Remembering How To Cruise - Shakedown Time

Today's Canal : Oxford

It is now almost 8 months since we were last able to cruise on the Oxford. We were holed up in Brinklow (quite a pleasant place if you have to be somewhere!) since the start of August when the Hillmorton Locks and the route back to Cropredy were closed through lack of water.

We have called the first cruise of each year (usually a shorter one) our Shakedown Cruise for many years. It has been an opportunity to check out all the major systems on board with every so often finding something that has not liked the long lay off over winter. This time we aim to be out a little longer, perhaps two weeks, but this it is ourselves that are most in question! Are we still up to it?

This year also we have a new major system - our cabin services battery. We will post the story here in a separate blog but we are now Lithium-powered. The last two nights have been no test as we remained on shore power so now is the time!

First thing, Mike did the usual round of disposing of rubbish, filling up with water (the fuel tank was filled during one of our short winter stayovers so we have yet to experience the Trump-inspired new level of diesel prices) and emptied the elsan. We were ready to untie our ropes shortly after 10.

Here are today's prices just down the cut at Armada - diesel at £1.62, but not clear if this is base price or with VAT. From what we have heard in the past week, probably the former so just how much total we will be paying when we next fill up? Definitely an ouch moment.

It was a lovely bright blue day but also quite windy - almost a challenge as we navigated the open waters of the marina towards its exit but soon we were leaving the moorings behind us for a while.

The marina is connected to the Oxford Canal by a short arm that was originally the line of thew canal itself but which was abandoned when the canal was subsequently straighter to save many hours of contour cruising for the time-pressed boats crews. And then we turned right on were onto the canal network once again.

Most of the abandoned lengths are hard to spot but some have smart cast iron bridges to carry the towpath across - presumably those sections had arms that were still useful for local services.

By the time we passed the entrance to Lime Farm Marina some darker clouds were putting an appearance, a warning of what was expected to arrive by lunch time.

By the time we reached the very short Newbold Tunnel it was once again sunny. We were following another boat but as we emerged there was another waiting for us to come out before entering. The tunnel is actually wide enough for passing boats but some steered, especially with very short tunnels, prefer to wait and have a clear run through.

Rugby Wharf is another boatyard on an abandoned arm but opposite the entrance is a large winding hole which was where the original line continued - almost at right angles to the present direction. The diversion allowed the modern construction of yet another large  industrial unit.

The bridge closest to the large Tesco (where we shopped yesterday) had an almost clear sky as backdrop as we came through. Although, as usual, there plenty of boats moored here (for two nights?) there were plenty of spaces in the section furthest away from the main road.

The staff at Clifton Cruises were preparing several of their fleet for the imminent arrival of early season hirers, hoping for good Easter weather.

Shortly after Kent Road Bridge we kept a keen eye out for a good mooring, hoping to be as close to the locks as possible, ready for a short walk into Hillmorton village in the morning for a visit to the local church - Palm Sunday (and, let's hope we remember, the start of Sumner Time) 

The wind was stronger now and, even though there are good mooring rings - with vacancies - the shallow edge to the water, combined with several passing boats, made mooring rather difficult! Just as soon as we had secured a centre line then black clouds arrived with little notice and dropped a short, but uncomfortable, load of hail onto us! Eventually we were properly moored and could enjoy a warming bowl of soup as part of our lunch.

As planned, that was it for today's cruising but, even though we have yet to tackle any locks or moveable bridges, we felt quite pleased with ourselves. Alas, tomorrow looks like not being a great start to Summer Time so we shall see just how far we progress in the afternoon.

6.1 Miles - 0 Locks

A Wet Day

Today lived up to the overnight forecast and was generally rather wet. We drove into Elliots Fields retail park on the nearer side of Rugby were we did a comprehensive food shop. If we keep to our provisional cruise plan, it will be several days before we have a chance to visit another supermarket. Apart from a couple of village shops at Braunston, we will otherwise be out in the countryside.

After the main shop we crossed over the road to M&S where Christine did not find what she was looking for, neither did Mike in several other shops he called at. We discovered last night that the small alarm clock that normally lives above his head when in bed had ceased functioning. Replacing the battery did not resuscitate it - it seems that the long lay over since last August did not do any favours to the battery compartment. It does not need to be an expensive item but a light to see the time in the dark is needed and nothing to fit could be found. Alas, today this kind of item is best sourced via the internet but delivery is a problem so it may have to wait until we are back home.

It was lunch time when we returned to the boat and by the time we had finished it was apparent the the rest of the day was going to be less than pleasant and several heavy showers arrived during the afternoon. It will be no surprise that we opted to defer our departure until tomorrow when much better conditions are forecast.

