One of my introductions to the history of canals was the television series “The Flower of Gloster” narrated by the late Bill Grundy that was broadcast in 1967. When on holiday I bought the excellent book by E.Temple-Thurston only to find that it was nothing like the TV series at all.

My interest was still sparked and I felt rather sorry for the Thames and Severn canal (eventually by association, all disused canals) and sought such information as I could as and when I could. I found that the Thames and Severn was unlikely to be ever restored in part due to there being a pub car park built across the filled in channel of the waterway.

I also bought the book by Humphrey Household and read it (despite it being a bit on the complicated side). Reading canal books did become something to do when I was off school with frequent severe colds (partially due to their ridiculous policy of sending us out in the snow for P.E. wearing just cotton shorts and plimsolls). My curiosity kept growing as did my desire to see the Daneway end of Sapperton Tunnel (of which I could find very few photos).

Moving forward to 1989, when I was a little older than 10, Janice and I were looking for a destination to go camping. The suggestion of Lechlade or thereabouts was settled upon and we found a suitable spot on a farm, packing the car up with the usual stuff we needed (including the tent we spent a large part of our honeymoon in) and headed off down the motorway into a pretty hefty traffic jam.

A bit of map reading found us a more direct and suitable A road, so we turned off on that. After 5 miles or so we were in standing traffic! I’m not sure who had upturned what, or where they had done it but our ETA of around 3 pm ended up being around 9.30 in the evening! The farmer was a very pleasant person who just said to pick a spot in the field and he’d sort everything in the morning.

We pitched our tent by the headlamps of the car, brewed a cup of tea and settled in for the night. Several hours of stop-start traffic had got to us, and the repeat playlist in which the only standout song was “Orange Crush” by REM circled around in both our brains until we fell off to sleep.

The next day was bright enough though there had been some rain down and we did what all visitors to Lechlade probably do. We went off in search of the source of the Thames.
“Is that it?” Janice said, looking down at the pile of bone dry rocks.
“We were looking to see if there was a coin slot to put money in to get the water,” another couple, doing the same as we were, joked.
“There’s more water in my sandals than in there,” Janice laughed.

With that we headed back to the town to get some lunch and stopped at the Royal Oak where we overheard a rather obscene joke whilst waiting for our refreshments. I won’t repeat the joke here as I am sure the publishers of CanalsOnline Magazine would rather not be banned!

The next day we headed off, armed with OS map in search of remaining parts of the Thames and Severn. Our first find was the roundhouse at (I think) Marston Meysey which was in a roofless and dilapidated state. It’s always sad to see such a neglected building and more so when it has lived a long and significant life. Here it was though, ivy clad and serene as it slowly mouldered. We looked around and took photos, Janice standing her full 4 ft 9 to give a sense of scale on one of them.

Next stop was the south portal of Sapperton Tunnel which looked much the same as the many photos that are shown of it. It was interesting with its empty recesses for statues of Father Thames and (I think) Sabrina but it was Daneway that I had wanted to get to if I’m being honest.

We let another night go past before setting off to find that a car park did indeed encroach upon the canal bed but we found the portal of the tunnel! It was in a sad state too. Where much has been said about the architectural significance of the one at Coates, the Daneway end seemed to be a bit ignored by the portal pundits despite it being the only entrance to a canal tunnel that I know of with castellations and finials of this nature. Thing is, when we visited it was devoid of these features, some or most of which had probably fallen into the canal. It was a very sad sight but I’m glad to see that, as of 1996, these faux fortifications are now back to their original splendour.

We spent a few more days looking around the area, but left with the feeling that the Thames and Severn was something of a lost cause, having been abandoned in 1941. It’s nice to see all of this being proved wrong though, and moves are afoot to restore the waterway! It’s going to be one hell of an effort but I wish the best of luck to the volunteers and organisations that have taken on the task. Like the Kennet and Avon, this once significant trade route may again complete a link across the coasts of the country.

