Confusion reigns at Braunston

One of the joys of the working boat gathering is the sheer spectacle of all the working boats in one place. For those of you who haven't visited, the boats take part in a "parade". This means heading out of the marina passing the Stop House to the elegant cast iron double arch towpath bridge where the Oxford canal leaves the Grand Union. Here the boats bear left and then reverse back into the Oxford Canal to face the marina. Returning to the marina, the boats turn right into the marina and then bear left through the marina turning sharp left out of the marina towards the main marina entrance. At the entrance, boats then reverse back into the marina. Simple! Now consider this. By the time the first boats have left the marina and turned, the last boats are just leaving the marina. This time lag is repeated throughout the figure of eight parade. Just to add to the fun there are moored boats which restrict the width of the canal and hire boats joining the circuit. It was only when steering 'President' around this that it dawned on me that canals could be so exciting. Some enthusiastic engine driving and 'Kildare' steering (thanks George and Andy) really made it appear that I knew just what I was doing! On the second parade of the day, instead of turning left after going through the marina we turned right towards the Braunston locks on the start of our journey to Nottingham.

No left turn at Norton Junction

At Norton junction, we were to turn left up the Leicester section of the Grand Union. I wonder if the canals were actually engineered for this route. Presumably loaded boats heading South from Braunston would continue South and not towards Leicester. If the difficulty of the junction was not enough, the heavens opened producing stair rod rain and strong winds. Thanks to some bankside assistance we eventually tied up for the night, line astern, against some dumb barges at the junction. The working boat crew waiting behind us were not overjoyed at our antics, but all was resolved over a pint in the pub at Norton.

Swinging the rope at Watford.

Watford flight was our first chance to try the technique of swinging Kildares bow hauling line under the lock footbridges. The end of the line is weighted with a rock inside a monkey's fist knot (supplied and tied by Dave Powell - see the photo on the back page.). It takes quite a few times to work out which way to swing the line under the bridge. Fortunately there is usually someone around to tell you that you are doing it the wrong way. Our journey to Foxton was relatively uneventful, but very enjoyable. The scenery on this long, lock free section is spectacular and is well recommended to boaters and walkers alike. Our overnight stop opposite the North Kilworth marina was a very good choice as the friendly staff at the marina donated a large amount of scrap wood for boiler lighting purposes.

Inclined to help

On arrival at Foxton, we were asked to "go back a bit" as Central TV were not ready for our arrival. Apparently we did not make enough noise. We have been criticised in the past for making too much noise. Eddie Oades was famous for 15 minutes being interviewed by Central - did anyone see the feature? Our visit to Foxton was to help publicise the Foxton Inclined Plane restoration/rebuild project. We were delighted to welcome on board leaders of Leicester County Council, their wives and Senior British Waterways personnel. This is after we had produced a method statement/risk assessment for BW for visitors on the boat - aah paperwork.

Foxton Inclined Plane Trust were our gracious hosts for the night, inviting us to use their bar at the top of the flight and join their bar-b-q a short way down the flight. This was the result of a lot of behind the scenes planning and organisation by Trust member and ‘ Fo P’ member David Stevenson.

Whoops

Our descent of Foxton was text book perfect (ish). The captain being restrained on the lock paddles by the lock keeper for almost flooding the lower locks. Our less than spectacular exit was the result of the rudder jumping out of its socket. Much heaving and persuasive banter followed delayed our departure somewhat.

Foxton to Nottingham

This part of the journey taking 4 days was a pleasant mix of broad canals, Rivers Soar and Trent. The Soar has to be experienced first hand, it really is nice.

Notable events included leaving a crew member at a marina (sorry Louise). The captain told her that we were stopping there but didn't actually do so. To make matters worse her absence was not noticed for a while, which meant Louise had a quite a towpath trek to catch up with the boats (and a sheepish Captain)

At Loughborough, the Soar navigation passes the back of the engine sheds of the Great Central Railway. Eddie used 'President' s steam whistle to signal "I am an assisting engine approaching from the rear" (don't ask), but no response was forthcoming.

An unsolved mystery for us at Loughborough is why is the chip shop, our evening dinner suppliers, called the 360 Spartans?

Our arrival in Nottingham was quite an historic event which sadly went unnoticed by most of the citizens. We moored alongside the Fellows Morton and Clayton offices, wharf and warehouses. All buildings remain in largely original external condition, but are now in use as pubs. There is still the hand operated crane on the canalside. Concern over water draught prevented us mooring alongside the buildings and recreating a famous picture of an FMC steamer (Sultan) tied up there in the "good old days", but even so we all felt a sense of achievement in taking this grand old lady back to a place she must have visited many times in the prime of her working life.

Nigel Wood