Creating this and yesterday's blog was delayed on discovering that Mike had packed a non-functioning mouse and the spare that is left on the boat had also expired since it was last used. Again, neither responded by being offered new power sources so it was fortunate that Christine had brought her laptop and kindly offered Mike her mouse - which, hooray, worked! At least there is a prospect of finding a replacement before the end of this trip - at least if we do make it to Coventry as planned!

Shakedown Cruise

We drove up from home yesterday morning. Our initial ETA was 12:45 but an incident on the A34 just north of Oxford delayed us for about quarter of an hour. It looked as if vehicle had hit the central barrier - it was slightly dented - and there was a van on the hard shoulder with a damaged front. Police were in attendance and had deployed protective cones. All indications were that (a) it was not serious and (b) it had only just happened.

By now we needed a brief 'comfort' break so left the M40 motorway at the next service station, Junction 10. This is a complicated junction, in effect two roundabouts merged together with the service station accessed from the second. We were back in the car as quickly as possible and set off, remarking that we must be careful to look for the right directions. Not helped by at least one sign saying M40 with no north or south indication, we immediately realised we were going the wrong way! Five miles later we were back at the junction with the A34 and left to turn around. An other complex intersection and - yes you have guessed rightly - we gain took the wrong slip road and this time it was another 11 miles before we were finally facing the right way. 

After unloading the car and a mug of tea, Mike drove into Rugby to recharge the car. With the extra miles, the battery was now down to about 20%! Although we failed at the nearest Gridserve station on our last trip, today no problems even though four out of the advertised six chargers were not functional. It took just over an hour so it was handy that there is an adjoining Starbucks to sit and read. By the time Mike returned to the boat, Christine had finished stowing away and all was neat and tidy.

Brief Visit

We travelled up to the boat from home on Thursday last week (5th) and back home just as the light was fading. The reason was to get an update on a significant piece of work being done on the electrics which was expected to be completed by then - the majority was in place on Tuesday. However, Amazon did not play ball and a few minor items needed to complete the work did not arrive on Wednesday as expected - they did, alas, turn up at his home well after the electrician had set off to Brinklow!

This has been a complex story and we will recount it in full as soon as we are confident that all is now well! It will be a week or so yet as the final items cannot be slotted into his very busy - booked ahead - schedule. So far it is looking good but our usual shakedown cruise will be the 'acid' test. We are now planning a couple of weeks over Easter, perhaps to Coventry and then back to Brinklow before planning our main cruise this Spring - Summer- Autumn. The reservoirs are looking good at this stage so we are hoping that last year's disaster (no cruising since 4th August!) will not be repeated . . . 

Just a hint for the curious:

Weekend Visit

We came up to the boat on Friday, arriving around lunch time. The principal reason for the visit was because we had a meeting all day on Saturday in Rugby (for Waterways Chaplains) The times are such that these days we do not feel comfortable trying to do it in one day (just possible with an early start and a return home in the dark). It was quite convenient as only 10 minutes drive from the marina to Rugby Central car park (this was even cheaper than usual as the ticket machines were out of order and parking was free!)

Our fuel tank was quite down and we usually try to leave it as full as possible over winter. However, the marina has slightly reduced the days they are open for services. Having unloaded the car we sat down to take breath and before we thought, we suddenly realised that it was fast approaching 3.30 and the office closes at 4! We checked that it was OK to come down to the fuel point which we did  asap! As well as filling the tank we also collected just one bag of solid fuel.

As we were preparing to return to our berth, we spotted a tiny leak of fuel down the outside of the stern. Since the marina staff had filled up we did not think that it was careless filling - this has happened a few times since the boat was painted (actually the first time was as soon as we collected the boat after painting and we did query this with the painters who could not see any issue!)  On this occasion we were alongside with the starboard side to the mooring and better able to take a close look.

When someone stood on the boat edge nearest land, a faint leak could be seen - as soon as the boat levelled up it stopped. The leak was coming from one of two holes near to each other just at the top of the stern. At that point there was not much we could do but return to our pontoon - darkness was fast approaching. Once tied up again, Mike used some matchsticks to plus the holes as a temporary fix. At least we were no longer polluting the marina.

The marina were holding one of their social events Friday night - a bonfire with a catering wagon on site. Aquavista do not allow fireworks - presumably for safety reasons - so they could only build the largest bonfire they could manage. We had been emailed a few days earlier and it was supposed to be lit at 6 pm. Someone must have been trigger happy as when we came out of the boat we could see that the pile was well alight and the guy (which we saw as we arrived, being hoisted aloft) was no longer visible.

