Farewell to Patience

And so, farewell then, dear Patience.
After ten years of interest, challenge, friendship, peaceful retreat, security and adventure, Patience today changed ownership and we walked away leaving her in her usual home at Welford. Now she's being cared for by Malc while John and I will move on to other projects. Not without regret, we have wonderful memories of adventures (exploring all the Cambridgeshire rivers), mishaps (a log in the prop, acres of weed, a suddenly dead battery), triumphs (our processing along the Cambridge Backs), scenery (everywhere, sunlight and dappled shade, mooring under the church at Fotheringay) and just great pleasure.
Here, in yellow, is where we got to.

If you've ever been tempted by narrow boating, do give it a go. We found that a serviceable boat can be bought for around £30,000. It should cost about £3,000 pa to run including insurance, servicing, fuel, mooring, registration with CRT and general maintenance. We split this between the two of us, which meant half the cost and twice the friendship and support. And I would say, as a clueless mechanic, make sure at least one of you knows bit about engines, plumbing and electrics. That's John.

And so it ends.
And there's no need for John to worry about sudden dying batteries, unexplained engine noises, or water in the bilges.
And there's nowhere for me to retreat to when I need to revive my spirits, nowhere I can cruise contentedly in the green dappled shade or sleep peacefully while Patience rocks me gently to sleep.

Thank you Patience, and goodbye.

Narrow Boat Art

While on our last trip to Foxton, and in the Foxton Locks Inn, I found this framed painting of two narrow boats. I'd admired it in the past and this time copied it for all to see.

Artist, David Juckes

Narrow boat for sale

We spent a couple of days relaxedly drifting up to Foxton and back for what could be the final voyage of our ownership of Patience. Yes, John and Duncan are putting dear Patience up for sale after ten years of delightful trips and good companionship. We took our wives with us to enjoy the boating and  relax into the dappled shade and warm sun between Welford and Foxton. Surprisingly few boats out on the water and lots of room to moor. Foxton Locks looked attractive in the summer evening sun.

And so ten happy years, first at Stretham, then Oundle and finally Welford - all convenient and comfortable moorings - comes to an end. Patience is in good shape, comfortable and sound, having been maintained to the highest standard throughout. We'll be sad to leave her, but she deserves someone who will use her more frequently and perhaps take her on new adventures.

If you are interested, add a comment below and we'll get back to you and arrange a viewing. There is interest at Welford already!
For the record she is 45 feet long, (as long as the cabin of the new Gulfstream G600 jet but compact enough to fit into every part of the canal system), built in 1994 and in very good shape. She is currently comfortably moored at Welford off the Leicester branch of the Grand Union and though we cannot guarantee that our mooring will be available in future, the marina owners would be open to discussion.
She has four berths, a new stove, a pump-through toilet, gas hob and oven, 12volt fridge and we'll include cutlery and cooking kit plus boating spares and paint. Anything else, just ask!

New season's maintenance

The weather may be up and down, blowing and snowing followed by warm sunshine, but the general trend is warming and that means time to give Patience an airing.
Today was our second maintenance day of the season, plus we took a couple of walking pals out for a short trip to the end of the Welford Arm and back. With a walk in the morning, the usual excellent lunch at The Wharf and a couple of hours going there and back, the pals proclaimed their delight "with child-like enthusiasm."
But today was scrubbing the roof (pale, non-slip but harbours dark dirt) and treating the fore-deck with red oxide in preparation for a re-paint. The water tank, recently given its annual coat of potable bitumen, was filled a little with chlorine to clear the pipes, and now is half-full, ready for any journey we might take.
It's still cold in the evenings, but we have a beautiful new stove and lots of fuel, so we are ready for anything. Spring has sprung at Welford Marina.

Curious Boats At Bow

In mid January four of us broke our usual pattern of monthly walks in the East Anglian countryside and took ourselves to Bow and Limehouse. Very flat walking, lots of interest and lots of individual boats. Do visit the Ragged School Museum and The Grapes pub.

