Caen Hill

Today's Canal : Kennet and Avon

We awoke to a bright, sunny and warm day with just a light breeze to keep us cool when lock working. We began by reversing to the wharf in order to fill up with water and empty the elsan. It was a rather slow tap - Christine wandered off to find some more milk - leaving Mike to return the boat the the visitor moorings on the opposite bank.

When he arrived there, Andrew was already waiting and he whisked Mike away to the motor parts shop, arriving just as it was opening. Not giving the man time to put out his open sign, we immediately sought a suitable fan belt (1225 seemed the most likely).

Frayed Fan Belt

Back to the boat and whilst Mike fitted the new belt, Andrew returned his car home and walked back to re-join us. Fitting the belt went well but when Mike came to start the engine, nothing at all happened! Fortunately he remembered what had happened at the start of the year and found that the connector block had been knocked loose during the fitting. Once re-connected we were off and away with a rather large sigh of relief! The battery was now charging at a decent rate.

First of 29

The story of today is rather simply told: Caen Hill Flight! There are 6 locks set slightly apart to begin with and then comes the famous Rennie construction of sixteen locks very close together, each with a large side pond. This section is locked and emptied overnight to ensure that the ponds recover to their full capacity.

From the top of this section the view suddenly opens out and a distant plain provides the backdrop for this significant piece of engineering.

Many of the locks in the whole flight have special dedications, recalling the period when the canal was first restored, involving a huge amount of voluntary effort and many significant donations. Some are more obvious than others!

There is little more than two boat lengths between the locks and so it is 'interesting' when encountering two boats coming up, even more so if there are two in each direction. Some we met knew what to do but others ended up in some confusion!

At one lock we met a rather large Dutch barge whose crew insisted on us knowing that they have a 'wide boat'!

At the bottom of the sixteen we had a brief opportunity to look back up the flight before one further lock and a space for a lunch stop - even if it was now two o'clock. (There is no mooring allowed in the sixteen, for rather obvious reasons)

After our lunch break we continued and soon joined forces with a single hander also going down. During the winter she lives on a residential barge on the Thames at Battersea but then spends much of the summer cruising with her narrow boat.

By the latter part of the afternoon, the sky gradually clouded over although it remained dry and warm.

After completing the final six locks which are close together but not as close as the Rennie locks. Below the flight, in an adjacent field is a solar panel array. An explanatory display told us that this was installed to power the back pumps that ensure the flight remains full of water.

By now it was close enough to a respectable stopping time that we took the first opportunity after the entrance to the new Caen Hill Marina to pull in for the night. However, we later discovered that this is a mobile black hole and none of the networks can deliver a signal here. We heard the next day that this is a long standing issue! hence, this blog was uploaded a day late.

3.1 miles - 29 locks