Monday, December 25, 2006

HMV tower NJ2


HMV tower NJ2
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Much of the dockside in NJ and Philadelphia is derelict,including this building with the tower boasting a stained glass window showing the HMV dog and phonogram.

NJ Waterfront looking back at Philadelphia

And then we crossed to New Jersey and the wonderful Aquarium, this is the view looking back to Philadelphia, our hotel is probably by my left shoulder.

Phili_shipbuilders


Phili_shipbuilders
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
The maritime museum also has and active ship repair section, used to repair and rebuild historic craft, it is possible to stand on a vistitors gallery and watch real craftsman at work.

liberty bell


liberty bell
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And of course a lot of American history was formed here, so a great deal is made of the constitution and the 'Libert y Bell'. A shame that is was made in England and then cracked.

not_our_hotel


not_our_hotel
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
The waterfront had an excellent maritime museum with the history of shipping around Philadelphia. There are also a couple of historic ships, we thought the narrowboaters amongst you would like this bathroom.

typical transport


typical transport
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
We didn't actually use one of these, but on our last day here (saturday) they had all come out on the streets looking for the xmas shoppers to take a ride.

street of narrow houses


stree of narrow houses
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Many of the original house of this historic place were built around 1800 and as houses were taxed by width, they are built narrow and tall, imagine this street 200 hundred years ago, with coaches down the middle., today it is just wide enough for one car (american) between the posts.

Benjamin Franklin Bridge


Benjamin Franklin Bridge
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And so on to Philadelphia.
To a hotel right on the waterfront - between the I95 highway and Christopher Columbas Blvd. With the Benjamin Franklin bridge and railroad just feet away! Very interesting, we got used to the noise after the first night, and it was certainly in a very convenient place

Monday, December 18, 2006

xmas police horse


xmas police horse
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And just to show there is a lighter side to Washington, this was one of the many varieties of policeman we saw.

In cars, on sidecar motorcycles, and on pedal bike (going like the wind).

Jefferson Memorial


Jefferson Memorial
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
The whole of washington seems to be a memorial to something, great people who shaped the nation, or those who fought defending it.

The words of Thomas Jefferson, some written more than 200 years ago, have shaped American ideals. Today, many of these impressive, stirring words adorn the interior walls of his memorial. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial stands as a symbol of liberty and endures as a site for reflection and inspiration for all citizens of the United States and the world.

creation story


creation story
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Probably the creation story as told by Quilting.

north american native mask

Exhausted from the science we went to look at the Museum of the American Indian, a startling new building full of thousands of old and new artifacts. Assembled at the turn of the twentieth century by wealthy New Yorker George Gustav Heye (1874–1957).

1903 wright brothers plane

This day December 17th is a very significant day in the history of aviation.

In 1903 - The Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard, and here we were looking at the actual machine!

Not a replica but the 'real thing' - slightly mended of course after all these years.

as landed on the moon


as landed on the moon
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
We did the recommended 'bus' tour on Saturday taking all the sights including more museums than I care to think about, memorial to everything the US have dabbled in over the years and Arlington Cemetery.

Sunday we braved the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Very interesting to get a feel for the actual size of the rockets, space capsules and Lunar Lander, seeing pictures never really gives the real idea of the scale of things. Makes you realise how brave these people are.

white house


white house
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Friday saw us on the road for six hours travelling up the Interstate 95 to Washington DC, excellent if boring road.
Thanks to superb map reding by Mary we only had to drive twice around the one way system in the friday night rush hour, before reaching our hotel.
Very centrally placed only two blocks from the White House.

Fire Department


Fire Department
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
The most exciting happening during our short stay (apart from the train that is) was the local fire engine out to get coffee!

AMTRAK


AMTRAK
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Strange place, apart from a short rush hour it’s a bit like St Albans on a wet Sunday - no signs of life. I thought I saw a train, but shortly after I took its photo it backed away from the station again, perhaps it was shy?

The street is lit by thousands of bulbs in the trees at night, just all life has moved out to the 'Mall' which as with all such out of town developments has done nothing for the centre of town shops.

Fayetteville Market House


Fayetteville Market House
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And so we landed in the USA on 13th, Alison collected us and left us in a downtown Fayetteville Hotel, right opposite the City Hall and Police Station! The Market House was built in 1832 on the site of the old State House, which was destroyed by fire in 1831.
It was within the walls of the State House that North Carolina had ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1789 and chartered the University of North Carolina. Also here North Carolina ceded her western lands to form the state of Tennessee. Built on traditional 'English' lines.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Braunston on a busy day


Braunston on a busy day
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
This is what Braunston was like during the rush hour.
We moved off the next day and went up through the repaired locks and tunnel to Norton junction, stopping there the night for our final BBQ and arrived back at Crick and home to inches of junk mail and kind neighbours having cut the lawn.

