Boatwif
The occasional adventures of the Cleddau crew
About Us
We are ‘The Captain’ and ‘Boatwif’, owners of nb Cleddau.
Cleddau was a five year old youngster when we took her on in 1994. She was built for cruising on the River Trent. Over time Cleddau has had internal and external adjustments but she retains her original hull, propeller, anchor and portholes.
When asked (frequently) “What does Cleddau mean?” our response is usually “In Welsh it means swords but Cleddau is the name of the river that flows into the Milford Haven deep water estuary in Pembrokeshire…”
We both grew up in Pembrokeshire; for some years we have kept a record of what we call ‘Monkton Moments’, those exchanges with boaters and non-boaters who recognise our Pembrokeshire connections.
This blog below is a record of our mainly boating adventures.
RECENT KEN & SUE LOCATION
Left hand down a bit
23 miles, 28 locks and 2 short tunnels lie between Compton (first lock down from the summit) and York Street Lock (the final lock into Stourport Basins).....
Up to the Staffs and Worcs summit
Cleddau approached Great Haywood Junction. The field opposite seems to attract tents and campervans. Are those portaloos over by the hedge?
Lock help and lock queues
Marston Junction to Great Haywood Junction Marston Junction provides access to the Ashby Canal. Beyond the Junction the Coventry Canal.....
Living in the moment…
Crick Marina to Marston Junction All winter the Captain had built this summer’s cruise plan around the weekend of July 20th /July 21st....
Sand, Sea and Castles
A trip back to ‘Cleddau-land’ is a reunion with the familiar: beaches galore, nowhere too far from the sea and numerous stone castles.....
The home run
Stoke Bruerne to Crick: 21¼ miles, 14 locks, 2 tunnels Though the return route to Crick was familiar some unexpected sightings.....
Dressed for the part
It was 2012 when Cleddau made it through the Pennines (via the Standedge Tunnel1) to Marsden in West Yorkshire (population 3692, March ’21 census)......
Encountered
Cleddau had turned back northbound after Slapton Lock – and credit must be given to the Monday team of volunteer lock keepers.....
‘Elderly ducks’ on a nostalgia cruise
Stoke Bruerne to Slapton “So you’re obviously retired,” said an elderly gentleman on the towpath outside Leighton Buzzard’s Globe Inn....
The honeypot and a pavilion pair
Stoke Bruerne is one of those ‘honeypot’ locations that attracts boaters and visitors alike. Boaters passing through will arrive from the north....
What next…?
Was the Crick Boat Show the wettest, muddiest ever? Some marina residents believed that to be the case. Three days....
Fenced in…
Boaters with a serious interest in what the Crick Boat Show 2024 offered will find reports in Waterways World and other publications....
Anyone remember wearing a liberty bodice...?
Crick to Market Harborough, 12.9 miles as a crow flies Dates and deadlines seem to be ruling this year’s cruising programme....
Exercised!
“So you’re exercising your boat then?” a fellow boater concluded. This remark followed a summary of the Crick-Welford trip....