Le Tour de Yorkshire - er I mean France

Sunday 6th July 2014

Today we were up especially early, for us, and we were on the road at 7:30 am; firstly on the A518 to Uttoexeter; then the A50 to Derby; followed by the A38 to the M1 and finally off at Junction 33 and in towards Sheffield.

Just under 2 hours, which we were pleased with.

We moored at the Park'N'Ride and took the tram into the centre of Sheffield to have a bit of a look around and get our bearings and information. We did manage to find the cheapest of the tram fares ₤6.50 for a family ticket including the parking - cheaper than the ₤7.00 for 2 adults.

We must have been early getting there because the locals were still not out and about yet.

There were however plenty of people around handing out maps and able to supply plenty of information - after all they were expecting about 250,000 people to be passing through.

Why were we there?  For Stage 2 of le Tour de France.

We had been wanting to see the famous race for quite some time and with it starting in Yorkshire this year, there probably wouldn't be a better or easier time to get to it.

We  had hoped to be cruising into Sheffield this year but Holme Lock at Nottingham put paid to that, but the car for the weekend has been a good substitute.

On the tram ride into the city, Diane was quick to point out narrowboats moored up close in, so that would be something to check out as well.

Time for a coffee; a look through the market stalls; a bit of a sit down at the city fanzone, before we strolled down to Victoria Quay to check out all of the essentials.

How many moorings; facilities; waterpoints; toilets; showers and elsan - yep, all down; we will be fine for next year.

In doing all of this we didn't forget to have a good look at the architecture around the city centre - worth knowing what it is like before you visit for a bit longer.

Not being entirely sure about the crowd situation at various points we thought it wise to make our way out to the finishing area and see about a point on the course that might be easy to get to.

In the end we opted to stay just 200m down from the end; a place on the fence and not too many others around - we knew that would change - after all we had another 4 and 1/2 hours to go.
It started slow but there was a bit of a carnival atmosphere around as people chatted away and had fun at the expense of those going up and down the home straight.

Novelty sellers; police; officials all seemed to be out to enjoy the day as well.

The horn seller and customer

The two people (centre and right) are undercover cops, checking
that all vendors have licences

Along the way there were a great multitude of cars and other vehicles making their way along the track towards the finishing area.
The team cars; team buses; the caravan of sponsors vehicles; a group of young academy riders finishing their 30 km race. All these things designed to provide something for the ever increasing numbers of people starting to invade and line the barricades.

We met a couple next to us who were from Doncaster (23 miles away), who were so concerned about the length of the journey that they had decided to stay overnight rather than be too tired - heck, we would travel that far to a decent cake shop.

We also met a man with his daughter and son, also enjoying the atmosphere - he was finishing a course at Sheffield University after which he would have to head back to Libya.

Lovely people, all of them that we spoke to throughout the day.

Diane almost accosted the young police officer (special constable), assigned to the station near to us - a really nice guy and very friendly indeed - Craig was his name - in her own way, she eventually talked him into swapping hats for a photo shot.

The commentary over the public address system kept us reasonably informed about what was happening in the race - we were the wrong side of the giant screen televising the race.

We were fortunate that it was a fine day - sunny but not too hot; a bit of a cooling breeze and of course no rain.

The tension started to mount as we were told that the riders were 10km, then 8, then on the final climb and finally only 2km away.

Eagerly looking down the course, expecting them to appear, when suddenly they did.

We couldn't see them so clearly at first, but quickly we could make out a rider who we knew was Vincenzo Nibali, but could have been mistaken for a kingfisher - a fleeting flash of blue.

Hastily followed by a throng of other brightly coloured lycra-clad bodies on cycles - Diane didn't even have time to drool over the male torsos presented before her.

Almost as quickly as the riders came up the last rise to the line and there were a line of others continuing to pass by, it was all over really.

We bustled our way towards the presentation area, already heaving with like-minded people waiting and wanting to get shots of the group who had won on the day in the different classifications.

Finally we headed off to catch a tram back to collect the car and make our way home, but the numbers wanting to do the same put us in the mindset to go back to the fanzone where we were and just sit down for a while.

As it was, the bigscreen soon turned to the BBC coverage of the men's final at Wimbledon and we managed to see the final set with victory going to Djokovic - Diane was disappointed for Federer, but it was a good match as well.

Eventually we caught the tram, found the car, made our way out of Sheffield and stopped for something to eat.

By the time we arrived back on Ferndale, it had been a 14 hour day of travelling, standing, touristing, sitting and waiting for about 15 seconds of thrills with the final sprint to the line.


Was it worth it?  Yes, we now know more for the next time that we go !

Which Way Was That?

Thursday 3rd July to Saturday 5th July 2014

What a very nice way to start the day - very early, well not long after 8am we saw a familiar colour scheme slowly passing us - nb Compass Rose, with Howard at the tiller. 

