Stratford to Worcester
Well what an exciting week this has been! Loads has happened, we had really great guests, weather has been fantastic and as usual we laughed lots.
I’m going to list the things that happened as I remember them, not necessarily in chronological order, so, are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin.
Stratford
We had our first full day off in Stratford and were torn with the feeling that we should make the most of being in such a famous place and sleeping. We decided to be tourists for the day and booked ourselves on a town walk. The guide was funny and knew his stuff, what was funny was all the stuff we learnt about Shakespear. They THINK he was born on 23rd April, they don’t know how he died, just that he did, he definitely got married, but no-one knows if it was a happy marriage and he MIGHT have gone to the local grammar school, but no-one is certain. All very vague for such a famous man! Stratford is full of black and white tudor buildings, some original, some copies. Stratford on Avon was originally a roman settlement and the town is set up on the original roman grid network. There you go, history lesson over.
While doing the town walk we met two of our next weeks guests, Chuck and Suzanne from Washington DC, I think they must be the youngest guests we have had yet, and they were very excited about joining the boat for the trip to Worcester.
Flasher!
While I was steering the Butty one day I got flashed at!!! The boat gets yelled at lots as we are on tow, most people ask if we have broken down, or run out of petrol, so as we came out of a bridge hole and someone shouted at me I turned to answer them and saw a fella tugging at his trouses and flashing his bits at me! After I had finished laughing, and we had moved on a bit I mentioned it to Lauren who had bought me a cup of tea and no one else had seen him. Maybe I imagined it? Maybe i am hallucinating, maybe all the sunshine and fresh air finally got to me and I am going mad.....
Tardebigge
In the run up to this trip, John and Hanna have been talking about a flight of locks called Tardebigge and what a mammoth task it will be and how hard it will be, and how organised we will have to be. It is 29 locks over 2 miles, took us 3 hours (we got stuck behind some numpties) and we finally got working together as a slick team sussed.
Hanna was bow hauling, Lauren was steering and i was lock wheeling. And Chuck and Suzanne mucked in and helped as well which was great as it saved loads of running back and forwards having two extra pairs of hands. The pounds between the locks were short and we used a few tricks to help us get some speed while Hanna was hauling. Walking out is where you stand on the roof, lean on the lock side and walk, so the boat is moving below you, but you stay in one place, a bit like a treadmill, and flushing out is opening a lock paddle behind the boat to create a wave which you then surf out on. With 29 pounds to haul, Hanna was grateful of any help she could get. The views over Worcestershire (home of the sauce) were quite stunning, lots of rolling green fields, buttercups and cows.
Tunnel
We went through a massive tunnel. It was 2465 metres long (about one and half miles) and took about 45 minutes, I was steering and was at the back on my own. It was really scary. At one point, we could not see the beginning or the end, but I can confirm, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel and after being in the dark for 45 minutes it is a most welcome sight!
In the dark, on your own in a tunnel all sorts of thoughts run through your head. Mostly, “will anyone notice if I fall off?” or “what was that?” as you feel drips on your head so the best thing is to concentrate on steering and make sure you don’t hit the sides.
Bridges
Our new trick this week was raising bridges. Some are manual and need a windlass to wind them up, and then there was the electric one, which needed keys and was over a busy through road. I was in charge of this one, and I broke a car! But it wasn’t my fault........much.
To activate the bridge, you put the key in and press the “raise bridge” button and hold it down till the bridge is raised. Simple enough I hear you think. Pressing this button, then activates the traffic lights, which stop the traffic and lower a barrier so all cars are safely positioned out of the way of all moving parts. This should all go smoothly as long as everyone follows the rules. Add one driver who thinks he can jump the lights, one barrier with no sensors on it, another driver who refuses to reverse and me madly pushing buttons trying to get the barrier up and you have one smashed car roof, because of course, I didn’t just lower the barrier on the car once, I repeated it a few times just to make sure I did a proper job! I bet that guy doesn’t jump lights for a few years to come!
Broken Boat
I suppose the most memorable thing this week was me breaking the boat. I guess you could say that I have had a really smashing time this week what with cars and boats, I’m amazed we still have any crockery left really.
The butty is still cruising and I didn’t sink it, so it’s not that dire, but I did rip the bow hauling mast off the roof, just call me He-Man!
We pulled the butty into a lock and to try and slow her down I tied the rope round the mooring blocks on the side, the rope created its own simple knot, and would not move and the bow hauling mast ripped out of the roof with an almighty crunch. I couldn’t believe it, I just stood there looking at Lauren and said “it broke” what else can you say when you are stood there with a slack rope in your hand, the mast ripped from the roof and a boat that stopped dead?
It’s ok though, John is going to fix it this week and I think it is a mistake I won’t be repeating in a hurry!
That’s me all caught up again, till next time take care all xxxxxxxxx
