From gaileymarine.galadriel@btinternet.com Sat May 1 11:23:50 1999 Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 10:02:26 +0200 From: Peter Lawson Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: The Peregrinations of Galadriel (9) We had cream teas in the Pump Room at Bath - like the canals this is a window on a bygone age. We had paid GBP4 for 24-hour moorings in the heart of Bath; this price includes water (if you have a long enough hose) and temporary membership of the leisure centre (showers, swimming pool etc). Then we set off down the Avon. The reach just above Saltford Lock always appears to me to be going downhill. Has anyone else noticed this, here or elsewhere? It appears to be a combination of the backdrop of hills and the converging banks of the river - or maybe it's just me! Swineford Lock now works fine. Below Hanham Lock the river is theoretically tidal. However I think this would only be the case if a spate in the river met an unusually high spring tide so that the level backed up over the weir at Netham Lock. Under these conditions this lock would come into operation to maintain the level in the harbour. Here is another possible solution to the quiz question of a while back - an out and back journey with an odd number of lockages. In our case we motored straight through. Bristol Harbour is full of interest with plenty of mooring opportunities and an unheralded water point at the south end of the arm leading up to the city centre. We cruised to the far end to take a picture of Galadriel with the Clifton suspension bridge in the background, and looked at the new Anglo-Welsh base but saw no easy spot to moor and say "Hi, what's your diesel price?" After a (fairly long) walk to Tesco's we sat on the boat waiting for the rain to stop but at 15h45 decided that we must set off for Bath. Fifteen minutes later the rain did stop so we had a mainly dry trip and this time found excellenbt moorings on the right bank below the road bridges, where a continuous steel railing ideal for tying up to separates the river from a footpath/cycle track. We also noted a Sainsburys alongside the river at Sainsbury's Bridge (surprise surprise) - access is a little awkward but not impossible. Off again at 07h30 with a heavy day ahead of us, the intention being to reach Foxhangers and hopefully climb Caen Hill the next day with good weather forecast. We arrived at the deep lock (numbers 8 and 9 combined into one) just before 08h00 and waited for the lockkeeper. He arrived, opened up, and asked us to lock through quickly as the flight was to be closed for repairs to one of the gates which was leaking badly. A little later and we would have had to wait. Above Bradford-on-Avon lock we met working boat Stokie. Since February John has been selling diesel to supplement his winter trade of charcoal and coal. His initial price was 25p per litre, as against the popular price of 27p from the local marinas (Bath Marina still proudly advertises it at 28p!). They reacted by matching his price so he dropped another 2p and we bought 100 litres from him at 23p. But when we reached Hilperton Marina we found them now offering 100 litres minimum at 18.9p per litre! We did not regret having contributed GBP4 to keeping trade on the waterways - John's eventual target price is 18p and your support will help him achieve that - 'phone him on 0411 358422 to find out where he is. No rain, no lunch stop, so we reach the bottom of the Caen Hill flight at 18h30 and find ourselves second in the queue. Help with tomorrow's locks should be assured! Up next morning unnecesarily early at 06h30. Wander along the towpath and chat to an angler who has been carp fishing all night. He reckons the K&A is one of the finest locations for this and himself caught 35 in the night of mass up to 10 pounds. But he couldn't be sure that he hadn't caught any more than once. Incredibly, at 08h30 it began to rain. Fortunately by the time we met the boats coming down it had cleared up and we enjoyed sunshine for the rest of the day. 5 boats up and 3 down - not a lot of traffic for a whole summer Saturday. The lockkeeper told Jill than when the passages are complete they have to go back to the locks and pour in clinker to stop the leaks - otherwise the pounds would empty. How much of this sort of thing goes on unappreciated by all the users? We stopped at Devizes Wharf for water and tried out the unmentionable device. Yes Mike, it worked fine. Untypically (I assure you) we cast off and then when I turned the starter key nothing happened! We hastily re-established our attachment to the bank and after inspection and telephonic consultation with base sent for Tim Stevens. Waiting gave me the opportunity to watch South Africa teaching England to play their own game. Tim arrived at 17h40 and immediately located the problem - a loose tag on the cable to the starter motor. But our luck was still very much with us - an ideal place to break down and if the previous start had failed we would still be sitting at the bottom of Caen Hill. Peter & Jill nb Galadriel - 0403 207042