England Part The End

Its only been 3 months since we returned from England and a mere three weeks until my next trip : San Francisco, 5 days. Can't wait.

Cast your mind back, way back. I left you all with Saturday night in Worcester....
We were awakened the next day by the peal of church bells and it just didn't stop. It was actually a beautiful sound, but it was also the only sound that echoed through the streets of Worcester. As we wondered around, marveling at the emptiness of the city, it dawned on me that it wasn't just Sunday morning, it was Easter Sunday! Nothing was open, so we hit the Tesco express for supplies and headed back to the boat.
Cruising through the city was a little disconcerting ~ dead rats floated by, the bottom of the boat scraped on sunken mystery objects. A boat trying to pass us going the other way ended up stuck for a few minutes on something submerged, etc. A big sigh of relief for us once we left the city behind and started to climb into the country side. By this point, we were actually very close to our home base, so we decided to take every opportunity to stop. A canal side pub in Tibburton afforded us a good opportunity for a lunch break. With the boat tied, we enjoyed a long and very leisurely lunch

After returning to the boat, we continued up the canal for an hour or so, stopping at Dunhampstead for another couple of beers before settling in for the night.
The next morning was misty and still as we continued our ascent towards Stoke Works. We stopped mid morning and headed off down a right of way towards Hanbury Hall. I loved that we could stumble through farmer's fields, arriving at a heritage property. An appetite worked up from our traipsing through the fields, we turned back and headed down to Hanbury Wharf where we stumbled on an excellent carvery pub lunch. The carvery featured roast pork with crackling, roast beef, roast turkey and all the sides ~ I think Rob was in meat coma heaven. Thankfully, we had a long hike back to the boat to work off all that food. Continuing on up the canal, we stopped at Stoke Works for the night, a mere fifteen minutes from our home base. It was a beautiful day and we luxuriated in the sun sipping pints at a local canalside pub.

The afternoon was bittersweet, as we knew our idyllic vacation was coming to an end. The next morning, we were up early, had the boat returned by 10 am and began the next phase of our adventure; getting to London...
This was more difficult than you might think. First, a cab had to be called to get us to Bromsgrove train station. and of course we had just missed the next train to Birmingham, so there was an hour wait. Then we were crammed like sardines into the train cars for the 20 minutes or so trip to Birmingham. Upon arrival, a quick glance at he departures board told me that the next train to London was leaving in two minutes from a platform far away from us. I told Rob to just follow me and took off through the crowds. We made the mad dash from one end of the crowded station to the other, only to discover that the London train was delayed by 10 minutes. Poor Rob had never experienced anything like that station before; he said it reminded him of Brazil with the loudspeakers squawking incomprehensible announcements into the chaos. He also told me later that all he could do was focus on my rapidly disappearing back as I took off through the crowds; he had no idea where he was going or how to get there.
Once on the train, it was a short, uneventful ride into London, where we took a black cab to our hotel, Grosvenor House. I cannot recommend this hotel enough. I managed to score a really sweet deal on Priceline, getting a room for 150$/night.

After 14 days of sleeping on a piece of foam over plywood, it was all we could do to drag ourselves out of the room for some sightseeing instead of just collapsing on the luxurious bed. We didn't have much time, but we wandered around the area surrounding our hotel, checking out Oxford Street and Marble Arch/Hyde Park before returning to our room to freshen up for dinner.
As a belated birthday treat, we ate at Corrigans, in the hotel. The meal was very good, but the highlight for me was the beautiful fresh rhubarb souffle for dessert.

We were also blessed with a very loud an entertaining snob at one of the cetral tables in the room. It was all I could do to keep it together as the woman made various proclamations to her dining companions
" He was such a lovely gentleman, but it was so unfortunate, he wears a BASEBALL cap.."
Or
"I just saw (insert name of play here). Really, I have no idea why Judi Dench wasted her time on it, it was just abysmal."
Or
"Oh yes, we met them on the cruise. Such a lovely couple..." and so on

We strolled back into the hotel and enjoyed a deep sleep on our comfy bed. THe next morning, we took a car service to Heathrow (a Mercedes, totally worth it) and said our goodbyes to England. We were lucky enough to get three seats together fro the flight home so we could stretch out a little..

England Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

England Part 6

Tewkesbury. After a rocky start, we were ready to explore the town... except there didn't seem to be a whole lot to see. The high street could be walked in five minutes or less and the surrounding streets that we tried out were devoid of anything of interest. I didn't mind, however as all I really wanted to see was the Abbey. I have an obsession with old buildings and the older and more majestic they are, the better. Tewkesbury Abbey did not disappoint. Preparations were under way for Easter Celebrations so the church was a hive of activity making sureptitious picture taking almost impossible.

We wandered the aisles, poking our noses in little nooks and crannies, running our hands over centuries old tombs. A chantry chapel drew me in, with unique detailing on the ceiling. As I stepped back to take it all in, my foot came down on 4 inches of empty air. There was some staggering backwards, some flailing of arms in a desperate attempt to stop the inevitable. I found myself flat on my back on the stone floor of Tewkesbury Abbey with a bruised elbow and ego. Yay me!
After righting myself , we made our way to the exits and walked back to the boat, keeping our eyes peeled for a restaurant or pub to eat dinner at. The selection was not ideal; a choice of "2 meals for 9.99" form the English Equivalent of Dennys or an outrageously pricey dinner in a tiny (and way more upscale than us) cafe. We settled on greasy fish and chips wrapped in paper from the local fish shop.

I just have to note that this was my first fish and chips of the trip, but I think it was Rob's 6th.
The next morning, we wandered back into town in the hopes of picking up a few groceries for the road (or should I say river). Somehow, culinary gold was struck. A local butcher shop AND a local greengrocer were open and we picked up a beautiful pork shoulder roast and some good looking produce before hurrying back to the boat so we could lock out of the Avon onto the Severn. A gaggle of eager power boaters, one other narrowboat crew and Rob and I were all clustered around the lock keepers shack in the hopes of being the first through. Somehow, the narrowboats won the lock lottery and we were sent down together.

The morning was clear and calm, sun shining. A short waterway lead from the last lock on the Avon to the junction with the Severn. The view of Mythe Bridge as we swung out wide on the river to avoid the sandbar was breathtaking.

This day rated as one of the most idyllic yet as we cruised calmly up the Severn taking in the sun, the wide calm water, the fresh air. I could hear birds singing, fish jumping. Once in a while, a boat would pass us going the other way, but we were largely on our own. This was also the day that I truly enjoyed driving the boat the most.
WE ate lunch on the run again and reached the first lock on the river sometime around 2, maybe 3. The gates were huge and incredibly daunting, the lock keeper's shouted instructions almost impossible to understand, but we made it up without incident. From there it was a few hundred yards to the bottom lock of the Worcester and Birmingham canal, the one we had started on 11 or 12 days earlier.

We locked up without incident, tied up near Diglis Basin and headed for the cathedral (see previous mention of obsession).
Worcester Cathedral was even more majestic than Tewkesbury and I managed to avoid any embarrassing incidents.

There was one small problem. I had done no research on the layout of Worcester, it was a Saturday afternoon and we had no idea where to find a grocery/liquor store. I got the pork shoulder roast started low and slow, with some onions, bay and Strongbow, left Rob in charge and set out. After roughly 30 minutes of walking, I found a Tesco Express. It would have to do. In hindsight, I should have done a little more sightseeing/tourist shopping, but I had no idea what day it was....
Dinner was oh so good (I heart British Pork)

Rob and I needed some exercise after that so we set off for a walk along the Severn to take in the amazing sunset.....

Next time: The bells! The Bells! Plus some dead rats. Also, taking our time drinking, some more drinking and Stoke Prior again.

England Part 5

Rob and I said our goodbyes to Louise and Lorna and headed through the bottom lock and onto the river for the last time. The weather was a little overcast, with spotty drizzle, but we were in good spirits. The very first river lock was less than five minutes from Stratford and as we approached, I realised that we were dealing with a whole new thing here. First, the weirs. The weirs divert the flow of the river so that the lock doesn't disrupt the normal flow of the river. They are large, and fast moving and all the guidebooks say that the current can suck you in if you aren't careful... Great, one more thing for me to stress about (needlessly). My favourite is when the weirs are not marked. Here is a picture that I did not take...


