Paris and the Rhine

We have been in Alsace for 4 days visiting Lyn and Chris.
We had a magnificent time, so much so that I forgot to take blog pictures. Mea Culpe.

I did take one of a barge going up the Rhine from our car ferry.



I caught the TGV from Strasbourg to Paris in under 2 hours travelling at about 200mph.
I had 2 hours to wander around Paris so I went off to see Canal Saint-Martin.

There is a nice staircase lock.



And are this point it disappears off into a tunnel.



It is a very wide canal.



Partway along I found an overhead railway which brought back many memories of Chicago.



A bit further on information is provided about distances around the canal network.



And then it must be a former wharf as it really widens out. I think it will be time for some research when I get home.



But first this needs to do its job.

Home again

We made it back from Worcester ok.

It was a lovely day and we had a nice journey. The whole trip took us about 5 hours.





The reason for our shorter than usual trip was so that we could attend the cricket quarter final at Edgbaston. We
managed to use our Birmingham Bears season pass for entry as compensation for the Yorkshire game being rained off. It was a glorious day and a very good match with a comprehensive Warwickshire victory.

Three days on our own.

We are heading for Worcester to have a mini cruise on our own and have moored in one of our favourite moorings at Oddingley.



They have dredged the canal here and are using it to bolster the bank.



We like this spot as you can also see the railway from here but unfortunately it looks as if the signal box will not be here much longer.



The barriers were not here last month and are not yet operational but they look ready to go so switching on will probably be soon. I suppose they will give us a warning of an approaching train next time we moor here.

Back home again

Due to various technological difficulties and a lack of Internet signal I have been unable to post a blog for a few days.
My meal in Kinver turned out to be somewhat disappointing, served on a cold plate which meant by the time I was ready for it, half of it it was already called and got left. The gluten-free menu went from bad to worse as every course had gluten containing ingredients down to wafers in his ice cream. Some people obviously need more brains or more training.



We have made it back to the marina with no further incidents, a nice shared trip up the Droitwich barge canal yesterday with some regular hirers whose children got on very well with Kenneth. That was lovely for him to make more friends.
We made it to Stourport and got a good morning and then went to the compulsory fair to spend all his remaining holiday money. He did impress me by going on a very high ride.







We managed to get several jobs done on the boat before we left this morning, and went to look at lock 28 on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal on our way home as Canal and River Trust had emailed saying the lock had a bulge in and could only be passed by vessels of a certain width. We could not see anything nor any notices on the lock. Quite bizarre.
We may well go out for a short cruise next week, but for now the big summer cruise is over.

Kinver

The settee I broke is mended.

Last week I broke one of the struts when I knelt on the settee to reach behind it. I forget how heavy I am.
I have also broken the one at home in similar circumstances.

Ralph Wilson met us in Kinver and provided 3 replacement struts and 2 mountings and then supplied invaluable information about how to fit it. And all for £3. Best buy of my life.

We also had a good day cruising with 7 locks today.



We are now in Kinver but as the canalside Vine has gone up market and closed the bacon butty shop we have explored the town instead and arrived at The Olde White Hart.

Interestingly the gluten free menu was extensive but not gluten free!

I have complained to Marstons and await their reply.

To celebrate the settee being fixed I have gone for Meat the Beast.


Perhaps I'd better not sit on it let alone kneel on it for a while.

Back to usual

Last night was nice with little light under the trees we could sleep until late. That's 7.45 boating time. 3 boats had part us by then.

The views from our mooring follow.






We have made it to Swindon and found a Sunday lunch for tea. We are not pedantic and joyfully consumed it.

A long days cruise including The Bratch

And many other locks. We will sleep in tomorrow despite the early morning light!

On the move again

We are fixed and I have a signal so I can post a blog.

Ian arrived on time and did his stuff yesterday. We now have a working facet pump and therefore a working boat.

And none of the problems from the last RCR work when the wires had been

connected to the wrong terminals of the smart meter shunt.

I took pictures of the engine so we knew how it had been connected.










Today is sunny and we have made it to Breward. I was too busy steering to take photos but did spot this unusual duck when we moored.



Now it's time to explore.

We're walking in the rain

With nothing firm planned until the engineer comes we went walking yesterday.

We discovered this amazing bridge.



And am even more amazing canal side pub that has been in the same family for over 150 years. A great place. 2 pumps on the bar and very little else. A real throwback.



The only entrance is from the towpath.



Today we walked an hour to catch a bus to Telford. For some reason I feel I have been sent to Coventry as it's a concrete jungle that I'm not going to photograph. We may well go to Newport on the way back as we have a day rover. That should have something worth seeing.

Slow day.

It has been a miserable day for weather today, all day, so perhaps not a bad day to be not cruising.
We finally decided to walk into Gnosall and had a fantastic fish and chips there. We will go back to that shop, as it was gluten-free as well.
I have spent a lot of the day on the phone. I tried to asked the canal and River Trust if it would be ok to stay on the five day moorings a bit longer as we have broken down, but the person I needed to speak to was meant to ring me back straight away, 3 hours ago, and I am still waiting.
RCR have been a bit better after two or three phone calls they gave us the option of having an original vetus part direct replacement and free on our cover, but it wouldn't arrive until the middle of next week. The other option is an electric pump fitted in line but we would have to pay that fitting charge as they obviously have to alter some of the connections.
We talked to Gordon, whose advice as always was superb, and he advised us to go for the electric pump so that is what is happening. All we need now is a date for it to be fitted and hopefully RCR will let us know that today.
As we walked down the canal, in the brief bit of fine whether I took this photograph of a typical shroppie bridge and also the cast iron fitting that was used to stop the horse ropes going into the stone.

Broken Down

Yesterday we made it to Norbury Junction.
It was a nice cruise of 5 hours and we are enjoying the Shroppie.
We got a lovely mooring.



Even better followed as we heard a steam whistle and wonderfully NB President was coming towards us.







What a great day. Moored up by a pub open all day that has a play area. And then .......

When cleaning the bilge I noticed the fuel pump was dripping fuel. I tried to get the people at Norbury Wharf to have a look but they were unavailable until Wednesday morning. So it's a call to RCR.
They attired within 2 hours and condemned the fuel pump. Today we will find out what is going to happen to replace it and how long we will be at Norbury Junction.
No phone signal and having to stand outside the pub to use their WiFi add to the complications.

Boating is slower paced but I would never despite it as stress free.