storm – Pete's Blog

We have been back on Narrowboat Thuis for over a week now and as always it has been very relaxing. There is something about this boat that makes us say “aaaaah” when we get back here. This time, after six weeks of weddings, anniversaries, doctors, dentists, visitors, visits and people, people, people, it has been especially special to be back in our tin can. Mandy has been watching Midsomer Murders and doing her craft. I have been finding jobs to do and walking the dog. The big question we knew we would face was whether there would be enough water in the canals to travel.

It has been a summer of drought, and we have seen more and more canals and rivers closing to boat traffic. From where we are in Stone the Northern routes are largely blocked. The Caldon is closed. Heartbreak hill on the Trent & Mersey is closed. Bosley locks on the Macclesfield are closed (yet again). We can go South, but the Atherstone lock flight on the Coventry is closed, and the Trent looks challenging beyond Alrewas.

We decided to go out for a recce trip just down to one of our favourite moorings near Weston. It was lovely, very peaceful with few boats on the canal. On the return journey we needed to wind (turn around) just below Weston lock and that is where the reality of low water became obvious. The levels were really low and boat after boat was getting stuck leaving the lock. We made it out and Mandy did a great job of winding without getting caught in the mud. But it was tricky.

The irony now is that we have come back to the marina because there is too much rain. As I write this, the skies are completely dark, the rain is rattling across the roof, and there are huge crashes of thunder and lightning. It is certainly more exciting being in a boat in a storm than in a house, but it is not great for travelling.

Will it fill up the canals? Probably not. We need weeks of weather like this to recover properly. But maybe it will top us up enough to allow us to go on a slightly longer trip next week. I hope so.

As I write this, storm Babet is arriving in Scotland where I live. It is forecast to bring unprecedented levels of rain, falling onto already saturated ground. When the last storm came, two weeks ago, it broke through part of our roof and through the kitchen ceiling. That has not been fixed yet and so we have buckets at the ready. This time, we are on the edge of an amber warning for rain and wind, and just a few miles away is a red warning, meaning likely loss of life. It would be tempting to hunker down and wait, but on Saturday morning we are planning to drive up to the Isle of Skye to get a ferry across to the Outer Hebrides where we will be living for the next month.

The big question is whether we should postpone for a few days till the weather calms down. The Outer Hebrides are off the Northwest coast of Scotland, and while they have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, they are also famously wild and windy, exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. The crossing is likely to be pretty bumpy.

There are three reasons I think we should go ahead. We are fairly seasoned travellers. A few years ago we took a ferry across the Bay of Biscay in a storm. Pretty much everyone took to their cabins as the ship rocked from side to side, bow to stern. Even many of the staff were feeling unwell. But my son and I stayed up, had a couple of drinks and watched a Fast and Furious film.

Secondly the ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne has not yet issued a warning on this crossing. Many of the ferries on the east coast of Scotland have already been cancelled but so far, the west is looking rough but passable.

And thirdly it will be an adventure. We spent a month in Orkney a couple of years ago, and one of the things I enjoyed most was watching the weather change from sunshine to storm in the blink of an eye. When we finally get to our cottage this Saturday night, we can light a fire, cook something warming and hunker down.

One thing I am nervous about is whether there will be a storm during our return trip towards the end of November. The port of Uig in Skye will be closed at that point, so instead of a two hour ferry, it will be five hours across the open sea to Ullapool. I am hoping for sunshine.

This week has seen the birthday of one of our sons – Tin (Martin). So we have been away for a few days in a lodge (fancy static caravan) near Newton Stewart, on the Scottish Borders. There is some fine walking around here which we have been enjoying with the dogs, but we have also been trying to dodge the big storms, bringing torrential rain and very strong winds.

Galloway Forest, looking down on Murray’s Monument

Tin says I am lazy because I am not keen on walking in rain. I have also been told by innumerable hikers that “there is no such thing as bad weather – just bad clothing”. Personally I think this is hogwash. For me it is just not fun to be out in a hooley, with the rain lashing, or worse still, hail battering my face. When we were in Orkney before Christmas, there were at least three occasions when I came back from a walk utterly soaked. No fun.

There is however, something primitive and very satisfying about being inside in the warm during a storm. Perhaps it goes back to cave dwellers, huddled around an open fire, cooking whatever they had just hunted. I am hoping that in the next few days there will be snow, because I really love to see it falling when I am inside in the warm.

So that is what we are doing. Playing cards. Watching films. Cooking comfort food. Drinking whisky.

Not a bad life.

Tag: storm

Back on the boat but is there any water?

Should I take a Scottish Ferry in a storm?

Dodging the storms