It was certainly blazing well and kept us nice and warm even at some distance. We had taken a gamble on what the food wagon might be serving - turned out to be just filled jacket potatoes. A choice of fillings, ample portion sizes and a reasonable price.

Saturday was the meeting in Rugby - it finished on time and we were back on the boat before five.

During the night, Mike had been dreaming about the holes in the stern and woke to the thought that they might have been fixing a small plastic plate - a vague memory that did not extend to recalling was was inscribed on it! It did occur to us that it might have been lost during the repaint.

Sunday morning we went to the parish church in Brinklow. As this was Remembrance Sunday the church was full, with a good attendance from the cubs and scouts. At the end everyone was invited to walk to the other end of the village to join with another church at the war memorial. Perhaps we should confess that we did not feel keen to walk all the way down and then back again to the car so skipped this bit!

Christine suggested that we should go straight into Rugby to charge the car and also for her to have a chance to visit M&S and other stores at Elliots Field retail park. Mike dropped her outside M&S before going a short distance to the EV point. This time the charger started perfectly. Mike adjourned to the associated Starbucks and when Christine texted to find out how it was proceeding, Mike was already on his way back to the car. By then it was at 90% so that would do. Christine only had limited success at the shops - she did buy some things but by no means all that she was seeking (no wonder on-line shopping has become the default option for many purchases if the outlets do not bother carrying a full range of sizes, colours etc.

Monday was a chance to catch up on a few tasks - including sweeping the solid fuel stove chimney! We might have gone for a walk or visit somewhere but, as it happened, it was a rather wet day so not ideal for that.

Tuesday we returned home. Rain arrived as we were loading the car - Mike was quite wet at the end but had planned a change out of 'boat clothes' before driving back. We repeated our route from last time, mainly to call at the Lidl store in Rugby where, slightly to our surprise, we had found the sandwiches to be better than many other stores. The main drive back home was uneventful although for a while we had some unpleasant drizzle which meant hard concentration on the motorway.

Before Launch

A few days into Maiden Voyage

Zoomed In

In the evening, with some help from Andrew, we closed in on solution to the stern holes. We found some photos on file from when the boat was very new (despite extensive searching nothing more recent seems to have attracted the camera's attention!) Indeed, there was originally a small plastic plate there but the text was too small to be legible. Then our investigations discovered that it is a requirement to display the unique CIN just at that position. Indeed, we also found that it was only fitted at the last minute by the builder, between launch and handover. Normally the number is engraved into the steel hull but the method used seemed to be acceptable for RCD compliance (regulations for new build) Once we knew what we were looking for, and looked up our CIN in the boat's user manual, it was just possible to correlate it to the fuzzy image as above.

Missing plate - note matchstick in hole!

We also discovered that this is not a BSS requirement (unlikely to have safety implications, the raison d'etre for BSS) Hence it had not come up at the last BSS examination! But it is good finally to have an explanation for something that had been niggling away for over a year. All we now have to do is get a replacement made,

Preparing to return home

Not a lot to report today - preparing to return home is the main objective. This included taking the car into Rugby to recharge the car battery and also to take a look at the local Lidl store. It is a few minutes further away and is very similar to most Lidl stores. Except that it is the mirror image of the one in Devizes - most disconcerting! Not much to get but we did need rolls for lunch on the way home tomorrow.

Late morning we had a call to say that all the Aquavista marina managers had a meeting and as a result we have been asked to agree formally to swap our mooring from Cropredy to Brinklow at least for the next three months. Nevertheless we can still revert to Cropredy when the south Oxford re-opens, likely to be in the spring. From our point of view there is not much to choose except that the journey from home is half an hour longer and a more tedious set of roads in places.

Charlecote Park

One of the advantages of having a National Trust annual subscription is that we do not feel uncomfortable going to a property with gardens, a splendid house and great views and spending much of the time sitting, reading and enjoying the late autumn sunshine. Charlecote Park is about 35 minutes drive from Brinklow Marina, quite straightforward save for a couple of rather complex intersections. Alas, Google does not always agree with the road signs regarding place name or the road number. Fortunately its sat nav map is excellent and makes it easy to follow he way around such roundabouts.

Charlecote has been the home of the Lucy family for many centuries, originating in northern France just after the Norman Conquest. The central part of the present house dates back to the16C but a major re-build took place around 1854. A young couple were the head of the family at that time and as soon as they moved in after the wedding they set about 're-edifying' the property with major extensions. Even so, the house lacked many comforts that we would consider essential today (like running water and toilets!)

