Thursday, 31 March 2016

Is it me?

I am in something of a quandary and maybe you can help. The government seems to be at odds with what I would call 'sensible options' and spending our money in a profligate way that beggars belief.

Take for instance the hundreds of millions of pounds of our taxes being spent on special precision guided bombs. Essentially the money is being spent upon rearranging the rubble, left over from previous bombing campaigns. I'm in a quandary because, on the 23rd of October, our UK newspapers reported that Russian and US planes had completely destroyed the Omar oil field in Syria which is under the control of Daesh.


Quote: 'The terrorists’ oil field in eastern Syria was obliterated in a day of bombing conducted by both Russia and the US-led coalition. US operations officer Major Michael Filanowski told reporters in Baghdad the Omar oil field was blitzed, heavily damaging the lucrative funding source for ISIS.”

However the very same Newspaper is now reporting, that the very same “destroyed” oil field has been destroyed all over again by UK air strikes. You know and I know that there is no possibility of any oilfield being repaired to the point where it could be back in production in a war zone. the manpower, tools and spare parts would not be there.


Quote: 'Four Tornados took off from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus after MPs voted in favour of launching airstrikes in the war-torn country. The jets struck targets in the Omar oil field in Eastern Syria, dealing a “real blow” to Daesh.”

Yet at the very same time, the government has cut the spending on flood defences in our own country. A very serious and profound cut in a different kind of defence spending. A cut which is making many of our citizens feel vulnerable to the increase threat of flooding as a result of climate change. 

Is it me?

Wednesday, 30 March 2016

Photo (19)

Throughout the last few years of boat ownership. I have been taking a number of photographs around the canals and rivers system. Obviously the subject would vary depending on where we were and what we were doing.  The photographic images are taken using a Canon 550d DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) which is my camera of choice. I use Coral Paintshop Pro X8 photo editing software for adding the logo and creating a smaller thumbnail image.


There is no particular theme, other than most of my photography is waterways inspired. It's whatever that caught my attention at the time. So I thought I might include a few of my photographs into the blog. 




The berds are often refered to as waders they are often found on the sea shore and patrolling the edges of inland lakes.  Their name comes from their habit and method of searching for food.

Do you recognise these birds?


Answer: Turnstone. They are closely related to Sandpipers.

I take photographs for my own personal pleasure. Whilst I reserve copyright ownership of the photographic image. You are free to use the image for your own purposes as long as the logo is not removed and you give credit to where the photograph came from. The image provided on the blog is a thumbnail of the original photographic image. 

Monday, 28 March 2016

Photo (18)


Throughout the last few years of boat ownership. I have been taking a number of photographs around the canals and rivers system. Obviously the subject would vary depending on where we were and what we were doing.  The photographic images are taken using a Canon 550d DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) which is my camera of choice. I use Coral Paintshop Pro X8 photo editing software for adding the logo and creating a smaller thumbnail image.

There is no particular theme, other than most of my photography is waterways inspired. It's whatever that caught my attention at the time. So I thought I might include a few of my photographs into the blog. 


In Orléans, the Grande Loire to the north, is no longer navigable. However, the Petite Loire to the south remains navigable to this point. The Loire was formerly an important navigation and trading route. With the general increase in size of ocean-going ships, large vessels can now navigate the estuary to Nantes.

River Loire


Boats on the river were traditionally flat-bottomed boats, with large but foldable masts so the sails could gather wind from above the river banks, but the masts could be lowered in order to allow the boats to pass under bridges. These vessels are known as gabarre or futreau.  

Its only petite - but its home!


Every two years, the Festival de Loire recalls the role played by the river in the commune's history. On the river's north bank, near the town centre, is the Canal d'Orléans, which is connected to the Canal du Loing and the Canal de Briare at Montargis. The canal is no longer used along its whole length. Its route within Orléans runs parallel to the river, separated from it by a wall or muret, with a promenade along the top. Its last pound was transformed into an outdoor swimming pool in the 1960s, then subsequently filled in. It was restored to a canal pound in 2007, there are plans to revive use of the canal for recreation and install a pleasure-boat marina  on the Canal d'Orléans.



I take photographs for my own personal pleasure. Whilst I reserve copyright ownership of the photographic image. You are free to use the image for your own purposes as long as the logo is not removed and you give credit to where the photograph came from. The image provided on the blog is a thumbnail of the original photographic image. 


Sunday, 27 March 2016

The Millau Viaduct.

The roads in France are generally in a much better state than in the UK. The motorways are always busy round major cities or filled with light traffic depending on whether there is a toll to pay or not. As far as possible, we try to avoid using the motorways as it gives us a chance to see a bit more of the country.  Motor homing in the mountains, can be both exciting and very picturesque. 