Then there are the river locks. These are twice as wide as the canal locks, allowing the wider river barges to navigate or for two narrowboats to go down together. Twice as wide means twice as challenging when there are just two of you. It also means that the gates were a heck of a lot heavier to open and close... Another picture I did not take..

Despite the challenges, we survived the first lock without any issues and I gradually relaxed into enjoying the river. I even sucked up the courage to try navigating the boat and I realised it was actually a lot easier to deal with on the river.

There are not a lot of places to stop along the river Avon, so we pushed through, eating a sandwich of VERY mature cheddar and ham on the go and drinking copious amounts of hot tea and coffee. Around 4pm, we passed through our first ever manned lock at Evesham. The lock divided the Upper and Lower Avon Navigation Trusts and the lockkeeper was a wealth of information (also, it was so nice not to have to deal with trying to man the lock by ourselves...) We were concerned about finding a secure spot to stop for the night and the lock keeper said we could go for another 2 or 3 hours to tie up in the one spot that was in the middle of nowhere or we could stop just around the bend in the river at Evesham. We opted for Evesham, worried that we might not be able to make the next stopping point before dark.
Evesham was a market town, but in the late afternoons watery light, it was a little depressing, evidence of economic woes everywhere (so many vacant shops). We walked for a good 20 minutes trying to find a pub for dinner. On the verge of giving up and returning to the boat for a dinner of soup and sandwiches, we finally found a place - the Royal Oak Inn. They weren't serving dinner yet, but we had a few beverages while we waited.

Rob had (surprise) fish and chips while I settled on local sausages and mash. OMG, the best sausages and gravy I have ever hed. Perfectly seasoned, perfect texture, abundance of gravy and good mash. Rob was so jealous, even though his fish and chips were the best ones he had enjoyed so far.

We stumbled back to the boat and enjoyed an evening of crib before tucking in early so we could get up early and make the final push to Tewkesbury.
We were under way with the dinner. THe day was even more dreary than the previous one and the locks seemed more challenging. We encountered a diamond shaped (!) lock that was a real challenge for us and the nerves were starting to fray. Rob stumbled on the roof of the boat, trying to jumb out at another lock and help me. I tried to push the boat off as I leapt on and almost got my leg caught between the wall and the boat railing. We were trying to reach Tewkesbury before nightfall, so it was another lunch on the go, this time a hot beef stew I had prepared the night before. It was cold, windy, the sky was heavy with threatening rain showers...

We reached the last lock before Tewkesbury (still at least an hour out) and there was a traffic jam of power boats ahead of us, then the exit of the lock was super awkward and we almost got stuck trying to get out. More fraying of nerves...
The threatening clouds made good on their promise and it started to rain as King John's bridge came into view. We had finally reached Tewkesbury, the end of the navigable portion of the River Avon. Just through the bridge was the lock that led out onto the River Severn, so we quickly attempted to tie up. Yeah attempted. The spot was just not quite the right size for our boat and we couldn't get both ends secured properly. The rain was starting to really come down and because 54ft and an engine seperated Rob and I, we were having communication issues. For the first time, we found ourselves snapping at each other. There were a few angry tears from me and we finally got the boat secured. Inside, out of the rain, we sank into our respective chairs, maintaining the angry silence for about 30 seconds before we started laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of it all. Oh, and the rain stopped once we were inside...
We dried off, cleaned up, paid the lockkeeper our very small moorage fee for the night and headed out to explore Tewkesbury.
Next time, falling for the Abbey, Fish and chips, the River Severn and arriving in Worcester....

England 2009 Part 3

Saturday April 4th, we got up early, packed ourselves up for a day trip and headed out to the train station. The train to Warwick from Lapworth was a 12 minute ride and cost us 3.60GBP (wish I could figure out how to do a pound sign) round trip. While waiting on the platform for our train, a proper steam train sped through ~ so cool to see!