And finally:-

Total hours cruising: unknown but spread over 8 weeks.
Total distance travelled: in excess of 350 miles.
Total number of locks: at least 233.

Pictures uploaded to Flickr via hp laptop and nokia mobile phone using GPRS. See http://www.filesaveas.com/gprs.html for details of how to set this up.

From Flickr the pictures were then added to this blog using the 'blog this' feature.

new collar


new collar
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
This vital component is what had come adrift, the pin down in to the ground had broken and so the gate flopped around in a spectacular manner for a while. But was soon mended, and traffic resumed.

men and woman at work


men and woman at work
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
On arrival at Braunston, there was much activity and lots and lots of boats - all waiting for the usual efficient BW crew to mend a lock collar that had come detached from the ground, luckily we were not in a hurry so moored up for a day.

sun set over boat


sun set over boat
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Despite the change in the weather, to much cooler and wetter days, some of the evening were really glorious, this was taken by Mary in her 'artistic mode', whilst moored near Polesworth

taking a short cut


taking a short cut
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
I hope the owners of these new flats like canals, because they are pretty close to the constant throb of diesel engine going up the locks. We liked the patio door on the first floor, with one left open to allow the plaster board through.

strawberry fields


strawberry fields
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
So you wondered where those supermarket strawberries came from, the answer is places like this, you could smell them ripening as you cruised past.

would you want to


would you want to
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Would you choose to moor here, this is in the middle of all the enginnering work, coffer dams and cranes were much in evidence as the canal was having foundations for the new railway line laid in and around it, I hope they leave a decent space for boats, some new bridges are very boat friendly and other are marginally fit for one boat to squeeze through.

Waiting at the lights


Waiting at the lights
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
So here we are waiting at the lights, just as we settled down for a long wait the lights changed and we were off again.

Light Warning


Light Warning
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Not expected on the canal, but sometimes engineering works prevale, in this case the upgrading af the fast line from two to four track.

No comment


No comment
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Fradley Junction nature park on bank holiday monday, a nice lake and wooded walk hidden behind the junction.

speed merchant


speed merchant
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Moored at Kings Bromley, one of the modern plagues of towpath life is the constant threat of being run over!
We met a nice young lad who explained to me how he evaded all the complex barriers put up to stop him racing up and down the canal.

This man was followed by his very young son also on a motor bike.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

4mph speed limit


4mph speed limit
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
There is a 4 mph speed limit on the canals - but I don't think it applies to this boat (only 18 inches long and powered by battery). It has been attracting the crowds though as it skims across the water - hope it doesn't run out of battery on the far side.

The sun is out at last, so perhaps it will warm up. We are staying here today (sat) and setting off home tomorrow.

fishing


fishing
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
I have yet to see a Heron catch anything, but they keep trying. Here at Tixall as mentioned last year much of the wildlife has been decimated by escaped mink, but it it coming back. Sitting here yesterday we
could see the Buzzards wheeling in the sky and deer roaming across the other side of the river.

The shop next door


The shop next door
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And so in the rain we arrived back at Tixall on our way to Great Haywood Junction and the turn south on to the Trent and Mersey pointing home. We have been sat here for a couple of days, sitting out the Thunderstorms and miserable weather, this is August Bank holiday weekend. The local Pub does 'Old Spotted Hen' on draught, so worth staying around the extra day.
The 'shop' next door to us has been selling coal, as the night time temperatures (and day time) are pretty low compared to just a few weeks ago when we started out.

Narrow with passing place


Narrow with passing place
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
On the Staffs on Worcs canal going around Wolverhampton some of the route was hewn out of rock and was obviously so hard that the builders could only cut a narrow channel, luckily there was a passing place, I
cannot imagine what would happen if the earlier convoy arrived here all at once, the passing place was
only one boat long.

over the A5


over the A5
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Another traffic jam here, but for the cars and not for us, something large was being escorted up the road with lots of flashing lights.
Its very strange looking at roads now and seeing the queues, we often travel parallel to railways or roads and see the speed of modern transport and then think back to the days when the canal carried all the heavy goods.

traffic jam near Wheaton Aston

Something not expected on the canal, except sometimes at busy locks and near the hire boat centres, this eventually sorted itself out but was interesting whilst it lasted as sometimes the speed we were
travelling at was below the engine tickover speed. So we had to pop in and out of gear.

