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.

Yelvertoft to Welford and home

Friday 26th September.

It is the end of September
Chimneys across the marina breathe again,
Give out smoke
Drifting like morning mist across the canal.
Boats move shyly to their winter moorings
Preparing to rest
And peace descends on the wharf.

A restful day, with heron, squirrels, kingfishers, a buzzard with small prey in its claws and a macabre dead bird hanging from a thorn. The boating is straightforward with only the little lock at Welford and the tight entrance to the marina to negotiate.
Bare ploughed fields have clearly defined furrows in the sharp autumn sun, the texture of the earth rough and granular.
And the watery sun shines through as we head for home.

And soon, after the driest September since records began in 1910, we'll have to prepare Patience for winter, her first at Welford ....

Braunston to Yelvertoft - via Warwickshire

Thursday 25th September. Up betimes to carry out our cunning plan to boat not only in Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, but also Warwickshire, where the boundary lies a short way down the joint Oxford & GU Canal. It's a whim, but one easily achieved if we get up early turn at the Braunston Junction and wind at a winding hole a short way down the Oxford & GU.
Early means just 7am and I find the moorings misty wit the slow moving smoke from cosy boats stoking their stoves in the first chills of autumn.

Bridge 1 at Braunston

The bridge over Braunston Marina

Bridge 1, early morning mist

The Grand Union Canal at the junction with the Oxford. Preparing to turn left (west) up the Oxford & GU

Returning to Braunston Junction on the Oxford & GU. Preparing to turn right (east).

Back at Braunston we moor up for a gargantuan spread - The Gongoozler's Big Breakfast - at The Gongoozler's Rest Café, a smallish boat (14 seats) at the mouth of the marina.

This breakfast fuelled us for the whole day! Recommended!

And so, well filled, we head back through Braunston Tunnel, passing other boats coming the other way with three inches to spare, sharp left at Norton Junction, up the Leicester Arm, up Watford Locks, Crick Tunnel, Crick itself and moored up at 4pm at Yelvertoft again. 

13 miles and 13 locks including the Warwickshire diversion this morning.

Crick to Braunston

Wednesday 24th September. Heavy rain overnight clears early and by the time we've passed through Crick Tunnel the sun is out. Before we know it we are under the M1 and queuing to go through Watford Locks. If we had a Ladybird book at about Bridge 5A it would show a fast train on the west coast railway line, the M1 motorway and Services and the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union canal (plus a plane flying above) all in the same place, for they almost interconnect here, near Long Buckby.

As we go under Bridge 6 I recall eating terrible fish and chips at the restaurant there 20 years ago, now renamed Mango Lounge and closed.
It takes an hour to get through Watford Locks (staircase, 7 locks, 16metre fall) ...

... even with a helpful lock keeper, then we reach Norton Junction at 1pm and, not pausing for lunch at the tempting pub to the left we charge on to the right and  on the Grand Union proper.

 Through the Braunston Tunnel for 20 minutes and we approach that boater's mecca of Braunston itself, though there are still 6 locks to go through before we reach the moorings by the marina. So it is 3.45 before we finally moor up, 10 miles, 13 locks in 6 hours 20 minutes including 30 minutes waiting at Watford Locks.
In late afternoon we wander up the hill away from the canal and into the village. Down by the canal it feels like a full-on canal village with hundreds of boats, busy comings and goings, two chandleries, eating places and various shops - but in the village itself they live a separate life, it seems.

Bridge over the Junction of The Oxford and The Grand Union

The Junction facing south down the Oxford Canal

Bridge on The Grand Union at the entrance to Braunston Marina

Under the bridge at the marina entrance

In the evening we stroll back up the towpath to The Admiral Nelson, widely recommended as the best for food and we entirely agree. Here is a view as we entered the lock on our way down.  It's a good place where we were well looked after and well fed.

Back to Patience, torches in hand, and we notice that Winter Moorings commence on October 1st. Clearly we are nearing the end of the season, when only hardened liveaboards stay out on the water. So we light our little stove, newly renovated, and our thoughts stray towards winter.

