Return to Base

ECB Memorial

Daventry

Have had trouble with the blog the last few nights as we don’t get a signal very often in this area. (Now writing on Friday 16th).
Last night we went over to the Boathouse at Braunston and enjoyed a good meal.
This was our last cruising day this trip, unfortunately, and after taking on water we had a quiet ’run’ to the marina. It was colder still today, but at least we had no gales or rain. We took our boys back to their car in Weedon and they left for home before noon. On the way back from there to the marina we decided to go to Daventry; hadn’t been there before so it was a change. Spent a little while there as the walking was slow! It was good to get a signal on the phone again. Back to TQ mid-afternoon, then out to the King’s Head pub at Napton for a very nice meal.
So, time to end the blog for this time. Posting photos- hopefully- of the memorial at Daventry to Edmund Charles Burton, a ’True English Gentleman’ and a building we liked. Hope to be back on the blog in June!

Assisted Return Journey

Waterfall

Norton in the Mist

Our son and Grandson arrived safely last night and it was great to see them. We were all awake quite early and ready to start the day. What a lovely morning we had too- the weather had improved greatly and we even had to take our coats off! We made our way through the seven locks of the Buckby Flight with another boat; four men on that one, hiring a narrow boat for the first time and enjoying it. They stopped for lunch at the last lock of the flight but we continued, through Braunston Tunnel, with a quick break afterwards before working the six Braunston locks. Hard work, (but not for me), with all those difficult gates today! And that’s it for locks this trip….. Just the couple of hours back to Napton tomorrow morning. Oh, I almost forgot- this afternoon the weather got very grey and VERY cold again. One of the Buckby locks was overflowing and looked like a waterfall, hence the photo. At Norton Junction conditions were just right for a reflective/reflecting photograph.

Stoke Bruerne

Unfortunately we had problems with the signal yesterday and the blog just would not be sent; tried quite a few times until it was bedtime. So the blog published earlier this evening was last night’s.
This morning we took it easy; fortunately my knee pain was not so extreme as yesterday, so I managed to hobble down to the Canal Museum near the lock at 11 o’clock. We enjoyed the visit there, in spite of the stairs which were rather difficult under the circumstances. Quite a few schoolchildren there on a day trip- memories of the past!
After a quick lunch back on TQ, Cap’n reversed all the way to the winding hole just before Blisworth Tunnel, much to the delight of the children. The tunnel was as wet as ever and still as fascinating in that you always think that the light at the end of the tunnel is a lot nearer than it is. I took a few photos of the different stages but won’t bore you with those, shall just post one taken not too far from the end and the second taken just before exiting. Had a quick stop for water at the edge of the Nottingham Arm, then continued on. We moored at 1730 and are looking forward to seeing our son and grandson before too long!

Oh dear.....

St. Peter's, Weedon Bec

Some Interesting Buildings


Up at 0630 to greet another grey day, while much of the country is enjoying lovely weather like we had at the weekend! At least it’s not raining or blowing a gale, both - or either- of which would be far worse than cloudy weather when we’re on our boating trip.
We set off at 0810 for the very short trip to the next bridge, so that we could go to Weedon Bec village for newspaper and milk. We tied up by 0830 and all was well - but not for long, unfortunately. Somehow, during the short exercise of getting off TQ, I managed to wrench my knee, with a big crunch! Not really very funny and I’m not sure how I managed to get down the very convenient steps near the boat to get to the village. (Only with help from the captain).
We walked through the churchyard of the pretty church, St Peter‘s, (well, limped in my case), and enjoyed seeing the old cottages and houses, some of which are included in the photographs. There is a P.O. and a One Stop shop in the village. We were back at TQ just after 9.30 and away not too long afterwards. The Captain then had to manage the boat single handed all day, as any movement on my part was agony. I had to sit down for as much of the time as possible. We navigated Blisworth Tunnel, the third longest presently navigable tunnel in Britain, during the afternoon; it was rather wet in parts.
Moored at Stoke Bruerne after exiting the tunnel, about half past three and I stayed on board while a bit of reconnoitring was done.
We realise that if the situation stays the same tomorrow, operation of locks will be impossible so we are going to retrace our ‘steps’ and will look forward to the assistance of our elder son- and our darling little grandson!- as we near the Buckby Flight again. We’ll see…

Surprise!

We had been led to believe that the excellent weather was to continue in the same vein for a few days at least, so were very surprised to wake up to a foggy day at 7 o'clock this morning! The mist changed to a dull greyness and it was quite cold out on the aft deck. We set off at 0840 and by 9 o'clock we had started on the Braunston Locks- six double locks, with very tough gates. Fortunately we met a couple on a working boat, so were able to save water, which is even more important than usual at the moment, with restrictions likely to come about before too long. We also teamed up with the same boat for the Buckby Flight of seven locks - again, very tough gates and some of the paddles weren't easy to get going either!
We tied up at Whilton Marina at 1pm. We had been told when we were at the lock that a new cafe was open there so went across to see if we could get a sandwich. However, the cafe was due to open tomorrow actually; they were just finishing off getting everything ready. The lady told us that her husband grows all his own vegetables and they keep chickens, so are going to use mostly home-grown food. The cafe is part of the chandlery building at Whilton Marina. Fortunately the small chandlery near the lock had a few newspapers for sale... The usual type of chandlery crammed with everything you need for the boat, plus a few more things you need anyway, like milk, biscuits and chocolate!
(We had a home-made sdandwich on TQ).
We set off about quarter to three, by which time the sun kept trying to get out, but not always succeeding and it was still rather cold. At four o'clock we moored in a quiet place at Weedon Bec, not too far from a pub, funnily enough. We had a little rest and warm-up then after a quick reconnoitre of the area and in spite of aching joints managed the three minute walk to the Heart of England pub near the bridge 24. We enjoyed a delicious meal there

Back to TQ!

Arriving at Braunston



Well here we are again on TQ, with the weather rather different from when we left three months ago. It was a beautiful day today, just like summer. We arrived at the marina, which we hadn't been to before, at 1045 as we knew the boat had been available since Thursday. The staff in the marina office were friendly and helpful and there were no problems with the boat.
We left just before 2pm and enjoyed a leisurely cruise to Braunston, passing many moored boats on the way. Most of their owners were sitting out enjoying the fine weather! We were lucky to find a mooring spot quite quickly and we decided to have our meal on board tonight (Thanks M&S!). Since then we have been looking at canal guides and working out alternative routes for this week from what we had originally planned.(JIC). Looking forward to tomorrow....