Gallows Hill, to Union Wharf then Bridge 14

Jo received a phone call to say we had some large parcels for us waiting at Union Wharf, so we upped stakes and returned there to pick them up, winded and returned to Bridge 14. The parcels were all the spares Keith ordered. Such things as fuel and oil filters, water pumps, impellors, etc. We now have a good stock which should last us a few years and save us money in the long run. The spare pumps are just in case one should break down and we are not near a Chandlery, especially during the winter whilst on our coal run, as we are lacking in Chandleries on our patch. A new hour meter for the generator which will replace the temperature gauge in the control panel once I move the gauge to the pigeon box. As we have had problems with the cheap circulation pumps for the back boiler I have decided to replace them with an expensive one. The tins of Lauderdale Blue paint are so we can start changing the paler blue we incorrectly chose for Hadar's colour scheme. Lauderdale Blue is what we should have used, so don't be surprised to see Hadar running with a mixture of the 2 blues until we complete the whole changeover. Keith is starting with the new water cans which will be in the new blue livery.

Harborough to Gallows Hill

Yesterday morning we moved to Gallows Hill as we had a customer waiting there who needed coal. The fishermen were out in force along the way.

Keith started to paint one of the new water cans with a coat of primer after repairing the side handle, which fell off in Jo's hand as she was passing out to Keith from the hold. The solder joints had failed but 4 brass bolts, nuts and washers have made a substantial repair. He will leave painting the other can until he can buy some more nuts and bolts, just to be on the safe side. The handle on the other can seems to be better attached, but he doesn't want to take any chances seeing as we want to actually use them to hold water. Far easier to make a decent repair before he paints it and hopefully no one will notice.

He refitted the new tyres to the trolley, they must be gold plated inside, as they cost just over £86! Each tyre was £30.13 and each inner tube was £12.92. Makes us glad we no longer have a car with 5 tyres!!

He also reset the Kohler generator speed so that the output was at 52.5Hz under no-load condition, as recommended by the manufacturers, but not quoted in their manual. Under load the frequency drops, as noticed by Simon when he checked our Victron Invertor/Charger the other week. When the generator was delivered it was set incorrrectly at 60Hz for the USA, despite all the signs and badges on it saying it was 50Hz. Keith had readjusted it, but of course he set it to 50Hz under no-load. Although it hasn't caused any problems so far, he is happier now it is set correctly. Life is so much better and easier when you know all the facts.

Our replacement battery had arrived at Union Wharf, which we picked up whilst we were there, and fitted in place of the damaged one. I take my hat off to Kuranda for sorting it out for us. They managed to persuade Victron that it should be replaced under warranty, which is excellent. We would also like to thank them for sorting out the problems with our Victron Invertor/Charger, with a visit by Simon whilst we were at Crick, which is working perfectly again. All this was despite the fact that both Darren and Brett were going firstly to the IWA National at Beale Park, and then the Southampton Boat Show which made life interesting for the pair of them. It was a recommendation by Roger Fuller our boat builder to have Kuranda supply all our major electrics, and we are glad now that we did. It certains has paid off getting all our kit from one supplier as we only have to contact one place, and all their kit is known to work together. No having one company saying, "Nothing wrong with our kit, it's the other guys stuff!" and the other saying the same. Unfortunately they will have to wait till next summer to get Jo's cake she will bake for them when we get to Whaley Bridge.

Foxton to Market Harborough.

We have returned to the towpath just outside Union Wharf, Market Harborough, having cruised the 4.8 miles, in 2hrs. Whilst Keith went off to try and get our trolley tyres fixed, I went and did some Veg and Fruit shopping. We will be here for a couple of days, as we have appointment to keep.

Top of Foxton Locks to Black Horse Bridge.

Hi Friends.

Having spent a lovely weekend above the Foxton Locks we are now moored at Black Horse Bridge, Foxton after a pleasant run down through Foxton locks this morning. We can now enjoy the afternoon Autumn sunshine whilst we wait for my customers, who are collecting coal later on.

Welford Arm to Foxton.

Hi Friends.