Heading back up the motorway we did not get held up in traffic and arrived home to await the photos we had taken. There are not nearly as many as would have been the case with digital photography but there’s enough to jog a memory or two. Another memory of our trip is the album “Green” by REM which we bought the following weekend after having “Orange Crush” as an earworm since the trip down!
©2022 Michael Nye

As the year marches on and we head into September I am reminded that this is one of my favourite times of year, the other being May when the blossom appears which now is showing off its Autumn fruits. It doesn’t seem so long since I was gathering the wild leaves and elderflower blossom of Spring, now those elder heads are bowing down heavy with their dark berries and the leaves are starting to tinge with brown and gold.

The first signs of green in our hedgerows are the hawthorn, the brambles and elder, now moving into September they are the first to fade and slowly fall whilst they give us an eye-catching display of rich red crimson and black berries. We go from blossom to fruit as nature gives up her harvest. There seem to have been an abundance of fruits and berries this year, the blackberries have remained firm with the dry weather, I have noticed so many crab apple trees full of fruit, lots of sloe berries, rosehips and the occasional plum and damson tree by the towpath. There will be a good batch of Sloe and Hawthorn Gin this Christmas.

I am also reminded that this is the time of year for stocking up on winter fuel as I gather kindling and notice the swallows stocking up also as they swoop down to the water feeding before they are off on that long journey to their winter sun destination.

After gathering my fruits and being given courgettes, tomatoes, apples and pears from visiting family I can share some of my recipes with you which I hope you enjoy. If you pass me on my travels on narrowboat “Wilderness” give me a shout and hopefully I can pass you a jar of something tasty or a sweet treat!

APPLE CRACKLE CAKE

225 g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
100g butter or margarine
100g castor sugar
225g cooking apples
2 eggs
6 tbsp milk

For the topping: 2 tbsp caster sugar and 15g butter or margarine

Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl, rub in the fat, then stir in the sugar and very finely sliced apples. Mix to a thick batter with the eggs and milk and stir until smooth. Turn into a well-greased and lined 7-8 inch cake tin and give it a gentle bang on the worktop to settle the mixture. Then cover the top with the sugar and small pieces of butter. Bake in the centre of the oven at about 190, gas mark 5 for 40 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160, gas 3 and bake for a further 30 minutes. Turn onto a plate and serve with a dollop of cream or custard, or enjoy on its own with a cuppa.

To use the oven economically, pop a casserole in the bottom for slow cooking at the same time.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

I roasted a butternut squash by cutting into quarters longways and across to remove the seeds and sinew parts. Once you have your squash skin side down on an oiled baking tray you can add the flavouring whether it be herbs, spices or just salt and pepper. I placed a whole garlic bulb in each of the two parts where I had removed the seeds, a generous drizzle of olive oil all over the top, some garlic salt, dried sage and thyme, ground cumin, ground coriander and a pinch of paprika. Cover with foil and slow roast for about 45 mins in the hot oven. Once cooled the squash can be chopped into large chunks and kept wrapped in foil in the fridge then added to lentils, curries, with feta or blue cheese in a salad or blitzed into a warming soup.

For the last ten minutes while the oven was still on for the Apple Crackle Cake I made a quick batch of easy oat cookies.

OAT COOKIES

Use a large bowl and add 175g self raising flour, 175g sugar, 75g porridge oats, 1 tsp bicarb of soda and 1 tsp baking powder.

In a small pan melt 175g butter with 2 tbsp golden syrup over a low heat, pour this into the dry ingredients and combine into a dough using your hand to firm together. Turn out onto the worktop, flatten out into a long rectangular shape and cut into 28 pieces, then roll each piece into a ball and place onto greased or lined baking trays, you’ll need at least two trays. Flatten out into a disc shape, leaving plenty of room between each one. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden and slightly firm.

Add a tbsp of ground ginger or tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients if you like.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE JAM

750g apples (peeled and cored weight)
750g blackberries
½ pint water
1 ½ kg sugar (jam sugar containing pectin is available in larger supermarkets but not essential as the fruit contains natural pectin)

Prepare the fruit and simmer gently with the water until soft, I think the longer the better. Add the sugar and cook rapidly until setting point is reached. To test for setting point drop some of the fruit mixture onto a cool plate and if you can run your finger through it and wrinkles form it is ready, if it runs back then it needs longer.

Make sure your jars have been sterilised in boiling water and are warm when you pour the jam in, pop a seal on top using greaseproof paper cut to fit and pop the tops on straight after.

