Barge trip video 3, Kennet and Avon

 Friday 30/08/24

This is the final barge post; we were so busy on the trip that it has been good to go back over the photos and videos to remind ourselves of all we saw.

The first video is of us going through the Bruce tunnel.  I speeded up the middle part as it would take very long to watch otherwise.  The strange scraping sound you hear is actually just the speeded up sound of the bow-thrusters keeping the barge on the right track.  Toni and I were sitting on the front of the barge so it was lovely when Nathan switched off the engine as we exited, very tranquil, until the high-speed train raced past us...

The second video has some clips of the Kennet and Avon leg.  It starts with Nathan squeezing though one of the swing bridges, I tried to film the entire closing process but I was standing in the tow-path and a cyclist came along and I had to move.

This is followed by Nathan and Charmaine navigating Newbury town centre, as well as a few bird clips, including the world's dumbest duck.

Thanks for watching!

We're currently back in the Brittany house, providing holiday cover for B&T.  We're here for another week or so and are then planning a quick trip to the Pyrenees but will need to see what the weather outlook is closer to the time.  

Then, towards the end of September we'll be back here to do the winter sit.  Log fires, gardening and two gorgeous cats to look after. 

Barge trip 2, Upper Thames leg

 Tuesday 27/08/24

The beautiful Astoria, a floating recording studio, bought by David Gilmour 
of Pink Floyd, some of their later albums were recorded here.

Here is the second set of clips capturing some of the scenes from the first and second days on the Thames.  You get to see a small sample of the incredible variety of craft on the waterways, boats, house-boats, motor-boats and even a canoe (we saw many more of these on the way).

Some of the craft border between bizarre and eccentric.

There is also a clip of the barge exiting one of the Thames locks, operated by a lock-keeper and much bigger than the locks on the canal, it was a soft introduction to locking.

The final clip depicts us passing through the Henley Bridge.  Nathan makes it look easy, I can confirm, having steered the barge, it is almost impossible to go in a straight line so getting it through such narrow spaces, fighting the current and wind is no easy feat.

We even managed a quick stop alongside Hendrina to pick up some supplies.

Henley is quite a special place for us as our travels started in a campsite in Henley after we moved out of our house and into Bokkie to start our travels.  We've re-visited it quite a few times but this was the first time we were on the water - very special.

Barge trip video 1, Thames leg

 Monday 26/08/24

I have stitched together some video clips taken on our phones on the first, very rainy day of our trip.  

I have left the original sound so there is a lot of engine noise, rattling and wind noise along with us all chatting in the background.

It's a nice reminder of the trip for us and captures the mood nicely.

Barge trip post 4, Semington, Claverton and on to Bath Marina

 Thursday 15/08/24

Looking down the Caen Hill flight from the top - a continuous stream of locks down the hill.

The last three days promised plenty of excitement and nerves as we would have to descend down the Caen Hill flight, cross two large aquaducts and descend down the final steep flight of lock onto the Avon river in Bath.

On our way!

Keeping a lookout while Nathan moves into the passing area to let two narrowboats through.

Looking back up as we near the bottom of the flight.

We left Devizes early as we knew the Caen hill flight could be very slow going, if busy.  This is the longest continuous flight of locks in the UK and comprises 29 locks, descending 237 feet over two miles.  The locks are almost back to back with small passing areas in between so vessels move both up and down at the same time, coordinating their movements through the locks like a slow dance.  

Of course, we were the biggest barge by far and it took some special skippering to get through without incident.  

The flight looked intimidating in Charmaine's canal guide - but we made it.

Toni with a weary dragonfly (see inset) hitching a ride.

We set up a good team movement, with two people letting Nathan into a lock, closing him in, draining it and letting him through while the third person moved ahead to prepare the next lock - and we would have made really good time had it not been for the disruption of other boats coming in the opposite direction.  That said, it could have been much busier and we managed to get through all the locks  in two and a half hours, not bad at all.

Service with a smile!

One of the more unusual locks - no brick walls on this one.

The next day we had two aquaducts to get through, crossing over the Avon river and railway line at Avoncliff and back again at Dundas.

A narrow squeeze over the Dundas aquaduct.

The final day looked like a short trip into Bath but, as usual, with having to pass so many moored boats at 'dead slow' speed, as well as having to squeeze past  vessels coming from the front, it was slow going and took us almost all day.  

Once moored at the Marina, it was time to pack up and give the boat a good clean.  We spent the final night on the boat after a lovely team supper at the Marina pub.

Arriving at the outskirts of Bath

On Friday morning we travelled back to London, Charmaine and Nathan then heading off to Teddington to fetch their van and the two of us going to Limehouse to fetch Dassie.  Unbelievably, a journey that took us 10 days of hard work by boat only took us four hours to retrace our steps by train.

Lock-keeper Heron on duty today.

We passed through 121 locks in total, 107 of them self-serviced on the canal and travelled 153 miles over 74 hours.  We also opened countless swing bridges along the way - this has truly been an epic adventure!