What do you think of these quirky boats?

 This is the same boat photographed from each end. It's a lifeboat from a sea going vessel and there are quite a few around, especially in the London area. Usually painted orange so they can be more easily found at sea there is also one famously painted in blue.

And this small sculpture was being used to moor a narrow boat. The two chaps are doing a good job.

Annual Engine Service

Having taken Patience out for the last significant cruise of the season and with the autumn evenings drawing in, it is time to give her engine its annual service, including this year, replacing the antifreeze.

The first task was to drain the cooling system, with the engine cold, and refill with a 50/50 mix of blue ethylene glycol antifreeze and water, see earlier blog for more details. This year I was able to buy a single container of 20 litres of Triple QX Blue Antifreeze from Euro Car Parts in Cambridge for a lower price than three separate 5 litre containers. That not only saved us money, but allowed us to get the mixture right up to 50% and also keep two or three litres spare for topping up.

Then, with the engine warmed up, I changed the oil and oil filter. The sump pump on the BMC 1.8 litre engine makes this a relatively quick and easy task compared to changing the anti-freeze.

I then replaced the fuel filter, which should also be done with the engine warmed up, as it makes for easier starting after the swap. This is rather a messy job, as it is impossible to avoid all the fuel in the old filter going down into the engine sump. The old filter looked to be nice and clean, which suggests that the fuel is also in good condition. After reassembling the bowl with the new filter and sealing rings, I was very careful to make sure I bled the fuel filter of any air before trying to start the engine. Air in the system has caused headaches on previous occasions, see earlier blog.

As the tappet clearances had been checked earlier in the year, I left these for another time, but I did check the drive belt tension, which was fine.

Finally, it only remained to take the old oil and antifreeze solution down to the local recycling centre, who seem increasingly reluctant to take antifreeze solution, especially when you are trying to offload about 32 litres of it!

Weedon Weed

We took Patience for her last trip of the season, heading for Weedon to see the fire engine collection. Unfortunately that seems to have moved to Hampshire since we last visited. More details here.
Nevertheless we set off on a cold morning, warmed by the sun as it emerged and with the leaves turning and falling into the canal our passage to Crick was very tranquil - with one exception.
John noticed that the ammeter wasn't showing its usual reading which suggested the batteries were not being correctly charged. After a while scratching our heads and pondering awful possibilities the fridge, briefly silenced, started up automatically and the ammeter now gave its normal reading.
What happened was that because the fridge was left on when the battery was switched off, when we switched the batteries on again the fridge safety switch had been triggered to protect the batteries being run down. After 15 minutes it started up again on its own and we have solved the mystery. Our fridge is too clever for us!
Next day, even colder and now overcast, we go through Crick tunnel and join the queue at Watford, noting that water shortages are restricting opening hours to 10am to 3pm. No problem for us in this direction, but we'll have to take care coming back up. Through the heavy double width locks at Buckby we pause at Whilton Marina for a valuation of Patience while we consider whether our time with Patience is drawing to a close. Mr Steele is very optimistic about her and of course we know she's a reliable boat. Maybe after nine years of ownership it's time for a change.
Further south there are obvious signs of towpath work: grass mixes with leaves and twigs across the canal. And it is this, we think, that causes us to slow down as we approach Weedon. The first warning sign is when, after keeping up with an elderly lady stumbling down the towpath, we find we are falling behind, even while the prop goes round faster our progress gets slower. After a bit of a panic, revving the engine back and forth a few times and clearing a few stray weeds from the prop, we set off at a regular speed, convinced it was weed at Weedon. Shortly afterwards I spy a sign saying dredging is to be carried out in the area, which seems to confirm that the cause was weed plus shallow water. Beware the area around Weedon!
We feed well at the Chef and Brewer, "proper" pubs seeming to be short on food, and next morning set off before breakfast to ensure we can pass through the flights at Buckby and Watford in good time, given their restricted opening.
Our previous diagnosis is confirmed as we pass sluggishly through a mile or so north of Weedon before picking up speed again.

