A brilliant weekend in Brighton - where there's a canal!

After an anxious wait, the money from the sale of Northern Pride cleared in our UK bank account last Friday 18 March - hurrah!  Whilst money isn't everything, we'd have been a bit bereft if anything had happened to the proceeds of the sale - we're relying on that plus whatever we can accumulate here to get us back to UK in possibly two years time and buy another boat to live on for longer.  Of course we're very aware that anything could happen in the meantime to change that, by bringing it forward or preventing it from happening at all.

Sadly, since returning to New Zealand, my younger daughter and her partner have separated.  Whether that's for good or not is not definite as yet, but the weekend we spent with them both last October was a very special and memorable time ...

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th October

We left our amazingly convenient mooring, a short walk from the railway station, just after lunch to catch the two trains that would take us to my younger daughter's home in Brighton.  We were fortunate not to experience any delays, and a bonus of a sunny day to watch the changing landscapes from the carriage windows.

Kim and Joe, her partner, recently moved into a rental house, from their previous second floor flat, and this was the first time we'd visited.  They also took on the responsibility of two cats a few weeks ago who we'd not yet met, 'Cleo' and 'Frankie'. 

We walked from the station to the sea front, and relished the Indian summer warmth and the brightness of the buildings and people of Brighton ...

Blue sky, sunshine and beach volleyball - a beautiful day in Brighton

The Hilton Hotel gazes majestically out to sea

 

 

 

 

Ornate, Victorian lampposts line the promenade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim picked us up on her way home from work, and we went out to an Italian restaurant in Hove that evening to catch up.

On Saturday we planned to drive to Hastings, but thought we had to wait for a parcel delivery of my 'Fit Flops' - when it got to about 1100hrs, I phoned the company and they said it could be anytime between 0800 and 2000hrs!  So we left a message on door as to where they could leave the parcel and went out - it was another sunny day so we didn't want to waste it.

Hastings is east of Brighton and it's poorer sister looking rather unloved and forgotten in comparison.  Of course Brighton has really become a 'suburb' of London, with so many well-off people now living there who commute to London each day to work and subsequently property prices have escalated out of all proportion. 

We had some good old English Fish and Chips for lunch, then took a short trip up the 'East Cliff Railway' - sadly it travelled through a tunnel so we couldn't see the scenery!  We didn't realise that the 'West Cliff Railway' has views, and by then we hadn't time to think about descending there as we were on the last trip of the day - the only way was up!  Then, when we arrived at the summit and walked to Hastings Castle ruins, we were most disappointed to find that it closed at 1600hrs - damn Father Time going so fast!  We so should've left Kim and Joe's earlier and just left a note for the delivery people - and the story doesn't end here! 

 Yum!  You can't beat English Fish and Chips at the seaside!

 Especially with chip shop curry sauce, Sandra's favourite, sadly not available in NZ!

 

 

 

 

 

The cute Cliff Railway - shame about the view of the wall! 

 

 

 

 

 

 The outlook from the top was worth the trip - and there's the East Cliff Railway - with a view!

 

 

 

 

 

 Kids precariously playing on the cliffs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barry and Joe check out Hastings from above

Houses on top of the hill with spectacular views over the ocean -  cheaper than Brighton but still likely to be prohibitive prices

 East Cliff Railway - maybe next time we'll try that one?!

What would 'Health and Safety' say about this?

We walked back down the cliff and along the sea front, before heading back to Brighton through a place called Battle - guess what happened there in 1066?

Amazing looking buildings hugging the cliffs

The ruin of Hasting's Castle on the hill above the town

                                                                               The burnt out pier at Hastings

The small town of Battle appeared to have embraced it's history far more favourably than Hastings, we were a little sad that we hadn't just gone straight there!  Of course it was not far from here that the actual 'battle' of Hastings was fought, where William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II to become William I in 1066.

By the time we arrived at Battle Abbey it was closing, of course it was an English Heritage site so Barry and I were most put out to have missed a 'free' entrance!   The Abbey was ordered to be built by Pope Alexander II in 1070 to try and make up for all the people killed by the Normans, and was virtually destroyed during King Henry VIII's 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' but has subsequently been restored.  The Abbey was built around the spot where King Harold was killed, on 14 October 1066, so we were there just under 944 years after that date!

