Narrowboat Bristol Fashion is on sale again. The colour scheme’s now grey, and the wooden cabin is long gone, but she still has a distinctive shape and has had a modern refitting.
Life Afloat on Narrowboat Audrey Too
Boating on the canals and rivers, from London to Yorkshire
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Selby, the River Ouse, then flooding in York
In York the towpath beside the museum gardens is flooded, and the moorings are hidden below about a metre and a half’s rise in the water level.
Paul Widdowson boat in Sheffield
Narrowboat Audrey Too was built by Paul Widdowson.We hadn’t seen another boat by the same builder, but on arriving at Sheffield’s Victoria Quays, we were put near to another Paul Widdowson built boat called Trilby.
Through Tinsley Locks to Sheffield
The Tinsley Flight of 11 small locks has to be traversed to reach Sheffield. It didn’t start raining until we were at the penultimate lock, and the shower was heavy but quick. On arrival in Sheffield’s Victoria Quays there was a rainbow.
Sprotbrough on the River Don
We really love this mooring in Sprotbrough, a few miles from Doncaster. The village is charming and hidden behind woodland, so whilst it’s quiet and secluded, there’s shops nearby. The Boat Inn on the opposite side of the River Don is handy for a coffee and pub meal.
Sykehouse Lock to Doncaster in windy weather
Grief, it was windy! It’s difficult to drive a narrowboat when the wind’s strong. Had a bumpy night, with little waves forming on the water and splashing constantly on the hull.
Painting and varnishing, getting our narrowboat ready to travel
The sunny weather has brought all the boats out. This long Easter weekend’s clement weather, a relief after the cruel winter, is a call to paint, varnish, sandpaper, tackle rust, and generally fix and spring clean.
Narrowboat Audrey Too’s interior
What’s it like inside a sixty foot narrowboat? Narrow, obviously. But also cosy. We have a living room, sizeable gallery (or kitchen), double bedroom, bathroom with shower, back bedroom with bunk beds, and a cruiser style back of the boat to stand on.
Winter mooring at Clarence Dock, Leeds
This is the mooring we’re staying on in Leeds over winter. Ours is the blue narrowboat with the cream roof, second from the left, between a dutch barge and a tug. Just outside our door is Mumtaz restaurant, which does superb Pakistani food.
Mikuni diesel heater repaired and refitted
Thanks to Mellor Auto Electrical in Ossett, West Yorkshire, the Mikuni Diesel heater’s been working reliably for several months
Arrived at Leeds winter mooring, at last
Finally made it back to Leeds, Clarence Dock, the Royal Armouries and our winter mooring. We would have been here six weeks ago if it hadn’t been for the canal freezing over, so it’s great to finally arrive, tie up the boat, connect to the electric point and relax. This will be our home for the next few months.
Winterising our narrowboat
Alisha and I abandoned our narrowboat for the Christmas week during the freeze. If a boat isn’t lived on during winter you’re supposed to protect it against damage by winterising it. Good news is that on our return there were no problems, no cracked pipes or leaks, and the engine started first time.
Thaw and freeze
A week before Christmas the ice had thawed just enough to move the boat from where we’d been frozen in for two weeks. British Waterways phoned to say we might be able to travel back to Leeds in a couple of days, and they booked us in to travel through the staircase locks. Things were looking up: we might be back on our winter mooring soon.
Surviving winter on a narrowboat
The last winter I spent on a narrowboat, four years ago, was mild compared to this one. This time the canal has frozen over, and has been frozen for a week and a half, and it could take a while before the ice thaws.
Narrowboat in the snow
Narrowboat Audrey Too yesterday, stuck in ice, covered in snow. It’s supposed to be -11 degrees tonight so the diesel heater will stay on all night. Already, some windows are freezing up on the inside.
Swans and ducks on the frozen canal
Swans charge at the ice to break it, so they can reach bread scattered on the surface of the frozen canal. Ducks try to waddle across the top of the ice. Filmed from my narrowboat, moored opposite the boatyard in Rodley on the Leeds and Liverpool canal.
Stuck in the ice at Rodley
Our narrowboat is stuck in the ice at Rodley. We only came up here to get some diesel, and had booked to go back through the locks to our winter mooring in Leeds Clarence Dock. But there’s snow and freezing temperatures forecast for the next week at least so we might be stuck here.
Leeds to Rodley by narrowboat in the cold and snow
During the winter months, in order to travel up the Leeds and Liverpool canal you need to book passage in advance with British Waterways. We did this today, travelling up to Rodley to fill up with fuel. As well as several single locks there are a couple of staircases with three locks each.
London to Leeds took us 5 weeks by narrowboat
It took Alisha and I five weeks to travel from London to Leeds by narrowboat. We travelled 353 miles, through 164 locks and 35 moveable bridges, across 11 aquaducts and through 4 tunnels. 121 miles of the journey was on large rivers.
I won’t go cruising without…
There’s stuff you need to hand while you’re cruising. You won’t get far on most canals without a windlass (the bent bit of metal with square holes at one end) because that’s essential for opening locks. A flask of coffee is almost as important.