We are now moored next to Gumley Road Bridge No.60, just above Foxton top lock. Having cruised 8.6 miles, worked 1 lock, in 3hrs 30mins. It has been a foggy old morning. Even in Husbands Bosworth tunnel. So much so that we could not see the exit portal until we were 300 metres from it. Hadar was pushing the fog through the tunnel! Time for some much needed lunch and then we will see what the afternoon brings.

Yesterday we travelled to, and moored up for the night at Welford Wharf outside the Wharf Inn, but we couldn't get a decent internet connection to report our location at the time. We delivered coal to the Inn which should last them until December.

Now above the Buckby Flight.

Hi Friends.

We are now moored above Buckby top lock, have cruised 1.9miles, worked 7 locks, in 2hrs 10mins. We are close to the New Inn Pub. We had a nice cruise up the flight, with the help of the crews off of Relaine and Annie Rose, who followed us up the flight. Thank you for their help. We have had an afternoon of boat jobs, which are now all done. Moored in front of us are Ray and Jayne on NB No Direction. Tomorrow we are heading on to the Leicester Arm to begin the Winter coal run properly, so if you need coal and your on the Leicester Arm from Crick down to Market Harborough, please look out for us.

Stoke Bruerne to Muscott's Bridge (18)

Hi Friends.

Keith and I enjoyed a fantastic weekend at Stoke Bruerne. The Village at War event was just brilliant. So a huge thank you to everyone who helped to make it such a wonderful event. Although Sunday was a wet day, people still came out and enjoyed everything that was going on. We will definitely be going again next year.

We left Stoke Bruerne this morning behind the Cheese and Fudge boats and are now moored at Muscutt Bridge (18) near the Heart of the Shires Shopping Village, which we paid a visit too.


On our journey this morning we met up with Lesley off of nb Caxton and Jill off of nb Matilda Rose, they were out walking their dogs. We did not get the opportunity to stop for a chat, but hopefully we will see them again sometime for a proper natter.

It has been a wonderful day, with lots of sunshine. Tomorrow we will make our way up the Buckby Flight. Let's hope we have someone to share with.

At Stoke Bruerne.

Hi Friends.

We are now safely moored at Stoke Bruerne ready for the "Village at War" weekend this coming weekend. We have been looking forward to this for some time, and it always nice to know we have arrived in plenty of time and not been held up on the way, phew, what a relief.
We only cruised for 2 hours and did 5.3 miles, but at least we stayed dry. The forecast was for heavy rain. The wettest part of the cruise was in Blisworth Tunnel.

Almost at Stoke Bruerne.

Hi friends.

We have had a long day today travelling from Crick to Bridge 42 on the Grand Union Main line between Bugbrooke and Gayton junction. 14.9 miles, 14 locks, 8hrs 20mins, phewww! Still just a short run tomorrow to Stoke Bruerne ready for the weekend, which we are both looking forward to ;0)

Mountain Barn Bridge to Crick

Hi friends old and new.

We left our overnight mooring at Mountain Barn Bridge and are now moored at Crick for the weekend, after cruising in strong winds and a howling gale. With the weather taking a down turn, coal sales are on the increase, as people decide it is time to light their fires. It was nice catching up with some old friends and meeting some new friends, who we hope to supply coal to this Winter, as we continue the coal run from Crick to Kilby Bridge, Welford and Market Harborough. Life does not get much better than this.

Welford Junction to Mountain Barn Bridge.

Hi Friends.

We only cruised for a couple of hours and did 5.5miles. We are now moored near Mountain Barn Bridge No.27, we passed Callisto today, we must stop meeting them at bridge 'oles and bends :-) Had Ravioli for lunch and now watching 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' a real classic.

Market Harborough to Foxton.

Hi Friends.

We have set off from Market Harborough for the "Village at War" weekend at Stoke Bruerne, but are stopping overnight near Foxton Junction for tonight, 5.15 miles 2hrs 25mins. A long the route this morning we dropped off coal to a couple of our customers and look forward to seeing them when we come back. It was a pleasant morning in the sunshine.

Happy Birthday.

Hi Friends.

