Category: Continuous Cruising

Living on a continuous cruiser on the UK canal system under CRT rules.

Dadlington Lockdown

Lockdown on the Ashby canal near to Dadlington. Planning on adding solar panels to my existing array.

I’ve been here a while now. In Ashby terms, I’ve just got here.

Boaters don’t tend to move a whole lot on the Ashby.

Remember this picture I took on moving from my first stop.

Stoke Golding Oct

Not one boat has moved since I left one month ago. It looks exactly the same.

Since I got here in early October, 80% of the boats I come across haven’t moved at all. Been in the same place. Completely.

Feel a bit alienated by moving around. Everybody else just stays in one place.

Still there we are. They are probably good people and have special privileges.

Lockdown

We are, however, on lockdown still. Which means that I’ve stuck to my position here in the wilds with nothing but rolling fields, birds and cow noises to keep me company.

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Stoke Golding -> Dadlington in-the-fields

UK Winter lockdown on the cut. For the second coming…. I’ve moved north from the Grand Union up to the Ashby Canal in Leicestershire.

Very much in the fields. This is rural Leicestershire, as it says on the County signs….

Towpaths

Mud, glorious mud.....
Glorious….

Are turning into a mud fest. October was the wettest on record in certain parts of the country https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54561601.

I’m not the greatest fan of muddy towpaths.

Luckily, nowadays, I don’t have to put on any work gear, as there is no longer any work…. otherwise I would be moaning more vehemently about these long skidmarks of mud along my journey toward where the car is parked.

A couple of days I’ve had to don wellies to get through, but generally I can just skirt around the edges.

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Duck corner – Stoke Golding – Ashby Canal

Continuous cruising on the Ashby canal.

As they call it.

This is the place of many ducks, which should come as no shock to those familiar with the Ashby canal, which seems to be a ‘duck utopia’.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a gun, or I might be tempted to pop a couple off.

Duck corner picnic spot Dadlington
A world of ducks…

I’m sure they wouldn’t miss one or two of each other.

They were running around in the field today in the rain when I went down the shops. They had muddy flippers and were getting bogged down…

I believe they get a lot of bread and this may be a good space for fishing, (when I get round to it).

Bonnie Lady with Stoke Golding in the background.
Bonnie Lady with the village in the Background

This spot is about 1 mile from where I was previously.

I prefer it as there are no overhanging trees/hedges as before.

Overhanging trees (hedges):-

  • Block the solar panels
  • Drop leaves on the boat (ruins paintwork)
  • Stop the stove from functioning properly (downdraft/lack of wind)

Apart from that, they’re all fine and dandy. They do make the boat a bit cold and dank. If you like cold and dank, then the woods are for you.

Personally, I’m glad I moved on.

Here’s a view from Bridge 22, where I was moored previously.

Bridge 22 Ashby Canal
Bridge 22, Ashby Canal. I was down the bottom on the right.
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Welcome to the Nasty Nexus

Death and the mortal fear of death in and around Braunston, the nasty nexus.

Or Braunston as some people call it. A place where;

  • Boating neighbors ignore you when you greet them.
  • Villagers call you ‘spaz’ on the towpath as you pass.
  • Random boaters assault you.
  • Your car is vandalised when you leave it overnight.
  • Fishermen give you death stares as you approach them.

Boaters paradise… Good value eh?

Apart from writing a blog post about the place and spending my winter mooring here in 2017, I don’t think I’ve done anything TO the place.

The people vandalise, assault, steal and are generally as unpleasant as they can be without resorting to violence. Which is not always true….

Assault
Assault

Remember this guy? He decided he didn’t like me when I was eating dinner al-fresco, and he was retrieving a tyre from the other side of the canal.

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Far from madding motorway

The faint hum that has been in the background, for more than 6 months now…. is gone.

I’m on the Northampton/Warwickshire border.

Northampton/Warwickshire border in Braunston
Northampton/Warwickshire border in Braunston

My boat’s pointing toward Oxford… You can see the border there, about 100 feet away.

It’s very quite here. Very much quieter than it’s been for a long-long time. Although Flore was kind of quite, it didn’t have the stillness of the countryside.

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