Why another boating blog?
So many people write boat blogs about their journeys travelling the UK waterways and abroad, why add another one? I am not assuming that I can add something overly exciting or unique. But friends and family have asked to be kept up to date on what I am up to, so this is going to be my medium. And if anybody else finds it interesting, even better. (Do let me know if you do, I may need encouragement!)
I bought my narrowboat Willum in summer 2016 in the West Midlands, cruised down to London and moved on board properly. After staying in a marina in West London throughout the winter and working to finance this little adventure, I am now setting out to cruise the English waterways over the summer together with my old and faithful cat Edward and friends in various places along the way. It has been a steep learning curve so far coming to grips with leaks, muddled electrics, rust, broken bits and bobs and making some improvements to make the boat more suitable to my own style of living aboard. Now everything is more or less sorted and I'm almost ready to go.
The rough plan is to cruise up the Grand Union to Birmingham, including going into Birmingham itself, which involves a minimum of going 30 locks up (and down the other side naturally). Why must a big canal centre be built on a hill!? Ah well, it's got to be done and it's going to be good practice for solo locking. From there on I will go further north, up the Trent & Mersey, Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals for beautiful countryside, then hopefully to Manchester and Liverpool for a shot of the big city. Back down through the Shropshire Union, Coventry and Oxford Canals to Oxford and back to London via the Thames. Not sure if this will all work out, but it looks great on the map!
Through the blog I'll attempt to let the reader be part of this journey. Let me know what you think in the comments.
I bought my narrowboat Willum in summer 2016 in the West Midlands, cruised down to London and moved on board properly. After staying in a marina in West London throughout the winter and working to finance this little adventure, I am now setting out to cruise the English waterways over the summer together with my old and faithful cat Edward and friends in various places along the way. It has been a steep learning curve so far coming to grips with leaks, muddled electrics, rust, broken bits and bobs and making some improvements to make the boat more suitable to my own style of living aboard. Now everything is more or less sorted and I'm almost ready to go.
The rough plan is to cruise up the Grand Union to Birmingham, including going into Birmingham itself, which involves a minimum of going 30 locks up (and down the other side naturally). Why must a big canal centre be built on a hill!? Ah well, it's got to be done and it's going to be good practice for solo locking. From there on I will go further north, up the Trent & Mersey, Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals for beautiful countryside, then hopefully to Manchester and Liverpool for a shot of the big city. Back down through the Shropshire Union, Coventry and Oxford Canals to Oxford and back to London via the Thames. Not sure if this will all work out, but it looks great on the map!
Through the blog I'll attempt to let the reader be part of this journey. Let me know what you think in the comments.
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| Willum in East London |
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