Return to Bugbrooke

Today is our last day of cruising along the canals. And what a glorious day it is. It was quite cold overnight but the fire kept the boat nice and cozy. 

Just setting off in bright sunshine. Earlier the canal had been shrouded in mist but that has now all burnt off. 

A panoramic shot of Stoke Bruerne from the middle of the top lock.

Managed to get through the tunnel in 28 minutes this time. Luckily we had no one to follow and only one boat coming the other way.

We decided that it was too nice a day to go straight back to the mooring so we stopped for the afternoon to have lunch and enjoy the sunshine.

Managed to clean some brasswork and attend to a spot of rust around one of the navigation lights. We also did one or two household jobs which will save a bit of time tomorrow when we pack everything up to go home.

A fitting picture to close our holiday blog. We motored back to the marina in time for Strictly and are now back on mains power. 

Thank you for putting up with my ramblings and I hope you will join us next year when we hope to be away for 3 months.

Watch this space! 

Boat Horse Road

We are now well and truly on our way back to Bugbrooke. It's a lovely day and, as you can see, there's hardly a cloud in the sky. 

Having not seen another boat all morning we were very pleased to be joined by Wine not Whine at the bottom lock.

Ahead of us was a single boater who, it seemed to us, had no idea how to work a lock, even though they had been boating for many years. 

Luckily for us, the Monday crew of volunteers were there to help work the locks for them and us. Note to self: always come through these locks on a Monday!

Here they are working our lock while their colleagues set up the next one ready for us.

A closeup of our approach in tandem to the next lock. Only found out afterwards that the other skipper had never worked a lock like this before but it seems he quite enjoyed it. Well, there's always a first time for everything.

As per custom, stopped in the pound below lock 2 and visited the Navigation, purely as research for a Google review. Lovely meal of scampi and chips and good old fish and chips.

Afterwards we went for a walk to let the review settle and saw a part of Stoke Bruerne that we've never seen before.

I am impressed by the number of information boards that are around. They give a lot of information about the life and work on the canals.

We were walking along the old boathorse road and even passed a metalwork sculpture of one of the horse drawn trollies that would have been used during construction of the canal.

Back at the locks for a look at the second (now disused) lock that I believe was once used as a weighbridge for barges. 

And there we are, almost the only boat in the pound. 

A lovely quiet place with no one to disturb when we use the generator to keep the batteries topped up.

Once again, sausages in cider for supper but this time with proper sausages and a dollop of chicken stock that we made up from last week's roast. Canal life at its best.

Sunday, day of rest

Sunday and we decided to take the morning off and have a walk around Cosgrove.

Our first port of call was the old horse tunnel under the canal. It's the easiest and quickest way for us to get to the pub on the other side of the canal. 

But we went the other way and found a little used footpath on the outskirts behind everyone's back gardens. Found out why it was little used as it turned into a mini bog part way along. Retraced our steps and visited the new shop on the caravan park. They sell everything we could want for the boat and they have a great café to boot. 

Found the footpath again (further on) and followed it through the wrought iron gate.

And over the footbridge.

Obligatory photo of the captain.

Until, almost in the middle of nowhere, we came across this bench alongside a weir in the river.

A welcome resting place in the sunshine.

Aah!

Suddenly a flock of sheep walked calmly past us, leading us back towards the village.

Back at the canal for a closer look at this bridge, built in 1800 and decorated in the Gothic style. Its style is unique among canal bridges and there is no obvious reason for its solitary splendour. 

This time, through the tunnel and up to the Barley Mow for lunch. A good old roast with all the trimmings followed by homemade crumble. 

Staggered back to the boat and decided to set off straight away before we fell asleep. We went down to the lock where we turned around (of course nobody was watching) and motored back to bridge 63 to a quiet mooring with views across toward Hanslope. 

The sky is still fairly clear and, as noted above, it's very quiet. 

Off to Cosgrove

Today we are setting off on what, for this holiday, will be a long cruise. We are aiming to cover 6 miles together with 7 locks which should take between 3 1/2 to 4 hours. A good chance to charge up the batteries.

Here we are passing Blissworth Tunnel Boats before entering the tunnel itself.

And here we are at the far end having followed a fairly slow boat and passing another boat in the middle.

And this is Stoke Bruerne, always a hive of industry with plenty of boats and the usual trip boat. As we were about to come out of the tunnel I saw a headlamp coming into the entrance and thought 'Oh no, not another boat to pass.' Luckily it was only the trip boat putting its nose into the entrance and then backing out again.

Through the first lock being watched by plenty of gongoozlers.

Most of the locks in this flight had side pounds which would store half the water in the lock, in the same way as at Watford and Foxton. Although still there, the side pounds were not deemed necessary many years ago.

