Happy Daze goes cruise abouts 2013: The K & A Canal

The Kennet & Avon Canal, Devizes to Bath

Pt 2. Seend Cleeve to Bath

But you never know what's around the next corner.....

Well, we were away by 9.45am, going through our familiar swing bridge.

Home for a week

A couple more bridges and we'd got to the first of two locks. we went through them and onto the section that takes you to Bradford on Avon. We've got 5 miles with no locks, so we sit back and enjoy the scenery. Beautiful, probably the most beautiful views we've had so far. Rolling hills, well, mountains if you're from Norfolk!

Hilperton Marina - home of the dreaded hire boats

We went past the dreaded huge hireboat companies, one at Hilperton and Sally Boats further on.

Boats were moored everywhere!

A man's home is his lifeboat.... wonder where he's drifted from?

Widebeams just pop in where they want to...

It was a pretty chaotic bit too, all sorts of boats were all over the place, shoved in any where and everywhere making navigation tricky.

Chaos on the canal

Including mayhem while someone moves a shed type butty across the canal

All the moorings were taken in Bradford on Avon, we waited for the water point to be free, and then we nipped in and filled up.

The water point at Bradford on Avon

Even Jack had to leave the building when Paul dumped the toilet

There's a dry dock here and Hotel Boat Wessex Rose was there. A day earlier they had hit the sill in the last of the dreaded Seend locks and bent the rudder. They were in for repairs. That lock must be jinxed!

Bradford on Avon dry dock and lock in the busy hub of Bradford

After a quick ice cream we went to get ready to go down the Bradford lock and three, yes three BW volunteers came scurrying out of the little ice cream shop and cafe, all wearing life jackets and holding windlasses. (another turned up just as we were at the bottom of the lock)

Paul stayed on the boat and quick as a flash we were through and on our way out of pretty Bradford on Avon.

The view from the top of the lock

Looking back at Bradford on Avon lock and the road bridge after

We saw the 24 hr town moorings but all the spaces had been taken. So we went through another swingbridge (later to discover it led to a sewer works) and moored up on some pretty decent moorings.

Our mooring for the night just outside Bradford on Avon

The beautiful wooded surroundings

Towpaths busy with cyclists and joggers and walkers but its not too bad.

We went off to explore the walks around and we were in the hills and woodlands, damp mossy woodland, with garlic covering the floor.

Looking back down on to the canal, but we're so high up you cant see the boats

The beautiful woodland, carpeted with wild garlic....mmmm...... smells amazing!

Jack smelling the aroma!

We also spotted the sewer works, but there as absolutely no smell!
After a long and tiring walk up and down steep hills, we get back and Paul gets on his bike to find Sainsburys about a mile away. Bonus! He also finds a Chinese takeaway!

Dinner sorted we settle in and had a great night's sleep. The hire boats that came bombing past us to get their spot by a pub have finally found their mooring for the night and all's quiet.

The peaceful mooring for the night

We spotted this kingfisher watching for fish in the River Avon

Saturday was sunny. We had an amazing walk over the hilly meadows overlooking Bradford on Avon.

The views were amazing....

Jack ran his little legs off! the views were stunning.

We chugged up the canal, the most awesome scenery around I've ever seen from a canal.

We were on a hillside looking down on the river Avon, meadows with cattle and sheep dotted all around, thick forest and woodlands, hills and more hills! The Avon valley is beautiful.

.... just breathtaking

We go over the Avoncliffe Aqueduct, a trough bridge that takes you over the river Avon and the trainline.

The Avoncliffe Aqueduct, the trough over the river and train line

Wooded banks line the canal

Boats moored in beautiful spots on tight curves!

The surroundings are amazing, gob smackingly awesome.

Beware of falling trees!

The forest has grown through the rocky hillside and roots cant go deep into the ground, there's signs up saying 'no mooring, falling trees'!

Stunning views around every corner

So we can only look with our mouths hanging open at the beautiful surroundings.

We had a sharp left turn to do and we were heading towards the Dundas Aqueduct, also going over the Avon and the trainline, but a lovely old bridge supported the water in the canal instead of a trough!

Moored up at our beautiful spot by the Dundas Aquaduct

There were 48hr moorings here, so quick reverse and we moored up, one of the best views ever. (I know I keep saying that, but it just gets more and more amazing!)

Our view from the front of the boat, looking up to the grassy hill in the distance

Looking over the aqueduct at the river Avon

The train line was quiet except for the occasional whistle from the steam train and everyone flocked to look down to catch a glimps.

The hustle and bustle of the Dundas Aqueduct

It was a very busy place, tourist territory now. Soo many people, bikes, children, dogs.... coach loads of grey haired people ..... that'll be us one day!

Hire boats were crashing into the wall on the far side as they came around the corner too fast!

There were hire canoes, hire rowing boats, hire narrow boaters misjudging the tight corners and crashing into the concrete edges, little steam day boats, bigger steam day boats, electric boats..... busy!

The suns shining, Jacks got shade and were busy watching all sorts of antics going on around us. After a few chores, boat washing and cleaning we head off for our walk and again, stunning veiws from up them hills!

The Somerset Coal Canal, home to a Marina, bike and boat hire and coffee shop.

We walk up the tiny piece of the Somerset Canal, only used now as a paid for mooring, an ice cream shop and the bike and boat hire centre. Pretty tho, ice cream was good!

