Narrowboat Adagio

Yes, it’s time to start a new blog – see trefin.vivatek.co.uk for the next chapter in our lives – we are now “jubilado”, that’s Spanish for retired, in Pembrokeshire.

Meanwhile, here’s a reminder of some of the trips on Adagio:

I think it’s time to start a new blog and archive the narrowboat one as we are definitely planning to sell the old girl this month – so a trip to Yelvertoft is due in a week or so . . . unless a friend says he wants to buy the boat . . . did I mention, offers over £70k??

Even though we have only been in residence for less than a month, we were off again, to visit Mother in Whitstable – a week there to help Mum with various events (gas man, GP appointment etc) and then bring her back – if she was amenable, and lo, she was. So Christmas in Trefin it is.

And on to January ….

Two years ago we were in Mojacar. Not quite as warm as we expected but very nice to be away for the winter. Meanwhile, it has rained a lot here in Trefin and this weekend saw gale force winds! We are slowly getting there . . fewer boxes and some pictures on the walls. We have done a few walks – Abercastle & Strumble – perhaps not the best choice in a F8 gale. They were forecasting gusts of 67 mph! It even bent the weather station.

Yes, moving house or rather, from boat to house, is very stressful. Driving a van with all the boat contents for 6 hours is really fun! Still, we are in. How did we store so much stuff on a boat??

Not having much in the way of furniture, a lot of deliveries were on the way, fridge on Thursday, bed on Friday, washing machine next Tuesday etc…. and if you order from Oak Furniture, you will get 2 garages full of packing!

It hasn’t stopped raining – not really a Wales thing as it’s been floods everywhere. Still on Sunday we did get small window of dryness and so we did a circular walk.

We may carry on doing the blog – what do you think? It’ll help to act as a diary, to remind us when we’re a bit more dotty of what happened and when. Probably start a new site . . .

Well, probably a chapter anyway. As we have grown a tad weary of this on board living lark and yearn for the space and stability of a house. We have also had a few knocks this year – viz. witnessing the lady boater meet her end at lock 8 in Atherstone, the almost breach at Marbury, the almost fisticuffs at dawn when the lock reopened, Viv wrecking both knees at Springwood Haven, the alternator packing up, the loo backing up, Steve smashing his thigh on the boat, bumps to the bald head. . . and just the tiresome thought of another winter on the boat. The boat has performed wonderfully, we can’t really fault it, it has served us well as a liveaboard. It will be a wrench to leave but I think our time has come round. Hopefully, pass it on to some new, younger boaters looking for adventure.

I also think that we are tired of being 3rd class citizens – the look you get when you state your address as …..the marina. So we have started the lengthy process of buying a house – a small 2-bed, bungalow in Trefin – the village we have been visiting over the last two decades for holidays. It’s only yards from the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and the sea. We may keep the boat but we’ll see. Offers over £70k anyone??

Hopefully, this blog may serve boaters with a rough guide to cruising areas… we’ve done the Leicester ring two and a half times, up to Liverpool, up to Chester and lastly all the way to Llangollen. Lots of notes on mooring places, utilities and places to see, or not ! Enjoy.

And as a final ending here’s a gift for insomniacs – all 788 photos of this years cruise presented in a 45 minute animated slideshow, with background music (Vaughn Williams, Phillip Glass and Novak) – enjoy, possibly?

One of the reasons for heading home in August was to do some remedial paintwork – the non-slip grey on the gunwales needed doing . . . but, it kept raining… so a week or two later . . . we get a dry day! So off to bridge 27, or just before. Masking tape & non-slip paint on the port side – chug along to bridge 28 and the winding hole – turn her around and then repeat for the starboard side!

We’ve been back a week now and so time for a trip out – it’s only an hour, door-to-door to Nottingham. Chance for Steve to pick up some pipe tobacco and then to go on to the river Trent to give Toby a swim.

And then on to Gunthorpe – for boaters, it’s a left turn out of the Nottingham canal and out on to the mighty river Trent . . through locks (Holme and Stoke Bardolph – all manned) down to Gunthrope – nice floating pontoon here for moorers, behind a locked gate.

Back in safe haven. Here’s a summary of the trip.

Yelvertoft to Yelvertoft, calling in at… Braunston, Rugby, Atherstone, Great Haywood, Penkridge, Nantwich, Llangollen, Nantwich, Middlewich, Great Haywood, Atherstone, Rugby, Braunston.

Days = 119, Engine hours = 216.5, Miles = 361 & Locks = 206

Moored not far from Watford locks – ready to ascend tomorrow – so hopefully back in Yelvertoft for Thursday lunchtime. Been bit of a mixed bag this cruise – certainly some extremes of weather . . . here’s a reminder . .

There’s something wrong with the weather, for sure. We did a short and dismal trip from Hawkesbury to Ansty. Enough to charge the batteries but lower the mood – it was getting wet so we stopped. The M69 was noisy but it was a fair mooring with rings.