we walked up to The Rowbarge Inn (Pub #7) at Woolhampton to see what was ahead of us. This is a habit we have developed when we can. It not only gives us some exercise, but we can also try and work out where we might moor next. Our timing turned out to be very good as the Rowbarge was having a beer festival! There was also some good live music too.
A lot of choice!
Dick works on board, so our usual plan is to arrive somewhere after a couple of hours moving, stay a full day and then move on the following day. That meant that I could spend Monday going to get the car as we were going to need it going forward. I took the train from Aldermaston up to Heyford to pick up the car. This involved three short twenty minute train rides- Aldermaston to Reading, Reading to Didcot Parkway, and Didcot Parkway to Heyford. All very painless especially as the wharf at Heyford is also next to the train station.
I also met a couple at Aldermaston train station who ended up helping in another way. Sue and her husband Hedley recommended an estate agent in Newbury who may be able to help in our house hunt. He ended up being the one who was representing the sellers of the house we bought. Small world!
I drove the car back down to Woolhampton in just over an hour and parked it in the pub car park.
The walk to Woolhampton gave us the heads up about a combination you don't get usually get on the canal- a swing bridge, followed by fast moving weir and then a lock over at least 500 yards around a bend.
Therefore, the next day, Dick was moving the boat but couldn't see everything ahead. This is where we realized that two way radios are a good idea. Phones do sometimes work but if the signal is poor you have to rely on being able to run back and give the go ahead to move. The lock had to be opened ready for the boat to go straight into as soon you left the landing before the bridge. Then, the swing bridge has to be opened, the boat goes through that and accelerates (which is against all instinct) and heads right towards the weir itself. The force of the water in the weir pushes the boat and lines you up for the lock and you head in. I didn't see any of this because I was busy closing the swing bridge so the traffic could continue over it. By the time the bridge was ready for cars again, Dick was already in the lock having executed the move perfectly much to his relief!
The weir from the lock.
We stayed at Woolhampton for a couple of days as usual, but in the mean time, the house hunt had begun!
We found several houses we wanted to see in the area and I made appointments to view them. We generally went after work and we quickly decided that we needed to be closer to a bigger town. This was also the beginning of the car shuttling game. We generally drive to the next stop, park the car and walk back along the canal. This time we moved the car to Thatcham- a suburb of Newbury.
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