The car park is a short walk from the house along a straight and open path from the main ornamental gates (currently having major restoration)

At the end of this approach stands an impressive gatehouse. In one of the rooms is a wall display of the major milestones in the family history. When the estate passed from one generation to the next in 1945, the new owner handed it over to the National Trust, with a condition that the family could continue to live in a substantial wing in perpetuity. (Hence only some rooms are open to the public)

A further open walk leads up to the front door of the house but we turned  right to go int the garden on the right. (We were in search of a coffee and scone - traditional NT fare!)

On the right of the above photo is an entrance to a raised part of the garden, with the steps 'guarded' by two rural, idyllic, figures: a shepherdess and a herdsman or piper. 

An intriguing little thatched cottage was originally built as a summerhouse or play room for young children and grand children of one of the ladies of the house (Lady Mary Elizabeth Lucy) - hence it is sometimes now called Granny's Summerhouse and is said to be modelled on Plas Newyyd in Llangollen which we visited last year. It is said that Mary Elizabeth had a holiday there when a young child.

After coffee we walked back to the front of the house is is a view from the top of the steps that we saw earlier.

In many ways the formal rooms held few surprises, even if there were many interesting items, collected by the family over many generations. This is the first room after the main entrance. One of the best features of the house - the Dining Room - is behind the closed door in the middle of the picture. What started as a small wet patch turned out to be a major restoration project, now thankfully approaching completion but until then it is closed to the public.

Above the bookcases in the Library is a set of 15 Greek vases, all but one found in an 18C/19C archeological dig and date back to fourth century BC. The last one was made when the vases were bought for the newly renovated house around 1840. (We were not told which one is the fake!)

This is the third year that the National Trust have had a pumpkin event in the house - this year it comprises two large 'heaps' of knitted or fabric pumpkins, one on the  billiard table and one in the main kitchen.

This is the Drawing Room - actually closer to the Dining Room than it at first appears - or so we were told - a special passage allowed the ladies to leave the gentlemen to their cigars and port without much effort!

It has a rather splendid ceiling. After seeing all of the rooms on view in the main house we adjourned to the Orangery for lunch - Cornish pasties!

Slightly away from the ain house is a large block of utility rooms where much of the work (by servants, of course) involved in running a large country house took place. First is the kitchen with two ranges (there is also a separate baking oven next door in the scullery)

The laundry took up two rooms - one 'wet' and one 'dry'. The first is where things are washed - in itself a major task in days before the introduction of cleaver detergents - and the other where they were taken once dry to be ironed, repaired or whatever. These two rooms were the only places which were exclusively  staffed by women (or young girls) The work was at least as heavy as that done by many men.

Another important feature on a large estate was the brewhouse. Beer was made for all those who lived or worked here - small beer (very low alcohol content) was much safer to drink that straight from rivers and wells.

The final wing was the Coach House. The Lucy family certainly built up a splendid collection of horse drawn vehicles. On formal occasions there was a grand Coach, drawn perhaps by four horses and controlled by a postillion - riding on the rear left horse. Whilst mainly for show, there is room at the back for several footmen to stand. It also has quite complex suspension rear and front, to take out the worst of the bumps from potholes and ruts - roads were (believe it!) even worse that some today . . . 

In marked contrast is the Battlesden Car, pulled by a pony and intended to be driven by a lady - even, perhaps, on her own! The design incorporates especially large mudguards (compare with the Whitechapel Cart behind), a selling point to the ladies, it is said.

At the rear of the house there is an impressive view across the River Avon which runs alongside a well maintained parterre.

The style of parterre (from French on the ground) here is typical of how the concept evolved by the mid 19C after which the whole idea fell out of favour and was replaced by more naturalistic landscaping. At the time this garden was initially created in the 1700s, the favoured design used miniature box shrubs, clipped into low hedges in complex patterns. What we see today is a modern re-creation based on the original plans. Even at this stage in early Autumn, it is immaculately maintained and still full of colour. We were able to sit for some time, directly overlooking the river and basking in rather warm sunshine.

Eventually we had to stir ourselves and make our third and final visit to the Orangery for tea and cake!

Back aboard. Mike completed a deep clean of the oven which he started first thing today. Apart from generally just being well overdue, we have had an issue with it on the last three evenings in the midst of cooking dinner. Although starting well, after a while it would then go out. On re-lighting it would repeat the process every 5 to 10 minutes! Each time this led to a somewhat longer time to cook the meal.

Fortunately we did still have a part can of a very good oven cleaner (some are much better than others). After giving it two doses - leaving for about 20 - 30 minutes each time - a large amount of very greasy muck could be wiped away although the internal roof of the oven needed a firm but gentle hand with a small scraper! Whilst we could not pretend that it is yet back to 'looking like new', it does seem to have resolved the presenting issue. In any case, it looks much healthier and Mike feels just a tad more virtuous, at least for the rest of the evening!