Final Trip: all change

Posted on April 28, 2017 by pensitivity101

Since becoming Liveaboards in 2014, we have only had a licence for the River Avon, having done the full trip to Stratford four times in total though we have been out on the river for a few nights away as well.
The river locks are all doubles, so you can get two narrow boats side by side in each, or one widebeam such as the commercial floating restaurant boats which travel from Stratford to Luddington in the evening during the season.
Last year, we were in the company of a hen party aboard a widebeam here as well as the restaurant boat, so available space was highly sought after.

Locks on the Stratford Canal are all narrow, so it is most fortunate that our boat is only  6’10” wide. However, when you take into account that some of the bridges and locks are just seven feet, that only gives us an inch either side to spare.
Add to that the fact that the canals themselves aren’t much wider, I found myself breathing in and praying nothing was coming the other way an awful lot over the next couple of days.

About pensitivity101

I am a retired number cruncher with a vivid imagination and wacky sense of humour which extends to short stories and poetry. I love to cook and am a bit of a dog whisperer as I get on better with them than people sometimes! In November 2020, we lost our beloved Maggie who adopted us as a 7 week old pup in March 2005. We decided to have a photo put on canvas as we had for her predecessor Barney. We now have three pictures of our fur babies on the wall as we found a snapshot of Kizzy, my GSD when Hubby and I first met so had hers done too. On February 24th 2022 we were blessed to find Maya, a 13 week old GSD pup who has made her own place in our hearts. You can follow our training methods, photos and her growth in my blog posts. From 2014 to 2017 'Home' was a 41 foot narrow boat where we made strong friendships both on and off the water. We were close to nature enjoying swan and duck families for neighbours, and it was a fascinating chapter in our lives. We now reside in a small bungalow on the Lincolnshire coast where we have forged new friendships and interests.
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12 Responses to Final Trip: all change

  1. colinandray says:
    April 28, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    Sounds stressful! 😦

  2. Sarah Ferguson and Choppy says:
    April 28, 2017 at 9:54 pm

    I’m already worried about it for you, and that’s knowing you’re through – I can’t imagine how worried I would be if I was actually doing it!

  3. lbeth1950 says:
    April 29, 2017 at 10:54 am

    I just love hearing about you life.

  4. The Diary of a Country Bumpkin says:
    January 22, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    It must be like driving a Bentley in London through the width restriction roads. I showed my wife your story and we discussed emptying the toilet and for some strange reason she told me to “get these stupid ideas of getting a boat out of your head!”

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