Anticipation

4 weeks to go till departure, the countdown ticking. Finishing building work, clearing out stuff, celebrating friendships and birthdays, booking moorings....The narrowboat Santiago awaits.

Is our travel tech up to scratch? Will a blog work?

Carpe diem!

Comments

  1. MarkM28 May 2017 at 04:58

    We are looking forward to following your travels on the Santiago.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Hebden Spike

Image
8/5/2019 The Calder and Hebble Navigation (2 rivers which have canal sections, as well as river sections made navigable with weirs and locks) travels roughly west to east, from the old mill town of Sowerby Bridge towards Wakefield. The C and H has two peculiarities. 1. Half its locks are 57'6" long. Santiago is 58'6" long. As the locks are designed for wide beam boats, they are 14' wide. Therefore Santiago can just fit - on the diagonal! This means roping the bow into a corner, keeping the stern very close to the dreaded cill. Not a misspell, the lock equivalent of a window sill. The cill acts to seal the bottom area of the lock's top gate. As water is released to drop the boat down, the propeller can get lodged on the cill. This is one way that boaters have died. Cap'n JJ manages the gentle release of water in these locks, while first mate stands on the stern feeling nervous, sometimes getting wet from waterfalls through leaky gates. Who said boati...
Read more

Visiting the Caldon 9 May

Image
The Caldon Canal, like many, began as a way of transporting limestone the 17 miles from the western slopes of the Pennines to its junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal. It survived the closures of other branch canals because of its water source, like the stone, from the Pennines. Now a lovely green quiet channel, which we followed to the town of Leek- from Norse for water, we read. Moored with reeds and nettles rampaging along the bank, JJ slips the plank across, so we can walk the 2 miles or so to a pub, the menu including a Limestone Lobby- apparantly a stew! A photo below of a box at the back of the boat- it gives the steerer extra height, to see over the length of the boat, and is known as a Pavarotti box. A new and welcome addition to Santiago. Another pic of a star shaped mark in a stone in the lock chamber- the stonemason's mark. We've heard that the mark was made so that the mason could show the number of stones he'd  made, and be paid accordingly. ...
Read more

Good parents

Image
13/6/2019 A real bonus of slow travel by boat is seeing bird life up close.  Today walking in Nottingham, a swan parent carrying young  on its back. The weather chilly and wet. In Lincoln, a Canada goose tucked its chicks under its wing.
Read more