I refuse to move and protest at Pewsey again

Crofton to Pewsey, Kennet & Avon Canal, 7.5 miles 10 locks

Having got to Pewsey we found that the pump out there was also broken! I was furious…  I told BW that I would not move until they fixed it.. I am on the services point..

The funny thing is that I made a protest here once before back in November 2006, there are some pictures of that in the gallery by the way.

So I protest once again here.. but it is getting a bit naughty what with the BW pump out at Great Bedwyn also broken, who knows what lies ahead, and we MUST get this service tomorrow and get our full black tank flushed out..

But before all that…

Kennet & Avon Canal

There was plenty of work to be done today, and we all shared that bit.. Jessica was brilliant getting the rope from the roof at the front of NP to tie on the bollard… Molly looked after the 5 dogs noting where they were at all times in between beefing it a bit with gate pushing!

Kennet & Avon Canal

And Jessica learned some new knots too.. all of which worked to hold the boat steady while the water filled the lock.  We were lucky today, and had a good run through the ten locks..

Bruce Tunnel, Kennet & Avon Canal

One of the highlights for the grandchildren, Bruce Tunnel.. On approaching we saw a boat just about to enter at the other end.. it is only 500 or so yards so I decided to wait although two narrowboats can pass in this one.. I do have a slight fear of tunnels, and one of those fears is to meet a wide beam boat, anything wider than 7ft and you won’t be able to pass.. Vic tried to reassure me, but I wouldn’t budge, no way was I going in!

Out came a widebeam!… His mouth dropped open and I had a cheeky grin of ‘know it all’ on my face!… But hey why didn’t they send someone over the top on the path to warn approaching boats?!  OK it isn’t that a long tunnel but you can’t see what the size the boat is coming the other way with it’s headlight blazing..

I’ll let you know tomorrow whether my protest here at Pewsey manages to get BW to fix not only this but some of the other broken services on this canal..

5 Responses to “I refuse to move and protest at Pewsey again”

  1. Kate Says:
    August 12th, 2010 at 8:47 pm

    Good Luck Sue. This isn’t unususal on this canal is it? Can remember people on about it back in 2003. We were just glad that we had an elsan.

  2. Ken&Sue (nb Cleddau) Says:
    August 12th, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    That’s why we went for a composting loo!

  3. ben hodgson Says:
    August 12th, 2010 at 10:13 pm

    I recall spending most of a hire holiday going up and down the canal trying to find a serviceable pump out on a boat with a defective loo – i.e. the flush stuck and filled the tank. That was 5 or 6 years back. Let us know how your dirty protest is getting along in ten years time.

  4. Jaqueline Almdale Says:
    August 14th, 2010 at 7:29 pm

    Hello Sue,
    I wonder if you could pass my name and email on to Ken and Sue of NB Cleddau and ask them to get in touch with me. I looked for a blog for them but couldn’t find one. I am in the process of researching different NB designs and builds. A composting loo makes sense to me, but I’d love to hear from someone who’s used one on the NB for some time as continuous cruisers.

    I hope your protest brings a wake up call to BW authorities. Thanks again for taking the time to blog about it all.
    Jaqueline USA

  5. sue Says:
    August 14th, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    Kate,

    Well I hope I did some good.. nobody was put out as we helped anyone who wanted water even using our own hose when needed.. They really do need to get these services working along this canal, so far my survey says that very few visiting boats will return to this canal, that is not good..

    Ken & Sue,

    We had a look at one of those at Wilton Chandlers when we went past once.. the only thing I didn’t like about it was it’s size. As this is a second hand boat we were content enough with a massive black tank.. we just got it wrong this time with the previous effort at emptying… but to be honest this morning there did seem to be a slight blockage which we hope we have now cleared..

    Ben,

    That must have been awful if not annoying, especially as you were on a holiday break. Like I said to Kate, these services MUST be fixed promptly, not just left for days and days..

    Jacqueline,

    Those composing loos are brilliant, and smell free too, not an option for us as we did not have a new build.. hope Ken & Sue get in touch.. Oh and glad you are still enjoying the blog too!