Shangri La - back to blogging

Shangri La – April 2026 – K and A Canal

I have not posted anything here for ages! Mainly because we have not been going anywhere.

Shangri La, our 58 x 11 ft widebeam barge, has been moored up here on the Foxhangers private moorings since August 2021, while my wife Karen is doing carework …

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Shangri La Drydocking 2023

Shangri La at Semington

Shangri La Drydocking 2023. So in August we made the huge trip from Foxhangers down to Semington to give her a much needed drydocking.

5 Swing Bridges and 6 locks. We set out on the Sunday late morning, and arrived there mid afternoon.

Overnighted aboard, and th…

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Into Dry Dock

On the Midland Waterways

Normally my posts are about trips on our own boat, but recently I did a boat moving trip, mostly on the midland waterways, from Eynsham to Tardebigge. Purpose of the trip was repositioning some hire boats – so a bit of a free holiday.

The 2 boats we moved

The route took us down the Thames, v…

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The Three Magpies

Why a trip to The Three Magpies?

Several reason for the trip to The Three Magpies: Since I moved the boat to our mooring here at Foxhangers near Devizes, (Read about that trip here) the boat has hardly moved, other than across to the pump out. Since we bought the boat, Karen has done very little…

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Newbury to Devizes - Part 4 - The Caen Hill Flight

View from the bottom of the Caen Hill Flight!

The title of this post is probably a bit incorrect, as we had already past the actual town of Devizes, but the Foxhangers moorings at the bottom of the Caen Hill Flight is still technically in Devizes.

The team

My friends Wyn and Donna continue…

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Newbury to Devizes - Part 3

This part of the journey from Newbury to Devizes takes us from Pewsey, along about 10 miles of canal with no locks, but many narrow and overgrown sections, till we reach Devizes and start the descent of Caen Hill. We did the first three locks going down and moored up at the Black Horse pub – a brea…

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“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” … as the Water Rat said to the Mole in “Wind in the Willows”. And how right he was! I hope I can share the pleasures of boating by recording the trips myself and my wife Karen have taken on the journey to actually buying our boat, and now on our very own Dutch Steel Motor Cruiser, Shangri-La 2.

This blog is an online journal of my various boating activities that have happened over the last few years, from the numerous boating holidays we have taken, some interesting work related events and the journey to buying our own boat

Latest Adventures

Shangri La cruising update

Shangri La cruising update

Wonderful present from our guests I absolutely love being aboard Shangri La and playing boats. This all actually takes up a lot of time, so I don't get time to write the blogs. Which is why I've spent the last few weeks in Cape Town writing the weekly posts, based on...

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Netherlands waterway trip – Haarlem to Amsterdam

Netherlands waterway trip – Haarlem to Amsterdam

Leaving Haarlem Thursday 10th July. As per the forecast, the weather was perfect for a change.. Sunny and hot, with no wind. The route to Amsterdam was first through 4 more Haarlem bridges, north along the River Spaarne, through the lock in Spaarndam and then along...

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Leiden to Haarlem via Kaag

Leiden to Haarlem via Kaag

Kaageplaasen - lakes Saturday 5th July We left Leiden about 10.15 am having visited the harbour-master and got our key deposit back. Rain was expected that day, and it started to rain, as usual, just as we left the mooring. The route to Haarlem was across an area of...

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Netherlands waterway cruising – Delft to Leiden

Netherlands waterway cruising – Delft to Leiden

Netherlands inland waterway cruise - Delft to Leiden Rijn-Schiekanaal - new bridge being built Thursday 3rd July We left Delft at our usual sort of time, about 09.40. The weather was perfect, sunny and hot with no wind. The route to Leiden was along the...

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Netherlands waterway cruise – stopover in Rotterdam

Netherlands waterway cruise – stopover in Rotterdam

Netherlands waterway cruise - stopover in Rotterdam Maritime Museum Rotterdam - Lightship Our friends were due to leave on the Sunday afternoon, so our plan had been to make an early start and get to Delft. But plans are meant to be changed. Consulting the detail in...

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Netherlands waterway trip – Rotterdam to Delft

Netherlands waterway trip – Rotterdam to Delft

Netherlands waterway trip - Rotterdam to Delft On the River Maas We finally managed to tear ourselves away from Rotterdam and head to Delft. We got going a bit later than usual, about 09.40, but this was not really a problem as we only had about 16 kms to travel. Our...

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Netherlands Waterway Trip – Gouda to Rotterdam

Netherlands Waterway Trip – Gouda to Rotterdam

Netherlands Waterway Trip - Gouda to Rotterdam Leaving Gouda Thursday 27th July Today's trip would be a bit different. The route was down the Hollandse Ijssel River, and joining the River Maas, which is a big waterway compared to all the ones we have been on so far....

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Trips by Date

About Me

My love of boats goes back to my early years when I went on holiday with my parents to Knysna in the Cape. We stayed at a hotel on stilts, and I played in rowing boats and little motor boats on the lagoon.

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