As we were entering the 4th lock we noticed people working the lock we had just come through. We waited for them to come through and continued down the rest of the flight in the company of Hobbit.

It was lucky for us in two ways. Firstly there was a brother and sister crew who were happy to open and close gates and, secondly, Brigid was free to walk to the next lock and get it ready for us. Overall this saved us a lot of time. Added to that, the skipper, their mother, was happy for us to move from lock to lock in tandem. If done correctly, you don't have to faff about getting one boat into the lock and then manoeuvring the second in alongside. You both come in together. 

Looking back at the bottom lock and saying goodbye to Hobbit as they stop to take on water.

I love this sign. Instead of the usual 'Slow down past moored boats' you are asked to slow down for elderly ducks crossing.

On past Thrupp Wharf, where the strong cross wind played havoc with a smaller boat trying to turn round, and then past the Taveners Boat Club.

A bit of camera shake but I just had to get a snap of Mr Heron. So often they fly off as soon as you get near.

And, at last, we've made it, we are at Cosgrove. Now settled in for an evening of Strictly and our usual Saturday night steak supper. 

It can only get better

This is all part of boating. It's mizzling with rain. Well, it's not really rain, it's just wet mist but under the trees it might as well be raining. 

We had breakfast, looked all over the boat and couldn't find the loaf that we bought yesterday. We realised that when filling the bag on wheels I had put the loaf on the floor, so's it didn't get squashed, and then walked off leaving it behind. Back to the shop and there is our loaf on the top of the food bank donation bin. Did the decent thing and bought something to put in the bin and reclaimed the loaf. We thought that a tinned item would last longer than bread nearing its sell by date. 

Then, to cheer ourselves up, we looked into Grannies Kitchen which was closed by the time we arrived yesterday. Well, a second breakfast, or, as the captain put it, an early lunch, seemed in order.

Poached and scrambled eggs on toast.

And the place was packed out all the time we were there. They've certainly hit on a winning formula here.

Suitably fortified, back to the boat and off to Rugby Boats to top up with fuel. As we arrived they were just going to have lunch with the guys from Stowehill Workshop. So we tied up and waited for them to reappear. Life's like that on the canals. As Robert was there having lunch we arranged for him to take the boat in next year to repaint the roof.

And that's Stowehill.

You'll need to enlarge the photo to see how appropriate is the name of this boat.

We're already planning for next year when we hope to meet up with friends who have a caravan. This is a lovely site and a good place for a days cruise.

Two lovely old workboats now in use as a craft studio.

Now we are motoring straight past our Bugbrooke mooring in the hopes that we can get to Cosgrove for Sunday lunch.

This farm used to, in my eyes, be idyllic. Now it's the holding site for 5 Star Loos. As they say, where there's muck there's brass. 

Stopped now about halfway between Bugbrooke and Gayton. Reasonably quiet although we are near the railway and the M1. Not that we seem to notice either when we're asleep. 

And on to Weedon Bec

The other day we had War of the Worlds and last night a bit of Star Wars! Until it came closer I couldn't work out what was approaching across the field. It was coming straight for us and these six lights were getting brighter and brighter. Phew, it was only farmer John spraying his field. 

We kept the fire in last night and woke up to find the radiators hot. Not that we needed it as it was a mild start to the day.

As we were preparing breakfast a Wren kept hopping in and out of the hedge. We had our own private hide and watched it for quite a while. We have Wrens at home but to observe one for a lengthy period was very special.

We are passing Weltonfield Marina, a compact marina, well kept and tidy. 

Now that's an ambitious project. Starting to look good.

Approaching Norton Junction. We don't often approach from this direction so this is something different for a change. And the captain has the helm today.

Another signpost, just in case you don't know where you're going next.

It's such a shame to see an old boat in this condition.

Perhaps it was sunk by the cannon in this back garden.

Looking back at Buckby bottom lock having come through on our own again. The locks were mostly in our favour and there were other boats coming up the other way.

Below Buckby there are three, no four important transport routes. The M1 to our left.

The canal dead ahead.

The railway (you can just see the gantry above the hedge) to our right. And just beyond the railway, Watling Street the old Roman road, now the A5. Each one, supposedly, an improvement over the other. 

At last, we've seen it in action. Many a times we've looked at the crane and wondered, does it work? Now we know.

Stopped at Weedon Bec and popped into town for more supplies. I don't know, we always seem to be buying food.

We initially moored on the other side of the canal because there are steps that lead down through the churchyard and into the village. However, there is an underwater shelf and the boat kept bumping around. So, we got back on board, cast off, I gave the boat a good shove and we drifted sedately across to the other side. 

And here I am checking that everything is secure for the night.