Once again it just goes to show the benefits of forward planning when you're short on time - it'll have to be added to the list of future trips!  There were lots of people in costume around the town, so whether that's a weekly occurrence or just due to the fact date we weren't sure. 

 Battle Abbey

The Cafe/Tea Rooms by the castle

The field where the "Battle of Battle Hastings" took place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the look of the phone box the 'battle' isn't over yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if these people are re-enactors or just poor people (yeah right!)

Quaint buildings everywhere - maybe this used to be the Blacksmith's?

On Sunday we drove to the seafront in Brighton and had breakfast at 'Carats' - strangely enough there's a canal nearby and we had to walk over the lock!  The lock is for boats going to sea or coming in from the ocean and looked like a smaller version of the Floating Harbour in Bristol as it's to keep the water  at the same level for boats regardless of the tide. 

The huge harbour lock at Brighton - Big enough for ocean going ships

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There must have been an yacht race out at sea today as a flotilla of craft entered the lock at once

 Even with 12 or 13 yachts in, there was still plenty of room

 

 

 

A very industrial setting for a cafe , though apparently they're really busy every weekend no matter what the weather's like

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alongside the cafe is this row of beach huts - only one being used today

This ship almost covered the length of the lock - wouldn't want to be holding those ropes! 

We had a short trip into town after breakfast before chilling like a 'normal' family back at Kim and Joe's - what a rare treat!   Joe and Barry did the 'boys stuff' and mended the stereo, Barry also tidied up an aerial cable.  Meanwhile I weeded the garden and Kim mowed the lawn and trimmed a large bush at the end of the garden.  So many people would just take such a family day for granted, and is probably what they do most weekends, but for us it was the first time we've had such an opportunity with Kim in a house and we wish we could do it more often - maybe at some point in the not too distant future we will.

The cats hadn't been outside since arriving with Kim and Joe, but Barry managed to persuade them that they wouldn't come to any harm sp they were let out briefly on Saturday and then all day Sunday.  Frankie soon learned how to use the cat flap, though Cleo wasn't so keen on exploring the outside world seemingly too scared to venture much further than back step.  Frankie quickly disappeared to explore, but once Barry or Joe called him and brought him back to the garden a couple of times he was fine to find his own way and was a much happier cat! 

Frankie, Joe and Cleo (and Barry's feet!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barry and Joe get on with the 'boys stuff' in the sunny garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim and Cleo get up close and personal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the evening we had a BBQ, it was awesome to have sunny and fairly warm days again, even though we knew it would be short-lived as the forecast suggested it was going to be cold again by the end of week.  What a magical weekend we had, thanks Kim and Joe.

 Getting a bit chilly later on - the shape of things to come!

Heading to Hemel before a weekend in Brighton

Another delay on the blog as I've been travelling to Auckland and Wellington, and since our last entry the devastating earthquake and tsunami has hit Japan and put the scale of Christchurch's disaster into a different category.  Yet again, the message must surely be to 'seize the day' whenever we can, no-one knows what life has in store.

Though it's not a priority on the scale of things, we're still waiting to see the money from the sale of Northern Pride appear in our account in UK, which is rather worrying; despite an assurance it'd be in by last Friday it's now promised this week.  We're beginning to get a little concerned and hope that the company isn't struggling due to the economic climate in UK.

Just over three weeks of blog from 2010 to go.  We had a comment asking if we would continue the blog or be passing it on to the new owners - well for now we're going to complete our journey, once that's done we'll consider the options available.

We've got three days posts in one next, due to the fact that Barry has 'mislaid' some photos from 5th & 6th October, so we thought it'd be a bit boring with just writing!  You'll also notice that it's getter more challenging to label the photos that we do have, so if anyone spots a mistake or recognises somewhere, do let us know, it all just seems so long ago now ...

5th, 6th & 7th October

We mooched about on Tuesday as the weather was dry and fairly mild but overcast, maybe the shape of things to come in the British autumn. 

