Running every other day now but after Friday I took it easy and only ran for 25 min. After that we didn't set off until 11.30 and stopped a couple of times to avoid the showers but ended up at Long Itchington by 5.30 pm. Looking out for a chandlery so I can replace the headlight that we broke in a lock on the River Avon as we have a couple of long tunnels ahead. Monday 12th it was really windy, the remains of the American hurricane, apparently and we had the Stockton lock flight to do. A flight of 8 locks all quite close together which means that in the short pound between locks it's difficult if you have to wait for the lock or if another boat is coming out. Normally you can just hover until the lock is ready but with high side winds this is not possible as you get blown to the side and once there it's hard to get away, you need a good deal of speed to overcome the wind but before you know it the lock is looming.
Once complete we had a break and a late lunch before moving on to the 3 locks at Calcutt, just completing them before they shut at 4 pm due to water restrictions. It was still windy on Tuesday so we didn't rush, I did a 55 min run with not too many after effects, and we moved on to Braunston in a stop start fashion to avoid the rain again, and on Wednesday I got a new headlight at last and fitted it after a struggle as everything seemed to be slightly different to the old one. While we were there I picked some Hawthorns ready to make some Hawthorn Jelly, something I'd not done before, I didn't even realise that they were edible. As our time on the boat is coming to an end we needed to crack on a bit as we still had about 170 lock/miles to do (a lock is reckoned to be equivalent to a 1 mile) so about 90 odd miles and about 70 locks before we get to Harefield, 20 mls NW of London, our chosen winter mooring for Sammy Jo.
Napton Jnc near, Braunston, left for London right for Oxford
Braunston Turn, left to Rugby and Coventry where Lady G was going and right to London for us
Early morning mist
Thus on Thursday we set off quite early and had a long day doing 6 locks, a 2 km tunnel, 7 more locks and then a few more miles to get away from the incessant roar of the M1. In these last few days we've passed three junctions all quite close together, Napton Jcn where the South Oxford canal leaves the Grand Union, then Braunston Turn where the North Oxford canal leaves towards Rugby and Coventry and then Norton Jcn where the Grand Union Leicester section joins the Main line. A bit further along we passed Gayton Jnc where an arm goes into Northampton. By Friday 16th we were moored just short of Blisworth and we had a lovely walk to a litle village called Church Stowe along part of the MacMillan Way and even managed coffee and scones, yum. Ahead, tomorrow is the Blisworth Tunnel, and at 3054yds is one of the longest on the network, and Margaret has just informed me that she might take Charlie over the top, the way the horses used to travel all those years ago.
Norton Jnc, left to Leicester (the Leicester section of the Grand Union) straight on for us towards London
Did we buy the wrong boat!
Left to Northampton
That's what we did, but not until 11am as we had to wait for the rain (large amount) to stop. At 12.10pm I moored at the other end of the tunnel and waited...and waited....and waited for Margaret who didn't turn up until 1.20pm because she got lost. So after coffee and a late lunch we moved about 500yds and went to the canal museum at Stoke Bruerne. As we hadn't got very far this day we motored on and did the 7 Stoke Bruerne locks with a break in between 6 & 7 for the thunder and lightening and rain to stop, but we were rewarded with a rainbow, so that was alright!
In
Out
To make up for yesterday, on Sunday 18th we left by 9am with a short stop for a walk round Cosgrove we went right round Milton Keynes with only a brief Tesco stop (and not a concrete cow in sight) and to be fair I thought it was quite pleasant from our viewpoint, and ended up just before Fenny Stratford, putting 7 hours on the engine clock. By the end of play on Monday we were just short of Leighton Buzzard and moored up right outside the Globe Inn where we treated ourselves to meal. Tuesday and Wednesday did more of the same and ended up at Marsworth Jnc. By then I had at last confirmed our winter mooring at Harefield Marina. Not a lot at Marsworth but we spent all day there, we walk Charlie to the navigable end of the Wendover Arm. It is currently being restored but only 1 1/2mls of it's 6 3/4 is usable. After that we cycled down the Aylesbury Arm intending to go right to the end (6miles) but ended up only doing half. We had been into Aylesbury on a boat before when we were looking for a mooring spot for Zenobia, our old boat, when Sam was going to live on it while he was at furniture college 18 years ago, but we didn't remember anything!
A horse tunnel, so they could get to the stables
Most of the locks on the grand union used to be single locks but they built double ones alongside to cater for the increased traffic and the single ones have disappeared hence the double arches on the bridges
First time we've seen a cow on the tow path, last year we saw a sheep!
The Aylesbury Arm
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