Hail to the Hive !

We woke up to a very misty morning today and the forecast was hot and sunny so I was a little surprised as it was a little on the chilly side. Atmospheric though. I used the lines from the boat to turn her around and as the boat isn’t a really long narrowboat it was pretty easy to pull the bow around to face the direction we wanted to go in.

By the time I’d done this and re secured the vessel the day had started to warm up and the mist had cleared. So time for another coffee and get ready to roll as we were about to move our home to a new location for the first time. A maiden voayge really.

I had a few nerves before setting off and I wondered why. Maybe because this was now the realisation of our dream and we would be moving our whole lives with us. Into unknown waterways, negotiating locks. Well, here we go!

Now we had taken a walk down to the first few locks a few days ago to give us an idea what to expect initially so off we went to the first lock which was only a couple of miles away.

I’m enjoying this and there’s no denying it!

ahhhhhh bugger the locks being repaired

It seems a bit of repair work is being done by the Canal and River Trust so we can’t pass through the lock. I asked if they knew when it would be finished but they didn’t want to promise anything. No worries I am not in a hurry really.

So back the boat for lunch then. Relax a bit in the nice country setting and see what happens.

I noticed a few hours later the workmen were packing away their gear. I strolled down to ask if we were able to pass and they said no problem.

Yessssssss!

As I wandered back I noticed a boat called ‘Mabuhay’ which in The Philippines translates as ‘long life’. I asked the guy next to it if it was his and he said it was. I explained we had just returned to the UK after 7 years in the Philippines and we chatted as he’d worked over there also. His name was ‘Bob’ and he kindly helped us through our first ever lock on the canal which was very cool of him. The whole Philippines connection made both me and Hive account@millycf1976 smile. Was a nice touch.

Now we felt confident to tackle the other locks on our way down to Fradley Junction. No problem at all. Starting to actually be doing all of this for real.

Now we were through and off to the junction passing a lot of boats with people living permanently aboard them.

Once we were at Fradley Junction we turned off the Trent & Mersey Canal and onto the Coventry Canal , filled up with water at the water point and made our way as far as Fradley itself.