The town of Millau and the river Tarn in the Pyrenees.

You can see the road snaking down the mountain side, before entering into the town of Millau. Which nestles in the middle of the Pyrenees.  In the far distance partly covered by trees, is the old stone built Millau Bridge. There is one wonder of the French roads that we wanted to 'do' and that's to cross over the New Millau Viaduct.  However, we were forced by high winds and being in a high sided vehicle to avoid crossing the new viaduct this time.


The New Millau Bridge.


The Millau Viaduct carries the A75 motorway across the Tarn valley. Designed by Norman Foster the magnificent viaduct has established itself as one of the must see and must experience road trips in France. The viaduct is the world's highest multi-span bridge (The road deck is 900 ft above the valley floor at its deepest) and the longest suspended bridge in the world and well worth a visit. At the northern end of the viaduct, there is a large motorway 'aires' area, offering spectacular views of the viaduct, as well as a visitor centre with information on the bridge and its building. 

To give an impression of scale. The six central spans are each 342 metres (1,122 feet) in length.  This is almost twice as high as the second-highest road bridge in Europe, the Europabrücke on Austria's Brenner pass motorway. The roadway over the Millau bridge is 2.46 kilometres (1.52 miles) long, and weighs about 36,000 tonnes. It is the longest cable supported bridge deck in the world. 


 

Saturday, 26 March 2016

Photo (17)

Throughout the last few years of boat ownership. I have been taking a number of photographs around the canals and rivers system. Obviously the subject would vary depending on where we were and what we were doing.  The photographic images are taken using a Canon 550d DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) which is my camera of choice. I use Coral Paintshop Pro X8 photo editing software for adding the logo and creating a smaller thumbnail image.

There is no particular theme, other than most of my photography is waterways inspired. It's whatever that caught my attention at the time. So I thought I might include a few of my photographs into the blog. 


Many of the locks on the French canals are automated, though there are quite a few manual ones. Some of the older locks are still awaiting retoration provide an intresting comparison with some of our british counterparts.


Looking almost like a clockwork mechanism.


The above mechanisim was used to open a central gate paddle. The long lever arm (which resembles a points lever in a signal box) is used to open a gate paddle. The mechanisim has not been maintained for many years and yet was still light in operation. You can reverse the process and lower the paddle to adjust the flow . In an emergency the bar with a loop (above the wheel) can be lifted to release the mechanism and allow the paddle to fall.


Rivited Steel Construction.


The construction of the gate is essentially a box created from U channel and constructed of  steel sections (rivited together) Faced with heavy guage planking which can easily be changed.  The gate construction plate is dated 1932 and was last used in 1954. Note no ballence beam - as the gates are mechanically wound open and shut, though the mechanisim could not be seen as it is hidden behind the gate.


History: The Canal d'Orléans connects the Loire River at Orléans with the Canal du Loing and the Canal de Briare. The canal was begun in 1676. This was completed in 1692 with a length of 74 km and with 27 locks. In 1921, it was extended 5 km from Combleux to Orléans. The canal service was terminated in 1954. The canal would accomodate boats up to 100 feet (30 Mtr)in length and 16 feet (5 Mtr) beam.
Though the canal is disused today, it is still kept in a good state of repair with its tow path being used as a cycle trail. There is a limited amount of restoration taking place.  Along the towpath, you will see some of the original locks and gates. Lock 1 in Orléans has been restored. As have locks 4 (Pont-aux-Moines) and 5 (Donnery).  Locks No. 24 through 28 have also been restored and are in currently in use.
I take photographs for my own personal pleasure. Whilst I reserve copyright ownership of the photographic image. You are free to use the image for your own purposes as long as the logo is not removed and you give credit to where the photograph came from. The image provided on the blog is a thumbnail of the original photographic image. 

Friday, 25 March 2016

Butterfly Trip

Well our something of a 'butterfly trip' to various canal locations around France has been somewhat inspiring.  It has been possible to draw some easy comparisons with the UK inland waterways.  We stopped for the night at a canal side 'Aire'. Now, here is a complete turn up for the books. France is full of these 'aires' there are over 3,000 of them.  Which are in the main intended as overnight parking spots, for what the French call 'Camping Cars' and we call Motorhomes.