Charmaine's daily lock log for the canal stage.

It was fantastic to spend such quality time with Nathan and Charmaine and to watch them operating as a team, giving us an idea of what is involved with moving these boats around.  We certainly learned some new skills and got to experience a unique view of part of the UK on the waterways.

It was a masterclass in boatmanship and a wonderful time together.

In case anyone thinks we were 'roughing it' on board.

We slept like logs on the trip,
a combination of extreme fatigue and a super-comfy bed

Barge trip post 3, Ram Alley & Devizes

 Monday 12/08/24

This portion was to be a real high point in the trip, literally speaking, as we would pass through the Bruce tunnel, stop climbing up the Kennet and Avon canal and start travelling downhill for the first time.

The tunnel looks impossibly small when approaching.

Almost there, and not a scratch - thanks to Nathan's incredible skipper skills!

The tunnel was fascinating: built in the 1700's, it is brick-lined and just under 500m long and quite spooky when passing through.  It also meant we would have to un-learn the lock procedure for all the uphill locks we had encountered so far and learn a new sequence for all the downhill locks on the way to Bath.

Captain & First Mate enjoying a well-earned supper on board.

We spent another lovely night not far from the western end of the tunnel and set off again the next morning.  Progress was very slow in some section, either with the speed of the locks or having to pass any moored vessels (and there were many of these) at a dead-slow speed.  

Even the birds are gongoozlers on the canal

In some sections of the waterway, especially in the early mornings and late evenings, the water was very clear and we could see masses of fish darting about.  The bird-life on the water was also amazing, the boat often allowing us to get very close to nature.

Lovely morning scene leaving our mooring in Devizes

Barge trip post 2, Woolhampton and Avington

 Saturday 10/08/24

Lack of time and poor data connections have meant I wasn't able to blog regularly while on the barge but, now that we are back in France (the time seems to have flown by), I will upload more photos, spread over another three more posts.

Days 4 & 5 saw us leaving the Thames and entering the Kennet and Avon canal / river system and passing through Reading.  

It quickly became apparent how challenging moving such a large craft through a creaking canal system would be.  At 22m long, the barge only just fitted into the locks and had to be held up against the doors in many cases to fit in below the cill (this is a large raised ledge a the top end of the lock which the top gate shuts against).  

We often had to open one lock door at a time, with Nathan shimmying the bow from one side to another in order for them to pass by.

Passing out of the Thames, under the railway and into the Kennet

Lock 1 on the canal

Passing through the centre of Reading

As you can see, there isn't much space to get under some of the bridges!

Unfortunately the canal system is in quite a sad state without proper maintenance being done by anyone,  and leaking locks, broken paddles and overgrown stretches of the canal became the order of the day.

Lock-keeper McGoose on duty.

This swan even had it's own tent. 😁

We found a lovely quiet spot near Woolhampton to spend the night.
Added bonus, it was walking distance to a lovely pub for a well-deserved team supper.

One of the rare wide areas I could be trusted to steer.

Some of the infrastructure was literally falling apart!

 To be continued...

Photo credits: photos are by myself, Toni , Charmaine and Nathan - a real team effort.

Near Sonning, UK

 Thursday 08/08/24

We are lucky enough to have been invited to join Nathan and Charmaine on a boat move from London to Bath.  They have been contracted to move a brand-new show-boat, a 22m long by 4m wide barge which the owners hope to sell in Bath, a journey expected to take about 10 days.

Our home for the next 10 days

Limehouse marina, central London

Starting off at the current mooring place in Limehouse marine, in the Canary Wharf region of London, the journey will take us up the Tidal Thames, through central London and on up to Reading.  From there we will join the Kennet and Avon canal, a much narrower canal down to Bath, which will be rather challenging in such a large vessel.  

Skipper and navigator, making the hard work look easy!

We have been travelling for three days so far and are at the Thames / canal junction so will branch off tomorrow morning and begin the next phase of our journey.  We are extremely privileged to have a Skipper of Nathan's calibre to guide the craft on this journey, and we are seeing first-hand how he makes a very difficult job seem so easy.  It's a joy to watch him and Charmaine handle this barge smoothly through some very technical areas on the river - they have now done a couple of moves together and make a good team.

Following the Thames through the centre of London offers a unique view of the city

The iconic Tower Bridge

Breakfast on the move.

Passing Hampton Court Palace

The river is crammed with the most amazing house-boats

and some weird and wonderful creations.

We have loads of video and photos and will try to share whenever possible, even if we don't always include a lot of talking.  We will try to upload pics whenever we have data available but might only follow later with videos.  

The locks and the lock-house gardens are beautiful - a source of price for the lock-keepers

Even within the city limits, there are peaceful sections of the river

Our mooring on the Cliveden estate - so peaceful!

Believe it or not, that is someone's boathouse, the modern home is hidden behind

It really is a fantastic experience and a fabulous way to experience a new way of travelling.