Gone Boatin'

Next week I'm off on a trip from Norbury down to Autherley Junction and then, as the mood takes me, either north or south along the Staffs & Worcester Canal. I was planning to post as I went along, having acquired a laptop and 3G dongle for the purpose, but when we moved house last week the Post Office** told us it would take 10 days to restore the phone connection. What they didn't tell us is that it would then take a further ten days to move the broadband! As Hilary needs the internet to work from home I'll have to leave her the dongle, so you won't hear much from me for a while. (There goes my chart position then.)
If anything interesting happens during the trip (or even if it doesn't) I let you know when I get back. In the meantime here is a photo of a GPO phone box!

An old-style Post Office telephone box: appropriately, it no longer contains a phone!


**Younger readers may not be aware that at one time all telephone connections were provided by the General Post Office (GPO). When they re-entered the market some time after privatisation I couldn't resist transferring back. Serves me right!

The Worst Day of the Year

 February 2009 at Goldstone Wharf

There have been recent reports in newspapers and  broadcasts, about "Blue Monday", supposedly the most miserable day of the year, being the third Monday in January. This item seems to be resurrected every year and is something to do with the length of time since the last pay cheque, the arrival of Christmas credit card bills and the lack of much to look forward to with the festive season behind us. But I beg to differ.
To my mind, February is worse. By late January you can see a noticeable increase in the length of the day and start looking forward to Spring; but by February you begin to realise that this is a very slow process and that it will continue to get dark early for quite a while. The snows of January (and, this year, December) are disruptive, but I like to think I'm still young enough at heart to find them exciting: in February it rains.
There has to be Monday: the week has to start somewhere; by Wednesday lunchtime its half-over. By Thursday you are nearly there and if you are weekly-paid it's often pay day, whilst Friday is, of course, the start of the weekend. But what of Tuesday? It seems to have nothing going for it at all. By Tuesday you've forgotten the previous weekend but its too early to start looking forward to the next. The pubs are dead, the shops deserted and nobody goes out - a thoroughly depressing day.
So forget "Blue Monday" as far as I'm concerned the worst day of the year is a wet Tuesday in February - unless you're boating of course!

I don't know which way to turn.

Next week's trip will have to set off southwards from Norbury due to the closure of the canal at Woodseaves Cutting, but where to go from Autherley? I have six days, and although I don't fancy doing the Wolverhampton "21" single-handed twice in that time I still have a choice of routes along the Staffs & Worcester: either north to Great Haywood or south to Stourport as all the stoppages on this canal seem programmed to be completed by this weekend.
Nick's Canal Route Planner gives 36 miles and 14 locks to Great Haywood and suggests 17 hours cruising, where as Stourport is further at 41 miles and 33 locks in 46 hours. The northern route requires six comfortable days of less than six hours a day and whereas Stourport would be pushing it a bit at over 7 hours a day at a time of year with only about nine hours of daylight I would always have the option of turning short at Kidderminster or  before. (All distances, locks and time have to be doubled for the return trip).
I've done both routes before and am struggling to choose which to take, but I suspect the attractions of one of my favourite sections of canal, the Penk Valley between Stafford and Great Haywood, will win out in the end.

Great Haywood: Next week's destination?

I Glimpse an Opportunity

Norbury Wharf: A great place for a base, but I need to get away!

There may be a chance to get some boating in soon after all. Next week suddenly looks remarkably free from commitments and the ice seems to have gone for now, so the only question is where to go?

Can't really go very far north from Norbury due to the closure at Woodseaves Cutting (which I now know is known as "Drayton Rockin'" thanks to Norbury Wharf's blog post).

So, south it is and I just need to check the stoppage situation on the Staffs & Worcester before deciding whether to turn left or right at Autherley Junction! I've got about a week - any suggestions?

