Narrowboat off Grid Adventure Continues

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Hail to the Hive!

Waking up in a new location when you are mobile is a slightly odd experience. Your immediate surounding, the boat, are exactly the same. However the light outside is angled differently and you can sense it as well as the noise outside, or lack of it.

We woke up on the canal in the town of Fradley. It was a pleasant enough spot and the weather was promising to be glorious.

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As the weather was so nice we had breakfast and then a coffee outside on the deck as there was no rush. Then we untied the moorings and slowly set off.

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It’s a slow pace on the canal as it’s a 4mph speed limit and the boats aren’t exactly high performance but I started to sense a lack of power with the boat about 45 mins into the journey.
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I instinctively knew something was amiss but as we were still moving along (very very slowly) and the weather was nice ( very very nice ) I saw no reason to wipe the smile off my face. That is a smile even if I do look like I have wind.

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So onwards winding our way through the English countryside under an unusually hot March sun.

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There are always interesting things on the bank. Building left behind from the early industrial age, boats in various states of repair, always something to capture the imagination.
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I noticed on the map we were approaching Streethay Wharf and the numbers of boats along the side of the canal were increasing dramatically. I wasn’t moving very quickly but at least I was moving. My thinking was to pull in and see if anyone could take a look at what could possibly be causing my incredibly slow pace and lack of power.

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And I can fill up with diesel while I am at it also.
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After a bit of a chat with the people at Streethay Wharf ( who were really cool by the way) I had the guys figuring out the issue and sorting it out and we also emptied the toilet, did laundry and as mentioned filled up with diesel.

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Ray was a legend and sorted out the main issue but showed me a few other things I could do myself to make things better and improve the heartbeat of our new home. Really liked the vibe at 5he Marina and will be back in June to have the hull of the boat re blacked, which we can do ourselves after they have taken Badger out of the water.
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While Ray was addressing my power issues I went in to the chandlery to buy a few spares of things that were lacking on the boat. i took a few pics in there also as I really liked the old school signage in the place.
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When Ray was finished and our laundry was dry the sun was starting to wane and we needed to find ourselves a spot to koor up for the night and it would need to be fairly close.

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Not 20 minutes out we found a nice spot to moor up, watch the sun set and settle in for the night.
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A day full of accomplishment but alas not what we thought we would be doing. It all worked out good though. But we would need to crack on the next day as we had arranged to meet @diveratt and needed to be close enough to a meet up point to make the rendezvous a little easier.
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So the following morning after a quick breakfast and coffee ( this time in the boat as the UK had remembered it wasn’t summer) we set off again with a little more pace than the day before.

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Despite the cold it was still a very pleasant cruise passing the odd boat moored up with someone usually waving out the window as you putter past. It really is an extremely friendly environment the canal network.
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As I continued the surroundings became much more forest like with large trees now sheltering me from what proving to be a bitterly cold wind. So not only was the environment very pleasing to the eye but it also sheltered me from winters last breath.
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We were getting quite close to tomorrows rendezvous point so I was on the lookout for a suitable place to moor up.

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It all looks so beautiful it is really hard to decide.

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This looks perfect. It is also only a few minutes walk to meet up with @diveratt tomorrow which is excellent. It will be nice to see him again it’s been a while.

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I wonder what he will make of all this?

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Stay safe out there people, wherever you may be on this planet of ours

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13 comments
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Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍

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What a cool lifestyle! Wow this seems like a lot of fun.

Do you have to pay to moor? Or do you just pull up and tie up wherever you like (within reason)?

I'm also curious about the locks. Are they staffed by employees like a toll-booth? Or do you have to get out and operate them yourself?

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Hi @fronttowardenemy . Mostly the moorings along the canal are free. There may be restrictions such as 24hours 48 etc.

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Hi @fronttowardenemy . Mostly the moorings along the canal are free. There may be restrictions such as 24hours 48 etc. the locks are usually DIY except on some where they are manned by CRT ( canal and river trust) volunteers. Inwill do a postf about the locks soon as I have had several questions regarding them. They are cool engineering from way back. We are new to this but loving it. Its pretty cool.

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Looks like you have a we bit of a sunburn.

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Caught off guard. Wasn't expecting it to be so sunny in March and i was outside steering the boat all day for several days. No danfer today, freezing cold wooly hat on

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Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1160.

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