When the canal freezes over, the first concern is usually that it will be cold on the boat. In fact, I have rarely been warmer than when sitting by the stove in our boatman’s cabin. One of the challenges we hadn’t thought of was a lack of water (to make tea and cook with etc). Since the boat can’t move, it’s not possible to move to the next water point when the level in the tank runs down.
Not a problem we think, since we generally come to the boat equipped with jerry cans. A short walk along the towpath, a sack barrow to carry the water back to the boat and all should be fine … not quite …
After the first trip to the water point, we discovered the tap itself had frozen. Returning with a thermos of hot water and locating a tap that happens to be in full sun during the morning allowed us to fill the jerry cans. A slightly precarious walk back to the boat was followed by the discovery that the cap to our water tank had frozen shut. A little more hot water and we could finally fill our tanks.
For future reference, the water point we found in full sun at mid morning was in Kidlington.
What’s Round The Bend? 