Gratuitous 1970s Photo

Nothing to report on the boating front, I'm assuming that Starcross is safe and well on her mooring, so here for no reason at all is a photograph from my boating past:

Coming up the Wolverhampton "21" on converted wooden working-boat "Seal" in 1972

The Applicant

Because our house move is only intended to be temporary we are now renting a property for the first time in almost 30 years. It's brought home to me the difference between being a tenant and an owner. Although buying a house can be fraught with difficulty, as long as you can afford the price you do at least feel equal to the vendor in the battle of wits that constitutes housing transactions in England and at a time when houses are difficult to sell it's easy to feel that as a buyer you have the upper hand. I know what we felt that way towards our buyers when selling Starcross Towers and we went out of our way not to upset them.
Renting is different: you may "offer" to buy, but you "apply" to rent, with all that that implies. There are endless forms to fill in, credit checks to be undertaken, employment and personal references to be taken up, bank references to be obtained, "application fees" to pay (which as far as I can see represent 100% profit for the agent) and at the end of it the landlord reserves the right not to rent to you if he doesn't feel like it! Not to mention the fact that you can be made homeless after six months on the landlord's whim.
Even after your application has been accepted there are security deposits and advance rents to pay and, as a final indignity, regular visits from the agent to check up on how you are looking after your home!  It's not even cheap: we are paying far more in rent than I've ever paid for a mortgage even when interest rates were 15% and over.


We don't intend to be renting for long - just long enough to find a property "up north"  that we won't have at "apply" to buy! 
 I can see why people live on boats!

My old man said follow the van. . .

Yesterday was moving day at Starcross Towers; not very far: just from one side of Hereford to the other and very efficiently accomplished by the removals firm in under five hours (to which, of course, you have to add the days and days of packing and the seemingly infinite task of unpacking and finding new homes for all our bits and pieces.

"Off went the van with my home packed in it . . ."

I am now in full admiration of those liveaboard boaters that have sold up and moved aboard. We tried to downsize, we really did and I felt we had been quite ruthless, but the only way we'd have got all of our remaining stuff afloat would have been to buy an unconverted working pair and bung it all in the hold!

The Name Game

The Waterscape website is currently running a survey to help decide the name of the new charity or trust that will take over the running of the waterways from next year. Now you could say that it's how the new body actually goes about its business that's important, not what it's called; but names do matter and it's nice to be offered a say.
Personally, I'd prefer to keep "British Waterways" and as most boaters I know refer to the present body as either "BW" or "The Waterways" I'd like to keep either - or both - of these in the new title. But you can have your own say by following this link.

Sobbing in Church

Last night to All Saints' Church in Hereford for the launch of the Save Our Buses campaign (SOB). But its not just in Herefordshire that rural buses are under threat. The government's cuts to local authority funding will jeopardise the future of subsidised bus services throughout England (but not Wales or Scotland, which make their own arrangements).
Many boaters make use of buses to get to and from their boats. I often use the excellent Arriva 481 service to Gnosall from either Telford or Stafford as well as the less frequent 350 to Norbury village, both of which are heavily subsidised by Staffordshire County Council. Bus services seem increasingly popular with newly-retired boaters, including many continuous cruisers, who having gained their new free bus passes have become born-again bus users. ("Welcome back!).

The country bus. . .an endangered species?

Herefordshire hasn't announced the scale of its cut-backs yet, but neighbouring Worcestershire is planning to cut its budget for buses by £2.5M (62%) and Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Shropshire have all announced large reductions in funding.
If you are a boater - or even if you're not - who uses local buses contact your local county council to see what they have in store for the services you use and find and support your local equivalent of "Save Our Buses" to help salvage what we can of the rural bus network.

The View from the Junction Inn

A free day today, before the packing begins in earnest for our forthcoming house move: time for a trip to the boat!  A few jobs to be done on board, then lunch. Two pints of Banks's Mild (and I'm so glad they've given it back its original name of "Mild" rather than the unoriginal "Original" - if you see what I mean) and a plateful - and I mean full - of that other Black Country delicacy - faggots and peas.
As well as the food and drink I always enjoy a visit to the Junction Inn for the view. Unlike many pubs, it has clear glass windows so you can keep an eye on what's going on outside as you sup.