Here Nebulae is twinned as both boats head through the double width locks at Buckby.

We arrive at Watford bottom lock at 12.30 and start up at 1pm. The lock keeper says that last entry is at 3.15 but that yesterday it was so busy that people arriving at 2pm didn't make it through and so didn't start in until 10am this morning! And there's nothing to do overnight at Watford top lock!

Here we are at the edge of the pound half way up the Watford flight.

Fortunately we emerge and arrive at Crick for 2.30 where we rest overnight.
Next day is easy travel over familiar territory and we pass the Welford arm to pop in to North Kilworth for a top up of fuel and a final pump out for the year. The new marina is filling up with boats, but Welford is still our home and it's with some regret that we load up the car with perishables and bedding before winter maintenance.

Foxton and Market Harborough again

Terrible recent stormy weather changed our more adventurous plans so we aimed to go out for 3-4 days in a window of sunny opportunity. And so, in warm sunshine, though amidst chilly winds and cool mornings, we set out from Welford for Market Harborough.
We are quickly down the Foxton locks in an admirable 40 minutes, mooring at the bottom and eating in the evening at Foxton Locks Inn.

Next day we are up promptly and off to Market Harborough in bright sunshine, though it's still chilly.  We note the pedestrian swing bridge is still broken, push aside the swing road bridge and continue down the Market Harborough Arm. The trees are turning to autumn gold, the canal is full of substantial branches brought down by the strong winds and spying floating logs ahead makes me think of spotting crocodiles in the Zambezi River (there are more hippos than crocs on the Zambezi: Ed).
One of the timbers attaches itself to us but John bravely fights it off with our boat hook and we are saved. Nevertheless the canal is awash with green shade and sparkling sunlight: ideal idle boating.
After an uneventful stroll through Market Harborough (see recent references in our blog here and here) we head back and moor up at Black Horse Bridge, anticipating a pleasant meal at the Black Horse Inn. Frustratingly there is a large sign proclaiming NO FOOD TONIGHT so we trot back down the hill, and in gathering gloom we move our moorings nearer to Foxton Locks basin and return to Foxton Locks Inn for a second night.

On the third day, with no time for reflection, we climb once more up the scarred and leaking locks of the Foxton flight (yes it's two staircases of 5 locks each but it's convenient to call the whole lot a flight.)
The homeward stretch is very pleasant, pausing for advice at the old North Kilworth boatyard.
We note also that the new marina at Kilworth is now open for mooring and not overly expensive for annual mooring, compared with Welford, if you don't take the £600 Services package. However do note that if you don't want electricity, laundry etc but you do want water, it seems you'll have to buy into the package - an expensive way to buy water.
Happily home at Welford (and with free water ...) we take the opportunity to wash and polish dear Patience, leaving her burnished and shining - at least on the port side. Next week, weather permitting, we may polish her starboard.

Foxton Locks looking down

Foxton Locks looking up

Relaxed return

The out bound journey is chronicled here. The return to Welford from Napton boasted new crew, with wife Jenny and brother in law Peter tackling the locks while Duncan was at the helm.
Dropping off the second car at Napton was made easy by the good people at Crossroads Garage (thank you!) on the Shuckburgh Road at Napton, who let us park for a few days in their forecourt in return for a donation to Air Ambulance, while we took to the canal. Our temporary mooring was by Bridge 110 just 5 minutes walk away, so we carried our stuff and set off straight after an onboard lunch.
And so just a couple of hours later we made our entrance to Braunston. Torn between mooring in the main line or knocking off a few locks to make tomorrow's work easier we first took in the sights of the marina then compromised and went through three locks to moor above The Admiral.
As a useful aside it's worth pointing out that some of the Braunston locks have ground paddles as well as gate paddles. The former are very stiff and hard to work. For those unaccustomed to them the idea is to avoid a surge of water by opening the ground paddles gradually - ideally the paddle opposite the boat first, if there is only a single boat in the lock. You then reassess the situation before completely opening the ground paddles. Don't use the gate paddles until the boat is above their level. This should avoid water in your bow. Here's a gate paddle when the water was very low at Braunston.

