We knew that we’d want some rest time after 60 miles of hiking on the Cotswold Way. A relaxing canal boat trip had seemed like a good idea. It turned out to be a great idea but the large number of locks and swing bridges made it less relaxing than planned. Bonuses included a roast dinner and an abbreviated tea with an old friend, though there was also sadness. Here is a description of “Stage 2” of the Ireland/Townsend/Sems adventure in England.
It was refreshing to wake up and not have to get ready for ten miles of hiking. We enjoyed a take away breakfast in Bath and a wander around the city before heading out.
Early morning at Bath Abbey, the end of the Cotswold Way, was nearly deserted in the morning. It was so peaceful watching businesses open, the Abbey welcoming early morning worshippers, and parents taking their kids to school.I persuaded Max to try Ribena and he approved. Ribena is a blackcurrant cordial, like a syrup, to which you add water. It was my treat drink when growing up.Several signs discouraged feeding the seagulls as it encouraged them. They steal food out of your hand! On the canal, we were very upset with one. More about Louie later 😞.We walked over Bath’s Pulteney Bridge, one of only four in the world that have shops on both sides, and enjoyed strolling along the river Avon.We had relaxing fun solving this maze.
It was a short walk with our luggage to Bath Spa railway station and an easy 20 minute train ride to Trowbridge. It was Max’s first ride on a train so he was extra excited. The journey followed the River Avon and the Kennet and Avon Canal for much of the journey. At Trowbridge station, Dean and I squeezed all of our luggage into an Uber and dropped it off at our boat’s marina before meeting the gang at a carvery restaurant that specializes in roast dinners. After a fine, large lunch, it was time to buy some groceries for our three nights on the boat.
The Toby Carvery is one of our favourite restaurants in the UK. We avoid busy times and particularly enjoy the self-serve, all-you-can-eat veggies with a choice between four roast meats.Four meats to choose from. You can have some of each!Most important is the large amount of gravy with the Yorkshire pudding.In addition to the fine meal, we were made most welcome by Victoria the hostess. I expect the restaurant does not get many tourists and we had fun chatting with her.After eating and buying some groceries, our walk through town to the marina took us past a large intriguing graveyard.The gang also saw their first thatched roof.
Soon we were checked in and on our boat! Yellow Warbler was a 69-ft long narrowboat with 3 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a galley and a dining area. It was cozy and tight, with the greatest challenge walking inside from one end of the boat to the other when there wasn’t much width. She cruised between 1 and 4 mph and was easier to handle than one might expect, which was why no qualification was required.
Our first sighting of Yellow Warbler at Hilperton Marina.An approximation of our boat’s layout. Snoring was heard by all throughout the boat!A couple of the bedrooms.The galley and dining area.Hanging out in the dining area while moored.
On our first day we cruised about five miles to The Barge Inn in Seend, through five locks and past three swing bridges. On the second day we cruised through another couple of locks and swing bridges to the bottom of Caen Flight, which we walked up. We then returned through the seven locks and five swing bridges and moored a little past Hilperton. Day three took us through the Bradford-on-Avon lock and over the Avoncliff Viaduct, but it had been slow progress with heavy traffic so we turned around immediately after the viaduct and moored close to Hilperton for our final night, ready to hand the boat back in the following morning.
First, what were all of these locks? A lock is a set of two main gates and associated sluice gates that enclose the boat and allow it to go “up hill.” They use 18th century technology and are easily operated though it took us a while to get used to it. We had plenty of opportunities on this trip!
Stephanie, Tracy, and Max ready to push one of the lock gates closed. We did not stop for the rain!Janet was experienced from previous trips.Dean checked the front of the boat’s position in the lock. There was only 1-2 ft spare in the locks – our boat was the longest that would fit.I stayed on the tiller at the back of the boat, trying to keep the boat away from the sides and lock gates. Fortunately, they were quite forgiving.Sometimes the locks were adjacent to bridges.On one occasion, we joined another boat in the lock. There was just enough room!My favourite time was watching the lock gates open when the water levels had equalized.There was a special sequence of locks called a flight where there were about 15 locks in a row to get up a big hill. We walked up this Caen Flight to take a look as it would have taken most of a day to take a boat through. There was a great cafe at the top!Compared to the locks, swing bridges were easy. Max and Dean would unpin it then push it out of the way, allowing me to steer the boat through. We all became used to jumping on and off the boat for swing bridges and locks, but the number of them meant that it wasn’t as restful as we’d expected!
Most of the moving time was straightforward cruising along the canal. Max was happy to take over when there weren’t other obstacles and we all enjoyed watching natural and manmade sights pass by.
Max looking stern on the tiller.A more relaxed Max later in the trip!
Max made this timelapse video of a cruising section.Sometimes the banks were full of moored boats.There was even a traffic jam!Janet looked after us as we steered.Dean hammered in pegs to tie the boat to for the night.
We enjoyed eating at pubs along the way or on board. We’d hoped to visit a friend’s place that was close to the canal but we were running short of time, so they brought a fine tea for us to enjoy on the boat! We had a few other incidents that made the trip most memorable.
We ate at this pub which had its own moorings and plenty of seating right next to the canal.Janet tried to shoo this swan family out of the lock. Unfortunately, they swam in as we cruised out so we had to trap them in. We were happy that they were no longer trapped when we returned.We passed this cool Shetland pony.Lots of birds followed us. We could tell they were used to being fed!This heron wasn’t very shy.The swans were friendly!Earlier in the evening, this momma had three baby chicks. We saw a seagull swoop down, grab one, and fly away with it! We tried to protect the other two by throwing rocks at swooping seagulls, knowing it was futile. Max named these chicks Huey and Dewey, with Louie having been lost 😞.What pretty doors on the back of the boat. We also discovered that they come off quite easily when the gangplank catches underneath, fall into the canal, and sink! Fortunately, Dean and Max were able to grab it in shallow water…I had been looking forward to getting some cool drone shots of the boat. This would have included our requisite selfie. I thought I could take off from the deck when we were moored. The drone took off fine, but then the magnetic interference sent her haywire and she uncontrollably flew straight into trees on the other side of the canal. I was ready to write the drone off but Max was determined to lead a search and rescue mission if I could get him over the canal. I blocked the canal for a while with our boat, but it was late and no other boats came.Max found the drone!The following morning, we saw a couple of deer on the other side of the canal.Another highlight was checking out the Avoncliff Aqueduct which crossed the River Avon, a road, and the railway.A happy crew on the aqueduct.The River Avon below the canal.It was great that Kerry and Graham could visit.
We had a lot of fun together on the boat, and I am sure our snoring was quite the orchestra. During this stage, we kept checking for updates on the Texas Hill Country flooding tragedy, especially about Camp Mystic. Fortunately, our friend’s daughters were rescued though a cloud remained over us. On our final morning, we packed up, ready to move to the next stage of our adventure.
"Cajunlimeys" combines Lousiana (Janet) and England (Peter). For "limeys," check out scurvy in the English navy.
We love adventures and use blogging to write a photo diary to preserve our memories. Some crazy friends enjoy following us and my notes might help others plan.
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The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 