Woodpecker


Woodpecker
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Heard this bird before we saw him - probably at Gnosall where we stopped for lunch, we have seen a few Kingfishers but never keeping still enough to take a photo.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Woodseaves cutting - high Bridge

The days journey included another cutting, known for its high bridges.

We were followed a lot of the way by a canoe, but it kept vanishing, in the end I asked what they were up to, "picking blackberries" was the answer.

The end of the cutting has a double arched bridge with a telegraph pole (sans wires) in the middle.
And so we reached Norbury Junction, now a good boating centre - but not a junction as the other canal no longer exists.
Good moorings and an excellent and helpful marina.

Woodseaves cutting - and canoe

A quick flit up 5 locks at Tyrley and we were away through more glorious scenery, including the Woodseaves Cutting, cut entirely by hand and deep in the rock.
It can be a bit interesting, and despite reversing hard we were rammed by a hire boat - you should have seen the look on the faces of the passengers in the front as they realised what was going to happen - still boating is said to be a 'contact sport'.

Evening at Market Drayton


Evening at Market Drayton
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Like this evening looking out at a blue(ish) sky and the sun setting behind the clouds.

Rain - at Market Drayton


Rain - at Market Drayton
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Rain drops. and Evening sun.
A very nice Market town - we stayed a night - moved off and the heavens opened again so moored the other side of the town on very nice moorings.
The weather has certainly changed since we started out many weeks ago, many days are now overcast and cool, although there have been some very nice evenings.

Mending Audlem lock


Mending Audlem lock
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Luckily we were above this lock at Audlem when a paddle(used to control the flow of water) snapped off. As usual BW were on the job very quickly and despite working in torrential rain, stopped the flow of water, found the snapped off bit and replaced a broken shaft - all in the space of about half an hour - cheers.
When the rain appeared to stop we moved off to Market Drayton.

Audlem locks - some off


Audlem locks - some off
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
The Shropshire Union is a very beautiful canal, well looked after with lots of mooring places specially marked - these are needed as the construction of the canal means you cannot get near the towpath bank. Think of a saucer shape made of large slabs of rock, only the middle is deep enough.
We avoided going off to Wales down the Langollen, not to be undertaken in peak hire boat season!
Nantwich we are sure is a very nice town, but on two visits we have not been impressed. And so after a night's stay moved on the Audlem. Mainly known for its flight of 15 locks, we moored after the first few and shopped and then the rains started - and haven't stopped since - or so it seems.

English salt mine


English salt mine
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
So on down the Trent and Mersey to Middlewhich, taking on water and supplies - poor moorings though, almost impossible to get near the bank. One thing the town is famous for is the production of salt, which can be seen lying around in great white heaps.
Here we left the Trent and Mersey and trun on to the 'Shroppie', at a very busy junction, made more interesting by the first lock being a boats length round a blind turn under a bridge.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Moored in Bugsworth Basin


Moored in Bugsworth Basin
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And then we arrived in Bugsworth Basin, built in 1796.! The local village changed its name to 'Buxworth' in 1930, to remove the connection with bugs!
We didn't stay very long as despite looking very nice the basin is now next to the A6, and so still at the centre of a transport links - noisy ones.
We moved around the corner to Whaley Bridge, shopped in Tescos and started on the return journey.

Peak Forest Canal


Peak Forest Canal
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
A typical view along the canal, note the very good tow path, much used by walkers, joggers and fast moving bikes. Makes a change from bits of the canal with no edge, but a bit 'unromantic'. Mooring was a bit problamatic as the edge was mainly a rock slope.

View from Peak Forest Canal

Much of the canal looks out across the valley with the railway and hills in the distance - just here we had railway, canal and railway in a sandwich!

swing bridge


swing bridge
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
And another swing bridge, at least these are in good repair, and once unlocked with a BW 'security' key move fairly easily. There are a few whcih carry only a footpath operated by a chain hanging across the canal, it is supposed to be left on the bottom of the canal out of the way of boats.

typical working boat


typical working boat
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
You can imagine the scene here in the days of horse drawn working boats, many of the bends and bridges are 'blind', and can lead to some interesting events, even when only moving at a max. of 4 mph.

Busy scene at Marple junction

And so we waited for the working boats to go up to Bugsworth for the weekend, and then moved on to Marple and turned right in to the peak Forest Canal

Saturday, August 05, 2006

The Swing Bridge


The Swing Bridge
Originally uploaded by richard.bignell.
Mary in charge! Stopping the traffic and moving the bridge all with a single finger - and left handed too - When we started there was no traffic, but it suddenly appeared from no where and had to wait.