Silhouette is a shared boat managed by Ownerships, and whilst we’ve survived the floods okay, unfortunately Oasis Too haven’t fared as well. Luckily no one was on board, and the boats now been on national TV.

Warwickshire Ring Day 5 (16th May 2007) Grand Union Canal

The final section of my cruise around the Warwickshire Ring has been uploaded, for your perusal.

This involved going through the wide locks all the way down to Calcutt, to where the boat is based for this year. We did the initial ones alone, including taking a family of ducks through, before we met other boats to share with - since sharing is much easier. We did some in a synchronised movement, not strapped together but both boats were going down side-by-side.

Those of you in the UK probably have seen the images on the News about the flooding on the Stratford Canal and the Severn and Avon areas. For those outside, I’ve uploaded a couple of clips that you may not have seen.

Peter Jackson phoned in to tell of his boat having risen in the floods and now in the adjacent meadow.

I just hope he can get the boat back before it recedes, otherwise it will be an expensive crane operation.

Plans to re-route the Wilts & Berks canal through the centre of Melksham are to be shown at an exhibition. (Headline from BBC News) Just read a piece on the new route for the Wilts & Berks Canal on BBC News

“Much of the original canal was lost to housing, and redirecting it around the town would offer no benefits, said Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.

It has proposed a route following the River Avon through the town, connecting the Kennet & Avon Canal to the Thames & Severn Canal.

The plans go on shown at Melksham library from 9 to 14 July.”

It’s good that they are aiming to keep the link near the town rather than simply bypass it as historically it went through and bypassing would imply more that the canal wasn’t important - imagine in 50 or 100 years time people may wonder why the canal bypassed Melksham unless they went into the recent history of the restoration.

British Waterways have closed down their freight arm because it was slightly loss making with costs of £1M against £0.7M back in revenue. When you consider they also made close to £70M profit on property, is this £0.3M really crucial? At a time when concerns over global warming are high, you’d think the government would want them to champion this alternative freight transport option.

This story appeared in the Telegraph, and I just recently saw it at the dentists - hurrah for week old papers in reception!

Warwickshire Ring Day 4: 15th May 2007

Birmingham - Hockley Heath (Worcester & Birmingham canal then the Stratford-on-Avon Canal)

Since we were in Birmingham city centre we decided to have a wonder around the shops, so actually didn’t set off until midday. We’re doing the Warwickshire Ring in a week, and seemed to be ahead of schedule, so why not.

Off we chugged down the W&B. The canal was quiet and we soon reached Edgebaston Tunnel and it wasn’t until we reached the University Campus that we met another boat.

It was a bright day - had the rain gone for good? We could only wait. We soon reached King’s Norton and left the W&B behind - hello Stratford. A nice day to be out cruising - no other boats so having the canal to ourselves was great. I donned my coat for the Brandwood Tunnel, since not having been through before wasn’t sure if it was dry or not. A light shower later spoiled the sunny day, but it was only a brief spell.

We encountered a Heron shortly before the M42, and it decided to join us for a game of tag, waiting until the boat was level with it before flyuing off the bank only to land several yards later to once again wait for us. This lasted 10 minutes, which is quite long since usually its only for a couple of minutes.

The route we were taking meant there was no locks to do, just a swing bridge to slow us down. At 5pm, just before Hockley Heath we passed a boat yard so took on some diesel, although we passed at first we simply reversed in after the boat there reversed back to their mooring spot. Onwards then to our mooring for the night.