Our month on the beautiful Basingstoke canal, which extended to five weeks because we spent time in the dry dock in the last week, has come to an end and I feel grateful that we were able to explore it. Others have not been so lucky as it is not a given that the canal will be in a suitable condition for cruising. Lack of water is a big issue (ironic that our time on the neighbouring River Wey was blighted by too much water!) so in order to preserve this precious commodity the canal authority (which happens to be Hampshire and Surry county council) designates limited opening times for boaters to operate the locks. Once the last boat is through for the day, a warden caulks the lock gates which helps to prevent water leaking out through the cracks. There are twenty eight locks as you enter the canal near West Byfleet from the Wey river and then a lone lock at Ash, which has no operating restrictions. From Frimley Green to Odiham castle the canal meanders through leafy trees – it’s easy to forget how close to the road and rail line you actually are. The noise of the boat engine dims the noise of other nearby traffic! It’s not the easiest of canals – many of the pounds are so low in the water that you hear the propeller scraping across the basin bottom.
Blanketweed flourishes everywhere so a constant checking of the propeller is needed to ensure it is weed free and there is plenty of other rubbish hidden in the canal that can cause trouble should it also become attached.
The canal also boasts three incredibly low bridges! Many a boat needs to remove it’s cratch covers, wi-fi antenna, flower troughs and wood stores in order to pass under. We were no exception – everything was flattened out, even the lumps of coal and wooden logs were spread evenly across the roof! Plenty of mooring and very few boats meant that we had ample choice of where to moor up – often conveniently close to some good pubs. The weather was fantastic throughout the month, although that begged the question – would the canal run dry? We heard a few stories of boats stranded for months in past years due to this happening. A decision was made to close the canal for the season on 30th June so our timings have worked perfectly.
Every three days you are required to move your boat at least one mile to a new mooring. Our time on the Basingstoke has coincided with us downsizing and emptying our family home of thirty plus years. So it has not been a relaxed month on the water. Rather it has been a juggling act of moving the boat, finding a safe mooring and then leaving it for three days to return home to declutter and bombard Facebook marketplace with all sorts of ‘finds’. It’s surprising what proves popular – two old tin trunks and an even older wooden one all had plenty of takers. Whereas a good quality sofa had no interest at all! The plus side of moving the boat, whilst being relatively close to our home, is that we have had plenty of visitors aboard. We have welcomed both friends and strangers and it has been a joy to offer unhurried hospitality and offer a snapshot of our boating way of life. Many, knowing the canal from the towpath perspective, have been surprised at how different the view is from the boat and we have all been blessed at seeing nature at its best with bursts of glorious colours along the canal banks.
At Mytchett there is a canal centre and a camp site. Friends of ours with a camper named Beryl came down from the Midlands for a couple of nights and we had great fun with the boat and the camper alongside each other. Little did we realise 40 years ago when we first met that we’d all enjoy living in small spaces! We took the opportunity to take them to the sculpture park at Churt, which I had never visited although R had been once recently and was impressed. It really is a great place to go, especially on a hot summer day because there is plenty of shade and although there is a lot of walking involved if you see it all, you are surprised around every corner by over 600 pieces of sculpture.
We arranged for Naomhog to go into the dry dock, situated just above Lock 28, on the last few days of our stay on the canal and fortunately all went according to plan. Although having never been in a dry dock I hadn’t appreciated health and safety – I should have done a risk assessment! In order to get off the boat, which I realised once all the water had emptied, I couldn’t actually do, R placed two large logs, one on top of the other upended, on one of the steel struts. I then held onto a rope as I gingerly went over the side, wishing my legs were 6″ longer! Every time I was hanging onto the side rails of the boat (clearing the roof) I was conscious of the deep drop onto hard concrete. We used our plank to make a bridge to the dock edge and I now know the meaning of ‘walking the plank’! Only once did R nearly lose his footing and my heart went into my mouth, if that’s the right expression! Experienced boaters bring a ladder – we hadn’t thought about that!
Colin and Gareth from the Farncombe Boat House could not have been more helpful. The initial brief was to restore our steering column to enable us to handle the boat much more fluidly and to improve our chances of reversing in the direction we actually want to go! They ended up doing a plethora of jobs including a full boat service. The unfortunate news is that we have diesel bug which will require polishing the fuel to remove it. The bug thrives in water so it’s advisable to keep the fuel tank topped up to prevent condensation forming. Although our tank was full over the winter months this has not been the case recently so it seems like we are paying the price and will need to be extra vigilant in the future, ensuring that we use the preventative treatment for the bug much more intentionally.
We took the opportunity, whilst in dry dock, to paint some of the boat that needed touching up. On the advice of the previous owner, every time the boat got scratched, I dabbed on some grey undercoat to prevent the rust getting a hold. This resulted in splashes of grey being unevenly distributed along the sides of the boat. Three very kind and good friends came to help us in our task and the boat certainly looked ship shape as it left the dock. For once I was overly precious about navigating the locks – I didn’t want to undo their hard work and was conscious that the paint hadn’t yet had time to harden properly.
Fortunately the two days we were booked into the lock flights, it was windless and the sun shone so the descent was relatively painless. On the first day we were the third boat going down. The two in front were longer than us and slower so it was slightly frustrating being in a queue. The lock chambers fit two narrowboats which worked well until there was a lock whose exit doors did not fully open. The two boats took up so much lock space that there was no manoeuvrability and they became stuck, unable to exit. The only solution was to refill the lock, one of the boats to reverse out and the other to go down alone or with us, because we were much shorter. The first boater didn’t want to do this so we had a further delay waiting for him to descend, then the lock refill and then we joined the other boater who was fine having us alongside. What should have taken us about four and a half hours stretched to nearly seven! However the second day of locks, with 12 remaining, was much quicker and we were done and dusted by lunchtime.
We have returned to the flowing River Wey and where we go next remains a mystery, even to us!
NarrowboatTLC 