Breaking news

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

March 3rd STOP PRESS... Midland Chandlers to close all their shops. It will be an online service only. We got this information directly from the horses mouth when Ian phoned to see if they had a particular oil switch and

The package has arrived and we are off

NB Wakahuia

The night before we picked Julia up from Auckland Airport, we stayed at Karaka - not too far away, which was necessary because we needed to be at the airport just after 5.30am. But best laid plans and all that

Home Moorings

NB Harnser

More rain over night but dry when we were ready to leave with light winds. We have seen quite a few boats on the move today. We passed this group of five ex-working boats that I mentioned yesterday.[[DSCF1449]][1] CRT volunteers

Marching on amid uncertainty and warring factions

Pickingupducks

March – the start of meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere. On the 20th of the month, the Spring Equinox or in the Pagan calendar, Ostara, night and day will balance. It is also a time of flurries of movement

All Dry. 23rd February

NB Oleanna

*Scarboreugh/Redhill Marina* **Scarbados** We’d been feeling a little unconnected to Oleanna. Decorating the house ready for our next lodger, appointments and various extra jobs have been keeping us very busy. Add to this the extra distance to reach Redhill Marina

Flecknoe Fields Farm

NB Harnser

What a day/ night we have had we have had almost 9mm of today. It was fine drizzle when we set off and heavy before we reached Napton Junction where we turned right down to Calcutt Locks. We winded just

The 10 best sailing books for avid boaters

Insure4Boats

Reading a great sailing book can be just as rewarding as sailing in perfect weather conditions. Whether you’re planning a long offshore adventure, hoping to improve your sailing skills, or dreaming of your next voyage, the right books can educate,

A fraught day!

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Feb 26th Talk about a restless night! On my mind, will we or won't we be able to leave! At 5.45 am I got up to check the river app and sure enough, it was down to 1.42 and still

Puddle Bank Braunston

NB Harnser

Not such a nice day today, no sun and fully overcast with rain forecast for the afternoon. Boat movement was a bit sparse meeting 3 at Hillmorton and then one towing another on the Puddle Banks. CRT have done lots

Is the wait over?

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Feb 25th. Day 40 The last two days have felt more like the start of Spring, warm and sunny and ideal cruising conditions...now if only we could actually leave and get on our way! Yesterday we had the first of

Newbold

NB Harnser

The weather just keeps getting better, a few more boats on the move today. A lone CRT man is hard at work painting the M69 bridge, when we saw him he was just walking back from his truck packed at

Halfway Sutton Stop to Ansty

NB Harnser

[[IMG_20260223_194809]][1]Last night we ate at [Turmeric Gold][2] in Spon Street, somewhere we will definitely visit again. Well worth the walk. Its probably the nicest Indian restaurant we have ever been in. a really lovely setting. After last nights dinner I

Tenths. 21st February

NB Oleanna

*Scarboreugh / Redhill Marina* February this year marks a couple of tenth anniversaries for us. On the 14th February Oleanna’s baseplate was laid at Tim Tylers in Newcastle Under Lyme. We visited her on the 15th and got to stand

Coventry Basin

NB Harnser

A little late setting off as I had to ring Nation Express to rearrange our travel to London in June as they have altered the timetable since we booked it. Through to their call centre with 5 options, music and

Marston Junction

NB Harnser

First job this morning was into the café at 9-30am for a full English, well almost. One full, one veggie and share the meaty bits abut. This meant we were[[IMG_20260222_100856]][1] a bit late getting away on what seamed more like

Sutton Wharf

NB Harnser

Last night was the quietest overnight mooring we have had in a long time, not even a dawn chorus. We woke to a lovely spring like sunny day and shortly before we were ready to leave, first a boat came

From joy to sunken dreams – in a single week

Pickingupducks

Life has been reflected in the weather this week. Living so close to the elements, to nature makes us feel part of the environment around us. A single ray of sunshine above the floods this week has had a ridiculously

20 years - 6 marinas. All with pros and cons. Which is best?

NB Herbie

Herbie has moved home a few times in 20 years. Which did we like most? Let's list them first: 1 **Stanstead Abbots** Lee navigation just south of Ware (Where? Ware). This is where we bought Herbie and we had to

Snarestone Wharf

NB Harnser

It was a bit warmer this morning but it actually felt cooler than yesterday. The day started quite pleasant with light winds and looking bright, however it didn’t last and we had a very heavy , squally shower. The canal

Bosworth

NB Harnser

Boy what a night 10mm rain and sleet with loads of gusty wind. The forecast constantly changing with the latest saying saying things would clear by 11am. At 10-30 it was fine and we set off, again I timed it

Meet Vera!

The Sumpners Afloat

It seems like an eternity since we announced the advent of a new addition to our lives – a motorhome. It’s a 4 berth Swift Voyager 594 2026 model,and we finally took delivery on Friday 13th – yeah. I know!

Hinkley

NB Harnser

Last night we ate at The Greyhound Pub, this is the third meal we have had since it changed ownership and they have all been very good. At half seven the restaurant was just about full on a Tuesday.[[IMG_20260217_194245]][1] We

Hawkesbury Junction- Suttons Stop

NB Harnser

Last night was no as quiet as we had experienced moored there in the past, probably due to road works in the area and traffic using different routes. This morning we woke to a nice still, sunny morning and were

Rugby

NB Harnser

We really shouldn’t plan, We were due to come to the boat yesterday but when we got up it was blowing a gale, raining with a yellow snow warning for half the rout so we decided to replan for today.