 

I recently read that in England there's an average of 60% cloud cover annually.  In contrast, Gisborne, on the east coast of North Island of New Zealand, where I chose to emigrate to five and a half years ago, boasts statistics of around 80% sunshine all year round.  I'm a  warm weather person, preferring sunshine and bright blue skies to the gloominess of a British autumn/winter.  It's a dilemma though, I miss the people of England, my family and friends, but now the pull to Aotearoa is returning - it's Barry who feels a  pull to England, but as yet he can't live here longer than six months.  We may come back for a few years in the future so he can get his residency, but nothing's planned as yet.

 

 

While moored up for a couple of days, Barry took the opportunity to put a new seal on the bilge pump which was wearing thin - we thought it best to get that sorted before it stops working and the boat sinks!  I planted some yellow winter flowering pansies to brighten up the roof of the boat for our final few weeks.

We had a late start on Wednesday, we'd meant to leave early but as usual our best paid plans altered!  The beauty of not having to clock-watch I suppose?  It was a glorious day, hurrah, with lots of locks before Hemel Hempstead, so I chose to enjoy the dryness and walk a couple of miles between two locks.

Sandra's at the lock, Barry's taking the photo - who's on the boat then?

We stopped at Bridgewater Basin Boatyard for a needed pump out, and had no choice but to pay £17 - we had three BW cards left but hadn't found anywhere to use them since the Kennet and Avon canal!We'd also stocked up on BW launderette cards back at the Black Country Museum moorings at the beginning of our journey, as we'd seen heaps of BW launderettes last year and had no cards.  Blooming typical isn't it, we haven't seen another one since!  Even after paying such an extortionate amount for the privilege of using the pump out, the cheeky man was extremely reluctant to let us use his rubbish facilities which I found incredible.  There really seems to be a dearth of facilities recently, heaven knows how long term moorers get on, though it's probably why we've noticed many rubbish bags strewn along the towpath in many places :-(

After a short stop for lunch, we did another six locks to be half way to this week's destination.  It was lovely stretch of canal, with lots of birdlife and at one stage there were four herons flying around and a number of Kingfishers - one ducked and dived into the trees and skimmed the surface in front of us teasingly, then even stopped for about half a minute on a tree yards from us, seemingly checking us out, before returning the other way.  Magical!  Sadly Barry didn't get to his camera in time.  Wednesday night we moored close to Hunton Bridge, which felt as though we were in an idyllic country setting yet we were less than a mile from M25.

 Lots of birdlife along the canal - oh and the occasional dinosaur!

  And some choice graffiti 

 Lots of locks to negotiate - not a problem in the sunshine - and the boat's abandoned once more

A roof garden on a mooring pin! 

Beautiful bridges along the journey

On Thursday we travelled through another nine locks, with a lunchtime stop in Kings Langley.  Barry went for an explore on the bike while I made some lunch - he returned to tell me he'd found a Barber's and hairdressers there so off we went for a bit of a smarten up.  His Barber was a Greek man, in his 40's, with a rather younger pregnant wife.  He and Barry chatted so much that his hair cut took longer than mine!  I had a lovely bubbly woman, probably mid 30's, who asked where our favourite place had been so far on the canals.  I always find that a much more difficult question that what was the worst place - so I turned it round and said 'Blackburn' to which, bless her, she replied "I went to Blackpool once, it was awful, I decided then and there that I'm a southerner and have never gone north again!"  Hilarious!  Talk about a blonde moment, but it was an excellent hair cut!

 Tasteful waterside housing developments as we approach Hemel Hempstead 

 

We moored up a short walk from the railway station at Hemel Hempstead, ready to catch the train to Brighton to see Kim and Joe for the weekend.

Northern Pride is sold - and autumn arrives in both hemispheres!

It's with very mixed feelings that we write this blog to tell everyone that our beloved Northern Pride has been sold.  We've had a lovely email from one of the people who bought her, and it seems that they had a very similar story to ours on their journey to find her and they've assured us that they will care for her lovingly.  Of course it's still sad to let her go, we've so many happy memories of our two extended trips, but we'll "smile because it happened" not "cry because it's ended".  Good luck on your travels Fiona, Linda and families, there'll be many boaters who'll recognise your boat and be waiting to say 'hi' to you on the waterways.

