A belated New Year

It's been while since I updated the blog, mainly as I spent December retracing my steps back along the Kennet & Avon canal and up the Thames to Oxford for Christmas.  The trip was enjoyable and largely uneventful. The main aim was to get off the Thames and onto the safety of the Oxford canal without getting trapped on the river.  Miss accomplished as I reached Oxford on 23 Dec and moved onto the canal on Christmas day while my turkey was in the oven.

Christmas in Oxford

After visiting the post Christmas Oxford sales and also had my first visit to Twickenham stadium to watch the mighty Quinns. A very cold and disappointing match saved only by the good company of clans Beaumont and Pye (the latter I haven't seen for too many years to mention).

 I set off up the canal on 28 Dec heading for a two day trip Aynho to stock up an coal.  However, best laid plans and all that, after an overnight temperature of -6c I woke the next morning to frozen canal. It is possible to use the boat as an ice breaker but it does tend to to damage paintwork at the waterline and is also not popular with moored boaters who's paint can also be damaged as you pass.  I therefore chose the sensible option and waited for a coupe of days while the ice broke up.

I moved a few miles up the canal to a quiet spot near Somerton to see in the New Year without the accompaniment of drunks staggering home in the early hours and was rewarded with a lovely sunset to see out 2014.

The next few days were spent trundling gently up the Oxford canal to Calcutt marina where I moored up for a few days to give the batteries a good charge on mains power and do a few jobs including upgrading an alternator pulley and installing my first solar panel.

My old friend Pete Billings keeps his boat at the marina and came up to join me - always good to catch up with friends.


And to bring the blog up to date I'm now moored up in the centre of Coventry for a few days to ride out the next storm due to hit shortly. I'm awaiting delivery of my second solar panel, which I'll collect from my son later in the week and then time to work my way to Birmingham before making my way north up the Shropshire Union canal.