Unfortunately The Admiral is not currently serving cooked food on Monday or Tuesday so apart from a few drinks we couldn't give them our custom; otherwise we found ourselves in a good spot.

Lock Keepers' cabin, Watford flight top lock

Next day was a bit more like hard work, with the remaining three locks and the tunnel at Braunston, then turning at Norton junction, the usual queue at Watford locks followed by the staircase, and finally Crick tunnel to moor at Crick itself. A full day.
An evening meal at the Red Lion (excellent fish crumble) finished off a good day.

On our third day we headed straight up the Leicester line and down the arm to Welford, finally driving back to Napton taking both cars back home.
We all enjoyed a relaxed three day trip in very good weather (no rain) and I think we converted Peter to narrow boating. He'll certainly be invited again!

Plans go awry

It seems to have taken an age to plan, discuss and execute this simple trip, but what with constraints on time, crew and other events the out and back trip to Warwick from Welford seemed easy enough....
The original plan was to go to Stratford on Avon, delightful town with wonderful if busy waterside moorings. That was before I realised that it would be 5 days 3 hours and 94 locks. Each way.
Little wonder John was less than thrilled at the prospect (for retired English teacher Duncan the sparkle of Stratford rather outshone the pain of 94 locks at first - but the truth sank in after a bit of thought.)
So we thought let's try Warwick - grand castle and all. At 41 miles and 39 locks it looked a breeze in comparison. Three days, easy!
And then we noticed that the last 8 miles included 20 locks, which is not so appealing, so we looked for an alternative terminus. And that's how we ended up in Napton, a mere 27 miles and only 14 locks, achievable in 3 days - or two at a push.
What should have been a straightforward cruise started with a slight delay as we had to drive to our starting point at Welford (we rarely leave Welford before 11 am) and so we moored at Crick as the most convenient spot (good pub, the Red Lion, Crick - very good fish pie) leaving the tunnel and the Watford flight till tomorrow.
All was well until the next morning when an attempt to start the engine showed a completely flat starter battery. Batteries these days do have a tendency to go flat very suddenly and though there had been some evidence on our battery condition monitor it was not at all clear.
Fortunately we have three batteries, so switching to the other two got us going immediately. But now what to do? Retreat to our home mooring a day away or go on to Braunston a half day on, through locks and tunnels? We opted for Braunston and its excellent chandlery, phoning ahead to ensure they had a suitable battery in stock. We would be there by lunchtime.

The Watford flight was slow going, with a stream of solo boaters needing assistance going up and leaving us waiting at the top. Then the Braunston tunnel had eight boats coming up towards us so we proceeded with caution having previously lost more than one navigation light in the tight pinch points.
Finally to the top lock at Braunston - only to find that the lock gate was jammed shut and they were having to drain the lock and the pound to get at something jammed under the gate. This took nearly two hours of hard work before poking and pushing, bouncing and pulling extracted a large log and allowed the pound to be filled again. Well done the men from CRT, especially Brian with his metal spike, floppy hat and his alluring waders.

The Pound beginning to drain. Note the emerging mudflats to the right.

Now we were nearer tea time than lunchtime, so it was 4.30 by the time we reached Midland Chandlers at Braunston. Fortunately they are open until 5.30 and while John did the hard work of removing the old, installing the new, and checking the other two (in surprisingly good condition despite being 9 years old!) I wandered around the shop and selected paint and boat wash. John certainly deserved a pint at The Boat House and another at the Old Plough that evening.

John works on the batteries

Note that The Admiral Nelson, a popular lockside pub, does not currently serve food on Mondays or Tuesdays. Beware! Try the Old Plough in the village instead!
And so we came to Napton on the Hill, to the winding hole at Bridge 111, next to where there was until recently a pub - The Bridge at Napton, now sadly closed. Winding here and mooring near bridge 110 we were near enough to The Kings Head on the main road where, to cut our brief but eventful journey short, we caught a taxi to Leamington and thence home by train.
Our return journey will be in the next post, while Patience recovers.

