As we were in no hurry to return to Kidderminster we decided to go for a longish (~6 miles ) walk before breakfast. The route was to take us via the Hyde, through Chase Wood, past Stourton Hall Farm, through the woods in Hampton valley to Gothersley farm and back along the tpwpath. We have

A few boats about today, but not as many as yesterday. It was strange doing the Bratch locks all on our own with no lock keeper, no gongoozlers and no other boats. The weather was a bit warmer, but still cloudy. We noticed lots of Little Grebes on the canal today. We saw four in

Woke up to a bright morning with a greater spotted woodpecker drumming away on a tree just across the cut. Of course by the time I’d got the camera he flown away 🙁 We didnt see any moving boats yesterday but we passed four before 10 o’clock today. It was about 12:30 when we arrived

Arrived last night to find that the trickle charger hadn’t been working properly so the batteries were flat again. It appears not to be producing any output so i suppose I’ll have to send it back. We set off about 9 o’clock. We indend to take a couple of days going up to Compton to

Arrived last night to find the boat warmer than pervious visits and the battery topped up so the heater and the trickle charger are obviously working. A fairly lazy start, we set off about nineish heading for Kinver, mainly to give the engine a bit of a run and to get a pumpout. Stopped breifly

Woke up this morning to find the ice all gone. Odd that it melted during the night rather than in the day. I reorganised the wiring for the trickle charger, moving it nearer the battery so that the 12v lines were shorter. Even though the temperature is now above freezing we decided to leave the

The canal is still frozen, but the forecast is for warmer weather and the ice looks like it’s starting to melt. No cruising so a walk today. Up the towpath to just above Woverley Court lock, then across the footbridge and via a footpath into the village of Wolverley. Had a look round the church,

Just popped up for the evening. The continuing cold weather makes me a little concerned for the plumbing on board. The Eberspacher central heating is on a frost stat which should protect against any pipes freezing. The problem is that the heater drains the battery in couple of days if the heating comes on frequently.

We have brought our two grandchildren Josh(13) and Becca(10) for the weekend. They have been on board before, but not slept. We arrived about 5 o’clock Friday afternoon to find the canal almost frozen over. A very cold night meant that by the morning that canal was completely frozen. We attempted to move as the

Up and away by 8:00, back to the home mooring, pack up and off home to cook a full Sunday lunch for 12 !