Janet and Howard - until our next meeting

Recognition on his part and he was pulling in and mooring up.

We exited, Janet and Rosie appeared and we spent a few hours catching up over tea.

We all managed to steer the conversation away from the usual subjects but in the end we couldn't manage any further and toilets reared it's ugly head - just cannot be helped.

Eventually, Janet and Howard needed to head off for cheap diesel, pumpout and Morrisons; and we needed to leave the moorings and hope for a decent one in Gnosall.
So it was goodbyes all around - until we meet again - soon.

Very much earlier in the day - in fact just after midnight we had been woken by the sound of a boat glancing along the side of Ferndale - upon investigation there was a boat being hauled along - dragging a small boat behind - they appeared to be OK, but the disturbance to the night affected us for the rest of it.
 

The culprit from midnight

The short trip that was ahead was really very pleasant indeed.
 

The Shroppie at its best

Cowley tunnel

more of the best

Whilst it wasn't a day for sun-baking, it was a nice cruising day - or at least a cruising hour.

The usual practice is to take the first available mooring spot and then check for something better - the first one turned out to be the best available, so we stayed put.

Nothing of any great consequence for the rest of the day - a bit of work, a bit of tennis, sitting outside reading - it is a hard life.

Friday and we were up a bit earlier - at least I was, to get some work finished and make sure that the coffee for the missus was ready on time - we were hiring a car for the weekend and were being picked up about 10am.

It seems to be the same for most that whenever you hire a car there is the important job of getting shopping done - in places where you don't normally go and in quantities that you generally cannot manage on the bus - not for us - Diane had it planned - places we do normally go (though not since we left in April) and in quantities we could manage on the bus - it was just nice not to have to worry about all of the walking and carrying it all.

I did however notice that we were in fact back on the boat, after lunch at The Golden Orient, in time for the end of the first men's semi-final and before her favourite, Roger, appeared for the second.

Football again in the evening - the solar panels had been doing their thing again - cloudy conditions and we only run the engine just over the hour as a top-up.

One of the things that we had decided about hiring cars in the future was that we would try to incorporate some of the many National Trust properties into the itinerary and so on Saturday, Diane had planned for us to see two of them which were nearby - Sunnycroft and Benthall.

I also think, after Friday shopping, she had secretly included an extra visit elsewhere.

Saturday mornings on Ferndale are becoming established as a bath morning and after running the engine to generate it, Diane soaked in it with the usual medicinal intake of caffeine.

But before we did anything else we needed to move from the 48hr moorings where we had been since Thursday, and without any fuss we were soon moored up, in a much more open space and very comfortable indeed.

Not long after breakfast was finished, cleared up and sorted out we headed off for the first of the properties - Sunnycroft.
Built in the 1880's, it had had a strange sort of history - essentially staying in the same family, but with at least 2 of the owners having to purchase the house following the previous owners death or placement of the house on the market.
It had been lived in until the 1970's after which it came under the umbrella of the National Trust, but had the definite time warp feel - I think they all seem to have that.
 

Sunnycroft - living up to it's name

The central hall and staircase

Dining room

Ladies parlour

Master bedroom

peek-a-boo

After this, Diane had noticed that we had a close proximity to Ironbridge and thought it would simply be wrong not to see this famous landmark on the way to the second property - especially since Ironbridge was directly in the path.

With her precise navigation we eventually made it to Ironbridge - I recall her saying as we turned left onto a road "This is where we would have come out if we had taken that other road on the turning that we missed".

Managing to find a free on-road park for the time frame that we had available, we had a look at the Severn River; viewed the bridge from below and above; found a chippy to enjoy a bit of lunch and admire the construction of the bridge and then wander back to continue on with the journey.

Where it all started.

looking down the Severn

Benthall was a little bit more difficult to find - the phone sat-nav took us to a different location and it only took two about turns to get it right.

Once found we again enjoyed the free carparking for NT members and the free entry.
In contrast to Sunnycroft, Benthall is a 16th century property with additions over the centuries.
It has essentially been in the same family for that period, except for a period when one of the neighbours purchased it after it was put up for sale, with the intent to extract the minerals in the land - after which he himself had it back on the market and three of the family pooled resources to repurchase it.
It saw "action" during the civil war and has retained a great deal of the character of the early part of its life, but as with most properties of this age there has been add-ons and changes designed to bring the living standards up to those of the time, which has seen it change somewhat.

Benthall

The table is the only genuine piece from the 16th C

Although it says just after 1pm and allowing for summer time,
it was actually after 3pm - needs resetting

It is however, well worth the visit.

After our visitations, Diane suggested that since we were close, "we" (read as she) would like to go to an ASDA so that she could buy another dress similar to one she bought the day before - I think this had been planned.

