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We've met Jane and Gerrard Cox and their lovely dachsunds on nb Belle several times over the last five years - although they only had time to pause for a quick word when they passed us at Nanney's bridge mooring on the Middlewich branch of the Shroppie (see right).
They have also been regular email correspondents whom I have quoted on numerous occasions. Below is their latest missive (received September 7, 2007) which I thought should be used in full.
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It has been quite a year for you and friends with the floods. Thank goodness no one has come to any serious harm. It was clearly scary at the time. It has been very interesting following your updates and progress and relief - I am sure this will have been a year to remember. Looking back we have been very fortunate this year in missing all the high water.
We have not yet crossed paths this year but I feel this will happen soon. Belle now has a permanent mooring at Barton Turns, we moved there in April, although she has not been there much as she has been out travelling since mid June. We will be back there for the end of September so following the news in your update today I am sure we will see you shortly.
A short missive of this year's travels follows.
Sometime mid-June we set off from Barton Turns for our six weeks away from work. The first weekend and following few days were fine and sunny. We had travelled the top end of the Trent & Mersey, back up the Soar and were back on the canal a short distance from Foxton when the rain started. A couple of cyclists passed us that had come from Leicester the day before saying the water was on the towpath. This was quite a surprise as the water had been off the bottom of the marker boards as we travelled the Soar, but it does has a reputation of coming up fast.
Well from then on it rained for forty days and forty nights and the Dachshunds went in two by two - very Biblical. Anyway between the showers and after a visit to Market Harborough we progressed through Braunston and along the Grand Union to Warwick where we stayed for a few days at the Saltisford Arm. This was quite a find as we had never stayed there before and had the prime spot on the wharf in front of the grassy picnic area. A highly recommended place to stay for a few days around Warwick, in fact probably the best town mooring we have ever stayed at, says Jane.
Our original intentions had been to go to Stratford, down the Avon and up the Seven to Stourport, but we knew at this point that this was just not going to happen. So at Lapworth we carried on up the North Stratford and decided that we would go down to Worcester and back as we had not been down there for many years. The last time was on a hire boat, way before we had Belle, and that was hard work for a few days. On the way down Jane had decided the top paddles were just too much for her and I did all the locks on the way back. She was right of course, they were very tough, and we saw some boat crews have two people on one paddle just to get them to start as the top paddles are splined both sides. Other than a couple of the very heavy single bottom gates on the Stratford these are the only locks she has ever needed assistance with. Down at Worcester the river was back within its banks but there was still a couple of inches of brown stinking silt to clear from the riverside walks. The river was definitely no-go for narrowboats. It was yet to come up again and cause more devastation.
At this point we still had a couple of weeks left so headed back through Birmingham via a stay at the Black Country Museum and finished off with an anti clockwise circuit of the Four Counties. The only problems we had encountered, and which pale into insignificance compared to your problems this year, was the seriously excessive water coming down the Audlem by-washes, so much so that we got sucked over and stuck alongside one quite hard until the flow was abated by opening the top paddles of the lock to stop the by-wash flow. The last weekend we were safe in Wheaton Aston when you got the deluge at Banbury. Then it was back to work on the 23 July for us.
However Belle was still travelling, albeit at a much slower rate. The "Outlaws" - Jane's parents - have been aboard since, re-tracing our path up the Shroppie and over to Bugsworth Basin. They were last tracked down back at Audlem last weekend and are spending the next two weeks getting back to Wheaton Aston. They certainly are at one with the slower pace compared to us - it must be the being-retired effect and not the "on holiday from work so let's travel a bit" feeling.
Other than their first week as usual the sun has come out for them as well, as we sit back at our office desks. Hope the sunshine will last a bit longer - as of September 22 we will be back on board for a week to go back to Barton Turns for the winter. Probably see you around the Fradley area or at Barton in the next few weeks.
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Gerrard and Jane (again with dachsunds) had time for a longer chat at
our meeting at Swindon on the Staffs and Worcs canal
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