Is yet to be solved

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Feb 15th All morning was spent trying to find where the water was coming from. Nothing was found, no leaks, weeps or seeps! So the mystery still continues, but Ian is now more than ever under the impression that condensation

A weird day of confusing weather

NB Percy

I am loosing trust in the weather forecasts. I wish there was one that was somewhat reliable. Yesterdays weather forecast was quite dire, rain and cloud all day.... and cold. I decided late morning to put the fishing umbrella up

A bit of a double fail for now

NB Percy

Yesterday was a day of getting stuff done outside .... I'm sure most of us in the UK were out under the weak but full sun for a while. My first semi fail was of my own making as I

Kiwis On and Off-Board Adventures – Part Two Ireland

NB Areandare

Water in places not expected

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Feb 13th (gulp...it's a Friday) It's raining...again! Started yesterday late afternoon and continued throughout the night. Of course, we know what that means, Trent will be rising with height predictions of nearly 3.00m by late evening of the 14th. A

Everybody needs good neighbours

Pickingupducks

This week has made evident just how important a strong community is to us and society as a whole. We woke at the weekend to find the river had risen dramatically overnight, our pallet step was in danger of being

Should I stay or should I go ....

NB Percy

... there you go a bit of a Clash earworm for you. We will have been married 41 years tomorrow Valentines day. Last year we booked into a very nice hotel in Bosham for a long weekend, Rachel got White

Our northern odyssey has begun

NB Wakahuia

When I wrote this on 9 Feb, we were in Te Kōwhai at a POP (park over property). It's lovely and peaceful - just a little traffic noise but nothing disturbing. We are parked up under a couple of silver

A nice gesture

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Feb 9th You learn something every day! Walking to the water point, container and trolley dragging behind us, we met up with a fellow boater who had arrived only two days ago. His destination was Chapel Farm marina, where he

Ordered. 7th February

NB Oleanna

*Scarboreugh / Redhill Marina* **Scarborough on a rare day with blue sky ** It’s been a while since I last wrote a post. Semi because there hasn’t been much boat stuff to write about, but also we’ve been keeping quiet

Will it go any higher?

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

8th Feb. Day 23 We have been religiously following the Gov.org website on Shardlow river levels since we first arrived over three weeks ago, watching the river going up and down it never quite got down far enough for us

Best Moorings in 20 years -plus flood works

NB Herbie

So after another break - more on that later -we continue our look back over 20 years of enjoying Herbie. How many times we've moored up for the night is anybody's guess. It'll be in the thousands at any rate.

Best of all worlds and best for choice?

Pickingupducks

It is interesting to see your own way of life portrayed on television, particularly if it is a little different. We are familiar with Robbie Cumming’s *Canal Boat Diaries* and always thought them the most honest representation of how we

Another test of our resolve to keep the boat

NB Percy

I dare not do the calculations ( but I will) of what it costs to keep a cottage and a boat. I'll then consider the costs of just the boat and continuously cruising having sold the cottage .... I doubt

A very short cruise

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Feb 4th Today we left the moorings above Shardlow lock, and today we hoped we might be able to leave for home. Levels had dropped to below 1.53, lower than it had been since we arrived over two weeks ago.

Replacing Window Stays

The Sumpners Afloat

**A quick DIY Job** Many of you will have [Caldwells windows ][1]– the hopper style ones that are either open or closed. We really love ours as they can be fully removed to let more air in. We very often

Signs, symbols and significance

Pickingupducks

Next Monday is Candlemas Day, a day traditionally of long range weather prediction, pancakes and of course, candles. Weather lore is more than folklore, but based on sensory observations over many years, changes in temperature, smell, sounds and sights. *If

And still we wait.

NB Free Spirit (Jameisons Afloat)

Jan 30th Still here...thirteen days later and the river refusing to go down. In fact, the one chance where we may have been able to leave, the levels having dropped to 1.61, happened at 5am on the 27th before rising

Canal Boat Travels – The Winter we will Never Forget!

Narrowboat Life Unlocked

Winter life on a narrowboat can be a challenge and we are hoping to have a relaxing few weeks on the Llangollen canal, mooring on the Prees arm, then Whitchurch, but get caught up in the terrible breach, but finally

Riddle me this ?

NB Percy

Never a nice thing to be shelling out large chunks of money. January is our boat license renewal month. I will have detailed in other posts the cost of having a boat on the UK canals. Boat licence Mooring fees

Why The Nene is our favourite river - plus quiz answers

NB Herbie

Soirry to keep you waiting (I've been busy). Can you tell a red kite from a marsh harrier, or a wren from a sparrow? Find out in the answers to the questions in Part Three of our Best Ever Cruise

Part 3 – Our Canal Boat Water Usage Meter

NB Floydtilla

The problem has always been: How much water do I have it the tank? This is part 3, the development of our solution. Software development is now pretty much complete, and the User Interface is detailed below. Next will come

Inspiring new beginnings amid the winds of change

Pickingupducks

How rapidly things change for us, and not just river levels! Last week we were awaiting the arrival of a grandchild. He finally arrived in the early hours of a Tuesday morning, a big lad whose arrival proved very uncomfortable

Beautiful Blakemere in Winter – Narrowboat Life Continues

Narrowboat Life Unlocked

Filmed four week’s before the Whitchurch breach, we are moored in the same spot that we chose on the 22 December and head through the lift bridge, our winter plans are to get to the Prees arm, then Blakemore and

7 canals for widebeam boats in the UK

Insure4Boats

Cruising the [UK canal system][1] in a widebeam boat is a unique experience, offering plenty of space, a homely feel, and great stability on the water. But with their broader beam, these boats can’t navigate every stretch of canal. Careful

Your guide to sailing safely: Tips, checks, and safety equipment

Insure4Boats

Whether you’re a [beginner sailor][1] or experienced on the water, weather, tides, navigation rules, and other water users can pose potential risks when out on your boat. Staying safe while sailing isn’t just about following the rules. It’s about preparation,