There comes a time in every narrowboat’s journey that it needs to get out of the water and expose its bottom. This is the story of Celtic Maid’s exposure. Given that we are about to leave her in a marine for the winter while we indulge ourselves in the love and warmth of our family…
As the autumn weather settles in on us, our cruising enters a new dimension – slower and more leisurely, frequent pauses to remove the build-up of leaves from our propeller, and the time to admire the scenery of changing colours. It has also been a fantastic time to share our experiences with more family and friends,…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Currently on the Rufford Arm of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, we are patiently (anxiously) awaiting our crossing of the tidal Ribble Link facilitating our long-awaited five-week cruise on the Lancaster Canal. We attempted this three years ago but were thwarted by a breach on this arm and spent two amazing weeks in Liverpool instead.…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It has been 4 months since our last blog sharing our narrowboat journey through England. But we have not been hibernating through the Northern winter months! Our trip to South America has been detailed in three previous blogs – Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina. Unfortunately, poor health kept us tethered in Bosworth Marina for far longer…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As we left Gloucester Docks, waving a sad farewell to Jim, Chris and Gina as we passed through the locks, we knew we were embarking upon a journey of over 100 locks, 100 miles, half a dozen tunnels and very changeable weather. It was quickly obvious how the recent high river on the Severn had…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are in the final preparation stage of organising both Celtic Maid for her winter sojourn without us, and ourselves for our much anticipated visit back to Australia. There is such a lot to do to make sure that Celtic Maid is safe and sound for us to return to after enduring a long English…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After setting off from Hopwas on Tuesday morning (3rd November) we made our way through the mist and fog and overcast skies through Tamworth and more pretty countryside to find good moorings near bridge 50. These type of moorings are always good to find as there are views across both sides of the canal as…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are sitting near the Tame Otter pub at Hopwas near Tamworth on our way down the Coventry Canal. Our wonderful friends/relatives, Julie and Phil have just spent the weekend with us having transported many parcels all the way from Maldon for us. We are now the proud owners of a galvanic isolator to protect…
The past 10 days have been a series of firsts for us. But that is what adventure is all about isn’t it??? Most important first – our first grandchild born since we left Australia to Bob’s daughter Claire and her partner Russell. Fergus is a gorgeous little boy and we are very proud of them…