Boat Brushes

I spent a while scrubbing down Patience, getting the old green mould off the gunwhales, sponging the green stuff off the windows and frames, swapping a sponge for a scrubbing brush then an old toothbrush ... and I got to thinking about brushes, as you do. I thought, "We use a lot of different brushes on Patience", which was true. So true that I went in and pulled out a few at hand.

 Here are

• a broom, best for brushing away leaves from the deck and roof, 
• dust pan and brush for clearing the ash and burnt area around the stove (we have a car vacuum cleaner for the floor tiles),  
• two scrubbing brushes for the old green mould, (one with a protective handle so you don't scrape your knuckles, the other in traditional wood), 
• a toothbrush for getting into those awkward corners, 
• two sample paint brushes (both for painting, and there are other, smaller, brushes, some angled, for painting). 

Then, not pictured, there's

• a loo brush (no comment), 
• small and large wire brushes (for scraping off rust)
• a washing-up brush and 
• our own personal toothbrushes.

Where would we be without them?

Walking Through Spring

It may not seem topical, but I've been reading a delightful book about walking from south to north across England and following the slow spread of spring northwards.
Walking Through Spring is by Graham Hoyland and the author muses on countryside matters as he walks along rural ways.
A passage about horse-drawn narrow boats and canals caught my eye.
It is calculated that one US gallon of fuel can move a ton of cargo 533 miles by barge, 209 miles by rail or 61 miles by truck.
"An eighteenth century canal horse could pull a 30-ton load at a steady 2 miles per hour with no noise and only the occasional pollutant, which could be used to fertilise the fields."
The load was ..."around a hundred times the horse's own body weight and about fifty times more than it could manage using a cart on ancient roads."
This was a highly efficient transport system - the best in its day. If even a small fraction of the loads carried by trucks across our roads was transferred to the canals I'd be pleased, but sadly trans-shipment costs and the limited number of large wharfs in the right places mean that we are unlikely to see much being transferred to our canals.
Hoyland did not give the mileage for a diesel-powered barge....

 

Cotswold Canals

The Cotswold Canals, comprising the The Stroudwater Navigation and The Thames & Severn Canal, formed an early 36 mile link between the Thames at Lechlade and the River Severn at Saul Junction. It provided a through route between Bristol and London before the Kennet and Avon Canal opened. The Cotswold Canals fell out of use before the Second World War.  The Cotswold Canals Trust has restored sections of the Stroudwater Navigation, but much of the Thames and Severn Canal is still in a derelict state and some sections have been filled in.  John and Sarah have been staying near Cirencester and walked a short stretch along the towpath of the derelict section between the Gateway Bridge at Cerney Wick and South Cerney locks. The following photo is of one of the pair of locks at Wildmoorway, showing the lockkeeper's cottage, now restored as a private dwelling.

Unfortunately, this is yet another West Country canal that Patience is unlikely to be able to visit - like the Somerset Coal Canal, the Grand Western Canal, the Itchen Navigation or the Bude Canal!  Never mind - there is still plenty to go for on the main network!

Ready for winter

Today was bracing, with a chill wind, but the rain held off and the middle of the day was quite warm. A good day to collect Patience from the tender care of the folks at North Kilworth Wharf who have given her a proud black bottom and a new hatch over the engine - as well as a pump out. This was good work at a fair price and we are very pleased. Once again we can stand firmly at the stern without worrying that we would slip and slide away.
And so we should add to our annual servicing a coat of varnish to the edges of the hatch as it was damp creeping in from the sides that caused the previous hatch to swell.
Returning with pride to Welford (and being extra careful to avoid scraping her freshly painted hull) we enjoyed the usual excellent lunch at The Wharf before setting to with winterising.
We've given details of winterising elsewhere but in summary we've drained the water from tank, taps, shower and loo, changed the oil in gearbox and engine and given her a general brush up before the winter sets in. Patience will be generally on her own until the spring so it's important that things are ship shape and closed up. It may not feel as if she will be ice-bound, but it's only a few years since this is what happened on the Old West river -

Yes that really is ice and snow, in 2010

I also took away any food that was out of date, listing it all so we can replace with basic food next year. See the article on basic food for your boat.