CRAB APPLE AND CHILLI CHUTNEY

Add the following ingredients to 700g peeled, cored and finely chopped crab apples in a large pan:
230g brown sugar, 1 large finely chopped onion, 1 -3 (depending on heat) finely chopped chillies, ¾ inch piece finely chopped or grated ginger, 2 tsp turmeric, ½ pint cider vinegar and a pinch of salt.

Simmer gently for at least an hour until the consistency is thick and most of the liquid has evaporated. Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

You can follow this recipe using courgettes instead of crab apples, finely chop the courgettes then sprinkle with salt and wrap in a tea towel to drain the moisture for 1 to 2 hours, rinse, drain and dry. Add a pinch of mustard seeds with ground coriander and cumin for an extra kick.

SPICED APPLE CHUTNEY

5 lb apples (peeled and cored weight)
1 tbsp salt
1 small tbsp ground ginger
4/6 chillies depending on heat
1 lb Demerara sugar
½ to 1 pint vinegar
8 oz onions minced or very finely chopped
8 oz stoned dates
8 oz sultanas or raisins

Peel, core and chop the apples, put the salt ginger, chopped chillies and sugar into a pan with some of the vinegar. Add the apples and minced onions and bring to the boil. Add the chopped dates and whole raisins or sultanas and simmer until thick and brown, adding more vinegar as required. The apples will create a lot of juice, but the chutney should not be runny, so continue to simmer until the correct consistency is reached. Put into warm sterilised jars, squash down so there are no air pockets and cover well. As it can be quite tedious chopping the dates and onions, I find it easier to pop them in the mini chopper in batches. As with all chutneys they improve with age, so store in a cool dark place when unsealed and then in the fridge once opened. I call mine “Christmas chutney” and give as gifts along with homemade sloe gin, jams and homemade chocolates and truffles.

AUTUMN FRUIT IDEAS

If you have some fruit and not sure what to do with it, a good start is to cook gently in a pan to make a type of compote. Once the fruit is peeled and chopped place in a pan and add a very small amount of water and sugar. I use about a quarter sugar to fruit, this way it isn’t too sweet, you can always add more. Cook slowly and reduce the liquid down. Once cooled it will keep in the fridge and you can use it on your breakfast oats or muesli, as a base for a crumble or cobbler (see recipes below), or on its own topped with yoghurt, nuts, crème fraiche or custard.

To make a pudding, pop it into the bottom of a greased bowl or tin and pour over a basic all in one sponge recipe (4oz each of self raising flour, sugar and butter or margarine with 2 eggs and 1 tsp baking powder), these quantities are for a small pudding and can be microwaved or baked in the oven.

To make mixed fruit syrups (blackberry or elderberry is a favourite) add a little water to your fruit, about half a pint to 3lb. Cook gently simmering for about an hour, crushing the fruit with a potato masher at intervals. Drain over a sieve lined with thin kitchen roll overnight then add about 10 oz sugar to each pint of juice and stir until dissolved, you can use honey instead of sugar.

I find jams and chutneys so rewarding to make, remember to save plenty of jars earlier in the year!

Jam recipes are mostly on a 1 to 1 ratio jam to fruit, I prefer to use a little less sugar 1 to 0.8.

Fruit chutneys are 100 ml vinegar to every 300g fruit and 100g sugar. Everything goes into one pan and simmer until reduces to very little liquid adding any extras such as nuts, raisins, sultanas, allspice.

ELDERBERRY SYRUP

This is a natural medicinal drink to warn off the winter chills, it helps strengthen the immune system and is full of antioxidents. Take one teaspoon daily for the benefits.

Use 8 cups of elderberries* with 1 cup of water and very slowly simmer, add 2 heaped tbsp of grated fresh root ginger, 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp cloves, three whole star anise if you have them.

Simmer for about half an hour to 45 mins, crush the berries with a potato masher and then sieve through a fine sieve, return to the pan and reduce the liquid slightly. Sieve for a final time then while still warm stir in about 2 ½ cups honey to sweeten, if you don’t have honey you could use sugar. Bottle into airtight sterilised bottles or jars to store.