It was here that I came across the French equivalent to a lengthsman and he was patrolling a disused for boating section of canal.  Yes, that's right a he was patrolling a disused section of canal!  My broken schoolboy French however, was no match for his excellent command of English.  I remarked that I found it surprising that the 'towpath' was in such good order and that the trees seemed to be well kept.  Some were even pollarded to provide shade in picnic areas.  He pointed out that the towpath was used by many local people for fishing, including special ramps for fishermen in wheelchairs, walkers, joggers and cyclists. Though the canal is disused for boating it is being used for other leisure activities such as kayaking. As for the trees along the French road and canal system was something the French valued.  He said that rather than being 'disused canals' many are actually used for drainage or moving water into agricultural areas.  This particular canal was earmarked for the restoration of access by boats and seven locks had recently been restored. There were he said about 20 more locks to go.

A disused canal in France.
In the above picture you can see the pollarded trees in front of the white building.  The 'aire' was a little further to the right. This has room for about ten mobile homes and provides elsan and fresh water provision free of charge. The french encourage visitors to use the local shops by way of payment.

The next day we were at the 'Canal Port' in Montauban and the weather was cool in the day and cold at night.  It was partly overcast with little in the way of sunshine with the occasional spot of rain in the air. What we might describe as a typical English summer day.  However, the boaters were all tucked up on moorings.  This is their winter season and there is not a great deal of boating activity.   The marina facilities were shared between the aires users and the marina boaters, for a total fee of five euro or about four pounds thirty a day. This also included provision of mains electricity and access to fresh water, elsan, showers, toilets and rubbish disposal.  The typical cost of such a campsite in the UK is about £15/20 a night.  Now, just imagine what could happen if such facilities were provided by CaRT and available to tourists from abroad.

Thursday, 24 March 2016

Photo (16)

Throughout the last few years of boat ownership. I have been taking a number of photographs around the canals and rivers system. Obviously the subject would vary depending on where we were and what we were doing.  The photographic images are taken using a Canon 550d DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) which is my camera of choice. I use Coral Paintshop Pro X8 photo editing software for adding the logo and creating a smaller thumbnail image.

There is no particular theme, other than most of my photography is waterways inspired. It's whatever that caught my attention at the time. So I thought I might include a few of my photographs into the blog. 




Disused lock awaiting restoration on the Orleans Canal.

England is not alone in having some canal sections waiting restoration This is the current limit of navigation on the Canal d'Orléans. The canal is connected to the river Loire. The Loire is the longest river in France. Connecting to the sea near St Nazaire. With a length of 1,012 kilometres, it drains more than a fifth of France's land area and is the 171st longest river in the world. You can just see our motorhome in the background to the left of the lock chamber weir.


Detail taken from an information plate.

History: The Canal d'Orléans connects the Loire River at Orléans with the Canal du Loing and the Canal de Briare. The canal was begun in 1676. This was completed in 1692 with a length of 74 km and 27 locks. In 1921, it was extended 5 km from Combleux to Orléans. The canal service was terminated in 1954. The canal could accomodate boats up to 100 feet (30 Mtr) in length and 16 feet (5 Mtr) beam.

Though the canal is disused today, it is still kept in a good state of repair with its tow path being used as a cycle trail. There is a limited amount of restoration taking place.  Along the towpath, you will see some of the original locks and gates. Lock 1 in Orléans has been restored. As have locks 4 (Pont-aux-Moines) and 5 (Donnery).  Locks No. 24 through 28 have also been restored and are in currently in use.

I take photographs for my own personal pleasure. Whilst I reserve copyright ownership of the photographic image. You are free to use the image for your own purposes as long as the logo is not removed and you give credit to where the photograph came from. The image provided on the blog is a thumbnail of the original photographic image. 

Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Its Good to be Back.

As some of you will have realised, if only from the lack of activity that we have been away. We have been touring round Europe - well France and Spain for the winter. Yesterday we crossed back to 'blighty' by the Calais - Dover sea route. It has been a liesurly return where we have stopped over in a few palaces on the return leg of our journey.

Last year we purchased a mobile home to do some winter season touring in. So far it has proved to be a fairly successful venture. While at the same time it has been a steep learning curve. Where we had anticipated many parallels with cruising the canals of the UK. The reality has proved to be quite a different one.

Its good to be back - though the Iberian sunshine has been missed already. Over the next few weeks I will be regaling a few tales of our latest off water adventures.

There is little in the way of canal infrastructure in Spain. Just a few short canals from the sea to inland port infrastructure. - France however is well covered by canals. So part of our trip was set asside to go and take a look at some of the French canals - but the view has been taken from the canal side rather than the deck of a boat. 

So today has been spent getting a fire lit on board Rosie to air everything, before we start dewinterising the boat ready for the next cruising season. While we have been away, we have not totally ignored the boat as we had the failing tiller bearing replaced.