Homeward go beans, tomatoes, soups, pasta sauce and long-life (not long enough!) milk.
Meanwhile John enjoyed messy play with oil ...

So rest quietly, Patience. We'll pop in to check you're OK when we are passing, but there's no need to stir until spring.

Blacking

Every four years Patience has her bottom blacked with a couple of coats of bitumen. This is essential to keep her hull in good shape, preventing pitting of the metal.
Though this can be a DIY job we've found that the cost of landing her is greater than the cost of having someone paint her and it is a messy job, so we pay a bit to have someone do it for us.
This is the fourth time we've had Patience in dry dock and it's interesting to compare the techniques as well as simply staring at the parts of her that aren't usually visible.
First time was for her very first inspection, a survey in dry dock when we were considering the purchase. Fascinating to see her bottom for the first time!
Second time was for blacking at Earith. A broken crane caused delays (she was craned out of the water in a sling) and perhaps the blacking was put on in a bit of a rush, but no harm done. And we did have the chance to see one of the grey seals that have made their home in the marina.
Third time was in the comfort of the workshop at Oundle, where we were moored.  We had an Oundle man apply the blacking then we paid for an extra few days under cover while we painted her up in other areas more easily reached when she was out of the water.

And now the time has come again, and we have brought Patience to the workshop at North Kilworth Wharf, where she will be cared for this week. This is the tractor that towed her out of the water into the slipway. First you float the boat over a cradle that is attached to a long towing pole. Then the tractor tows the cradle out of the water, with the boat resting on top.
Now we have our first view for four years of the condition of the hull. Surprisingly there are large numbers of fresh water mussels clinging to her.

 

Patience is here on the cradle which in turn rests on wheels on rails.

 In addition to blacking they will weld on some sacrificial anodes. These are blocks of magnesium which are bolted to the hull and corrode faster than, or in place of, the metal of the hull and prop, thereby giving protection. It is important to check the anodes, as they prevent electrolytic corrosion of the steel plate and the bronze stern gear. And we don't want the steel hull to wither away ....

And so we leave Patience for a few days while the hard working guys at North Kilworth dry her off, paint on the bitumen, weld new anodes and attend to her every need. More details next week.
And by the way, don't confuse the well established wharf at North Kilworth with the yet unfinished new marina. A lot of work going on there and it will be a fine sight, but we prefer the well established wharf.

Outlets and gutters

Water water everywhere - which is hardly surprising in a canal environment, but we do find that more water than we'd like ends up in the engine compartment. For a while we added a little tub that caught drips through the engine hatch, but recently the situation seems to have become worse. Where was it coming from?
John tightened gaskets, jubilee clips and checked hoses, but there was no clear culprit. Until now.
A gutter surrounds the engine compartment and should collect surface water towards the stern and into two outlets, directing the water out into the canal. However on close inspection the outlets, hidden in the hull, have small holes and also are low in profile. This means that surface water decays leaves which clog the gutters and water flows over the low edge or through the small holes and ends up in the engine compartment bilges.

It's not so bad that it activates the bilge pump but it's not too good to have water in the bilges.
So John scrubbed the gutters, cleaning them of leaves and scraping away loose material and rust. Then with coats of anti-rust, red oxide, grey undercoat and two coats of gloss, he firmed up the gutters. The rear gutter was more difficult as this acts as a hinge for our hatch - hence in this picture it remains red, though it will be painted again next time.
The outlets, under the rear corners of the gutters, were cleared as far as possible, then a layer of fibreglass added to build them up. Now after several weeks buckets under each outlet remain empty even after rain, so John's treatment seems to have worked.
Next we are to take Patience up to North Kilworth for bottom blacking and for a new hatch, as the present one not only lets in the water but is slippery on the surface and crumbling at the edges. Patience has been cleaned and polished in preparation for her grooming session at Kilworth and is excited about spending a week there!

