A brief diversion from the usual videos of my route around the canals today, as – due to popular demand – I hereby present a video which attempts to demonstrate how I go through locks on my own. Various people have asked how you do it but please note I certainly don’t claim to be an expert – I’ve only been properly boating for a few weeks – so this is just my knowledge of it to date.
After a day moored just outside Nuneaton, I’m moving a little way north up the Coventry Canal, through Polesworth and up to Atherstone. I’ll try to get to a spot between locks 9 and 10 as I’ve been told it’s a lovely place to spend a while. Some beautiful scenery on the way and some lovely weather too!
After a pleasant few days at Hawkesbury Junction, the time has come to move on but – oh no, there’s a traffic jam at the water point. Then it’s a swift turn onto the Coventry canal and onwards past Bedworth and through Nuneaton in one go as I have been warned not to stop there overnight for fear of vandalism and hooligans running wild. I didn’t stop to find out if this is actually true.
In this video I move from just outside Brinklow up to the end of the Oxford Canal at Hawkesbury Junction, whereupon I shall turn onto the Coventry Canal and go north in the direction of Tamworth. On the way, I see some horses, some ducks, some motorways and some houses. It’s gripping stuff.
Having come through Hillmorton Locks on the eastern outskirts of Rugby, I now make my way west – right through the middle of town. This also involves a stop near a large supermarket to stock up on tea and cakes then its onwards to Brinklow Marina where a viewer is paying me to film and edit a video of their newly-purchased boat for their family and friends. Finally I move on just a little way to find a peaceful place to stop for the night.
In this instalment, I move off from Braunston and head to the east side of Rugby, firstly to do a bit of laundry and get some diesel, then onwards to Hillmorton Locks. There I take a look around and chat to volunteer lock keeper Maurice Farndon about a restoration project that’s underway.
After a lovely couple of days hanging out in the sunshine at Norton Junction it was time to move the canal boat to Braunston ready for a minor engineering fix. This involved going through the hideous Braunston tunne and six wide locks. There was also a nasty moment for me…
After a night’s stop at the bottom of Watford Locks it was time to move on again. Originally I had Braunston in mind but I didn’t need to be there for several days so in part because of that and partly because the weather was chilly, I ended up in a lovely spot at Norton Junction. This video shows that journey.
At last! After waiting all winter, here’s the first Vlog that charts my journey as a Continuous Cruiser on the canals of England and Wales. Leaving Yelvertoft marina on April 1, 2016 I head south to Watford Locks.
This video is a retrospective, looking back at what facilities you get when mooring in a marina; specifically Yelvertoft Marina where I was for winter. A massive thank you to everyone there who made my early boating days so pleasant.