*Remove the berries from the stems using a fork, avoid using stems they can be toxic

QUICK OATY FRUIT CRUMBLE

Use the cooked fruit as your base and add a few drops of vanilla essence. Top with a mixture of 50g plain flour with 50g butter rubbed in until resembles breadcrumbs, 100g oats, 50g sugar (I like to use dark or golden caster for better colour), add half a teaspoon of cinnamon or mixed spice if you like and a generous handful of nuts such as walnuts or hazelnuts. Cook in a moderately hot oven for about half an hour.

FRUIT COBBLER

These quantities make a large dish, you can use a large cast iron casserole dish or may prefer to divide between two smaller dishes.

Use homemade compote (see above) or stew any fruit of your choice by using 100g each of butter and sugar with 800g of chopped fruit (I mixed apples and blackberries, plums work well too), add 1 tsp each of vanilla essence and ground cinnamon. It’s not too important to weigh and measure the fruit as long you have a generous base layer to the dish'

For the cobbler topping whisk 1 egg into 100ml milk, in a separate bowl rub 140g butter into 280g plain flour, then stir in 140g sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1tbsp baking powder and a large pinch of salt.

Pour the milk mixture over and bring together to form a thick batter- like consistency.

Tip the stewed fruit, or compote into the dish and top with large spoonfuls of the batter, leaving gaps for the fruit to ooze through. Sprinkle the top with 2 tbsp demerara sugar and bake for 30/35 mins at about 170/gas6 until golden and cooked through.

OVERNIGHT OATS

I love these in the morning, especially when it’s a big day on the move or we have an early start. They are worth making the little effort the night before.
For two servings use one cup measure each of oats and almond milk, you can use any type of milk or just water. Stir in whatever seeds you like such as chia, pumpkin, flax, sunflower etc. I like to add a few walnuts and top with chopped fruit your choice, apples and blackberries work great together, or any stewed fruit and let the juices run through the oats. Cover and place in the fridge overnight and enjoy in the morning. Dried apricots, prunes and figs make a good addition if you don’t have fresh fruit. A drizzle of honey or fruit syrup adds a little more sweetness.

COURGETTES AND TOMATOES

These two seem to go hand in hand and I have made chutney, quiches, fritters, pasta and stir fry dishes with these over the last few weeks. A useful tip when using courgettes, whether you grate them or slice them is to wrap them in a tea towel for half an hour or so to draw out the moisture before cooking.

COURGETTE, PEPPERS, FRESH TOMATOES HERBS AND FETA

Slice 1 ½ courgettes and grate ½ courgette, wrap in a kitchen towel or a t towel to squeeze the moisture out before frying, cut red, green and yellow peppers into strips, and slice a red onion.
Fry gently all together in oil with garlic, plenty of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Add dash of red wine and balsamic glaze.

It’s the fresh tomatoes and herbs which help give that Mediterranean taste, blitz these together in a blender with a few garlic cloves or chop finely. I used thyme, marjoram and basil, if you don’t have fresh use dried. Add to the pan. Simmer gently for about 5 – 10 mins, take off the heat and add plenty of feta cheese cut into chunks, gently stir the cheese through and serve immediately over a bowl of fresh pasta finished with fresh basil leaves.

The feta will keep its shape but just melt in your mouth with a forkful of the courgette and pepper and that rich homemade tomato sauce. Just as good with chunky warm bread instead of the pasta.

       

COURGETTE FRITTERS

So easy to make. Grate approx. 300g courgettes and wrap in a t towel to squeeze out the moisture.

Mix together with 100g flour (I prefer self raising as it helps the fritters puff up), 2 eggs, 50g grated cheddar cheese, 50g grated parmesan grated, 50g spring onions chopped, salt and pepper and 1 tsp of mustard seeds or powder. Combine all the ingredients to give a thick batter like consistency.

Heat a large frying pan with a generous amount of olive oil. Add spoonfuls of the mixture to the pan and flatten them slightly to cook evenly, cook for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side until they are golden and crispy. Cook in batches and as you lift them out lay over kitchen roll to drain the excess oil.

They keep in the fridge or freezer and will reheat. Serve with salad and sweet chilli dipping sauce or yoghurt and mint.

