Discovering Brindley's Grand Cross: July 2016

Three weeks in a Long Narrowboat

A blog of our adventures exploring the English Midlands aboard NB Eleanor. Our three week cruise commences from Clifton Wharf near Rugby. The planned route takes us north west past Coventry, Tamworth and Lichfield to Stafford then south to Worcester passing Wolverhampton and Kidderminster. The return voyage heads north east up the famous Tardebigge Flight of locks towards the outskirts of Birmingham before turning east down the Hatton Flight through Warwickshire passing Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa then returning to Rugby via Braunston - heart of the English canal system.

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

History Comparisons - it's all relative

Several weeks ago I took an evening stroll around the Sydney city. As I headed back to the hotel near Martin Place (next door to the Lindt Cafe) I kept walking up King Street towards Queens Square. This square is a large open civic space that creates a transition from the green space of Hyde Park and the imposing Supreme Court Building (also known as the Law Courts Building) at the southern end of Macquarie Street.

Queens Square (circa 1930s)

For fans of ABC's hit legal comedy drama "Rake" (Season 4 is currently being broadcast), Queens Square is a regular location for filming as Cleaver and Barney arrive and leave and hearings where Cleaver is either the defendant or the defence barrister (until he was disbarred).

Richard Roxburgh and Russell Dykstra during filming

As I passed the Old Supreme Court building I paused outside the adjacent St James' King Street. St James' was constructed between 1820 and 1824 using convict labour and consecrated in 1824. Designed in the style of a Georgian town church by the transported convict architect Francis Greenway, it forms part of the historical precinct of Macquarie Street which includes other early colonial era buildings such as the Hyde Park Barracks.

St James' Church circa 1890

St James' Church - Google "Street View" Dec 2015

The church building is the oldest one remaining in Sydney's inner city region. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate and has been described as one of the world's 80 greatest man-made treasures.

Hyde Park Barracks - GW Evans c1820

For non-indigenous Aussies, this colonial history and associated architecture is pretty interesting and special however as I stood on the King Street footpath reading the information plaques, my mind made the leap to the "motherland" - to England's green and pleasant land. I wondered - what would have been happening in terms of canal development in the English Midlands when this flurry of building activity was taking place in the colony of New South Wales?

The Oxford Canal (the canal where we will start and finish our cruise) was constructed in several stages over a period of more than twenty years. Construction began near Coventry shortly after the 1769 Act of Parliament was passed.

The Oxford Canal as seen from Napton-on-the-Hill in Warwickshire

Surveying and initial construction was supervised by James Brindley and by 1774 the canal had reached Napton. Financial problems meant that work on the final stretch to Oxford did not begin until 1786 and the Oxford Canal reached the outskirts of Oxford in 1789.

Narrowboat on the Oxford canal near Brinklow between Rugby and Coventry.

Oxford Canal and locks at Hillmorton

The final section into central Oxford was ceremonially opened on 1 January 1790 some 30 years before work started on St James Church in Queens Square.

Meanwhile there's only 50 days left to go before the narrowboating adventure begins.

More soon,
The Skipper

The Route

From Clifton Wharf we'll travel northwest on the Oxford Canal to Hawkesbury Junction, then travel northwest on the Coventry Canal to Fazeley Junction, then northwest on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to Fradley Junction, then northwest on the Trent and Mersey Canal to Great Haywood Junction.

From Great Haywood Junction we'll travel southwest on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to Autherley Junction, then south to Aldersley Junction, then south to Stourton Junction, then south to Stourport (the entry to the River Severn).

We'll then head south on the River Severn to Worcester, then travelling northeast on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to King's Norton Junction.

The Round Birmingham Ring then heads southeast on the Stratford Canal to Kingswood Junction.

Our cruise then follows the Grand Union Canal to Napton Junction before heading northeast to Braunston Turn.

Finally we travel north on the Oxford Canal back to Clifton Wharf.

Narrowboat Basics

Narrowboats are 6 feet 10 inches wide and modern vessels are all made entirely of steel. The maximum length is about 72 feet (22 m), which matches the length of the shortest locks on the majority of the system. Modern narrowboats tend to be shorter, to permit cruising anywhere on the connected network.

Modern narrowboats are generally defined by two design features, the type of stern and the location of the galley/saloon.

Type of Stern

There are three main types of stern on narrowboats, traditional, cruiser and semi-traditional.

The Traditional Stern is the smallest stern area offering the least external space, and stems from traditional working boats. Ideal for live aboard, as it gives more room inside for living.

The Cruiser Stern style of stern offer a large expanse of external space, ideal for recreational cruising. An ideal holiday boat has a back deck of between 4-8 Feet in length, providing ample space on the back for several people to stand or sit and take in the scenery together.

A Semi-Traditional Stern produces a compromise between traditional and cruiser; these boats have the looks of a traditional stern craft but with the space of a cruiser stern.

Location of the Galley/Saloon

The vast majority of narrowboats until a few years ago were designed with the kitchen/living area at the front, bathroom in the centre and the bedrooms at the stern. One possible explanation why boats generally have the bedroom/s at the rear and saloons at the front is simply because that layout is a evolution of the original working boats.

There are a number of practical reasons for having this traditional configuration including the protrusion of the swim in traditional stern vessels and the location of the gas tanks in the bow gas locker area, but in recent times the "Reverse Configuration" has become popular. Many hirers and owners prefer to have the kitchen closer to the tiller.

Three weeks in a Long Narrowboat

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

History Comparisons - it's all relative

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