On our way to Bugsworth

We left Kings Bromley early afternoon on Saturday and began our journey north in windy and cloudy conditions. We earlier met Glenn from Elite Furnishings who came and fitted our new long awaited kitchen blind which looks great and is much less obstructive than the old one.

We had a pleasant afternoon with just one brief shower and moored just below Haywood Lock. We had a lovely meal at The Clifford Arms where the portions are large and the value very reasonable. 

Haywood Lock

Great Haywood village

Today is Louises birthday. 21 again plus VAT !! We were up quite early and Louise opened all her cards  and we walked the dogs (we've also inherited Louises Mums Jack Russell for this trip - oh how lucky we are !!) and then set off about 8.15 am.

Plenty of boats heading south, but no queues for us. As we approached Aston we met one of our old shared boats 'Marbury' travelling south. We didn't know the steerer and didn't get chance to speak, but it felt strange to see her again.

We always seem to drop lucky with Stone Locks and today was no exception... until the 4th lock when a boat coming down blatantly stole our water. We weren't impressed and I think they know we weren't, but what's the point in getting stressed when we are on holiday. It is frustrating though when we were clearly in view and only about 60 yards from the lock.

We have moored at Barlaston this evening ready for the run into Stoke tomorrow. Indoor barbecue, dog walking and watching the football is the itinerary for the evening.

Our first year with 'Moonie'

Having only recently decided to 'blog' our adventures, we are having to track the movements of the first year retrospectively, which is not ideal, but unavoidable.

We have spent so much time either cruising or pottering about at the marina (which is only 30 minutes drive from home), we couldn't possibly remember it all, but we have spent many days, weekends and even just summer evenings with a bottle of wine sitting in the cratch enjoying a wind down from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. So you can probably work out that so far we have no regrets whatsoever about getting out of shared ownership and purchasing our own boat - the freedom is priceless.

Our first trip was a weekend run down to Mercia Marina to have 'Moonie' blacked. It was three years since she was last out of the water. We also had the gunwales re-painted at the same time as they were looking a bit shabby. Justin and his team did a great job for us.

Easter, and a gleaming boat, and we were off on our first 'holiday' of the year - a trip down onto the River Soar to Leicester before returning back up the Trent & Mersey to our base. Lots of friends and family met us along the way and had a 'free boat trip'. We really enjoyed the Soar and intend to return sooner rather than later. 

Tattenhill Lock

The end of May, and we headed off along the Staffs & Worcs and onto the Shroppie, getting just beyond Shebdon Embankment before making the return trip. Two very different canals, but both very enjoyable. We shall remember the meal we had at the Wharf Tavern at Shebdon for some time - a bigger pie you will struggle to find. When we ordered, the landlord replied with 'Hungry are we ?? ' You can see why !!! The chips and onion rings came seperately !! We managed without a pudding.

Not for those of a nervous disposition

The last two weeks of July saw us embark on our longest trip of the year. We had been thwarted by flooding the previous year on the River Avon and so we were determined to complete it this time. We travelled the length of the Staffs & Worcs to Stourport and then down the River Severn to Tewkesbury. Just as we were about to enter Tewkesbury Lock, we had a chance meeting with one of our old 'shared' boats, Marbury. Aboard, were our friends Steve and Trish together with their family. As it was quiet, the lock keeper allowed us to moor on the lock landing for half an hour as we showed them round 'Moonie' before we headed our seperate ways. It was great to see them.

Blue Moon & Marbury together at Tewkesbury

We were absolutely taken by the River Avon - what a beautiful waterway. The work which has gone into opening it up again is fully justified and although a licence is not cheap, we thought it was worth every penny and we shall certainly be heading back there in the future. We travelled all the way up to Stratford and then back home through Birmingham, taking the shorter route via Knowle. A thoroughly enjoyable trip.

Moored outside the RSC Stratford

A short break back at work (ugghhh !!), and we were off again on our final 'holiday' of the year at the end of August. We took a short trip towards home, enabling John's elderly Mum to have a short break with us for a few days. We travelled down to Shardlow, also managing to have some close friends out with us for a day, before winding and travelling back up to Findern. We said goodbye to John's Mum and 'replaced' her with our youngest son, Luke. He stayed with us for 3-4 days before he left us at Kidsgrove to catch the train home. We were then on our own as we completed the rest of the Four Counties Ring at a leisurely pace.

Early start to the Audlem Flight

Our final excursion of 2011 was a little unusual. Louise and her work colleagues arranged their Christmas celebrations at 'The Waterfront' at Barton Marina. What better way to travel than by boat !! We travelled down on the Saturday in cold and wet conditions, but moored right outside the venue. 14 people on board for drinks before the function was a little tight, but a great night was had by all. We staggered the 50 yards back to 'our room' at 2.30am and had a couple of friends stay on board with us and accompany us back to Kings Bromley the following day. A great weekend was had by all.

'Moonie' has performed well over the year. I have got to grips with servicing the engine and doing other maintenance jobs and thoroughly enjoyed learning about it. One or two minor issues to deal with such as new leisure batteries, we suffered a leaking pipe under the kitchen sink which was no doubt as a result of the previous harsh winter, we changed the 240v fridge for a 12v version and changed all the lighting to LED to lessen the drain on the batteries. We have also had a digital satellite system installed. 