Once in Warwick, we hiked up the hill from the train station to the castle. I lived in England for a while and I have been to a lot of castles, but none of them were as intact as this one. Also, none of them charged as exorbitant a fee to get in (70$CAD for the two of us). It was worth it though. We passed an archer warming up for his daily show and then entered the main gate. Several hours were spent wandering through, around and up and down the castle, including a climb to the highest tower as well as a climb up to the oldest section of the castle.
Once we had exhausted ourselves with everything that Warwick Castle had to offer, it was time to find a bite to eat and then do some grocery shopping. We found a fancy pub just off the market square called the Rose and Crown. Rob had the seemingly inevitable fish and chips and I had a charcuterie board with some cheeses, meats, chutney and bread.
Everything was top notch, even the tartar sauce with Rob's fish and chips was obviously housemade (and very good).
As we enjoyed our lunch, we looked at the train schedule to return to Lapworth. Being a weekend, the train only ran every two hours so our window of opportunity was pretty small. After lunch we hit the Saturday Market, scoring some of the best (and cheapest) produce yet including my new favourite vegetable, purple sprouting. From there, it was on to Sainsburys for the basics. We wrapped up the shopping and noticed that we had exactly half an hour if we wanted to catch the next train. Thinking it was totally doable, we stepped up the pace, but my legs were not doing to well on the uphills after the 500 stairs climbed at the castle in the morning. Still, we tried. It was 13:58 as we arrived at the train station and watched a train pull away. You guessed it, the 13:59 that we wanted to catch, missed by literally 30 seconds. We found a nice quiet garden to sit in, enjoyed some ice cream and tried to keep the groceries in the shade until the next train.
Back at the boat, we unloaded and then cruised up the canal for an hour or so, found a turnaround point and tied up for the night.

THe next morning found us up and cruising back on to the Startford Canal where the locks going down seemed so much harder than that first day going up. We did get to cross two aqueducts, one very short, the other a little daunting for me in its length and height.
As we tried to tie up for the night in a beautiful section of the canal, we found we had run aground. Fortunately, we were in a spot we wanted to be in, so we just left it till morning ~ it only meant that the boat didn't rock every time one of us rolled over in bed...
Pushing off was easy in the morning and we continued our run down to Stratford. An older gentleman was running one lock ahead of us and doing it all singlehanded with a much larger boat than ours ~ I was so impressed.
Because of our early start, we were in Stratford by lunchtime and tied up just before the basin that leads to the river Avon, setting off on our mission to find a very rare landmark...... a laundromat! On the edge of downtown, we found one called Sparklean Landrette where we had the pleasure of paying 8GBP to wash our large load of laundry and 50p/minute to dry it. Time went fast as we chatted with a couple from New Zealand who were also on holiday before wandering off to find a butcher and a pint to kill the last few minutes.
The butcher talked us into some Old Spot pork chops and we decided to eat dinner in instead of trying out one of the 3 restaurants that were heartily reccommended to me...

Next time old friends, getting older, heading out on the river and much much more...

England 2009 Part 2

It is now Thursday April 2nd. We moored overnight near the town of Alvechurch, and in the morning we walked back into town to explore the local church, graveyard and butcher shop. Rob managed to score a beautifully aged spring lamb shoulder and then we returned to the boat. Or pace was much more leisurely than the first day, only 4 locks in the whole morning. Then I noticed Wast Hill tunnel on the map. I had to do a double take at the length ~ more than 2400 metres!!! That means 40 minutes underground, in the dark with only a weak headlamp and your interior lights to illuminate the situation. It was probably the least fun part of the whole trip. The ceiling constantly drips on you, the air is a little hazy from the diesel fumes of boats that were there before you...

Once we cleared the tunnel, we were on the distant suburbs of Birmingham. The canal was full of garbage, the occasional shopping cart and the views were none too picturesque. We waited until we were well away from the city before we stopped for a lunch of ham and mature cheddar sandwiches and beer looking out over the horses on Dickens Heath.

On with the day, we completed a few more locks before mooring for the day. Dinner was slow roasted lamb shoulder, minted potatoes and fresh peas.

The next morning, we decided we were going to change our plans slightly and veer off the Avon Ring briefly and onto the Grand Union, just for a few days. We tied up around lunchtime and walked into the village of Lapworth to get supplies. Everyone was so friendly; the owner of the village shop wanted to emigrate to Victoria, the woman working at the post office had to show me pictures of Grizzly bears from her recent trip to BC. We also scoped out the train station as our plan was to take the train the next morning to Warwick and visit the castle. Errands finished, we had a delicious lunch at the Navigation Inn, which featured a cozy fireplace. I had a ploughmans lunch and Rob had Fish and Chips.