The view from the Junction Inn

That's Norbury Wharf opposite. You can find out what's been happening there today in Simon and David's blog.   

After lunch, despite the weather, I couldn't resist a trip up to Grub Street and back. Its only three miles and you can be there and back within the hour. Of course, when I got to Grub Street I wanted to carry on to Shebdon Wharf, so I did and it was nearly dark by the time I got back.  The Shroppie cuttings seem to have their own micro-climates and Grub Street today was no exception, with a band of low-lying mist obscuring the surface of the water whilst leaving the tops of moored boats visible.

Only seven miles and no locks, but a great start to the 2011 boating season!

You've seen the best. . .now here's the worst!

WARNING: Contains disturbing images!
If Norbury Junction has, in my experience, the best sanitary station on the network, where then is the worst?
I have to say that my candidate for this dubious honour goes not any British Waterways or Environment Agency facility but to the private sector Bridgewater Canal.
Worsley is a pretty "olde-worlde" village on the outskirts of the city of Salford. The Bridgewater Canal runs through the centre of the village green, flanked by (not very old) "Black and White" houses and an historic dry dock and crossed by an ancient packhorse bridge making it something of a local beauty spot. You'd expect the sanitation arrangements, for boaters and other visitors to be at least as good as those at Norbury: but you'd be wrong!

Entry is through this unmarked door situated at the rear of a derelict public toilet building and fronting onto the towpath,

A corridor leads to the Elsan disposal point - note the lack of anywhere to rest the cassette or a hose to connect the tap to the bowl. Incredibly, that tap is also the sole source of drinking water at the site.

There is also a toilet - situated in a windowless room that has no light fittings whatsoever and can therefore only be used with the door left open! On my visit the floor was half-an-inch deep in water.


I don't think I could give Worsley sanitary station any points at all - it appears to have no redeeming features whatsoever; but if you were thinking of crossing your legs and carrying on to the Bridgewater Canal Company's next sanitary station at Castlefield, don't bother: it's only marginally better than this one.

The best little sanitary station on the system?

Toilets: A favourite topic for boaters!
The sanitary station at Wheaton Aston seems to attract more than its fair share of trouble. The recent stupidity of a boater there is an extreme example, but only one of a long line of "incidents" that have led to the station being closed on many occasions in the past few years. 
We are more fortunate at Norbury Junction. In fact, I think the station here is probably the best on the system!

Located in a purpose-built building at the junction of the Shropshire Union main line with the old Newport branch (which now terminates abruptly after 100 metres in Norbury Wharf's dry dock) the station has all the facilities one would expect. Separate men's and women's sections each contain toilets (including disabled) and showers in a warm,well-lit environment kept in scrupulously clean conditions. A separate elsan disposal room is accessible only from the outside of the building.

The large entrance hallway also functions as a BW information centre and contains a book exchange, which now seems to have been extended to include videos, jigsaws, board games and even kitchen equipment! (Thank you whoever donated the cafetiere - very useful!) I can't quite award it full marks because on occasion the showers have been out-of-order and sometimes the drains smell, but I'd certainly give it 9 out of 10. Congratulations to all responsible for its design and upkeep.

Bonehead at large on the Shroppie

Most of the people you meet on the cut are the sort of folk you are quite happy to share it with, but there are some idiots out there: See this recent advice from British Waterways:


Wheaton Aston Services closed

Tuesday 4 January 2011 until further notice
UPDATE (06 January 2011): Due to the misuse of the pump out facility by a customer to remove oil from a boat, this has damaged the pump out and drainage system.
We are in the process of replacing the pump but this can't commence until Thursday 13th January.
In the meantime the facility is closed except for water.
British Waterways apologise for any inconvenience but we must stress that customers use the facility responsibly and within legislations.