We are back at Market Harborough for the weekend.
Keith is celebrating his Birthday today, so Happy Birthday sweetheart xxx.
It was a chilly old morning this morning, I was glad I kept the back cabin stove in overnight.
We are staying here for at least the weekend and then we will see what Monday brings.

Black Horse Bridge, Foxton to Bridge 14 Market Harborough.

Hi Friends.

Having had a Tesco food delivery this morning. We winded the boat below Foxton Locks and headed back towards Market Harborough. We are now moored at bridge 14, opposite the Union Canal Society moorings and will be here for a few days as Keith has to have blood tests done and we then have to wait for the results.

Market Harborough to Foxton Village.

We have returned to Black Horse Bridge Foxton, ready for our Tescos delivery tomorrow. We have to return to Harborough tomorrow, so Keith can have some blood tests done Wednesday morning.

We have had a fabulous time this past few days. Saturday we celebrated our Sixth Wedding Anniversary with a meal at The Shoulder of Mutton in Foxton, which was excellent. We also went to the Quids for Kids Coffee Morning held in Market Harborough by David Irving a radio presenter with Hfm. We were fortunate to be offered a lift with Stu and Kendall also radio presenters on Hfm. On Sunday we moved the boat to Market Harborough and went to the Arts Fresco event in the town, which was packed with over 30,000. The event was fantastic with street performers showing off their talents.

So all in all we have had a great time. I love being back on the Leicester Section of the Grand Union. We have been supplying our customers with their coal and have made some new contacts which are always welcome.

Saddington to Foxton.

Hi Folks.

We are now moored at Black Horse Bridge in Foxton after cruising for 4 miles, in 1hr 45mins. We spent a couple of days at Saddington, without any internet connection, due to poor mobile signal, so no one knew where we were. It was actually lovely to not be online for a change lol. We enjoyed a lovely walk to Saddington Reservoir, whilst we were there and just chilled out. Looking forward to a nice weekend now.

Foxton to Market Harborough.

Hi Friends.

We are now moored for the rest of the weekend on the towpath just outside Union Wharf, Market Harborough having cruised 5.5miles, worked 0 locks, not even the swing bridge as it is open for repairs. It took us 2 hours to get here, having dropped off coal to a customer. We then had another customer come to meet us at the basin to collect their coal order. So Hadar's hold is a little emptier. It is nice to be back on the Leicester Section of the Grand Union doing our Coal Run for the Second Year. We will be here now until the end of March, selling Coal, Kindling, Firelighters and Toilet Blue, so if you see us about come and say hello. We are looking forward to catching up with all our customers over the next few months.

Welford Arm to the Bottom of Foxton Locks.

We are now moored close to Foxton Junction, down the Market Harborough arm, having cruised 9 miles, worked 11 locks, in 5hrs 10mins.

Buckby Flight to the Welford Arm

Hi Folks.

We are now at the Welford Arm, having had a long but fantastic days cruising. We managed to cruise for 8 hrs and 35mins, doing 17.4 miles and 9 locks. I lost count of the bridges we went under ha ha ha. At the Watford flight Keith and I helped set locks for the four boats coming down, so we are now Cream Crackered but in a good way.

Hi to Diana and Brian on NB Return to Sender, who very kindly bought coal from us whilst coming down the Watford Flight. Thank you and we hope we will see you again sometime for a longer chat. I know you read the blog, so now you are famous for five minutes LOL.

Dinner is cooking so all is very well with our world. I think we may both sleep well tonight.

Stoke Bruerne to Anchor Cottage, Buckby Flight.

Loved this sign at Bugbrooke.

We are now moored at Anchor Cottage, Buckby Wharf, having cruised 14.3 miles, worked 6 locks, in 7hrs 30mins.

It was the longest cruising day this year for us 7½hours, but it has been a lovely day. We saw Barbara on nb Cloud Nine, which was lovely. We shared the locks with Keith and Jan on nb Salamander who are visiting from off the Middle Levels. We stopped near Anchor Cottage and moored up, where Keith made enquiries at the shop about unpainted real Water Cans, and she going to see if she can get him a couple. To finish off a perfect day we bought a couple of Mint Choc Cornetto's.