You could always substitute the courgette with, sweet potato, lentil, onion etc. or add fish.

As Autumn arrives it’s time for hearty soups and casseroles, one pan meals, pies and comfort food, not to mention curries. There will be lots of these recipes in the next edition. In the meantime, here are a couple of dishes I have recently cooked.

Pork is very underrated, sadly some farming methods are intensive and not the best welfare for the animals, so I shop carefully. When I see my family, I’m lucky to have access to outdoor reared pork products from their “happy pig” farm and I’m proud to say that my Nephew is in the final three for the pig farmer of the year awards later this year!

We have had a lot of enjoyment this Summer from outdoor cooking using our Cobb, but now it’s moving towards darker nights we’ll be back to the indoors, although we enjoyed pork with onions, apple, cider and mustard cooked in the frying pan over the cobb the other night.

SAUSAGE AND LEEK CASSEROLE

Pork, leek, sage, fennel, apples and cider all marry together with such depth of flavour so here we have an easy casserole using these ingredients.
8 sausages
4 rashers of streaky bacon cut into small pieces
50g butter
1 or two (depending on size) onions chopped
1 or two (depending on size) leeks chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp plain flour
300 ml cider
300ml chicken or vegetable stock from a cube
10 fresh sage leaves, keep a few whole and fry in a little oil, chop the rest
1 tsp fennel seeds ground or smashed if you don’t have a pestle and mortar
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 apples, red if possible, unpeeled and sliced into segments

Fry off the sausages in the casserole, turning until browned evenly then set aside, next add the bacon and set aside when just cooked. Drain off some of the oil, leaving about 1 tbsp and add half the butter. Now add the onion, garlic, leek and fennel, gently fry until soft and lightly browned. Sprinkle the flour over and add the tomato puree, stir well to combine, add the cider and stock, stir well and add the cooked sausage and bacon, chopped sage and wholegrain mustard, bring to the boil.

Cover and cook in the oven at about 160/gas 4 for 40 minutes.

When the casserole is ready, melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and fry the apple slices for a few minutes until golden and tender, take care not to overcook so they hold their shape.
Stir the apples into the cooked casserole, sprinkle with the fried whole sage leaves and season with plenty of salt and pepper.

This dish is great served with crusty bread or mashed potato and cabbage.

TRINCHADO BEEF BREDIE

This is a Portuguese influenced dish we first discovered in South Africa, a Bredie is a South African stew and is usually made from mutton. I think there are many variations but here’s one similar to the one we tasted.

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
700g diced beef
Coarse sea salt or malden
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 red and 1 white onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 bay leaf
10 – 15 (depending on preference) pitted black olives
Juice of 1 lemon
Red kidney beans (1/2 to 1 tin depending on preference)
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp flour and 1 tsp dried mixed herbs mixed to a thick paste with a little water
½ cup cream (optional)

Heat the butter and oil together in a casserole dish or heavy based pan, brown the meat in batches and set aside.

Sautee the onions, salt and red pepper in the same oil until the onions soften, add the chilli flakes, chilli sauce, garlic, tomato puree, bay leaf and lemon juice. Cook for a few minutes and then return the meat to the pan along with the olives and beans. Pour in the wine and stock to cover the meat and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for an hour on the stove top or in the oven. After an hour, add the pepper and the flour and herb mixture, stir through and return to a moderate oven to thicken. Taste the meat for tenderness and return to the oven if longer cooking is required.

Delicious served with crusty bread or crispy potato wedges cooked in the oven at the same time.

Well for us, it all started out as a way of showing our family and friends what we were doing when we first went looking for a boat to live on.

Having spent the bast part of 20 years hiring and four years owning a share in a narrowboat, with the children now grown up and flown the nest, we thought long and hard about if we seriously wanted to change our lifestyle – at our age!

In the end it was an easy decision to make, especially as we trawled the internet and later the brokers to see if there was anything we fancied. During this time, we filmed each boat, not only for our own reference, but also so that our family could see what we were letting ourselves in for!

We had already had a buyer lined up for our home – our youngest daughter, so we knew we didn’t have to worry about that. The only deadline was that she wanted to move in on her birthday, which gave us only a few weeks to find a suitable boat and move onboard. All of this whilst the first lock down happened, so viewings were planned to the last detail.

