Meteorological Spring
March 1st is the first day of meteorological spring, .For the Welsh-born boaters it was a day for flags. Remember Wales; remember St David.
Despite it being merely meteorological spring (March 1st) rather than astronomical spring (March 20th) this St David's Day was declared the day for a mid-morning picnic, with home made Welsh cakes, tea and coffee as refreshments. 
There was something rather Welsh about the damp in the air and puddles underfoot… But the catkins hinted of new life and spring growth. 
In March 2022 both Cleddau and her crew underwent Cruise Trials up on the Macclesfield Canal: how would the boat respond to coming out of winter hibernation, how would the crew cope as age was taking its toll on the Captain’s legs… See hereNow in March 2023 the Captain has a new hip. Would the boat be easier to manage now than last year? It would remain a rhetorical question – until there was a test boat trip.On March 2nd the car was laden with fresh food stocks for a long weekend, tinned and frozen goods to last for a while and thermal layers to withstand the chill of early March.Waking Cleddau up after a long hibernation is a slow old business...Just after midday the poles and gangplank were lifted out of the cabin and put back onto the roof.The chimney, the coal, the coal scuttle, kindling and fire lighters were unearthed from their various summer hiding places. 
The fridge and freezer were switched on (although it helps to realise that the fridge switch is the one right at the back of the galley cupboard!) The water fllter (removed to prevent any water freezing in the u-bend) was refitted under the galley sink.The water hose (extended to stretch the length of the boat) was connected up to a tap so as to fill the water tank. 
The Webasto heater was urged into life.The gas was turned on – andeventually, by mid-afternoon, the cabin was warming up 
and operation bed-making could begin…The verdict after the first night aboard in 2023? Success, the crew’s night was cosy and comfortable…On the morning of Friday March 3rd Cleddau was ready to have her umbilical cord unplugged: the engine was fired up and the shore powerline disconnected. 
Marinas can be testing places for boat manoeuvres. Other craft need to be avoided, obviously, but pesky winds can swirl around spaces of open water. If there were any spectators to Cleddau’s first departure from her new location they may have noted a second attempt was needed to get the angle right to escape the pontoon. “It’s the wind, the wind,” breathed the Captain through pursed lips.But then followed a steady and drama-free exit from the marina and a right turn out onto the Leicester Line. 
How good it was just to tootle along, a country park on the left, the brazier on Cracks Hill visible on the right. 
(Hmm, there’s some exploring to be done on foot in these parts…) The canal heads north. There were occasional glimpses of mile markers (Oh, Leicester 32 miles). 
This wasn’t to be a long day on the back deck, but winter cruising habits were resumed - a digital map for locational reassurance, a flask of hot coffee for warming the core and Welsh cakes for sustenance. 
It’s a peaceful rural route, with glimpses of wind turbines and green fields below the embanked navigation.
After the pretty house 
near Skew Bridge the bracing wind made taking further photographs too cold as fingers froze and ached.An overnight mooring near Bridge 33 was the target. 2½ hours after leaving Crick Cleddau was pulled in, moored up and closed up. 
The plan had been to continue another few miles to the junction with the Welford Arm and then cruise the couple of miles through 1 lock up to Welford. ‘Winter works’ however, (repairs to the lock gates and to the brickwork at the first bridge) had overrun and the Arm was not as yet accessible.Onward then on Saturday morning to the first winding hole to turn round and head back to the marina at Crick. 
It was shortly after winding the boat that a single enormous deep crack was heard overhead. Was it an explosion? Gunfire? A rifle shot? A bird scarer? Simultaneously a shock wave was felt around the lower parts of the body… A dog walker nearby confirmed that it couldn’t have been a quarry blast. A boater on his back deck looked concerned and confused. What had made such a loud and extraordinary noise? So much for a peaceful pootle in rural Northamptonshire...Within hours an explanation was announced, a sonic boom over land created by two Typhoon aircraft scrambled from RAF Coningsby to escort an aircraft which had lost its communications down onto the ground at Stansted… Once the cause of the extraordinary noise and back deck sensation was known the Captain began to wax lyrical about some of his own Canberra adventures, in which 360 Squadron aircraft would deploy as airspace intruders minus communications...Onward, back towards the one noisy section of the route, where a modern road and concrete bridge (the A14) 
crosses the canal. It may have been a chilly March morning but here were customers at Heygates (waterfront glamping for adults), two heads bobbing above the frothy waters of an outdoor hot tub.
Back in the marina there was the awkward challenge of reversing the boat into her pontoon slot. It took more than one attempt – but the neighbours were gracious – “I’ve seen far worse,” said one kind soul!A week later, after another episode of winter weather, 
there was a thaw in temperatures – and it was time to inspect a different waterside scene. Eastbound then out to Great Barford, 
the location last summer for swimmers, canoeists and paddle boarders. (Photos from June 2022) 
On a March morning there were no boats, no swimmers, no picnickers… The Great Ouse was running fast, the arches of the bridge seemed smaller than usual, 
filled with racing water and tree debris, the concrete edging was invisible, submerged. 
Water churned as it raced over the weir, 
bollard tops for ropes on the upstream side of the lock were barely to be seen. 
Upstream of the bridge the river had burst its bank…
It’s nearly the middle of March now – may astronomical spring (6 days away now!) bring calmer days and some warming sunshine!
Miles by boat: 15¾; locks: 0