Enjoying an ice cream european style down the original Somerset Coal Canal

It quietened down by 7.30pm. Theres only one other boat here with us so its really peaceful.
On Sunday we walk Jack in the woodlands, slippery rocky paths, open meadows, he swims in the river Avon

The amazing Dundas Aquaduct, carrying the canal above the river

We found some more amazing meadows to walk

Looking down from the grassy meadow that over looked the boat.... you can just see Happy Daze moored up

And if you couldn't, here she is zoomed in.... see now!

The amazing woodland paths....

.... just kept going and going

Jack enjoys a swim in the river Avon

We head off today in search of our next stop, somewhere around a corner I expect, hope its as stunning as Dundas Aqueduct.

Leaving Dundas Aqueduct

But hopefully not as manic!

The canal's very narrow here but it doesn't stop people mooring their boats everywhere and anywhere they can get in, even if it makes it difficult to see what's coming towards you!

Beautiful scenery line the canals .....

.....along with the many boats everywhere here

Hire boaters on there first stretch after picking up their boats... ooops, in the reeds you go!

On our way to Crash Corner

We didn't go far, in fact it was only a couple of miles. We went through a couple of hectic swing bridges, boats everywhere, and we saw a free space on a corner, later to learn the corner was locally known as Crash Corner! Well, it lived up to its name, and we were probably causing some of it, along with the other boats moored near! So we moved on a bit down the canal, a 48hr mooring Paul spotted on his bike after several people had mentioned the CC words.

After Crash Corner we settled for somewhere quieter!

When we were settled in our new spot we walked Jack and saw for ourselves why it was nick named Crash Corner! Hire boats going too fast, cant see a thing around the corner, meet other boats, dont know how to react quickly, crash! Simple! And again and again it happened! We were amused anyway!

We found a bit of a walk, but it was mainly towpath stuff.

We came back in the glorious sun and enjoy the rays beside the boat.

We got a telly signal so when it started getting cooler, we retired indoors to watch the box. We didn't have Internet or phone tho!

Lovely quiet mooring, we slept well and woke up Monday fit and raring to go for a walk with Jack up to the huge hill, through some of the most stunning woodlands and forestry ever, caves sneak up on you behind corners, all spooky and barred over, high, higher we climbed to the top.

Half way up and the only house nearby

Spooky caves pop up from everywhere

We found some beautiful woodlands

We did it, took a couple of hours to get there and back. We were knackered, We had a knackered Jack, but so glad we did it. Beautiful, on a par with Simmons Yat in Wales, we got to the top and it opened up to beautiful meadows and a golf course. We could have done with a cake and tea room!

Leaving Dundas

We set off to Bath about 11ish, only a couple of miles to go now. slow going, boats everywhere.

Arriving in Bath, boats moored everywhere!

We reached the 72hr moorings on the edge of Bath, lovely towpath, beautiful views again.

Our view from our mooring spot in Bath

Busy tho, cyclists again bomb about without a care for man or beast. There seems to be lots of people on the 72hr mooring who've been here a lot longer than 72hrs! All live-a-boards, all got noisy scrappy barky dogs. were on a hillside again, one side looks over the Avon Valley and the other is a huge hill, covered in woodland!

The train is very noisy here, running into the night, the people here don't give a damm who they upset, running their engines at least till 11pm (we finally fell asleep then) in gear so it gurgles and gerrumples under out boat, yelling at each other and their dogs, dogs yelling at each other scrapping all the time, sirens screeching out all day and night.

Well, were in a city, put up or get out!

The canal in Bath

Walking along the canal on an explore

We go off for a walk along the canal and discover a Tescos, Morrisons and a lovely cow meadow for Jack.

We decide we're going to finish the roof here. It's a 72 hr mooring here (we need to over stop by a couple of days tho).

Last part of the roof finally gets done!

So Paul scrubs and cleans the back half of the roof and I go out with Jack. after sanding, grinding and rust proofing my day was done.

Sleep came as a struggle; sirens, neighbour's boat engine still on and still gurgling under our boat at 10.30pm, dogs, gobby red headed girls, trains ..... finally zzzzzzz......

Tuesday 2nd July and it was paint the roof day again. After a dog walk, we went Morrisons shopping, and back to the boat for the first coat on the last half of the roof.

In between the 'not forecasted' rain I managed to get the boat done, not until 2pm tho, a bit late in this damp weather. We walked Jack and when we got back there were two more hire boats here, with about 12 men of twenty something on each. That should add to the noise and commotion later! A stag party!

No engines tonight, even the train seemed quieter. The twenty something men were a bit rowdy, no dogs scrapping tonight, only sirens yelling at all hours!

The next day we walked Jack and I got on with the painting. Finally finished by 12.30pm, I walked into Bath to seek out a pressie for Paul, his 50th birthday on Friday.

Not much luck we decided to go again tomorrow.

The night was another noisy one. Woke up several times, the first time was at 11pm when our neighbours started their engine and ran it in gear, gurgling under our boat again.

On Thursday we had a day off painting.

Going for a bike ride down the flight of 6 locks...

We went for a bike ride down the flight of Bath locks,

Boats moored up in the flight of Bath Locks

Bath deep lock 8/9 its 19'5" deep!

Sussing out what's next

sussed out where to moor to go to Sainsburys on Saturday and found the Thermae Bath Spa we'll be visiting on Pauls birthday tomorrow.

Looking down over the river Avon

View from the coffee and cakes cafe

Battling the tourists... although I suppose we were one of them!

We had coffee and amazing cake in a cafe overlooking the infamous weir on the river Avon. We ate sausages from The Hot Sausage Man and bought stuff from Weird Fish's Sale!