Like most boaters, we had a “shopping list” of things that we would like – a semi trad stern, a dinette, a separate work space... In the end we ended up with none of those, although we did end up with two duck hatches! A bonus!

But we fell in love with The Boat (yes, I know, silly name) as soon as we stepped foot on her. Looking back at that particular vlog, to us it’s evident that she was “the one” and many people viewing it picked it out as a strong contender.

In many ways, we shared our frustrations, our likes and dislikes, with those viewing what we’d filmed. We are never afraid to discuss things between us and capture it all on film because we all go through that decision making process and people can often relate to the frustrations we have.

I suppose that’s one of the major differences between a vlog (a Video Log) and a Blog (a written Log) you can see instant reactions, decisions and naturally (for life on a narrowboat) the scenery and the lifestyle. It’s something you can’t really capture in written form. Sure, literature can conjure up thoughts and pictures in your mind, but visual media brings it to life!

Once we’d thrown out, or given away, or donated, everything we thought we would never need again, there were still boxes of “stuff” that we had no room for on the boat. The one thing we did have though was our memories and we were keen to make some new ones. When it came to look for a name for our channel, it was Jan who said, “Well, we’re going off making new memories, so why can’t we call it that?”

When we finally got on board to live, full time, it felt like a holiday had started, but this holiday would last our lifetime. We were looking forward to lots of new adventures and the beauty is that we can take you all with us. The highs, the lows, the sunshine, the rain, the canals, the rivers. And, amongst all of that, there are the jobs we and every boater have to do on a regular basis – we’ve even done our own engine service, so our vlogs have an instructional side to them as well.

We do feel honoured to have been approached by lots of would-be boaters we met at the Crick Boat Show who have said they’ve learned so much from watching our vlogs. One or two even said they’ve been encouraged enough to actually go out and buy a boat… wooooh, so no pressure there then!

In future articles, we’ll share with you some of the locations we’ve visited, the canals and rivers we’ve travelled on and how we film and edit our vlogs.

Since my last article, it would appear the country and the rest of the world has been turned upside down and shaken. Fuel prices have doubled, electric will be a luxury – gas out the question and if you read the gloom merchants then fresh air is soon to follow.

It’s been the same most of my life. However, over the years I developed two skills, how to make any old boat go as fast as it can, often beating far better (certainly better looking) and probably more capable vessels than my own as I learnt one thing about boats – motorbikes anything you wish to power along in a hurry. Lightness is everything, followed closely by a nice smooth passage through the water devoid of sudden jerky movements and over correction. Anticipation is everything.

Ok let’s look at lightness – how many of you have your lockers full of junk that might come in useful, indeed how many should be on some reality tv hoarder show. Chuck it and quick. Boats are designed to have a water line – push it in too deep and you affect how much more water it has to shift (displacement ) which needs more power thus more fuel to shift it along. How many have added tiles and worktops the builder never installed adding at least the weight of two or three people. You may as well chuck the gas bottle out now as you won’t be able to afford to refill it. That will immediately save 35 kilos!

Next is slipperiness! With your average racing dinghy this is easy – turn it upside down and polish the life out the hull. But how many boats have you seen with a botanical garden growing under them? Lose it! Any drag slows you down and uses more fuel.

Smoothness, now this is my favourite. Look back at your wake. It should not ever have zig zags – as mentioned in an earlier article, this is not the battle of Jutland. I have seen so many boats fighting the helm because they don’t anticipate what is happening next. Or allow the boat time to answer. Helms work by causing drag in the flow of the boat, in effect they are a brake applied down one side that turns the boat. Outboards, Z drives, work in same manner. You can quite happily steer DawnTreader with the out board in neutral as it acts as a rudder. Any excess movement will rob you of speed but more importantly fuel to get you moving again.

That may all sound simple, but I assure you will save quite a lot of fuel.