With the sat-nav working it's magic we were off; it remains a mystery sometimes on the message that comes from the screen to my ears through the navigators unique means of expressing the directions - usually I finally understood after we reached the place being described - "straight ahead across the intersection but go left"

Anyway we made it to ASDA; got through the little bit we needed - they did have some nice prices for red wine - the cellar is now replenished.

On the way back to Ferndale, eagle-eyes in the passenger seat spies a sign relating Newport and canal-side into the same breath - "oooh a canal - shall we go and have a look".

Eventually we decide that we should go - so we returned the 5 miles that we had gone whilst we made a decision about it.

Newport seems like a lovely town - at least by the look of the main street - we continued down and along the same road - again the same pair of eyes spotted the sign "Water Lane".
Car parked; street crossed - there it is - the remnants of the Newport Canal and lock which now ceases to be - this particular canal comes off from Norbury Junction - probably the reason for the junction.

Although not in working order it is still a pretty setting

The derelict lock - mostly filled with concrete

This part maybe just a bit too narrow for
a boat to get through

A few signs around declare the enthusiasm of the local group to get the canal back to a working proposition - maybe it will happen.

Finally after a seemingly long day we got back to Ferndale - a tiring day which I gave away with my snoring as we watched Argentina beat Belgium.


I fear that this was the easier day of the weekend - but definitely looking forward to tomorrow.

The Master Moving Plan

Tuesday 1st July to Wednesday 2nd July 2014

Having achieved what we needed to do in Brewood, namely having a better look around and getting into and back from Birmingham, we were ready to move onto achieve our next goal later in the week.
It may appear a relatively carefree roaming existence but there seems to continue to be an awful lot of planning that goes into our life - both for the coming week and for a month ahead.
Living aboard and with predominantly only public transport, you need to be aware of what lies ahead in time and plan on where to be to achieve what you need to achieve.

Well we headed off and there were a few miles of simple cruising ahead; the sun was very nice on the back, but it was a tad coolish in the sheltered areas.
 

The aqueduct over the A5 - could do with a coat of paint

...and the A5

quiet, peaceful and cool in the shaded areas...

...and a bit of sun sneaking through

Diane had once again, this cruising season, offered to do all of the locks today - just the one at Wheaton Aston.
 

this fellow opted for a bit of a lift on the boat

Once we were through the lock and it was clear where I would moor up for the services, Diane helped a hire boat crew understand what needed to be done to get through the lock - this being their first one. They seemed to not have a good understanding, so you really wonder what amount of training and checking of their understanding do they really get before being unleashed on the canals.
On the downside to this was that Diane took it upon herself to help when the guy in the boat behind us, on hearing that they were not sure, just walked off and couldn't be bothered - we all have to learn at some time and it is incumbent upon us all to provide guidance to anyone who is not sure of what to do.
I doubt that he would be reading this but even so, he is what we Australians would call a real p___k.
 

Approaching Wheaton Aston Lock

We were in need of the services block - the water tank needed filling (down below half way) and with two cassettes chockers and the third half full, it would have been legs-crossed time without a chance to do a full empty; the bags of rubbish were starting to pile up as well.

The water pressure was not the strongest, but the tank had filled not long after we had completed the rest of the jobs.

One last thing to be done was to fill the fuel tank which was getting down - we had last filled back in the middle of May at Debdale - half a cruising season since then - just over 6 weeks ago.

As countless boaters before us had done we filled at the Wheaton Aston garage - the price not affecting the wallet as much as it would elsewhere and we were full where we needed to be and empty on the other side of the ledger - the wish of all boaters.

Finally after a couple more miles we moored up for the day just after Bridge 25 in a nice open position with plenty of sun to relax for the rest of the day - tennis and football would be on our minds as well.
 

finally moored up

Have to say we were pretty pleased to see young Nick Kyrgios doing so well with the racquet in defeating Rafa Nadal.
We have noticed how busy the Shroppie has been - boats moving either way; the idea that tickover is something other than slowest possible seems to have permeated through to a great many people travelling past - the straw poll has the hire boaters much better at slowing down than those who are not on a hireboat.

A full day of not moving for Wednesday during which we walked into Church Eaton to have a look around - all we knew was that there was a pub and a church and a school - could have saved the walk really - that was what we found; but it was a pleasant walk there and back and it is a pretty little village.

This lovely house in Church Eaton

and the village hall

St. Editha's church

not a canal but the walking certainly was in pleasant surrounds

the views were lovely as well

More tennis in the afternoon; I managed to get a lot of work finished and just about finished the book I am reading - an autobiography of Hillary Rodham Clinton - well worth the time spent on it.

So tomorrow we will be heading off, but it won't be very far - part of the master plan.

6 Miles, 1 Lock

Totals: 2622 Miles, 2002 Locks, 90 Tunnels, 32 Lift Bridges, 151 Swing Bridges