----------------------------------------------------

So, one boater's stupidity or selfishness spoils it for everyone else. In the circumstances I think BW's notice is remarkably restrained, if somewhat ungrammatical.

Oops! I missed our anniversary!

Wardle Lock, Middlewich: One of the 2,126 locks used by Starcross since 2004

As well as an annual "Day of Reckoning" I also keep a running tally of days spent aboard, miles covered and locks traversed in the left-hand sidebar of this blog. Until today this read 364 days and 1,978 locks (I've already forgotten how many miles!). After compiling this year's "Reckoning", it occurred to me that I ought to cross-check the annual totals quoted with the running totals in the sidebar. I knew that they wouldn't tally exactly, because the annual figures don't include 2004 as I only acquired Starcross in mid-November that year after the winter stoppages on the Stratford Canal had started.
With the total days apparently standing at 364 I had been looking forward to celebrating an "anniversary" of one year's cumulative time aboard on my next visit and had already begun to speculate on which might be my 2,000th lock (on Starcross).
However, after adding in 2004's totals of 9 days (over Christmas), 54 miles and 78 locks  to the sum of the annual totals for 2005-10 I found that the Days Aboard are now 368, miles 2,751 and locks 2,126!  I've decided to stick to the new totals, even with the missed anniversary, on the grounds that they are higher and that I am less likely to have invented trips than forgotten them. Hopefully it won't take me another 5 years to spend another "year" aboard and I wonder if I can make my 3,000th lock in 2011?

The Day of Reckoning

Descending Adderley Locks on my sixtieth birthday

It's time again to count up and record the year with Starcross. Every year I take note of the time spent aboard, the miles covered and the locks passed through. At first I did it to sort of justify the expense of owning a boat, but although I don't feel the need to do that any more I still find the figures of interest, as I hope you will.
Here then is 2010 on Starcross, with previous years included for comparison:
2010:   69 days on board        508 miles    276 locks
2009:   62                             414.5          230
2008:   64                             396             206
2007:   41                             344             181
2006:   60                             514.5          378
2005:   63                             520.5          777


The amount of time spent aboard, although the highest-ever annual figure, is not wildly out of line with previous years (except for 2007 when Starcross was out of action for four months following a major breakdown). Mileage has increased steadily since then and is now almost back to the levels of the first two years of ownership, whilst the number of locks is again higher than at any time since 2005/6 when we were based at Lowsonford on the Stratford Canal and cruised the heavily-locked waters of the south midlands and where even a simple winding operation from the mooring required passing 14 locks!).
As I retired in October I had hoped to get even more use out of the boat this year but some planned winter trips didn't happen due to the ice and snow and the frozen canals.  On top of this I also did two trips on Kris and Bernard's Sunshine: from Market Harborough to Rugby and Devizes to Bradford-on-Avon  - although I don't include these in the annual totals.
Incidentally, the figures for 2011 currently stand at 1 day 0 miles 0 locks, but it's early days yet!

So Far So Good

A journey home to Hereford after seeing in the New Year with Gwen and Martin, who live alongside the yet-to-be-restored section of the Lancaster Canal in Kendal, gave us the opportunity to call in at Norbury Junction yesterday afternoon. I do worry about leaving Starcross unattended - and unheated - in the sort of weather we've been having recently but all seemed to be OK. Engine started first time and there were no obvious burst water pipes (although I won't really know until the system is refilled in the Spring). We had time to light a fire to warm things up a bit, although our plans for lunch were scuppered by arriving on what must be the eighth day as far as Norbury Wharf's cafe is concerned, forcing us to raid the storecupboards to rustle up a meal ("Cuppa Soup" and Cream Crackers followed by a tin of peaches!).
I was also pleased to see that the run from Lancaster (to where we hope to relocate later this year) to the yard took only two hours, which is as long as it currently takes from Hereford despite being half as far again in distance terms. The fact that the route is via the M6 and A519 rather than the A49 and a series of unclassified roads obviously helps here.