Friday 25th to Sunday 27th of February 2022 We realise that there is a limit to the number of photos of locks, The Duke and The Duke at locks that we should include so we are aiming for pictorial diversification. Even though the pace of canal life is slow, with phones zipped in pockets to keep them safe and dry it is easy to miss some of the things we notice as we pass by: the long-haired cat yawning widely as it sunned itself in the front of a moored narrowboat; the three small dogs locked in a house looking out and two dogs, one small and one large locked out and looking in. Often what we miss is more engaging than the photos we do manage to take. As we moored up the day before, we heard shots and knew there would be no places to stop up ahead. Leaving Hopwas we passed the military firing range responsible and were proved right. Passing trade for crochet and lace must surely be limited at this time of year? We had noticed that several of the bridges had what looked like small windows on the side. Speculation about their use ranged […]
Monthly Archives: February 2022
Tuesday 22nd February to Thursday 24th February 2022 Tuesday started with a short tunnel and . . . . . . we left Newbold with the sun trying to break through behind us. We are not sure quite how much Ralf can see but he seems to like the plastic “dodger” down to be able to smell the world as we go by. The Oxford Canal was originally a winding contour canal which was subsequently straightened in various places to cut 14.75 miles off the journey to improve efficiency. The picturesque cast iron bridges, inscribed Horseley Ironworks 1828, mark where the meanders and loops were bypassed to make a more direct route. Generally there is a strict division of labour – Robert steers and Matilda, who struggles with left and right, deals with the locks. However Matilda has noticed that, since coming up a flight of locks with another couple where the man steering slowed by the steps long enough to get off to close the lock gates behind them, Robert has started to adopt this practice. In return she will accept the responsibility of steering, briefly, during Robert’s comfort breaks. She might also provide fewer hot beverages. Today’s journey […]
Friday 18th to Monday 21st February 2022 Having swapped the warmth of Italy and the comfort of a spacious room at the Savoy Hotel in Rome for a seven foot wide narrowboat with considerably less floor space, Matilda is once again questioning her sanity. We reunited with The Duke and our friends Liz and Martin who had been aboard whilst we were away, accompanied this time by Ralf, our Lakeland Terrier and Storm Eunice. Although this is not a name which exudes menace, Eunice added about four hours to the drive up to our rendezvous at the Cape of Good Hope, near Warwick. The motorway was at a standstill, first while a fallen tree was cleared from the carriageway and then for a lorry which had been blown onto its side across three lanes. Thankfully it looked as though the driver had been rescued through the windscreen. After that the M40 was closed completely but as our Sat Nav had helpfully offered an alternative route we were at least able to continue along A roads with Ralf, who is not particularly used to car travel, becoming increasingly desperate in the back. When we finally arrived, it was enough just to […]
Tuesday 1st February 2022 When we tell people that we have hired a narrowboat for three months the responses vary from “Are you completely mad?” to “Great, could we come too?”. Matilda falls somewhere in between. Robert felt the need to plan national holidays to pass the time in lockdown when travelling abroad was a distant dream and Matilda absentmindedly agreed without necessarily believing it would ever happen. Yet here we are at the start of February having our familiarisation session on The Duke from David Dare. Fortunately the sun shone brightly on this endeavour and we set off in unseasonably glorious warmth which made it seem less of an insane undertaking. Originally we had planned to travel just a short distance and go through three locks but the sunshine made us bold and we tackled another eight before the light started to fade. You can tell who is wrapped up warm and who is in shirtsleeves doing all the hard work. We moored overnight close to The Blue Lias pub. When Matilda scouted ahead for mooring spots at about 16:45 the pub looked very closed so we moored on the opposite bank, a little further down. Matilda felt she, […]
Saturday 12th to Tuesday 15th February 2022 We caught a train from Firenze, travelling first class, and our daughters flew in from the UK both arriving at the Rome Termini Station around midday. From there we travelled two stops on the metro then walked to The Savoy Hotel – a fairly large establishment and hard to miss you would think but initially Robert managed to lead us straight past. More of things that were missed later. We last came here on a family holiday about ten years ago and stepped out to refresh our memories of some of the sights including the Spanish Steps . . . the Trevi Fountain . . . . . .and the Pantheon, the most perfectly preserved of all ancient temples. We found we each had different memories of the last visit. Matilda had read about the oldest coffee shop in Rome, the Antico Caffè Greco. Robert humours her when she demands to take refreshment in a traditional tea room or coffee shop but this was a very expensive disappointment. The building is not as decorative or grand as many we have visited and it is certainly the most expensive beer we have ever purchased despite […]
Firenze Thursday 10th and Friday 11th February 2022 After a leisurely start; and a stroll to look at the Palazzo Blu, home of the current Keith Haring exhibition . . . . . . followed by a coffee in the sunshine and a little retail therapy in Pisa we crossed the road from the hotel to the station and we were once again able to catch an earlier train than we had booked. No-one checked our tickets before we boarded or whilst we were on the train. But as there were plenty of available spaces; we had already paid and the seats weren’t reserved we didn’t feel too guilty. We arrived in Firenze and as we stepped out of the station Robert declared this building to be one of the ugliest he has ever seen. And he has seen a few stations over the years. Designed in 1932 it replaced the original station built in 1848, which we were sure must have been more decorative. Matilda felt it was particularly unfortunate given that Firenze is known as a centre of beautiful Renaissance art and architecture. We walked to our hotel right by the Duomo and took the elevator, complete with […]
Tuesday 8th February 2022 We interrupt our narrowboat adventure to travel to Italy to watch a Six Nations rugby match. We have talked about going for a long time and the trip was originally booked pre-Covid. Robert maintains this is a birthday present for Matilda as the Italy vs England match usually takes place around her birthday weekend on alternate years. On this basis she insisted our girls should come too [presence not presents] and they will be joining us when their work commitments permit, at the weekend. Travelling via London City Airport is very civilised. Toiletries do not need to be in a plastic bag and liquids and technology can all be packed in your luggage and left in there. Even though Robert and Matilda each set off security scanners and Robert had to take off both his belt and his shoes we were still through very quickly. Nothing incriminating was found but Matilda has resolved not to wear her button fly Levi’s through airport security in future. Clear skies gave us a good view of the snow-capped Alps as we flew over. We landed in Florence and caught the tram for a very reasonable €1.5 each from right […]