Our headlamp illuminated the cut as we cruised through a prolonged, sudden spell of heavy mist. Visibility was terrible and made it difficult to spot oncoming boaters and gauge the distances between moored boats and canal banks.
It was bitterly cold! Everything was blurry, and I felt like I'd jinxed myself.
From the bow, I had spotted an object in the far distance. As we inched closer, it became obvious that it was a boat, and the driver flicked on his light to succour us as we chugged closer. We waved as our paths crossed.
In this weather condition, the 3 mph maximum speed of boats was comforting, as there's a shallow chance of an impactful head-on collision. However, that doesn't make navigating blindly any less nerve-wracking, so we took deep breaths of optimism that the mist would dissipate sooner.
On the other hand, the clock seemed to mimic the slow speed of the boat, but we continued to watch the time to meet our travel goals.
It might have been mind over matter, but the revving of the boat's engine amplified as my vision blurred; then the reflections in the water became pronounced, so I knew the mist was clearing.
After a few hours, the visibility was restored, and we pressed on.
Days like these are more challenging than others, and it helps when the schedule is flexible, but unexpected delays made us pressed for time, and we needed to maximise the hours.
A snippet of the map.
We had a few days of leisurely cruising along the Oxford canals, reliant on the Open Canal map, as we normally do. This tool is usually precise with live time travel estimation, water points, locks, waste facilities, shopping, and so on. There's also the Canal and River Trust, which gives updates on lock closures for boaters to plan their travel journeys. However, we were put out when we approached Braunston Locks. The announced closures were brought 2 days forward, so we were forced to detour and find an alternate route and location to moor.
With daylight fast disappearing at 3:30 PM, the expected travel times become irrelevant, and it all depends on how much we can persevere in the cold and find suitable mooring spots before dark.
This change itself was easy to figure out since we were in familiar territory. Within 2 days, we made it to Napton on the Hill from Braunston. However, Napton is a small town with a small corner shop only. That was not ideal since they carry limited stock at steep prices due to a lack of volume in the small community. It was good to get us by since we were low on food and other supplies. However, we decided to cruise for another 2 days to a bigger town and made it to Atherstone in Warwickshire, a larger town with multiple supermarkets and boating facilities.
Cruising the cut is not always smooth sailing, and we're more prone to adversities in the winter months. Still, I'm yet to meet a boater who rates the experience negatively. One of the most significant lessons that life on the narrowboat teaches me is to go with the flow and be prepared to weather all storms.
Thanks for tuning in, peeps:)
It was 7 days of winter cruising.
Travel Route:
Sutton Cheney Wharf to Braunston
Branston to Napton
Napton to Atherstone.
All the images included are original property of the author.