We do still have about four weeks worth of blogs left from our 2011 trip and I know I've been very slack at posting - I must make it more of a priority (sorry Graeme!)!

Barry's mum is now at home and appears to be slowly recovering (long story but misdiagnosis and medical/surgical miscommunication two huge issues!) her strength and joie de vivre.

We had a fantastic walk around Lake Waikaremoana the week before last, though it would've been even better if we were ten years younger and much fitter - goodness me it was hard work, lots of ups and downs (the walking and the spirit!) and I'm not sure my poor old knees will ever recover!  However the scenery was awesome, and just being away from civilisation for four days and nights was invigorating.

Here's a short selection of photos from the trip to give you an idea of the scenery and stamina needed ...

 Barry and I at the start of the walk, and below one of about seven (lost count!) swing bridges on the track 

 We have black swans in New Zealand rather than white

Part of Lake Waikaremoana - 'sea of rippling waters' - Panekire can be seen in the distance where we walked up and along the ridge and down the other side!

The view from the top of Panekire - luckily clear on the Saturday, sadly covered in cloud by the Sunday on our descent

Setting out from Panekire Hut on the final day - dressed for the cooler weather at the top and with stick in hand to try and reduce the impact on the knees

Looking a little rugged at the end of the walk - no shower for four days!

Since our last posting we've experienced the devastating effects of nature as well as seen the beauty of it - luckily we're a long way from Christchurch and as far as we're aware didn't know any of the people who've lost their lives in the earthquake.  We also know that one day it could happen here in Gisborne, but that there's more chance of us being killed driving a car so we'll continue to try and live life to the full, fitting in work around it ...

Talking of which, Barry had just started a job giving out and collecting the census forms, but as their offices were in Christchurch (were being the operative word!) this has now been cancelled but he'll still get paid the full amount, thank goodness - so he's back to seeking work.  He's sold eight of his framed prints now from his brother's cafe in town, and has almost finished putting the finishing touches to his website from where anyone will be able to purchase one of his amazing images - as prints, postcards, greetings cards, etc.  We frequently receive emails from people asking for a copy of a picture that they've seen on the blog - well soon we'll be asking people to order and pay for them on-line or we'll never be able to afford to get back to the canals, lol!

So, back to the blog, and while we've just began autumn here in New Zealand, we're still writing and showing images of the beginning of that season in England last year ...

Monday 4 October 2010

We spent the morning at Denham Country Park, and Barry sauntered along to the nearby Boatyard to pick up a few bits and pieces.  We're not in any rush now, with just over two weeks of travelling left before we leave Northern Pride for a few days and travel to the New Forest for a big family gathering with my family.  Following that weekend we'll be packing up the boat and getting her to a boatyard near Northampton - at this stage we're still open to someone buying her privately though.

Morning mist  at the moorings

Reflections

We left after lunch, heading for Rickmansworth, just 5 miles and 5 locks away.  It had been raining all night and morning, but cleared just as we were setting off.  The sky remained grey most of the day though, the taste of things to come in England for the foreseeable future.

We passed a number of locks and lock-side cafes looking dreary, damp and dismal - oh how things change when there's no sunshine to brighten them up!

Black Jack's Lock and mill

 'Shift your ass'!

 Some very tasteful housing developments next to the water ...

  Copper Mill Lock 

Springwell Lock 

 Autumn's showing her colours

Stocker's Lock through Bridge 175 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         A pink bicycle brightens the gloom                           Leaving Stocker's Lock

 

 

 

 

 

The woodburners are getting fired up now, and boats are starting to moor up for the winter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A glimpse of sunshine brings a haze over the canal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glorious afternoon light as we approach the Aquadrome water park 

 More reflections

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A swan puts on a performance for us ...

... or was it for these geese -  "Eyes right girls!"

 You can almost see the fairies from the forest!

Wow!  An array of autumnal shades

Not a lot to say today, but some fabulous photo opportunities, despite the initial gloominess.

We stopped late afternoon close to the Tesco's mooring at Rickmansworth, had a short walk to the store to stock up, and decided it wasn't a bad place to stay for a couple of nights and do some painting on the outside of the boat.