Wolfhall

Today's Canal : Kennet and Avon

The forecast for today was in two halves - mostly sunny this morning but by noon there was a good chance that there would be rain. So, we set off just after 9 so that we could get as far as possible before getting too wet. We also knew that there are still restrictions in place for the summit pound which limit entry and exit to 9.30 am to 3.30 pm, but we can still continue to move between the two locked gates.

So, here is the space we vacated, the only one for some distance as we soon discovered - we had passed quite a long line yesterday but this was perhaps only half way!

As this photo shows, there was plenty of sunshine but with darker clouds lurking in the distance.

Wide beam boats are quite a discussion topic on this canal (the numbers seem to have have mushroomed in the past year or so) but today we spotted this one - in the distance it looked like a mobile forest. We wondered how the steerer can see anything at all. Sorry about the photo but it was a bit awkward with the sun in the 'wrong' direction . . . 

After the Long Pound (15 miles from the top of Caen Hill flight) we were now just four more locks to the summit. We had been following a boat since we were casting off and they kindly waited for us at the first. It seemed that they would make good locking companions but, alas, as we exited the lock another boat hurriedly set off from their overnight mooring and so the boat we had just shared with joined up with them, leaving us to do the three remaining locks on our own.

The second lock is Heathy Close, the subject of a multi-week stoppage just after we came this way earlier in the summer. At that time, narrowboats could pass but only the near-side bottom gate could be opened, reportedly as the result of damage caused by a boat collision. 

The repair was considerable and CaRT decided that it would be speediest to return the damaged gate to one of its two gate workshops. There is was fitted with a new heel post (the vertical part nearest to the gate wall) and other patching. When it came to re-fit the repaired gate it was discovered that the other bottom gate also needed some work but this seems to have been done by making a steel collar to hold it together until a full replacement can be included in the winter maintenance programme.

After rising up through the fourth lock we were now, at last, on the summit pound, all the way from the River Avon in Bath!

The original builders of the canal managed to avoid an even higher summit by taking the canal through Bruce Tunnel. Even so, it was always a struggle to maintain a level in the summit pound, including a large steam pumping station, which we will pass tomorrow.

As we neared the far end of the tunnel we could see that something appeared to be blocking the way. We approached very gingerly and it turned out to be the same steel flat (working boat) that was almost adrift when we came before. This time it was entirely free and we had to nudge it gently out of the way. As we were doing so, another boat came the other way. A young chap from that boat came to help and after Mike had brought the flat alongside, and discovered that it had been tethered only by a tent peg, he handed over to him the task of finally making it a little safer. We later discovered that one of the boats ahead of us had by now reported the problem to CaRT although it is unlikely to see much swift action we fear. Even a proper mooring pin would help.

We were now on the lookout for somewhere to moor although the immediate next section was in a dark cutting. A couple of boats were moored just beyond the next bridge, the last before the Crofton flight, and just manged to slot into a gap in the middle - with the kind help of one of the boaters. That boat turned out to be the one we shared the first lock of the day.

The bridge is called Wolf Hall Bridge - after the nearby farm (aka Wulfhall). Yes, we discovered, this is the location of the Tudor seat of the Seymour family which gave Hilary Mantel the basis for the name of her very successful novel of that name. However, the Tudor house later became derelict and was replaced in the 18C and then extended in the 19C. It remains in that form today but is now divided into several separate residences.

The promised rain arrived on schedule and we quickly decided that we would not attempt to do any more locks, saving that treat for tomorrow! Although there were a few brighter spells, it remained largely wet through the afternoon.

6.6 Miles - 4 Locks