Welford to Crick

Tuesday 23rd September and there is still warmth in the sun and energy in our bones. On a pleasant day for late September we make an uneventful journey from Welford to Crick in 4 1/2 hours.
There is time to reflect (ho ho) on watery things, such as Pink Floyd's new album "The Endless River" and Peter Ackroyd's meandering book "Thames - Sacred River". Of which more later.

We take an evening stroll up the prominent Crack's Hill (a glacial moraine), from which there are extensive views, then on to The Red Lion in Crick. On our last visit the place was crammed and hot, then we were soaked in a deluge while returning to the boat. This time we chose from a good range of food and Adnam's beer in pleasant surroundings, busy though not too much so, puzzled only by their decision to charge Debit as well as Credit card users an extra 50p - and their website which seems to consist of a single page and uses the suffixes eu and pn. Quirky!

Welford to Yelvertoft

A short overnight excursion to Yelvertoft, which is a village just 3 hours away from Welford and so easily manageable for a quick trip.
It also has a useful pub, The Knightley Arms, which does good food and beer at fair prices. We've been there a few times recently and find good service and well cooked food. The lads in the snooker room can be a bit noisy for quiet diners like ourselves, but it's great to see so many people enjoying a village pub.
As a measure of its merits we felt able to take our wives there for an evening meal, and they were not disappointed. Picture of wives suitably wrapped up against a chill breeze at the extensive moorings nearby.

The next suitable mooring-with-pub is Crick, which tends to get quite busy, but has more facilities. Between our moorings at Yelvertoft and those at Crick you pass the newish Yelvertoft marina.

Here we are approaching Yelvertoft Marina to use their winding hole. It's quite a new development, with all mod cons including wi-fi for residents and they also seem to be adding a slipway.

A successful weekend just boating up and down and pleasant non-strenuous walks along and across the towpath.

Dreadnought

On Wednesday last a piece in The Times showed a pleasant photo of a narrow boat on the Cam at The Backs claiming that travel by narrow boats on this stretch of river was only possible on New Year’s Day.
Having made the journey ourselves in 2011 I responded and my letter - together with David’s classic shot of Clare and Kings - featured in The Times of 4th January 2014. I suppose “Dreadnought” refers to the alarming size of Patience compared to puny punts.
Fame for Patience!

Patience and The Motorway

Which motorway sign has the greatest connection with our boat?

Probably not the signs for water or bridges that you might first think of.

- though these could be useful ...
What about ....

or (ouch) ...

No, the connection - admittedly obscure - is with the sign for domestic animals.

Why a cow?

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert created a wholesale redesign of road signs that heralded the development of motorways in the UK. The new system became law on January 1st 1965. More detail from The Design Museum.
The cow on the sign warning of farm animals was drawn by Margaret Calvert and was based on Patience, a cow on her relatives' Warwickshire farm.
So Patience the cow, Patience the boat.

Patience  describes the state of endurance under difficult circumstances and is one of the seven heavenly virtues. Given that Patience the boat has endured grounding, near collision, and being clogged by weed, all at a maximum speed of 4 mph, the name would appear appropriate.
According to Jim Shead's Waterways Boatnames  Patience is the 68th most popular boat name of the moment, with 34 examples of boats in that name. Our Patience appears twice in the list, but still, we have a more popular name than I expected.

Other famous Patiences include:
the solitary card game, an uninhabited island off Rhode Island, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, a 14th century poem, a gulf off eastern Russia and a moderately common forename.

"Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can; seldom found in women - and never in a man."

Patience along The Backs 2

Still flushed with excitement from our expedition up the Cambridge Backs, photographs come flooding in! We had sixteen people involved and about half of these had cameras, some stationed at key bridges, some on board, several actually running between bridges to catch us at more than one point.
We cannot neglect their efforts - so here are some more shots, thanks to Sylvia and to John S.
Starting with the classic shot (of Clare College) in front of Kings (College Chapel) ...

and Colin in front of Kings College Chapel

Approaching the Mathematical Bridge

our camerawoman, Sarah, above with crew and passengers below

... and everywhere, bridges.