After the hearty lunch, we needed some exercise, so I gambled a bit and used my canal map book to plan a trek to a local National Trust site, Baddesley Clinton.
We walked on a part of the Heart of England Way, a public right of way footpath that took us through farmers fields. The manor house and grounds were beautiful and the walk invigorating. Back to the boat and a simple supper of roast chicken legs, salad and potatoes.
Next time, Warwick Castle, missed trains and the ever exciting Laundrette....

England 2009 Part 1

We arrived at Heathrow Airport 10:30 am on March 31st. A driver was there to meet us and he whisked us off to our B&B in Bromsgrove. Arriving at the Wellington Lodge at 12:30, we unloaded our bags, tipped the driver, waved him off and went to ring the bell. No answer. We are in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, no maps, no cell phone and no innkeeper. Also, no food and no toilet. After travelling for ten hours.... So we waited. And waited.

3:30pm, now almost 24 hours since we last slept, the car crunches into the gravel drive. Ros, our hapless host, is surprised to see us. "I wasn't expecting you till 4:30" she says. I am exhausted, so being nice is a challenge, but I do my best as I suggest that I may have made an email agreement with her for an early arrival, but perhaps there has been a misunderstanding. She immediately shows us to our (sumptuous) room and disappears. When I search her out to try and make a dinner plan, she is apologetic and completely mortified. Our email conversation had slipped under her radar. A taxi is arranged to a local pub serving food, she calls ahead to make sure that they actually are serving and we head off to find some eats. I can't say enough about how nice and friendly the driver was. But the good times were not to last. After being dropped off at the pub, Rob and I pushed our way inside and asked about having a bite to eat. "We don't serve food till 6" was the reply. I felt tears coming....
Another taxi was called and we ended up on the Bromsgrove high street. Our culinary options were seriously limited and we found ourselves at the Slug and Lettuce. I have no idea what I ate, Rob had fish and chips and we both had a pint ( Strongbow for me Guiness for him). The food was terrible, but the company was entertaining. I have to relate the conversation I had (remember, I am overtired, hungry and frustrated).

Bar Patron to me: "You look like you're from Redditch."
Me: "ummm, no, I am from a lot further away than Redditch"
"Really!! You look like you're from Redditch. Where are you from then?"
"Canada"
"Canada! Well, you look like you are from Redditch. Do you want to sit with us?"
"ummm no, I am actually here with someone." at this point I gesture to Rob sitting at the table.
"Oh, who's he?"
"my husband"
"really? is he from Canada too?"
"Yes"
"Well, he could sit with us too I guess."
Thank you, but we are really tired and wouldn't be any good for conversation."
"If you change your mind, we are sitting over there. You sure look like you are from Redditch..."

Back at the B&B, I was asleep before 6:30.

Up bright and early the next day, we enjoyed our full English Breakfast before taking a taxi to the Black Prince boatyard. The taxi driver was the same nice one we had from the day before. Our boat, Angela, was already for us and we got a quick tutorial from Tony the engineer before being turned loose on the unsuspecting English countryside.

Locks can be physically demanding to work and as I refused to drive the boat initially, I was stuck doing most of the grunt work. This would be a typical lock routine for me:
Check that the lock is in our favour. If it isn't, drain or fill lock as needed.
Open gates (gates could weigh anywhere from 1000 kilo to 4500 kilo, depending on their size).
Close gates after Rob pulls boat into lock.
Use my windlass to open paddles to drain or fill lock (this is a lot harder than it sounds, brute force was often required to get the paddles up)
Open top gate so that Rob can pull the boat out (see previous comment about weight of gates)
Close top gate behind him.
Repeat as needed. (after the first day, we had to rethink the routine so that Rob could help a little)
Our first day, we did roughly 37 locks. I spent more time on land than on the boat, as it is easier to walk from lock to lock when they are close together in a flight as they were that first day (Tardebigge flight and Stoke flight).
After finishing the lock push, we made our way through two tunnels and stopped at the town of Alvechurch around 5pm. Famished (breakfast was a long time and a lot of locks ago), we discovered the local pub didn't serve till six, so we hiked into the town centre first and bought some groceries for the next few days.
The pub meal was delicious, but I think the Strongbow went to my head a little faster than usual because I managed to throw some in my eye.... Don't ask.

Next installment: local butchers, simple lunches and the tunnel of terror, plus much much more....