We have had a great first year and really hope that 2012 will be even more fun.

How it all started

Having enjoyed reading numerous blogs, particularly those which are waterways related, we have decided to document our travels on our narrowboat 'Blue Moon'.

We first experienced narrowboating in 2005 when we hired 'Katrin' from Viking Afloat at Worcester. It didn't all exactly start well, as our youngest son, Luke, decided he was going to fall in the water before we had even finished the boat briefing or started the engine. However, things improved very quickly and since then we have been 'hooked'. Our first trip saw us head out onto the River Severn and then head north along the Staffs & Worcs and the Shroppie as far as Brewood, before re-tracing our steps to Worcester. We were blessed with fabulous weather which undoubtedly helped, but the sense of relaxation we experienced was just fantastic. 

Whittington Lock - Staffs & Worc

On the return home we put the radio on in the car and were listening to reports about Hurricane 'Katrina' in New Orleans, which was news to us. The fact that it had occurred six days earlier and we knew nothing of it brought it home to us how far away from everyday life we had been.

Within a few weeks we had booked our holiday for 2006, a fortnights trip this time from Chirk Marina on a Black Prince boat called 'Miranda'. We managed to cover the Llangollen, Four Counties Ring and most of the Caldon, before crossing the 'Ponty' on our last afternoon before handing the boat back. 

Great Haywood Junction

2007 saw us hire 'Natasha' another Black Prince boat, this time from Wigrams Turn, for a trip down the South Oxford as far as Thrupp and then back to Braunston and up to Norton Junction before the short trip back to base. Just a week on the waterways this year, but our enthusiasm was as strong as ever. 

Summit Level - South Oxford Canal

Whilst on the 2006 trip we met people who had a 'share' in a boat and got us thinking about shared ownership. We researched it then but didn't feel confident enough to commit. We visited the OwnerShips show at Braunston in 2007, picked the brains of those already involved, but still held off. After the 2007 trip, we considered it again, and this time we decided that the time was right. We signed up to a share in a new boat 'Marbury' and we were the first aboard her in February 2008. A very cold week but most enjoyable too.

Market Bosworth

The waterways were becoming an addiction. Not only Marbury, but later that year we decided to buy a share in another OwnerShips boat, 'Inglewood'. This gave us at least 6 weeks cruising a year and this was the case until 2010. The groups of owners on each boat were fantastic. All were enthusiastic and lovely people, but despite having our own share, it never felt like 'ours'. I would say to anyone considering the shared ownership option, it worked well for us and totally fulfilled our needs at the time. It beats hiring hands down and is a chance to become involved in the running of a boat - your boat (or at least some of it).

Bosley Locks - Macclesfield Canal

Our last trip on Inglewood was in August 2010 when we ventured down onto the River Avon from our base at Fradley. Unfortunately we became stuck at Bidford-on-Avon due to floods and had to stay put for 3 days, but on our return to Fradley we discussed the possibility of buying our own boat. We wanted something to call our own and something where we could please ourselves. We chatted for hours and hours about whether we could stretch to buying a boat outright, what make and layout we would prefer etc etc. We viewed a couple of boats at nearby Mercia Marina and came up with a short wish list of what we wanted.

Many hours of internet trawling followed, until one Saturday night in September 2010 it happened. A private advert on Apollo Duck suddenly appeared and our short wish list was ticked in virtually every box. We just stared at the advert in disbelief. 'That's it' we said - 'That's what we've been waiting for'. A sleepless night, followed by an early morning telephone call to the advertiser and an hour and a half later we had travelled to Blisworth Marina to view 'Blue Moon'. As soon as we stepped aboard for the first time we knew this was the boat for us. We immediately got on with the owners David & Sarah and left them a couple of hours later having agreed in principle to buy the boat. We called at the first pub we found and walked in as though we had won the lottery (it would have been useful at this point) and had a celebratory drink, not believing that we had agreed to buy our first boat. Interestingly, David had told us that 'Blue Moon' was not the original name of the boat, but that they had changed it when they bought her two years previously. She was originally called 'Stephanie Jane' when new, but they didn't care for that and so they had changed it. That immediately rang a bell with me. 'I've seen that boat before' I claimed. 'Where, are you sure' queried my doubting wife Louise. 'In a magazine' I replied. I'm sure from the look on her face that she didn't believe me, but when we got home I found the magazine in question from 2009. There I found the advert of 'Stephanie Jane' for sale with the New & Used Boat Company. Spookily, the advert was circled in pen signifying it as a boat I would like to buy. It was obviously meant to be !!

We were invited back a couple of weeks later and got the opportunity to take David & Sarah out for a' test drive' finishing off with a lovely pub meal. They were selling 'Blue Moon' as they were having a new boat built, but as they were in no great rush to sell and we were in no great rush to take delivery, we agreed to leave the boat at Blisworth over the winter. Over the winter we counted down the days until the deal was completed on 26th February 2011. We left Blisworth exactly a month later for the journey north to our base at Kings Bromley Marina on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Louise at the helm having left Blisworth 26.3.2011