The next is engineering, my motorbike will do 140 MPG at 55 miles an hour. It does far less at 65 and equally less at say 25. Your boat is the same. All engines have a sweet spot when they are running at peak efficiency. For Dt its about 6000 revs (2 stroke) and it makes a sort of brr brr vroom vroom noise (I don’t need a rev counter: the moment the kettle stops vibrating, it's there). I see so many large boats being shoved along by small capacity 4 strokes which people think are more fuel efficient, but rather than a sweet noise it's making something a grizzly bear would be proud of as the little engine fights to get the boat to its most efficient speed, using – you guessed it - far more fuel. Add a head wind and it’s really drinking it.

There is a simple experiment you can do to back this up. Take the luggage scales you bought from the pound shop for the holiday that was cancelled due to flights, rail system, channel tunnel (ooh its like the 1970s all over again – I keep expecting to hear Slade or the Sweet on the radio) attach a line to the hook and pull your boat. The amount of force required to get it to move is the1lb per foot effort your motor has to overcome. If you have room, give it a drag along the canal and watch that 1lb per foot increase until you reach a steady speed and it will drop off, that’s your most efficient cruising speed. This obviously varies with hull design, but it does give you an idea of what your boat is trying to achieve and how best to help it.

The biggest use of fuel is the initial getting moving. My car thinks it's clever and has an electric motor that helps (yawn like British rail didn’t think of that in the 1950s ) However, I also have an electric out board and with that mounted on the back and used for low speed manoeuvres such as in locks and docking I have saved an enormous amount of fuel - as when the outboard takes over it's already moving.

"We are all going to have to tighten our belts"; "we are all in this together"; "Jam tomorrow jam yesterday" but no jam today. But the Lord helps those who help themselves and we can, but we have to really start thinking about how we use the boat, what is on board (and do I need it) and making it as efficient as possible – even if that means the thinnest coat of paint rather than B&Q tiles in the Galley. I recommend sticky black plastic!

My father and I had a few days exploring and walking the Shropshire Union Canal. We walked a lot, especially so as we had to double back on ourselves because of logistics, particularly with the public transport.

The Shropshire Union Canal, known as the Shroppie, is a canal that runs through Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. The canal begins/ends at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and runs to the outskirts of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. The canal was completed in 1835 and is 66 miles (106 km) in length.

We had begun our walks from Nantwich and Audlem and did all walks from and back to both places. For our first walk, we parked our car in Nantwich and did a round walk via the Barbridge Junction. We saw the Hurleston junction where the Llangollen canal starts and finishes and the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge Junction where we walked part of the canal before being  diverted through the Cheshire fields until we rejoined the Shropshire Union Canal near Nantwich. It was an interesting walk, seeing where the two junctions meet the other canals and we loved the rolling rural scenery.

Nantwich is a pretty and interesting town which is renowned for its aqueduct, designed by Thomas Telford and constructed in 1826. The town has a lot of beautiful Tudor and Georgian historic buildings such as the Cheshire Cat (Hotel and Restaurant) which is housed in one of the town’s oldest buildings. The river Weaver runs through the town and the green space by the river makes riverside walking pleasant.

On our second walk, we walked in the opposite direction to Audlem via Hack Green. We stopped at Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker to visit the museum enroute. The Museum is understandably isolated in the countryside and it was interesting to learn more about The Cold War and see the display of relatable and military memorabilia. We enjoyed our visit there and then continued our walk towards Audlem.

We enjoyed our visit for refreshments and rest at Audlem’s Shroppie Fly*, a canalside pub, and then walked along the infamous Audlem flight of locks. What draws attention to the village is the flight of 15 locks which ascend or descend to 93ft over a mile and half. Engineered by Telford, the flight of locks is worth an exploration of its engineering feat.

Our third walk was from Audlem to the outskirts of Market Drayton where we were in the heart of rural Cheshire and the Shropshire Plains. The walk was uneventful though rurally pretty and with some notable canal cuttings.

My father since has walked the remainder of the canal down from Market Drayton to Atherley Junction. At the time, we drove down and stopped at Atherley Junction to see where the Shropshire Union Canal and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal meet.

The featured artwork illustrates Audlem and the village’s flight of locks. I painted them on paper using acrylics. You can check out my art and creations on Facebook and Instagram.

Our canal walking adventures to continue…where? We’ll see!

*At the time of writing this the pub is temporarily closed