Starter motor problem

On several occasions over the last few months, Patience's starter motor has failed to engage and turn over the engine.  Rather than the engine roaring into life, only a rather unsatisfactory click emanated from the starter motor solenoid when the ignition key was turned fully clockwise.

This was diagnosed as either a low battery, loose battery contacts, a fault with the solenoid or the motor itself.  The first cause was eliminated by checking the battery state of charge, which was fine. The second cause was also eliminated by checking that all the battery connections were tight and in good order - they were.  I then disconnected the cables from the solenoid (photo 1) and removed the solenoid from the starter motor.  There was a slight looseness in one of the the electrical connection studs on the top of the solenoid (photo 2) which was corrected by carefully tightening the lower of the two nuts on the stud (not shown in photo 2 but just visible in photo 1). Unfortunately, it's not possible to take the solenoid apart, as it appears to be a factory sealed unit, so it wasn't possible to check the condition of the internal contacts.

Solenoid in place on the starter motor

Solenoid removed, showing electrical connection studs

After cleaning the studs and spade connectors, the solenoid was replaced on the starter motor and the electrical connections restored.  Although I hesitate to claim that the problem has gone away, to date it does seem to have done the trick.

Swing bridges near Foxton

There are two swing bridges to negotiate near Foxton. The first is a pedestrian bridge guarding the entrance to the Market Harborough Arm. This requires a BW key. The helmsman moors up to the left of the bridge while the crew walks across, unlocks the bridge (if clear of pedestrians?!), swings it to the side letting the boat through, then returns it to position before walking back to hop on to the boat moored nearby. This is a quirky little episode but not challenging - unless you're a solo boater. Incidentally it was broken on our last visit (July 2017) - open to boats but pedestrians are re-routed to the fixed bridge.

The second swing bridge is a mile or so further on and, because it is a road bridge you are moving has more safety features, is heavier, and has the added burden of the responsibility for delaying the cars waiting for you to finish.
It may be helpful to describe how to use this bridge so you can approach it with more confidence.
Bear in mind that everything must be done in the correct sequence with every catch, key and barrier slotted in to its correct place or you (and the fuming traffic) will be frustrated.
Also, it's impossible for solo boaters, who must wait for another passing boat to give a hand.

1. Moor up at the bollards before the bridge.

2. Take BW key then walk to and across the bridge
3. Read instructions carefully ...

then insert BW key in the control box (on left of this picture) and give it a quarter turn.

4. If road is clear of traffic, walk back across the bridge and swing the barrier across the road.
5. Walk across the bridge again and close second barrier.
6. Pull red handle to disengage the hook holding the bridge in place.

7. Now you can push, with all your weight, the long grey bar that moves the bridge. Keep going until canal is completely clear.

8. Indicate boat to pass through. Check there are no other boats coming.
9. When boat is completely through close bridge by pushing or pulling on the long grey bar. Make sure it is fully lined up with the road's white lines and check the catch is back into position. Leave the key in!
10. Open the first barrier and push the end into its slot.
11. Walk back across the bridge and open the second barrier.
12. Walk across bridge again to reclaim key and apologise to queue of traffic.
13. Walk back across bridge (for the sixth time!), through the other gate to your boat.

Congratulations. Can you do it quicker next time?

To Market Harborough

The previous post recorded a trip from Welford through Foxton Locks towards Market Harborough, which was then aborted due to a tree across the canal. We repeated this trip and succeeded in reaching Market Harborough this time.
The weather throughout was a perfect balanced of a slight breeze, sunshine and warmth which highlighted the peace and beauty of both the Leicester line and the Market Harborough arm. For us this offers us a restful passage through overhanging greenery punctuated by a tunnel at Husband's Bosworth, the impressive locks at Foxton and the interest of two swing bridges with a final destination in the attractive market town of Market Harborough. It's just two hours from Foxton to Market Harborough, offering a pleasant day out from Foxton.

