Category: Continuous Cruising

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

Bosworth -> Shackerstone

Sorry it’s been such a long time since my last installment.

Since then I’ve moved the boat 3 times from it’s previous location near the village of Dadlington, where it was quite nice with good wifi and solar.

The three things you need really are 1) parking 2) good phone signal 3) solar to make a mooring semi-decent.

It’s taken a while to find out the next place to stop on the Ashby.

The place I’m stopped in now is in a designated area of special scientific interest. Which means you can only moor in ‘selected spaces’.

Shenton to Congerstone.

Are places I passed through and either the parking wasn’t there, or they had bad mobile or non-existent mobile signal.

The current location is maybe 8 miles or so from Dadlington, the location of my last blog.

Rather than make this journey all in one stretch, I decided that because the weather was bad, it would be better to split it in half.

Shallow canal

The Ashby is shallow compared to other canals I’ve been on. Even the Kennet and Avon is deeper from what I can make out.

I’d say the depth is about 4-6ft. Never any more than that.

Bosworth Field along the Ashby canal
Bosworth Field along the Ashby canal

Progress is restricted by the depth of the canal; the dynamics of the water meaning that progress above a certain speed isn’t physically possible.

Whether you like it or not, you’re going to be tootling along on this one….

Continue reading “Bosworth -> Shackerstone”

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.

Continue reading “Dadlington Lockdown”

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.

Continue reading “Stoke Golding -> Dadlington in-the-fields”

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.
Continue reading “Duck corner – Stoke Golding – Ashby Canal”

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.

Continue reading “Welcome to the Nasty Nexus”