Patience along The Backs

The Rivers Ouse and Cam are Patience's home territory and we love the riverside moorings, winding currents and wildlife. But there is one part of the Cam where narrow boats rarely go. This is called "The Middle River" or more commonly The Backs, because it passes by the backs of the university college. And it is a fact not commonly known that powered boats can, with the permission of the Cam Conservators, navigate this short but world famous stretch of river between 1st November and 31st March.

And so it was, that with a suitably enthusiastic load of passengers and large numbers of awe-struck onlookers, Patience set off on her magnificent and stately journey past the dreaming spires of Cambridge.

The Conservators having given their permission and contact details, so they can warn us of water surges and warn the punt companies of our presence, and also having given us the number of the combination lock (and waived their statutory right to charge us one shilling and sixpence for the privilege) we passed through Jesus Lock and into a different world.

Here punts reign supreme and Patience slipped slowly on, huge in proportion, confident yet wary in movement.

Once a rash punter sped across our bows but generally Patience, like a swan amongst ducklings, lived up to her name and glided gently along, past beautiful stone colleges, manicured Fellows' lawns, bright daffodils and the soaring heights of Kings College Chapel.

The bridges were a major attraction. Looking at them from the bank it seemed impossible for Patience to pass through. St John's Kitchen bridge is in fact the lowest, at 2.08 metres (6ft 9ins) at normal river levels, so we had cleared all debris from the roof, including aerials and chimney. In fact we passed through the central arches with maybe 18inches clearance - though you do have to duck as the stonework comes towards you rather alarmingly.

For the record, there are 9 bridges, in order:
Magdalene St Bridge
St John’s 19th century Bridge of Sighs

St John's Kitchen Bridge (designed by Wren, built 1712)
Trinity 
Garret Hostel  
Clare College 1640

Kings College
Mathematical (1902 copy of the original of 1749)

Silver Street
So, bridges above, punts all around (some rocking alarmingly and veering off unpredictably) while below were the uncertain depths of a river where historically horses walked a causeway in the centre of the river rather than a bank side tow path - so the middle line was not necessarily the deepest.
The final challenge was the weir by Silver Street bridge and The Anchor. Here our earlier recce indicated there was ample room to turn and go back under Silver Street Bridge - but since then the number of stationary punts had increased and were in danger of clogging our passage back. For a moment we were trapped between the weir, a flotilla of punts and unable to see through the bridge arch. Fortunately our sentries on the bridge parapet acted as traffic signals and prevented a collision. We were through, and barring one confrontation with an overhanging willow (which we preferred to ramming a nearby punt), we made it back to Jesus Lock without incident.

It was a great trip, celebrated with a meal at The Fort, followed by champagne and a specially decorated Patience cake onboard.

Would we recommend it? Once, yes, though not often! It is an enshrined right that powered vessels including narrow boats can navigate the Middle River and it would be a shame to lose that. But the Conservators have wisely placed a time restriction on powered boats because power and punt together create a tricky mix. We were careful; nearly all the punters were careful too, but we saw enough rocking punts and wayward poles to realise that it wouldn't take much to cause an incident. So we're happy for the punters to reclaim their territory for the summer.
Thanks to all who came with us, either on board or dashing tirelessly ahead to take the photographs.
We finally moored up for the night at The Bridge at Waterbeach, having taken some passengers to Baits Bite whence they cycled home, and others to Waterbeach to catch the train.
Thanks particularly to Mark and Sarah for their photographs (and whose copyright they are) and to John for his seamanship.

... and a quick link to Lucky Duck, another Cambridge narrow boat who did this same journey last autumn!

Note: More pictures in the next posting - "Patience Along The Backs 2".