The end of this years travels...

[magpie patrick]

Those of you who have been tracking my progress may recall that Lutine Bell set off from Scholar Green on Macclesfield in May with the aim of reaching Brassknocker Basin on the Kennet and Avon by sometime in June: well, it hasn't quite gone as planned, as those same people will know. This (below) is as far as we got

 

 

The gates of Dukes Cut Lock: last weekend I arrived at this lock at about 5pm and with daylight fading decided not to venture onto the Thames that evening. The morning engine checks revealed that the spill rack had fractured, which explained the difficulty starting and an increasing odour of diesel, and I concluded that going further was unwise and perhaps impossible. This was Saturday, and with Goring Lock closing on Tuesday I reluctantly resigned myself to winter on the Southern Oxford.

 

Then a few things happened: first, I went to church on Sunday in Wolvercote, and the caught the bus into Oxford, a useful DIY shop sold me what I needed for some basic repairs to the boat, and I walked back along the canal to Dukes lock.

 

Then Tesla of this parish contacted me and said that there may be a winter mooring at Thrupp...

 

So, RLWP has been contacted for his engine whisperer skills, and mooring at Thrupp CC is reserved (thank you Tesla!) and I am back earning the money for more boating.

 

On a more philosophical level, I have learnt a lot. The basic objective of this trip has been missed by a country mile: I was supposed to be in Bath by June and am still near Oxford in November. However, on the way I've explored numerous villages, used other people's local shops, pubs and take away's, caught trains, buses, walked to distant landmarks. Most of this has been single handed save for Fenny Compton to Banbury where Sara joined me. The journey has not just been through the heart of England, but through myself as well. I didn't plan to do it this way, and wouldn't have planned to do it this way, but it has been immensely satisfying.

 

Thrupp is only two hours from Frome by car, so hopefully many of the outstanding jobs can be done and I can set sail in the spring bound once more for the Western K and A - or maybe not, maybe my rediscovered wonderlust will get the better of me and I'll just keep cruising...

Edited November 3, 2016 by magpie patrick

[Graham Davis]

Shame you didn't get the whole journey done, Patrick, but at the same time it sounds like it was a good journey in many ways.

[Dave123]

That's a really nice post! A shame you didn't make the K&A but Thrupp is still a lovely place. Good luck for next year

[Barry]

Yes. I enjoyed reading that Patrick.

 

I think its a skill to turn an unreached target, with all the attendant disappointments and worries, into so many positives

[Athy]

You've evidently taken the words of Robert Louis Stevenson to heart:

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive".

[cereal tiller]

You've evidently taken the words of Robert Louis Stevenson to heart:

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive".

Stevenson used to travel by rocket,so he would have got to the weekend long before Winnie the Pooh and Man Friday did?

 

CT

Edited November 3, 2016 by cereal tiller

[billS]

I can't think of a better place to be stuck for the winter, so well done.

 

I can't help thinking you need to change the name of the boat though.

[Athy]

Stevenson used to travel by rocket,so he would have got to the weekend long before Winnie the Pooh and Man Friday did?

 

CT

No, that was STEPHENSON's mode of, er, locomotion.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Athy

[Hawkmoth]

No, that was STEPHENSON's mode of, er, locomotion.

Yeah, but it sounds good don't it.

Bob

[Athy]

Yeah, but it sounds good don't it.

Bob

Yes, it does.