Market Harborough arm

We recommend the museum and library here, situated in The Symington Building, the old corset factory. We also remember that pioneer of the canal revival, LTC Rolt visited the town in "Cressy" (see chapter 12 of Narrow Boat), and later, with Robert Aikman, proposed the first boat rally at the town, in 1950.
We moored at the beginning of the Market Harborough Arm, which is off the Leicester Line of the Grand Union, with the choice of refreshment from Bridge 61 traditional pub, Foxton Locks busy restaurant and - our preference - The Black Horse at Foxton. We note there is also a steak house at Foxton but we opted for The Black Horse which is just right for us with a range of beers and excellent pub grub, plus wi-fi.

The bottom lock at Foxton

It was a relaxing trip with the exception of one pushy boat who forced his way in front of us and sped ahead at a rate we had neither desire nor ability to compete with. "It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive" and "Boating is the fastest way to slow down" are firmly in our minds.

Welford to Foxton again

For Patience, moored at Welford, the trip to Foxton Locks is a convenient overnight, and could be done in a day. This time we planned to visit Market Harborough which we last visited two years ago.
All started well, though the weather was a bit variable with much putting on and taking off of jumpers and waterproof jackets. Nevertheless we reached Foxton in good time (less than 4 hours) with only a slight collision between our aft rail and the brickwork of the Husband's Bosworth tunnel to spoil the journey. Having swept away the brick dust and found the rail grazed but not injured, we felt inspired to descend the staircase at Foxton, which can take anything between 40 minutes and several hours, depending on traffic. We feared a long queue of boats returning from the Crick event but it was no worse than usual.
We moored conveniently in the basin and celebrated with a beer and a meal at the Foxton Locks restaurant. Very busy here in the warm evening sunshine.
In the morning we headed down the Market Harborough arm, hoping to visit their museum, but unfortunately a fallen tree had blocked the canal - conveniently close to a winding hole for us but inconvenient for those hoping to leave Market Harborough.

With no way of knowing how long the waterway would be blocked we turned and retreated towards Foxton. With noise from Foxton Locks Inn echoing in the distance we decided to try The Black Horse at Foxton - and that was a good choice. It was quiet, an attractive pub and grounds, with good beer and very good value lunch. The church is worth a look too. We ambled back to Patience, moored just 100 metres away, and found that the tree was now cleared.
However we were now facing the wrong way for Market Harborough so we continued back to Foxton where we used the convenient water point to wash the roof.
Now we decided we couldn't be bothered to head to Market Harborough once more so we joined the queue for the locks. Three hours later we emerged at the top lock after more than an hour queuing at the bottom plus an hour or more moored in the centre pound while descending boats passed us by (or nearly collided - Horatio that was close!).

Wooden butty Raymond man-hauled through Foxton locks

Working boat ‘Nutfield’ passing Patience in the centre pound at Foxton

One plus from this was that we saw the wooden butty Raymond which was laboriously man-hauled through the locks by the volunteer lock keepers. Raymond was the last wooden narrow boat built for carrying in Britain, launched at Braunston in June 1958.

Reaching the top at 7pm, well after the lock keepers' bed times, (we salute you, hard working men!) we moored up near the sculpture of the boy and the horse then walked back to The Black Horse in Foxton. After a close shave with a fast moving black Audi we decided the towpath route was preferable to the country road ....  Nevertheless we had a very good meal and good beer and were able once more to stagger back to our moorings above the locks.
Next day we set off early to return to Welford, a very pleasant trip through dappled shade, with delightful views of the Laughton Hills.  So dreamy that I nearly missed our turning to Welford! We were further surprised to find another Patience just leaving Welford. There are 56  entries for Patience according to The Boat Index so the name is more common than we thought, but we've only seen three other boats called Patience in our seven years of boating.
Final painting of the fore deck and the roof and another excellent value meal at The Wharf in Welford. It felt like more than three days - but in a good way.